Topping A50 III Headphone Amp Review

[Palladium]

Sorry to say it every time, why don't S.M.S.L., Topping, Fosi listen??????? Slow down on piling up 2 channel devices, think subwoofers, launch 3,4,5 channel devices, sell them at higher enough prices and make more profits, please!! Yes we all know you guys can made great DACs that measure exceptionally well, there is no need to prove that point anymore, it is time to focus more, just a little more, or potential customers who have been wanting to do 2.2 with room correction possibility, as we also all know, bass performance is a big part of hi enjoyment, not just 120 dB SINAD.

May be hopefully the newer comers like WiiM would listen.

Or active subs that don't include a 80Hz HPF on their line outs.

I don't get that either.

 

[CedarX]

One tiny reliability data point: I bought an A50-III a little over a year ago as a companion to a D50-III. Light use in my case, but no issue.

 

[Tell]

How does this differ audibly and functionally from all other of Toppings headphone amps? It just feels like yet another one with slightly even less nonaudible distortions..

 

[dark132]

Hi,

As usual, Topping measurements are stellar.
But am I the only one having some problems keeping up with the release of their products ?

And Topping is the perfect proof that I do not like perfection
I have owned several Topping headphones amp.
Bought them after reading these reviews from Amirm...
Never liked the sound.
Conclusion : I like "coloured" sound better than "neutral" sound.
So be it !

Why don't you just buy "colored" headphones? There are very few pure neutral headphones on the market, so we need "neutral" headphone amplifiers. In fact, all the so-called "colored" headphone amplifiers you mentioned will not have any "color" as long as they are connected to the QP240. The QP240 is my definition of a standard "cold" headphone.

 

[welwynnick]

How does this differ audibly and functionally from all other of Toppings headphone amps? It just feels like yet another one with slightly even less nonaudible distortions..

There are several differences between different Topping HPAs:
Older HPAs are replaced by newer units with more power and better performance.
Some HPAs have a preamp function, and some are only pass-through.
Some have balanced interfaces, and some are just single ended.
Each DAC has partnering HPAs that match it visually and sonically.
The expensive HPAs have a display, and relay switched resistor volume control.

 

[peng]

2.2, 2.1, RC, etc are stuff that demand rock-solid software base and support.
They also demand safety features as not configurable hard limiters so levels are solid, revert to mute if in doubt, etc.

Now, take a look at DX5II thread and tell me if you trust them to do such. Even miniDSP struggles with stuff sometimes and they have decades of experience.

I have two minidsps, they are 8 channels, if they offer a 4 ch version I will buy one and sell my 8 channels that are mainly for HT so they are overkills for me. Other than that they are doing what I want them to do, no struggle as such. I don’t like that the are limited to 48 kHz but that’s just a psycological issue.

Edit: MiniDsp Flex would have been fine for me if it can do 2.2, but being 2x4, it cannot, close but still not, it needs to be 4x4.

 

[welwynnick]

I have two minidsps, they are 8 channels, if they offer a 4 ch version I will buy one and sell my 8 channels that are mainly for HT so they are overkills for me. Other than that they are doing what I want them to do, no struggle as such. I don’t like that the are limited to 48 kHz but that’s just a psycological issue.

Don't want to go off-thread, but won't the minidsp Flex do that for you?
Analogue or digital stereo input, and four channel output, with a choice of RCA, TRS or spdif output.

miniDSP Flex

Pocket size processor with flexible Input/Output configuration, Audiophile converters, 400MHz Sharc DSP processor, BT connectivity, DSP toolbox for subwoofer and multiway crossover, Dirac Live optional upgrade

www.minidsp.com

Perhaps that's the sort of thing that Topping should be doing?

 

[horias2000]

Stellar performance! Not even taking the price into consideration. I have the A50s wit the D50s and I have to say this combo sounds incredibly good. It's interesting that Topping decided to use a chip (THS6182) that was not meant to be for audio. It's actually an ADSL line driver. I looked at this IC a while ago and almost all the graphs go only as low as 100kHz so they definitely tried and tested several options before landing on this one. The THS6182 is not the only part that matters when it comes to such good performance but it does have a pretty big influence.

 

[peng]

Don't want to go off-thread, but won't the minidsp Flex do that for you?
Analogue or digital stereo input, and four channel output, with a choice of RCA, TRS or spdif output.

miniDSP Flex

Pocket size processor with flexible Input/Output configuration, Audiophile converters, 400MHz Sharc DSP processor, BT connectivity, DSP toolbox for subwoofer and multiway crossover, Dirac Live optional upgrade

www.minidsp.com

Perhaps that's the sort of thing that Topping should be doing?

I know, but please see my edited post.

 

[Robbo99999]

I'm also a bit confused by their amp lineup.

The A50s apparently is the lowest one in the A-lineup; then there also is this A50 III.
The A30 Pro (which I have) is larger with more power despite having a lower model number.
The A90 has been the benchmark for the longest time now but the A70 Pro has way more power and a more modern design than the A90.

So higher model number means better except if its a "Pro" model, then the lower number model is better.
I don't even want to get started with their DACs, where the current lineup features 4 different D90 models

Easiest way to look at it is that they're all absolutely fine! I suppose though pay attention to the power output if you've got some edge case headphones that require loads of power.

