Topping D50 III Balanced DAC with EQ Review

[HD800Fan]

Topping slowly coming for RME

 

[dguillor]

It's worth to mention that EQ is only working with USB input!

Wow, that’s not great.

 

[Labjr]

You also need the physical space on chassis for the ports!

View attachment 364478


I'm not sure enough people appreciate how much work goes into stuffing so much functionality into such a small package!

I don't really care how small the package is. I'd rather have XLR jacks and a display that's larger than a postage stamp.

 

[Hipster Doofus]

Maybe a not so simple , simple question Please…

I got Roon for the ability to EQ each of my 3 rooms. And although I love being able to eq on the fly using my iPad etc. and enjoy the meta data. I really miss the simplicity of Tidal , it ability to sort , weekly new albums etc…and it Lack of complexity’s. So does this PEQ work as good as Roons?..

 

[zdykstra]

I don't really care how small the package is. I'd rather have XLR jacks and a display that's larger than a postage stamp.

Thankfully there are 86,749 other DACs on the market that meet your needs.

 

[DLS79]

I don't really care how small the package is. I'd rather have XLR jacks and a display that's larger than a postage stamp.

Then buy a different product!

 

[MacClintock]

You can see the difference here as an example:

Topping EQ:

View attachment 364440


RME EQ

View attachment 364441

(from this thread where it also mentions a similar Bluesound problem)

You can also see it here (where it was the cause for a partial fix and it's a really good read down the thread as it addresses lots of aspects)

Well yes, but the Topping is already at -120 dB, below the limit of audibility, this is what counts. If you chuck in additionally -180 dB to make Rob Watts happy, nice, but does not affect sound quality.

 

[phantompowered]

Balanced outs over 1/4 inch?

That's amateur hour.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Balanced outs over 1/4 inch?

That's amateur hour.

Why?

 

[phoenixdogfan]

The only disappointing thing here is the PEQ is only supported for USB input. There are a number of sources such as the coax digital output of many TV sets that would benefit from being run through EQ, and Topping missed an opportunity to offer a complete package by foregoing support for that (miniDSP does support all inputs, btw). Otherwise, it's hard to see how a product like this could be improved upon unless they find a way to offer it for $100 or less.

 

[Somafunk]

Balanced outs over 1/4 inch?

I guess you’ve never set foot in a professional studio?

 

[DLS79]

Why?

Imo, the only benefit of XLR over 1/4" TRS is that it is more easily found as a locking connector. It's worth noting locking connectors aren't very common in home audio gear.


An example of locking chassis mount connectors. You will destroy the cable before you can accidently get the connectors apart.

Regardless, you aren't going to find XLR support in something the size of a D50. The connector is almost the size of the chassis.

 

[testp]

We also have to mention that EQ is applied to both channels and (until now) there's no way for different settings on each channel.
That makes Room EQ very difficult but I guess is good news for headphone users.
It's a start though.


Nope,the quality of RME's filters is still out of reach by these companies,including miniDSP which makes stuff like this for a long time.

Otherwise really nice measurements.

Thanks Amir!

easy, buy two and get 10 per channel

 

[Robbo99999]

What I have seen measuring filters like that (the miniDSP Flex that I returned) is that the noise increases as we go lower in freq.
Number of filters doesn't help either.

There's a thread about it but gathering info after that it seems that many suffer the same and only top implementations like RME's seem to solve it.

I'd quite like to see @amirm maybe measure a typical headphone EQ (complicated overlapping filters, perhaps one of Oratory's EQ's) in the Topping for noise issues, and perhaps measured vs a software solution like Roon. If this is a technically feasible thing to be done.

 

[Labjr]

Plastic PC mount TRS jacks can't handle much stress before breaking or solder connections fail.

 

[Somafunk]

Plastic PC mount TRS jacks can't handle much stress before breaking or solder connections fail.

That may be the case but how often would you be removing/inserting the jacks in such a device as the D50 iii ?, I’d hazard a guess at once.

 

[abdo123]

Is this ... my first topping purchase?

 

[DLS79]

Is this ... my first topping purchase?

depending on your needs, wants, and budget you might want to hold off till we get some more details on the D90III D.

TOPPING D90 III、TOPPING D50 III

Figures, anyone successfully update one of these Topping bits of kit from a linux box? I did a cursory search and didn't find much information. Given that they have warnings about bricking your device by flashing the wrong firmware, I'm very hesitant to experiment on my just-shipped device.

www.audiosciencereview.com

1 bit DAC launched by TOPPING

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Bleib]

depending on your needs, wants, and budget you might want to hold off till we get some more details on the D90III D.

TOPPING D90 III、TOPPING D50 III

Figures, anyone successfully update one of these Topping bits of kit from a linux box? I did a cursory search and didn't find much information. Given that they have warnings about bricking your device by flashing the wrong firmware, I'm very hesitant to experiment on my just-shipped device.

www.audiosciencereview.com

1 bit DAC launched by TOPPING

www.audiosciencereview.com

Both will obviously be a lot more expensive. But at least D90 III D will give PEQ on all inputs. I think for the price though it should also include a headphone amp.

 

[Palladium]

I guess you’ve never set foot in a professional studio?

Even over there 3-pin XLR is only strictly necessary to safely use phantom power mics.

Also, don't ask silly questions like "why am I using a $2000 power cable to hear something recorded over $1 per foot".