Like always, you were not lazy and properly reviewed the damn box :) Everyone else seems to be tired from reviewing SMSL gear that honestly is so similar that I kinda understand the lack of enthusiasm once a new slightly different box cones out. All in all, if you have up to 500 whatever's (not dinars :) go for it and don't look back. If you have more, spend more and you will get more. But this goes for almost anything in life...
Thank you for always being honest and giving your best, straight impressions! That is why I always watch your content and take your recommendations into consideration 👍
Nicely Done. Appreciate you putting into perspective the balance of cost between gear to your headphones. I don't think that is talked about enough. Saving up for next headphone then gear to follow :) Thanks
Love all your reviews , unbiased i felt. I purchased the e50, l50 and ifi power supply on the back of your review. I would like more time spent on showing the different cables as i find them confusing
I have the SMSL SP200 Amp Looking at a Dac Was looking at the SU-9 EX5 and the E50. How is the amp on the EX5 and does the othere amps sound different then the thx sp200 or the A30pro with the EX5 as a Dac. Im using the Hifiman Ananda and going to get the Focal clear
This is a solid review. I'm surprised the e50/l50 hasn't made more of an impact with reviewers. I'd like something more than my JDS Atom stack, but still can't decide. The e50/l50 and the a30pro/d30pro are still alittle too similar which makes the added cost hard for me to justify.
I would check out the Schiit Modius & Magnius if you want a upgrade from the Atom. The power numbers on Schitt's amps are legit and verified unlike Topping amps and the tuning is closer to the Atom unlike Topping's dead neutral house sound.
Great review, but it made me even more confused in what to buy... I have a Motu m4 as my DAC and I was aiming to buy the L30 2 that you also reviewed. But after watching this and seeng that this amp actually has TRS inputs which will work with my Motu M4 TRS outs (instead of using RCA) made me get even more unsure if I should aim for the L30 2. Would love some advice if possible specially since in some sites the L30 2 looks like a better amp, but numbers arent everithing... Thanks alot for your reviews and effort, keep it up!
I upgraded my L30 and E30 to A90 and D90SE stack just a couple of weeks before the L50 and E50 were announced. After the initial reviews, I was plagued with some buyer's remorse, thinking that I should've upgraded to the L50 and E50 instead. But after trying it out at the shop, I also came to similar conclusion to this review. It's a good stack, but not a giant killer.
Do you need to use a Balanced headphone when using the balanced input ports of the L50? I have a DAC that has only balanced trs out, but no headphones with balanced capabilities. I would like to know if I would be wasting my money looking for an AMP that can receive balanced inputs, as I only have the capabilities of using SE headphone ports.
I bought E50 DAC as my 1st audiophile device last week, it blown me away. Next step is to buy a speaker amp, was thinking about SMSL Da9 or Topping Pa5. Actually SMSL one is cheaper here and also has many positive reviews. But there is no review on Pa5 on TH-cam, I wonder how it will sound.
I have the a30 d30 pro stack based on your review of it, and it's the best sound I have ever heard on anything I have ever owned. Wanted to ask, seeing that the e50 dac has a saber chip how would you say it would sound when paired to the a30 pro. I was considering buying the e50 to pair it with my a30 pro to get wider sound Stage. What are your thoughts on that pairing?
Wow, this is a really tough one. I feel that you would gain a bit of width by doing that, but also loose some of the depth. There is no easy answer and I'm hesitant to recommend any action in this case, sorry. 😐
Seeing that you seem to enjoy an overall neutral presented gear I highly recommend you to try Hifiman Sundara (with bias it is personally my favorite so far).
you really confused amps and dacs several times in this video that it was cute. =) I wanted to get this stack so much but waited and when smsl sp200 got to drop for 160$ I bought that instead mostly because of internal power supply. (It is still on sale actually) and for dac, after you said those things about power supply I wanted to get something with a decent one. Now I'm eyeing sabaj d5, smsl m500, vmv d1se and loxjie d50. especially loxjie and sabaj are on sale right now for 370€ and 580€ respectively. d1se is 720$ and m500 420$. (these are the ones available on Amazon Turkey) anyway. Great review as always, thanks.
The output is all single-ended (the balanced connectors are for convenience), but I remember Topping claims it is balanced all the way till the output stage. With their NFCA, probably it won't matter.
