Topping D50 III Balanced DAC with EQ Review

[audiojack]

Am I the only one who wished this just had an IR remote? Topping boasts about the new bluetooth remote, possibly all their dac's will have bluetooth remotes.

Bluetooth remote causes unnecessary battery drain in the remote, and also unnecessary electrosmog (yes I do use a smartphone but besides that have everything wired). Most bluetooth remotes also often emit electrosmog when not in use.

 

[cme]

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

There is not clear instructions for use of this device (it's not that the user guide is not downloadable - it's that there is no comprehensive English user guide) so I bought the K19 to try it out.

It does sound excellent (nothing my non-golden ears might quibble with) and the built-in PEQ works.

Some challenges: 1) all headphones are always driven - so no output selection, 2) no preamp level adjustment in the EQ (i.e., no way to normalize volume between cans), 3) I have to actually be able to see the device (or the control app on my phone) to see which EQ is currently active.

I really liked the user experience of the RME that Takura wrote out (toggle headphones and get the right EQ and volume level), so I'm going to try that next. It's just too bad that the PEQ functions are limited and that it will cost several hundred more.

If that doesn't work, I'll spring for a couple Topping IIIs and use W11 sound settings to swap between them.

 

[somebodyelse]

Won't happen, chip limitations

Do you have a source for this? From previous discussion the XMOS is capable of doing it, but it requires significant effort on the software. Because of that most manufacturers don't design hardware to route other inputs through the XMOS. We were assuming Topping did this too - so a hardware design limitation not a chip limitation.

 

[johny_2000]

The description in the changelog is messed up.

V1.37 HV:2.5 (June 21, 2024)
---------------------------------------------------
1. Fixed a bug where DSD playback was abnormal.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
V1.30 HV:2.5 (June 21, 2024)
---------------------------------------------------
1. Fixed the bug where playing DSD sound abnormally

I hope the firmware file is not screwed up. It was modified on August 22nd. Two weeks ago. Probably, they tested it for stability at that time.

Answer from Topping:
"They have the same description, but the later version is meant to fix what wasn't perfected in the earlier one."

I think they could at least change the date to avoid confusion.

 

[Bleib]

Do you have a source for this? From previous discussion the XMOS is capable of doing it, but it requires significant effort on the software. Because of that most manufacturers don't design hardware to route other inputs through the XMOS. We were assuming Topping did this too - so a hardware design limitation not a chip limitation.

Hasn't it been talked to death already here @ ASR? We can only expect D90 III discrete to have PEQ on all inputs
For me D50 III is just the start of implementing this, I expect better functionality in the future.

 

[andrelambert_]

D50 III or SMSL D6S?

 

[johny_2000]

D50 III or SMSL D6S?

They are very close in specifications. In the same choice as you, I chose the D50 III because of its smaller footprint. Mainly due to the space taken up by the built-in power supply.

 

[DantonIzzo]

Did they add PEQ support for other inputs?

No. The only difference for me appears to be Apt. X is not an option in the unit's menu (wasn't there before).

 

[johny_2000]

Below are the THD+N (SINAD) measurements of the D50 III (v.1.37) using the most popular analysis software.
48 kHz, 5V mode (default), -0.5 dB output, AES17 notch (997.56 Hz).

Overall results are close to the SINAD value of 124 dB (unweighted).

 

[DantonIzzo]

Below are the THD+N (SINAD) measurements of the D50 III (v.1.37) using the most popular analysis software.
48 kHz, 5V mode (default), -0.5 dB output, AES17 notch (997.56 Hz).
View attachment 391942View attachment 391943View attachment 391945View attachment 391944
Overall results are close to the SINAD value of 124 dB (unweighted).

Isn’t 124 top of the chart currently?

 

[Bleib]

Isn’t 124 top of the chart currently?

At this level the differences are too small to care about, can't hear the difference

 

[johny_2000]

Isn’t 124 top of the chart currently?

That's true, but forgive me, my instruments are amateur-grade. Good enough to get an estimates, but the results are not directly comparable to the reports from a calibrated Audio Precision analyzer.

