Topping E70 Velvet (AKM version) reviewed and compared 

Glad you like them!

I am beginning to agree with you ED.

@@misterweb111 They've got to sell us all these slightly different dacs first. The audio industry is a con market!

That’s actually pretty funny, but actually hits close to home. I have a few different DAC implementations between $150-$500, and I could make them all sound the same with minor tweaks. Spending more in this range mostly relates to added features. When we want sonic optimization to the nth degree, we tend to get a bit crazy; and as the reviewer also pointed out, the differences are very subtle, and careful attention needs to be paid, and a resolving system is a must. Some people can’t even hear any difference, with others it’s really only subtle, but they may exaggerate the effect bc they want it or don’t; whether they’re not that critical or not, don’t have the same ears, or quality of their electronics and speakers, or just plain crazy, the observations are real to the listener. For example, if your hearing is good, you are truly objective, and you have a system capable of identifying the subtle differences, you will find that say a Topping E50 will exhibit sonic differences under critical listening with various program material depending on which filters you select, f1, f2, or f3, and which power supply, ie. a clean linear one vs. a cheap noisy switcher, but it’s subtle. And for those that can tell the difference, some will prefer the linear supply with f2, while others will prefer the switcher supply with f1. (Choosing those 2 scenarios only bc they are at both ends of the spectrum from warm and diffused to razor sharp and detailed). I don’t feel that anyone should be spending thousands of dollars on DACs. If you can’t get the sound you want with all the features you want out of any system for less than $1000, then there’s something seriously wrong.

@@shipsahoy1793 what we really need is not more DACs to split hairs with or filters that do very little but a parametric EQ that anyone can make their dacs sound as they want. Please!

@@eddiebaby22 I use EQ as necessary. It’s the purist lunatic fringe that doesn’t believe in signal processing beyond what “they” determine as necessary. I was trying to avoid being insulting.. silly humans, silly human race… basically on a sailing ship to nowhere lol

It always make me happy when someone likes the music. 🎶Cheers! 🍻

Thanks for that and hope you'll enjoy it.

@@iiWiReviews Stupid good DAC! Thanks again!

Is this DAC better or the geshelli labs J2 better in sq

@@gary2556 IMO it's better than the J2 AKM, but not better than the J2 ESS.

​@@decoryder Better than J2 with sparkos labs opamp?

top end for me was US$2.73M. I had to tear down my house and rebuild because of the thickness of the drywall affected the jitter of my USB circuit. LOL

ok I just asked.... hahah... but I have atched at least 30 of your videos :D Does that count ;)

ESp all the different versions of the D400 hopefully plus SU-10

Welcome!

Sound altering "filters" on a DAC? Is this happening in the digital or analog section of the DAC? Either way, were you looking for an invariable tone control? I don't understand filters on a DAC. In what way is the signal changed?

I have tested it with balanced connection since I have that option and it does sound better if preamp is balanced design too.

@TriAmp HiFi Digital filters are used in every oversampling DAC chip, those are not tone controls but necessary part of digital signal processing. Several methods can be chosen, each with their small influence on frequency response and impulse response. Some manufacturers choose this for you and don't let you change it... Some open that setting to the end user.

@@iiWiReviews "Several" there is not. Few, there are. PCM and their rates & DSD. There are no others.🔈🔉🔊 I guess you don't call tubes tone controls either.

Fast roll-off, slow roll-off, linear or minimum phase variations, apodizing, brickwall, etc. Just google "PCM filters" and read a bit about it. 😉

Dont matter, implementation is key and that is what consumers are paying for.

@@AbsoluteFidelity Aaaa....true...but he states that the chip is the only difference. "Everything is supposed to be the same". And knowing Topping, the actual soldered chip is the only difference.

@@CraciunAlexandruGh if that is the case, IF, then it really boils down to how the 'implementation' will gel with the new chip. I doubt Topping wouldnt optimize for a new chip though, they have great engineers workin for them.

