[califmike33]

It just seems that you either get a very postive comment or a very negative one. It is really hard to come to any conclussion. I've read it all and am not any wiser. Someone mentioned a problem, another confirms, then you get to people who don't know what the other two are talking about. Then another problem, same story.

The conclussion I got is that the DAC is harsh, USB is rubbish, you have to buy an expensive PSU to be able to reduce the harshness a bit, but it never really goes away. The DAC sounds digital and not pleasing, filters are pretty useless, OLED screen will fade away making the unit useless... I can go on.

Yeah I just started hearing about this stuff a couple weeks ago on here and it's like I don't like to get involved in these conversations because I hear nothing wrong with mine.

I bought the recommended power supply off of Amazon I forgot which one it is I don't have any issues.

I hear no harshness vocals mid-range sound clear crisp I don't know where all this stuff coming from because I hear the exact opposite of what people are complaining about.

I'm going to try hooking it up through Optical and see if there's a difference because I'm happy with it just the way it is but just out of curiosity I got to try it.

I've got this topping D50 plugged into the back of a s*** audio magni 3 as my amp.

Then it's running to a pair of JBL 306p powered monitors and my source is Flac files on my Android phone plugged into the USB part of the DAC self fabulous absolutely fabulous I have zero complaints.

 

[BrotherKathos]

It just seems that you either get a very postive comment or a very negative one. It is really hard to come to any conclussion. I've read it all and am not any wiser. Someone mentioned a problem, another confirms, then you get to people who don't know what the other two are talking about. Then another problem, same story.

The conclussion I got is that the DAC is harsh, USB is rubbish, you have to buy an expensive PSU to be able to reduce the harshness a bit, but it never really goes away. The DAC sounds digital and not pleasing, filters are pretty useless, OLED screen will fade away making the unit useless... I can go on.

I would not call the dac harsh, but it does have the similar D/S sound profile. Its not much different than any other dacs I've heard, but just has subtle differences that affect its overall sound profile. I don't think you will find many D/S dacs that sound much better without spending lots more money, and the reason they cost so much more is the fact that all the little things you read here that people nitpick on are already implemented in OEM production. All the psu, usb filtering, and other things cost $$$$. The D50 is a great baseline dac using very good ESS chips. Of course it can be improved, but so can other Dacs using the same chips that cost thousands to begin with.

 

[lacknothing]

ill take your word for it, hoping someone else will give this a go and give some feedback

Anytime.

Looking after some other reference to transformer IV stages I found a more recent thread you may get some encouragement in trying this route:
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pc-...2m-9038q2m-dsd-i2s-dac-hats-raspberry-pi.html

 

[HiFiRebel]

Yeah I just started hearing about this stuff a couple weeks ago on here and it's like I don't like to get involved in these conversations because I hear nothing wrong with mine.

I bought the recommended power supply off of Amazon I forgot which one it is I don't have any issues.

I hear no harshness vocals mid-range sound clear crisp I don't know where all this stuff coming from because I hear the exact opposite of what people are complaining about.

I'm going to try hooking it up through Optical and see if there's a difference because I'm happy with it just the way it is but just out of curiosity I got to try it.

I've got this topping D50 plugged into the back of a s*** audio magni 3 as my amp.

Then it's running to a pair of JBL 306p powered monitors and my source is Flac files on my Android phone plugged into the USB part of the DAC self fabulous absolutely fabulous I have zero complaints.

I would not call the dac harsh, but it does have the similar D/S sound profile. Its not much different than any other dacs I've heard, but just has subtle differences that affect its overall sound profile. I don't think you will find many D/S dacs that sound much better without spending lots more money, and the reason they cost so much more is the fact that all the little things you read here that people nitpick on are already implemented in OEM production. All the psu, usb filtering, and other things cost $$$$. The D50 is a great baseline dac using very good ESS chips. Of course it can be improved, but so can other Dacs using the same chips that cost thousands to begin with.

Thank you both. Finally some balanced (pun not intended) comments one can take something out from. This is top of my list together with Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus (which I also been put off a bit by reading its own thread here on HeadFi).

My combo (Emotiva A100 + Argon Mk3) is already quite dark with lots of bass and a bit of crispiness wouldn't cause me any trouble, but the impression I got by reading comments here is that the DAC is harsh beyond any enjoyment.

 

[BrotherKathos]

Thank you both. Finally some balanced (pun not intended) comments one can take something out from. This is top of my list together with Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus (which I also been put off a bit by reading its own thread here on HeadFi).

My combo (Emotiva A100 + Argon Mk3) is already quite dark with lots of bass and a bit of crispiness wouldn't cause me any trouble, but the impression I got by reading comments here is that the DAC is harsh beyond any enjoyment.

I would not call even call the D50 a bright dac. Its actually fairly neutral imo with even the slightest tilt towards the dark side. Its just got that subtle zing or glare assosiated with D/S chips and ESS Sabre. Its definitely darker than my SMSL SU-8 that uses the same dac chip. If you want a very slight lift in brightness this would be a good choice for you. The brightest dac i've ever heard was the TEAC UD-301 using Burr brown chips and the d50 is way way darker than that. I'd put the D50 somewhere in between a schiit modi 3 and SMSL Su-8 in glare or brightness, but all these dacs sound extremely close to one another to begin with. I've never heard the Cambridge dac so I can't comment on it. I think it uses the same chips as the TEAC though, but that also is not the best indicator of how something will sound.

