Topping D50 III Balanced DAC with EQ Review

[KaiDeus]

I'm quite dissapointed with the software quality of my D50III, namely the EQ integration with topping tune.

Whenever i save an eq profile on the device for playback with other sources than usb, the preamplification setting always resets to 0, which makes absolutely no sense. Further more, every value is rounded to the nearest 0.5, which isn't the worst thing, but it shows a weird limitations with their implementation of the on device eq profiles.
Having 0db preamplification with most eq profiles makes them pointless, because it produces clipping. I can't fathom why topping is unable to the the problem in this or is unable to fix it. Firmware, software etc. are all up to date.

I will probably just send the unit back and buy a wiim ultra and be done with any product from topping that involves more than the most basic software. My A50III is doing just fine.

 

[ziggurcat]

I'm quite dissapointed with the software quality of my D50III, namely the EQ integration with topping tune.

Whenever i save an eq profile on the device for playback with other sources than usb, the preamplification setting always resets to 0, which makes absolutely no sense. Further more, every value is rounded to the nearest 0.5, which isn't the worst thing, but it shows a weird limitations with their implementation of the on device eq profiles.
Having 0db preamplification with most eq profiles makes them pointless, because it produces clipping. I can't fathom why topping is unable to the the problem in this or is unable to fix it. Firmware, software etc. are all up to date.

I will probably just send the unit back and buy a wiim ultra and be done with any product from topping that involves more than the most basic software. My A50III is doing just fine.

The D50 III only supports PEQ with the USB input, it will not work if you use COAX or TOSLINK. In the time I spent using PEQ on the D50 III, it never reset the preamp gain on me outside of the 0.5dB rounding thing (which is a limitation of the PEQ functionality on that particular DAC -- FWIW, PEQ on the newer DX5 II can be set to the nearest 0.1dB), so I'm not sure what's going on there. Do you have the latest FW (v1.39) installed, and Topping Tune version (v1.09)?

Also, it's difficult for Topping to fix these issues if no one let's them know about them.

 

[decomo]

Hello. I am thinking to get this DAC and connecting my active speakers and a powered subwoofer. Can I connect Balanced Out to active speakers and Single Ended RCA out to subwoofer at the same time to control volume for both or it only allows either balanced or SE out? Thank you in advance.

 

[Robert Weide]

Hello. I am thinking to get this DAC and connecting my active speakers and a powered subwoofer. Can I connect Balanced Out to active speakers and Single Ended RCA out to subwoofer at the same time to control volume for both or it only allows either balanced or SE out? Thank you in advance.

Not recommended. Although this DAC supports dual output mode, some noise will occur if you do so.

 

[DeDovla]

This new update of Topping Tune (v1.14) finally fixed the issue of saving preamp values in 0.1dB increments on the D50III device profiles itself (filter values are still rounded to 0.5dB which is shown upon app restart). Also, a bug that was present in v1.09 that would not save preamplification/filter values on the device properly (it would just save it completely wrong, which could be verified upon restart of the app).

I recommend this update for people that use Topping Tune (currently this update is only available through the app).

 

[PJR918BMW]

Not recommended. Although this DAC supports dual output mode, some noise will occur if you do so.

..is this a definite? Are you quoting from a measured source? The impact seems to vary from none to noticeable depending on DAC and output wring, buffering etc. Not trying to be awkward but I am looking at this device for this precise usage so input would be helpful.

 

[YSDR]

..is this a definite? Are you quoting from a measured source?

I experienced significant DC offset output when connected both XLR and RCA devices at the same time to my DAC. Although this was not a D50 III but may advisable for other DACs aswell to measure the DC offset if you do so and you use a DC coupled signal chain.

 

[PJR918BMW]

I experienced significant DC offset output when connected both XLR and RCA devices at the same time to my DAC. Although this was not a D50 III but may advisable for other DACs aswell to measure the DC offset if you do so and you use a DC coupled signal chain.

Ok. Thx. What was it that made you measure it? Was there an actual problem?

 

[YSDR]

Ok. Thx. What was it that made you measure it? Was there an actual problem?

I tried a new amp (that is DC coupled) with XLR input and was curious about the DC offset and it was surprisingly high with about 200 mV. But the source of this offset was not the amp itself but the DAC, which was also connected to my old amp via RCA. When I disconnected the RCA, the DC offset was reduced to about 10 mV, which is low and acceptable.

 

[PJR918BMW]

I tried a new amp (that is DC coupled) with XLR input and was curious about the DC offset and it was surprisingly high with about 200 mV. But the source of this offset was not the amp itself but the DAC, which was also connected to my old amp via RCA. When I disconnected the RCA, the DC offset was reduced to about 10 mV, which is low and acceptable.

ok thx. So not audible - no artifacts? I may be being thick here but what makes you sure it was the DAC and not the other amp - you seem to have a number of variables in that scenario? I am just looking for something conclusive but cant seem to find it.

 

[YSDR]

what makes you sure it was the DAC and not the other amp

Okay, I'm not sure about that.

 

[PJR918BMW]

Ok. Thanks for your help. Appreciated.

