Review and Measurements of Topping D50 DAC

[Toku]

I connected the DAC to telephone charging 5 V 600 mA and to USB3, 5 V 900 mA. I did not notice the difference in sound, and the noise level on the spectrum analyzer also did not change -130 dB. D50 sounds great!

The quality of the power supply was also discussed several times at this ASR forum, but the conclusion was that no special power supply was needed.
I myself tried the battery operation of the D50 and understood the meaning.

 

[Kiko1974]

The firmware for D50s has not been announced, but the following two firmwares for D50 have been uploaded before.
D50 FW1.02 (18I)
D50 FW1.03 (18L)

Why is this firmware update only suitable for Topping D50's with certain seria numbers (those that start with 1710 and 1812) and not all D50's regardless of serial number?

 

[Toku]

Why is this firmware update only suitable for Topping D50's with certain seria numbers (those that start with 1710 and 1812) and not all D50's regardless of serial number?

The reason is not disclosed. Only Topping companies know.
Similar comments have been made in other product updates, such as DX3 Pro.

 

[Kiko1974]

I wonder how different do sound the Topping D50 next to the D50s that got the "ESS Hump" fixed.
Is there anybody who had he chance to listen to both of them with the same music or moved from a D50 to a D50s with the "ESS Hump" fixed? And if so, is the fix of the "ESS Hump" noticiable?
I own the D50 (so no "ESS Hump" fixed) that is connected to a Yaqin SD-CD3 tube buffer (with NOS RCA 6SN7 GTB from the 1960's) and from the Yaqin tube buffer to a Pioneer A/V receiver, an SC LX-76 (sold in the US with the Elite badge) and I much like how the combination sounds.
I personally doubt the fix of the "ESS Hump" on the D50s can make much of difference, despite the "hump" the distorsion levels are ridiculous low on both D/A's to be noticed by the average listener.

 

[Toku]

I wonder how different do sound the Topping D50 next to the D50s that got the "ESS Hump" fixed.
Is there anybody who had he chance to listen to both of them with the same music or moved from a D50 to a D50s with the "ESS Hump" fixed? And if so, is the fix of the "ESS Hump" noticiable?
I own the D50 (so no "ESS Hump" fixed) that is connected to a Yaqin SD-CD3 tube buffer (with NOS RCA 6SN7 GTB from the 1960's) and from the Yaqin tube buffer to a Pioneer A/V receiver, an SC LX-76 (sold in the US with the Elite badge) and I much like how the combination sounds.
I personally doubt the fix of the "ESS Hump" on the D50s can make much of difference, despite the "hump" the distorsion levels are ridiculous low on both D/A's to be noticed by the average listener.

I purchased two D50 and one D50s. I compared the sound quality of the two, but I couldn't see any difference in my trained ears.
The reason I purchased three D50 & D50s is due to factors other than sound quality.

 

[BDWoody]

I personally doubt the fix of the "ESS Hump" on the D50s can make much of difference, despite the "hump" the distorsion levels are ridiculous low on both D/A's to be noticed by the average listener

I'm with you. I haven't seen anything that indicates anything other than people claiming to hear what they expect to hear (glare! glare!)...not a controlled test where they can't peek to know which one is so horrible.

 

[kouki_monster]

Is there anywhere that still sells the D50? Any reason to go with D50S over D50 other than availability, remote, or bluetooth?

 

[Veri]

Is there anywhere that still sells the D50? Any reason to go with D50S over D50 other than availability, remote, or bluetooth?

IMD hump fixed, better measurements.

 

[kouki_monster]

IMD hump fixed, better measurements.

Are these differences material (audible)? Genuinely curious.. new around here..
Guess it depends upon whom you ask.

 

[Veri]

Are these differences material (audible)? Genuinely curious.. new around here..

People around here don't seem to think so. @Toku has several D50 and D50s. Seems to sound the same..

 

[robertospeed]

Hi everyone, I'm new here, I have a Topping D50, I use foobar2000 with wasapi plugin, I was wondering how should I set the Buffer Settings? I put Minimum Latency on it, I don't know if I did a right thing.
So I ask you more experts.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Hi everyone, I'm new here, I have a Topping D50, I use foobar2000 with wasapi plugin, I was wondering how should I set the Buffer Settings? I put Minimum Latency on it, I don't know if I did a right thing.
So I ask you more experts.
View attachment 56136
View attachment 56137

Set it reasonably high is a good practice for regular listening. You don't need low latency.

 

[robertospeed]

Set it reasonably high is a good practice for regular listening. You don't need low latency.

Do I have to set it to Extra Safe then?

 

[Veri]

Do I have to set it to Extra Safe then?

I think the XMOS default is 'safe' which I leave it at.

 

[robertospeed]

I think the XMOS default is 'safe' which I leave it at.

is this okay then?

 

[robertospeed]

I installed the new Topping_UsbAudio_V4.82 drivers, what changes with the old ones?

 

[Veri]

I installed the new Topping_UsbAudio_V4.82 drivers, what changes with the old ones?

not much. https://spl.audio/wp-content/uploads/_downloads/Revision-History.txt

 

[robertospeed]

not much. https://spl.audio/wp-content/uploads/_downloads/Revision-History.txt

I, however, previously had this version of driver v4.14.0. and the screen was like the one you saw the most I had put on before

 

[MWC]

@robertospeed Unless you need low latency for recording and mixing, rather than simple playback of stored files. I respectfully suggest you don't do this. You are asking for trouble when decoding DSD on the fly. Better to have as much buffer as possible and in 'safe mode' or 'extra safe mode'.

 

[robertospeed]

@robertospeed Unless you need low latency for recording and mixing, rather than simple playback of stored files. I respectfully suggest you don't do this. You are asking for trouble when decoding DSD on the fly. Better to have as much buffer as possible and in 'safe mode' or 'extra safe mode'.

OK thanks, I don't have to make any recordings, I just have to listen