I am sure that the manufacturer prohibits this ;) I owned the Cyan 2 in the past and have several month of experience with the Cyan 2 and I know why there is no comparism in the reviews ;) The Centaurus sounds more less the same, but offers much more features in a smaller shell for 75% of the price ;)
@Terr0rSandmann-p3y i have a Cyan 2 now in a secondary computer setup. Was deciding between the cyan 2 and centaurus. I'd like to think that the Cyan's linear power supply and usb galvanic isolation have some edge over Topping's switching mode power supply and lack of usb galvanic isolation, but who knows... still waiting for some direct comparisons..
I'm running in a Centaurus now after selling my Cyan 2. Initial impression is interesting. I agree with @soundnews Sadhu that the most distinctive difference is the midrange. Don't get me wrong here. Cyan 2 is awesome is every aspect and I can vividly remember how much I love the sound and the music it played out. Yet, the Centaurus at its price point seems to offer something DIFFERENT (not better - which is always subjective). Only 48 hours of burn-in, so I can only report after it reaches 100, 200 then 300 hours later!
Hi Liam, it would be nice to have them permanently on loan, but that's not the case. I still need to buy the unit I like most at the end of the day and send the rest back home.
One thing I do not understand is why these higher end DACs use USB B. I have searched high and low for an answer. But only conflicting opinions. Very good review by the way. All the best!
Very simple: 1) All if not most HiFi grade USB cables come with a USB type B connection and 2) All if not most DACs have a USB type B connection and therefore I presume that my next DAC will offer me exactly the same USB type B connection. 3) A higher surface area equals a lower impedance/resistance, therefore a purer/better signal transmission.
Sure thing. Centaurus is more technical (resolving, faster, and a tad more 3D sounding), while EF500 is even sweeter sounding, slightly boosting the low-end and midrange and let's not forget that EF500 still offers a great headphone amplifier section.
Hi Sandu, thanks for the review. When you say the sound is bigger on a DAC, does it also apply to a headphone system or it could only be perceived through speaks?
Hey Manuel. I'm like the third or the fourth one I believe. I wasn't keen to be the first to deliver a Centaurus DAC review. However, I made sure to deliver a more in-depth review versus the others (more sound impressions and more comparisons).
The obvious comparison I want to see, is between this and the cyan 2 The scuttlebutt I heard is that the "collaboration" merely involved Topping buying the ladder resistor boards from Holo, and nothing more. I already have the cyan and love it, but I'm insanely curious to know how Topping's impl with the same ladders changes the result.
That's perhaps the reason I'm selling the Cyan 2 for the Centaurus... Risky business! 😂 However, some Chinese reviews I've read mentioned that the Centaurus will only sound BETTER (subjective again) when you use upsampling eg. HQPlayer which I am currently implementing. Otherwise, the Centaurus is quite ORDINARY (subjective again) sounding.
Some of the reviews I've read about the Cyan2 from Holo Audio, it's supposed to be close to the Spring 3 and for $200 more that seems like the better deal than the Centaurus.
I have the Cyan 2 and it’s my keeper DAC after trying 10 under $2K US, including a Topping, the D90 III black model shown. It’s just a DAC, no screen etc. it’s really designed to be used with just one input. It’s difficult to switch between inputs so it’s not a good fit for those wanting to switch between inputs, say a streamer and a CD player. If you’re okay with that it sounds excellent, again the best I’ve heard. I Stream into it with an Innuos Zen Mk3 streamer which has a built in CD ripper and 1TB storage so one input works for me. I stream with Qobuz with a mix of hi-res and regular songs mostly rock and it sounds detailed without being harsh, analytical or sibilant. Highly recommended.
Thanks. Great review. This comforts me even more I made the right choice ordering the D90III Discrete as the Gustard is little over my budget and too big to fit my setup.
Well done, great review as always. I'm in a dilemma and I need advice. I'm looking for a DAC and I'm most in favor of the topping centaurus, but in a hi-fi store I saw a topping d90 mqa, a demo unit for 450€ with invoice and warranty. Is it worth paying twice as much for a centaurus? I've never had anything from topping so I don't know how big the sonic difference is between these two dacs🤔.
Why not do a D90MQA vs Centaurus comparison in the store or maybe back at home? It's difficult to tell exactly how much of a difference there would be without knowing the rest of your system and your overall experience with HiFi gear. If you are just starting, then get the D90MQA at a much lower price, but if you crave sweetness, for a nice tonal balance, then Centaurus plays in a higher league.
