Review and Measurements of Topping D50 DAC

[NemoReborn]

btw i received my d50 and started listenning right away .. i never done any firmware update or anything ? should i ???

 

[Viper Necklampy]

btw i received my d50 and started listenning right away .. i never done any firmware update or anything ? should i ???

Yeah i wanna ask this too cause i'm receiving the D50 soon.. I wonder if the 32bit/768khz on Windows 10 is easily selectable and fine working..

 

[Veri]

Yeah i wanna ask this too cause i'm receiving the D50 soon.. I wonder if the 32bit/768khz on Windows 10 is easily selectable and fine working..

I wonder why people even want to select 768khz in the windows settings there's little point. Selecting it in the control panel has no effect on the ability of pushing 768Khz via WASAPI/ASIO anyway, you can do that at any setting. it will only resample all non-exclusive mode directsound streams to 768Khz in a low fidelity way.

 

[Roen]

I wonder why people even want to select 768khz in the windows settings there's little point. Selecting it in the control panel has no effect on the ability of pushing 768Khz via WASAPI/ASIO anyway, you can do that at any setting. it will only resample all non-exclusive mode directsound streams to 768Khz in a low fidelity way.

So iTunes using Windows Audio Session is bitperfect?

 

[Veri]

So iTunes using Windows Audio Session is bitperfect?

Without any bitperfect plug-in you can't be sure. With iTunes, set windows rate to most common sample rate, most likely 24-bit 44Khz is ideal. Bit-perfect would also mean internal windows volume set to 100%, disabling volume control on software side.

But better yet, move on to better player. Foobar2000 is nice, as is jriver and many others. I use fb2k with WASAPI(exclusive mode) which always changes device sample rate to song sample rate. Very hassle-free

EDIT: Itunes apparently can also enable 'windows audio session' exclusive mode, but I see some people online finding it buggy so I'm not sure it "works".

 

[Roen]

I see.

I use a mix of foobar for DSD and iTunes for PCM stuff. I prefer the library management.

Oh, iTunes can't adjust sample rate per track....oh well.

 

[Viper Necklampy]

I wonder why people even want to select 768khz in the windows settings there's little point. Selecting it in the control panel has no effect on the ability of pushing 768Khz via WASAPI/ASIO anyway, you can do that at any setting. it will only resample all non-exclusive mode directsound streams to 768Khz in a low fidelity way.

Don't know things, but to me 32bit/192khz (Highest i can get)sound way better.. I wanna try 768khz upsampled, don't know what is WASAPI or ASIO.. Why in a low fidelity way?

 

[Veri]

Don't know things, but to me 32bit/192khz (Highest i can get)sound way better.. I wanna try 768khz upsampled, don't know what is WASAPI or ASIO.. Why in a low fidelity way?

768khz upsampled, 192khz upsampled, what do you think is upsampling? Your device isn't, windows is.
I say low fidelity because windows sucks at it in its default non-exclusive directsound mode:

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2015/11/measurements-windows-10-audio-stack.html

You are simply tricked if you think 192 Khz 'highest it can get' sound 'way better', why would it? Because it is a higher number?
If you don't know what is ASIO or WASAPI I would definitely stick to the default 44Khz setting

 

[metal571]

The only annoying downside is that EqualizerAPO relies on the standard windows audio stack and will not function in WASAPI mode. I really hope someone can prove me wrong about this though.

 

[Veri]

The only annoying downside is that EqualizerAPO relies on the standard windows audio stack and will not function in WASAPI mode. I really hope someone can prove me wrong about this though.

Nope you are correct. System-wide EQ over the whole OS is tricky that way. Perhaps it's easier to pull off on a Mac.

But I'm in the same boat. I just leave it 44Khz, full volume & let equalizerAPO do it's thing. It's maybe not bitperfect but it does the job.

 

[Toku]

I think upsampling is mathematical magic. It is as if a woman makes a thick makeup.
I will play test of PCM 768k, DSD 512 from technical interest. But I never felt that the sound got better.
When upsampling, the edge of the sound becomes rounded, I feel that the sound gets dull. Audiophil evaluates this as improving the sound, but I think that the original sampling is the best.
Among commercially available high-sampling sound sources, some are upsampled from the original.

 

[Vosya]

but I think that the original sampling is the best.

Manufacturers of players using upsampling very clearly describe what they expect. For example:
"Some of the more affordable sound cards and D/A converters have suboptimal digital and analog filters, while still having support for higher sampling rates. Effect of this can reduced by applying high quality upsampling in software before feeding the signal to the audio hardware at higher rate. This moves some of the artifacts of the suboptimal hardware to higher frequencies, away from the audible band.
[...]
Most modern D/A converters are delta-sigma type. Built-in delta-sigma modulator allows using DSD-capable converters with this native data format, in many cases bypassing lot of DSP processing in these converters and allowing more direct data path to the conversion stage."

Ignoring this is counterintuitive.

