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Review and Measurements of Topping D10 DAC

Visualiser

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Hi all, i got my D10 a few weeks ago. And after a headache with the D10 drivers, the ASIO driverpack and versioning in FB2000 i got it to work on my Win10 laptop.
My unit apparently didn't come with working decimal points, like user L5730 posted before. But i guess i can live with that. :-s

About 1 in 4 times the unit doesn't start well? Or the drivers fails? I don't know what happens, but PCM runs great and DSD (probably because its coded) just produces loud noise. Connecting it to another USB port fixes it.
The same goes if i plug it into my Raspberry Pi running Volumio. Only with windows it either works or it produces noise. and on the Pi. It can just start to produce noise after one DSD file has ended and the next begins. Anyone familiar with that?

I am using the 'official' D10 drivers and i saw someone advise the DX3 drivers?
 

WondrousHippo

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The thing that's driving me crazy with this thing: it picks up noise from my PC that's audible with IEMs even on my THX AAA 789.

Any recommendations for separating the power from data perhaps? Powered USB hub didn't do the trick.
 

Visualiser

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I've seen Y-cables being sold. 1USB-A plug for power, 1 USB-A plug for data, going to one USB-B plug. I haven't used them, so i can't tell if it really is a solution. But it could be an option?
 

ishmeister

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The thing that's driving me crazy with this thing: it picks up noise from my PC that's audible with IEMs even on my THX AAA 789.

Any recommendations for separating the power from data perhaps? Powered USB hub didn't do the trick.
Does your USB cable have a ferrite bead? Could be worth either attaching one to the computer end of the cable or getting a cable with one built in. I did that with my Chord Mojo and I think it did help - YMMV.
 

Tonny B

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If someone is familiar with AK4396 chip or E-MU 0204 interface... Can you please suggest is it worth switching to Topping D10 (Sabre ES9018K2M) in terms of overall sound quality apart from DSD support?
e-mu 02004 vs Topping d10.jpg
 

WondrousHippo

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I've seen Y-cables being sold. 1USB-A plug for power, 1 USB-A plug for data, going to one USB-B plug. I haven't used them, so i can't tell if it really is a solution. But it could be an option?

I need to find my normal splitter, but a jerry-rigged solution I tried with a USB host cable with power input and some adapters didn't solve the hum issue, unfortunately.

Does your USB cable have a ferrite bead? Could be worth either attaching one to the computer end of the cable or getting a cable with one built in. I did that with my Chord Mojo and I think it did help - YMMV.

Yep, swapped out to a ferrite bead cable and it didn't help, unfortunately.
 

Severian

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The thing that's driving me crazy with this thing: it picks up noise from my PC that's audible with IEMs even on my THX AAA 789.

Any recommendations for separating the power from data perhaps? Powered USB hub didn't do the trick.

I am dealing with this on a Schiit Modi 3, and also have had no luck with a powered USB hub or anything like that. I have looked into USB isolators but haven't tried one yet.

Honestly, you should consider getting a different DAC with optical input. Optical will give you galvanic isolation and eliminate the ground loop. My Modi 3 is dead silent but only with optical. The D10 would actually be a good source for optical output if your motherboard doesn't have one.
 

AresHarvest

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I am dealing with this on a Schiit Modi 3, and also have had no luck with a powered USB hub or anything like that. I have looked into USB isolators but haven't tried one yet.

Ferrite choke is worth a shot. I wouldn't expect magic out of it, though.

Another thing that can help for specific noise - such as a whine that gets worse when moving the mouse, scrolling pages, or when the graphics card is under load - is using a tool to limit the framerate of your GPU (Rivatuner can do this). A system-wide framerate limit of 60 FPS (or whatever the native refresh rate of your monitor, if not 60 Hz) might help, and you also may see a slight improvement to visual "stability" because Rivatuner limiting will normalize frame times.
 

WondrousHippo

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I am dealing with this on a Schiit Modi 3, and also have had no luck with a powered USB hub or anything like that. I have looked into USB isolators but haven't tried one yet.

Honestly, you should consider getting a different DAC with optical input. Optical will give you galvanic isolation and eliminate the ground loop. My Modi 3 is dead silent but only with optical. The D10 would actually be a good source for optical output if your motherboard doesn't have one.

So my setup is a bit odd: I'm using a D10 both as a DAC and DDC. Optical is running into an input switcher, which is then outputting to a Khadas Tone Board. However, I want to have my PC's audio available at all times (I get Skype calls from coworkers throughout the day) and so I have the DAC portion running into a JDS Labs OL Switcher, so I can quickly switch to my PC Audio when I need to.

