Topping A50s Headphone Amplifier Review

[jawbfl]

I have Sundara, D50s and both A50 and L30. Both of these amps sound perfectly equal. A50 has more power than L30 on unbalanced, so even more than A50s. With its price drop can't think of anything better for the money than A50 if balanced is required and if one can still find it. L30 is also fantastic amp for Sundara and for the price. IMHO A50s makes sense only if balanced output is mandatory.

Do you notice any difference between A50 BE vs L30 SE with Sundara? I have no other reason to go balanced unless Sundara needs that extra balance power, from what I read the noise benefits of balanced is only in connection between the Amp and DAC which A50s lacks anyway.

 

[jawbfl]

Well D50s is heavy with full CNC aluminium block. Cost a lot to manufacturer and to ship. And for it's one of the cheaper dual 9038q dac out there.
A50s is a internal complete redesign with much much better performance. Also it has 4.4mm instead of 2.5mm.

Oh I didn't pay attention to that, so A50 is out because of 2.5mm.
No disrespect to Topping, the "stack tax" is always there from any company that's just my opinion and that's fine.

 

[TomB19]

I'm the one of those that actually notice such things but I don't mind it as long as usability and durability is not compromised (confirmed by JohnYang1997).

I feel about the same. I noticed it, also.

 

[TomB19]

Oh I didn't pay attention to that, so A50 is out because of 2.5mm.

I have kept the A50 because of the 2.5mm output. While I wait for a new 4.4mm balanced cable for my Sennheiser HD6XX, the A50 is more than sufficient to the task.

To be honest, I don't see value in the A50 -> A50s upgrade. I'm pleased for the upgrade but only because I'm a nut-job, like the rest of us here. lol!

 

[kkeretic]

Do you notice any difference between A50 BE vs L30 SE with Sundara? I have no other reason to go balanced unless Sundara needs that extra balance power, from what I read the noise benefits of balanced is only in connection between the Amp and DAC which A50s lacks anyway.

I only use SE from my A50 for all of my headphones. Not a tiny trace of noise even on a high gain with pot to max on anything I have (K712, Sundara, HD599 and ATH-M50x). Believe me, there is more power than you would ever need for Sundara even on a 0dB gain L30, and A50 SE on a 0dB (low) gain has even more power than L30.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Oh I didn't pay attention to that, so A50 is out because of 2.5mm.
No disrespect to Topping, the "stack tax" is always there from any company that's just my opinion and that's fine.

The D50s was released around 2019 June. A50s is released about a year later in 2020. If you can get your head around that a lot of things make sense.

 

[DiGeo7]

I really like the single source power provided by the P50, but can't seem to overlook A50s max balanced output power being less when used with the P50.

Even though 2.4W x 2 may be fine in practical terms, the P50 feels like expensive cable management that actually lowers system potential.

Will a P50s be released which addresses this?

View attachment 90872

What does this drop to 2.4W x 2 practically mean? Is it something to worry for a normal case scenario headphone usage?

 

[4udio]

What does this drop to 2.4W x 2 practically mean? Is it something to worry for a normal case scenario headphone usage?

It depends on your headphones. For most people it doesn't make difference at all. I've both P50 to use it with D50s since low noise PS is a must have for it and stack looks realy nice. P50 becomes hot when used with D50s an A50s at the same time.

 

[flyzipper]

... low noise PS is a must have for it...

The excellent measurements obtained from the A50s at the start of this post were with the stock power supply, and the equally impressive review of the D50s used, "the round 5 volt cable to USB that Topping provided", connected to a standard USB port on a desktop ... which is why the P50 makes no sense in terms of performance.

 

[4udio]

The excellent measurements obtained from the A50s at the start of this post were with the stock power supply, and the equally impressive review of the D50s used, "the round 5 volt cable to USB that Topping provided", connected to a standard USB port on a desktop ... which is why the P50 makes no sense in terms of performance.

I'm not speaking about measurements, I'm talking about sound reproduction. I've did blind AB test with a few friends and conclusion is that D50s reproduces sound differently with LPS than with phone charger (I've tested with huawei, apple, samsung, nokia and lg chargers). I've told them that we are compering D50s and dac inside my LG V30 so they did not know that I'm just switching power source.
It is especially noticeable in low frequencies.

 

[Veri]

I'm not speaking about measurements, I'm talking about sound reproduction. I've did blind AB test with a few friends and conclusion is that D50s reproduces sound differently with LPS than with phone charger (I've tested with huawei, apple, samsung, nokia and lg chargers). I've told them that we are compering D50s and dac inside my LG V30 so they did not know that I'm just switching power source.
It is especially noticeable in low frequencies.

There's zero proof of how that would be possible/explainable though, see

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-the-hdplex-200w-supply.7713 USB power, generic charger, and expensive HDPlex PSU compared.

Most simple explanation is that you/your friends are hearing things that are not there. Look at the left-hand side of the graph, do you see anything that could explain difference in lower frequencies? I sure don't.

 

[4udio]

There's zero proof of how that would be possible/explainable though, see USB power, generic charger, and expensive HDPlex PSU compared.

