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Topping D10s USB DAC and Bridge Review

amirm

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping D10s USB DAC and S/PDIF plus Toslink bridge. It was kindly sent to me by the company for testing. The D10s has a retail cost of US $99.

Let me start by confessing that the original D10 was one of my favorites with its cute orange display, and very reasonable cost. I was pleased that the former was kept the same although the price seems to have increased some:

Topping D10s DAC USB Audio Review.jpg


The back panel is as before:

Topping D10s DAC USB Back Panel SPDIF Toslink Digital Inputs Audio Review.jpg


Note that the Toslink and S/PDIFs are outputs, not typical inputs. The Toslink can for example be used to break ground loops when feeding another DAC downstream of it.

As you see the markings, and like other Topping products, they enjoy full regulatory safety and emissions certifications.

DAC Audio Measurements
As usual we start with our dashboard of 1 kHz digitally created ton and examine what analog results we get:

Topping D10s DAC USB Audio Measurements.png


Nice! SINAD which is the sum of distortion and noise has risen by 6 dB, placing the D10s at the dinner table with bigger boys:

Best budget USB DAC Optical Coax Review.png


Best budget USB DAC Optical Coax Review Zoomed.png


Distortion is incredibly low at -120 dB which is well below threshold of hearing. In other words, you have assured transparency.

Signal to noise ration is likewise very good:
Topping D10s DAC USB Dynamic Range Audio Measurements.png


There is one filter which is the "correct" one, which we sadly don't see often:
Topping D10s DAC USB Filter Response Audio Measurements.png


Intermodulation+noise shows excellent response at the limit:

Topping D10s DAC USB IMD Audio Measurements.png


The curve never tilts up which indicates distortion is always less than the noise floor.

32-tone test signal resembling "music" shows how well distortion is controllled:

Topping D10s DAC USB Multitone Audio Measurements.png


THD+N versus frequency using much wider bandwidth than the dashboard test is such:

Topping D10s DAC USB THD+N vs Frequency Audio Measurements.png


Jitter is visually a bit cluttered but objectively and subjectively is more than fine:

Topping D10s DAC USB Jitter Audio Measurements.png


Linearity is perfect:

Topping D10s DAC USB LInearity Audio Measurements.png


Finally if you are going to reduce volume upstream of the DAC, here is how the performance varies:

Topping D10s DAC USB THD+N vs Level Audio Measurements.png


If your amplifier requires 1 volt to reach its maximum power, your DAC SINAD is between 107 to 110 dB depending on channel. This means if you have an amplifier with SINAD of 100 dB, the DAC contributions will be insignificant (you want upstream devices to be 10 dB better).

Conclusions
My favorite little DAC has grown up in performance and to some extent in price. Measured performance is stellar for the category leaving just enough gap for state-of-the-art DACs to make a living with higher performance and cost. If you want a very performant DAC, that is nice to look at but doesn't cost you much, D10s is for you. And oh, the USB to S/PDIF and Toslink bridge is a bonus (or demerit if you need those as inputs).

I am happy to strongly recommend the Topping D10s DAC.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

I need to teach our panthers to mow our large field as that is taking away time from doing reviews. Apparently they make specialized mowers for four-legged animals (they can steer with their paws rather than a steering wheels). Alas, they cost good money so I need plenty of donations to buy one: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
 
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amirm

amirm

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Note: this is a new product. I can't vouch for its reliability in your situation. For me, the D10s was plug and play and worked reliably. It may not for you.
 

VintageFlanker

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Note: this is a new product. I can't vouch for its reliability in your situation. For me, the D10s was plug and play and worked reliably. It may not for you.
Buy at your own risk.;) Doesn't sound that good for Topping reliability, doesn't it?:p

Joke aside: new budget king, hands down. I would personally pay just 30$ more for the E30, tho: remote, volume control and more inputs.
 
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amirm

amirm

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Buy at your own risk.;) Doesn't sound that good for Topping reliability, doesn't it?:p
No, I trust their reliability. I just don't want to be held responsible or be customer service rep if there are glitches here and there.
 

GXAlan

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amirm

amirm

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This also acts as a USB->S/PDIF adapter. Are you able to do measurements on the S/PDIF output jitter?
I have in the past. Not much to look at there that is significant.
 

maty

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confucius_zero

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So, this or topping E30?
 

confucius_zero

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confucius_zero

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confucius_zero

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Intermodulation+noise shows excellent response at the limit:

index.php


The curve never tilts up which indicates distortion is always less than the noise floor.

for an es9038 chip implementation, that's impressive at the price. I recalled the D50 struggling at that a year ago right?
 

gvl

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I2S is seriously pointless so not really. BNC or AES input now that is useful.. :)

Perhaps, they did add it to the D90 however, it is even more pointless there than the output would have been on the D10s.
 
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