Topping E50 - Apple Music

[yelloguy]

I listened to some music last night and found that my FLAC file played through Foobar2000 bitperfect sounds a bit more clear with a little tighter bass and more noticeable highs, than the same version of the song played via Apple Music (lossless). This is when played on the same set up - just the player being switched. I tried it on a couple of songs and thought this was not because of the mastering process.

A bit of searching revealed that others noted the same problem and attributed it to Windows audio mangling the sound. This is on a PC connected to an AVR via HDMI. Foobar allows me to bypass the Windows audio stack.

The best I could do last night was to switch to using the Apple TV 4K. That sounded pretty much* the same to me as FLAC played on Foobar.

(*I realize this is a bit controversial on these boards but I honestly thought Apple TV 4K lacked the 'impact' created by FLAC and Foobar. The crisp-ness of the sound was better using FLAC/Foobar and it seemed I could get away with a bit lower volume. To be fair, the SPL was also lower when playing from the ATV so I could increase the volume on it a fair bit but, whatever...)

For better or worse, I am now ready to buy a Topping E50 DAC for Apple Music playback hoping it gives me the same satisfaction as FLAC/Foobar combo. I just don't want to deal with any doubts and want full hi-rez playback also. But I am not sure what else I need besides the DAC for convenient playback.

1. I can use an Apple iPad with Lightning port for playback. Do I need a camera connector? Or can I just plug in the Lightning to USB into the E50? Can I get any knock off camera connector or do I have to pay 40 bucks for the Apple version?

2. I can use my Macbook Pro with a USB A port. That should be all I need, right? I don't need the 3.5mm headphone jack to optical adapter or anything?

3. I can use my Windows PC with the USB A or USB C port. Is this the same as Macbook? Does the DAC show up as a new audio device in Windows and I output to that? Does AM on Windows now know that the new device supports high res and switch to that?

4. I can use my Android phone with USB-C port. Is this preferred in any way? Any special cords needed or can I use a USB C to USB A cord?

Anyone who has been down this path have any comments, gotchas, or tips?

Thanks in advance.

 

[BeeKay]

I can use an Apple iPad with Lightning port for playback. Do I need a camera connector?

When using an older Lightning Apple device the original Apple camera connector is probably the best choice. Allows charging the iPhone or iPad at the same time.

 

[yelloguy]

After listening to E50, can someone please help me make sense of what I am hearing here...

I get a very nice tight bass and crisp highs when listening to the Topping E50 connected via Analog RCA outs to the AVR Analog in. I play using an iPad and Apple Music with a Camera Adapter kit via Lightning port and USB input on the E50. The display shows 44.1. In the middle of a song, the audio glitches and the starts again with 48 displaying on the E50 display for the rest of the song. Not sure what is happening here. It also glitches and goes back to 44.1 in another song later.

When I connect the E50 to my Windows PC, I get 24/48 selected by default - and the bass is bloaty and heavy. I can switch to 32/384 and that doesn't change the bass (still heavy). I cannot figure out why it changes so clearly. It is not subtle at all. Windows Apple Music is set to play Lossless the same as iPad. From the E50 downstream, there is no change at all. Yet when I play FLAC files using the same Windows PC running Foobar 2000, the bass goes back to being tight. It all points to Apple Music doing something funky. But I can't figure out what, and how to fix it.

 

[Blew]

Foobar2000 and others support Windows WASAPI exclusive mode which streams audio bit perfectly to the DAC or AVR, bypassing the Windows audio mixer. The Windows audio mixer not only resamples audio to whatever sampling rate is set as your output but also implements whatever APOs may be in place on your output.

Apparently Apple Music doesn't support exclusive mode in Windows yet. Tidal and Qobuz do though. Try setting your output format to 24/44.1 to avoid resampling and disable "Audio enhancements" to bypass APOs. These are set in the Windows sound properties of the output device (the E50 or AVR).

Not sure why the iPad would glitch during a song like that but check that all your cables are connected properly.