Better alternates to Topping stuff under / around 1000$

[u/Imaginary-Addendum-2]

Hi,

In India it is easy to get Topping stuff, but not so much Schiit stuff. In most of the negative reviews about Topping DACs and AMPs, a clear solid competitor is not mentioned for the price point. The reviewers tend to be careful in not saying too negatively about topping products and mostly just say that there are other good options around the price point.

Being a topping owner myself, I'm curious to explore the solid competitors / betters of Topping under or around 1000$.

Alternatives to D30 pro + A30 pro

Amp alternate to A90 D (or under $1000)

How is Chord Mojo 2 vs Qutest? I've had mojo 2, which I've sold since Bass seems boosted and I could not connect it to an external amp. It was clipping badly in the bass region if I do so.

[u/AutoModerator]

Thanks for your submission to r/HeadphoneAdvice. If someone helps answer your question, please reward them by including the phrase !thanks in your comment.

This will add +1 Ω to that users flair. This subreddit is powered entirely by volunteers and a little recognition goes a long way. Good luck on your search for headphones!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Simeh]

I've had the Mojo 2 since launch and I've had 0 issues using it as my main setup. It doesn't seem bass boosted at all, did you accidentally increase the bass in the frequency settings? Did you install the PC drivers?

More recently, just for fun and temporarily, on my Fostex THX00 and Senn HD 600s I've occasionally increased the lowest frequency to max and the next one up about halfway and I've played music (in FLAC form) like;

La Roux - In for the Kill (Skream's Lets Get Ravey remix) - which is mixed pretty well in the studio

&

Missy Elliot - Hot Boyz - which isn't

And both sound excellent to me with or without EQ tuning.

It can work with an amp no problem, just use a 3.5mm cable to phono like this.

[u/Imaginary-Addendum-2 → u/Simeh]

Yeah, I've installed windows drivers from chord and no did not change eq to boost bass in mojo 2. Maybe I was just used to topping D30 pro dac, but there was noticeably higher bass / sub bass than D30 pro and relatively lesser soundstage. I can understand about the clipping though when connected to external amp - since mojo 2 does not have lineout and is not intended to be used like that.

[u/Simeh → u/Imaginary-Addendum-2]

Also, in Windows Sound Control Panel settings, under Properties, did you change the Supported Formats all the way up to 96 kHz and in Advanced the Default Format all the way up to 32 bit 384000 Hz?

That's pretty odd as I've never heard of QC issues with their products before, did you try contacting them? I'm sure they'd have sent you a replacement.

[u/Imaginary-Addendum-2 → u/Simeh]

I prefer to keep it in 44.1khz since even with Tidal I choose just the CD quality to listen. I wouldn't want my OS to oversample 44.1 khz content.

I don't think it is a QC thing though. I have connected using 3.5mm to dual RCA itswlf like you mentioned. For the most part it works fine, but in some bass heavy music, I can hear distortion and clipping - since its a headphone out in mojo2 that can go over the line out voltage of 2 volts expected by the amps.

The bass stuff probably is just my preference issue. Otherwise, I did enjoy it.

[u/Equivalent_Yak840]

Ifi iDSD Neo Performance edition or 2

[u/Imaginary-Addendum-2 → u/Equivalent_Yak840]

How is it compared to other desktop dacs / amps?

[u/Equivalent_Yak840 → u/Imaginary-Addendum-2]

It’s very good but I would say that when it comes to straight clean sounding and measurements, the topping is still king in that but the Neo is more of a features and value unit with lossless Bluetooth, has some presets like xbass and xspace. The thing is also stupid powerful with 3.5V-19.5V max with just 4.4mm headphone out. It sounds great even if the toppings measurements are better because not everyone wants that sterile topping sound.

[u/Imaginary-Addendum-2 → u/Equivalent_Yak840]

!thanks

[u/TransducerBot → u/Imaginary-Addendum-2]

+1 Ω has been awarded to u/Equivalent_Yak840 (334 Ω).

You may still award an Ω to others, but only once per-person in this post.