Well, with as much trouble as they’re having getting the Liquid Spark DAC out in time I’m not going to hold my breath.
I put it on notify If its Out i’ll Post it. Preorder probably takes forever then.
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Hey, have you tried it? Does it sound better?
Edit: If you didn’t, someone on AudioKarma did:
“First up is the muse 8920. A few songs in, I am feeling an immediate sense of much less clinical/analytic and deeper soundstage. Maybe 7-9’ vs the 3-5 perceived previously. Going to listen for a day or so as I’m really liking the sound. Perhaps more laid back, smoother and seems to be less fatiguing so far.”
Interesting.
Hey, I have problems with notifications from hifiguides. Gmail throws them to ‘Promotions’ tab.
I am feeling an immediate sense of much less clinical/analytic and deeper soundstage.
I can definitely agree with that! Stage became wider and sound warmer. Maybe it’s not a huge difference but for me it was noticeable enough. Even if I’m considering myself as a person with not well trained ears
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Ive been having issues with this dac recently. It’s been disconnecting spontaneous and I was wondering if anyone else had this issue.
INTRODUCTION
Apos Audio graciously loaned me the Topping 50 stack, both the A50s headphone amplifier and the D50s DAC. Here we dig into the DAC. Neither Apos nor Topping attempted to influence my opinion on this review and the opinions expressed below are my own.
TL;DR
The Topping D50s is a clean, detailed DAC with a somewhat narrow soundstage and some treble sharpness. It doesn’t quite measure up with similarly priced DACs for pure sound quality but it does come with some features – such as a remote control, digital filters, and Bluetooth connectivity with LDAC – and customizability – through op-amp swapping – all in a tiny, well-built package that make it a solid options for those who are not treble sensitive and like to tinker.
WAIT, AREN’T WE MAD AT TOPPING?
Topping has been in the audio news lately – such as it is – for inauspicious reasons. I won’t go into details here but you can read about the issue further here. Given that the D50s is a DAC there is essentially 0 chance that it failing would damage a headphone. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of such a thing. However, it is true that Topping’s customer service through the L30 episode was sub-par. I therefore do this review that so you as a potential buyer can go into considering a Topping product with fully informed consent.
FEATURES & BUILD
The D50s is a single-ended digital-to-analog converter (DAC). It lists for $249.99 USD. Decoding options include PCM up to 32-bit/768KHz and DSD up to DSD512. It has 7 digital EQ filters, has Bluetooth connectivity with AptX and LDAC codecs, and 3 digital audio inputs. The D50s is a delta-sigma DAC that uses an ESS Sabre chip to do the actual conversion of digital to analog. It also has an included remote control.
The D50s comes in a small, square, metal chassis that is very sturdy and well made. The footprint of this chassis is remarkably small. Take a look:
(On the right and bottom of these pics is the matching A50s amp)
This metal chassis is also quite heavy for its size. The back panel sports a 5V DC power socket (a USB-to-DC power cord is included in the package), a threaded terminal for Bluetooth antenna (also included), a full-size USB 2.0 port, Toslink optical input, RCA coaxial spdif input, and R/L RCA stereo analog outputs. The front panel has small, monochrome LED screen that indicates input selection, sample rate, and provides a UI for the menu system. There’s also a power button and a 4-way joystick to help navigate the menu. I found this joystick a bit of a challenge to use. It recognizes pushes left, right, up, and down, and it can be pushed to select. However, the stick is very small and can be pushed in any direction. I had numerous moments of things like trying to push the stick right and the menu navigated up. I eventually gave up on it and used the include remote control, which is much easier.
Let’s talk about feet! I mentioned this in my A50s review too but I like this feature and think it’s worth mentioning here too. The bottom of the D50s has four rubber feet that are quite sticky. It is very difficult to get this little unit to slide across a desktop. I like this. I’ve had numerous light, small form-factor devices where a stiff wire pushed it around or a wire that hung off the edge of the desk pulled it out of place. That doesn’t really happen with the D50s. I applaud Topping for this simple yet effective ergonomic feature.
About that remote control. If you’ve ever had a Topping or SMSL product with remote you’ll recognize this one:
The remote controls all the major functions and does so more elegantly that the front-panel joystick. The remote requires AAA batteries that are not included, so have some on hand. The remote has a handy ‘Line Out’ button on it too to switch between the D50s’ analog output being a preamp output or a line-level output.
I’ll mention here, although I did not test this and it’s not something I have ever done, that there is an op-amp rolling possibility with the D50s. There are 4 screws in the bottom of the unit that exposes the innards. I won’t go into that here because this is not a thing that is of interest to me, and I never opened this review unit. However, various users around the internet report changes to the sound quality with different op-amps. This option might be intriguing for those who enjoy this kind of modding.