I own a 12 years old Burson Audio HA-160D and it has all the qualities you describe on modern dacs except depth and 3D sound (i mean: I get 3D sound only after three hours and not always). Do you think one of these three dacs could be a real upgrade of the old Burson?
I had the next gen of burson, a conductor with burr brown chips and the d90 discrete sounds much better especially if you run it with a tube headphone amp or a tube stereo preamp
Would you believe me if I told you that my first written review for a local website was for the HA-160D that I later purchased? Long story short: the amplifiers didn't evolve as much as DACs have. There would be a big upgrade picking up a newer and higher performing DAC.
Oh, Topping, I think I heard about them, DO THEY MAKE DACS TOO? Very SMSL-ish look if you know what I mean. I was expecting Topping to also join the R2R fashion, so predictable. Good idea too since most Topping releases sound cold, bright and very analytical.
@nc3419 R2R dacs are so poorly designed you can definitely hear a difference if that is what you are looking for. R2Rs have terrible mid range distortion. Something a $100 sigma delta avoids.
@@AG-bp3ll Although looking at all options, I still like my D70s but am probably leaning towards a Geshelli if/when I need another. Still, there are good options with the d90III and some SMSL units. Probably wouldn't go for R2R myself with the other options available. While I like a more smooth presentation, I do like the definition and other attributes a well designed chip dac can provide.
As someone new to R2R would you recommend this Dac or something like the Pontus-2 or Pegasus 2? I’m actively looking for a R2R so any help is appreciated.
As you can imagine, there is always some bias and personal preference, so take this with a grain of salt, but at those prices, I would choose the Gustard R26. It has more features, better specs and it sounds sublime. By comparison, Pegasus 2 lacks in terms of resolution and dynamics and I can't say much about the Pontus.
@@dominich.9745 There would always be a better DAC at higher prices, that's how I ended up with my Wavedream Reference. The R26 is better versus the Centaurus, but it's also by 50% more expensive...
I was an early buyer on release day and the pricing was off so I got the Centaurus for $799 not $999 still waiting for it so I could cancel but in your mind @$799 does that change your opinion? Thank you for spending time on my questions.
Sound like the Topping D90 discrete into a nice tube pre-amp would be magic
That's exactly what I'm going to do next with the upcoming Feliks Envy and Cayin Soul 170HA reviews ;)
There are now 3 reviews of the Centaurus and none of them have bothered comparing it to Cyan 2. Unbelievable
I am sure that the manufacturer prohibits this ;)
I owned the Cyan 2 in the past and have several month of experience with the Cyan 2 and I know why there is no comparism in the reviews ;) The Centaurus sounds more less the same, but offers much more features in a smaller shell for 75% of the price ;)
@Terr0rSandmann-p3y i have a Cyan 2 now in a secondary computer setup. Was deciding between the cyan 2 and centaurus.
I'd like to think that the Cyan's linear power supply and usb galvanic isolation have some edge over Topping's switching mode power supply and lack of usb galvanic isolation, but who knows... still waiting for some direct comparisons..
@@A-gks on paper, yes. But I never had problems with jitter and USB implementations overall. If you have, a Cyan 2 could be the better option
@@Terr0rSandmann-p3yAll these ´reviews´ are following unspoken rules and became very suspicious 🧐
I'm running in a Centaurus now after selling my Cyan 2. Initial impression is interesting. I agree with @soundnews Sadhu that the most distinctive difference is the midrange. Don't get me wrong here. Cyan 2 is awesome is every aspect and I can vividly remember how much I love the sound and the music it played out. Yet, the Centaurus at its price point seems to offer something DIFFERENT (not better - which is always subjective). Only 48 hours of burn-in, so I can only report after it reaches 100, 200 then 300 hours later!
Great review. Reviewers are lucky to be able to pick and choose. The rest of us can only buy one and be happy with it. Don't get into the rabbit hole.
Hi Liam, it would be nice to have them permanently on loan, but that's not the case. I still need to buy the unit I like most at the end of the day and send the rest back home.
Was the S17 Pro EVO your collaboration with Aune? Hopefully we see a review soon!
Sharp eyes. The short answer is YES. In a few weeks that review will be live.
To complete the $1000 SMSL DAC trilogy you need to review the D2R Rohm-based DAC. :)
Great review, again. Thank you. A side issue: Your audio is muffled and difficult to hear at a low volume. Please look into it.
