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Topping L50 Review (Headphone Amp)

EKbluesboy

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I've just got in from work, switched the amp on, and have got a blinking LED power light and no sound!

I'm really not very happy. I've had this amp in my possession for a total of three days. I played it for 2 or 3 hours last night.
I come home tonight and it doesn't work??
 
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EKbluesboy

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I'm really not very happy. I've had this amp in my possession for a total of three days. I played it for 2 or 3 hours last night.
I come home tonight and it doesn't work??

My power LED blinks 4 times in succession (even when switched off using the front toggle), then pauses for a few seconds, then repeats.
Started digging around looking for info on this. Came across Zandm7's post about flashing LED light on his A90. His solution was to switch off the power on the front of the amp, (which I did) then actually disconnect the power cable from the back, wait a few minutes and then power up.
I have just done this and thank goodness, the amp is back on and sounding great. In his case he seems to think it may have been caused by an earlier power cut. Now, as I said I've been at work all day so I went into my Synology DSM logs where my UPS will record if there was a power cut while I was at work.

No power cut.

So I don't know what caused this to happen, and to be perfectly frank I'm pretty unhappy about it. It's a brand new amp!
 
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EKbluesboy

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No, I wouldn't expect any. You've pretty much got 22 dB of extra dynamic range over even the best recordings and distortion levels that are inaudible as-is. For a line-level source, that's really as good as it needs to be.
According to here, the Stream Magic 6 v1/v2 (which I assume this is) even slightly beats its specs with a 114 dB(A) dynamic range over XLR (maybe RCA is a bit worse), and distortion of a -60 dB tone comes in at 0.04% or -128 dBFS, so linearity is to something like 21 bits.

Note that the unit seems to be using an upsampler which is likely to hard-limit at 0 dBFS, so I would make sure that enough digital headroom (maybe ~3 dB) remains at all times, especially for hot recordings. Not sure what your options are in this regard. Looks like you'd be in much the same boat as this guy. If you are already streaming from a media player that can apply ReplayGain on the fly (Foobar2000 with the UPnP Server component being one of them), you'd be fine, otherwise this is a route I would investigate. Obviously providing enough headroom for hot recordings is more of a side effect of RG, but a welcome one.

Should you find that applying RG drops your max levels too much, don't sell your E30 just yet and use that between the Stream Magic and the E50 (with an adapter cable) to provide the extra gain required if need be. I would shoot for handling of not only RG enabled, but about -3.5 dB of preamp as well - then even the most dynamic recordings (e.g. some Mahler symphonies) should be within the setup's reach.

Thanks very much for taking the time and trouble to reply. I'm not particularly technically-minded so I rely on more knowledgeable members when it comes to the techy side of stuff like DACs. And I'm delighted to say you've helped my wallet out no end by assuring me that the DAC in my Stream Magic V6 is plenty good enough as long as I leave some digital headroom, which I do.
Incidentally, the guy you link to in your sentence "According to here" is me! :)
I started that thread on another forum around 7 years ago when I decided to take the plunge into streaming.

Thanks again for your advice,

Jeff
 
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VariousArtists

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I leave my amps flipped on all the time and use a smart power plug to switch them on/off, can this cause damage to the amps potentially and why/why not?

I see some manufacturers recommend using the switch on the device but they don’t explain why.
 

EKbluesboy

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I leave my amps flipped on all the time and use a smart power plug to switch them on/off, can this cause damage to the amps potentially and why/why not?

I see some manufacturers recommend using the switch on the device but they don’t explain why.

This caused a light-bulb to go off in my head! I use smart plugs as well. So now that I think of it, even though my UPS logs assure me there was NO power cut (to the house), maybe the amp interprets me switching off with the smart plug as a "power cut" because its front power toggle is still in the 'on' position?

BTW, my Stream Magic, L30, Myryad Z40, and Little Dot MkII have all been switched on and off this way for literally years without a hitch.

So first thing this morning I switched the amp to 'off', switched on everything else as normal using the smart plug and then finally switched the amp on with it's power toggle . . . and got the flashing lights again. So next I switched off the amp, switched off the plug and without bothering to remove the power cable from the back I repeated the procedure of switching on the smart plug with the amp off, but this time I turned the volco back to zero (it had been sitting around halfway), and then turning the amp on. This time no lights! I repeated the procedure successfully a few more times, each time turning the volco up a bit more thinking that maybe a combination of being switched off with a smart plug whilst sitting at around 50% volume might be the reason for the lights. However, I could not replicate it even with the volco set to around 75% so maybe nothing to do with volume setting?

I'm listening to some 'Esbjorn Svensson Trio' as I type after having switched the smart plug on with the amp off, then the amp on, and it sounds great.

I don't know why it should matter that the power toggle be in the 'Off' position before the amp powers up, but it seems to with my amp. @kion, you say some manufacturers recommend using the switch on the device, I've personally never come across that and it would be good to know more about it.

Maybe some of the more technically minded members (@solderdude?) would like to comment on this aspect?
 
