TOPPING E50 DAC + L50 Amplifier Stack

[VSG]

TOPPING is a brand famous for its desktop DACs and amplifiers, and we take a look at its recently released E50 DAC and L50 amplifier. The two stacked up make for an excellent value proposition with sensitive IEMs and power-hungry headphones alike, and even work as a preamp for powered desktop speakers.

Show full review

 

[KainXS]

I actually am using my IFI Zen Dac as an amp and was literally sitting with the E50 in my cart yesterday and was going to buy it.

Do you think its a good upgrade VS the IFI Zen Dac. I was going to pair it with my SP200 or Atom+.

 

[VSG]

I actually am using my IFI Zen Dac as an amp and was literally sitting with the E50 in my cart yesterday and was going to buy it.

Do you think its a good upgrade VS the IFI Zen Dac. I was going to pair it with my SP200 or Atom+.

I don't have experience with the iFi Zen DAC, but I have two other iFi products here for review (GO blu and micro iDSD Signature) and the two companies are very different from each other. Topping is all about NFCA voltage amplification without anything extra beyond clean power, whereas with iFi you are paying for their analog signal processing and EQ hardware presets also. With the Atom Amp+, the E50 will be a preamp only, whereas the Zen DAC will allow other options that may or may not be relevant for you.

 

[seth1911]

269$ for a Headphone AMP, lmao

 

[VSG]

269$ for a Headphone AMP, lmao

Yes, and you should know that there are others that cost as much as $15k, if not more. This is nothing in the grand scheme of things, which is why I was recommending it to those who need the features and power output. In fact, I have a couple of headphones here that need even more power than what this stack provides, but those are very rare.

 

[R-T-B]

269$ for a Headphone AMP, lmao

Someone hasn't looked much at the high impedance headphone world.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Looks lovely, the only thing i would consider changing is the power supply for it, not sure of the quality of them. Topping stuff is pretty darn nice no doubt.

 

[natr0n]

I use a loxjie d10. Its awesome never going back to anything less than this.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Looks lovely, the only thing i would consider changing is the power supply for it, not sure of the quality of them. Topping stuff is pretty darn nice no doubt.

Don't touch it. It is a nice AC trans.

There's a better no BS review of the product... the way it should be done (no offense please VSG, you're my mate)

Topping E50 Review (Balanced DAC)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the new Topping E50 balanced USB DAC. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $269. I just reviewed its companion headphone amplifier, the Topping L50. The E50 takes my favorite orange LED display and makes it even nicer! It is a gorgeous...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Topping L50 Review (Headphone Amp)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the new Topping L50 balanced (input) headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $229. It will be announced shortly. The industrial design of the L50 is different than older models with a plexiglass front: While I like...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[VSG]

Don't touch it. It is a nice AC trans.

There's a better no BS review of the product... the way it should be done (no offense please VSG, you're my mate)

Topping E50 Review (Balanced DAC)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the new Topping E50 balanced USB DAC. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $269. I just reviewed its companion headphone amplifier, the Topping L50. The E50 takes my favorite orange LED display and makes it even nicer! It is a gorgeous...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Topping L50 Review (Headphone Amp)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the new Topping L50 balanced (input) headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $229. It will be announced shortly. The industrial design of the L50 is different than older models with a plexiglass front: While I like...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Oh no offense taken, I say in the review itself that I don't have an audio analyzer ($20k minimum) and Amir does excellent work on DAC/Amp reviews.

 

[Footman]

Struggling to hear much difference between some of the more expensive Dac/amp's and my cheap Fiio K5 pro. I listened to the Topping DX7 pro thinking it would be a good upgrade, but did not buy. I think it's a case of diminishing returns..... I'm currently own Meze Neo 99's (little bass happy until you use parametric EQ) and AKG 371's and listed primarily to lossless Flac's on my PC.

Perhaps I just need to pluck some of the hair out of my ears for a better experience???

 

[Juventas]

Topping doesn't seem to list HiFiGo as an authorized retailer.

Authorized Sellers - TOPPING

www.tpdz.net

 

[VSG]

Struggling to hear much difference between some of the more expensive Dac/amp's and my cheap Fiio K5 pro. I listened to the Topping DX7 pro thinking it would be a good upgrade, but did not buy. I think it's a case of diminishing returns..... I'm currently own Meze Neo 99's (little bass happy until you use parametric EQ) and AKG 371's and listed primarily to lossless Flac's on my PC.

Perhaps I just need to pluck some of the hair out of my ears for a better experience???

Don't spend too much money on DACs, especially if you don't hear any difference in your actual use case.

Topping doesn't seem to list HiFiGo as an authorized retailer.

Authorized Sellers - TOPPING

www.tpdz.net

Shenzhen Audio is the distributor for China, HiFiGo must have received the stock from them as with the likes of Moondrop products too.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Looks lovely, the only thing i would consider changing is the power supply for it, not sure of the quality of them.

Wow, that looks super dodgy, as you don't certify power adapters with the FCC, but UL. Neither would certify a power adapter that has a fixed British plug on it though, as it would never be sold in the US, so something is going on here. The PSE logo is for Japan, again not a logo that should be on this power adapter. Not to mention that the power adapter is 220-230V only, so not suitable for Japan or the US.
I'm not even sure CE is legit for the UK any more...

 

[VSG]

Wow, that looks super dodgy, as you don't certify power adapters with the FCC, but UL. Neither would certify a power adapter that has a fixed British plug on it though, as it would never be sold in the US, so something is going on here. The PSE logo is for Japan, again not a logo that should be on this power adapter. Not to mention that the power adapter is 220-230V only, so not suitable for Japan or the US.
I'm not even sure CE is legit for the UK any more...