"Pretty neutral, speedy, quick sounding, highly detailed" - spot on, exactly how a good high fidelity audio equipment should sound. For professionals mixing, mastering or monitoring audio material it is exactly what it needs to be. Steve Guttenberg "audiophiliac" fans can look elsewhere in search of Walhalla of "dirty" and "coloured" sound. For those "pretious" people I would sell the Toppings L50 for at least 1000 dollars, just to spite them...😜
Thanks for the review! Know the L50 is very powerful. But I’m in a dilemma on getting the E50/L50 vs D30/A30.. to be driving a LCD-3 pre-fazor headphone and an active monitor.. Seems you recommended the D30/A30 for my case…
It isn't about needing in this hobby. You can power a sundara from a much cheaper amp. It is about wanting. How much do you want this amp? How much do you lust for this amp? Now that is the real question.
You're right. L50 is very good, yet it's not revealing the super small details in a recording. It just sounds "correct" and in that sense it's flawless.
Really? Topping L50 is exactly how it is supposed to be, as a true high fidelity equipment. If you think you don't hear some details in your music, you should check your hearing and your headphones equalisation curve.
Yes, I definitely suggest E50/L50 stack over the older one. E50 is a superior DAC to D50s. And L50 has good enough single-ended out, with so much power, that it actually competes equally with A50s balanced out. And bear in mind that E50 has balanced outs, and L50 has balanced inputs. The only thing not balanced is the output to headphones.
I haven't tried V2 but if it's similar to V1 then yes this a better sounding stack. However, Zen DAC is a DAC and AMP in one with a very good price. These are separates that cost significantly more if you need both a DAC and an AMP.
So which one sounds more correct, l50 or a30 pro? Also is it worth choosing a30 when using headphones such as hd58x and hd560s? (For pro use) Also, how can you explain top reviewers say it sounds the same like a30 and a90? Thanks!
I would stick with L50 for those headphones, it's perfectly good. Not sure that there would be much benefits of using A30 pro. Also, I don't know why other reviewers say what they say, but with higher end headphones, L50 can't completely match A30 pro.
@@iiWiReviews thanks alot! Would you say the same about a bit harder to drive headphones like hd600, hd6xx and hd1990? Also again, you said a30 is a bit darker and l50 brighter so who do you find more "correct"?
I think that you should feel the difference with those more easily. When it comes to the more correct one , that's tough, but I would say that L50 is touch more neutral to my ears, and A30 is a bit darker on top.
@@iiWiReviews it does have rca outs that's what I can't work out it should be straight forward, I only just purchased the amp so I'm hoping the amp is fine
Bas i razmatram taj stack.. Samo topping stalno izdaje nove stvari kao na traci, ko zna koliko vremena ima dok ne izadje nesto bolje, tj upgrade... Good review btw..
To sto izbace novo ne znaci da je mnogo bolje. Trenutno su sve ove kombinacije dac+amp slicnog kvaliteta kao predhodne verzije. Dovoljno su usavrsili dizajn da vise i nije bitna razlika izmedju novih proizvoda i onih koje oni zamenjuju.
As someone who has been listening to music, using the best sounding equipment I can find/afford, for a long time - I have been pleasantly surprised many times over the years, by finding some piece of kit that isn't "supposed" to sound good i.e. it doesn't measure well in one way or another - but in fact it sounds better than the thing I had set out to buy. Topping is the latest company to go after the *Perfect Measurement* market. And I am fairly sure there is a reason why many people who listen first, to a variety of music, and then make their best judgment about how much they enjoyed the music - or not - tend to choose other equipment. Clean sounding is nice - but sterile and lifeless sound is not nice. Neutral sounding is nice - but cold and flat sound is not nice.
True that. Fortunately, both Topping and SMSL are fast learners and their current line of DACs sounds subjectivity nicer (fuller and more lively) than their earlier efforts that could be flat, lifeless, and grainy. I bashed Topping DX3 pro for that cause it deserved it. But E50 for example is a huge improvement.
I haven't heard it. Ever since the whole Covid thing started, Schiit doesn't send USPS packages to my country and FedEx international shipping is way too expensive. So I simply put a hold on testing anything Schiit for now.
