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How much better would this DAC be then the AudioQuest Dragonfly Red plugged into a Darkvoice 336SE then that into a pair of Sennheiser HD6XX's. Right now I have the dragonfly plugged into the Darkvoice via 3.5mm to RCA male and would have the Topping e50 plugged into the Darkvoice via TRS to RCA. I heard a lot of places that the Dragonfly Red isn't enough to power the Darkvoice with Sennhieser HD6XX's and I didn't really notice much of a difference with that vs having no DAC. The thing that has me confused is the Dragonfly Red is almost the same price as the Topping E50 so how could the Topping be that much better? I get that maybe you pay a premium for the size of the Dragonfly and the Topping E50 is more of a dedicated device. Could someone let me know what I can expect with this upgrade. And no I have no idea how to read charts and graphs. Thank you in advance!!
AFAIK the DFRed measures terribly, if somewhat better than it's more expensive relative the Cobalt. The 2 devices in question couldn't be more different. DFRed is a DAC/AMP dongle which relies on power from the device providing the signal (smartphone/tablet/PC) and the E50 receives its power externally. In short, there is no comparison unless one needs portability.
If we compare their technical aspects Topping E50 is in another higher level - considerably. But as you said, you didn't notice a large difference with ou without a DAC and probably it will happen again with E50 or the audible improvement won't be that large. Could be Darkvoice the bottleneck of your rig? It is, although I wouldn't say "change your amp and you will be able to listen the difference".
Topping E50 is interesting also because its features (remote control, various inputs and outputs etc), but if you don't need them...
If we compare their technical aspects Topping E50 is in another higher level - considerably. But as you said, you didn't notice a large difference with ou without a DAC and probably it will happen again with E50 or the audible improvement won't be that large. Could be Darkvoice the bottleneck of your rig? It is, although I wouldn't say "change your amp and you will be able to listen the difference".
Topping E50 is interesting also because its features (remote control, various inputs and outputs etc), but if you don't need them...
The THX 789 from Drop is on sale right now for $199 I believe. Try using clean, solid state devices t/o the chain and see what uncolored sound is like. Then you will know if tube coloration/distortion is what you prefer.
Not here to defend him, he probably has a reason to use them that is very laughable, but he always mentions that what he uses are actual door stopers that cost him 6 euros
He puts it above phono stages to lessen "microphonics". It might have an impact if you use loudspeakers like him, but I think the "improvement" is inaudible and mostly placebo; if you use things like tube circuits, however, proper damping might prevent weird glitches as microphonics on those are clearly audible (you can hear pinging on the valves directly though the transducers, and also thermal dilation and contraction when they are warming up/cooling down).
When I claimed it being the bottleneck I was talking only about numbers, technical aspects and a DAC DFRed would be enough to feed your Darkvoice. If you enjoy valve sound (I don't, I already had a Darkvoice and a LD MKIII and after building my first SS it was almost a instant change from valves to SS) I believe your current DAC is enough for your amplifier. Rolling tubes should bring more differences than replacing a DAC in your case.
E50 has two types of outputs: balanced (TRS) and unbalanced (RCA). 336se is built with unbalanced inputs (RCA), hence you should use RCA to RCA connection. Using a cable "converter" like a TRS to RCA cable may damage the E50's internal circuit.
Not sure about the cables but I don't think those you linked are "balanced". Someone else could advise but if you don't have a balanced amp you should look at the E30 or E50 maybe. No need to spend extra on balanced when you're not gonna use it, as the Dark Voice only accepts rca inputs.
I mean, you could order another cable of the same kind and a Behringer HD400 and at least get some half-decent galvanic isolation... if the internal hum doesn't actually overwhelm the ground loop issues, that is. Read the 336SE review thread if you haven't already, seems the design is rather amateur hour.
I mean, you could order another cable of the same kind and a Behringer HD400 and at least get some half-decent galvanic isolation... if the internal hum doesn't actually overwhelm the ground loop issues, that is. Read the 336SE review thread if you haven't already, seems the design is rather amateur hour.
I would plug a cable from my amp to the Behringer HD400 into the input and then my headphones into the connecting output for this? It doesn't mess up the sound quality at all?
There is no correlation between the performance of a device and its price, one of the things this web site nicely proves. Looking up the review of the dragonfly there is a chance that you notice the difference when getting the E50. And as noted in another reply do not use TRS to RCA.
When I claimed it being the bottleneck I was talking only about numbers, technical aspects and a DAC DFRed would be enough to feed your Darkvoice. If you enjoy valve sound (I don't, I already had a Darkvoice and a LD MKIII and after building my first SS it was almost a instant change from valves to SS) I believe your current DAC is enough for your amplifier. Rolling tubes should bring more differences than replacing a DAC in your case.
E50 has two types of outputs: balanced (TRS) and unbalanced (RCA). 336se is built with unbalanced inputs (RCA), hence you should use RCA to RCA connection. Using a cable "converter" like a TRS to RCA cable may damage the E50's internal circuit.
Yeah I have been using the stock tubes forever and I heard that darkvoice is trash with those tubes. I just got a kenrad vt231 black glass and then an RCA vacuum tube
I would plug a cable from my amp to the Behringer HD400 into the input and then my headphones into the connecting output for this? It doesn't mess up the sound quality at all?
Negative, the HD400 would go between the DAC and the amp, of course...
(You can get other line-level isolators with better performance, the higher-impedance types would have to be placed directly at the amplifier input though. The HD400 is more flexible in this regard.)
Does anyone know the spec for the dc cable? Is it 2.5 or 2.1mm inner contact? They neglected to send me the dc cable. Got two USB cables instead. I need to order one from Amazon. Thanks.
I have one final question. I just ordered the 2021 Bluesound Node and was wondering what is the best way sound quality wise to connect the Topping E50 to the Node? Thank you very much for all help too guys. This is so confusing when you're new lol
Does anyone know the spec for the dc cable? Is it 2.5 or 2.1mm inner contact? They neglected to send me the dc cable. Got two USB cables instead. I need to order one from Amazon. Thanks.
I have one final question. I just ordered the 2021 Bluesound Node and was wondering what is the best way sound quality wise to connect the Topping E50 to the Node? Thank you very much for all help too guys. This is so confusing when you're new lol
