Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
Doubt I could tell the difference between my Topping D30 and DX3 Pro in a blind test. A higher price often just means more features.
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Topping D50
- Thread starter E.Auer
- Start date
Doubt I could tell the difference between my Topping D30 and DX3 Pro in a blind test. A higher price often just means more features.
Ion Spectre
New Member
Has anyone tried (and hopefuly compared) the new D50s? I'm interesting in buying but I have to wonder if it's worth the £50 price increase over the original D50.
I'm also considering the Schiit Modi 3. Can anyone provide a good comparison between the Modi and the D50? I've heard some say the D50 is "colder and more analytical" compared to the Modi 3 but I'd love to hear more opinions.
I'm also considering the Schiit Modi 3. Can anyone provide a good comparison between the Modi and the D50? I've heard some say the D50 is "colder and more analytical" compared to the Modi 3 but I'd love to hear more opinions.
PoCko
New Member
Hi guys!
I bought as SMSL M100, D30 and Khadas TB at the same time for a listening test in my rig not long ago. After at least 72h "burn in" from all these i liked KTB the most as a more detailed, airy and best stereo image.
So now i am looking forward at the D50. Did some one heard KTB and D50? Is there any noticeble difference? Is it going to work atached to Android media player+Spotify? Do D50s brings more sonic advantages?
Also some one mentioned Hifime UDA38Pro DAC as it is in the D50/D50s price range. These are more expensive than my early purchases so i can't affoard to buy all of these and hear it my self.
I would like to hear your thoughs on this one.
I bought as SMSL M100, D30 and Khadas TB at the same time for a listening test in my rig not long ago. After at least 72h "burn in" from all these i liked KTB the most as a more detailed, airy and best stereo image.
So now i am looking forward at the D50. Did some one heard KTB and D50? Is there any noticeble difference? Is it going to work atached to Android media player+Spotify? Do D50s brings more sonic advantages?
Also some one mentioned Hifime UDA38Pro DAC as it is in the D50/D50s price range. These are more expensive than my early purchases so i can't affoard to buy all of these and hear it my self.
I would like to hear your thoughs on this one.
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KTB is crazy good and crazy good value for performance. I doubt there will be any meaningful differences between it and the D50 given the same DAC chipset and close technical performance. The D50s does perform somewhat better technically but likely not audibly better, if I had to upgrade I'd probably splurge on the D50s just for a peace of mind.
I got mine a month ago and was just really starting to enjoy when I had a tumble in the back yard and 2 weeks in hospital & rehab(Do not be sorry. It was my fault.) When I came home I needed some happy tunes. Picked some out with Foorbar, pressed play and nothing. I looked down and it was not turned on, so I hit the switch. It stayed on for about a minute and went blank again. Played CDs.
Yesterday looked in Windows audio and it is not listed as a playback device. Reloaded drivers , same result.
When turned on the display says "unlock" for 30 seconds or so and then normal menu until shut down.
When I unplugged / plugged power gave me a "device not recognized" and Unit "malfunctional" error message.
Any ideas.
Yesterday looked in Windows audio and it is not listed as a playback device. Reloaded drivers , same result.
When turned on the display says "unlock" for 30 seconds or so and then normal menu until shut down.
When I unplugged / plugged power gave me a "device not recognized" and Unit "malfunctional" error message.
Any ideas.
Dead?
How's the warranty process?
How's the warranty process?
My budget is what is it is. It will take me another $200 of frustration to recover a brand new $200 purchase. That's ok I've got another 4-6 weeks of at home rehab before full strength.
I'll send it back to Amazon by the 25th, get refund and buy another.
tabarddn51
Super Member
Hi Guy's, I have just received my D50s & now I have finally got it going I am quite impressed. I was using a Parrasound ZDac before this & straight out the box it is superior especially in the bass slam area. However I cannot get the drivers to load on my Windows 7 main system (I hate 10) that will feed my system. I have also tried a Laptop with 7 on it & the same. My wife Laptop with 10 installed no problem, have gone back to Topping but so far no reply.
Any guidance appreciated
Cheers
Any guidance appreciated
Cheers
patient_ot
Super Member
I wonder if it is a W7 compatibility issue? I had no problems installing on W10, don't use W7.
I used drivers for the DX3Pro LDAC on Apos Audio's website. Maybe try those for your unit and see if it makes a difference.
