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Hi @amirm I was wondering if you have a higher quality image of the rankings list?
It's unfortunately become too low res to make out the names of the devices tested.
I mean this one:
I hate myself for this, but I'm being drawn into the 'hobby'.
Just got my EX5, and am looking at alternatives for round the house.
I've just opened 2 tabs, this one and the D10 Balanced. Now the measurements are so similar *, it's not even remotely justifiable for me to warrant spending the E50 over the D10 balanced on those, but the E50 does have better features.
However, I'll need an amp, and if I plug the D10 into an L50, I get all the outputs I could want from that on passthrough.
Unless I've missed something, which is why I'm asking this here. Any reason to get the E50 over the D10 balanced?
*
SINAD:
D10B 118.3
E50 120.9
Would I hear a difference?
Signal to noise ratio:
D10B 121.5
E50 122.5
Would I hear a difference?
Linearity:
Both perfect
Jitter:
Both perfect
IMD:
Near identical
Filters:
The best measuring one (THD_N Ratio vs Frequency @ 48khz) on the E50 is the same as the only one on the D10B, and both measure pretty much identically.
I hate myself for this, but I'm being drawn into the 'hobby'.
Just got my EX5, and am looking at alternatives for round the house.
I've just opened 2 tabs, this one and the D10 Balanced. Now the measurements are so similar *, it's not even remotely justifiable for me to warrant spending the E50 over the D10 balanced on those, but the E50 does have better features.
However, I'll need an amp, and if I plug the D10 into an L50, I get all the outputs I could want from that on passthrough.
Unless I've missed something, which is why I'm asking this here. Any reason to get the E50 over the D10 balanced?
*
SINAD:
D10B 118.3
E50 12.09
Would I hear a difference?
Signal to noise ratio:
D10B 121.5
E50 122.5
Would I hear a difference?
Linearity:
Both perfect
Jitter:
Both perfect
IMD:
Near identical
Filters:
The best measuring one (THD_N Ratio vs Frequency @ 48khz) on the E50 is the same as the only one on the D10B, and both measure pretty much identically.
I hate myself for this, but I'm being drawn into the 'hobby'.
Just got my EX5, and am looking at alternatives for round the house.
I've just opened 2 tabs, this one and the D10 Balanced. Now the measurements are so similar *, it's not even remotely justifiable for me to warrant spending the E50 over the D10 balanced on those, but the E50 does have better features.
However, I'll need an amp, and if I plug the D10 into an L50, I get all the outputs I could want from that on passthrough.
Unless I've missed something, which is why I'm asking this here. Any reason to get the E50 over the D10 balanced?
*
SINAD:
D10B 118.3
E50 12.09
Would I hear a difference?
Signal to noise ratio:
D10B 121.5
E50 122.5
Would I hear a difference?
Linearity:
Both perfect
Jitter:
Both perfect
IMD:
Near identical
Filters:
The best measuring one (THD_N Ratio vs Frequency @ 48khz) on the E50 is the same as the only one on the D10B, and both measure pretty much identically.
Well the D10b is always in DAC mode and volume will have to be controlled on the active speakers as the L50 will not be able to control the volume. With E50, you can have preamp mode and control the volume to the active speakers (L50 will have to be turned off). If you don't mind controlling the volume of the active speakers, then D10b should suffice. I'm thinking of this setup (D10b with L50) too but I will only use the headphone portion and not the passthrough feature of the L50.
Well the D10b is always in DAC mode and volume will have to be controlled on the active speakers as the L50 will not be able to control the volume. With E50, you can have preamp mode and control the volume to the active speakers (L50 will have to be turned off). If you don't mind controlling the volume of the active speakers, then D10b should suffice. I'm thinking of this setup (D10b with L50) too but I will only use the headphone portion and not the passthrough feature of the L50.
I hate myself for this, but I'm being drawn into the 'hobby'.
Just got my EX5, and am looking at alternatives for round the house.
I've just opened 2 tabs, this one and the D10 Balanced. Now the measurements are so similar *, it's not even remotely justifiable for me to warrant spending the E50 over the D10 balanced on those, but the E50 does have better features.
However, I'll need an amp, and if I plug the D10 into an L50, I get all the outputs I could want from that on passthrough.
Unless I've missed something, which is why I'm asking this here. Any reason to get the E50 over the D10 balanced?
*
SINAD:
D10B 118.3
E50 120.9
Would I hear a difference?
Signal to noise ratio:
D10B 121.5
E50 122.5
Would I hear a difference?
Linearity:
Both perfect
Jitter:
Both perfect
IMD:
Near identical
Filters:
The best measuring one (THD_N Ratio vs Frequency @ 48khz) on the E50 is the same as the only one on the D10B, and both measure pretty much identically.
D10b + L50 looks like a good alternative, but in this case, why not just get another EX5 ?
It cost the same price than D10b+L50, unless you really need the Optical/Coax outputs of the D10b...
Another alternative is the Tone2 Pro which performs and has the same functions as a balanced DAC than the EX5 (balanced/unbalanced, volume control on all outputs, MQA decoder+renderer if you need it), cost less, is mobile, but doesn't have a real display, no bluetooth yet (module will be available later), optical input, and has great headphones power as a mobile device, but less power than the EX5.
This is certainly what I would pick in this case : combo of EX5 and Tone2 Pro, as I see more the D10b in case you only need a DAC to link to an amp or HP amp you already have, and L50 if you need an HP amp but already have the other part. Maybe I don't like stacking devices
D10s and D50s have unbalanced outputs (2V). If you now compare D90se XLR output (4V) you are going to get more max volume which might explain the difference you hear.
Can I use the E50 in pre-amp mode for my active speakers using the Balanced TRS connectors while at the same time having my Schiit Heresy plugged into the SE ports to power my headphones and just easily switch in between them whenever I want to listen to my speakers or headphones?
I have the d10b but for some reason it sounds really harsh at times. Noticeably (not in a headfi superbest infinitesimally small imagined difference) to the point i don't need a direct a/b to pick it out instantly. I noticed it the moment i plugged it in and started to listen to it. I switched it up using different cables (just in case), different amps, headphones. It made my hd600's which sound muddy to me at times bright as hell. I noticed one other reviewer somewhere (maybe headfi) mention how bright and harsh the thing is. I thought he meant in an audiophile can't really tell kind of way. wow was i wrong on that count. In any case i saw the e50 on apos and i thought i would give it a shot. i like the build quality fo the d10b and the fact the driver from topping says topping in settings. Which was a nice attention to detail. I hope and am pretty sure this will fit the bill. I've been watching with fascination as the package makes it way through the various checkpoints all the way to me in san diego from shenzhen. the e50 has the two features i really wanted which was volume control option and the unbalanced outputs for my stax srm252s. it arrives monday.
I went for a DAC with optical input to eliminate the risk of USB connection frying the DAC. But I had dodgy motherboard too where 3 USB sticks got killed.
