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Although a dead ringer for its predecessor, the TOPPING A50s is a headphone amp with specs that outshine the A50 in nearly every way. With the L50, due to the pass-through, I assume the volume knob doesn't work with the pass-through signal, as it would with the headphone output. I guess that means that to control a powered speaker with, say, a PC's streaming input signal, the volume control for the whole system could only be the PC's volume control or an external DAC, if there is one? A50s will deliver up to 3.5W of power into 32 ohms & 760mW in 300 ohm loads on its 4.4mm balanced output with both channels driven. When using a source that provides a signal level of 2Vrms, the A50s will output 1950mW into 32 ohms and 208mW into 300 ohms. Near-Zero-Ohm output impedance High power output, exceptional dynamic range, and an unprecedented ultra-low noise floor allows the TOPPING A50s to deliver a performance unmatched by any other headphone amplifier regardless of its topology. 6.35mm SE & Balanced 4.4mm Outputs There’s not much else to the A50s. It has stereo RCA inputs and outputs. On the front is a button to turn on the power and select 0dB or 6dB gain (which translates to 6dB or 12dB for the balanced output). There’s also a volume control.
According to the company, the unit also uses a, “…voltage-current hybrid architecture [for] low noise and distortion performance.” I have a D50. Its silver. My Decco2 is silver faced. The A50s comes in silver. I like aesthetically matching setups. The L50 has a pass-through line-in/line-out for non-headphone outputs. But it also accepts balanced inputs. Does that mean that balanced inputs are no longer balanced when passed to an external device (non-headphone)? Or (showing my technical naivete, perhaps) is the pass-through somehow transparent enough to maintain balance from external input to amp output? With a THD+N of 0.00007% and SNR of 143dB, the TOPPING A50s’ noise floor is so far down you might get dizzy. Compare this to the original A50, which has a THD+N of <0.0004% and an SNR of 123dB. A50S presents music in a nimble and agile way, it’s fighting in lightweight category so don’t expect very long decays with blues or jazz, as it would happen with tube amps and with few class-A amplifiers. On the other hand, modern music was truly a delight with it, it was keeping up with faster beats, striking fast and ready to do it again. The only area where A50S didn’t shine bright compared to its bigger brother A90 was the thump / slam department. It didn’t pound as hard and didn’t deliver the amount of air needed to feel the music with your whole body, it was good in terms of slam but not exemplary as A90 was. Multiple factors are at play here, it’s limited power output, its limited capacitance stored and of course that switching mode power supply is restricting its performance.The volume knob on the front panel adjusts the volume of the RCA preamp outputs. The low output impedance of 20 ohms ensures smooth integration with many devices. Automatic Switching between Amp & Preamp Greetings bass head and welcome aboard. Stuart Charles here, HomeStudioBasics.com helping YOU make sound decisions leading to a beautiful audio experience that will make you fall in love with music… All over again so… Topping A50/D50S
If you weren’t aware, VRMS (Root mean square) is the actual power that the device is capable of handling for long periods of time. Both L50, A50s and dongles are essentially wire with gain as long as SINAD at 50mV or higher is greater than for me 80 dB SINAD due to masking audibility. You can test distortion yourself using this https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...t-audibility-of-distortions.10163/post-277173 Its predecessor wasn’t that impressive in here, A50 sounded closer to the listener, upfront and personal most of the times. A50S is a higher tiered device no doubt and doesn’t sound claustrophobic to me at all. Of course, it’s power output and its headroom are playing big roles in here, A50S is very good in those areas considering its weight and size and all that had a positive effect on its soundstaging capabilities. There is plenty of air if I’m driving a pair of Kennerton Wodan or Erzetich Phobos, but less so if Hifiman Arya or Audeze LCD-4 are coming to play. Nonetheless, I liked how it meticulously placed everything precisely in the scenery, it has a very good 3D imaging and a very sharp one too. The unbalanced RCA analog input initially puzzled me. At first it seemed like providing only unbalanced connections completely defeats the purpose of having a balanced amp, at least insofar as eliminating things like ground loop noise. And at this price point, eliminating ground loop noise is