To answer My own question. just got the E70 velvet. Definitely sounds much more dynamic and forceful compared to the original mojo which I have. Excellent bass both in quantity and quality. Tonality is full bodied and lush as well and it does not cause listening fatigue. Highly recommend at this price point. I have the smsl D300 as well. Very smooth and analog sound yet highly detailed. Can listen to it for hours and at high volumes withourt any listening fatigue. On a side note differences in dacs can only be heard on extremely transparent and neutral hi fi stereo setup. Differences might be far lesser on headphones.

@@agnelroshandsilva3929 Hi, I was looking for a smooth sounding dac under 500€, which dac do you prefer while listening to a wide variety of music between the E70V and D300? Do you feel like one is less fatiguing than the other or are the differences more in terms of dynamics/timbre/soundstaging.. ? Thank you very much in advance for your insights!

@@alebt17 both the E70 Velvet and the Smsl D300 are extremely great performing Dacs while also being non fatiguing. Tonality wise the smsl D300 is slightly more crisp and sharp and would go well with a slightly thick and dynamic sounding speaker setup. E70 Velvet on the other hand has a more full bodied and bolder sound with excellent detail and dynamics and would do well in a neutral and slightly crisp sounding speaker setup. It would all boil down to the best synergy in Your system. Choose accordingly. If Your existing hi fi setup is neutral and slightly crisp sounding then go with E70 Velvet. Smsl D300 would be second choice here. If your existing hi fi setup sounds thick and bass heavy then go with the smsl D300 and avoid the E70 Velvet in this case as it would sound too bloated.

@@agnelroshandsilva3929 I see, thank you very much, that was extremely heplful! I guess I will go with the E70V then since I'd rather have I slightly bolder and more full bodied one and I also prefer the build quality from what I've seen! Thank you again!

@@alebt17 that's great. Please do update on your experience once you get the E70 Velvet.

I have both - I'd say the D300 sounds more 'analog', while the E70V has better dynamic slam, and much better imaging and soundstaging. Both these DACs sound very natural and realistic, with the D300 being somewhat more realistic than the E70V. In any other way, the E70V sounds better IMO. They're both outstanding DACs, and you can't go wrong with either.

Agreed with DecoRyder's description. I can just add that I prefer E70V. For all of its qualities, D300 was always a bit dynamically restrained for my taste. Very smooth but lacks drive. No such problems with E70V

@@decoryder @iiWiReviews I see, thank you both very much for your insights! I currently possess a Topping E50 with an Allo Shanti linear power supply and a Singxer SA-1 headphone amp, I will write down my impressions after I pull the trigger on one of these DACs then!

@@iiWiReviews Going to share my (unluckily) brief experience with the E70V. I listen with headphones and use a Singxer SA-1, so this applies to my chain of course. Immediately after receiving it and turning it on I tested the dac to try and see if I liked the overall character. Overall I did not like it paired with my Singxer SA-1, granted I did not give it any time to observe any break-in effect, but it sounded kinda artificial to me, the way it popped specific detail in the highs/upper mids. The sound presentation sounded to me like it was not uniform, and that part of the frequency response was constantly popping out and bothering me, not with fatigue, but with its tone/dryness compared to the rest of the spectrum, as if the dac was editorialising the sound presentation too much. I know it sounds weird compared to what others probably have said, but this was my experience at least. Bass/impact sounded good but was not enough of a difference compared to what I already have, at least in my chain. Could it have changed with burn in? I don't know, but I usually do not expect very drastic changes in dacs, especially when it comes to the overall presentation, but I might be wrong. In comparison, my Topping E50 (with Allo Shanti power supply) while slightly more analytical/fatiguing sounds pretty uniform in its presentation, as in nothing odd or unexpected pops out. Could it have changed radically after some hours of playback? Anyways, I want to try the Topping E70 or SMSL D300 next, we'll see how it turns out.

Interesting info -- does this also apply to the pre-fire AKM chips? I have a D90 and I use HQPlayer. It sounds amazing.

@@alexgregory1887 I’m not sure about all pre-fire chips but my old 4497 unit doesn’t seem to give me the option whereas my new 4493S unit does. That could just be a function of each DAC’s firmware and not the chip itself. I really like the default SDM settings in HQPlayer. I also like the defaults for PCM but there is an added bit of magic on the DSD256 defaults. Although, they do place a heavy load on my M1 Mac.

