TOPPING Centaurus: A New Benchmark in R2R DACs

[Daiyama]

Cyan 2 is a brick for HQP users. This is a much more functional product but you have to get past the cognitive dissonance it's a Topping not a Holo.

and it needs to be capable of DSD direct to beat the Cyan 2 as THE HQP machine. This needs to be confirmed by measurements. Due to the PEQ I have my doubts.
Also the Cyan 2 has great galvanic isolation of the USB input and needs to be checked.

 

[nobela]

What EQ tool are you using?

If an EQ tool is altering data without anything being set in terms of actual modifications something is wrong.

Two of the reviewers of Everdolo A8 mentions independently that even activating DSP lowers sound quality. It makes sense since this DSP works at 48 kHz so it has to resample.

That's similar that I (and also several friends of mine) also hear when activating any software or DSP EQ. Something is messed up, quality is not the same.

I don't have any experience with any hardware one by the way.

 

[Daiyama]

25% price increase within a day of release
That's not s healthy business practice

Why? Isn't this a pure example of "Angebot und Nachfrage".
I find the business strategy of Holo Audio more questionable. It seems they like more to sell parts to other companies as selling their own devices.

 

[grant0317]

At that price point I would always go for the Cyan. Topping products are known to lose value pretty quickly. I guess the LIMITED edition of the Topping DX9 is still sitting on the shelves with lots of dust due to its high price.
Only if Topping comes up with a very aggressive price then the Centaurus might become a successful product.

Also have to consider the QC aspect as topping products have been hit and miss in my personal experience, with some products being DOA (like the first gen la90 or e30) or dying within a couple weeks and other products lasting years with no issues. In that regard, I would definitely fork up the extra $ for holo cyan.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Why? Isn't this a pure example of "Angebot und Nachfrage".

So you think Raal should have increased it's 10k pricetag even more due to high demand too?

If a company introduces a certain product at a given price, it should Stick to it for a while.

 

[OhmsClaw]

At that price point I would always go for the Cyan. Topping products are known to lose value pretty quickly. I guess the LIMITED edition of the Topping DX9 is still sitting on the shelves with lots of dust due to its high price.
Only if Topping comes up with a very aggressive price then the Centaurus might become a successful product.

I mean... if you're willing to toss aside functionality for resell and a badge then perhaps this isn't for you...

Between the Cyan being a spartan dac for upsamplers on a single source vs red-book users/streaming services users... getting past the label is a pretty easy decision. It's already a 199 discount for the same discrete converter board with more functionality. Not sure how much more aggressive they can get when the Cyan and their own Discrete D90 are the competition in the segment within their own backyard nevermind the rest of the industry.

 

[Daiyama]

So you think Raal should have increased it's 10k pricetag even more due to high demand too?

If a company introduces a certain product at a given price, it should Stick to it for a while.

Yes, why not? If Raal would think they can sell at the same rate. But I think Raal is not a good comparison, very different markets.

We will see how this will play out for Centaurus.

 

[OhmsClaw]

and it needs to be capable of DSD direct to beat the Cyan 2 as THE HQP machine. This needs to be confirmed by measurements. Due to the PEQ I have my doubts.
Also the Cyan 2 has great galvanic isolation of the USB input and needs to be checked.

Cyan 2's XMOS already handles higher rates for both. Which insane upsampling format/filters people prefer is their own business.

 

[Flowpel]

Do you like the empty black areas surrounding the display? To be honest I don't. Just an aesthetic thing from me. I'm sure the product will work great and all

Same here. Honestly I think it would have been nice to place the display on the left to fit the aesthetics of the A70 Pro. Would also look nice as a standalone DAC too.
But I'm sure sound quality will make up for it.

 

[LetTheKidsTechno]

$800 on launch day, $1000 the next day after the release gets a bit of hype. These companies are all a joke. Taking the customers for a ride.

 

[LXMc]

$800 on launch day, $1000 the next day after the release gets a bit of hype. These companies are all a joke. Taking the customers for a ride.

 

[PopZeus]

Yeah, that $200 stealth price increase is pretty side-eye worthy. Oh well, I'm not in the market for a thousand dollar DAC right now, anyways. I hope it's good. Maybe I'll get one some day!

 

[SmartCheetah]

It's already a 199 discount for the same discrete converter board

Does that mean they sound the same, though? Something tells me it's not that simple.
And if it they do, it will seriously cannibalize the Holo.

Still, I'm super curious to see what comes out of it. It’ll be interesting to see some comparison reviews with the Cyan 2.

 

[KaiFi]

$800 on launch day, $1000 the next day after the release gets a bit of hype. These companies are all a joke. Taking the customers for a ride.

Yeah, I hate to say it, but that makes me not want to get it. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This thread has made me more interested in the Cyan 2 now...

 

[betula]

“I see no benefit to R2R DACs”

LOL!

I'm surprised that Holo is seemingly not worried about cannibalizing sales of the more expensive Cyan 2?

Holo is not stupid to shoot themselves in the leg. There must be a performance difference between this and the Cyan 2.
That said, I think it is a good move from Topping and the DAC is likely to be successful at this price point.