 

[HiFiRebel]

I guess I will soon find out myself as I just ordered it.

 

[UncleGrandpa]

Hi. I'm using the D50 and trying to connect the Micro iDSD Coax port to D50 Coax using a RCA cable (not have a Coax cable now) but the D50 doesn't accept Coax signal at all @@ But when I use the Sony CDP's Coax port it works like a charm. Read on AudioScience it's like a fault in D50 implementation, anybody knows how to fix it? Thanks!

 

[BrotherKathos]

I guess I will soon find out myself as I just ordered it.

I think you will be pleased. The D50 is a very nice dac in its price range. I go back and fourth between it and the modi multibit as the 2 dacs I listen to the most. Both dacs pair great with the THX 789 amp and that combo works nicely with all my headphones.

 

[andrewinukm]

Thank you both. Finally some balanced (pun not intended) comments one can take something out from. This is top of my list together with Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus (which I also been put off a bit by reading its own thread here on HeadFi).

My combo (Emotiva A100 + Argon Mk3) is already quite dark with lots of bass and a bit of crispiness wouldn't cause me any trouble, but the impression I got by reading comments here is that the DAC is harsh beyond any enjoyment.

A few of us here are a bit sensitive to the "D/S glare", most people don't hear it and aren't bothered by it. It really isn't a big problem for me, but when another person notices it, I'm curious to find out if this "glare" exist for me too (it's inconclusive at this point).

And a few of us happen to enjoy modding and tweaks. The DAC has good clarity and detail to begin with, and reasonably affordable... which makes it fun to mod and tweak (no point modding a turd).

Overall, it's a great DAC for the price. I personally find USB filters and power filters improve its sound further: good --> better. You don't have to go that route to enjoy it, as most users are generally happy with no mods and tweaks.

 

[DjBobby]

I got another powered USB hub with individual power switches. You can switch on and off every single usb input, the lights showing on in which mode is connected UBS device currently, the possibilities being: Off - Charging only - Data or Charging & Data.

If I connect any other dac to the powered hub and switch the corresponding input button on, there is no light on the hub until there is a real signal transmission from the Mac through the usb hub to the dac. When I connect the usb signal out of the D50 to the USB hub, it lights right away, even when the hub is not receiving anything from the Mac. The usb hub is showing clearly that the D50 is drawing power from both the usb signal input and the other usb cable connected to power supply, something other dacs don't do. I have double checked with the SMSL M8a, the M8 and the x-usb II, there is no charging light on the hub when connected, their corresponding inputs start lightning only when the audio digital transmission starts. The D50 on the contrary makes the USB hub lighting right away and all the time. I have also tried to switch off the auto on function, following the logic that there must be some current flowing through the USB input needed for auto powering the dac but even with the auto power switched to off, it was the same.
It is clear that there is no isolation on the USB signal input of the D50, the dac is basically receiving the current at the same time through two separate usb inputs. This might also explain why does the sound using spdif change considerably for better when connected with a single USB cable, the one from the power supply.

 

[HiFiRebel]

Together with D50 I have ordered a cheapo 5V 1A universal power supply. Hopefully I will be able to avoid this problem mentioned above.

 

[carlmart]

By "universal" you mean mean multi-voltage and all that? If so you picked a switching supply, instead of a linear supply.

Only a very expensive switching supply can equal a linear supply in noise and other questions.

 

[HiFiRebel]

By "universal" you mean mean multi-voltage and all that? If so you picked a switching supply, instead of a linear supply.

Only a very expensive switching supply can equal a linear supply in noise and other questions.

Yes, it's a switching power supply. I can't seem to find any linear power supply for less than £60 ($70?) and the ones I can will take weeks to come (from China or HK). I'll see how I get on with the one I got and take it from there.

That's the one I'm getting
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0732NNKGF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

EDIT: Cr*p. Only just noticed that it's actually 2A at 5v. Will it still be OK?

 

[439598]

Yes, it's a switching power supply. I can't seem to find any linear power supply for less than £60 ($70?) and the ones I can will take weeks to come (from China or HK). I'll see how I get on with the one I got and take it from there.

That's the one I'm getting
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0732NNKGF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

EDIT: Cr*p. Only just noticed that it's actually 2A at 5v. Will it still be OK?

the more ''A''s the better

btw I have noticed very little posts, if any before a few days ago, that mention this dac being harsh.
I agree its the opposite of harsh, it can be dull if anything, esp with the built power supply.
my first impressions were that it suits brighter headphones, and with HD650 it can be very boring.

 

[lacknothing]

you have to buy an expensive PSU to be able to reduce the harshness a bit,

Just for a quick reference

The plot shows, how standard 5V USB chargers
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EU-Plug-...h=item5d840fab18:g:EH4AAOSwyApcAQ3S:rk:3:pf:0

may measure under a load of roughly 0.5A
One easily can see that the ripple (of roughly 30kHz in this case) extends to roughly 0.1Vpp with quite some pronounced high frequency sub ripples.

In contrary the batterypower I used is dead silent, making up for a too mellow sound.
The hardness signature that stays, does not come from the PS IMO, but rather from the choice of capacitors inside.

Take your pic.