Topping D10s USB DAC and Bridge Review

[sneijderman]

Hey, I just received my D10s which is also my first ever DAC.
I am a bit of a noob and have a question regarding settings.

What is safe mode and do I need it?
Which buffer size do I have to select?

I want to use the DAC to play music and to play games, especially CS:GO. I see the buffer size changes latency and of course I want minimum latency in games. What are the best settings here? Thanks in advance!

 

[LTig]

Today received D10s. Subjectively, the sound becomes a little brighter and sharper at the same volume than the e30. But if listen for a long time, then the difference is no longer obvious. But when switching quickly, it feels. In any case, it is subjective.

... and maybe caused by slightly different output levels.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Hey, I just received my D10s which is also my first ever DAC.
I am a bit of a noob and have a question regarding settings.

What is safe mode and do I need it?
Which buffer size do I have to select?

I want to use the DAC to play music and to play games, especially CS:GO. I see the buffer size changes latency and of course I want minimum latency in games. What are the best settings here? Thanks in advance!

View attachment 75372View attachment 75373

Leave at default. No impact on latency when you play csgo.

If you want to know more:
It only applies when you use ASIO in a software. Software can be foobar2000, audirvana, or DAWs like reaper, cubase etc.

 

[Dnugzar]

and sharper

Not velvet... Connection is same? If yes, Toslink for e30 not better?

 

[Sak]

... and maybe caused by slightly different output levels.

Maybe.

Not velvet... Connection is same? If yes, Toslink for e30 not better?

Yeah, connection is the same. I dont use toslink, just usb.

 

[sneijderman]

Leave at default. No impact on latency when you play csgo.

If you want to know more:
It only applies when you use ASIO in a software. Software can be foobar2000, audirvana, or DAWs like reaper, cubase etc.

Which sample rate would be the best to go with? I currently have 24 bit, 44100 Hz activated.

 

[dpippel]

Ordered one on Saturday, shipped from China on Saturday, out for delivery in Phoenix, AZ today. THANK YOU, once again, Apos Audio!

EDIT: And delivered, 48 hours from the time I placed my order.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Which sample rate would be the best to go with? I currently have 24 bit, 44100 Hz activated.

The same as your source files.

 

[AudioStudies]

I just ordered the Topping D10S today. Sure are a lot of DACs around here, as I maintain multiple systems. Topping D90, RME ADI-2 and vintage DACs from Enlightened Audio Design (EAD). D10S sure will make it easy to get from computer to other dacs.

 

[CerealKiller]

and I just got an E30. Damn. I guess I may be looking to sell my E30 and buy a D10s as the toslink bridge is very useful to me for connecting my BT transmitter.

Where aré you from ?

 

[wiz2596]

Ordered one on Saturday, shipped from China on Saturday, out for delivery in Phoenix, AZ today. THANK YOU, once again, Apos Audio!

EDIT: And delivered, in 48 hours from the time I placed my order.

I'm still waiting mine from Amazon

 

[CerealKiller]

Have you considered the possibility that one of these might help?

Yeah... I saw those but the thing is, i just want the bloddy thing to work, the whole point of beeing good AND cheap Is just that, staying good and cheap, addons to make ir work are a no go for me... I would just replaceit with the E30 then, or as its right now, with my DX3 pro from the livingroom TV set.

 

[dpippel]

Just hooked up my new D10s and... nothing. No output. It's connected to a MacBook Pro running Catalina 10.15.6 via USB. The RCA outs are connected to the RCA inputs on my Monolith 887, and I'm using Tidal streaming with the D10s selected and set to Exclusive Access. Using a Drop HD6xx connected to the 887 via balanced.

I'm getting no sound from the D10s, but if I turn the amp all the way up I can BARELY hear something that sounds like music very, very faintly. Almost like static. The M200 I have connected to the 887 works just fine. Tidal and the Mac see the D10s with no problem, and if I change to a track with a higher sampling rate it displays this correctly. BUT, no sound.

I've rebooted, double-checked all connections, etc., and am at a loss. I think I may have a DOA unit. Anyone have any ideas?

EDIT: Swapped USB cables and it appears the cable included with the DAC is bad. Works fine now.

 

[dpippel]

No Bluetooth support.

Dude, it's $99. The M200 is almost three times as much.

 

[Toku]

No Bluetooth support. I will stay on my smsl M200, which I believe is one of the best budget DACs with complete Bluetooth support.

Please review smsl m200.

You are misunderstanding the D10s product concept.
The D10 is a USB-DAC product that also has the function of a digital converter, and its purpose of use is different from that of the M200.

 

[Davide]

Has anyone checked or knows if this new D10S has the correct or inverted phase output?

Moreover, as a non-electronics expert I ask myself, wouldn't it be useful to try to measure the phase along the frequency spectrum during DACs test?
From what little I understand, it is not obvious that the phase is linear ... it should depend on the implementation of the output circuits ... or I'm wrong?

 

[JohnYang1997]

Has anyone checked or knows if this new D10S has the correct or inverted phase output?

Moreover, as a non-electronics expert I ask myself, wouldn't it be useful to try to measure the phase along the frequency spectrum during DACs test?
From what little I understand, it is not obvious that the phase is linear ... it should depend on the implementation of the output circuits ... or I'm wrong?

Not inverted. In terms of phase it's dependant to the digital filter. Default is anodizing which should have flat phase.

 

[Davide]

Not inverted. In terms of phase it's dependant to the digital filter. Default is anodizing which should have flat phase.

Very well, thank you!

However, I mean phase shifts due to circuits, such as opamps. I have seen that the opamps in the specifications report a phase graph, which is often not linear (at least in open loop).

 

[JohnYang1997]

Very well, thank you!

However, I mean phase shifts due to circuits, such as opamps. I have seen that the opamps in the specifications report a phase graph, which is often not linear (at least in open loop).

That's often way up there in the Mhz range for opamps. For DACs, there's LPF circuitry. But it still doesn't matter either as it contribute too little and not important.

 

[eliash]

Optically isolating the second DAC to break ground loops. It's only relevant if you have an issue with ground loops.

Even though my Samsung NC10 Netbook (used for playback) has no ground connection in its powersupply, parasitic currents (through capacitive mains coupling!) cause audible trouble. That is because parasitic current flows through the USB cable into any DAC (when its USB-port is somehow connected to the analog ground - which can be simply checked with DMM - Ohm measurement) and further flowing through the analog output cable to the often gounded amp. Since all (analog) cables and amp inputs have some ohmic resistance in their ground connection, there is an audible voltage drop from that parasitic current. (This may emerge from the PC´s power supply or from the PC itself).
Grounding the PC in that case will cause an additional ground loop.
That´s why I decided to ground the PC (via shielded LAN cable, WiFi disabled anyway) and use an external USB to S/PDIF converter towards the DAC, yielding isolating output transformers even on both sides.
Using a long enough S/PDIF cable (to move pulse edge reflections away for the sake of least jitter - caused by impedance mismatch on the S/PDIF line - some 2-3m long will do), I think jitter perfomance promises to be better than via Toslink (and better 192KHz sampling rate support anyway).