 

[Robert Weide]

..is this a definite? Are you quoting from a measured source? The impact seems to vary from none to noticeable depending on DAC and output wring, buffering etc. Not trying to be awkward but I am looking at this device for this precise usage so input would be helpful.

When I was trying dual output mode on two separate amps (jds atom 2 and topping A70pro), there was a significant decrease in audio quality with some random noises. RCA or XLR mode alone didn’t have any issues.

 

[PJR918BMW]

When I was trying dual output mode on two separate amps (jds atom 2 and topping A70pro), there was a significant decrease in audio quality with some random noises. RCA or XLR mode alone didn’t have any issues.

Ok thank you. I wonder why? Maybe differing impedances? Or some grounding "conflicts" ?
Above my pay grade. But not good it was audible

 

[PJR918BMW]

So more digging around and it appears from specs and the independent settings for each that the outputs on the topping are dual buffered . So should be ok.

 

[Sagittarius]

Hi everyone,

I am working on a Home Automation project to integrate the Topping D50 III into a Linux/Home Assistant environment. My goal is to unify volume control using a single remote (FireTV) across all inputs.

While I can easily control the volume via USB/ALSA when the DAC is the primary output for my Arch Linux streamer, I lose this ability when the DAC is switched to the Optical input (TV). To solve this, I am trying to emulate the BC-15A Bluetooth remote commands via GATT writes from my Linux server (using a dedicated ASUS USB-BT500 adapter).

Technical details found so far:

• Service: 00001100-d102-11e1-9b23-00025b00a5a5
• Write Characteristic: 00001101-d102-11e1-9b23-00025b00a5a5 (Handle 0x000d)

The issue:Sending simple hex values like 0x01 or 0x02 to this handle results in an org.bluez.Error.Failed. It appears the D50 III requires a specific frame format (header, multi-byte payload, or perhaps a checksum).

Has anyone successfully sniffed the Bluetooth traffic of the D50 III using Wireshark or btmon? I am looking for the exact byte sequences for:

1. Volume Up / Volume Down
2. Mute
3. Input Selection (Optional but helpful)

If you have any logs or have successfully reversed the Topping BLE protocol for recent models, your help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[beaker152]

Hi everyone,

I am working on a Home Automation project to integrate the Topping D50 III into a Linux/Home Assistant environment. My goal is to unify volume control using a single remote (FireTV) across all inputs.

While I can easily control the volume via USB/ALSA when the DAC is the primary output for my Arch Linux streamer, I lose this ability when the DAC is switched to the Optical input (TV). To solve this, I am trying to emulate the BC-15A Bluetooth remote commands via GATT writes from my Linux server (using a dedicated ASUS USB-BT500 adapter).

Technical details found so far:

• Service: 00001100-d102-11e1-9b23-00025b00a5a5
• Write Characteristic: 00001101-d102-11e1-9b23-00025b00a5a5 (Handle 0x000d)

The issue:Sending simple hex values like 0x01 or 0x02 to this handle results in an org.bluez.Error.Failed. It appears the D50 III requires a specific frame format (header, multi-byte payload, or perhaps a checksum).

Has anyone successfully sniffed the Bluetooth traffic of the D50 III using Wireshark or btmon? I am looking for the exact byte sequences for:

1. Volume Up / Volume Down
2. Mute
3. Input Selection (Optional but helpful)

If you have any logs or have successfully reversed the Topping BLE protocol for recent models, your help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

i used wireshark to capture that stuff sometime back in hopes of making myself a remote that didn't have to be woken up every 3 minutes... i had some questionable info from topping tech support and a bluetooth sniffer device, but was unsuccessful in reverse engineering the protocol in the time i had, so i put it in IR mode and used an rpi with an IR led to control it and that was straightforward. my devices will be going into a cabinet, so i'll be using the rpi (or similar) to control my D50 and fosi P4 via wifi instead of those two remotes...

would love to hear if anyone has been able to replicate the BT interface programmatically

 

[Sagittarius]

Thanks for the detailed info and for sharing your experience!

Since infrared appears much simpler with HAOS – especially using a Tuya IR blaster (which I already have and works great) – I'm planning to switch the DAC to IR mode and learn the remote codes that way. It should be straightforward to send commands for volume, mute, input selection, etc.

Any tips on the best codes or potential gotchas with the Topping IR protocol?
Appreciate the insight – this pushes me toward the IR route!

 

[beaker152]

Thanks for the detailed info and for sharing your experience!

Since infrared appears much simpler with HAOS – especially using a Tuya IR blaster (which I already have and works great) – I'm planning to switch the DAC to IR mode and learn the remote codes that way. It should be straightforward to send commands for volume, mute, input selection, etc.

Any tips on the best codes or potential gotchas with the Topping IR protocol?
Appreciate the insight – this pushes me toward the IR route!

i used an IR sensor with some python to decode/display received signals on the rpi and pushed all the buttons on my topping and fosi remotes and noted the codes for each command (for re-use in my DIY remote)... the protocol is really simple and i don't remember seeing any conflicts/overlap between the two remotes