Review and Measurements of New Topping D50s DAC

[EarlZ]

Honestly...Probably not.

I forgot to add that I am using a KRK Rokit 7 Gen4 if that matters at all.

 

[BDWoody]

I forgot to add that I am using a KRK Rokit 7 Gen4 if that matters at all.

I would say that as long as what you hear is clean and clear, and gets as loud as you want without distortion, adding a dac probably would make very little, if any difference. If you get one to try, go through the trouble to do matched level blind listening tests before the time to return it expires. I'm sure you want to put your money where it will make an audibly noticeable rather than a technically measurable difference.

 

[Xulonn]

Dear Amir. Please make a new test topping d10 with the newest drivers from topping d50s (version4.67.0)http://www.tpdz.net/wdzn_detail/newsId=89.html I was very surprised by the improved sound quality of tooping d10.
Thank you in advance

Now that suggestion intrigues me.

Although I own the DX7s and not the D10, i would be very interested in the effect of new drivers on measured performance, and would enjoy learning about what, if any, other improvements in the usability of the unit might be.

 

[EarlZ]

I would say that as long as what you hear is clean and clear, and gets as loud as you want without distortion, adding a dac probably would make very little, if any difference. If you get one to try, go through the trouble to do matched level blind listening tests before the time to return it expires. I'm sure you want to put your money where it will make an audibly noticeable rather than a technically measurable difference.

Thank you very much for this advise. I live in a country where we do not have such return policies, The DAC is about $225~$265 (US dollar)depending on where I buy and thats a hefty investment considerig my speakers are $287. I do hear my audio very clean and clear however I a side me of wants to get that DAC to be able to get a first hand experience on what the difference is but the other part is exactly what you have said, I would prefer to put my money on where it makes an audible difference

 

[BDWoody]

Thank you very much for this advise. I live in a country where we do not have such return policies, The DAC is about $225~$265 (US dollar)depending on where I buy and thats a hefty investment considerig my speakers are $287. I do hear my audio very clean and clear however I a side me of wants to get that DAC to be able to get a first hand experience on what the difference is but the other part is exactly what you have said, I would prefer to put my money on where it makes an audible difference

I would say your value per dollar would go towards speakers. You aren't missing a world of sound or anything in the mean time.

 

[EarlZ]

I would say your value per dollar would go towards speakers. You aren't missing a world of sound or anything in the mean time.

Thanks!

 

[wadec22]

getting caught up on some reading after some time away. i am always on the lookout for a potential upgrade to my el dac/atom combo so i find this review pretty interesting. while i'm not sure whether the early arguing in this thread is worth the time, i do wish the THD+N ratio vs Frequency @44.1khz test results were published on the review page with @amirm notation on the reason for the blemish. this graph is normally right on the front review page. i like to go down and compare each graph to the review of my el dac.

I should add that i'm curious as to the performance of that graph without the 28khz tone... often this graph doesn't not show a straight line. i am curious as to how much that 28khz tone is throwing off the line performance from 10khz down.

i greatly value amir's time and perspective. i do think consistency is important.

 

[amirm]

I just added THD+N vs Frequency to the review post.

 

[Toku]

I use 2 DX3 Pros on a daily basis, but today the new D50s arrived from China and did a quick test.
I hoped that the new D50s would improve the D50 problems, but it was not achieved at all.
For the sound quality, the treble range feels noisy than the D50.

Problems with D50 and D50s
1. Coax connection does not work well. Some devices can not be connected. Connecting the same signal to the DX3Pro DX7s SU-8 works fine, but when the cable is switched to D50, the display shows UNLOCK and can not be connected.

2. When you play music other than PCM384KHz and then play music of PCM384KHz, pop noise appears momentarily. Raising the volume may destroy the speakers.

Of course I reported these issues to Topping in detail last year. I also reported in this forum.
Electrical characteristics have been proven to be excellent by amirm measurements, but there are problems in practical use.
However, PCM is up to 192kHz, coax is not a problem under conditions not used.

 

[Snafu]

I have been listening D50S for a while now (after D50) and i'm happy to report: it sounds exactly as good

Funny thing, i hear high "clang" room echo (cabinet glass door 3m away on my right?) with D50S but not with D50
(tested this twice, and i'm pretty pretty sure it's actually happening outside my head )

Remote works fine, not sure if filters change right away or after next song starts ?
Old Topping WIN10 drivers were working so i need to update them to D50S drivers at some point. EDIT updated, no problems.