Interesting. I'm going to look into HQPlayer with my new E70V

How to use that sigma delta bypass feature? It that just by upsampling to dsd?

Yes, at this price level basically nobody pays much attention to the volume attenuation section. When used it lowers dynamics and overall liveliness of the sound compared to any good preamp. That's why I don't test that part, no sense in doing it and making the same conclusion every time.

It matters what gear you are currently running. If you are using the new martin logan motion xt speakers, transparent and dynamic would be better than warm and smooth. On my end, I have Focal Aria and I definitely prefer the warmer sound because the flax woofers are super clear and accurate but don't have low extension, so I need something warmer with stronger low end.

@@ArthaxtaDaVince777 Exactly. And what kind of sound you are searching for. I'm not a particularly 'neutral' fan. I prefer the sound I used to get from lp's back in the day, musical and fun. Even when listening to classical music, the big dynamic swings.

@@stephenbailey9969 "the big dynamic swings." Well, that's down to how well the CDs, files etc are mastered. Vinyl loses some information in the bottom regions as well as high up..

@@Hirnlego999 Yes. Power supply, speakers/headphones response, amp output stage. A lot of factors. That's why synergy of all the elements is so important for achieving the sound one is looking for.

@@stephenbailey9969 I would agree with preferring musical and smooth sound over transparent and analytical. If you are in the high end market, then you pretty much get about as analytical as you would ever need, so might as well have a musical sound profile to go along with it. You might get a tiny bit less detail, but in my opinion, at that level it's barely noticeable, I would much rather play any album I want, be it a good recording or bad, and still beat great sound. As opposed to a completely transparent setup that sounds thin when playing worse recordings.

Nobody uses a dac as a preamp, get a separate preamp

Both are similarly good, SMSL by default maybe a bit better, might be because of very high output voltage. I didn't test E70 in a higher voltage mode as a preamp... But it would most likely sound better than the default lower voltage one. I honestly don't test that part extensively (or at all sometimes) because these DACs don't have good volume attenuation. They sound flat and without dynamics if no true preamp is used.

good enough for 75% system and typical usages, esp if its not audio focusing, such as while gaming etc

E70 velvet is mostly neutral sounding with just slight hint of warmth. The thing is that older Topping DACs were actually bright and analytical sounding and this one is not and it might feel like a warm sounding DAC in comparison to them... But in general it is mostly neutral. Your amplifier and speakers will set the tonality more than the DAC itself... So no need for any particular balancing act for the DAC itself in my opinion. PA7 plus is coming.

@@iiWiReviews Okey. Looking forward to your upcoming PA7 PLUS video. Is the KEF LS50META still with you? Wonder if they all will match... Cheers

Interesting... Both of my units came with No. 2 active.

@@iiWiReviews My unit arrived with No. 3 active as the default.

Sound altering "filters" on a DAC? Is this happening in the digital or analog section of the DAC? Either way, were you looking for an invariable tone control? I don't understand filters on a DAC. In what way is the signal changed?

@@TriAmpHiFi filters are baked into the DAC chip. You always use one. They don't colour sound. They are the last step of converting digital to analogue so they are necessary. They smooth the discrete digital values into a continuous analogue curve. There is a difference in how this can be done. Rather than choosing one way, there are a number option so the user can set the DAC to personal preference.

@@D1N02 There is PCM with various sampling rates & DSD. That's it for baked in types of conversion. Everything else in those boxes is execution. Filters are an optional choice given from the designer to consumer & they get further and further away from their primary function. LQQK at all those discrete boards inside $5K dacs. There's a whole lot more than input, processing. output. I'm willing to bet many contain noise gates & subtle dynamic range expansion. Some DACs, have "jazz club", "hall", "auditorium", "rock" etc. as optional filters. That's more than a DAC. Maybe this model only dips a toe but the temperature isn't fine. The reason I comment is because it is more difficult than it should be for an audio enthusiast to get to the core of how the signal chain needs to be handled, to be good. For example, never have any part of a signal chain be wireless, ever. Always use balanced connections, never RCA. Never mix digital & analog like a preamp with a built-in dac. And an electric bass guitar gets down to 32Hz. This is efficient use of money. Nothing superfluous, nothing extra & nothing lost. Long live Funk Reggae & Brass. 🔈🔉🔊.