SOUND
Overall, the sound of the D50s is clean, detailed, and reasonably dynamic. The soundstage is narrower than some other DACs I’ve heard in the price range but the imaging is reasonably tight and precise. The treble isn’t elevated but does fall prey to the “ESS esses.” There is an above-average amount of sibilance fairly often when vocalists use ‘s’ and ‘t’ sounds. Detail retrieval is solid, though. Things like room reverb were resolved well and realistically. The bass is punchy with decent slam. I detected some occasional grain in the lower treble and upper midrange, however. The sound quality overall strikes me as solid, but not class-leading. Bottom line on sound to me is the D50s isn’t particularly remarkable toward the good or bad sonically. It has some issues (the sibilance, narrow soundstage – that one is more preference, and mid-range grain) and it has some strengths (cleanliness, detail retrieval, imaging), but neither the strengths nor the weaknesses are particularly strong or weak. TBH, the sound is just-kinda-there. To me that’s neither praise nor critique. There will be many listeners who will appreciate that the D50s’ sound doesn’t announce itself all that much. There will be just as many listeners who will wish it has a bit more character.
I will comment briefly on the digital filters. There are 7 filter settings. The first is the standard ‘no filter’ which leaves 6 slightly modified modes. The first 3 of these filters mostly pushed the mid-range more forward a little bit more with each number of filter up. However, after the third one I really couldn’t tell much anymore what they were doing.
And how ‘bout that Bluetooth? Even with the LDAC enabled (using a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 smartphone) the overall level of detail and sound quality wasn’t quite up to the level that the USB or spdif inputs could produce. Bluetooth is much improved but it’s not quite there, yet. Even so, the lossy nature of Bluetooth transmission actually helped out the D50s to a degree. The treble sharpness was not as prevalent from the Bluetooth. The timbre wasn’t as good, the resolution wasn’t as good, and the sound had a more ‘digital’ flavor to it, for lack of better term, but the sibilance was less distracting. Even so, the sound certainly was not bad and was quite enjoyable when I was not listening critically. I think the inclusion of Bluetooth is a nice feature for when the listener is casually listening and extra wires get in the way.
AMP PAIRINGS
The natural pairing with the D50s is its aesthetic match the A50s. I however do not like this pairing. The A50s smooths out the overall sound too much for my liking but also does not rein in the D50s’ ESS treble; it exacerbates it. I got the best results out of the D50s when it was paired with amps that are bit more controlled and smoother in the treble. The Schiit Magnius increased some control of that treble – although did not eliminate all the sharpness – and also widened the soundstage back out a bit. The Schiit Asgard 3 reined in the treble even more and widened the soundstage even more than the Magnius did. I also thought the D50s was a decent complement to my Cayin HA-1AMK2 tube amp. The brighter and more detail-forward presentation of the D50s complemented the 1AMK2’s smoothness and slight treble roll-off well, especially with hi-impedance headphones like the Massdrop + Sennheiser HD6XX and the 1AMK2 set to a higher output impedance.
COMPARISON WITH OTHER DACS
My reference budget DAC right now is the Schiit Modius ($199). The Modius bests the D50s on soundstage width, has more natural timbre, has an overall smoother sound, and is far less sibilant. Within their respective soundstages they image with about the same level of proficiency. I’m on the fence if one is more detailed than the other. If pressed I’d describe the Modius as being the one that’s just slightly more resolving but that the D50’s brighter presentation can be perceived as being more detailed. For me the D50s is not displacing the Modius as my reference budget DAC because of its treble sharpness and the fact that it sounds overall more sterile and less engaging than the Modius. Both DACs measure very well in frequency response, distortion, and noise measurements, though. The Modius is a balanced DAC and I think it is slightly better sounding from its balanced output than its SE output, but even from its SE output I have a personal preference for its sound.
I had the Topping E30 DAC in for review a couple months ago. The D50s has more features (additional filter options, Bluetooth) and is ESS chip based where the E30 is AKM chip based. It’s been awhile but I recall the E30 being a bit smoother sounding but the D50s being more detailed. The overall sound quality is close though. It’s up to the end user whether the D50s Bluetooth connectivity and increased customizability are worth the extra $120 the D50s costs over the E30.
I owned the SMSL SU-8 and used it as my primary DAC for a long time and it can still be found for the same price as the D50s. The SU-8 is also an ESS DAC but has balanced outputs and several more digital filters than the D50s. If the amplifier used has only RCA inputs, I think the D50s sounds superior as the SU-8 is a bit mid-forward and slightly grainier in the midrange than the D50s. However, I prefer the sound from the SU-8 if its balanced outputs are used. Both the SU-8 and D50s are very clean with good detail retrieval for the price, but the balanced output of the SU-8 has a wider soundstage. I also like that the SU-8 has PCM filters that smooth out its sound some in comparison to the D50s.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My general sense with using the Topping D50s is that it’s alright. To me it neither stands out as being a price/performance champion nor as being a product to outright avoid. IMO for pure sound quality there are better options in the price range. I think the D50s is suited to listeners who are not treble sensitive, don’t prioritize a big soundstage, have limited desk space, and are drawn to its modding potential. To my ear the sound quality improvement and Bluetooth connectivity is not enough to warrant buying the D50s over its cheaper sibling model the E30 mated with Topping’s BC3 Bluetooth receiver. Together those two devices cost $200 and provide almost all the features the D50s brings. Yes, the combo comes with some added complexity because it’s 2 small boxes instead of 1, but that’s what I would do.
