Review and Measurements of Topping D50 DAC

[gorg]

Have tried factory reset, same issue present. It's currently on firmware 1.02 (and the available 1.02 updater doesn't apply to my serial number, so I'm not gonna try reflashing). Auto is set to ON.

To clarify further, my D50 turns on automatically, no problem. Just won't turn off automatically - I wasn't sure what the delay was supposed to be, so I just left it and it was still on several hours after shutting down the PC. Unit is powered with an appropriate standalone PSU, not the included USB-to-barrel cable.

Try to power on d50, disconnected from any sources and outputs - only PSU. After 1-2 minutes it should shut down.

 

[AresHarvest]

OK so after some further investigation... Auto power off works when all sources are unplugged, timeout is approx 1 minute.

Heres the issue I found. When plugged into my PC thru USB, and then shutting down the PC, the sample rate briefly unlocks, then immediately reverts to the last-used sample rate. So the D50 still "thinks" it's operational.

Same thing happens when putting the computer to sleep, rather than shutting down. Either way, no data is being sent to the D-50, so I have no idea why it's doing this.

When I manually power ON the D-50 while plugged into the sleeping or shut-down computer, it remains unlocked and shuts off automatically after a minute.

So in the end, under normal use conditions, auto-off only works when I manually unplug the unit. Which kinda defeats the purpose.

Edit: for process of elimination, tried with my wife's MacBook Pro. Sample rate stayed locked during sleep and shutdown, didn't even briefly unlock. I'll try with my work computer later this week, but I really don't think this is the intended behavior.

 

[gorg]

OK so after some further investigation... Auto power off works when all sources are unplugged, timeout is approx 1 minute.

Heres the issue I found. When plugged into my PC thru USB, and then shutting down the PC, the sample rate briefly unlocks, then immediately reverts to the last-used sample rate. So the D50 still "thinks" it's operational.

Same thing happens when putting the computer to sleep, rather than shutting down. Either way, no data is being sent to the D-50, so I have no idea why it's doing this.

When I manually power ON the D-50 while plugged into the sleeping or shut-down computer, it remains unlocked and shuts off automatically after a minute.

So in the end, under normal use conditions, auto-off only works when I manually unplug the unit. Which kinda defeats the purpose.

Edit: for process of elimination, tried with my wife's MacBook Pro. Sample rate stayed locked during sleep and shutdown, didn't even briefly unlock. I'll try with my work computer later this week, but I really don't think this is the intended behavior.

So your d50 seems to work properly. I think you have to play with your PC USB settings WIN/BIOS).

 

[AresHarvest]

So your d50 seems to work properly. I think you have to play with your PC USB settings WIN/BIOS).

I disagree. Reverting to a previous sample rate in the absence of a signal is not the proper behavior. This behavior defeats the auto-off functionality.

It should remain unlocked, and there is no "USB always on" setting in BIOS. Devices stop receiving data and power from the USB ports when my computer is shut down, so this is errant behavior by the D50.

 

[gorg]

I disagree. Reverting to a previous sample rate in the absence of a signal is not the proper behavior. This behavior defeats the auto-off functionality.

It should remain unlocked, and there is no "USB always on" setting in BIOS. Devices stop receiving data and power from the USB ports when my computer is shut down, so this is errant behavior by the D50.

When you then disconnect PC from the wall (I mean AC plug) - d50 is still on and locked?

 

[AresHarvest]

When you then disconnect PC from the wall (I mean AC plug) - d50 is still on and locked?

Yes. The D50 behavior is the same whether the laptop is plugged in or not. To contrast, no other connected USB device continues to function or receive power when the laptop is shut down.

 

[gorg]

Ahhh... it's laptop so try to remove a battery if possible and check if d50 powers down.

 

[AresHarvest]

No. This is errant behavior by the D50. Again, the USB ports do not supply power when the computer is off. The D50 isn't bus powered to begin with, so it's a moot point.

 

[gorg]

No. This is errant behavior by the D50. Again, the USB ports do not supply power when the computer is off. The D50 isn't bus powered to begin with, so it's a moot point.

When I power down my PC - everything shuts off but for example LED on usb bluetooth receiver is still on. However d50 unlocks and shut down.

 

[AresHarvest]

That is the behavior I had expected. Yours seems to be functioning correctly, whereas mine is not.

