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Review and Measurements of Topping D50 DAC

Kiko1974

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Dear colleagues, if you power the d50 from the usual 5v powerbank for mobile devices, provided it is turned off automatically in the absence of an input signal, will the powerbank continue to discharge in standby d50 mode? Or will the discharge also be zero?
I'm afraid the despite turning the D50 off or let it switch off by the abscense of signal will let the D50 in Stand By mode so it will draw current from the powerbank. Fortunately there are powerbank with a switch off button like the EC Technology I use.
I understand that you need to use the power bank ONLY with the power button, otherwise it will be constantly discharged. somewhere here I read that the current consumed in stand by mode is 170 ma, the batteries are set to shut off 50 ma, it means they will continue to work, you are right.
That's it, the d50 has the usual "Stand By" button that doesn't fully disconnect the device from the currebt source, this doesn't happen with the D30 which DOES have an actual On Of button, or I should better call it, a switch.
 
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Chilli

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I received mine today and initially had a 60hz hum, regardless of which power supply and wiring scenario. I was able to get it quiet by grounding the D50 to the preamp. Silence now.

So far I've been playing with settings in HQPlayer, attempting to get it to pass 512K. I am a mechanically inclined person, so the setup is a struggle for me. I've gotten 256K so far, so I'm not too far off...:)

I know this post is old, but would you mind explaining to a noob how you went about grounding it? I have had he D50 for over a year and recently changed my amp. Having a ground hum issue and thought it was the amp, but taking the D50 out and it going away suggests it might be the D50 with my system.
The preamp I am using is a transformer volume control, and there is a grounding fix. Just not sure where to attach the other end of the wire on the D50?

Many thanks in advance.
 

Kiko1974

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Dear colleagues, if you power the d50 from the usual 5v powerbank for mobile devices, provided it is turned off automatically in the absence of an input signal, will the powerbank continue to discharge in standby d50 mode? Or will the discharge also be zero?
I'm afraid the despite turning the D50 off or let it switch off by the abscense of signal will let the D50 in Stand By mode so it will draw current from the powerbank. Fortunately there are powerbank with a switch off button like the EC Technology I use.
I understand that you need to use the power bank ONLY with the power button, otherwise it will be constantly discharged. somewhere here I read that the current consumed in stand by mode is 170 ma, the batteries are set to shut off 50 ma, it means they will continue to work, you are right.
That's it, the d50 has the usual "Stand By" button that doesn't fully disconnect the device from the currebt source, this doesn't happen with the D30 which DOES have an actual On Of button, or I should better call it, a switch.
 

SimpleTheater

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I'm very interested in the D50. I have two questions:
1) It appears the dimensions of the D50 are identical to the D30. I just want to make sure the site (Amazon) I'm using is correct, that these two products have the exact same dimensions.

2) Is the recommended amplifier the A30, or is their an A50 counterpart?

Thanks.
 

Veri

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2) Is the recommended amplifier the A30, or is their an A50 counterpart?

The A50 has been hinted at, but is not out yet. The best alternative is the JDS Atom which stacks quite well:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-jds-labs-atom-headphone-amp.5262/post-118521
index.php
 

frogmeat69

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I'm very interested in the D50. I have two questions:
1) It appears the dimensions of the D50 are identical to the D30. I just want to make sure the site (Amazon) I'm using is correct, that these two products have the exact same dimensions.

2) Is the recommended amplifier the A30, or is their an A50 counterpart?

Thanks.
Like Veri said, if you want a good headphone amp for the D50, you can't go wrong with the Atom, little powerhouse, and matches up nicely with the D50.
 

redford42

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Amirm ,

I cancelled my Massdrop on THX AAA™ 789 Linear Amplifier order and went on to Aliexpress and bought a DX& brand new $339.99 and will have in 2 weeks instead of 6 months. I reread your reviews of the DX7s vs Dx7 and it was $100 less then DX7s so I thought it looks a better DAC for less money.

I let you know how I like and compare it to my iFi Nano Black Label.

Thanks again.
how did it compare to the nano?
 

MWC

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Shouldn't this be on the DX7 or DX7s thread rather than here?
 

EReich

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So looks like external power is mandatory. The unit will NOT power on with just the USB data cable. It comes with a USB to 5 volt barrel cable that you need to use to power it in addition to USB cable. When I use that with my laptop port, I get this:

View attachment 11032

We get that tiny bit of noise below 1 Khz which from testing other DACs I know to be coming from my laptop. They are well attenuated at some -132 dB so not an audible concern but it is worse than powering with Lab Supply.

I then tested it with my Anker portable battery bank I use to charge my phone and I get this:

View attachment 11034

The Power bank is definitely cleaner than power from my laptop. The Lab supply is a hair better but that is it.

Again, these are at extremely low level so I would not rush out and get fancy power supply for it based on this data.

Too lazy to post but I also tested it with a random external USB power supply I had and the noise was half-way between my laptop and the power bank.
Hi @amirm Can I use a phone charger to power this thing? Plug the USB to the ASUS phone charger then the 5v barrel to the DAC?
 

Roen

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Hi @amirm Can I use a phone charger to power this thing? Plug the USB to the ASUS phone charger then the 5v barrel to the DAC?

Any 5V 1A source will work. Make sure your phone charger can provide this.
 

Kiko1974

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Thank you @Roen
I'm an ignorant when it comes electronics :facepalm:
Well looks like this should work.. Here's a link to the phone charger I have

https://store.asus.com/us/item/201504AM290000011/ASUS+ZenFone+2+&+T100CHI+18W+Power+Adapter+and+Cable?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwtrlrbb24gIV1cDICh2mQwz8EAQYASABEgKievD_BwE
This will work great as it outputs 2 Amperes instead of 1. You should power it with 5 Volts. with a current of 1 Ampere, 1 Ampere power supplies in my opinion can underpower the Topping D50 because losses in current by the cable. Use a 5 Volts., 2 Amperes power supply and you're set.
 

maxxevv

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For anyone who wishes to buy the D50 on the current Aliexpress sale, with highly optimised coupon stacking, this is whats possible:
Screenshot_2019-06-20-09-18-05~2.png
Screenshot_2019-06-20-09-18-05~2.png
 
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Roen

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This will work great as it outputs 2 Amperes instead of 1. You should power it with 5 Volts. with a current of 1 Ampere, 1 Ampere power supplies in my opinion can underpower the Topping D50 because losses in current by the cable. Use a 5 Volts., 2 Amperes power supply and you're set.
Who says the D50 needs 5W?
 

MWC

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I already had a USB phone charger (5 volt 1 amp output) when I bought the D50. I use it nearly all the time and it works fine, but it gets hot. I sometimes use the laptop for power when I want to charge the phone. This also works fine and I don't hear any noise.
 

EReich

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This will be my first stand alone DAC and this will be a dumb question but you can change the DAC's volume correct? If so what volume do you guy set it at?
 

Roen

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This will be my first stand alone DAC and this will be a dumb question but you can change the DAC's volume correct? If so what volume do you guy set it at?
Maximum and use a separate amplifier device to set the volume.

This is a DAC, not a DAC / Amp. The Amp is a separate device, not integrated with the unit like some combo units on the market.
 

EReich

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Maximum and use a separate amplifier device to set the volume.

This is a DAC, not a DAC / Amp. The Amp is a separate device, not integrated with the unit like some combo units on the market.
Sounds good. I will get the unit tomorrow.. I don't know what kind of volume control it displays whether its by DB or just 1-100 of some sorts.. Hope I can figure it out though. Thank @Roen
 
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