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Review and Measurements of New Topping D50s DAC

ninetylol

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You both are correct. Or you could buy the Topping P50 instead of a wall charger if you are up to it.
 

raistlin65

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In the review, Amir said he just plugged the D50S into a USB 2.0 port. Isn't USB 2.0 limited to .5 amps?
 

Gradius

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From what I am remembering I think it will be fine. It's the voltage that needs to be worried about. 2A will only be providing head room and allowing the adapter to work less hard.

The unit just needs 5V @ 1A (but more amps than the spec is always better as the Power Supply will be more efficient and generate much less heat).

In the review, Amir said he just plugged the D50S into a USB 2.0 port. Isn't USB 2.0 limited to .5 amps?

Yep. Per USB 2 specs, is just 500mA.

However, there is a feature about USB called "charging devices".

It can varies between 1A to 2A. It also varies from PC to PC (or motherboard).

As for me, I would always use a good dedicated 5V power supply to be safer (I'll use a MS-50-5):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1323532404.html

Max Ripple & Noise: 80mVp-p @ 20MHz. :p

I already have that one.

As from Amir's example, perhaps the unit got power from both USB ports. One from Power, one from DATA.
 
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Gradius

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Yes, you can play it.
However, the setting method of foober2000 depends on the ASIO driver to be installed.
I suggest that you first download the D50s driver from Topping's HP and follow the steps to set up Foober2000 in it.
This method is the easiest and can stably play up to PCM768kHz / 32bit and DSD512.
Please install the latest version of foober2000.
http://www.foobar2000.org/

Those instructions are very undated.

Since version 0.9.9, there is no need of ASIO proxy at all.

Last Foobar:
https://www.foobar2000.org/download

Last SACD decoder (released 18h ago):
https://sourceforge.net/projects/sacddecoder/files/foo_input_sacd/

NEW! DSD Processor PlugIn for foobar.

After have updated/installed... on foobar press CTRL+P, go under SACD.

Choose > Output Mode: DSD
 
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Gradius

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About the SACD decoder + DSD processor:

This plugin is capable to decode Super Audio CD ISO image content.

When needed adjust output volume and samplerate at File->Preferences->Tools->SACD.
To use editable tags check it at File->Preferences->Tools->SACD.
To playback SACD-R/RW discs create the new playlist, insert disc into DVD drive and drag-n-drop DVD drive letter (root folder) on the created playlist. Or, if UDF file system exists on SACD-R/RW, open MASTER1.TOC file.

If your DAC supports DoP through ASIO/WASAPI/DS driver you can set up DSD playback:

1. Open File->Preferences->Tools->SACD page.
2. Select "DSD" for "Output Mode".
3. Open File->Preferences->Playback->Output page.
4. Select "DSD : <Driver Type> : <Device Name>".
5. If your DAC doesn't support multichannel playback use "Downmix channels to stereo" DSP.
6. If your DAC doesn't support DSD source samplerate use DSP Processor plugin.

If playback is in DSD mode you should get samplerates 2822400, 5644800, etc. and silence on VU Meter.
In DSD+PCM mode output is DSD and all bells and whistles show up as expected.

For PCM playback it is possible to use custom FIR filters. Some filter samples are put in filters subfolder.

For WavPack playback in DSD mode move "Super Audio CD Decoder" upper than "foobar2000 WavPack Decoder" on File->Preferences->Playback->Decoding page.

To produce DoPed PCMs check "DoP for Converter".
 

raistlin65

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The unit just needs 5V @ 1A (but more amps than the spec is always better as the Power Supply will be more efficient and generate much less heat).



Yep. Per USB 2 specs, is just 500mA.

However, there is a feature about USB called "charging devices".

It can varies between 1A to 2A. It also varies from PC to PC (or motherboard).

As for me, I would always use a good dedicated 5V power supply to be safer (I'll use a MS-50-5):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1323532404.html

Max Ripple & Noise: 80mVp-p @ 20MHz. :p

I already have that one.

As from Amir's example, perhaps the unit got power from both USB ports. One from Power, one from DATA.

I just use an Anker Powerport 2 port 24 watt charger that I already had which I bought in 2016. I have a lot of trouble imaging that buying something different would make any audible difference.
 

ninetylol

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I just use an Anker Powerport 2 port 24 watt charger that I already had which I bought in 2016. I have a lot of trouble imaging that buying something different would make any audible difference.
I think its hard to imagine such a device is perfect for a highly accurate DAC like the D50s.
 

thomasjast

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I found that using an Apple brick vs. motherboard USB took away some of the electrical noises I was hearing at boot-up and mouse movement with my D50s. Easy fix and worth it.
 

BogdanR

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I think its hard to imagine such a device is perfect for a highly accurate DAC like the D50s.
Why? As long as it provides the 5V/ 1A and it doesn’t have some horrible grounding issues it should be fine. I’ve fed my D50s from a battery bank and from one of these : Quick Charger. If there’s any measurable difference between them on D50’s output it is most likely academic and will be lost in the noise floor.
 

ninetylol

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You mean compared to the more perfect power source Amir used in his review, a USB 2.0 port on a PC? lol

I'm sure my power source is fine.
Actually Amirs power source is a Laptop running on battery which is far superior to like every switching power supply. But yeah I would also chose a separate wall charger instead of USB from PC. But not some dual slot quick charge 50000 Watt one for 5 bucks.
Why? As long as it provides the 5V/ 1A and it doesn’t have some horrible grounding issues it should be fine. I’ve fed my D50s from a battery bank and from one of these : Quick Charger. If there’s any measurable difference between them on D50’s output it is most likely academic and will be lost in the noise floor.
See above: A battery bank is far superior to every wall charger because its a more constant voltage with almost no ripple.
 

raistlin65

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Actually Amirs power source is a Laptop running on battery which is far superior to like every switching power supply. But yeah I would also chose a separate wall charger instead of USB from PC. But not some dual slot quick charge 50000 Watt one for 5 bucks.

