TOPPING D70 Pro SABRE DAC: Closer Examination

The previous three TOPPING stacks I have reviewed used a form factor that was on the compact side for desktop use under a monitor stand, for example. This holds up with the company's aim to have the E-series DACs and L-series amps adopting a more compact footprint. With the D70 Pro SABRE things are different. It's not overly large or heavy such as the Gustard A26 but, at 222 x 176 x 48 mm and 1050 g, you do need to allocate some decent real estate on your desk. The landscape profile used here means you can still mostly fit the stack under a VESA mounted monitor though, or at least alongside one. To no surprise, the D70 Pro SABRE uses thick CNC-machined aluminium alloy construction leading to a solid feel and increased stability on your desk, which is used because some plastic chassis sources can move around with attached cables. The DAC comes in black or silver color versions and this comes in the form of anodization of the aluminium base which in turn has a sandblasted matte finish. It feels cool to the touch but can become spotty with fingerprints which are easily wiped off.

There are the expected Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless badges on the top of the case and the lack of an MQA sticker is because there is no on-device MQA decoding support here on either device, for better or for worse. I am on the former side given MQA certification would have added to the cost while not adding anything in return now that even Tidal has stepped away from it, but potential customers who swear by MQA need to be aware of this. On the front is the TOPPING logo along with a glass panel that has an integrated 2-inch color display underneath. There are three capacitive buttons to the right to help work through the onboard controls if you do not wish to use the remote control and between the display and the column of buttons is the IR receiver port for the remote. On the right side we see a volume knob at the other end without any indicators to show the current position of the wheel—you need to depend on the display for that—and this also helps confirm the preamp functionality on the D70 Pro SABRE. You can also assign a custom function to press down on the knob using the onboard menu where it works as a select button too.


There isn't much to see on the sides given this is an entirely closed box with TOPPING continuing to use a no-nonsense design favoring function over form. The back side is where all connectivity options are found, including input and output options alike, although I wish the various sets were marked by a box to help those who might potentially be confused. Regardless, on the left we get the analog outputs in the form of single-ended RCA and balanced dual 3-pin XLR feeding a headphone amplifier or even a set of active speakers. When it comes to inputs, you get USB Type-B, coax, optical, Bluetooth 5.1, and even AES for the prosumers here. Then we see a 12 V trigger that, when connected to a compatible device such as the A70 Pro, can help daisy-chain the on/off signal to allow the combination to be powered on or off together. There is then the expected 3-prong power plug for the AC mains cable itself. I appreciate the tiny switch on the back too even if a larger one is better in helping more easily locate it when just feeling around the general vicinity with your fingers. It's at least all the way to the end and there are not many cables going around it!


The bottom side of the DAC has a sticker rating the power input to ~30 W max—not that it will actually consume as much—in addition to hosting the various certification labels. Note the four rubber feet at the corners which are screwed in place. These help lift up the device and prevent scratches to the chassis while adding friction against the resting surface. After all testing was done, I attempted to disassemble the D70 Pro SABRE DAC for a close internal look. You need to take out the two socket-head screws on the bottom and then two more on either end on the back panel itself. Then you can pry out the back panel and pull it out enough to note there are internal cables connecting the PCB to the front panel. At this point I did not proceed further since I had a good view of the primary components already—although it's almost impossible to photograph them. Good thing then that TOPPING helped fill in the missing pieces of this electrical engineering puzzle beginning with the internal power supply, a new TOPPING-brand current/voltage conversion circuit that the company says provides lower distortion and noise while taking up less space to help with the DAC's performance itself. The TOPPING D70 Pro SABRE uses the flagship ESS Sabre ES9039PRO 32-bit 8-channel DAC chipset with four channels connected in a parallel configuration per side in this stereo audio application. It's a recent update to the ES9038PRO and has been well-regarded by objectivists and subjectivists alike. The USB bridge encoder is the XMOS XU316 and I also expect to see a STMicroelectronics STM32G030C8T6 32-bit ARM-Cortex M0+ microcontroller to aid with the DAC's functionality and a Qualcomm QCC5125 Bluetooth SoC for wireless connectivity to your input device. A plastic sheet on the underside of the PCB prevents any electrical shorting from the metal chassis itself and the system overall is rated for highly impressive numbers as seen in the specifications table on the front page, as well as being independently verified by others.