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Review and Measurements of Topping D10 DAC

Krunok

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@amirm When do you think you will find time to repeat the measurements of the D10 with OPA1612 and the other op amps guys sent you? :)

Btw, Topping just confirmed that the replaceable Op amp is doing the filtering. That means its impact on signal is not as high as those 2 op amps doing I/V conversion but it is still on the signal path, so it makes sense to measure what will happen if it is replaced with the op amp with better specs.

Here is a nice article where different op aps have been tested acting as I/V converter and LP filtering, OPA134 (single version of OPA 2134) being one of them. According to the author, this I/V and LP circuit was meant to be at the output of the DAC in a CD player:

https://www.by-rutgers.nl/IV-converter.html

Keep in mind that LME 49710/49720 has come to end of life and that OPA1612 has much better specs, which explains why Topping chose it for D50 and DX7s.
 
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rvsixer

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the toslink and coax out seem like a very interesting feature. do you have any plans to compare it to other usb->optical units like the xusb or gustard? the usb ports on my motherboard are terrible so even as somebody who is set on buying the D50, this could serve some utility to me...

I have thought about doing that once I get through my backlog of gear to review. Please remind me in a few weeks if I don't get to it.

I am also curious, as I am looking for a inexpensive'ish decent performing USB to RCA SPDIF converter. D10 seems a better option than a Schiit Eitr (given the other Schiit measurements here).

BTW Amirm thanks for this site and what you do for the audio community. There's simply no/few places to go for objective measurements.
 

Krunok

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I am also curious, as I am looking for a inexpensive'ish decent performing USB to RCA SPDIF converter. D10 seems a better option than a Schiit Eitr (given the other Schiit measurements here).

I was using this for a while and it worked excellent. It's based on XMOS XU208 chip and works with Singxer drivers. If you don't need D/A to be performed it should do well and it's cheaper than the devices with D/A converter.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/XMOS-XU208...515693&hash=item1c9a5ad84f:g:A5UAAOSwmwtaKTNE
 

DonH56

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Other than BER what measurements do you want to see for the converter? Unless it corrupts the data, or adds a ground loop, there will be no sonic impact.
 

Krunok

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Arnold Krueger

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Maybe jitter at the SPDIF outputs, but I don't expect it to be high and modern DACs shouldn't really have an issue with it.

This is an example of such measurement: http://archimago.blogspot.hr/2013/06/measurements-do-bit-perfect-digital.html


Numbers for the sake of numbers.?

http://www.sereneaudio.com/blog/what-does-jitter-sound-like

If you believe AES3 then LPs have audible jitter and even mediocre DACs don't.

Jitter Dunn Krueger2.png
 

Arnold Krueger

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I mentioned jitter in the context of what COULD be measured. As I said, I don't expect it to be high nor to cause problems with modern DACs. ;)

Not to be overly grim, but having to put his name on a jitter spec this lax could have conceivably had some effect on Julian Dunn's health.

Science is a bitch!
 
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Arnold Krueger

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Not to be overly grim, but having to put his name on a jitter spec this lax could have conceivably had some effect on Julian Dunn's health.

Science is a bitch!


I have to admit that I have some technical questions about the AES3 jitter spec.

There is a transition in audibility of FM distortion or jitter at low frequencies,. The mode of perception changes from hearing jitter sidebands subject to masking (which is the stated justification for setting AES3 where it is) and where it is heard based on the perception of an added "roughness" of low frequency tones, which is mentioned and quantified by Zwicker and Fastl's classic tome: Perception: Facts and Models.

This is similar to the perception of changes in phase, which has a transition around 1 kHz where the ear actually starts tracking the signal wave instead of just relying on bandpass filtering. By 100 Hz and lower, our perception of phase in a free field is pretty good, but it is still rotten in typical listening rooms because room acoustics cause so much ambiguity.


I would expect a breakpoint someplace on the far left of the graph and a different, even upward slope going down to 10 Hz and below. Bottom line, had someone actually done some crazy thing like ABX testing, they might have changed the basic AES standard.

I suspect based on the evidence of my own ABX tests that the change in threshold would have far more impact on the vinyl and analog tape people than the digital people. They are in so much trouble and we are so golden when it comes to audible jitter. But, nobody seems to know!
 
