Topping E50 Review (Balanced DAC)

[Veri]

I bought two E50s and rigorously tested them, but I haven't had any problems with the E50s. (There was a big problem at the beginning of the release, but it was improved immediately.) It is one of the most stable DACs at present.

I connect a SONY Blu-ray player and a Topping D10s / D10B COAX output to the E50's COAX input, but it works perfectly.

Great to hear

 

[TheWalkman]

I have an E50 driving my PA5 and am I the only one who thinks the user interface stinks? The remote is o.k. for switching sources and volume, but changing parameters - filters, display, etc. via the front push button is a PITA. I’d much prefer a rotary knob, but the form factor of matching the PA5 really drove my purchase of this DAC.

I waiting on a new Purifi amp to arrive and I’ll be driving it with a DX30 which seems much more straightforward.

 

[RHO]

Quick question: Can I use both balanced and SE outputs simultaneously?
I would use it in pure DAC mode, so with fix output.

 

[usern]

Quick question: Can I use both balanced and SE outputs simultaneously?
I would use it in pure DAC mode, so with fix output.

 

[RHO]

Even better than expected!
I'll look up the owners manual to see how easy it is to switch between modes.

 

[Cadguy]

I got my E50 yesterday and use it in dac mode with coax output from my (17 year old) DVD player and it works well. Nice clean, detailed sound from CDs. I'm using an old ipod usb power adapter/wall wart and it works fine. Is there any advantage to using some other power adapter?

 

[AndyLewis]

I use a 30000ma power bank by Baseus - these are supposed to give a lower noise floor & better dynamics according to a lot of people. Power my Wiim mini with a spare Amazon plug though & can't notice any audible noise from that into the topping & out via rcas into my Audiolab 6000a. Played for about 15 hours now & the Powerbank still shows full charge ( 4 leds)
I use my Pioneer PD7300 for CDs which sounds spectacular into the Coax.
I'd estimate it beats the 6000a dac by say 3-4 percent on definition, dynamics & instrument placement.
Thought the bass was a little ill defined at first but 5 test CDs & ?!! streamed tracks later & a lot of twiddling on my sub freq cut off & it's fine.

 

[Monk Da Willy De Honk]

When I powered on my E50 this morning I am greeted with an 'INH errror', anyone know what that means?

 

[Toku]

When I powered on my E50 this morning I am greeted with an 'INH errror', anyone know what that means?

I've read something similar somewhere before.
Is the power supply voltage significantly over 5V and overvoltage? Please try with another power adapter.

 

[Overseas]

Briefly, does it worth the upgrade from E30, used in a stereo system with speakers?
Also, what about firmware problems if never used with laptop source?! Do I need the updates if I do not stream from laptop?
Thanks

 

[AndyLewis]

Can't comment as never heard the E30 Got the edge in dynamics & precision over the built in dac in the Audiolab 6000a in my opinion via coax & toslink. USB not tested yet. Soecs are better but unless you've heard both.....

 

[SampaoliJorge]

Hi guys. I have a problem with my e50 trim. I can do anything but turn down and turn up the sound with the remote control. Is there a special trick to do on topping?

 

[AndyLewis]

Hi - no - mine only operates that way - I fiddled with the tricky push button & got it set to volume adjustable from 0.00 downwards but can't change it to your setting! Weird isn't it!!?

 

[RHO]

Hi guys. I have a problem with my e50 trim. I can do anything but turn down and turn up the sound with the remote control. Is there a special trick to do on topping?

Hi - no - mine only operates that way - I fiddled with the tricky push button & got it set to volume adjustable from 0.00 downwards but can't change it to your setting! Weird isn't it!!?

Ever cared to read the manual?
Section "Setup Menu":

 

[AndyLewis]

It's a fair cop! Couldn't find my magnifying glass when I received it.
The layout, like the manual is somewhat disjointed but it's a great product so what the hell....a small niggle

 

[RHO]

It's a fair cop! Couldn't find my magnifying glass when I received it.
The layout, like the manual is somewhat disjointed but it's a great product so what the hell....a small niggle

You can find it online on the Topping website. Much easier to zoom in on the small print.
E50 manual and drivers.

