saturnaal
Member
Was pleasantly surprised today to find the Topping A50 had arrived two days early of its estimated delivery date.
Predictably enough, comes in a box very much like the one the D50s comes in. Includes the A50, the power adapter, warranty card, and manual which includes factory measurements.
Build quality is effectively identical to the D50s, as expected. I love the size and form factor of these devices. The desk footprint to performance ratio is great compared to many things in the bracket. Volume knob feels great, though I think I would have preferred either a grooved knob or a slightly longer one for my clumsy fingers.
Coincidentally, the D50/D50s/A50 stack perfectly with the Koss E/90 Energizer if you're so inclined. I didn't take a pic of this, but it looks pretty slick. Too tall in my case.
Snapped a couple of quick pictures:
All hooked up now and working like a charm. Listening with my somewhat modified Fostex T50RP MkIII, it does what it says on the box. Very clean, no audible distortion, and plenty of power even for these somewhat difficult to drive planars. I'm using the 3.5mm port, rather than the 2.5mm "balanced" port which provides substantially more power, so I imagine the A50 can drive nearly anything. On some recordings I'll get the volume up to ~3-4 o'clock and I consider switching to high gain, but realistically low gain takes the volume up as high as I'll ever listen (definitely louder than I should).
When the amp is on, the outputs are disabled. Turn it off again, the input immediately passes to the outputs (a Koss ESP950 in this case). I had thought I'd be disappointed in the lack of "pre-amp" capability, but I've come to prefer controlling the volume with the D50s using the remote control. Works great, as I can roughly level match for both devices and not get any surprises in volume when switching between the two.
Using Tin T2 Pro IEMs there is no detectable hiss at max volume as expected.
Gets moderately, but not alarmingly warm.
Natural habitat:
All in all, would recommend. I suspect independent measurements will confirm factory specifications. Topping has been consistent in this and very transparent with public measurements. Seems to be catching on. The A50 makes a fine addition to the options available at this level of performance. Great look and feel, and 'aesthetic' stacking with the D50/D50s. And as luck would have it, also the Koss E/90 and JDS Switcher / O2. Will you be able to tell a difference from your O2, Atom, Magni, or similar? Probably not.
But, I like it.
Predictably enough, comes in a box very much like the one the D50s comes in. Includes the A50, the power adapter, warranty card, and manual which includes factory measurements.
Build quality is effectively identical to the D50s, as expected. I love the size and form factor of these devices. The desk footprint to performance ratio is great compared to many things in the bracket. Volume knob feels great, though I think I would have preferred either a grooved knob or a slightly longer one for my clumsy fingers.
Coincidentally, the D50/D50s/A50 stack perfectly with the Koss E/90 Energizer if you're so inclined. I didn't take a pic of this, but it looks pretty slick. Too tall in my case.
Snapped a couple of quick pictures:
All hooked up now and working like a charm. Listening with my somewhat modified Fostex T50RP MkIII, it does what it says on the box. Very clean, no audible distortion, and plenty of power even for these somewhat difficult to drive planars. I'm using the 3.5mm port, rather than the 2.5mm "balanced" port which provides substantially more power, so I imagine the A50 can drive nearly anything. On some recordings I'll get the volume up to ~3-4 o'clock and I consider switching to high gain, but realistically low gain takes the volume up as high as I'll ever listen (definitely louder than I should).
When the amp is on, the outputs are disabled. Turn it off again, the input immediately passes to the outputs (a Koss ESP950 in this case). I had thought I'd be disappointed in the lack of "pre-amp" capability, but I've come to prefer controlling the volume with the D50s using the remote control. Works great, as I can roughly level match for both devices and not get any surprises in volume when switching between the two.
Using Tin T2 Pro IEMs there is no detectable hiss at max volume as expected.
Gets moderately, but not alarmingly warm.
Natural habitat:
All in all, would recommend. I suspect independent measurements will confirm factory specifications. Topping has been consistent in this and very transparent with public measurements. Seems to be catching on. The A50 makes a fine addition to the options available at this level of performance. Great look and feel, and 'aesthetic' stacking with the D50/D50s. And as luck would have it, also the Koss E/90 and JDS Switcher / O2. Will you be able to tell a difference from your O2, Atom, Magni, or similar? Probably not.
But, I like it.
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