One thing I do not understand is why these higher end DACs use USB B. I have searched high and low for an answer. But only conflicting opinions. Very good review by the way. All the best!
Maybe for the aftermarket cables?
Probably because DACs don't need the bandwidth usb-c provides, and USB B is a reliable conector
@@evilmakoif it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
Very simple: 1) All if not most HiFi grade USB cables come with a USB type B connection and 2) All if not most DACs have a USB type B connection and therefore I presume that my next DAC will offer me exactly the same USB type B connection. 3) A higher surface area equals a lower impedance/resistance, therefore a purer/better signal transmission.
Fantastic review! Really helpful. As an aside, since the term comes up a lot, note that the word "timbre" is pronounced like "tamber".
Hey Scott, thanks a lot! I will exercise a bit with this word, thanks for letting me know.
Thanks for the video, can you compare Topping Centaurus with hifiman ef500 please? Thanks for asnwer.
Sure thing. Centaurus is more technical (resolving, faster, and a tad more 3D sounding), while EF500 is even sweeter sounding, slightly boosting the low-end and midrange and let's not forget that EF500 still offers a great headphone amplifier section.
@@Soundnews Thanks for answer!
Great review as usual
Thank you, Gavin
Hi Sandu, thanks for the review. When you say the sound is bigger on a DAC, does it also apply to a headphone system or it could only be perceived through speaks?
Of course! Open-back headphones scale well with a potent DAC that can offer out-of-head experiences.
Hi! looks like someone has won the race to review Topping Centaurus 🙂
(And the hype train is being slowed down)
Hey Manuel. I'm like the third or the fourth one I believe. I wasn't keen to be the first to deliver a Centaurus DAC review. However, I made sure to deliver a more in-depth review versus the others (more sound impressions and more comparisons).
Nice review. Nothing about the PEQ? I have some room issues. Thought this might be a good solution.
Check again the 5-minute and 8-second mark and you'll have your answer.
How do you compare this unit to hifiman serenade (similar price, r2r, but has headphone amp and streamer on board) ?
The obvious comparison I want to see, is between this and the cyan 2
The scuttlebutt I heard is that the "collaboration" merely involved Topping buying the ladder resistor boards from Holo, and nothing more. I already have the cyan and love it, but I'm insanely curious to know how Topping's impl with the same ladders changes the result.
That's perhaps the reason I'm selling the Cyan 2 for the Centaurus... Risky business! 😂 However, some Chinese reviews I've read mentioned that the Centaurus will only sound BETTER (subjective again) when you use upsampling eg. HQPlayer which I am currently implementing. Otherwise, the Centaurus is quite ORDINARY (subjective again) sounding.
@@RyanChoo don’t sell your dac you have the better one right now
@@stephencosta6814 The Cyan 2 was sold unfortunately? 🤣
@@RyanChoo 😢😢😢😭😭😭😭😢😢😢
d30pro vs this one? ^^
Did Topping run out of linear power supplies? 🤔
It seems so, it all started with the D90SE back in the day.
@Soundnews Yes, strange, SMSL uses also less and less linear power supplies 🤷♂️
But my Gustard R26 is still superior...?
Thanks (:😀
@@faithhopelove6945 Yes! It plays in a higher league
@@Soundnews Joow, thats cool"👌🙏😆
Some of the reviews I've read about the Cyan2 from Holo Audio, it's supposed to be close to the Spring 3 and for $200 more that seems like the better deal than the Centaurus.
Just a bit quirky from what I read.
If youre willing to sacrifice quality of life and ensure all source files are 96 to 192
I have the Cyan 2 and it’s my keeper DAC after trying 10 under $2K US, including a Topping, the D90 III black model shown. It’s just a DAC, no screen etc. it’s really designed to be used with just one input. It’s difficult to switch between inputs so it’s not a good fit for those wanting to switch between inputs, say a streamer and a CD player. If you’re okay with that it sounds excellent, again the best I’ve heard. I Stream into it with an Innuos Zen Mk3 streamer which has a built in CD ripper and 1TB storage so one input works for me. I stream with Qobuz with a mix of hi-res and regular songs mostly rock and it sounds detailed without being harsh, analytical or sibilant. Highly recommended.
Thanks. Great review. This comforts me even more I made the right choice ordering the D90III Discrete as the Gustard is little over my budget and too big to fit my setup.