Well, I'm reading and answering as much as I have time. It's now over a hundred videos and half of them are still getting comments and questions. Sometimes if it's a tough question I leave it for later and sometimes forget about it cause it simply gets covered by new ones after few hours. Sorry if I missed one of yours.
@@iiWiReviews can I run this dac through my PC for games, so dac to mother board sound, motherboard to dac dac to amp headphones to amp would that work
this is the best channel I have stumbled across in a while, I want you reviewing everything you get yours hands on.
He’s the best reviewer on the Tube.
Should have at least 10X more subs. Thanks.
Guys, thanks so much for these words, it means a lot after putting hours into testing, coming up with a review, editing, etc.
@@iiWiReviews And, your English is better than many American reviewers.
One of the Best iiWi Reviews I have seen ; extremely informative and useful - this has completely changed the way I look at Headphone Amps .
Like always, you were not lazy and properly reviewed the damn box :) Everyone else seems to be tired from reviewing SMSL gear that honestly is so similar that I kinda understand the lack of enthusiasm once a new slightly different box cones out. All in all, if you have up to 500 whatever's (not dinars :) go for it and don't look back. If you have more, spend more and you will get more. But this goes for almost anything in life...
Thank you for always being honest and giving your best, straight impressions! That is why I always watch your content and take your recommendations into consideration 👍
Nicely Done.
Appreciate you putting into perspective the balance of cost between gear to your headphones. I don't think that is talked about enough.
Saving up for next headphone then gear to follow :)
Thanks
Love all your reviews , unbiased i felt. I purchased the e50, l50 and ifi power supply on the back of your review. I would like more time spent on showing the different cables as i find them confusing
I have the SMSL SP200 Amp Looking at a Dac Was looking at the SU-9 EX5 and the E50. How is the amp on the EX5 and does the othere amps sound different then the thx sp200 or the A30pro with the EX5 as a Dac. Im using the Hifiman Ananda and going to get the Focal clear
Ive hear the ex5 is a d30 and a30 pro all in one
This is a solid review. I'm surprised the e50/l50 hasn't made more of an impact with reviewers. I'd like something more than my JDS Atom stack, but still can't decide. The e50/l50 and the a30pro/d30pro are still alittle too similar which makes the added cost hard for me to justify.
I would check out the Schiit Modius & Magnius if you want a upgrade from the Atom. The power numbers on Schitt's amps are legit and verified unlike Topping amps and the tuning is closer to the Atom unlike Topping's dead neutral house sound.
Thank's nice review and a very great channel
Hi, can you help me please. I have mojo 2, I want to use it with an additional amp for HD 600. Is L50 good choice?
Great review, but it made me even more confused in what to buy... I have a Motu m4 as my DAC and I was aiming to buy the L30 2 that you also reviewed. But after watching this and seeng that this amp actually has TRS inputs which will work with my Motu M4 TRS outs (instead of using RCA) made me get even more unsure if I should aim for the L30 2.
Would love some advice if possible specially since in some sites the L30 2 looks like a better amp, but numbers arent everithing...
Thanks alot for your reviews and effort, keep it up!
I currently use a Topping L30, appreciate the comparisons. Might upgrade to the L50 at some point.
I have had the L50 for a long time and kenpachi zaraki says: it is a nice machine, slightly better overall than dac bro the E50. 😉😀
I upgraded my L30 and E30 to A90 and D90SE stack just a couple of weeks before the L50 and E50 were announced. After the initial reviews, I was plagued with some buyer's remorse, thinking that I should've upgraded to the L50 and E50 instead. But after trying it out at the shop, I also came to similar conclusion to this review. It's a good stack, but not a giant killer.
A90/D90 is a fantastic "stack".
Did you try a90, l50 and a30 pro with the same dac? If so please share your thoughts please
@@disforia1 Unfortunately no. I only tried them as stacks.
Do you need to use a Balanced headphone when using the balanced input ports of the L50?
I have a DAC that has only balanced trs out, but no headphones with balanced capabilities. I would like to know if I would be wasting my money looking for an AMP that can receive balanced inputs, as I only have the capabilities of using SE headphone ports.
No you don't need... It's OK to use balanced from a DAC to the AMP and use single-ended connection for headphones.
@@iiWiReviews Thanks a lot
Can you make a review of the new topping dx3 pro plus?