 

[Viper Necklampy]

I received the Topping D50, with Ps4 worked fine, but on pc.. I tried it without installing nothing, with 44khz or 384khz it maked noticeable distortion even on low volumes, so i tried installing the driver, same distortion, then i tried downloading firmware V1. 02, same, anyway.. I Read that for V1. 02 the S/n needed to be from 1710 to 1807, mine was 1811, but it still worked with the same distortion, so first, i don't know how to get back V1.03 that was pre-installed in stock, i tried factory reset the D50 but nothing, was still V1. 02.. Second, i Wanna try to solve the distortion issue on PC.. I asked Topping, i'll wait the response. If someone know please, an help would really be appreciated

 

[PorchSong]

I believe you are confusing the D10 firmwares with the D50. The D50 only has 1.02 from website. The D10 has multiple firmwares based on serial numbers. Website: http://en.tpdz.net/support.html

The D50 only has the one:

 

[Viper Necklampy]

I believe you are confusing the D10 firmwares with the D50. The D50 only has 1.02 from website. The D10 has multiple firmwares based on serial numbers. Website: http://en.tpdz.net/support.html
View attachment 22020

The D50 only has the one:

View attachment 22021

Mhh no i don't think so, i downloaded the firmware V1.02 of D50 in their site, installed it, only after installed i Read the read.me txt which was saying that.. I'm pretty sure it was of D50, in fact it changed from V1.03 to V1.02.. In fact it says 1807 or higher

 

[PorchSong]

Mhh no i don't think so, i downloaded the firmware V1.02 of D50 in their site, installed it, only after installed i Read the read.me txt which was saying that.. I'm pretty sure it was of D50, in fact it changed from V1.03 to V1.02.. In fact it says 1807 or higher

You are correct! I just looked at the Readme.txt. I did not know a 1.03 firmware existed. Email topping support and they will probably send you a copy of the 1.03 to flash back over the top. I know they have sent firmware out before to people.

 

[mitulparmar787]

All, I've just found the perfect linear power supply for the Topping D50 that is a fraction of the price of the the IFI switching power supply and various other linear power supplies out there.

For those with 230v supply, like me in the UK, the model to go for is the Advanced Power Supply APS57AER-210. This is a regulated linear power supply, and was provided with Iomega Zip Drives (who remembers those?). It can be found on eBay, though the volumes are in the single digits but they are cheap (I paid £12.50 inc del. by making an offer).

More information on the power supply can be found here:

http://static6.arrow.com/aropdfconv...f07d8d08e6adaacdc2783a59/aps41-57-60-66er.pdf

The specification sheet states the ripple is around 1%,, which in this case would mean 50mv - so you'd see a min voltage of 4.950v and max voltage of 5.050v. Is TUV certified so meets safety standards as opposed to most of the Chinese linear power supplies which are probably not certified and therefore also means the power supply is appropriately fused, thermally regulated, etc.

The power supply brick weighs around 1kg so it's definitely not a lightweight switching supply and is a good indicator of having a transformer inside.

Output is 5v @ 2amp and the output plug fits in to the Topping D50 like it was made for it.

This makes the Topping D50 one of the cheaper options yet again...as instead of paying for the unit and buying an overpriced linear power supply, one can buy the unit and source one of these power supply's and it'll work out to be around, if not under, £180 (I paid £165 for my D50 and £12.50 for the PSU including delivery for both).

Also works out cheaper than USB power banks, etc.

 

[NemoReborn]

I received the Topping D50, with Ps4 worked fine, but on pc.. I tried it without installing nothing, with 44khz or 384khz it maked noticeable distortion even on low volumes, so i tried installing the driver, same distortion, then i tried downloading firmware V1. 02, same, anyway.. I Read that for V1. 02 the S/n needed to be from 1710 to 1807, mine was 1811, but it still worked with the same distortion, so first, i don't know how to get back V1.03 that was pre-installed in stock, i tried factory reset the D50 but nothing, was still V1. 02.. Second, i Wanna try to solve the distortion issue on PC.. I asked Topping, i'll wait the response. If someone know please, an help would really be appreciated

Is sound from youtube fine ?? Or just when playing flac file? If its when playing flac , try using wasapi push...

Have u installed driver? Not firmware, i mean windows driver.

 

[Viper Necklampy]

Is sound from youtube fine ?? Or just when playing flac file? If its when playing flac , try using wasapi push...

Have u installed driver? Not firmware, i mean windows driver.

Is sound from YouTube fine i don't remember, i will try, i used it on spotify, don't know, them are FLAC's right? How to use Wasapi push? Thanks..

 

[Viper Necklampy]

All, I've just found the perfect linear power supply for the Topping D50 that is a fraction of the price of the the IFI switching power supply and various other linear power supplies out there.

For those with 230v supply, like me in the UK, the model to go for is the Advanced Power Supply APS57AER-210. This is a regulated linear power supply, and was provided with Iomega Zip Drives (who remembers those?). It can be found on eBay, though the volumes are in the single digits but they are cheap (I paid £12.50 inc del. by making an offer).

More information on the power supply can be found here:

http://static6.arrow.com/aropdfconv...f07d8d08e6adaacdc2783a59/aps41-57-60-66er.pdf

The specification sheet states the ripple is around 1%,, which in this case would mean 50mv - so you'd see a min voltage of 4.950v and max voltage of 5.050v. Is TUV certified so meets safety standards as opposed to most of the Chinese linear power supplies which are probably not certified and therefore also means the power supply is appropriately fused, thermally regulated, etc.

The power supply brick weighs around 1kg so it's definitely not a lightweight switching supply and is a good indicator of having a transformer inside.

Output is 5v @ 2amp and the output plug fits in to the Topping D50 like it was made for it.

This makes the Topping D50 one of the cheaper options yet again...as instead of paying for the unit and buying an overpriced linear power supply, one can buy the unit and source one of these power supply's and it'll work out to be around, if not under, £180 (I paid £165 for my D50 and £12.50 for the PSU including delivery for both).

Also works out cheaper than USB power banks, etc.

Don't you think that an adapter for phones which is 5V 2a or 1a will work perfectly too for uncompromising sound quality? I bought one 5V 2a