Edit: looks like i need to set volume tad higher for casual listening vs D50 (so it sounds ok for easy listening )
EDIT III : volume drop was caused by Tidal app that zeroed previous settings after new drivers and was set to 80% instead of 100%...
not a total wood ear.... now volume knob back as it was with D50

 

[wadec22]

I just added THD+N vs Frequency to the review post.

any thoughts or analysis on 500hz to 10k? it looks like it may take some other jumps upwards prior to rocketing towards that 28khz tone?

 

[onslash]

Arrived today along with P50 power supply - definitely sounds less "humpy" than Khadas Tone Board.

but when listening to whale song something seems to be missing...

View attachment 30339

Hey , can you post a picture of the 3 stacked. Atom at the bottom , p50 power supply on the middle , and d50s on top.

Does the power supply feel warm to touch?

Thanks in advance

 

[amirm]

any thoughts or analysis on 500hz to 10k? it looks like it may take some other jumps upwards prior to rocketing towards that 28khz tone?

It could be real distortion or ultrasonic content impacting it.

 

[amirm]

Remote works fine, not sure if filters change right away or after next song starts ?

Right away.

 

[wadec22]

It could be real distortion or ultrasonic content impacting it.

I assume you could run the test below 28k to find out but have not due to time or no longer having the unit?

 

[ripvw]

Hey , can you post a picture of the 3 stacked. Atom at the bottom , p50 power supply on the middle , and d50s on top.

Does the power supply feel warm to touch?

Thanks in advance

sorry but it took some effort just to get them lined up as is due to:
1. incredibly stiff 1-foot Blue Jeans Cable RCAs from D50S to Atom
2. incredibly short power cable from P50 to D50S - you can stack the two Toppings or set them side by side like I did but that's it
update: found out that the D50S comes with a longer power cord - but still prefer to use the shorter cable that came with the P50

Atom is the widest and longest, while P50 and D50S are virtually the same width and depth but the P50 is twice as tall and twice as heavy. You could stack them the way you said and it would look pretty cool - should have done it for a photo before I wired them up!

no heat whatsoever from any of the three and they have all been powered up continuously since I got them - but I live by the beach and it rarely goes above 70F here - no air conditioning needed

the Toppings are incredibly attractive in black and the solid aluminum cases are simply amazing for the price - a little over 1 pound for the D50S and just under 2 pounds for the P50 - chunky little units to be sure

 

[v.koutensky]

Got D50S yesterday. Some first impressions:
- sound difference between D50 and D50S when using USB input is unrecognizable for me
- then compared Tidal played by two ways:
a) Honor View 10 - bluetooth (aptx-HD) - D50S
b) PC (W10, Wasapi, Jriver) - USB - D50S
also in this case, the difference was none, or almost none, which surprised me.
- then compared Hi-res FLAC, and DSF again from phone through bluetooth input of D50S, with PC-USB connection of D50S:
96/24 source: first feeling of difference, but to be honest, in real blind test, I doubt that i will recognize it with 100% confidence.
192/24 source: obvious difference in favor of USB, the sound has simply more details, cleaner highs, and for solid bases
other hi-res testing: the better resolution you use, the more significant difference audible (suprisingly :-D)
With DXD352kHz recordings (and DSD256) the bluetooth phone started to suffer by occasional hickups, as there is a some bottleneck in the system. Not sure if it is insufficient computing power of phone, limits of my wifi network loading source from synology, bluetooth limitation, some software issue, or combination of all

The D50S is then connected to Marantz PM15S1, driving Xavian XN175 mark II speakers. I also tested sound with chifi-headphones TinAudio T3, and Senn 185 headphones, both connected via Marantz.

Overall, I am pretty impressed by quality of bluetooth implementation in D50S - for "common" sources, it is fully comparable to USB for my ears. Nice!

Nothing of above writen has ambition to be judged as objective truth, I just share my feelings, if interesting/usefull for anyone.

 

[Negatywny]

How is it possible you've already got your D50s's? Do you all live in china? Or is it that just that central europe has worst connection witch china? ;(

 

[v.koutensky]

How is it possible you've already got your D50s's? Do you all live in china? Or is it that just that central europe has worst connection witch china? ;(

Hello from Czech Republic, my polish friend
I ordered via aliexpress from Aoshida store for 220 USD and they shipped me D50S via DHL in two days. I was shocked by speed and on top of that, customs let my package go without noticing. So in my case, extreme luck, I think.

 

[Snafu]

^
mine took four days from China to Finland, though it was pick up not to my door delivery...