Pretty much all such audio sources are selected by the customer with the country type at the time of order, which then comes with the corresponding power adapter. This includes products made in the US, UK, or China.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Pretty much all such audio sources are selected by the customer with the country type at the time of order, which then comes with the corresponding power adapter. This includes products made in the US, UK, or China.

Huh?
I think you missed my point here.
The adapter has certification logos for countries where it would never be sold. That usually means it's a low quality product that might lack certification, as they tend to be the ones with all the wrong certification logos on them.

 

[VSG]

Huh?
I think you missed my point here.
The adapter has certification logos for countries where it would never be sold. That usually means it's a low quality product that might lack certification, as they tend to be the ones with all the wrong certification logos on them.

Ah so I did, serves me right for glancing on my phone. I can follow up on this and see if Topping has anything to say.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Wow, that looks super dodgy, as you don't certify power adapters with the FCC, but UL. Neither would certify a power adapter that has a fixed British plug on it though, as it would never be sold in the US, so something is going on here. The PSE logo is for Japan, again not a logo that should be on this power adapter. Not to mention that the power adapter is 220-230V only, so not suitable for Japan or the US.
I'm not even sure CE is legit for the UK any more...

By affixing the CE marking to a product, a manufacturer declares that the product meets all the legal requirements for CE marking and can be sold throughout the EEA. This also applies to products made in other countries that are sold in the EEA.

I bet there is little chance the PSU is actually certified CE passed.

 

[R-T-B]

I bet there is little chance the PSU is actually certified CE passed.

On the other hand, AC-AC transformers like this tend to be a onepart simple wirecoil transformer. Not much to mess up... Certainly not as complex as an AC->DC transformer.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Maybe they are converting the 15AC to DC inside? Maybe easier to have a quality converter on the board.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Wow, that looks super dodgy, as you don't certify power adapters with the FCC, but UL. Neither would certify a power adapter that has a fixed British plug on it though, as it would never be sold in the US, so something is going on here. The PSE logo is for Japan, again not a logo that should be on this power adapter. Not to mention that the power adapter is 220-230V only, so not suitable for Japan or the US.
I'm not even sure CE is legit for the UK any more...

It is a simple AC transformer. It does not need to have anything. The certification definetly is fake, but I do not think you certify a dumb 15V AC adapter like that. It consists from a fuse, trans and wires.

Each region is supplied with their own type.

Unlike DC SMPS types that usually need care to not to introduce noise. Topping made a wise choice to incorporate a bridge and filtering inside the device. The noise tests prove them right.

As ugly it may look, leave it alone. It is a AC trans as I said.

 

[TheLostSwede]

It is a simple AC transformer. It does not need to have anything. The certification definetly is fake, but I do not think you certify a dumb 15V AC adapter like that. It consists from a fuse, trans and wires.

Each region is supplied with their own type.

Unlike DC SMPS types that usually need care to not to introduce noise. Topping made a wise choice to incorporate a bridge and filtering inside the device. The noise tests prove them right.

As ugly it may look, leave it alone. It is a AC trans as I said.

CE is still required for Europe, UL for the US etc. as it's a requirement for any electrical device that connects to a mains socket.
But at least we agree that the "certifications" look fake, so the source of this device isn't to be trusted, regardless how simple the device is.

 

[Ferrum Master]

CE is still required for Europe, UL for the US etc. as it's a requirement for any electrical device that connects to a mains socket.
But at least we agree that the "certifications" look fake, so the source of this device isn't to be trusted, regardless how simple the device is.

There the thing, that I trust Amir with his experience and gear more than any sticker on something, that's more likely just a sticker and nobody bats an eye in those labs even without powering up the units, just like WHQL drivers are being stamped. The only devices getting serious attention are medical grade... consumer varieties? Naah... get real. Companies do internal certification, that often has higher standarts the the regular ones.

Great example are ATX PSU's whose EMC pollution goes through the roof on cheaper models. If we look at laptop power bricks some those should be scorched on sight. Anyone cares? NO.

I understand your soft spot in power adapter certification as you were involved in it, but mhmm... that's pretty much it.

I would argue if I like the Topping device as such despite it is really well done... no. I don't prefer ESS architecture DACs, this time ES9068AS, I've had my hands on E50 for few hours.

 

[TheLostSwede]

There the thing, that I trust Amir with his experience and gear more than any sticker on something, that's more likely just a sticker and nobody bats an eye in those labs even without powering up the units, just like WHQL drivers are being stamped. The only devices getting serious attention are medical grade... consumer varieties? Naah... get real. Companies do internal certification, that often has higher standarts the the regular ones.

Great example are ATX PSU's whose EMC pollution goes through the roof on cheaper models. If we look at laptop power bricks some those should be scorched on sight. Anyone cares? NO.

I understand your soft spot in power adapter certification as you were involved in it, but mhmm... that's pretty much it.

I would argue if I like the Topping device as such despite it is really well done... no. I don't prefer ESS architecture DACs, this time ES9068AS, I've had my hands on E50 for few hours.

Not saying there's anything wrong with the amp, just saying I wouldn't trust the manufacturer of the power adapter, two different things.
You're right that a lot of power bricks are outright dangerous though, which is why certification matters, or at least UL does, since they do actual testing. CE on the other hand, isn't worth the paper it's written on.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

In the UK it is a legal requirement (i think) for it to be certified, so even if it is a simple AC-AC if it is not certified it is not right, and maybe not safe which is the most important thing.