Once again, thank you all for reading another one of my long, detailed reviews. And as always, enjoy the music! 
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Thank a lot only i wish if you could hear it with p50 linear power conected as this missing part gives
IMO upgradee to sound of d50s or a50s. Looks like topping designed this dac and amp in stack with p50. Strangely some negatives you hear is not here.
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Thanks for bringing this up. I have 2 thoughts on that:
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if you must buy a $130 power supply to get the A50s/D50s to sonically rise to the level of its current price competition, it puts Topping even further behind on the value proposition
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Especially for the A50s amp, the improved power supply may reduce the prominence of the subbass rolloff and quicken the overall presentation a little, but likely not be enough to make it as resolving or punchy as amps like the Asgard 3 or Magnius which are still parked at $199.
Yes good points. It is pricer as a whole. Actually i got p50 for 80 during sales but usually it is additional cost so it makes topping offering further from shiit. But what works in united states not so good in europe. If calculate all shiping and taxes costs to europe what makes asgard close to 300 plus some shiit dac and we have actually close price to topping with p50. And as a complete stack it is much closer in pure quality to shiit similar stacks. At least from what i found in your review of topping d50 line. I also had oportunity to listen asgard3 here in europe but sadly hadn’t possibility to compare directly to current tooping stack i have. I known i liked asgard it is really good for the that price you can get it in states. Possibly it should be really good amp for my sundaras even if like them with topping stack not less. For my audiophilic needs i am planing to import asgard and their loki eq for future use with my hifiman planars. Shiit brand ir really not easy to get here during covid even if it is well known in audiophile comunity. You lucky not having such problems 
So topping here wins by availability. Shiit in other areas.
@Listenwise The Asgard really brought my Sundaras to life!! Good move. And
the Loki addition will allow you to add a touch more bass, should you want it.
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Fully agreed Schiit’s international distribution is… well…let’s just say it lives up to their company name. I suspect they will try to beef up international distro and availability once COVID is behind us and they can acquire materials and staffing to assemble.
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Wawetheory, I only imagine how much seller they are not getting here in my region. Many of who i know would like to buy something from them but jus plainly can’t and not all ready to pay big imports. Ofcourse covid time but it showed the problems that some busineses had before in more hard way an current situation with availability of shiitt, well… shitty. Hope it will be solved after covid situation calmes down. China origin brands in europe are dominating now and this is not my type of situation i would like to see.
And from what i hear asgard really looks like made for sundara, giving reall boost to sundaras fidelity. Wanted long time to try something from shiit audio and when i got sundara i decided that asgard 3 will be this first thing and then, because already planning shipping as an addition decided to add loki eq. This thing seems like good alternative to some eq what we could get here in europe. Hope i like these two, when i listened shortly asgard it really looked like it is worth to get. 
Good brand you have
@Listenwise how accessible is the lake people g103s where you are? That’s a pretty good alternative that I would say trades a lot of blows with the asgard depending on the headphones you have
Is it at the same level as asgard from shiit? This model looks like more available here. More in uk based sellers and this already after brexit means that we have bigger taxes. If looking in European union Eu where i am perhaps will find also somethere. Actually dont know much about this brand and particullar amp model but looks like really quality peace. Thanks will look for more info about it
I think so, although it’s suited toward a bit different signature and also headphone pairings, but I’d say on an equally good technical level and value. The g103s is a bit of a studio neutral sound with a bit of warmth and smoothness, pretty nice overall, not as relaxed as the asgard but also not forward either. Will just come down to what headphones are planned to be paired for which one would make more sense (or availability)
I heard the the D50S in particular is affected by power supply quality. Anyone know of a good, inexpensive linear power supply?
There’s no sense in me paying $130 for Topping’s linear PSU since I don’t use my D50 often and I’ll probably replace in the next year.
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just use a regular power bank via usb …it gets the job done.
Hi …
got the d50s since a week
this is my review.
its solidly built
nice size
very good bluetooth dac
remote control is a bonus
in terms of sound …
at 1st i found it siblant
but after few songs
its got better.
comming from 100$ tone1 dac
im surprized by the soundstage
and the layering of the sound
especially with live songs .
bass is deep and hits good
mids are neutral
little bit thin and airy but detailed
(prefer warmish a bit 
)
trebile sparkles good and not siblant
i got surprised by fast drums hits
and the ability to seperate every sound
sound is never crowded…
if u listen to bad records the faults
will not be covered.
dsd music sounds the best.
thats all .
its worth it if u get it used .
thanx
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As a reminder, you can swap opamps in the D50S to get a warmer sound. 
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