Most simple explanation is that you/your friends are hearing things that are not there. Look at the left-hand side of the graph, do you see anything that could explain difference in lower frequencies? I sure don't.

It is highly unlikely for 6 persons to hear at the same time same things that are not there .
I've seen this measurements before buying my LPS and because of that I've used power bank for some time just to test if I can hear difference.
For example, I don't hear any difference when powering LA-QXD1 with LPS or any other power source.

 

[Veri]

It is highly unlikely for 6 persons to hear at the same time same things that are not there .
I've seen this measurements before buying my LPS and because of that I've used power bank for some time just to test if I can hear difference.
For example, I don't hear any difference when powering LA-QXD1 with LPS or any other power source.

I believe your observation, I just can't rationally explain it when measurements of three different PS show not a single difference in low-end.

 

[4udio]

I believe your observation, I just can't rationally explain it when measurements of three different PS show not a single difference in low-end.

To be honest, I've refused to believe at first but difference was there. I always trust measurements, for this DAC too, but I couldn't explain difference in sound in this particular case. That was the reason why I've called my friends and went with AB testing.
I still don't have an explanation.

 

[flyzipper]

...blind AB test with a few friends and conclusion is that D50s reproduces sound differently with LPS than with phone charger (I've tested with huawei, apple, samsung, nokia and lg chargers). I've told them that we are compering D50s and dac inside my LG V30 so they did not know that I'm just switching power source.

Some reasons for "hearing" a difference based on this statement...
- people were told there would be a difference in the sources
- they were told that something new was being compared to something old
- they were told that a dedicated DAC was being compared to a smartphone DAC
- the delay switching from A to B was too long (the D50s would have to be unplugged, plugged, powered on, source selected, and the music restarted)
- the test was conducted as a group (implied, not stated)
- the phone chargers were unable to provide the 5V the D50s needs.

 

[samshaver]

The whole A and D Series is going to upgrade to pro versions. The pro versions will have internal power supply, relatively larger chassis, less compromises overall and higher price. E and L series are for best performance to price ratio, small chassis, external supply.

For A70, it's not going to happen probably ever. If A70 were to exist it would be as large as D70/D70s which is impractical. A30pro has pairing D30pro that's larger than original A30/D30 but smaller than A90/D90.

Hum... So why nothing to pair with the new D70s that I just bought?!? Will there be a balanced option in the L series?!?

 

[Gkhercules]

I'm new to the headphone audio world, I got the Emotiva GR-1 headphones for Xmas and they sound really good just off an Audioquest Dragonfly Black. Looking for a desktop amp now, what would be the better buy the A50s or SMSL SH-9? I have the SMSL SU-9 DAC already running on my main system for full MQA decode and I was going to use that for a DAC. Thanks in advance.

 

[julianlopez_85]

Hello all i'm new to this forum and this is my first post here...i have the sundaras and when i tested it at the shop with an amp it sounded pretty good however i have the asus xonar u7 mk 1 from years ago which is still working fine but i feel like the amp in that combo can't really handle the sundaras properly. I can get it to listening levels but i feel like it's not at the level that the HP wants to perform dynamically. The u7 has a Cirrus Logic CS4398 dac which outputs at 24/192(https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/xonar-u7-7-1-usb-soundkarte.16382/reviews). I'm ok with keeping the DAC cause it sound fine to me but because i'm also on a budget atm, but i've read that the L30 could be a good addition to the u7 as an amp to give the Sundaras a better push however some reviews on youtube state that the L30 while is a decent pairing it's not the best pairing for the Sundaras,so i guess the next one up is the A50s. Really wanted to hear your thoughts on this, also would really like to hear owners who have the sundaras and either the L30 or A50s can weigh in on their thoughts. Thanks in advance.

 

[kkeretic]

but i've read that the L30 could be a good addition to the u7 as an amp to give the Sundaras a better push however some reviews on youtube state that the L30 while is a decent pairing it's not the best pairing for the Sundaras,so i guess the next one up is the A50s.

According to all the measurements and tons of discussion about these devices around ASR, if we take into account that both amplifiers are completely transparent with insanely high SINAD result and very low output impedance + both have tons of power, really can't see a reason or way for these devices to sound different. And I'm pretty sure they both "sound" the same. I have a pair of Sundaras and both the Topping A50 (first model) and L30, and really can't hear the difference. And L30 is similar to A50s except for appearance and features. Sundara sound great on L30. But be careful if you opt for L30. Because of that, If I had to choose now, I would definitely take the A50s or something from some other company.

 

[julianlopez_85]

According to all the measurements and tons of discussion about these devices around ASR, if we take into account that both amplifiers are completely transparent with insanely high SINAD result and very low output impedance + both have tons of power, really can't see a reason or way for these devices to sound different. And I'm pretty sure they both "sound" the same. I have a pair of Sundaras and both the Topping A50 (first model) and L30, and really can't hear the difference. And L30 is similar to A50s except for appearance and features. Sundara sound great on L30. But be careful if you opt for L30. Because of that, If I had to choose now, I would definitely take the A50s or something from some other company.

So the L30 has a tendency to fail and take the sundaras with it? that's not good...i think i might have to continue see if the a50s suffers from this issue as well