Great choice indeed!
Hello from WI!
I’m from Wisconsin too🤘🏻
Hi fellow music lovers! Regards from Dracula land ;)
@ nice bro, small world!
@ where are you located? I’m in Mequon
@@dominich.9745 Appleton here. Nice.
I would buy a Sandu Audio DAC
Haha, nice joke... But who knows, it's a maybe in the future ;)
Still Taurus the bigger soundstager?
Well done, great review as always. I'm in a dilemma and I need advice. I'm looking for a DAC and I'm most in favor of the topping centaurus, but in a hi-fi store I saw a topping d90 mqa, a demo unit for 450€ with invoice and warranty. Is it worth paying twice as much for a centaurus? I've never had anything from topping so I don't know how big the sonic difference is between these two dacs🤔.
Go for the topping discrete same price $1000 much better
Why not do a D90MQA vs Centaurus comparison in the store or maybe back at home? It's difficult to tell exactly how much of a difference there would be without knowing the rest of your system and your overall experience with HiFi gear. If you are just starting, then get the D90MQA at a much lower price, but if you crave sweetness, for a nice tonal balance, then Centaurus plays in a higher league.
I own a 12 years old Burson Audio HA-160D and it has all the qualities you describe on modern dacs except depth and 3D sound (i mean: I get 3D sound only after three hours and not always).
Do you think one of these three dacs could be a real upgrade of the old Burson?
I had the next gen of burson, a conductor with burr brown chips and the d90 discrete sounds much better especially if you run it with a tube headphone amp or a tube stereo preamp
@@5windowcoupe Thank you. In fact I was thinking that D90 discrete or Gustard X26 III could be a good choice.
Topic discrete is the way to go
Would you believe me if I told you that my first written review for a local website was for the HA-160D that I later purchased? Long story short: the amplifiers didn't evolve as much as DACs have. There would be a big upgrade picking up a newer and higher performing DAC.
@@Soundnews Thank you very much. I just ordered ( also thanks to your review) a Gustard X 26 III, I hope it will be a worth upgrade.
Oh, Topping, I think I heard about them, DO THEY MAKE DACS TOO? Very SMSL-ish look if you know what I mean. I was expecting Topping to also join the R2R fashion, so predictable. Good idea too since most Topping releases sound cold, bright and very analytical.
You seem to know a lot about them for someone who only just heard of them
@@chrisharris1522 Sarcasm, Chris, it's called sarcasm ;)
Hi
Nice review
Thanks for that
Hi Arnaud, thanks for watching!
Either one of those is a much better option
Why the hell does the I2S input not work with the EQ...so braindead.
Because IS2 connection bypassed several chips in the signal path, including the one responsible for PEQ
Sandu, thank you for another wonderful DAC review! 👌
Reverend Dr. Thomas,
✝️ The Vegan Vicar 🌱
Thanks, mate!
Complete waste of money. DACs a tenth of the price do a better job.
Not if you can hear a difference you like. Otherwise, yes.
@nc3419 R2R dacs are so poorly designed you can definitely hear a difference if that is what you are looking for. R2Rs have terrible mid range distortion. Something a $100 sigma delta avoids.
@@AG-bp3ll Although looking at all options, I still like my D70s but am probably leaning towards a Geshelli if/when I need another. Still, there are good options with the d90III and some SMSL units. Probably wouldn't go for R2R myself with the other options available. While I like a more smooth presentation, I do like the definition and other attributes a well designed chip dac can provide.
As someone new to R2R would you recommend this Dac or something like the Pontus-2 or Pegasus 2? I’m actively looking for a R2R so any help is appreciated.
As you can imagine, there is always some bias and personal preference, so take this with a grain of salt, but at those prices, I would choose the Gustard R26. It has more features, better specs and it sounds sublime. By comparison, Pegasus 2 lacks in terms of resolution and dynamics and I can't say much about the Pontus.
@@Soundnews so skip the Centaurus in favor of the Gustard?
@@dominich.9745 There would always be a better DAC at higher prices, that's how I ended up with my Wavedream Reference. The R26 is better versus the Centaurus, but it's also by 50% more expensive...
@ So I guess the question is is it twice as good as the Topping?
I was an early buyer on release day and the pricing was off so I got the Centaurus for $799 not $999 still waiting for it so I could cancel but in your mind @$799 does that change your opinion? Thank you for spending time on my questions.