You mean they EQ and add distortion!!!

@@takeiteasy6154 possibly but if it sounds good then who cares

Given that cables are of the same quality, XLR should sound a little bit better (slightly cleaner and more lively). Also, if you by any chance have some kind of EMI interference near that cable, balanced connection is less affected by it.

@@iiWiReviews Thx, fast as usual :) well, I ordered an XLR cable, made with the eternal Mogami 2549, for me it should be enough, if we consider that I listen in desktop regime, with speakers on either side of the monitor. All the bests for you.

Most integrated amps have very, very, modest headphone sections. I remember testing it on my Cyrus and Hegel... And even a low budget $150 dedictated HP amp walked all over them. Lately, I didn't even check it on Rega Brio and Atoll IN100. I maybe should but I got the impression that most integrated just put a very simple HP out just to be there...but not much tought is put into it.

@@iiWiReviews ah thank you for the reply. I figured that was the case. I tried out my father's marantz 40n HP out and it was disappointingly unremarkable. Although I hoped there was at least one company who cared about it 😂

E30 II... If you're even considering Topping this time. 😅

@@iiWiReviews i was affraid you would say that

@@iiWiReviewsWhat happened to the E50 which is now $199 ?

What is your power supply for your topping e30?

@@Mladenac Anker power bank

I haven't tested that Node yet so can't really tell you. But I will sometimes during this or next month.

@@iiWiReviewsI look forward to watching your Node review and your opinions on the sound quality. The sound quality was discernible in MQA but have found the light indicator to be unreliable. Thank goodness for our ears! (^_-)

@@iiWiReviews Bought the Topping E70 velvet today and I'm about an hour into listening to the new setup. Greater clarity and detail plus better instrument separation to my ears were immediately apparent. I have my setup on Surround Sound so the stage is 3D already but more so now. Really enjoying Smooth Jazz by Smooth Jazz from Tidal.

Very well. From those you mentioned I had Tradutto. Both SU-9 pro and E70 velvet might even be a hair better DACs. Haven't tried Mojo 2, it's expensive here, in the same league with SU-10 that would for sure put a very good fight (and I personally expect it would better Mojo 2 given it's a bit better than Qutest to my ears).

I’m in the exact same boat. Have you heard much about the A70 Pro’s reliability? I’m learning towards the A70 Pro because I’ve heard that Topping’s Pre 90 preamp can improve the sound quality; not sure how true that is.

I have the Geshelli J2 AKM, and as soon as I receive the E70V I'll be comparing the two:)

Just got the E70V and no - not even close, it's much, much better than the J2 AKM. Not sure if it's a fair comparison though, since the e70V costs almost twice of what the J2 costs. The J2 sounds flat and 'metallic' compared to the E70V - I could go on and on, but like I said - I don't think it's a fair comparison. IMO the E70V is the best DAC Topping's ever made and prolly will set the 'new' standard for sub-500 dollar performance.

@@decoryder Upgrading the J@ AKM with a linear power supply is a vast improvement. And cost $75-120 or so depending on the power supply you choose. I am using a dual voltage/dual output LPS that is powering the J2 and my Node 2i and this has an even great improvement.

@@NeilBlanchard I use high quality linear power supplies for both my J2 ESS and J2 AKM DACs. I never ran them with the stock wall-wart, so I honestly couldn't comment on any improvements with or without the LPS, but I do agree that in my experience they tend to have a beneficial effect. Even with the LPS though, the J2 is simply not in the same league with the E70V, and given the price differential, that's to be expected.