Overall, this is of course an amazing achievement from a DAC of this price. But here the merit of ESS with its chips is greater than the final implementation from the manufacturer.

 

[DeDovla]

Isn’t 124 top of the chart currently?

The SINAD number that Amir posts in the chart is calculated at 2V SE output or 4V XLR/TRS Balanced output (whatever is better on the device, usually balanced). This measurement a few posts above was done at 5V -0.5 dB so as such it is not comparable to the chart. However you could compare it to this one:

As you can see the firmware update did not have a negative impact on SINAD. As far as which one is the best, there is no official table for 5V XLR output but the D50 III is surely up there. Don't forget that everything above 110dB SINAD is placed by Amir in the excellent category and the top 20 tested (or maybe even top 50 as now a lot of devices clear 120dB even) are considered state of the art.

EDIT: I quickly checked a few recently tested DACs that do have 5V and this same test and D50 III (5V = 123.8dB) is near the top with the RAW-MDA1 (5.2V = 124.2dB). SMSL D-6s for example is 5V = 123.2dB - not saying this as a selling point, just for comparison sake. The highest one I could find so far is the Loxjie D40 Pro 5.3V = 124.8dB however both it and RAW-MDA1 output a bit more voltage so it's not surprising that they have a slightly better score.

 

[johny_2000]

As you can see the firmware update did not have a negative impact on SINAD.

And it looks like the specs on Topping's website aren't too overstated.

EDIT: Their specs are A-weighted, mine are not. The A-wt results are about +2dB higher, which is close to their results:

 

[DeDovla]

And it looks like the specs on Topping's website aren't too overstated.

At this point we're really splitting hairs But yes, usually Topping has very correct marketing materials. SMSL for example does have a tendency to not state some facts or overestimate as seen in the power output of SMSL RAW-MDA1 which when measured by Amir was lacking around 0.3W at 32Ohm compared to SMSL specs (1.7W vs 1.4W).

 

[FrenchFan]

Hello everyone

Go to this discussion .

A lot of measurements are based on
the D50III topping .

Some people have really exceptional D50III
in THD+N .

 

[johny_2000]

There may have been some ground loop effects that raised the H2 in my previous setup. I now split the DAC on the power bank and the battery powered laptop as a REW signal generator. Leaving ADC running with the PC and AES17 Notch on a separate power bank, I got the following results:

 

[johny_2000]

Does anyone know where I can get a short 12v trigger cable like this for a D50 + A50 stack?
It's basically a 3.5mm male-to-male mono cable, about 4 inches(?) long.

 

[Bleib]

Does anyone know where I can get a short 12v trigger cable like this for a D50 + A50 stack?
It's basically a 3.5mm male-to-male mono cable, about 4 inches(?) long.

View attachment 392384

I find it a bit odd that Topping is not selling them on their own, and easy addition to many orders and a bit more money earned

 

[herr.jemine]

Does anyone know where I can get a short 12v trigger cable like this for a D50 + A50 stack?
It's basically a 3.5mm male-to-male mono cable, about 4 inches(?) long.

well, 0.5m:

https://www.amazon.de/Abgewinkelt-Klinkenstecker-Stecker-Anschlusskabel-Vergoldeten-Schwarz/dp/B084NZB96X/ref=sr_1_17?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=38LJEEQX29UEL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.uRcWi50NtIo14w_D6oTgdWA1R4KyY5mRi38SItsQgUEIaXoR6_nPE7-Jx_K_VInxcAYGgslgEjoLMp9T7KUjckol6Piye97nrgutAgieyQET_jWRH9ARcCNDTixJgDqAq5cr45D5g0Z-vD2FOE1gsT4t6Pq6D_t0u-QiHcdh5olF12P__TvxlvIAvtuqGEgyNf3JANvX8M4H75UbCO0QWGLdJY8D9drGu2CS8FcjJAM.r6wmCv2JUX1cTYp1M6HbOs7Ml4RUafSmAiOiQr9NgOA&dib_tag=se&keywords=12v%2Btrigger%2Bcable&sprefix=12v%2Btrigger%2Bcable%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-17&th=1