Topping D10s USB DAC and Bridge Review

[Jimbob54]

It's funny...while I realize it is highly unlikely I would be able to hear any impact from the dreaded 'hump,' I would also avoid it, since it is so easy to do so. It is basically a solved problem now from what I understand. Too many choices without it to have to deal with that nagging voice in the back of my mind...

I was thinking the same- cant recall any ESS hump on any (new) DAC reviewed here since when? The 9038 Pro DACs came out? Ben fixed the Soncoz ones just fine. Etc etc

 

[frogmeat69]

Tone board always sounded fine to me, hump be damned, lol.

 

[satread]

Typical ground loop. Just try with a laptop on battery and see if there's any noise.

This is one of the configurations that I tried and there is no noise in this case.
But I also tried to connect the Crown amp and the Notebook (plugged-in) to the same power strip and there was still noise. I also connected both to the same power strip connected to the output of my UPS but nothing has changed.

For this test there were only these devices and nothing else, that is the Topping analog outputs were connected directly in the Crown inputs...

 

[rafmart]

This DAC is more than enough for the LD MkIII. The post you quote says you'd best have at least 10dB SINAD in reserve, so you don't need a lot to feed the Little Dot....

Thank you very much for your explanation. And what if I need to pair D10s with JDS Atom amp? Atom's SINAD is 114 dB so it is a bit higher that the D10s' SINAD. It means that it is not good, right? What can I expect if I connect D10s dac with JDS Atom amp?

Thank you!

 

[JohnYang1997]

Thank you very much for your explanation. And what if I need to pair D10s with JDS Atom amp? Atom's SINAD is 114 dB so it is a bit higher that the D10s' SINAD. It means that it is not good, right? What can I expect if I connect D10s dac with JDS Atom amp?

Thank you!

In real world, performance will be limited by noise of Jds atom's output stage, aka the 50mV SNR. And D10s has lower distortion harmonics, D10s won't be the limitation in the system.

 

[mykeldg]

how's the polarity? is it fixed?

 

[JohnYang1997]

how's the polarity? is it fixed?

fixed

 

[mykeldg]

fixed

Awesome!

 

[Trdat]

Weird question.

Can the outputs be used simultaneously?

Let's say the optical and the coax driving two different sources, as a USB to SPDIF out converter?

Or even the combination of one of the SPDIF's and the RCA's out?

 

[satread]

Weird question.

Can the outputs be used simultaneously?

Let's say the optical and the coax driving two different sources, as a USB to SPDIF out converter?

Or even the combination of one of the SPDIF's and the RCA's out?

Yes, they can be used at the same time.

 

[Deleted member 18309]

Or even the combination of one of the SPDIF's and the RCA's out?

Yes. I used a D10 for a little while as a USB bridge, before returning it. I sent RCA to my integrated stereo amp and simultaneously sent coaxial signal to my Topping E30. I'm certain the D10s can do similarly.

 

[satread]

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:

View attachment 74667

The back panel is as before:

View attachment 74668

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:

View attachment 74669

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:

View attachment 74670

View attachment 74671

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:
View attachment 74672

There is one filter which is the "correct" one, which we sadly don't see often:
View attachment 74673

Intermodulation+noise shows excellent response at the limit:

View attachment 74674

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:

View attachment 74675

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

View attachment 74676

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

View attachment 74677

Linearity is perfect:

View attachment 74678

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

View attachment 74679

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.

-----------
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/

I have seen that most of the measurements have the AP logo.
From what I can see in their website, the most precise audio analyzer seems to be the APx555 series which says "With a typical residual THD+N of -120 dB and over 1 MHz bandwidth....".
So I wonder how it can measure stuff below 120dB and produce such graphs, since some of the best DACs in one of the graphs above (and in their reviews) exceed the AP's 120dB range.

 

[JohnYang1997]

I have seen that most of the measurements have the AP logo.
From what I can see in their website, the most precise audio analyzer seems to be the APx555 series which says "With a typical residual THD+N of -120 dB and over 1 MHz bandwidth....".
So I wonder how it can measure stuff below 120dB and produce such graphs, since some of the best DACs in one of the graphs above (and in their reviews) exceed the AP's 120dB range.

Obviously. You haven't used one before.
To straight get to the point.
The best case THD+N measured on AP loopback is 0.000060% at 5.3V or 10.6V no weighting. The THD+N varies depending on voltage and frequency.
The best case THD no N is 0.000008% and typical at 0.00001%(-140dB). This also depends on level and frequency but much less so.

This is a performance graph of a discrete opamp I was tweaking yesterday, basically AP's residuals.

 

[satread]

Obviously. You haven't used one before.
To straight get to the point.
The best case THD+N measured on AP loopback is 0.000060% at 5.3V or 10.6V no weighting. The THD+N varies depending on voltage and frequency.
The best case THD no N is 0.000008% and typical at 0.00001%(-140dB). This also depends on level and frequency but much less so.
View attachment 81492
This is a performance graph of a discrete opamp I was tweaking yesterday, basically AP's residuals.

Indeed I never used one before, that's why I was being curious about it.
Thanks for the quick explanation

 

[rafmart]

Hello!
Was anyone able to play DSD256 using D10s? No issues playing DSD64 and DSD128. But playing DSD256 via foobar causes such error:

Unrecoverable playback error: Sample rate of 705600 Hz not supported by this device

 

[Veri]

Hello!
Was anyone able to play DSD256 using D10s? No issues playing DSD64 and DSD128. But playing DSD256 via foobar causes such error:

Unrecoverable playback error: Sample rate of 705600 Hz not supported by this device

You're trying to feed it over DoP if you get that error. Native DSD it should work.

 

[rafmart]

You're trying to feed it over DoP if you get that error. Native DSD it should work.

Not sure if it is the case. Here you can see my config:

 

[Veri]

Not sure if it is the case. Here you can see my config:
View attachment 82015

Well, read this and double-check to be sure. If your version of the sacd plug-in is too new, it's DoP for sure. if everything is set up correct though, don't know why you're getting that error ... https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/digital/pc-software/foobar-2000-for-dummies-part-3-new-experimental-sacd-plugin-v-0-9-x/

 

[rafmart]

Well, read this and double-check to be sure. If your version of the sacd plug-in is too new, it's DoP for sure. if everything is set up correct though, don't know why you're getting that error ... https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/digital/pc-software/foobar-2000-for-dummies-part-3-new-experimental-sacd-plugin-v-0-9-x/

Thanks a lot! SACD plugin was too new. 0.7.8. solved the issue. Thank you once more!

 

[bequietjk]

Is it me or is the multitone looking very clean. It doesn't look so busy compared to most others...