Topping D90 vs Gustard A22 sound test. 

I was just floored by the music. Tks for introducing such awesome musical pieces

Thanks for sharing. Great choices of testing sample songs. I followed the song just only to surprise that it is from the great Terry Bozio and Steve stevens!

Beautifully open and natural sound.

Interesting...I preferred the A22 on the first track, I felt it had a much more open relaxed sound. I preferred the D90 on the second track...The vocals were richer and more up front. Both are excellent! Thanks for this.

Both sound terrific! “Audiophiles don't use their equipment to listen to your music. Audiophiles use your music to listen to their equipment.” - Alan Parsons. Whatever you have becomes your reference equipment and the base of whatever you will compare other equipment to.

WTF the Gustard A22 timbre is superb! I had to go back to hear the A90 again, then I noticed that's where the Most Replayed section is (at the Gustard A22 start). Wow😇

Honestly I can't hear a difference but your cut is really sublime!

quality of recording is awesome 👏

Very similar, you can hear the AKM 'velvet sound' in the both of them. I think the A22 might have the slightest touch more refinement but they're so close I imagine anyone happy with one will be happy with the other.

I think all sistem is good,power amp and speakers are great. They are very similar but that dynamic from Topping is really good

Can't hear real difference but your song selection made my hifi system standout. Thanks.👍👍👍

Both excellent DACS, but wow you've really put together an exceptional sounding system 👏

Guitar strings sound more vivid and natural D90, but I have the impression that the A22 is more musical, has a better depth. It's just a feeling from the video. I don't judge DACs, just what I hear in the video by headphone HD600.

Great video I wish you could do another comparison with other music / longer I between switching like perhaps 10 sec more

Well done. Both sound good , the d90 to my ears has more depth.

the Gustard A22 is more resolving and expressive especially with vocals...you can hear the background echo more distinctly while the Topping D90 has an earlier decay and slightly less resolved

I just ordered the Gustard X26 Pro. Beast!

吉他： D90 00:01 A22 00:21 因為這是不同音軌的AB測試，像是人聲部分，D90 03:32、A22 03:08，一個有歡呼聲一個沒有且音量也不同，只能對比切換機器當下的細節轉變 光吉他的部分，個人覺得A22更好聽點 兩者都是極度中性的高性能DAC，差距微乎其微到了可以忽視的地步了，挑喜歡的外觀或更好腦放的買就完事了

Both are excellent devices, to my ears the D90 feels more airy while the A22 sounds more crisp!!

Gustard has more expressiveness. If you pair anything with a MacBook, this sounds good, but it's not a problem for Gustard to be listened to with multiple sources, but let's not forget that Gustard benefits from a pair of DACs while topping only one.

I have an A18 and the presentation is a bit more mid-hall than the Topping D90 and Smsl400. The smsl is better than both of the others. Great dac for the money though.

Thank you for this comparison. It would have been better if the DACs compared the exact same audio clips, one after the other. Playing a song through, switching back and forth doesn’t give an opportunity to judge apples to apples, oranges to oranges.

Both are even. It´s a matter of taste. D90 I hear the singer is more upfront in the room. So I like that realism.

Gustard will sound much better in a reference hifi system. Sound stage has more depth when compared with the topping which sounds brighter as a result

wow gustard a22

@3:25 D90, presents a deeper, more impactful low note.

In spite of YT sound limitations, I detect much more organic textures/timbre of D90. A22 is accurate but a bit too dull.

Thanks for this, it is much appreciated. Great recording. Gustard A22 is a more pleasurable listen. It seems like they have done a great job with that. Some people have commented that the D90 has more dynamics. To me it just sounds a bit stressed and harsher and some people may perceive that as dynamics.

hi thanks for the video....wanted to ask what is a good entry mid range dac for headphones and active speakers?

Hi Sebastian from Spain, can you upload the FLAC recorded audio comparison again? Link seems to be broken

Le Gustard est mon préféré , ,quelque chose de plus subtil , avec plus d'assise , plus de matière, le Topping est plus détaillé ,plus précis quand on voit quel DAC marche , mais sans savoir ou en aveugle je ne serais pas sur de faire la différence

To a large extent, the qualities these Dacs will be brought out by the rest of the system. The A22 has a more (and slightly cloudy), old school digital sound. The Topping had better decay and a more forward midrange.

Gosh, for me as a 32-year Classical music veteran, the Topping has so much more DEPTH. If I didn't know any better, I'd be impressed with the smoothness of the Gustard, but sitting here, I got goosebumps over the D90.

Any chance to share these two songs? I want to use them to compare with A22 and A18.

