Review on Topping ES9038Q2M OPA2134 Amplifier Decoder by Fred Vazquez

This thing is minimal in terms of options but high quality in terms of components. It has 1 ESS Saber chip which is the best DAC chip under $1000. ESS Saber is the same chip as in my MOTU audio interface, it's professional quality. This little guy has 1 chip, a display, RCA output and digital passthrough, that's it. Other more expensive DACs may have more I/O, bells and whistles, maybe 2 chips, but you may not need it. The display is great, I finally know exactly how fast my music actually comes out. J River Media Center 27 works well with this DAC. It lets you stream anything via DSD and the D10s will display DSD speeds or PCM speeds. I like that this is a newer DAC released this year (2020). It is powered solely from the USB port, which is also good. The next topping is E30, which costs another $30. It has a higher baud rate, digital inputs and a button, no big deal. Next are the D50s, for $150 you get 2x chips (1 for each channel), bluetooth, remote, button and knob. Maybe it's worth it. Bottom line, I would recommend this to audiophiles on a budget. It will play DSD which is super high definition music. Other more expensive DACs do not. BUT, if you have the cash, check out the RME ADI-2 DAC FS. This is good stuff.