Topping D50 III Balanced DAC with EQ Review

[JOCoin]

After some back & forth communication /mis-communication* with Topping support via Amazon I found out what was the problem.
Getting no where for so long I took radical action. I replaced the batteries in the remote. The previous batteries had power but it seems not enough to actually do the pairing. Once a 2nd set of of not-new batteries were inserted I was able to pair the remote with the DAC so simply that in shock I fell off my stool!
* As it must be difficult for their support people to explain things in a foreign language I found like here also people tend to assume a level of prior knowledge that in many cases does not exist. Some here are audio engineers others here are merely customers of products they have no engineering knowledge of.

Glad to hear you got it figured out !
Never would have considered low batteries.
I fall into the second category of no engineering knowledge, haha.
Happy listening !

 

[VientoB]

After some back & forth communication /mis-communication* with Topping support via Amazon I found out what was the problem.
Getting no where for so long I took radical action. I replaced the batteries in the remote. The previous batteries had power but it seems not enough to actually do the pairing. Once a 2nd set of of not-new batteries were inserted I was able to pair the remote with the DAC so simply that in shock I fell off my stool!
* As it must be difficult for their support people to explain things in a foreign language I found like here also people tend to assume a level of prior knowledge that in many cases does not exist. Some here are audio engineers others here are merely customers of products they have no engineering knowledge of.

Perhaps rechargeable batteries would work?

 

[SacreDro]

Has anyone had any problems connecting it to a PC and hear a hissing sound or interrupted sound while the DAC is connected via USB and the signal out via RCA into an integrated amp?

 

[MWC]

Has anyone had any problems connecting it to a PC and hear a hissing sound or interrupted sound while the DAC is connected via USB and the signal out via RCA into an integrated amp?

Yes and in my case it turned out to be audio settings in Windows. Also take care because Windows can reset those carefully chosen audio settings with a PC reboot or a new Windows update. Eventually I abandoned the RCA out and now use the TRS out which has been stable fore some time now.

 

[beaker152]

That kind of defeats the purpose of having a "better" remote. OK, no need to point it at the unit but you still have to wait quite a bit before it responds. Hardly ideal.
Don't know why Topping struggles with this, remotes have been around for ages

has anyone found a quick way to get the remote to be responsive again after it goes to sleep?

 

[Scar]

Hello everyone! I wanted to ask for some advice regarding this device. Im not really "new" in hifi but i've never had a true DAC on my setup and im looking to upgrade. Here's my setup: Little dot mk2 amp, 6xx headphones, and currently a pod ux2 guitar interface as "dac". I know, its not supposed to do that, but it does the job for now. So, onto my questions: Is the d50iii a good addition to this setup? I know LDmk2 might not be the cleanest amp but it should still do better with a cleaner source, right? Im also considering the topping DX3 Pro+, and I havent come across a direct comparison of the two. I know dx3 has an integrated amp, which could be nice as a "cleaner, flatter" amp option to AB test with the LDmk2. So, would you recommend either device for this system? or maybe another device? thank you and sorry if im going off topic here, there's not many places on the internet right now discussing the d50iii. Cheers!

 

[Bleib]

has anyone found a quick way to get the remote to be responsive again after it goes to sleep?

That would require firmware updates to change how they function. Don't expect it.

 

[somebodyelse]

That would require firmware updates to change how they function. Don't expect it.

And if it does get an update, expect significant reduction in battery life.

 

[dimedrol]

Ideally I want a DAC with not just PEQ but also with a calibration microphone that can be used to create and store equalization profiles in the DAC. Now that would be a perfect DAC for me.

 

[cme]

Posting here because this is the only DAC with EQ I'm aware of, and maybe someone here has figured this out:

I have a couple wired headphones that I use with EQ that I want to be able to swap between quickly/easily. Electronics would have to be located beyond arm's reach so I want to leave both headphones constantly plugged in. Would really like to just have to pick up a new set of headphones and have it playing.

I have two ideas:

Use one DAC and a headphone amp like the A90 Pro that drives two cans simultaneously. When I switch headphones, I'd also hit the hotkey for PEACE to swap EQ. Both headphones would always be playing - and the balanced would always be louder than SE so I'd also have to adjust volume.

Get 2x D50 IIIs and amps. Then figure out how to force W11 to drive two USB outputs simultaneously (Jriver Media Center or Voicemeeter? Stereo Mix keeps disabling itself, ugh.). If I figure that out, both headphones would always be playing with their own EQ and matched levels. [If I can't figure that out, then I'd have to use W11 Sound settings to swap between output devices.]

Are one of these better - or is there a third alternative?