D90 has a much more forward midrange(vocal), and therefore sounds fuller and richer, its more airy. Gustard is more layback and calm but I feel the sound is bit thin, for this set up I feel D90 suits better

How do you feed the DACs with the signal from RPI? Via USB cable? Or SPDIF? I use an Allo USBridge Signature which supposed to have „the best/cleanest“ USB signal out to the DAC. ....but I still use an Intona USB highspeed Isolator to clean the signal... and it makes a difference, clearly audible with the “highs”. Could be, that the A22 shows the weaknesses of the digital source more than the D90? And therefore the D90 sounds more “polite” and real to your ears.

D90 has my vote for sure. Detail clarity at its best!

Could you update the link to download the recordings? Thanks a lot!

track 3.00 to 3.30 can high the different. gustard voicing is nice, natural, more dynamic and airy. but for bass slam D90 has more mid bass slam. i prefer a22 hearing it here now. But i were to buy, i will go for the gustard x26 pro, because for me bass transient is very impotant for me. that mid bass strong slam and fast retrieving is too hard to ignore.

gustard sounded more subtle but topping is more dynamic

D90 (AK44999) DAC Chip AKM.

bluesound node 2i vs topping d90 which one is the best plz?

topping tops it based on the limited music selection...better dynamics and definition

Both dacs are great in its own way, Can I have the song link,Sir?

I really want to like the topping d90 more also since it is a mqa unfolder but I have to be honest.. (at least for this recording) unfortunately I like the Gustard a22 much more.. it has more clarity, more detail. I feel the fingers plucking on the strings.. more depth and more space between the instruments. Also the vocals are more relax and have a better place in the mix... In one word: it just sounds more realistic based on this RU-vid video of course. The topping d90 has in this video more mid and is a little more boomy.. but I’m really curious how it sounds with some mqa files! Because honestly I would really like to buy the topping d90 but I can’t sell it to myself (as a musician) not buying the better sounding dac😆 really like some response and thoughts! Kind regards!

Please post music titles... Lovely comparison by the way. Subtle differences but the D90 is doing it for me.

Don't compromise Used metal speaker sand

A22 waaaay more open and spacious

Frankly speaking, a pair of good speakers can change the soundstage. DAC really has a minimum impact after certain levels.

New another video of this plzzz

Were these used In DAC mode or preamp mode? I’ve heard the Gustard pulls more ahead in preamp mode. I have ordered both to compare in MQA spec

i would prefer D90

gustard for 1st, d90 for second.

I like your review but I have a question how do you disable the internal Preamplifier on the a22 and only use it as a Dac ? For example the topping Inside the advance menu settings you literally have an option where you can disable to preamp and only use it as a dac put on this unit you don’t. I want to use my external Preamplifier but I don’t know how to disable to preamp on this a22 :( please help

Have you tried mdac plus

How can you watch TV so loud? Won't you get a stiff neck?

Nice comparison, although the difference here on Ytube is very small and difficult to hear. What I hear is the D90 slightly smoother and A22 has more micro-details on the edges. For me the A22 sounds more “real”. Which one does a more realistic soundstage mainly in depth??

The topping has less detail in the sound, my choice is gustard.

Which one have more treblle info, if someone want to open slightly warmish system in upper register which one would you recommend, thanks.

Gustard 22👍👍

the gustard sound like it has more z-axis / depth. topping sounds flatter and more compressed .

What do you use as source? Pc, streamer?

how much is your Topping D90?

Topping slightly more warm and have better bass definition with overall. The sound I would say is slightly a bit more laidback compared to the a22 The a22 sounds a little bit more thin less Bass a little bit more forward a little bit more colder sounding ! That's my opinion coming from a guy that already has the d90 but always looking to upgrade. Both sound good but to me but I like the topping d90 because I like that kind of sound the music / the d90 sound seems to hug you more and give you a more robust fuller dynamic sound more meat on the bone !

Friend tell me who has a better black background? Is the scene space more accurately drawn?

my Sony NW-A50 SERIES will sound much better in a reference hifi system (Tannoy AMS 8 A ). Sound stage has more depth when compared with Topping or Gustard...

Do you have the original non youtube compressed version you can upload somewhere?

