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Topping D50 III & A50 III Review - The new stack to get below 500$?

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Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen!
Donspektor here, today with my review of the Topping D50 III and A50 III. Toppings new "mid-fi" contender. And today, we find out, what the stack can or can't do!
My full written review can be found here:
docs.google.co...
For reference, here are the measurements of the D50 III:
www.audioscien...
As usual, here are the timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
0:38 Packaging & Accessories
1:40 D50 III does not come with a power brick
2:12 12V Trigger Cable also not included
2:56 Official Topping TCT1 TRS - TRS (6.3mm) Cable
6:00 Connectivity & Power - D50 III
8:06 Connectivity & Power - A50 III
10:42 Oddity with SNR of single-ende VS balanced
11:40 Connectivity & Power - D50 III + A50 III (together, finally!)
12:24 Usability
13:18 A50 III - Volume Knob & Noise-Floor
14:30 Power-/On-/Off-Button is "wobbly"
15:05 Knob-Operation of D50 III is good
15:36 D50 can not be turned off :/
16:20 Bluetooth & EQ/Topping Tune
17:54 Topping Tune Usability generally is good!
17:34 Auto-EQ on Board (Nice!)
19:08 Software Overall
19:38 Sound
19:56 Sound D50 III
21:10 Sound A50 III
21:52 BUT... less dynamic than SP200
22:30 Sound A50 III - Part 2
22:46 Sound D50 III + A50 III
23:25 Scientific Sound-Perception-Disclaimer
23:54 Sound Summary
24:08 Conclusion
26:39 Not sure how to recommend it...?
27:51 Outro
The full, written review can be found here:
docs.google.co...
My song "benchmark" list explanation can be found here (the list itself is updated when I see find nice music I like or songs that work better for certain aspects):
• Donspektors Benchmark ...
If you want to know, how I do my review please refer to:
• Donspektors recipe for...
If you have any questions, critique or any other feedback, please leave a comment.
Donspektor!
Out!
#review #topping #dac #amp #stack

Опубликовано:

14 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 13

@utsavratti 12 дней назад

Thorough coverage, but as you said, the issues you describe are all nitpicks. I have this stack and also the Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies (3rd gen.). On the balanced out, this blows the WA7 out of the water - at a 3.5X discount. For certain music - vocal & acoustic instruments - I do prefer the WA7, but out of the SE connection. [Edit: I did have a clipping problem and dropping from 5V to 4V out on the D50 III didn't solve that. I updated the FW to 1.30 and left the DAC at 4V and so far no clipping.]

@wana.me003 2 дня назад

Very detailed review! Thank you for going into the weeds with this.

@don_spektor 2 дня назад

Glad I could help :-) I'd love to also provide measurements for a real complete review, but unfortunately gear for that is a bit out of my budget :(

@ricardoguzman2323 Месяц назад

This is the best review for the topping stack! Thanks for all the information!

@don_spektor 27 дней назад

Glad I could help :-)

@oxidize3 2 месяца назад

Thanks for your review. I pulled the trigger on the D50iii to pair my A70 Pro. I don't feel the D70 Pro's are worth the asking price, given I can barely hear the difference between amps.

@don_spektor Месяц назад

Yeah, I think the most important for DACs nowadays after a certain price point is the feature set. If it has 0,0001% or 0,000001% THD doesn't really make a difference, same for AMPs...

@bassfan71 2 месяца назад

Great thorough review! I purchased a Topping D50iii to pair with a JDS Labs Atom Amp 2. I think they will make a fantastic combo. Atom Amp 2 at $129 is better deal than the A50 while also being American made which I love. If there was an American made DAC with the usability and feature set of the D50iii I would've bought that instead. What's great about the D50 is the balanced outputs which will go to my studio monitors and the RCA to my Atom amp.

@don_spektor Месяц назад

Thank you :-) Unfortunately, in the EU it's very hard to find JDS products... I read many positive things about the Atom 2 stack but with the import costs, it doesn't make any sense to get it at the moment...

@bisadelara5933 2 месяца назад

I got the same stack and I feel the same about the lack of 12v trigger and long trs cable😢

@don_spektor Месяц назад

Yeah right :/? Topping kinda missed the mark with these details for me here...

@Rezzzn0r Месяц назад

Im not sure whats the point in comparing it to devices you haven't listened to? It doesnt matter how they messure, nowadays all devices measure well.

@don_spektor Месяц назад

If you are referring to the Atom 2 stack: most people know the JDD Atom (2) stack and therefore my comparing it in terms of sizing gives people a good comparison of how big/small they are. If you are referring to the other alternatives I mention at the end: due to most good DAC/AMPs or stacks measuring so well, it'll be very unlikely you will hear a difference between devices in a real blind/ABX scenario. Hence, I do mention other chapter alternatives that do seem to measure well. And if you don't need Bluetooth or the EQ software, you have many options that also measure very well... And are cheaper. Therefore, the point of this is to give people perspective.