Topping E50 Review (Balanced DAC)

[Audioboxer]

Finally picked one of these up and paired it with my L50.

Put my D10 balanced with my Adam T5Vs (replaced a Scarlett Solo). No real issue with a DAC permanently on 100%, I just tuned the volume knobs on the speakers to the highest I'd want volume and then use Windows digital volume control for anything under 100%. Works for me, and the lower you have the T5V volume dials the less hiss (hiss can be more noticeable if you use T5Vs as desktop speakers and are closer to them).

With the E50 can confirm Windows digital audio control works fine if you want to use it. Only locks out when MQA is in use and you use Tidal direct mode. Seems Windows digital volume control not working full stop was just a quirk with the iFi Zen DAC V2 I had (I previously thought all MQA DACs were like this). Thankfully MQA is now dead outside of some leftovers in Tidal.

E50 seems to sound great, probably the exact same as the D10b, no "DAC ears" here but I ultimately picked one up more for aesthetics to fit nicely with the L50 in a stack. The D10b with my T5Vs is going to be a bit better than the Scarlett solo. Only difference I noticed is two USBs being needed as with the D10b the one USB cable handles power and input.

Is powering off USB fine or would it be a good idea to get a plug for the E50?

 

[Gradius]

Is powering off USB fine or would it be a good idea to get a plug for the E50?

Is fine, but because of isolation, and isn't expensive at all, I use a GST25A05-P1J:

https://www.meanwell.com/Upload/PDF/GST25A/GST25A-SPEC.PDF

Total overkill I know (4A), but can use it to another things if I ever needed.

 

[Schlippwhip68]

i just received my E50 and extremely happy with it, very very nice sounding dac. I use it at max volume (0.0) and zero additional noise it adds to the sound. One thing that was very surprising for me was when i use usb connection and my graphic card kicks in, E50 is filtering the noise perfectly and there's no audible difference between graphic card is in use and dac is turned off. My previous dacs with same pc were used to badly affected by graphic card in load..E50 is simply filtering it perfectly. Amazed. Also, built quality, touching sense etc. feels premium. This is a solid dac. Highly recommended.

I agree, in fact dont buy this dac if the quest of finding one gives you more of a thrill than the finding. I suffer from that. I find myself thinking "I might get a new dac" then after some mentle chewry I switch on my system and listen via the E50 and it surprises me every time I do and my desire to buy another model dissipates. It's very good value for money. I would say probably one of the best value dacs even in 2024. In fact the only dac I would personally consider to replace my E50 might be with the Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200m but that's twice the price and I certainly don't need to do that, great dac from Topping!

 

[MLaranjeiras]

I quite like this shot, well done! Topping ought to consider taking a few shots like this for marketing purposes.

Yeah. Could only include on display, 16bit, 24bit, 32bit…

 

[Dunring]

I just got another E50 in and the Samsung ETA0U60JBE phone chargers work especially well with these. Ken Shirriff did a big comparison of chargers and the Samsung measure great and so cheap on eBay from phone liquidators.

A dozen USB chargers in the lab: Apple is very good, but not quite the best

When you buy a USB charger, how do you know if you're getting a safe, high-quality charger for your money? You can't tell from the outside...

www.righto.com

I bought a bunch and put them on a USB volt meter to weed out the duds. Some tested at 800ma to 900ma (over the rated 700). Listening to it on a Topping A90 and doesn't get much better unless you need different connectivity. Have a Topping D10b here and audibly there's no way to tell the difference, nice to have the RCA out and power on/off. I use a USB hub so have a power button on each plug anyway. Clean power really helps over noisy USB ports.

 

[Palladium]

Yeah I subjectively noticed slightly clearer highs on my E50 when plugged to a Samsung 25W USB-C charger versus my PC USB port.

Probably not pass an ABX but such a cheap solution, so why not.