 

[gorg]

I'll try to check d50-to-laptop connection this weekend and let you know the results.

 

[AresHarvest]

I'll try to check d50-to-laptop connection this weekend and let you know the results.

Much appreciated. I have a second laptop (different brand) that I'm bringing home from work to test with the D50.

Apologies to others, it seems I have hijacked the thread a bit. It wasn't intentional

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Edit: Works perfectly fine with my work laptop. Double-checked all the settings in power management, BIOS, sound control panel, etc. They're identical across both computers (where applicable, in the case of the BIOS). Work comp doesn't have the Topping driver installed, so I uninstalled it from my home laptop and restarted, and the same errant behavior is still present. Only variable here is the make and model of the computer.

I think I'm just gonna live with it, because it's beyond my expertise to troubleshooting behind the scenes of whatever sleep/shutdown behavior causes this. In a way this is good news for me, I know my D50 is not likely to be defective, since the auto behavior was correct on one of my computers.

 

[Toku]

Anyone experiencing an issue where Auto Off doesn't work when USB is the selected source?

I've got the D50 plugged into my computer. Turns on automatically no problem, but after putting the computer to sleep or shutting down, the D50 remains on indefinitely, unless I manually turn it off.

D50's AUTO Power ON-OFF may not work well depending on the USB port setting of the PC's BIOS to be used. My home uses 4 desktop CPUs, but sleep does not work with INTEL's NUC 6i 7 KYK. But the coax opt port works properly on any device.

 

[AresHarvest]

D50's AUTO Power ON-OFF may not work well depending on the USB port setting of the PC's BIOS to be used. My home uses 4 desktop CPUs, but sleep does not work with INTEL's NUC 6i 7 KYK. But the coax opt port works properly on any device.

There's nothing in BIOS that allows me control over this, unfortunately (Gigabyte Aero15, for reference). The only USB option available in BIOS is legacy support, which I am to understand is related to mouse and kb. I experimented anyway, and the behavior is the same whether I set it to on, off, or auto.

It seems that my laptop sends one last "blip" of communication during sleep and shutdown, and that tells the D50 to lock in. Not sure what or how, but here we are.

Whatever causes this behavior in the D50 is something I can't control, other than manually switching. So I'll just deal with it. No biggie, though I would prefer that it did what it says on the tin.

 

[skrekk]

There's nothing in BIOS that allows me control over this

Most likely it's the Windows power management setting for that specific USB port, ie, select Device Manager->Universal Serial Bus Controllers->USB Root Hub, right click on that hub and select properties, then select the power management tab.

 

[AresHarvest]

Most likely it's the Windows power management setting for that specific USB port, ie, select Device Manager->Universal Serial Bus Controllers->USB Root Hub, right click on that hub and select properties, then select the power management tab.

I did check all the power settings. They're the same on both laptops. I know because I hate the way Win10 does power management, so I use cmd files to manually control the three power profiles on both, and they're identical.

 

[skrekk]

I did check all the power settings. They're the same on both laptops. I know because I hate the way Win10 does power management, so I use cmd files to manually control the three power profiles on both, and they're identical.

I don't think you can actually access the function I mentioned from the power profile settings.

 

[AresHarvest]

Whatever is causing the "blink" is out of my reach, yeah. No BIOS settings or power plan seems to affect it. The Gigabyte (home) laptop just does it wrong, while the Razer (work) laptop does it right.

 

[oneforward]

External power supply is REQUIRED to run D50. 5V/1A will be sufficient.

I registered today and this is my very first post in an ASR forum. Please be kind . I'm a little confused about supplying power to the D50. Can I use the supplied dc cable by connecting its USB end to a wall-wart USB power adapter? Or should I buy a "universal" power adapter (Amazon has many), and not use the supplied usb dc cable? Thanks for any advice.

 

[gorg]

I registered today and this is my very first post in an ASR forum. Please be kind . I'm a little confused about supplying power to the D50. Can I use the supplied dc cable by connecting its USB end to a wall-wart USB power adapter? Or should I buy a "universal" power adapter (Amazon has many), and not use the supplied usb dc cable? Thanks for any advice.

You can use wall-wart USB power adapter w/barrel dc cable or almost any other DC5V PSU or connect barrel cable to another USB port of your PC.