June 14, 2021

D90SE vs D70s vs M400: TOPPING & SMSL DAC Comparison

The D90SE is here, and as soon as the confetti clears we can get on with the fun part: ruthless comparison. Time to throw it in the ring with the SMSL M400 and TOPPING D70s DAC to see how it stacks up!

TOPPING D90SE DAC

SMSL M400 DAC

TOPPING D70s DAC

Price

$899

$859

$649.99

Dimensions

8.7 x 6.2 x 1.7"

22.2 x 16 x 4.5cm

8.46 x 1.7 x 8.66 (in)

21.5 x 4.3 x 22 (cm)

9.8 x 7.6 x 1.9 (in)

25 x 19.5 x 5 (cm)

Weight

6.6 (lbs)

2.9 (kg)

3.4 (lbs)

1.5 (kg)

4.1 (lbs)

1.9 (kg)

D/A Chip

ESS SABRE ES9038PRO

AKM AK4499

AKM AK4497 (2x)

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

MQA

Yes

Yes

Yes

Outputs
  • Balanced XLR
  • Single Ended RCA
  • Single-ended RCA
  • Balanced XLR
  • Balanced XLR
  • Single Ended RCA

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

USB Interface

XMOS XU216

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 DSD1024


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

USB: PCM up to 44.1bit 768kHz /

DSD 2.8224 to 22.5792MHz

 

IIS: PCM up to 44.1bit 768kHz /

DSD 2.8224 to 22.5792MHz

 

Coaxial, Optical, AES: PCM up to 44.1bit 192kHz

 

USB: 44.1 kHz – 768 kHz / 16 Bit – 32 Bit; DSD64–DSD51(Native); DSD64–DSD256 (Dop); MQA: 44.1kHz-384kHz/16bit-32bit 


IIS: PCM up to 44.1kHz-768kHz/16bit-32bit and DSD: DSD64-DSD512 (native)


Coaxial, Optical, AES: 44.1kHz–192 kHz/16 Bit–32 Bit

Dynamic Range

134 dB

131dB

127dB

THD+N

<0.00005%

<0.000058%

0.0001%

SNR

134dB @1kHz

131dB @1kHz

127dB @1kHz