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Topping E50 Review (Balanced DAC)

artsky

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To be fair, @artsky is comparing the D10s and E50.


So, 112 dB vs 120 dB SINAD and 116 dB vs 122 dB for noise. Differences will not be easy to hear, but come on…the E50 is so much more beautiful than the D10s, which looks more like a DIY project. :p

The improved cosmetics will come into play during any sighted subjective experience of each product, and there's nothing wrong with that in my view…especially if the effect is lasting. Most of us are here because we want independently verified performance; however, at the end of the day, music playback is about pleasure.
Absolutely correct, and I'm letting go of my D10s soon.
 

dsnyder0cnn

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So I actually swapped A50s for a90 and now am choosing between E50 and d30Pro. I am not sure why would I want d30Pro at all?
Oh? Okay…well if you have the A90, the D90SE would be your ideal paring. ;)

I've not used a D30Pro yet, but advantages over the E50:
  • a physical volume knob (not needed when paired with the A90)
  • internal SMPS
  • package includes power cable (E50 only has barrel to USB adapter, no SMPS included)
  • physical on/off switch
  • XLR jacks instead of TRS (easier to find cables)
  • better cosmetic match with the A90
  • choice of nine different filters, including a "NOS" mode (E50 has only three)
  • ~7 dB lower intermodulation distortion
  • less sensitivity to jitter on S/PDIF inputs
E50 advantages (I do have one of these):
  • nicer display
  • supports more formats (DSD512, 768 kHz PCM, and MQA vs. DSD256 and 384 kHz PCM)
  • $130 less expensive
  • smaller footprint
But, if I were you, I might buy a D10 Balanced now to tide me over until I could save up for that D90SE.
 

Bow_Wazoo

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I have the following problem with my combination of E50 and L50. I hear a hum on the right side, which is sparked from the E50. As soon as I put the hand on the E50, the hum is. The housing extra to earth, does not bring anything...
 

bathroomskank

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If I use TRS connections to the speakers and RCA connections to the sub, is there a way to incorporate a high pass filter for the speakers ?

The source will be a PC with some room correction applied directly.
 

Bow_Wazoo

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Channel switched, the hum does not hike, it seems to lie on the LCD-5
 

Bow_Wazoo

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It has nothing to do with the cable. I have a second cable with a 6.3mm jack. The same problem. interestingly, 2 days ago, I had no problems with this equipment at this socket...
 

Bow_Wazoo

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Interesting is the fact that the problem exists both in balanced and in single-ended mode (as with common ground)...

Here in the living room, by the way, the problem is hardly noticeable.
I only touch ground once somewhere, and apparently take care of potential balance, and the hum is gone...
 

Bow_Wazoo

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@amirm

Do you have any idea what could be causing this hum?
Grounding the housing brings nothing.
A USB connection does not exist, so it cannot be the cause.
Only disconnecting the E50 from the power supply eliminates the hum. A different power supply also brings no success.
Even turning L50 brings nothing.
As I said, particularly noteworthy is the fact that the hum only appears on one side, despite common ground.

Ultimately, however, this seems to be a problem of the LCD-5. In the Lcd-5 thread, of the head-fi forum, there are several reports.
 
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Oh? Okay…well if you have the A90, the D90SE would be your ideal paring. ;)

I've not used a D30Pro yet, but advantages over the E50:
  • a physical volume knob (not needed when paired with the A90)
  • internal SMPS
  • package includes power cable (E50 only has barrel to USB adapter, no SMPS included)
  • physical on/off switch
  • XLR jacks instead of TRS (easier to find cables)
  • better cosmetic match with the A90
  • choice of nine different filters, including a "NOS" mode (E50 has only three)
  • ~7 dB lower intermodulation distortion
  • less sensitivity to jitter on S/PDIF inputs
E50 advantages (I do have one of these):
  • nicer display
  • supports more formats (DSD512, 768 kHz PCM, and MQA vs. DSD256 and 384 kHz PCM)
  • $130 less expensive
  • smaller footprint
But, if I were you, I might buy a D10 Balanced now to tide me over until I could save up for that D90SE.
I wonder will I hear the difference between D10 and D90se even? I don’t really need any DAC features besides balanced out
 

yanm

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I wonder will I hear the difference between D10 and D90se even? I don’t really need any DAC features besides balanced out
No, in a proper level-matched double-blind test both DACs will very likely sound exactly the same. You can choose in function of features.

Distortion. Consider that the transducer (headphone or loudspeaker) distorts orders of magnitude more than DAC or amplifier. In addition, humans are not that sensitive to distortion.

Noise. The noise floor of the D10 (2.4 uVrms) is about twice higher than that of the D90SE (1.1 uVrms). You may hear it if you use the digital volume control of the DAC followed by high-gain amplification and a very sensitive transducer. Note that if the volume control was analogue, noise is reduced when you reduce the volume while noise stays the same with digital volume control (irrespective of the volume setting).

Dynamic range. The 120 dB of the D10 (vs 134 dB for the D90SE) is good enough considering that 0dB SPL is threshold of audibility and 120 dB is the threshold of pain.

edited to remove the mention that D90SE volume control is analogue.
 
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may hear it if you use the digital volume control of the D10 followed by high-gain amplification and a very sensitive transducer.
Thank you. Here do you mean it will be a momentary noise or continuous? Like a momentary hiss when I touch the knob?

Also does it matter if I don’t use the volume knob on D10b? I have volume on A90 for that
 

yanm

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Thank you. Here do you mean it will be a momentary noise or continuous? Like a momentary hiss when I touch the knob?

Also does it matter if I don’t use the volume knob on D10b? I have volume on A90 for that
continuous noise but, as said, the level is low and likely inaudible (in my case it is totally inaudible with a DAC having a similar noise floor than the D10 followed by 17dB of amplification and a loudspeaker efficiency of 89 dB SPL at 1m for 2.83V). Noise is present on both D90SE and D10 irrespective if you use the volume control or not. I would say that the D10 is likely a good option (and indeed the volume control of the A90 is a better option than that of the DAC). That said, the Topping A90 is an extremely quiet amp and the D90SE would be a better match from a spec sheet perspective.
 
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timtt

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My E50 has On/Off pops when I use rca connect to my amps. My SMSL Sanskrit MK II doesn't. When I use E50's balance output it's totally silence. I think something wrong with my E50's rca output
 

artsky

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My E50 has On/Off pops when I use rca connect to my amps. My SMSL Sanskrit MK II doesn't. When I use E50's balance output it's totally silence. I think something wrong with my E50's rca output
Mine doesn't have this issue, although the power on sequence in my case is rpi4 then power on e50 then power on soundbar. But I can recall powering on my soundbar first and there is no pop sound. How about using another RCA cable?
 

ameerm

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Obviously im too dumb about technical stuff, but would an E50 xlr output have any impedance mismatch when connected to a Topping pre90?
 

Veri

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Obviously im too dumb about technical stuff, but would an E50 xlr output have any impedance mismatch when connected to a Topping pre90?
Would be quite the travesty if Toppings didn't work together well :p In any case no, that'll work perfectly.
 

Gradius

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Obviously im too dumb about technical stuff, but would an E50 xlr output have any impedance mismatch when connected to a Topping pre90?
"They’re both balanced connection types that have little to no difference save for TRS being more balanced and robust than XLR".

Source:
 
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