June 14, 2021Audio Product Reviews

TOPPING D90LE vs D90SE vs D90 Comparison Chart

HiFi audio is an industry known for constant innovation, and the same is true of TOPPING, one of the most popular manufacturers of DACs and amps. They've iterated their flagship D90 DAC three times to date. While everyone loves an upgrade, consumers can get overwhelmed by the number of available models.

How to Choose

Choosing between these models is actually pretty simple. The D90 is no longer available, and so your choices are narrowed down to only two options: the D90SE or the D90LE. Between these two, there's actually only one difference: the D90SE features MQA; the D90LE does not. The models are otherwise identical.

MQA, or Master Quality Authenticated, is a lossy audio compression format popularized by TIDAL. Unlike other formats, it is a proprietary system and requires a licensing fee to implement. This explains the ~$80 price difference between the models.

And that's it! We've included a comparison chart below to highlight the differences between the models, but to be honest the choice is pretty simple: to MQA or not to MQA?

 

TOPPING D90 DAC

TOPPING D90SE DAC

 TOPPING D90LE DAC

Price

$749.99 USD (Standard)

$849.99 USD (MQA)

$899

 $719.10

Dimensions

8.74 x 6.3 x 1.77"

4.5 x 22.2 x 16 (cm)

8.7 x 6.2 x 1.7"

22.2 x 16 x 4.5cm

8.7 x 6.2 x 1.7"

22.2 x 16 x 4.5cm

Weight

6.6 (lbs)

2.9 (kg)

6.6lbs

2.9kg

6.6lbs

2.9kg

D/A Chip

AKM AK4499EQ

ESS SABRE ES9038PRO

 ESS SABRE ES9038PRO

Inputs
  • USB
  • IIS LVDS (HDMI)
  • Optical
  • Coaxial SPDIF
  • AES/EBU
  • Bluetooth
  • USB
  • IIS
  • Optical
  • Coaxial
  • AES
  • Bluetooth
  • USB
  • IIS
  • Optical
  • Coaxial
  • AES
  • Bluetooth

Outputs
  • Balanced XLR
  • Single Ended RCA
  • Balanced XLR
  • Single Ended RCA
  • Balanced XLR
  • Single Ended RCA

Bluetooth
  • aptX HD
  • LDAC
  • 5.0
  • AAC
  • SBC
  • APTX
  • APTX LL
  • APTX HD
  • LDAC
  • 5.0
  • AAC
  • SBC
  • APTX
  • APTX LL
  • APTX HD
  • LDAC
  • 5.0

USB Interface
  • XMOS XU208 (Standard)
  • XMOS XU216 (MQA)
  • XMOS XU216
 XMOS XU216

Sampling Rates

USB: PCM up to 32bit,768kHz / Native DSD up to DSD512 / DSD DoP up to DSD256


IIS: PCM up to 32bit,768kHz / DSD up to DSD512


Coaxial, Optical, AES: PCM up to 24bit 192kHz

USB: PCM up to 32bit,768kHz / Native DSD up to DSD512 / DSD DoP up to DSD256


IIS: PCM up to 32bit,768kHz / DSD up to DSD1024


Coaxial, Optical, AES: PCM up to 24bit 192kHz, DSD (DOP) DSD64

USB: PCM up to 32bit,768kHz / Native DSD up to DSD512 / DSD DoP up to DSD256


IIS: PCM up to 32bit,768kHz / DSD up to DSD1024


Coaxial, Optical, AES: PCM up to 24bit 192kHz, DSD (DOP) DSD64

Dynamic Range

 128 dB @1kHz 134dB @1kHz 134dB @1kHz

THD+N

 <0.00015% <0.00005% <0.00005%

SNR

 127dB @1kHz 134dB @1kHz 134dB @1kHz

Crosstalk

 -141dB @1kHz -139dB @1kHz -139dB @1kHz
MQA Yes Yes No