Review and Measurements of Topping D50 DAC

[fitero]

You are absolutely correct, which is one of the reasons why I kept my trap shut.

 

[Martin]

Ebay had a 15% off anything coupon for 7 hours yesterday matching the upcoming Ali Express deal and I jumped on one of these. I'll be using it in my home office with my new, yet to ship, Dawson Canyon i7 NUC. I use KRK Rokit 6 powered speakers. I also bought the inexpensive Jameco linear power supply mentioned earlier in this thread.

I have an ASUS Xonar Essence STX in my current deskop PC. I have issues with hearing PC interference through my speakers. I am hoping the new setup will not have that problem. My old Creative E-MU 1212m never had the issue; unfortunately it also did not have Windows 10 drivers.

I have >14,000 songs in FLAC format from 16-bit 44.1kHz to 24-bit 192kHz formats. Hoping to try some DSD.

Martin

 

[amirm]

For a possible power supply, does it matter 5V 1.5A or 5V 3A for the D50? I can get the first but not the latter.

No. You can use either. The amount of current is what is available to be used. The device is not forced to use it.

 

[amirm]

You are absolutely correct, which is one of the reasons why I kept my trap shut.

Expressing subjective expressions are fine. Just don't try to convince others because then you get in trouble here. Indeed I like to hear if people are happy with their purchases based on stuff I recommend.

 

[Veri]

No. You can use either. The amount of current is what is available to be used. The device is not forced to use it.

Thank you Amir. It's tempting to order the D50 with the aliexpress sale, but I'm not in a hurry. I can order from within EU import-duties free later on anyways I'd still like to see how the QLS-HiFi DA9.1 holds up before I make a decision.

 

[FunctionalDoc]

I am new this group and I saw Jimster on Massdrop on THX AAA™ 789 Linear Amplifier saying how objective amirm 's reviews are. I have on my shortlist from what I read here the D50 or Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 . I use Tidal and like ideal of MQA playback by USB.

I like the remote on Pre Box S2 . Love to here pro's and con's of each model .

Thanks for the just the facts approach to this type of reviews vs fluff.

 

[amirm]

Welcome to the forum FunctionalDoc. Yes, Jim has me on the hook to review the THX amp when he gets it.

The Project S2 is $150 more than Topping D50 and I am not seeing the value of that unless you want stuff like MQA.

 

[FunctionalDoc]

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.

 

[amirm]

You made the right call. The DX7 occupied a very sweet spot in price/performance. DX7s lost that formula. I use the DX7 as my "daily driver," listening to it while I work. It has a great luxury feel for a reasonably priced unit.

 

[Veri]

You made the right call. The DX7 occupied a very sweet spot in price/performance. DX7s lost that formula. I use the DX7 as my "daily driver," listening to it while I work. It has a great luxury feel for a reasonably priced unit.

The DX7 was the first of your objective measurement posts that made me say "wow this thing packs a ton", came close to your Exasound in most of the tests!

 

[sejarzo]

The D50 just appeared in the Massdrop daily email for $199.99.

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/topping-d50-dac

 

[captainbodhi]

Hi Amirm,

I previously fell into the non-objective, entirely subjective grasp of other sites and reviewers. I climbed out of that hole after some questionable purchases based purely on someone saying "this is golden and you need it but I have no data to explain why". I have an Aune X1s/X7s stack. I replaced the X7s with an Arcam rHead amp and I am considering replacing the X1s and selling the stack. My question is this, do you think the Topping D50 will provide any improvements over the Aune X1s? Link here to Aune's page is for the newer version of the X1s where I believe they only upgraded the amp portion. I have the older, non-anniversary version.

http://mall.auneaudio.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=25_61&product_id=52

 

[fitero]

And some under-skirt photos for the curious....

 

[Arnold Krueger]

If anyone finds a quality 5V SMPS for the D50, please post it here! The USB power off of my desktop is terrible, very audible noise through the line outs of my Oppo HA2-SE when connected to my desktop via USB (uses the ES9028-Q2M, by the way). May just be an issue with the HA-2SE, can't be certain. Much rather connect it to my Furman PST-8D conditioner than noisy USB

Only data I've found on a handful of SMPS's is here on ComputerAudiophile.com. Original poster tests ripple across the audio band.