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Krunok

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I suspect based on the evidence of my own ABX tests that the change in threshold would have far more impact on the vinyl and analog tape people than the digital people. They are in so much trouble and we are so golden when it comes to audible jitter. But, nobody seems to know!

I fully agree.
 

Arnold Krueger

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@amirm When do you think you will find time to repeat the measurements of the D10 with OPA1612 and the other op amps guys sent you? :)

Btw, Topping just confirmed that the replaceable Op amp is doing the filtering. That means its impact on signal is not as high as those 2 op amps doing I/V conversion but it is still on the signal path, so it makes sense to measure what will happen if it is replaced with the op amp with better specs.

Here is a nice article where different op aps have been tested acting as I/V converter and LP filtering, OPA134 (single version of OPA 2134) being one of them. According to the author, this I/V and LP circuit was meant to be at the output of the DAC in a CD player:

https://www.by-rutgers.nl/IV-converter.html

Keep in mind that LME 49710/49720 has come to end of life and that OPA1612 has much better specs, which explains why Topping chose it for D50 and DX7s.

Executive summary of that incomplete article might be "grab the right op amp and run!" :)
 

Krunok

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I need a piece of advice from you audio op-amps gurus.. :)

This is a block scheme of my Rotel RSP-1066 processor/preamp that I intend to use only for volume control with my D10 to come. THD and IM of the device are declared as <0.05% but it is not specified using which inputs (digital or analog) is that.

Here are some of the additional info I have from the Rotel Service manual:

IC301 (Zone 2 volume) : TC9459N
IC706 (Pre out volume): TC9459F
IC709 (Pre out tone control): TC9184P

IC712 (and probably the rest of the op-amps) : NJM5532M

Now, the question is if it would make sense to replace those NJM5532M with some other op-amps for better performance or is it better to leave them as they are?

Only left channel is shown, right channel is of course the same. Operating voltage is +/- 15V.

P.S. There is an error in the schematics - IC201 is "Zone 2" and IC203 is "Listening"
 
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Krunok

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Additional info from specs:

Input Sensitivity/Impedance
Line Level: 200 mV/47 kohms

Preamp Output Level
1.2 V (200 mV Input)

Now, here is the part that I don't really understand: what happens when I connect my CD player or D10, which both have 2V output, to the CD or Tape input? What happens when that signal, for example, hits IC712 with 16dB of gain? Will it make 12V on the output? :D
 
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Arnold Krueger

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I need a piece of advice from you audio op-amps gurus.. :)

This is a block scheme of my Rotel RSP-1066 processor/preamp that I intend to use only for volume control with my D10 to come. THD and IM of the device are declared as <0.05% but it is not specified using which inputs (digital or analog) is that.

Here are some of the additional info I have from the Rotel Service manual:

IC301 (Zone 2 volume) : TC9459N
IC706 (Pre out volume): TC9459F
IC709 (Pre out tone control): TC9184P

IC712 (and probably the rest of the op-amps) : NJM5532M

Now, the question is if it would make sense to replace those NJM5532M with some other op-amps for better performance or is it better to leave them as they are?

Only left channel is shown, right channel is of course the same. Operating voltage is +/- 15V.

P.S. There is an error in the schematics - IC201 is "Zone 2" and IC203 is "Listening"


The NE 5532 is one of those old chestnuts from the early 80s that was soooo overkill then, and for line level stuff with typical low gain that does not need to be happy with flea power, it is still just fine today and needs to be left alone.

The TC9459 is a digitally-controlled analog volume control, and other than pin-compatible replacements that *you* can research, also probably wants to be left alone.

Op amp rolling when the device is already populated with highly adequate chips like the 5532 is a fool's mission.

Also, depending on the vintage of the target device, there could be a lot of SMT inside, and figure on $100 or so for special tools including the hot air soldering iron and weeks of practice getting up to speed with it. And a big magnifier.
 

Krunok

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Well, your arguments sound very fine to me so the old guy stays as it is. Thank you Arnold! :)
 

Krunok

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@Arnold Krueger Can you please help me understand what happens with the 16dB gain and the output voltage when I connect 2V source (like CD player or D10) to the line input of my RSP 1066?
 
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