about the only advantage to having a balanced amp or DAC. However, credit where credit is due, the A50s still eliminates ground loop noise. My desktop computer has a rather annoying ground loop with USB DACs using unbalanced connections. I intentionally confirmed that a DAC was sending the ground loop noise out of is unbalanced output and ran it into the A50s. The A50s took it out. So, it does appear the A50s is in fact a fully balanced amp, with the lone true benefit of being balanced at this price, that uses single ended connectors for its inputs.The little one has a decent soundstage size on its own but it’s important to know that soundstaging capabilities are influenced directly by the source that is connected to it. HydraVox DAC that I’m using with it, is among the widest and deepest sounding source I’ve tried so far and it shouldn’t be a surprise experiencing a bigger void space between each and every note even on its SE output. Connect it to a forward sounding source and this chapter would feel completely different. A50s has a high voltage swing of 42Vp-p, power of 3500mW per channel when both channels are driven and output impedance of less than 0.1Ohm. It easily drives power-hungry headphones with a wide range of different impedance. Governing Law - This contract shall be governed and construed per the laws of the People's Republic of China. Buyer agrees that competent courts in the People's Republic of China shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any legal action concerning this contract. In the event of any dispute related to this contract, the prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fee and costs. FAQs How can I Request a Warranty replacement or repair? Speaking of the HE6se’s, my first test of an amp is to find out whether it can drive these notoriously (and intentionally) insensitive cans to loud levels. The A50s can, within the limitations noted above. Playing the wonderful album Faune, by the Raphaël Pannier Quartet (320kbps Ogg Vorbis, French Paradox / Spotify), the A50s was able to deliver a fairly loud (and to my ears, just right) listening level with the HE6se’s when the amp’s volume was set to max and the gain to +6. The fleet-fingered double bassist François Moutin’s tone sounded just as I’d imagine such a bassist would want to sound: clear but full-bodied, powerful, and grooving. I heard no strain whatsoever from the headphones or the amp, and the HE6se headphones’ slight tendency toward brightness wasn’t evident as it was with amps that struggle to drive them. The L50 has a SE amplifier, according to Topping, and passes through pre-amp signals from DAC directly to external active speakers or amplifier (i.e. no pre-amp function). The A50s, unlike the L50, has a balanced amp, which also controls a pre-amp function, and has SE inputs. So here are my questions:
I didn’t find any of the 10 headphones I have here at the pad (including the K240M 600 Ohm Austrian model) hard to drive, so turn that frown upside down buster! Of course, it can’t be considered as an end-game, delete your head-fi account kind of amplifier without some cons and quirks, here and there right? I find it having a somewhat limited soundstage on its 6.35mm output and a little bit of noise with ultra-sensitive IEMs, but more about that in the following chapters. Despite having only single-ended RCA inputs, the Topping A50s headphone amplifier’s internal circuitry is internally balanced. The front panel features a 6.35mm single-ended output and a 4.4mm balanced output, separately powered. This is also not a full shootout, but more of a review + sound comparison. The official shootout is coming! The A50s also features a ultra wide frequency response, which exceeds the CD and Hi-Res Audio standard, which can be sent to the three outputs 6.35mm single ended and 4.4mm balanced headphone outputs and RCA pre outs.Besides being a headphone amplifier, the A50s is also a preamplifier. A pair of single-ended RCA outputs on the rear panel provides a preamp output connection to a power amplifier or powered speakers. The NFCA modules of A50s are not only able to drive the headphones but also apply to be a preamplifier with the same ultra-high performance. When it is in preamp mode, output impedance is as low as 20ohm, which is widely suitable for various devices. While it doesn’t have balanced inputs to form a proper BAL In > BAL Out setup, it offers double the power via 4.4mm and a much lower channel crosstalk, that is extremely beneficial with any types of headphones. Output impedance is negligible at just 0.1 Ω on SE and 0.2 Ω in BAL, you can be sure that A50S will preserve all the damping factor for an immaculate drive and transient response.
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