Topping L50 Review (Headphone Amp)

[Sucama]

I am not 100% sure but most likely no as L50 has a 15V AC power input, meaning that it has its own rectifiers and regulators while the outputs of P50 are all DC.

E50 and L50 have been tested with their internal power supplies and both of them seem to do quite well if I recall correctly. If you don't mind me asking, do you have a problem that P50 will be able to fix for you - why you need a different power supply?

Thanks for your reply, I wanted to replace my old D50s that I have powered with the P50 source by the E50 - L50 set. Knowing that the E50 does not have a power source, I was thinking of powering it with the P50 and since the L50 is powered with 15v, I was thinking of using the 15v output of the P50. But you have reason if the outlet is cc instead of AC, as required the L50 would not be of much help except to power the E50.
Do you think you noticed any difference in the sound between the D50s and the E50?
Thank you!

 

[b7676]

Thanks for your reply, I wanted to replace my old D50s that I have powered with the P50 source by the E50 - L50 set. Knowing that the E50 does not have a power source, I was thinking of powering it with the P50 and since the L50 is powered with 15v, I was thinking of using the 15v output of the P50. But you have reason if the outlet is cc instead of AC, as required the L50 would not be of much help except to power the E50.
Do you think you noticed any difference in the sound between the D50s and the E50?
Thank you!

E50 is almost a downgrade. Topping never did anything more with their P50.
The L70 is your upgrade path for your D50s.
If you want to try another DAC get a used AKM topping, d70s or d90, e70v, and for cirrus the D10 balanced.
The E50/L50 is now the longest due in the lineup for update/replacement. The L30 II is practically an L50.

 

[Sucama]

E50 is almost a downgrade. Topping never did anything more with their P50.
The L70 is your upgrade path for your D50s.
If you want to try another DAC get a used AKM topping, d70s or d90, e70v, and for cirrus the D10 balanced.
The E50/L50 is now the longest due in the lineup for update/replacement. The L30 II is practically an L50.

Sorry but, why do you say the E50 is a step back from D50s? Amir's numbers say he's pretty much better in terms of Sinad. I don't know if this will be audible. But what is worse? how is justified. Thank you!

 

[IAtaman]

Do you think you noticed any difference in the sound between the D50s and the E50?

They are both well built DACs and don't have a sound of their own.

 

[JediMa]

I purchased, on April 2023 on Amazon.it a Topping L50 and it works perfectly. But today the power supply stopped to work, I asked to a friend to use his power supply and as I plugged it to the amp it worked perfectly. I emailed both Topping or the shop that was selling it through Amazon.it because i hope that the warranty will help. Anyway while I wait for news what could I use because could be a good chance to get a better power supply and store the eventual replaced one.
Is this something ok or i should get somethind differet-better POWER SUPPLY ?

 

[kchap]

The L50 PSU is just a 15VAC transformer in a plug pack. Rectification, filtering and regulation is done in the L50.

 

[JediMa]

The L50 PSU is just a 15VAC transformer in a plug pack. Rectification, filtering and regulation is done in the L50.

oh i see.. but i noticed anyway that the one i linked is from AC to DC while the topping if i'm not wrong should be AC to AC?

 

[kchap]

oh i see.. but i noticed anyway that the one i linked is from AC to DC while the topping if i'm not wrong should be AC to AC?

Yes. All you need is a replacement ac/ac adapter, something like this. The web site is Australian but I'm sure there will be European distributors.

A likely cause of your problem is the an open circuit in the small plug that connects the PSU to the L50. It may be as simple as replacing or re-terminating the plug.

 

[jdjung]

How's the reliability of the L50 headphone amp and the E50 DAC? Want to complete my stack since I just got a PA50 II.

 

[kchap]

How's the reliability of the L50 headphone amp and the E50 DAC? Want to complete my stack since I just got a PA50 II.

I have an E50, L50 and and a D10 Balanced. All are are around 2 years old mark, I have not had any problems. Of the two DACs the D10B is my favourite due to it's simplicity but there is nothing wrong with the E50.

 

[JediMa]

How's the reliability of the L50 headphone amp and the E50 DAC? Want to complete my stack since I just got a PA50 II.

They are a fantastic combo, I use them balanced and the sound is fantastic and there's so much power. My personal problem is only the PSU which failed nothing about the amp itself, dac works flawlessy

 

[JediMa]

Problem solved, Amazon will refund me anyway, I will return my one and I will order a new one.

 

[jdjung]

Yeah, I broke down last night and just got the entire stack. I guess I'm going to have to retire my Drop THX 789. Going to have a Topping L50, E50 and PA50. Have a Bottlehead S.E.X. and Little Dot Mk 3 tube amp as well, which I'll keep for different reasons.

 

[kchap]

Yeah, I broke down last night and just got the entire stack. I guess I'm going to have to retire my Drop THX 789. Going to have a Topping L50, E50 and PA50. Have a Bottlehead S.E.X. and Little Dot Mk 3 tube amp as well, which I'll keep for different reasons.

Know the feeling. We should go to AA (Audiophile Anonymous)

 

[sleepy.weather]

Hello

Need help figuring out how to connect a headphone amplifier to an audio interface.

There is an audio interface - Antelope zen q USB.

Its headphone outputs sound quite decent - but I still felt a lack of power during operation (more 250 Ohm headphones will arrive soon) + the monitor and line outputs are made on a higher-level DAC.

