[Mizicke5273]

So I posted this in the Jotunheim thread and have not really had any response. Have any of you compared the Topping D50 with the multibit DAC card in the Jotunheim? I have both and cannot really tell any difference between either's sound. Swapping between the two DACs, while listening to the same song, I just cannot hear a difference. So, I am wondering if both DACs just sound that similar or if I simply cannot hear the difference in them. So, if anyone has heard both, what was your experience with them?

 

[lacknothing]

Swapping between the two DACs, while listening to the same song, I just cannot hear a difference. So, I am wondering if both DACs just sound that similar or if I simply cannot hear the difference in them.

If you are after learning on how to develop and refine your skills in picking up and discriminate sonic signatures, please forget all that A/B blind listening test science bull s crap. All you will get out of this is to go nuts.

Instead, I suggest to not ! listening over and over to the same song(s) again.
Memory for specific sonic signatures is lasting I can tell you, even for decades. Its the same as with smells, where when coming across one you haven't smelled for a log time, you nevertheless "flash back" to that time you intensely have picked it up first time.

So what I do is to listen to a lot of music, preferably also to a lot I never even have heard. That's very easy to do nowadays by listening to many different web based radio stations or music videos. Well, of course I already have a selection of stations with very different signatures I already know their specific performance pretty well.
Key is, not to hurry through them, but relaxing and get the gist of the "house sound" of any certain station overlaid by the performance of the DAC and the rest of your setup.
You will find that there are quite some differences and its not any necessary to know the recordings played nor is MP3 quality of any hurdle here.

Already having a pile of impressions about differences in presentation by now, you may already miss THE presentation you are after, something sticking out here, something missing there, impressively exaggerating, not involving ... Or you possibly did come across something completely unexpected.
Now you can check back your impressions about presentation with recordings you know well. The net result is the sonic signature of the DAC under test (and the rest of your setup).
Do the same with the DAC you want to compare with in a second run any time later on and voi a la - there you are.

Have fun to explore the myriad of sonic signatures out there!
In case you can't pick up any major difference, so what? Enjoy, or have a look elsewhere in your setup if you feel the need.

 

[Mizicke5273]

If you are after learning on how to develop and refine your skills in picking up and discriminate sonic signatures, please forget all that A/B blind listening test science bull s ****. All you will get out of this is to go nuts.

Instead, I suggest to not ! listening over and over to the same song(s) again.
Memory for specific sonic signatures is lasting I can tell you, even for decades. Its the same as with smells, where when coming across one you haven't smelled for a log time, you nevertheless "flash back" to that time you intensely have picked it up first time.

So what I do is to listen to a lot of music, preferably also to a lot I never even have heard. That's very easy to do nowadays by listening to many different web based radio stations or music videos. Well, of course I already have a selection of stations with very different signatures I already know their specific performance pretty well.
Key is, not to hurry through them, but relaxing and get the gist of the "house sound" of any certain station overlaid by the performance of the DAC and the rest of your setup.
You will find that there are quite some differences and its not any necessary to know the recordings played nor is MP3 quality of any hurdle here.

Already having a pile of impressions about differences in presentation by now, you may already miss THE presentation you are after, something sticking out here, something missing there, impressively exaggerating, not involving ... Or you possibly did come across something completely unexpected.
Now you can check back your impressions about presentation with recordings you know well. The net result is the sonic signature of the DAC under test (and the rest of your setup).
Do the same with the DAC you want to compare with in a second run any time later on and voi a la - there you are.

Have fun to explore the myriad of sonic signatures out there!
In case you can't pick up any major difference, so what? Enjoy, or have a look elsewhere in your setup if you feel the need.

I was following some of that; listening to songs that I knew really well and others that I was not familiar with. I have a large collection of Anime OST music and I just keep it on shuffle. So there is a wide range of music types, some with vocals and instruments, some just instrumentals, some rock, some more techo, and so on. I would be listening through one DAC, as song a that interested me would come on and I would then restart the song as I swapped to the other DAC. Sometimes it would be just for certain sections in a song as well, in which I would switch to the other DAC and re-listen to that section.

