Review and Measurements of Topping D50 DAC

[SiW]

I just finished talking to the JDS Labs support team and they told me that due to high demand , retailers in Europe will receive the Atom amp possibly late December and the first European retailer to get it will be Headsound.de but of course with a higher price due to international fright and tax.

I got informed by Headsound DE that the product will be available for order at the beginning of February.

If you’re in the UK can we share postage from JDS? Or is it priced on postage per unit?

Simon

 

[Gggggas]

If you’re in the UK can we share postage from JDS? Or is it priced on postage per unit?

Simon

Unfortunately I'm from Greece

 

[phoenixsong]

Guys excuse me if this question is stupid cause I don't have experience on Amps and Dacs.
I will have my D50 delivered this week and since I can't get my hands on the JDS Labs Atom amp I was thinking of the Onkyo A-9010, is it a good option ?
If you have other suggestions please DM me so we don't fill the thread with questions like this

Totally different. The 9010 is an integrated amp, not an amp dedicated for headphones and iems like the Atom

 

[Gggggas]

@phoenixsong thanks for the correction , I need a headphone amp indeed.
I can't have my D50 waiting for the Atom amp till February that's why I'm asking you guys that are experienced to give me more options even pricier than I can hopefully find on Amazon.

 

[Simer]

Unfortunately I'm from Greece

You are fortunate enough to be from Greece. I now cause i am from there too. Cheers.

 

[Gggggas]

You are fortunate enough to be from Greece. I now cause i am from there too. Cheers.

Haha I sure am proud of it nice to meet a fellow Greek.
I'm George btw

 

[BYRTT]

Hi ! I'm new here.

I received my D50 a few days back, in order to replace the 2 devices (Armature Hecate as USB adapter, and TC Electronic BMC-2 DAC) I had until now between my digital sources and preamplifier.
Wasn't completely happy with the new sound of my hifi, compared to what I had just before - difficult to tell objectively, some coldness ......

I finally took my ohm-meter to check the RCA output of the D50, bingo as expected - the ground of the output is common to the 2 channels.
I'm lucky enough to own an Iso-Max CI-2RR isolator. Stuck it between the preamp and the D50, and guess what ........
Wonderful sound, a bit better than before, I'd say more clear at all levels.
I must say that the BMC-2 has separate ground on its XLR output, and the rest of my system is completely dual mono.
For what it's worth, but I guess that some people might be upset because of this ground issue, and having an expensive isolator could be a financial problem - that could be avoided with a DAC having a balanced output.

JMK

I could be wrong here but talking about some coldness can in my view/experience be related to what filter type is used in the new unit compared to your good old unit, now i don't know if D50 has user selectable filters but if it has that then try loopback both units into free REW to see its objective phase graphs plotted inside audio band area and select use of the filter in the new unit that is most close in phase graph to the filter type used in old unit and see if that makes your soundstream less coldness.

 

[Roen]

I could be wrong here but talking about some coldness can in my view/experience be related to what filter type is used in the new unit compared to your good old unit, now i don't know if D50 has user selectable filters but if it has that then try loopback both units into free REW to see its objective phase graphs plotted inside audio band area and select use of the filter in the new unit that is most close in phase graph to the filter type used in old unit and see if that makes your soundstream less coldness.

It has 7 user selectable filters.

 

[Roen]

Hi ! I'm new here.

I received my D50 a few days back, in order to replace the 2 devices (Armature Hecate as USB adapter, and TC Electronic BMC-2 DAC) I had until now between my digital sources and preamplifier.
Wasn't completely happy with the new sound of my hifi, compared to what I had just before - difficult to tell objectively, some coldness ......

I finally took my ohm-meter to check the RCA output of the D50, bingo as expected - the ground of the output is common to the 2 channels.
I'm lucky enough to own an Iso-Max CI-2RR isolator. Stuck it between the preamp and the D50, and guess what ........
Wonderful sound, a bit better than before, I'd say more clear at all levels.
I must say that the BMC-2 has separate ground on its XLR output, and the rest of my system is completely dual mono.
For what it's worth, but I guess that some people might be upset because of this ground issue, and having an expensive isolator could be a financial problem - that could be avoided with a DAC having a balanced output.

JMK

A cheaper way, for anyone interested, of removing some of the ground noise, (but obviously as much as the isolator), if one has a XLR input amplifier, is to just build an RCA to XLR cable, with tip being connected to pin 2 and two wires connecting shield to pins 1 and 3, thereby giving common mode ground noise a separate path from negative signal.

As quoted from this head-fi post by @AndrewMason :

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/massdrop-x-thx-aaa™-789-linear-amplifier-impressions-thread.873576/page-25#post-14621510

That's what I'll be using to connect the Khadas Tone Board to the THX AAA 789.