How do you know your separate wall charger is better than the Anker? Which was not $5, BTW.

https://www.anker.com/store/powerport-ii-2/A2027121

And how do you know that Amir's USB port is better? What role does the mobo play in this situation?
 

ninetylol

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Im not some professional electric engineer but from experience i can say the more features (like mentioned quick charge, dual slot) in a cheap device the noisier it is. I actually tested my usb ports (on expensive sota x99 motherboard) and they were noisy as hell. Put a separate PCI express 3.1 card in the PC, which was even noisier.

Im just saying, I wouldnt count on it, that your anker wall charger is optimal for the D50s.
 

BogdanR

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Actually Amirs power source is a Laptop running on battery which is far superior to like every switching power supply. But yeah I would also chose a separate wall charger instead of USB from PC. But not some dual slot quick charge 50000 Watt one for 5 bucks.

See above: A battery bank is far superior to every wall charger because its a more constant voltage with almost no ripple.

Sure. It’s your money my friend. Who am I to dispute the way you spend them? As for actual measurements to back it all up, I’m afraid you would be disappointed to find out the differences between a wall wart and a battery are indeed academic. See the measurements on this forum and Archimago’s. (they are the easiest to find)
 

ninetylol

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Sure. It’s your money my friend. Who am I to dispute the way you spend them? As for actual measurements to back it all up, I’m afraid you would be disappointed to find out the differences between a wall wart and a battery are indeed academic. See the measurements on this forum and Archimago’s. (they are the easiest to find)
Oh Ive read them both. I have also seen other measurements including the Topping P50 (Youtube them if you are interested) Besides that I did make my own experiences with USB power and I agree its better to use a wall charger (not a ****** one though) than a USB Port. And yes for the money I spend, I Do have the peace of mind, that Im not wasting my 250 dollar DAC with a 1 dollar wall charger. Guess you cant say the same :p
 

Timbo2

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The unit just needs 5V @ 1A (but more amps than the spec is always better as the Power Supply will be more efficient and generate much less heat).
Yep. Per USB 2 specs, is just 500mA.

However, there is a feature about USB called "charging devices".

It can varies between 1A to 2A. It also varies from PC to PC (or motherboard).

I just bought one. I checked the current draw with a USB meter and never saw it draw more than 350mA current.
 

Timbo2

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BTW - to change the topic from power to sound. I just upgraded from a Topping D10 to the Topping D50s. With the volume at the same spot on my JDS Atom I thought it sounded a bit "thin" compared to the D10. Sure enough the output is actually modestly lower on the samples that Amir measured. Highest to lowest spread 2.115V vs 1.962V for the D50s.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s-of-topping-d10-dac.2470/page-67#post-157302
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...nd-measurements-of-new-topping-d50s-dac.7914/

So any idea if it simply the "new gear must sound better" or that a 7.5% or so increase in voltage is actually audible? Both the D50s and the D10 should be essentially transparent.
 

digitalfrost

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Nice catch. I did some mastering work and 0.2dB difference is audible if over a large enough frequency band. 7.5% would be 0.62dB, so I'm not surprised.
 

BogdanR

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Oh Ive read them both. I have also seen other measurements including the Topping P50 (Youtube them if you are interested) Besides that I did make my own experiences with USB power and I agree its better to use a wall charger (not a ****** one though) than a USB Port. And yes for the money I spend, I Do have the peace of mind, that Im not wasting my 250 dollar DAC with a 1 dollar wall charger. Guess you cant say the same :p

Apart of your money, you’re not wasting anything. In terms of USB ports they can provide good power too and it is less dependent on the motherboard than on the computer’s PSU and in how much load is on every voltage rail as people mostly pay attention on the overall wattage and not on how much amps are individually available on each rail. If you had issues with the power of your USB ports, maybe rethink a bit the PSU and the case’s grounding.

As for DACs, the vast majority of them, at least the well designed ones, will have a voltage regulator stage capable of taking care, within limits of course, of any overvoltage or ripples or “noisy” power. I don’t have a schematic of the D50s but my old Arcam rDAC for instance can be fed with anything from 5V to 12V. Its internal voltage regulator stage cuts the PSU voltage to 5V. Here’s a link to the service manual if in doubt :Service Manual

Needless to say when the 6V PSU gave up the ghost, I grabbed a 7.5V industrial one available from our electronics lab and I used it on the rDAC with no issues for the past 4 years. We buy them PSUs in bulk, it must have been probably around $5-ish Canadian?

So I don’t put much stock on these stories of linear PSU’s or batteries making any audible difference on DACs because in any properly engineered DAC they should not. If we’re talking about low voltage input devices like phono preamps, then an argument can perhaps be made, even though there’s very little a decent adequate switching PSU and proper grounding can’t solve there as well. And a decent low voltage low amps PSU nowadays should be inexpensive as that’s not much to it and it’s technology is well understood.
 
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Gradius

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I found that using an Apple brick vs. motherboard USB took away some of the electrical noises I was hearing at boot-up and mouse movement with my D50s. Easy fix and worth it.

It's called two things:

- EMI, or ElectroMagnetic Interference, or Radio-Frequency Interference (RFI), and
- Ground Loop (aka a plague).
 
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