Wondering if one of those cheap optical to coaxial converters on Amazon would make it work?
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Topping E50 Review (Balanced DAC)
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
Not a great day for me 
Streaming by phone - USB OTG - E50: Tidal (subscription) works with stops (?!), NOT WORKING - Spotify (free), Deezer (subscription), Tunein (free).
Swapped to E30: all apps work flawlessly, same cables, same setup.
Streaming by phone - USB OTG - E50: Tidal (subscription) works with stops (?!), NOT WORKING - Spotify (free), Deezer (subscription), Tunein (free).
Swapped to E30: all apps work flawlessly, same cables, same setup.
Yeah, new observation: Tidal HIFI subscription is the only phone app that asks for permission to access E50 (?!?!?!). Once you grant permission, Tidal works, though it stops sometimes.
The rest of the music apps, free or subscription, do not ask for any permission, they play but no sound.
My conclusion: E50 not broken, but not a plug'n'play device for various non-laptop use cases. Looks like a complicated device that needs laptop acces, probably firmware update & shit. Not for the average non technical guy, sorry.
The rest of the music apps, free or subscription, do not ask for any permission, they play but no sound.
My conclusion: E50 not broken, but not a plug'n'play device for various non-laptop use cases. Looks like a complicated device that needs laptop acces, probably firmware update & shit. Not for the average non technical guy, sorry.
Figured it out, re. streaming by phone via USB OTG - all is fine but...
If you use Tidal, the phone app asks for your permission to lock to the E50 DAC (no mention for what, no mention of MQA - I have TIDAL HIFI non-MQA subscription), then it locks to the DAC and no other music app can play anything to the DAC unless you reset the connection (plug out the USB cable) !
This is then a Tidal MQA bug so to say, the more weird as I do not have the MQA sub and the permission notification says nothing about MQA. If you ignore the permission request, Tidal & any other app works just fine, anytime, no problem. fck.
If you use Tidal, the phone app asks for your permission to lock to the E50 DAC (no mention for what, no mention of MQA - I have TIDAL HIFI non-MQA subscription), then it locks to the DAC and no other music app can play anything to the DAC unless you reset the connection (plug out the USB cable) !
This is then a Tidal MQA bug so to say, the more weird as I do not have the MQA sub and the permission notification says nothing about MQA. If you ignore the permission request, Tidal & any other app works just fine, anytime, no problem. fck.
staticV3
Master Contributor
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It's not a bug. It's a feature to bypass the Android resampler and mixer and send audio straight to the DAC, bit perfect.
Other Apps will do the same, like Hiby Music, USB Audio Player Pro, and Neutron.
It is a bug as user experience at least, as it affects a non Mqa Tidal subscriber.
Technically ok BUT both Tidal and/or Topping should print a warning/ instruction on the box: 'When you connect for MQA, the Tidal connection will act exclusively until connexion cable reset'.
But hey, technically it may be a bug, as long as it blocks the DAC even if you close the Tidal phone app.
Technically ok BUT both Tidal and/or Topping should print a warning/ instruction on the box: 'When you connect for MQA, the Tidal connection will act exclusively until connexion cable reset'.
But hey, technically it may be a bug, as long as it blocks the DAC even if you close the Tidal phone app.
Veri
Master Contributor
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Sorry but this seems on MQA, with their multi-level unfolding unpacking. The E50 MQA decoding happens over the ESS chip which is active on all inputs. Topping has nothing to do with that besides having selected this particular DAC chip. Can't even turn it off. For older devices, MQA decoding is customer coded on a microprocessor.
I am talking about user experience, which is a mixed animal. I was about to return E50, but figured this whole MQA impact mess all alone and I am happy to keep the product. So the interested party in sales should be... Topping. It is not an engineering issue, it is a usage & client information issue.
Simple question for you (all), important answer to me:
as long as my E50 shows '44.1 PCM' rate, can I be sure I have cd quality signal to my stereo system, no matter what my source arrangement is that delivers optical signal to the e50 ?
as long as my E50 shows '44.1 PCM' rate, can I be sure I have cd quality signal to my stereo system, no matter what my source arrangement is that delivers optical signal to the e50 ?
E50 preamp function - check.
Bad news first: it was tested on the main in of AS1100, so it was compared to Yamaha preamp.
Good news: it works.
Not so good news: nothing more to add to the wording of the good news above.
Best news: I do not need E50 preamp, I only need the DAC.
Bad news first: it was tested on the main in of AS1100, so it was compared to Yamaha preamp.
Good news: it works.
Not so good news: nothing more to add to the wording of the good news above.
Best news: I do not need E50 preamp, I only need the DAC.
arrow0309
Member
I'm trying to understand what the bad news was.
I'm also using it in preamp SE to my active speakers (edifier s351db).
arrow0309
Member
Well I assume you do have passive speakers that will always accept the Yamaha amp and the E50 in dac mode or the amp + E50 in dac and preamp mode, you cannot exclude the AS1100.
So I don't understand what audio won't sound "as good" as the AS1100 or better what configuration would that be?
I just got my E50! I saw the review and knew that this is the one for me. It sounds crisp, transparent, and exciting. I love it.
When the DAC is on, I hear a very quiet, yet audible high-pitched whine coming from the DAC (not from my headphones or speakers). It sounds to me like it's related to the LCD screen on the front of the unit. Granted, I had my ear right next to the unit. Should I be worried about this? Any info/advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks for everything you do Amir! I love your lil' project here and have seen so many of your reviews I've lost count. Happy holidays to the ASR community!
When the DAC is on, I hear a very quiet, yet audible high-pitched whine coming from the DAC (not from my headphones or speakers). It sounds to me like it's related to the LCD screen on the front of the unit. Granted, I had my ear right next to the unit. Should I be worried about this? Any info/advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks for everything you do Amir! I love your lil' project here and have seen so many of your reviews I've lost count. Happy holidays to the ASR community!
Sometimes a SMPS transformer whines if there is a SMPS or the front display driver IC is whining. If me I would contact the seller and start a service claim.
JaccoW
Senior Member
I think I've posted about this before, but my E50 has a tendency to crash and go into "ERR IN" mode during certain base-heavy sounds.
For example, during playback of the 4K disc of Interstellar, the atmospheric entry scenes with their heavy bass will reliably crash the DAC.
Anyone else ran into this issue?
EDIT: See this post
For example, during playback of the 4K disc of Interstellar, the atmospheric entry scenes with their heavy bass will reliably crash the DAC.
Anyone else ran into this issue?
EDIT: See this post
Last edited:
Does your E50 make any noise whatsoever? Is it completely, totally silent, or just mostly? Mine makes a noise, but it’s very quiet. I’m wondering if I’m being overly sensitive, or if it’s a problem. I don’t like the idea of noise bleeding into the signal chain, or hearing it, for that matter.
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