 

[BYRTT]

It has 7 user selectable filters.

That is great then suggest you plot all 7 filters plus the old unit into same phase overlay and select the one that looks most same to old unit for a start, and by the way whatever the measurements program is used remember pay attention impulse response is alligned the same way the eight mesurements between.

 

[Roen]

That is great then suggest you plot all 7 filters plus the old unit into same phase overlay and select the one that looks most same to old unit for a start, and by the way whatever the measurements program is used remember pay attention impulse response is alligned the same way the eight mesurements between.

Already been done on this forum. I don't know off hand where the link is.

 

[Roen]

@amirm

If you still have the D50, would you be able to re-measure SINAD with the DAC powered by a USB battery?

 

[amirm]

@amirm

If you still have the D50, would you be able to re-measure SINAD with the DAC powered by a USB battery?

I own the d50 so yes.

 

[Veri]

@amirm

If you still have the D50, would you be able to re-measure SINAD with the DAC powered by a USB battery?

The D50 already filtered random laptop 5V power very well to benign/perfectly fine levels. A battery will not be better, at least not audibly ..

I think it's odd, even, that Topping is making an LPS for it. Might make more sense for the upcoming A50 amp, which will require much more power than the D50!

 

[Roen]

I also don't think the difference of 110 and 108 SINAD will be audible either, but just curious about the numbers with the new measurement dashboard as well.

 

[gramp]

I just received my d50 to replace my Schiit Bifrost Multibit. As far as sound differences, it seems to have a more cleaner clinical sound, but maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. The Bifrost felt like it sounded noisier, maybe some people like that. Some noise seems to feel more organic, like old record players. The difference is very subtle and maybe I only notice it because I spent a lot of time listening to Schiit multibit at home and at work and so my ears are accustomed to it.

I have an APC power strip with usb ports. I plugged the DAC usb power cable into that. Turning the headphone amp volume to max I don't hear any kind of buzz or distortion some others mentioned.

I was pleasantly surprised how tiny this device is. You could stack 6 of these to approach the size of the Bifrost.

I like the lcd display and controls too.

Now I just need to wait for the JDS Atom to arrive to replace my old headphone amp.

 

[wadec22]

I just received my d50 to replace my Schiit Bifrost Multibit. As far as sound differences, it seems to have a more cleaner clinical sound, but maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. The Bifrost felt like it sounded noisier, maybe some people like that. Some noise seems to feel more organic, like old record players. The difference is very subtle and maybe I only notice it because I spent a lot of time listening to Schiit multibit at home and at work and so my ears are accustomed to it.

I have an APC power strip with usb ports. I plugged the DAC usb power cable into that. Turning the headphone amp volume to max I don't hear any kind of buzz or distortion some others mentioned.

I was pleasantly surprised how tiny this device is. You could stack 6 of these to approach the size of the Bifrost.

I like the lcd display and controls too.

Now I just need to wait for the JDS Atom to arrive to replace my old headphone amp.

crazy to think what kind of performance you get for the money with this combo now.

 

[Roen]

I just received my d50 to replace my Schiit Bifrost Multibit. As far as sound differences, it seems to have a more cleaner clinical sound, but maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. The Bifrost felt like it sounded noisier, maybe some people like that. Some noise seems to feel more organic, like old record players. The difference is very subtle and maybe I only notice it because I spent a lot of time listening to Schiit multibit at home and at work and so my ears are accustomed to it.

I have an APC power strip with usb ports. I plugged the DAC usb power cable into that. Turning the headphone amp volume to max I don't hear any kind of buzz or distortion some others mentioned.

I was pleasantly surprised how tiny this device is. You could stack 6 of these to approach the size of the Bifrost.

I like the lcd display and controls too.

Now I just need to wait for the JDS Atom to arrive to replace my old headphone amp.

Cleaner / clinical is what I’d expect, relative to an older Schiit product.

If you can see the distortion graphs on the Bifrost, that’d be interesting.

 

[derp1n]

The D50 already filtered random laptop 5V power very well to benign/perfectly fine levels. A battery will not be better, at least not audibly ..

I think it's odd, even, that Topping is making an LPS for it. Might make more sense for the upcoming A50 amp, which will require much more power than the D50!

Those USB battery packs don't produce clean power anyway. I wouldn't assume it was cleaner than the output of a good SMPS.

 

[gramp]

Cleaner / clinical is what I’d expect, relative to an older Schiit product.

If you can see the distortion graphs on the Bifrost, that’d be interesting.

It can't be better than the Yggdrasil in the many reviews of that here.

Been listening to the d50 for several hours. Really happy with it!