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EKbluesboy

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Switched my amp on today using the toggle switch. I have plugged it into it's own wall socket now so nothing to do with smart plugs. It now just keeps flashing LED's , even if I switch off, remove the cable from the back and switch on again. I have obviously received a defective item and I'm going to return it. I have been buying hi-fi kit now for 45 years and this is the first time I have received equipment which doesn't work.

Pretty disappointing, hope it's just bad luck. I note no-one from Topping has commented.
 

Lupin

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I note no-one from Topping has commented.
Although John post on ASR regularly ASR is not a Topping customer support channel.
I suggest contacting Topping customer support directly with any complaints and/or warranty claims instead of posting here and hoping John will see your post.
 

EKbluesboy

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Although John post on ASR regularly ASR is not a Topping customer support channel.
I suggest contacting Topping customer support directly with any complaints and/or warranty claims instead of posting here and hoping John will see your post.
Hi, thanks @Lupin, I do realise John is not Topping customer support, I just find it interesting there has been no input from John. I thought with a new amplifier having been only recently released, he might keep an eye on the thread for the new amp, and maybe make a comment or suggestion on what might be the problem.
 
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_thelaughingman

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Hi, thanks @Lupin, I do realise John is not Topping customer support, I just find it interesting there has been no input from John. I thought with a new amplifier having been only recently released, he might keep an eye on the thread for the new amp.
I honestly don't think John Yang intends to spend his day monitoring this forum for latest customer happenings. I understand your point of view as to why he'd be inclined to provide input on rare occurences as yours but that's almost beyond the scope of his role.
 

TK750

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Hi, thanks @Lupin, I do realise John is not Topping customer support, I just find it interesting there has been no input from John. I thought with a new amplifier having been only recently released, he might keep an eye on the thread for the new amp, and maybe make a comment or suggestion on what might be the problem.
I mean you posted on Saturday mate, it's been the weekend and mid-autumn festival in China today, most won't have been in work since Friday...
 

kchap

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Note that the unit seems to be using an upsampler which is likely to hard-limit at 0 dBFS, so I would make sure that enough digital headroom (maybe ~3 dB) remains at all times, especially for hot recordings. Not sure what your options are in this regard. Looks like you'd be in much the same boat as this guy. If you are already streaming from a media player that can apply ReplayGain on the fly (Foobar2000 with the UPnP Server component being one of them), you'd be fine, otherwise this is a route I would investigate. Obviously providing enough headroom for hot recordings is more of a side effect of RG, but a welcome one.
Do oversampling DACs have the same hard limit problem and is it common. When viewed using Audacity some off my ripped CDs look like someone laid a steel straightedge along top and bottom edges and trimmed them with a sharp knife.

Edited
 
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_komu_

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Hello. I have a question about using this amp with topping D10B DAC. So if i have that combo, can i still use unbalanced/SE headphones from the SE output? Or can i only use balanced output with that dac? Thanks in advance!
 

raif71

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Hello. I have a question about using this amp with topping D10B DAC. So if i have that combo, can i still use unbalanced/SE headphones from the SE output? Or can i only use balanced output with that dac? Thanks in advance!
I would expect you can still use SE headphones. Just flick the switch to SE

Edit: The switch is actually for the inputs at the back ie to switch between TRS(Bal) or RCA(SE).
 
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kchap

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Hello. I have a question about using this amp with topping D10B DAC. So if i have that combo, can i still use unbalanced/SE headphones from the SE output? Or can i only use balanced output with that dac? Thanks in advance!
Yes you can.
 

kchap

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Hello. I have a question about using this amp with topping D10B DAC. So if i have that combo, can i still use unbalanced/SE headphones from the SE output? Or can i only use balanced output with that dac? Thanks in advance!
The headphone out has no bridged option, just SE with a a choice of TRS or 4 pin xlr connectors. The switch controls the input selection.
 

_komu_

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I would expect you can still use SE headphones. Just flick the switch to SE
The headphone out has no bridged option, just SE with a a choice of TRS or 4 pin xlr connectors. The switch controls the input selection.
Okay. Thank you both for the information! Had to ask, because i wasn't sure that i can use my akg 712 pro with that combo.
 

raif71

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The headphone out has no bridged option, just SE with a a choice of TRS or 4 pin xlr connectors. The switch controls the input selection.
I see...the switch is to switch between balanced or SE inputs not the headphone out. Sorry for my mistake.
 

kchap

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I see...the switch is to switch between balanced or SE inputs not the headphone out. Sorry for my mistake.
No probs. I'm using a D10 balanced with main my system and a Khadas tone card with the L50. The Khadas is pretty good but a couple of days ago I weakened and ordered the matching SE50 to go with L50. More money than sense!
 

raif71

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1632401320411.png


Topping L50 with D10b. I'm using a 60cm trs to trs cable. Even though quite short, I still had to wound it to make it shorter. So far, I'm liking the sound. :)
 

kchap

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View attachment 155235

Topping L50 with D10b. I'm using a 60cm trs to trs cable. Even though quite short, I still had to wound it to make it shorter. So far, I'm liking the sound. :)
Looks good. I've got some 30 cm cables coming for the SE50. Nickel plated but, they should be OK. There is something about the red. It's the colour I chose.
 
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