I don't think this is a ground loop - I've had those before and this is more the whine of a desktop PC generating electrical noise. I'll likely need to just use another DAC or something cheap, but I might also use a pricier solution! Other than the noise, I like this setup and want to make it work....
 

Severian

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So my setup is a bit odd: I'm using a D10 both as a DAC and DDC. Optical is running into an input switcher, which is then outputting to a Khadas Tone Board. However, I want to have my PC's audio available at all times (I get Skype calls from coworkers throughout the day) and so I have the DAC portion running into a JDS Labs OL Switcher, so I can quickly switch to my PC Audio when I need to.

I don't think this is a ground loop - I've had those before and this is more the whine of a desktop PC generating electrical noise. I'll likely need to just use another DAC or something cheap, but I might also use a pricier solution! Other than the noise, I like this setup and want to make it work....

I am actually in a similar boat where I'd like two different source devices active at the same time so I can pipe both my audiophile DAC/amp/preamp stuff and my USB DJ controller into the same DSP/power amp/speaker path. I get really bad USB noise when either the Modi 3 or DJ controller are connected with USB. Only by connecting the Modi 3 with optical and disconnected the DJ controller when not in use do I get rid of the noise.

My understanding based on talking this out with people in the noob subforum is that it is indeed a grounding issue, even if it's not the typical low frequency hum that you normally associate with ground loops. The PC's PSU, chassis, whatever isn't grounded correctly so electrical signals are finding the path of least resistance through my USB ports rather than the PSU's ground. I have no idea how to solve that, but using optical cuts the electrical connection between the PC and the DAC and gives me silence.
 

WondrousHippo

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I am actually in a similar boat where I'd like two different source devices active at the same time so I can pipe both my audiophile DAC/amp/preamp stuff and my USB DJ controller into the same DSP/power amp/speaker path. I get really bad USB noise when either the Modi 3 or DJ controller are connected with USB. Only by connecting the Modi 3 with optical and disconnected the DJ controller when not in use do I get rid of the noise.

My understanding based on talking this out with people in the noob subforum is that it is indeed a grounding issue, even if it's not the typical low frequency hum that you normally associate with ground loops. The PC's PSU, chassis, whatever isn't grounded correctly so electrical signals are finding the path of least resistance through my USB ports rather than the PSU's ground. I have no idea how to solve that, but using optical cuts the electrical connection between the PC and the DAC and gives me silence.

Hmm, interesting!

Where I might be getting a ground loop in that case would be that the amps I get the hum with are plugged into a power strip plugged into my UPS while my PC is plugged straight into my UPS. Hmm. I'll mess around with it tonight.

EDIT: Remembered I have a cheapo ground loop isolator and the hum went away!
 
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nirschl

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Thought some might find this interesting here. I integrated a D10 in to my Land Cruiser audio install.
 

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zenon

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All Topping D10 mods (so far) in one picture.

IMG_20190203_225723_resize.jpg

P.S. I/V stage, RC filter stage - LME49720 - better than opa2134, but I am not happy. OPA1612 is not bad, but something missing in soundsatage.
I'll try OPA2211 or ADA4898-2...
 
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bakker_be

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I'm having an issue with my D10. It turns on, no problem, but neither Windows nor Linux seems to recognize it anymore, so after some time it goes into standby. Apart from moving house nothing has changed: same sources, same cables ...
On a device without switches/User Interface troubleshooting isn't easy :p
 

Krunok

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I'm having an issue with my D10. It turns on, no problem, but neither Windows nor Linux seems to recognize it anymore, so after some time it goes into standby. Apart from moving house nothing has changed: same sources, same cables ...
On a device without switches/User Interface troubleshooting isn't easy :p

Obviously your D10 is nostalgic about the old house. :D
 

Toku

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I'm having an issue with my D10. It turns on, no problem, but neither Windows nor Linux seems to recognize it anymore, so after some time it goes into standby. Apart from moving house nothing has changed: same sources, same cables ...
On a device without switches/User Interface troubleshooting isn't easy :p
Did you try replacing usb cable?
 

zenon

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I'm having an issue with my D10. It turns on, no problem, but neither Windows nor Linux seems to recognize it anymore, so after some time it goes into standby. Apart from moving house nothing has changed: same sources, same cables ...
On a device without switches/User Interface troubleshooting isn't easy :p

Can You measure TP 1V?
_DSC2349_resize_resize.jpg
 

bakker_be

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Did you try replacing usb cable?
Yes, but I only had the original which it came with, which has been reported here as not being all that OK. At the office today, and working in IT, I have more access to all kinds of cables ;)
 

Toku

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