those look like typical issues with the first version of ~any product. Hopefully, most can be fixed via firmware updates.I have recently purchased both D90SE and A90 Discrete and I've never owned a Chinese DAC or amp before. And here's what I have to say. These companies: SMSL and Topping and probably others as well are popping out new products at a mind blowing rate and those devices measure well and get great reviews but the ones I purchased while being a few steps ahead of my older devices in some of the aspects are a couple of steps behind too. And I would much rather like to see the Chinese companies work on building customer trust by continuously improving weak areas versus trying to optimize already industry-leading measurements.
Here are a few examples:
- The remote controls on my both units are the worst in terms of the reception angle I've had in years.
- The screen on D90SE is worse than the one on my 10 year old Audiolab MDAC. How expensive might those two extra inches of the monochrome screen be I wonder?
- If I restart D90SE with the speakers connected I get a really nasty but luckily short crackling through the speakers, that doesn't sound healthy to me. Don't have anything like that with much older and cheaper MDAC and DacMagic Plus
- I can plug and unplug headphones in both MDAC and DacMagic Plus without any pops or crackles or any kind of functional interruptions - not so much with A90 Discrete.
- When I turned on the HPA mode on my A90 Discrete - after 10 seconds the right ear on my HD800 went dead silent. I had to turn off the device and re-connect the headphones and then it worked fine. Hopefully this was the last time I've had this problem (knock on wood). Never in 10 years my MDAC or DacMagic plus have exhibited such behavior.
- Every time I start or stop a track on D90se there's a slight short crackling through the speakers. Don't have that on my other older DACs.
You may think this all is unimportant and that the advanced technical designs trump it all, but I think when responsible manufacturers build new devices they should not ignore the achievements of the last decades and just chase better measurements. Everything is important.
There is nothing Chinese or Topping-specific about such issues, almost any v1 product comes with similar headaches. The good old saying still applies to everyone & everything: never buy v1 of anything.
OTOH, a big thank you for buying & testing it, that is very helpful for all of us!
P.S.
Might be a good idea to send that kind of feedback to @JohnYang1997 or @TOPPING-Service. Or probably even better, use their website https://www.topping.audio/contact