This has nothing to do with the Gustard a22 but is just some info regarding the topping d90: I’ve compared the chord Hugo 2 with the topping d90(mqa version) side by side in my speaker system. And I have to be honest (at least with my system and ears) that the chord Hugo 2 has much more depth, a better soundstage and a more natural and realistic/organic sound overall. It also has more clarity and there is much more space between the instruments, the lower register is also more tight. Every time I switched back to the topping d90 it sounded a little more compressed and pushed and it was just more flat. As if there was a blanket over it. I also tested mqa files via tidal on the topping d90 and unfortunately that was a real disappointment too because playing the same mqa files and even non mqa files on the chord Hugo 2 sounded so much better! I’ve never expected this and I really wanted to be the right choice having the topping d90 but I can’t live with having that much of a better sound with the chord. Ps I borrowed the chord Hugo 2 from my brother. And I’m now in doubt to purchase the chord Hugo 2 since i need the pre amp function. Because the qutest has the same chip they say. These are just my findings! Because the topping d90 is an excellent product for the money! But if you put just a little more money for let say a chord Qutest together with a cheap passive pre amp you got so much more! And you really don’t have to care about mqa decoder yes or no because that wasn’t an improvement at all!

good job on this but these two DACs are indistinguishable

What make amplifier and these speakers are being recorded here ? Love that setup

Are you driving the power amp directly by the dacs themselves? Or are you using a separate pre-amp?

Similar, I'd go for the best price

El D90 es más amplio y aireado. para mi es el ganador!

So each dac was being used as a preamp? If so, really impressive. I was under the impression that nothing beats a dedicated preamp after any dac, but if no preamp here then I'm a new believer in a dac-to-amp combo. to your test, They're both very impressive. Clarity seems more refined in the A22, maybe even the stage. Depth and dynamics in the D90 are great. Either would be great after some time for one's ears to adjust. Love those speakers, btw!

Whats the name of both musical pieces?

Как по такой музыке можно что-то понять?

I'd call these practically identical, which means - impossible to discern any difference, through there may in fact be differences.

Hi.. did you connect D90 directly to power amp?

Gustard

@Sebastian Cruzze for your taste....what is better? D90 or Gustard?

topping

A22 more clarity and so musical. IMHO, in you tube I can hear the different with such condition like unknown the quality of microphone and mp3 quality. Wondering in real condition. I want to pair it with my 211SE tube amp and KEF R3 speaker system...... I had been many experiment with digital audio file, for me, the best sounding is 32/768KHz in AIFF files format, the sound signature will different night and day compare to the source 16 bit - 44,1KHz. More clarity, cleaner bass, very musical, more smoother in high. The vocal singer (sigh of lips, raspy voice, deep voice) will be presented clearly. I never heard clarity like that before... Trust your own ears

D90

All I can tell you is that your fancy speakers sound no better than my computer speakers!! :-D

Did you listened the rme adi 2? If you can compare can be happier 👯‍♀️

Interesting, are the sound levels equalized ?

this is unfair because the difference we hear is mainly about the preamp section but as a dac only the topping will be much closer to the Gustard if not better and much cheap in price.

hmm hard but it seems that d90 has more dynamics in some way. really hard to hear from youtube but my sennys 800 is liking your music ^^ tbh i dont think the gustard can match the dynamics and the d90 kind of puts u in a closer row as a audience

Suenan igual, el Gustard tiene el volumen un poco más alto.

Just played this again through an excellent system. The Topping is definitely better. More space and more modern sound. Gustard treble doesn't convince as much and sound is cloudier.

Unfortunately, both sound harsh to me. The Gustard is slightly less so and more textural, but still rather tiring to listen to.

Gustard A22 　WIN topping d90　は、刺激音が強くて魅力があるように聞こえるが、おそらく長時間で聴き疲れする。 Gustard A22　は、自然な音。

How are you able to seamlessly switch between them during playback without any hiccups or gaps? Honestly I am having trouble hearing any difference between the two through youtube and your speakers. Also since this is a DAC comparison, why not just record the RCA out from the DAC directly? Why bother introducing the added complexity of your system, room acoustical properties, and your speakers which I have never heard before. Those things make it almost impossible to really judge these DACs. If you were doing a side by side amp or speaker comparison then by all means do a live room recording. Also I would do a shorter clip and first show the D90 and then do the exact same clip again and show the Gustard. That way we are comparing the exact same music which would hopefully make it easier to hear the differences.

Which one is your favorite?

Shame gustard has such poor support. I am looking for a DAC to use in my DSD setup, and I had to drop gustard because the driver support. I wait for aune s8 to make u my mind between s8 and D90.

Gustard has faster attack and better dynamics than the A90. Lower treble on A90 sounds a bit constrained or slightly compressed....not quite as effortless as the Gustard.

A22 lacks a bit in edge which makes it more digital sounding. On the other hand is d90 always going to be sounding nervous. Digital is stupid format, as it is stuck only in one way of presentation from these DACs.

The Gustard has a drier and less airy sound than the Topping, in my opinion.

Well.. impossible to hear any difference on a youtube lossy stream, no? The author's impressions should be far more important than us listening at such a low quality source :-D

If you would explain sound chars in description will be much better than a video... But nice system though..