@@decoryder Okay, that's good to hear. I do think though, that price is not always a precise indicator of anything about sound quality. I have an Ares II and a Bifrost 2/64 and in my system, I strongly prefer the J2 AKM with a linear power supply. I have not ever used a J2 ESS, so I can't comment. I will be updating the firmware on the Ares II (I am pretty sure I have the upgradable FPGA chip in mine), and I will be comparing it again to the J2 AKM. One area that was weaker in the Ares II vs the J2 AKM is the bass quality and control. So having different DSP filtering before the DAC, could quite possible improve the Ares II, in this or other aspects. Like Geshelli has done, I would think that having a choice for filtering at all, or certainly having for than 3 options (like so many DACs have 6-9+ different "flavors" and filters - that it just doesn't help. The designer should do what they think is best - and then the buyer can choose based on this.

If you're thinking about D300... I would suggest that both E70 velvet and SU9 pro are simply better. If the rest of the system is resolving, both should be a considerable upgrade to Zen DAC.

@@iiWiReviews What would be your Top 3 DACS under $500 and Top 3 DACS under $900? I own two systems here. I use the IFI ZEn DAC on one and the D300 on the other. The one in the living room consists of a Cambridge 851A + KEF R700 and the smallest in the bedroom with a Rotel A11 Tribute + B&W707S2. The D300 is sounding pretty aggressive. Not very good for not so good recordings. The ZEN DAC is better on these songs. I'm thinking of testing this E70 Velvet instead of the D300 to see if it's smoother, more refined and musical. What do you say! Would it be smoother, refined, less glarey, and more forgiving of all kinds of music than the D300?

Most of the times - yes. But you can always find a case of a great AKM/Sabre DAC that is better than the avarage R2R. For example, E70 (both Sabre and AKM) is better than Cayin RU6.

@@iiWiReviews I think sometime in the future you can do DAC's (and other audio gear) Tier list video, most of us love this type of videos. Have a nice weekend.

@@iiWiReviews how about e70 velvet vs ares 2 vs d30 pro ?

Tradutto is darker and punchier. E70 velvet is smoother and airier. They are in the same tier but I would give an edge to E70 velvet.

I also have the smsl d300, and looking to replace it with e70 (non velvet). How is the e70 velvet compared to the d300 in terms of overall sound quality?

@@fatboyvin if you already have the smell d300 then avoid the e70 non velvet. The tonality will be very similar and you would not have much of a differentiation. The e70 velvet is much more bolder and fuller sounding in tonality and would give You a different sound than the smsl D300. Both the smsl D300 and the e70 velvet have non fatiguing high frequency. As always synergy between the rest of your components is also very important. Read My previous post here. Also wouldn't encourage you to replace the smsl D300 with the e70 non velvet as the smsl D300 sound quality is far superior.

@@agnelroshandsilva3929 thanks for your input, much appreciated sir

It should be, but can't say for sure since all my PCs are on W10.

No, E70 velvet has AC inlet and internal power supply.

@@iiWiReviews thanks ✌

yes

It would depend on the amp and their matching. For example, Rega Brio would probably go nice with LS50 and E70 velvet. On the other hand, something brighter like Atoll IN100 amp would probably work better with regular E70.

@@iiWiReviews Are you looking to do a review of the Sanskrit 10th MK3 btw?

@@iiWiReviews Just watched your Brio review, and my LS50'S are in fact pretty close to the wall, mounted quite high. So.. perhaps a bit brighter amp? Still E70V?

I’m likewise very curious about how it compares to the E50 as that’s the DAC that I currently have.

​@@handcoding Just maybe if your using your E50 with just headphones there is little difference compared to a speaker setup.

@@handcoding Hi Ashley, come to me, You will check AKM CHIP Yourself ;-))))).

I’m new to this audio stuff, and don’t know what to think. On the one hand a bunch of people say that nowadays all DACs sound the same, and spending more that $100 on one is absurd. Then on the other hand there are a bunch of people (who seem reasonable and intelligent) discussing the differences between different DACs. I don’t know who to believe.

Yes... but I appreciate iiWi efforts and time

You're a lot of talk but with no substance.

You need more experience and education on this topic before being that sure and that rude about it. But if this is what you want to be on the Internet....do yourself.