Didn't plan to get that one, I think I had too many Toppings reviewed lately. 😊
I bought E50 DAC as my 1st audiophile device last week, it blown me away. Next step is to buy a speaker amp, was thinking about SMSL Da9 or Topping Pa5. Actually SMSL one is cheaper here and also has many positive reviews. But there is no review on Pa5 on TH-cam, I wonder how it will sound.
I'm planning on getting one of these to drive a 600 ohm pair of headphones I just bought (Sennheiser HD520)
Ok my friend, my question is can the topping l50 drive a hd650 very well?
BLEAAAACHHHH
I have the a30 d30 pro stack based on your review of it, and it's the best sound I have ever heard on anything I have ever owned. Wanted to ask, seeing that the e50 dac has a saber chip how would you say it would sound when paired to the a30 pro. I was considering buying the e50 to pair it with my a30 pro to get wider sound Stage. What are your thoughts on that pairing?
Wow, this is a really tough one. I feel that you would gain a bit of width by doing that, but also loose some of the depth. There is no easy answer and I'm hesitant to recommend any action in this case, sorry. 😐
@@iiWiReviews Thanks
@@iiWiReviews the e50 paired with the a30 would be a more aggressive paring correct?
Seeing that you seem to enjoy an overall neutral presented gear I highly recommend you to try Hifiman Sundara (with bias it is personally my favorite so far).
very good! again....
you really confused amps and dacs several times in this video that it was cute. =) I wanted to get this stack so much but waited and when smsl sp200 got to drop for 160$ I bought that instead mostly because of internal power supply. (It is still on sale actually) and for dac, after you said those things about power supply I wanted to get something with a decent one. Now I'm eyeing sabaj d5, smsl m500, vmv d1se and loxjie d50. especially loxjie and sabaj are on sale right now for 370€ and 580€ respectively. d1se is 720$ and m500 420$. (these are the ones available on Amazon Turkey) anyway. Great review as always, thanks.
Yeah, all these models and numbers are finally getting to me. 😅
Is it 'true' balanced ? I have watched yet but will now
The output is all single-ended (the balanced connectors are for convenience), but I remember Topping claims it is balanced all the way till the output stage. With their NFCA, probably it won't matter.
"Pretty neutral, speedy, quick sounding, highly detailed" - spot on, exactly how a good high fidelity audio equipment should sound.
For professionals mixing, mastering or monitoring audio material it is exactly what it needs to be.
Steve Guttenberg "audiophiliac" fans can look elsewhere in search of Walhalla of "dirty" and "coloured" sound. For those "pretious" people I would sell the Toppings L50 for at least 1000 dollars, just to spite them...😜
A30pro is really nice but it's missing the screen and volume knob of SH9.
I'm very curious how the LS50 matches with the THX AAA 789.
Thanks for the review! Know the L50 is very powerful. But I’m in a dilemma on getting the E50/L50 vs D30/A30.. to be driving a LCD-3 pre-fazor headphone and an active monitor.. Seems you recommended the D30/A30 for my case…
Wait a day or two for DX5 review... It will be worth it. 😊
do i need these stacks if i only own a Sundara?
It isn't about needing in this hobby. You can power a sundara from a much cheaper amp. It is about wanting. How much do you want this amp? How much do you lust for this amp? Now that is the real question.
You're right. L50 is very good, yet it's not revealing the super small details in a recording. It just sounds "correct" and in that sense it's flawless.
Really?
Topping L50 is exactly how it is supposed to be, as a true high fidelity equipment.
If you think you don't hear some details in your music, you should check your hearing and your headphones equalisation curve.
9:47 🤣
Hi I'm really struggling to decide between L50 (non balanced) vs A50s (balanced) for my Sundara. Can you give me a suggestion please?
I didn't have them side by side, but I would say that E50 sounds slightly better.
Yes, I definitely suggest E50/L50 stack over the older one.
E50 is a superior DAC to D50s. And L50 has good enough single-ended out, with so much power, that it actually competes equally with A50s balanced out. And bear in mind that E50 has balanced outs, and L50 has balanced inputs. The only thing not balanced is the output to headphones.