I'm comparing the Khadas Tone Board with the Topping DX7s as we speak, and I have to say the the Khadas is impressive. It throws a big, detailed image and is highly listenable. The DX7s is better, more liquid and with greater depth and instrumental separation. But the Khadas is quite good. I bought Vim3 SBC and I feel that the Khadas sounds bit better when paired with this, possibly due to the external power supply and I2S connection. I briefly listened to it with Ubuntu and it sounds quite a bit more refined. But I'm waiting for Volumio to come out with a Vim3 image so I can hear it without Pulse Audio, and try it as a renderer. But as a standalone USB DAC it seems like an exceptional bargain.
tabarddn51
Super Member
Hi, I eventually got a reply from Topping, They sent me the correct driver to use this one, but I have not changed over computers yet.
I must say the Topping is way ahead of my older ZDac. Just upgraded to Spotify premium & set at 192hz it is very, very good. So good that it is not that far off my vinyl front end. Which costs in excess of $6,000 and if bought new would be in the region of $20,000 to $25,000!! Bass is softer through the D50s & it does not have as wide a sound stage or depth as the vinyl.
I am running the topping off of a 12VDC battery pack which also makes a significant difference to it's performance over the USB connection. Have just ordered a decent USB cable, so it will be interesting to see how much improvement that makes.
So overall very happy except.
The toggle switch is now sticking, slight niggle,
LED display is impossible to see from my listening position,
Cheers Derek
I must say the Topping is way ahead of my older ZDac. Just upgraded to Spotify premium & set at 192hz it is very, very good. So good that it is not that far off my vinyl front end. Which costs in excess of $6,000 and if bought new would be in the region of $20,000 to $25,000!! Bass is softer through the D50s & it does not have as wide a sound stage or depth as the vinyl.
I am running the topping off of a 12VDC battery pack which also makes a significant difference to it's performance over the USB connection. Have just ordered a decent USB cable, so it will be interesting to see how much improvement that makes.
So overall very happy except.
The toggle switch is now sticking, slight niggle,
LED display is impossible to see from my listening position,
Cheers Derek
tabarddn51
Super Member
HI gvl, Thanks for the tip, I will try later. As we are all being forced to use 10, I suppose I must get used to it.
Anyway I understand the logic of "set max system and volume in Spotify and disable volume normalization" & can try through JRiver. But why set the driver back to 44.1k, isn't that a retrograde step.
Cheers
Anyway I understand the logic of "set max system and volume in Spotify and disable volume normalization" & can try through JRiver. But why set the driver back to 44.1k, isn't that a retrograde step.
Cheers
Spotify streams are 44.1k, by setting the sound device to 192k all you do is tell Windows to resample 44.1 to 192. Best to send at the original sample rate to your DAC to avoid additional resampling. That said, unfortunately you can't fully avoid Windows touching Spotify audio as Spotify is unable to send samples directly to the DAC, so the samples flow through the Windows mixer before reaching the DAC. Using JRiver/WDM driver is a workaround of sorts as it minimizes the effects, plus you can use theJRiver DSP engine on Spotify streams.
tabarddn51
Super Member
Ha, Now I see and that is possibly why many people say Lynix is the best platform for playing music.
Thanks for the info. As this computer is now only for playing music I may give Lynix another try.
cheers
Thanks for the info. As this computer is now only for playing music I may give Lynix another try.
cheers
Balthazarr
Super Member
Interesting stuff. Read it all and understood next to nothing.
OK, maybe a slight overstatement, but my experience with dac's goes back to Cal Audio Labs Sigma II and most recently two Topping dac's I bought within the last month: D10 and D3.
Not sure of the chips in those, but my ear tells me the D3 is better sounding.
OK, maybe a slight overstatement, but my experience with dac's goes back to Cal Audio Labs Sigma II and most recently two Topping dac's I bought within the last month: D10 and D3.
Not sure of the chips in those, but my ear tells me the D3 is better sounding.
dogwan
Dogwan
Why would you run the D50 off a 12v battery? The stock power supply is intended to be a standard 5v feed off a USB connection. I suspect that any sound improvement may due to the battery, but not from running a higher voltage. I would worry about overpowering and prematurely wearing out some of the intermal SMD components.
I've run my D50 off of a cell phone power bank which does put out 5v DC and did notice a slight improvement over either an SMPS or my laptop usb. Not sure what the D50 current draw is, but I've gotten a couple hours out of a 4000 MaH powerpak. I also have a couple LPS's that output 5v DC and they work great on other items that need 5v. Haven't tried one on the D50 yet though.