 

[domho7]

Hi I just gotten the D50. Noticed its USB powered. Can I get 5v adapter to charge it
The screen turns off after awhile.
How to leave it always turn on.. Tks

 

[carlmart]

The D50 has a separate DC power input: that's the one you should use. If possible with linear regulated supply, not DC-DC like a cell supply or similar.

 

[domho7]

The D50 has a separate DC power input: that's the one you should use. If possible with linear regulated supply, not DC-DC like a cell supply or similar.

Tks calmart can I get such power supply like this

 

[carlmart]

I think some people here are using it.

 

[domho7]

I think some people here are using it.

Ok tks for reply. Will go get 1 today.
I have 1 15volts but that was to power the icanse.

 

[frogmeat69]

Hi I just gotten the D50. Noticed its USB powered. Can I get 5v adapter to charge it
The screen turns off after awhile.
How to leave it always turn on.. Tks

This PS is linear, and inexpensive, and works just fine:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B88EP1...olid=16DJO9XRI04YB&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
As far as the screen turning itself off, if it was always on it most likely would end up getting burn in and eventually burning out, so the auto off is a good thing.

 

[domho7]

This PS is linear, and inexpensive, and works just fine:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B88EP1...olid=16DJO9XRI04YB&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
As far as the screen turning itself off, if it was always on it most likely would end up getting burn in and eventually burning out, so the auto off is a good thing.

Hi frogmeat tks for the tip. I will set it back to auto off.

 

[HiFiRebel]

To counter the advice already given here, I use it with a cheap non-linear PSU and it works too. Works quite well in fact. Just food for thought.

 

[ggillies]

This PS is linear, and inexpensive, and works just fine:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B88EP1...olid=16DJO9XRI04YB&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
As far as the screen turning itself off, if it was always on it most likely would end up getting burn in and eventually burning out, so the auto off is a good thing.

Yup.. That's the exact one I bought and it works flawlessly.

 

[domho7]

I just gotten the ifi power 5v 2.5A.
SQ improves and noise background seems quieter.
Maybe 1 day can try a linear power supply.

 

[mitulparmar787]

All, I've just found the perfect linear power supply for the Topping D50 that is a fraction of the price of the the IFI switching power supply and various other linear power supplies out there.

For those with 230v supply, like me in the UK, the model to go for is the Advanced Power Supply APS57AER-210. This is a regulated linear power supply, and in was provided with Iomega Zip Drives (who remembers those?). It can be found on eBay, though the volumes are in the single digits but they are cheap (I paid £12.50 inc del by making an offer).

More information on the power supply can be found here:

http://static6.arrow.com/aropdfconv...f07d8d08e6adaacdc2783a59/aps41-57-60-66er.pdf

The specification sheet states the ripple is around 1%, which in this case would mean 50mv - so you'd see a min voltage of 4.950v and max voltage of 5.050v. Is TUV certified so meets safety standards as opposed to most of the Chinese linear power supplies which are probably not certified and therefore also means the power supply is appropriately fused, thermally regulated, etc.

The power supply brick weighs around 1kg so it's definitely not a lightweight switching supply and is a good indicator of having a transformer inside.

Output is 5v @ 2amp and the output plug fits in to the Topping D50 like it was made for it.

This makes the Topping D50 one of the cheaper options yet again...as instead of paying for the unit and buying an overpriced linear power supply, one can buy the unit and source one of these power supply's and it'll work out to be around, if not under, £180 (I paid £165 for my D50 and £12.50 for the PSU including delivery for both).

 

[carlmart]

Until a listening comparison is made, powering the D50 with several supplies, measuring and listening, particularly the latest, we can talk a lot about the power supply question.

In my case I decided to pick an apparently well designed, well filtered and pretty well regulated power supply, that I found on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-25W-DC5...h=item3f9079a307:g:1TIAAOSwAC1aS2kd:rk:1:pf:1

Consdiering the parts and build quality, the price is quite fair. And it quite likely measures better in output impedance and noise than the run of the mill linear ones you can still find. But of course, only listening tests can prove that.

I will do some when I finish my listening setup, and will report back here.