Would this be a better proposition than the Ifi Zen Dac V2? Zen dac only uses usb power, but it gets great reviews
I haven't tried V2 but if it's similar to V1 then yes this a better sounding stack. However, Zen DAC is a DAC and AMP in one with a very good price. These are separates that cost significantly more if you need both a DAC and an AMP.
So which one sounds more correct, l50 or a30 pro?
Also is it worth choosing a30 when using headphones such as hd58x and hd560s? (For pro use)
Also, how can you explain top reviewers say it sounds the same like a30 and a90?
Thanks!
I would stick with L50 for those headphones, it's perfectly good. Not sure that there would be much benefits of using A30 pro.
Also, I don't know why other reviewers say what they say, but with higher end headphones, L50 can't completely match A30 pro.
@@iiWiReviews thanks alot! Would you say the same about a bit harder to drive headphones like hd600, hd6xx and hd1990?
Also again, you said a30 is a bit darker and l50 brighter so who do you find more "correct"?
I think that you should feel the difference with those more easily.
When it comes to the more correct one , that's tough, but I would say that L50 is touch more neutral to my ears, and A30 is a bit darker on top.
@@iiWiReviews Thanks again man!
Hi, I wonder if there is anyway to conect sacd to a dac.
If your SACD has a digital output then you can. And if it does have one it's almost certainly going to be a coaxial SPDIF.
Can I run this dac amp through my gaming pc for playing games, so dac connected to the pc amp to dac headphones to amp?
Yes you can
@@iiWiReviews thank you because I have a Cambridge audio dac and I dont seem to be able to run through the l50 amp
I can't tell you what's going on there but your combination should definitely work too if Cambridge has RCA outs.
@@iiWiReviews it does have rca outs that's what I can't work out it should be straight forward, I only just purchased the amp so I'm hoping the amp is fine
Bas i razmatram taj stack.. Samo topping stalno izdaje nove stvari kao na traci, ko zna koliko vremena ima dok ne izadje nesto bolje, tj upgrade... Good review btw..
To sto izbace novo ne znaci da je mnogo bolje. Trenutno su sve ove kombinacije dac+amp slicnog kvaliteta kao predhodne verzije. Dovoljno su usavrsili dizajn da vise i nije bitna razlika izmedju novih proizvoda i onih koje oni zamenjuju.
@@vlax12 da, ovi su dovoljno dobri da ih mozes mirne duse uzet i nevodit racuna vise.. zato i mjerkam ovi stack za uzet.. ali prvo......zvucnici!
As someone who has been listening to music, using the best sounding equipment I can find/afford, for a long time - I have been pleasantly surprised many times over the years, by finding some piece of kit that isn't "supposed" to sound good i.e. it doesn't measure well in one way or another - but in fact it sounds better than the thing I had set out to buy.
Topping is the latest company to go after the *Perfect Measurement* market. And I am fairly sure there is a reason why many people who listen first, to a variety of music, and then make their best judgment about how much they enjoyed the music - or not - tend to choose other equipment.
Clean sounding is nice - but sterile and lifeless sound is not nice. Neutral sounding is nice - but cold and flat sound is not nice.
True that. Fortunately, both Topping and SMSL are fast learners and their current line of DACs sounds subjectivity nicer (fuller and more lively) than their earlier efforts that could be flat, lifeless, and grainy. I bashed Topping DX3 pro for that cause it deserved it. But E50 for example is a huge improvement.
@@iiWiReviews That is a trend in the right direction, for sure.
Your review reads like a poem.
What about thx aaa 789?
Where would the Schiit Magni Heresy fall compared to these Toppings?
I haven't heard it. Ever since the whole Covid thing started, Schiit doesn't send USPS packages to my country and FedEx international shipping is way too expensive. So I simply put a hold on testing anything Schiit for now.
@@iiWiReviews Pity! You still do a great job, keep it up! Thanks for responding
Probably you need reply sometimes to your subscribers, what do you think ?
Well, I'm reading and answering as much as I have time. It's now over a hundred videos and half of them are still getting comments and questions. Sometimes if it's a tough question I leave it for later and sometimes forget about it cause it simply gets covered by new ones after few hours.
Sorry if I missed one of yours.
@@iiWiReviews can I run this dac through my PC for games, so dac to mother board sound, motherboard to dac dac to amp headphones to amp would that work
Yes