 

[staticV3]

Are one of these better - or is there a third alternative?

Buy an ADI-2 Pro or ADI-2/4 Pro

Use ADI-2 Remote application to control the unit from your PC

Load different EQ presets onto each headphone output

Toggle between headphone outputs as you change headphones, using the Remote application.

 

[cme]

I gasped at the price initially - but used ones seem to also be available. Spec sheet looks attractive and I'll take a closer look, thanks!

Edit: I fear the 5-band PEQ would be a limitation. For $1500+ I'd want the option to use 10 bands like Topping offers in the D50 III.

 

[Chagall]

I gasped at the price initially - but used ones seem to also be available. Spec sheet looks attractive and I'll take a closer look, thanks!

Edit: I fear the 5-band PEQ would be a limitation. For $1500+ I'd want the option to use 10 bands like Topping offers in the D50 III.

How about Fiio K19? DAC amp combo, 31-band PEQ, remote PC or mobile app.

Although, it hasn't been measured here and it's a relatively new device, but maybe worth to check out.

 

[cme]

Ooh, spicy - I'm taking a close read! Cheers!

[I was just reading a dissertation in RME forum on why I shouldn't need more than 5 PEQ bands... not sure I was swayed.]

On the K19, I could find the quick-start guide, but not the full manual. I saw that I could switch output modes (i.e., PO for front headphone jack, LO for rear audio connectors only). I couldn't tell if I can use the remote to switch between the 3 headphone jacks. Will keep looking around...

Would be great if switching between cans was just 2 buttons on remote - swap output then swap eq...

 

[staticV3]

[I was just reading a dissertation in RME forum on why I shouldn't need more than 5 PEQ bands... not sure I was swayed.]

The ADI-2 has 7-band EQ, technically.

Five Peak filters, one Low shelf filter, and one High shelf filter.

oratory1990 has a long list of headphone presets made specifically for the ADI-2:

index/list_of_presets_rme_adi-2 - oratory1990

r/oratory1990: Mostly covering topics like headphones, in-ear headphones, acoustics, electroacoustics, acoustic tuning, headphone design …

www.reddit.com

Beyond that, you can create your own ADI-2 7-band presets using AutoEQ's Custom PEQ function: https://autoeq.app/

 

[cme]

Thanks - I did eventually see that the shelves exist as well. Seems like the ADI-2 and FIIO K19 have similar functionality as it relates to ability to store multiple EQs for multiple headsets. I might have to just order one to try it out. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Rednaxela]

As amazing a device as the ADI-2 DAC is, its PEQ functionality is relatively limited, esp. in this day and age.

Not only is it 'just' 5 + 2 bands, but there are also F (and Q) limitations on two of the five PK bands.

In RME's defense, the manual does explain why.

But to me personally it's too many if's and but's to work around for my use case.

YMMV and HTH.

 

[Takura]

Fully agree that more capable PEQ, at least for sample rates below 192kHz, would be neat.

That said: The RME ADI-2 DAC FS makes it very easy to rotate up to 3 headphones/IEMs with corresponding PEQ settings.

Plugging in either Phones (6.35mm) or IEMs (3.5mm) switches automatically to their respective last used PEQ setting. Switching to line-out (to an external headphone amp) and back is just a button press (if output selection is set to "toggle" mode) and will also switch automatically to the last used PEQ setting.

Therefore, if I am rotating between two headphones or IEMs, one connected directly and one via external amp, a button press will switch between them and automatically select corresponding PEQ, no (un)plugging or multiple button presses required.

If I am rotating between 3 headphones/IEMs (with at least one of them an IEM), I need to (un)plug the directly connected headphone/IEM versus a button press for the external amp, but I don't have to care about PEQ as corresponding PEQ will be selected automatically.

Don't really know if this is unique but couldn't yet find another DAC that makes switching PEQ corresponding to used output so easy. Would be really interested to learn if there are any, for a future switch/upgrade. (Or, if this is a function that isn't yet built into Topping devices, I hope Topping will consider this in the future.)

Of course, this is valid only for up to 3 items, if you are rotating more than 3, you will need to select the EQ manually from PC/iPad remote app or with remote control.

 

[cme]

That sounds incredible - just like the experience I'd want to have!

Do you know if level matching / adjustments are also available - i.e., if in addition to the 5 EQ bands, high/low shelf, can you also set a Pre Amplifying level adjustment?

 

[Kevinb]

This looks really promising, I hope Topping add EQ into their DAC/Amp combo units. This is a promising future for affordable DACs with EQ and great performance.
I love the direction and drive in Toppings development.
Kev