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/31119-power-supply-8-group-test-lps-and-smps/

Perceptions of noisy USB power supplies interfering with audio peripheral operation are often due to ground loops.

A separate 5 volt supply of even modest quality and price will address the ground loop.

USB hardware that is well-designed will reject any USB power noise pretty aggressively all by itself.

 

[amirm]

Hi Amirm,

I previously fell into the non-objective, entirely subjective grasp of other sites and reviewers. I climbed out of that hole after some questionable purchases based purely on someone saying "this is golden and you need it but I have no data to explain why". I have an Aune X1s/X7s stack. I replaced the X7s with an Arcam rHead amp and I am considering replacing the X1s and selling the stack. My question is this, do you think the Topping D50 will provide any improvements over the Aune X1s? Link here to Aune's page is for the newer version of the X1s where I believe they only upgraded the amp portion. I have the older, non-anniversary version.

http://mall.auneaudio.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=25_61&product_id=52

Hi there captain. Welcome to the forum.

I took a look at the Aune page there and it seems to be well designed. So purely based on that, I say if you are not finding any obvious noises, clicks, pops, etc. I think you should stay with it as differences in working DACs is exceedingly small if not zero. If you like, I am happy to measure your unit as I have never tested any Aune products. But otherwise, I would stay put with what you have.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Perceptions of noisy USB power supplies interfering with audio peripheral operation are often due to ground loops.

A separate 5 volt supply of even modest quality and price will address the ground loop.

USB hardware that is well-designed will reject any USB power noise pretty aggressively all by itself.

In another post, I wrote how I had added a 5V SMPS with the USB data cable connected to my desktop, which still results in noise. Unless the data cable is still drawing power from my computer. Any explanation for that? I've temporarily switched to SPDIF until I figure out the issue (which admittedly, I have had no time to troubleshoot).

 

[Timbo2]

In another post, I wrote how I had added a 5V SMPS with the USB data cable connected to my desktop, which still results in noise. Unless the data cable is still drawing power from my computer. Any explanation for that? I've temporarily switched to SPDIF until I figure out the issue (which admittedly, I have had no time to troubleshoot).

I looked over that post where you tried a variety of computing devices and power sources. What are you using for playback? Headphones, integrated amp and speakers? Is it possible for testing purposes to run a common ground to the D50, the amp and PC? Or possibly change outlets or run an extension cord for testing?

That puts a bandaid on the problem that you shouldn't be having in the first place of course.

 

[junki]

In another post, I wrote how I had added a 5V SMPS with the USB data cable connected to my desktop, which still results in noise. Unless the data cable is still drawing power from my computer. Any explanation for that? I've temporarily switched to SPDIF until I figure out the issue (which admittedly, I have had no time to troubleshoot).

Ground loops are caused by misaligned ground potentials, not current.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Ground loops are caused by misaligned ground potentials, not current.

Yes, thanks, what I should have said was the data cable is utilizing pins 1 and 4 rather than just data +/-

I solved the issue, thanks to @zephyros 's suggestion.

First covered pin 1 (5V) with electrical tape - still noisy
Covered both pins 1 and 4 (ground) with electrical tape - no noise
Removed tape from pin 1 - no noise.

So it does look like it was a ground loop caused by the ground of the USB data cable. Any issue in covering/removing the ground pin?

 

[junki]

Yes, thanks, what I should have said was the data cable is utilizing pins 1 and 4 rather than just data +/-

I solved the issue, thanks to @zephyros 's suggestion.

First covered pin 1 (5V) with electrical tape - still noisy
Covered both pins 1 and 4 (ground) with electrical tape - no noise
Removed tape from pin 1 - no noise.

So it does look like it was a ground loop caused by the ground of the USB data cable. Any issue in covering/removing the ground pin?

Nope.