 

[Blew]

Tonight I subjectively tested playing CD audio on a new but cheap DVD player connected to the E50 via both toslink and spdif. I compared the sound to a FLAC rip of the same CD that was streamed via the USB input on the E50. I noticed that the sound from the toslink input was noticeably worse than both the spdif and USB. The higher frequencies in cymbals and in sibilance was noticeably more distorted and uncomfortable to listen to. Meanwhile, during this limited testing, I couldn't tell an obvious difference between the same audio played via either the USB and spdif inputs.

In Amir's tests of the E50 the jitter on both the toslink and spdif inputs appear to be similar and below the threshold of human hearing:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?attachments/topping-e50-dac-jitter-toslink-coax-measurements-balanced-usb-png.150595/

I was under the impression that a DAC like the E50 could correct any jitter coming from the source. As this is a cheap DVD player, you could reasonably expect it to be quite jittery. So is what I'm hearing when listening to audio via the toslink input jitter, or is it something else? If so, what else could it be?

I should note that the E50 is outputting via RCA in this system, so not balanced. However, if there is an issue with a ground loop then I'd have expected the toslink input to sound better than the spdif, not worse!

 

[Laserjock]

Tonight I subjectively tested playing CD audio on a new but cheap DVD player connected to the E50 via both toslink and spdif. I compared the sound to a FLAC rip of the same CD that was streamed via the USB input on the E50. I noticed that the sound from the toslink input was noticeably worse than both the spdif and USB. The higher frequencies in cymbals and in sibilance was noticeably more distorted and uncomfortable to listen to. Meanwhile, during this limited testing, I couldn't tell an obvious difference between the same audio played via either the USB and spdif inputs.

In Amir's tests of the E50 the jitter on both the toslink and spdif inputs appear to be similar and below the threshold of human hearing:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?attachments/topping-e50-dac-jitter-toslink-coax-measurements-balanced-usb-png.150595/

I was under the impression that a DAC like the E50 could correct any jitter coming from the source. As this is a cheap DVD player, you could reasonably expect it to be quite jittery. So is what I'm hearing when listening to audio via the toslink input jitter, or is it something else? If so, what else could it be?

I should note that the E50 is outputting via RCA in this system, so not balanced. However, if there is an issue with a ground loop then I'd have expected the toslink input to sound better than the spdif, not worse!

Could you discern volume matched and blind ?
Always a possible reason ?

 

[Blew]

Could you discern volume matched and blind ?
Always a possible reason ?

I tried to match volumes and closed my eyes while I cycled across the inputs while I tried to confuse myself on which was which. It's the best I could do. However, the issue is easily noticeable on the toslink interface. I heard it immediately after first using it. I'm not 100% sure that spdif and USB interfaces sound exactly the same as each other, but if they don't then the difference is small enough to not be easily noticeable.

I thought of a few other possible explanations I thought of since first posting. Could the toslink cable be damaged, or the connectors be dirty? Would that cause an issue such as this?
Otherwise, could there be a ground loop on the USB and spdif interfaces that actually makes the audio sound subjectively *better*? Sounds unlikely, but plausible? I'll test listening to the same CD rip on my balanced headphones setup with the E50 to rule this out.

 

[AndyLewis]

Doesn't the accuracy of the Toslink depend on the reliability of processing at both ends - ie the DVD player & the E50 while the coax doesn't? ie. if the player encodes jitter into the stream then it can be misread at the E50 which can't fully correct it also whereas the coax isn't to the same degree?
I have an old pioneer cd player (PD7300) that sounds clearly better via the coax out than the toslink on all three of the dacs I have tried it through - SMSL 100MK2, Audiolab 6000a & the E50 - oh sorry 4 - it applied to the DX3PRO+ I sent back too.