(Unofficial) Topping D50 III DAC review and measurements

[frabor]

As an owner of the d50s, it's nice to see an evolution of the format. Hope that this time they enable auto power on and reset of existing channels after power loss ( i use mine with a WiFi relay and it suck to have to turn it on manually after DC is restored)

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Just amazing, isn't it? It's a DAC, full function pre-amp, has 10 band peq, balanced outputs, remote. All for $229 on Amazon! Somebody at Topping must be listening because adding PEQ to Dacs has been discussed here more than once. We talked about how it should not greatly add to the unit's cost, and how it should be standard. So really a great job.

Now just add a pair of the Fosi Audio V3 Mono's with the 48v 10 amp power supply for $260, and have a complete high end set of electronics for l.t. $490. Too bad Google stopped selling the Chromecast Audio streamer for $10.

 

[audioje]

Yes finally peqs!! Waiting for dx5 ii with peq then! I am sure SMSL and other companies will soon to follow (with new models, not through firmware updates of course....)

 

[Rja4000]

adding PEQ to Dacs has been discussed here more than once

@audioje
Here it works only from USB input, which is a strong limitation.

 

[Rja4000]

Hope that this time they enable auto power on and reset of existing channels after power loss ( i use mine with a WiFi relay and it suck to have to turn it on manually after DC is restored)

At power on, the DAC remains on standby until you manually turn it on.
(Which may be done with the remote)
It keeps last settings though.

 

[Bleib]

Just amazing, isn't it? It's a DAC, full function pre-amp, has 10 band peq, balanced outputs, remote. All for $229 on Amazon! Somebody at Topping must be listening because adding PEQ to Dacs has been discussed here more than once. We talked about how it should not greatly add to the unit's cost, and how it should be standard. So really a great job.

Now just add a pair of the Fosi Audio V3 Mono's with the 48v 10 amp power supply for $260, and have a complete high end set of electronics for l.t. $490. Too bad Google stopped selling the Chromecast Audio streamer for $10.

We have a few topics here on this forum where some Topping DACs have suddenly played at full volume. Do people trust this new release not to do the same?

 

[DLS79]

@audioje
Here it works only from USB input, which is a sstrong limitation.

It's their first go at a dac with peq, and it's a pretty reasonably priced one at that.

If it was an $700+ D70, or D90 then I personally think it would be more of an issue.

 

[kchap]

It seems that the D50 III and the A50 III with a RPI might be a very good side table combo.

 

[Palladium]

Just amazing, isn't it? It's a DAC, full function pre-amp, has 10 band peq, balanced outputs, remote. All for $229 on Amazon! Somebody at Topping must be listening because adding PEQ to Dacs has been discussed here more than once. We talked about how it should not greatly add to the unit's cost, and how it should be standard. So really a great job.

Now just add a pair of the Fosi Audio V3 Mono's with the 48v 10 amp power supply for $260, and have a complete high end set of electronics for l.t. $490. Too bad Google stopped selling the Chromecast Audio streamer for $10.

It was so weird to see the D50S priced higher than the III before the latter's launch.

 

[zdykstra]

We have a few topics here on this forum where some Topping DACs have suddenly played at full volume. Do people trust this new release not to do the same?

Oof, that's scary. I'm planning on pairing mine with a pair of IcePower125asx boards in bridge mode. Those will be enough to explode my JBL L880's!

 

[audioje]

It was so weird to see the D50S priced higher than the III before the latter's launch.

Well they have been doing many weird things

 

[Bleib]

Oof, that's scary. I'm planning on painting mine with a pair of IcePower125asx boards in bridge mode. Those will be enough to explode my JBL L880's!

This is why I don't use my PA5 II Plus at full volume. Adds a layer of safety.

 

[Steven Holt]

Impressive work. Definitely a technical marvel for such a small package.

Considering the price, an economic marvel too!

 

[AudioKC]

fantastic dac and fantastic review. I love that test with sin wave at noise floor for 16bit. Why though 997hz?

 

[restorer-john]

It keeps last settings though.

Until it doesn't...

 

[Psycher1]

For those wondering, why EQ if only for USB? Well, here's one - work computers with fairly strict software installation limitations. I don't want to pay for Roon, and EqualizerAPO isn't an option. One ticket for the initial software installation, then I can move on and save money each month (compared to Roon)? This is huge.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Too bad it's stricly limited to use with USB input.

This is major flaw.
With USB your don't really need and PEQ as there is a lot of software that you can use being your PC (apo) or streamer (Roon)

But not being able to use PEQ using toslink with my tv..... Not good

 

[Azathoth]

Time to upgrade my DAC

 

[DanielT]

Good job Rja4000!

Do you have any idea how good the reception is on the Bluetooth receiver?
If LDAC work well, both the reception and the transmission, it is good enough for me in terms of quality.Compared to Spotify via cable in that case. Unfortunately, if I understand it correctly, no possibility to combine PEQ with Bluetooth though, or?

Have you tried switching between the Bluetooth receiver and input via USB-C? Is it easy to do via the remote control?

Have you experienced any popping noises? Something that sounds like it shouldn't?

This is major flaw.
With USB your don't really need and PEQ as there is a lot of software that you can use being your PC (apo) or streamer (Roon)

But not being able to use PEQ using toslink with my tv..... Not good

Sure, but if you want to plug it into a mobile phone or laptop, it should be a good option. In any case, that is my thinking in case I buy this DAC. Plus to sometimes switch to Bluetooth, if the LDAC is good and it's easy to change inputs.

For those wondering, why EQ if only for USB? Well, here's one - work computers with fairly strict software installation limitations. I don't want to pay for Roon, and EqualizerAPO isn't an option. One ticket for the initial software installation, then I can move on and save money each month (compared to Roon)? This is huge.

IF the PEQ works on this DAC when I plug in my Android via USB-C and use Spotify, then this DAC is a clearly interesting option for me in any case.

Edit:
Maybe a stupid question, but I'll ask it anyway:
Are the PEQ settings reset to 0 mode if you change inputs, or if you change the USB-C source or if you turn the DAC off or on? Do you then have to set the PEQ settings again? It shouldn't be like that, but I'm asking anyway. But okay, I see in #25 that Rja4000 wrote It keeps last settings though. So then it shouldn't be a problem.
____
Edit 2:
I now see in the first post in the thread that many of the questions I had and similar questions that others had are now answered. Thanks for that Rja4000.

 

[kchap]

My my question regarding PEQ is: How do I configure it in a Linux system such as Moode or Volumio? If it is a set and forget process I can do either via the remote/font panel or connecting once to a Windows machine, then I can get by. If not the PEQ is useless.