 

[respice finem]

In the old analogue world this unit would have a place as SOTA, however, in the digital world it will always need a DAC so IMO the DX5II makes more sense, less clutter on your desk and a much better buy for another $100.

Topping DX5II Balanced DAC and Headphone Amp Review

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the Topping DX5 II Smart DAC and balanced headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $299. The DX5II is beautiful to look at especially due to its very high contrast and bright display. Love the extra buttons...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Yes, if you can bear the firmware/software shenanigans.

 

[welwynnick]

In the old analogue world this unit would have a place as SOTA,

I've been thinking for about a year that good HPAs like this actually make good preamps (even if they only have headphone outputs).
A good preamp will have a high input impedance (>10kΩ) to avoid degrading the source, and it will have moderate gain (say 10dB) to get gain-staging right.
I noticed that the really high end preamps (two boxes, five figures, tens of kilos) also have the following over-the-top characteristics:

• Very wide bandwidth (>100kHz)
• Very high maximum output level (>10V)
• Very low output impedance (<1Ω)

Those are the characteristics of many good, recent, inexpensive HPAs.
The A50iii isn't the greatest example (look at the L30ii ), but see how it compares with Stereophile's test of the $45k, 49kg, Esoteric C1X on THD+N vs output V:

They're both extremely good performers, but there are a few things to look at:
The Esoteric reaches 12V output, which is higher than the Topping (though the L70 or DX5ii go even higher than that).
The Esoteric gets down to about 0.00035% THDN (-109dB), then distortion sets in above 5V.
The Topping gets lower, but Amir has a better analyser. Both are very good.
Now, look at the output level at -100dB / 0.001% THDN. The Esoteric hits it at 1V, the Topping at 200mV.
In this particular test, the Topping has a noise floor five times lower than the Esoteric, despite generating 5V undistorted output into 600Ω.
The Esoteric chart I showed is for a 100kΩ load. If you see the Stereophile test for 600Ω, the Esoteric is significantly worse, starting to distort above 2V, looking more like the Topping's performance into 32Ω. All that, in spite of the Esoteric having a stand-alone power supply that looks like a power amp:

This isn't to say that Topping is better than Esoteric. SMSL and Sabaj and Schiit also make some great preamps, and there are many dreadnaught preamps like Boulder, Simaudio, MBL , Benchmark, Pass Labs and CH Precision that offer similar, brilliant performance. But I think this is a good illustration of Topping's achievements.

however, in the digital world it will always need a DAC so IMO the DX5II makes more sense, less clutter on your desk and a much better buy for another $100.

The DX5.2 looks like a very good $300 DAC and a very good $300 HPA, even better than the A50iii. If it had "R2R" volume control, I'd be in there.

 

[TurtlePaul]

I see all of the people asking why this device exists when there are a lot of other Topping headphone amps. As someone who has a D50 III DAC, I appreciate that they released this as it matches the form factor from a stacking perspective. The A50s or other amps may have almost exactly the same performance, but they are slightly different shapes.

 

[honn]

Perhaps not a fair comparison, ZH3 also includes a DAC, remote etc
Although I'd say most would do fine with even weaker amps

You're right, I forgot the ZH3 is a DAC/amp combo. A fairer comparison then would be with Topping DX5 II at $300. Then the $/wattage value favors Topping.

 

[NTTY]

Nice, but too bad the A50III can’t power the D50III. It would have been nice on top of the trigger.

It would also be interesting to check total performance when the two are chained.

 

[Steven Holt]

Thank you for the review, Amir. This thing is just stupid good.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Thank you for this fine review, Amir. I think it says a lot about a manufacturer when the chief complaint is that it produces too many different models of something with state of the art performance levels at any price, let alone the prices Topping offers for these very superior products.

Yes, maybe they could do a better job at explaining how each product fits in their line, and offer suggested use cases for each one, rather than just putting it out there and kind of saying "Here it is, y'all!" But then again in spite of the almost laughably eleemosynary pricing, these are sophisticated products being offered to sophisticated buyers. Buyers who should be able to figure some of this stuff out for themselves. In most cases this involves no more than deciding what inputs and outputs are needed, whether the unit is going to do double duty as a preamp, preferred form factor and cosmetics, how much power is needed to drive the hardest to drive headphone in the collection, and personal budget constraints.

As for reliability, IDK how much risk is entailed when the units cost for the most part below $300-400. Moreover, if you buy through Amazon, they will refund in full for the first 30 days. with no hassle of dealing with out of country customer service. I have owned an A70 Pro for three years now and it's been completely trouble free and an awesome performer with virtually unlimited power. So I think the water's fine.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

I've been buying audio equipment since about 1965. I'm amazed at how much cheaper high end level performance has gotten.

 

[ampguy]

Not wanting a mini stack on my desks, I'd prefer one of the units L30/L50? that have outputs so I can easily use with desktop speakers and an amp, when not wearing phones. The aging Sabaj A10h has this.

 

[davmol]

I had one of these for a little over a year, along with the matching D50III DAC, and it is beautifully built and was reliable for the time I had it. I recently sold it to replace with the DX5II, purely because I wanted an all-in-one device. For those wondering, the A50s/D50 combo and the A50III/D50III combo are different sizes, with the latter combo being wider. Similarly, their P50 power supply only matches in size with the smaller A50s/D50 combo. Other than that they are both great amps.