Topping E50 Review (Balanced DAC)

[JohnYang1997]

The E30 is higher on the SINAD chart than the D30 pro though right? So where are those few dB's advantage?

How is E30 better? Did you mean E50 all along? If that's the case.
Not much, D30pro was born a disappointment due to all the chip shortages. The component cost drove the price up of D30pro. It was initially planned to be much lower priced. D30pro has internal power supply, the chassis is also larger. Both also affect cost. E50 doesn't include power adapter. The E50 was meant to save the scene. And it's delayed months than initially planned.
Performance wise, the noise floor of D30pro would be a lot lower at 1.3uV. Better suitable as preamp than E50. Otherwise E50 is a better performance/price device.

 

[Kane1972]

So does the D10 balanced have anything over the E50? I already have the E30, but I may end up upgrading to the E50 so I can use my balanced active monitors with it as well as my Atom, but I could also get the D10 Balanced and send the SPDIF out to the E30, so I'd have the D10 balanced going to the monitors and the E30 to the Atom.

 

[PhnomPenhPaul]

Under $10.

Do you have a source for that as if it is indeed that cheap I wouldn't feel quite so bad about buying something with a feature I don't want!

 

[Kane1972]

How is E30 better? Did you mean E50 all along? If that's the case.
Not much, D30pro was born a disappointment due to all the chip shortages. The component cost drove the price up of D30pro. It was initially planned to be much lower priced. D30pro has internal power supply, the chassis is also larger. Both also affect cost. E50 doesn't include power adapter. The E50 was meant to save the scene. And it's delayed months than initially planned.
Performance wise, the noise floor of D30pro would be a lot lower at 1.3uV. Better suitable as preamp than E50. Otherwise E50 is a better performance/price device.

Sorry, yes, I meant the E50.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Do you have a source for that as if it is indeed that cheap I wouldn't feel quite so bad about buying something with a feature I don't want!

I mentioned in a different thread it's single digit. You would also be paying for Hires from sony. Just don't think too much about each component. Think about what you would be paying if you were to choose elsewhere for a similar device.

 

[JohnYang1997]

So does the D10 balanced have anything over the E50? I already have the E30, but I may end up upgrading to the E50 so I can use my balanced active monitors with it as well as my Atom, but I could also get the D10 Balanced and send the SPDIF out to the E30, so I'd have the D10 balanced going to the monitors and the E30 to the Atom.

Both options sound good to me.

 

[SaltyCDogg]

Is this model less susceptible to issues connecting a CD player? Thanks

 

[JohnYang1997]

Is this model less susceptible to issues connecting a CD player? Thanks

Than E30 and D30pro. Yes. But if you encounter any issue please report to me. The chip used is still not as good as AK4118. But better than CS8416 in our testing. But it's probably what we are going to used before AK4118 comes back.

 

[testp]

How is E30 better? Did you mean E50 all along? If that's the case.
Not much, D30pro was born a disappointment due to all the chip shortages. The component cost drove the price up of D30pro. It was initially planned to be much lower priced. D30pro has internal power supply, the chassis is also larger. Both also affect cost. E50 doesn't include power adapter. The E50 was meant to save the scene. And it's delayed months than initially planned.
Performance wise, the noise floor of D30pro would be a lot lower at 1.3uV. Better suitable as preamp than E50. Otherwise E50 is a better performance/price device.

would you say, if i'd want a DAC -with volume control, D30Pro is still better choice (intermodulation distortion vs Level do look better on D30Pro, closer to D90SE..)

 

[JohnYang1997]

would you say, if i'd want a DAC -with volume control, D30Pro is still better choice (intermodulation distortion vs Level do look better on D30Pro, closer to D90SE..)

If price is not a concern, and spdif compatibility issue aside, D30pro is indeed better overall especially as preamp.

 

[Lupin]

would you say, if i'd want a DAC -with volume control, D30Pro is still better choice (intermodulation distortion vs Level do look better on D30Pro, closer to D90SE..)

Yes.
Simply said the D30Pro is a better pre-amp than the E50

 

[PhnomPenhPaul]

I mentioned in a different thread it's single digit. You would also be paying for Hires from sony. Just don't think too much about each component. Think about what you would be paying for if you were to choose elsewhere for a similar device.

I am sorry @JohnYang1997. I know you're not a native English speaker (notwithstanding your excellent command of the English language) and I think you may have taken what I said a little too literally and missed that what I said was 'tongue in cheek'. I wasn't really complaining at all about the E50's price. As I have posted above, I am grateful that Topping have so many DAC's with different feature sets (and thus different prices). I know exactly how much I would be paying for a very similarly measuring competitor's product with the same ESS9068AS but three features I don't want (I2S, B/T and AES) and it's not much less than twice the price of the E50! (I'm sure you know which one I'm talking about, but I don't think it right for me to name it!).

 

[threni]

Do you have a source for that as if it is indeed that cheap I wouldn't feel quite so bad about buying something with a feature I don't want!

I can't find the message but JohnYang1997 posted that it was a single digit.

 

[virtua]

You should read this:
https://www.mojo-audio.com/blog/the-24bit-delusion/

I find it hilarious how they went through all the trouble to explain why noise shaping, upsampling, oversampling etc is ultimately a good thing - then right at the end of the article try to sell their product which was purposely designed to avoid these techniques for "the purest digital conversion possible."

 

[CedarX]

Question on the 5v barrel: why not a single USB cable (audio-USB + power) and why not USB-C? If one absolutely wants to use a 5V linear PS, buying a Y cable should not be a big constraint…

 

[JohnYang1997]

Question on the 5v barrel: why not a single USB cable (audio-USB + power) and why not USB-C? If one absolutely wants to use a 5V linear PS, buying a Y cable should not be a big constraint…

This configuration is less suspectable to noise problems. A phone charger will do much better than USB supply from computer or Linear PS.

 

[PhnomPenhPaul]

I can't find the message but JohnYang1997 posted that it was a single digit.

Yes, thanks. @JohnYang1997 has just said the same. Knowing it came from the 'house of Meridian' I thought it would have been a lot more! I hope @JohnYang1997 hasn't breached any non disclosure agreements and doesn't get in trouble for his posts!

 

[threni]

Yes, thanks. @JohnYang1997 has just said the same. Knowing it came from the 'house of Meridian' I thought it would have been a lot more! I hope @JohnYang1997 hasn't breached any non disclosure agreements and doesn't get in trouble for his posts!

No point in charging the manufacturers a lot (especially in the early days) - without mqa adoption in hardware they won't be selling any old wine in new bottles.

 

[CedarX]

This configuration is less suspectable to noise problems. A phone charger will do much better than USB supply from computer or Linear PS.

Oouch…!!! I understand the precautionary design decision, but the door just opened for never ending discussions about PS noise impact on E50 audio performance…. Hope nobody’s gonna read that!

 

[PhnomPenhPaul]

No point in charging the manufacturers a lot (especially in the early days) - without mqa adoption in hardware they won't be selling any old wine in new bottles.

You're quite right, I hadn't thought of that.(But perhaps your wine analogy is a bit off - 'corked' wine in new bottles perhaps?)