The choice fell on Topping L50 because of the price-quality ratio + it has a through balanced output to monitors.


I received the amplifier and the first time I connected it to MONITOR OUT I was very upset - everything seemed to be in order - the volume was impressive - but the sound dropped greatly in the low frequencies - the sound pressure disappeared - everything became light and transparent and glassy - everything sounded too clear - similar to the description of “how to” in a tin barrel." It's just unpleasant to listen to. Especially in contrast to the standard interface amplifier. The impression remained when testing the second pair of headphones - the same sensations. It seems to sound, but it’s impossible to listen.


Without having time to get completely upset, I connected the amplifier to LINE OUT - and lo and behold, the saturation in the sound returned. In general, it even became possible to detect the difference in sound in favor of a discrete amplifier.


But based on the specifics of the interface’s internal mixer, the amplifier is needed at the monitor output; there is no point in staying at the line output to listen to music.

How can you make them friends???

The problem could be due to the difference in resistance at the monitor output and the amplifier input?? Or something else?

The specification for the amplifier states Adapter impendance >8 Ohm.

I couldn’t find detailed specifications on the characteristics of the interface outputs - from the manual you might think that the outputs are identical.

Is it possible to somehow make these signals friends? or you need to change the amplifier to another (like the SMSL HO200, which has an input impedance similar to that of professional monitors 10kOhm) - but unfortunately it has a built-in preamp instead of a bypass(( )

 

[AnalogSteph]

If the L50 sounds fine on the Line Out but not the Monitor Out, I'd suspect something screwy is going on with the interface. (Have you tried taking a loopback measurement, paying special attenttion to frequency response and channel separation?) Either that, or both outputs are markedly different inside and the Monitor Out really struggles with the L50's 2 kOhm input impedance for some reason (undersized output coupling capacitors being one possibility). It may be up to Antelope's support to clarify whether that is normal or possibly indicative of a defect. Seems pretty lame if that turns out to be normal.

If push comes to shove, you could still daisychain the L50 from the Zen Q's headphone output and leave your monitors on the Monitor Out, assuming this is functioning correctly.

 

[djtetei]

@sleepy.weather
It kind of strange for Antilope not providing the full technical specifications (input and output impedance) of their product, given the price they are charging for it.
First, make sure you use balanced TRS cables to connect monitor outputs and line outputs to the Topping L50 balanced TRS inputs.
Given the fact that you, probably, already use the monitor outputs to send the audio signal to your monitors, I would check the monitor output trim level setting first, because you may have it calibrated to a lower level then the line output trim level.
You have two options to choose for: +14 dBU or +20 dBU.
If you mix în K14 system, you may have it set on +14 dBU, and that's why your monitor output level is lower than the line out level. The default level setting for line output and monitor output is +20 dBU.
You should also check your equalisation settings on the monitor outputs, because you may have it set to compensate for your monitors frequency response.
Finally, I would not rule out an issue with the Antilope interface drivers, also. Therefore, a reboot of the unit, especially after a firmware or driver update would be advisable.

 

[sleepy.weather]

@djtetei @AnalogSteph

Just today I received an answer from support regarding my question... I think this is some kind of nonsense....

Antelope

My name is Dessy and I will assist you in your case!

We're sorry for this delayed reply!

The line outs are dedicated to send the signal directly without any colouring. The signal sent to the mon outs always pass via D/A conversion, I guess because of that you feel this certain interference with this other device. The interference between devices in matter of colouring of the sound may vary. You can test the behaviour of other amps connected to the mon outs, otherwise use the line outs to receive the direct non-coloured signal.

Kind regards!

Colouring mon outs???...

 

[jdjung]

I have the exact setup. I have a Antelope Audio Zen Q USB. I love the Zen Q even with it's quirky software that glitches sometime, though the latest software update seems to have taken care of most of the problems. Make sure to run your Antelope Audio Launcher in administrative mode, right click and chose run as administrator. The inputs and outputs on the Zen Q and routing abilities on the Zen Q are insane and that you can use the inbuilt effects (I own all of them) turn it into a tinkers dream. Try the Lang PEQ-2 or Neu-W492 (also the BAE effects are sponsored and worked on by BAE) and use the LF Boost for more bass if want to pump up the bass for some fun if you like that sort of thing, also the Tubechild if you want to simulate tubes. Are you running any effects on your monitor outs? I just spent ten minutes listening to Bassnectar song Reaching out to test both the line out and monitor outs for the bass frequency and they sound exactly the same to me and very clean (edit: I even plugged my left to the monitor out and the right to the line out, volume matched and can't tell a difference). I'm using balanced outs, with HD6XX on high gain on the L50.

 

[jdjung]

Ok, just ran another two tests, ran the Topping E50 DAC by RCA unbalanced to the single ended on the Topping L50 and the ZEN Q usb to balanced out to the balanced input on the L50, switched between them back and forth while listening to Bassnectar Mind Trick. I then volume matched as close as possible than flipped between the two, can't tell a difference. Using Roon to play both to the Topping E50 from my dedicated Roon Core and my desktop playing to the Zen Q monitor outs. Second test for kicks, I then ran my Bottlehead S.E.X. tube amp to see if the bass was more or less from the Topping. Can definetely hear a difference, the Topping is MUCH cleaner then the tube amp, easily able to tell the difference, but the bass level amount was about the same. Tube did sound a teeny bit more, but I believe that's due to the distortion. The monitor outs seem to be working as advertised for me.