More Amazing DACs for Peanuts

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viggen

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #580 on: 11 Dec 2022, 05:42 pm »
There's a guy here in Taiwan who has upgraded all of his wall warts <I think all> with Ganfet power supplies, and insists they've lowered his noise floor and that 'everything just sounds better' that before. Have any of you tried using GANfet wall warts?

you mean something like this?

https://www.amazon.com/MINIX-NEO-P3-Charging-Compatible/dp/B09JKJ1QRJ/ref=sr_1_5?crid=29AI8T1YFSGH1&keywords=GaN+Power+Adapter&qid=1670780364&sprefix=gan+power+adapter%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-5&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840

i have used ravpower powerbank to power a D50s before and didn't like the sound.  purpose of getting the e30 is just a novel idea to get a system completely powered by the HDPlex 300.  although thinking it's just an idea now.  after comparing against lab12 last night, e30ii doesn't come close.

viggen

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #581 on: 13 Dec 2022, 10:46 pm »
i've been using lab12 dac for the past 4 days or so but left the E30 ii plugged in.  and, just swapped to the E30 ii.  maybe the last ounce of air and texture, i don't think i am losing much.

navi

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #582 on: 22 Dec 2022, 01:07 am »
Lot of life changes in the past year but I've had some time lately to get back to music. New setup and adjusting best as I can. Fired up the little PCM56 and it remains a satisfying listen. Yes definitely the separation is poor. It's more like the older AKM chip 'wall of sound'. But that older r2r 'magic' is just hard to resist. So I thought let's bust out the soldering iron. It's a small unit, it'll just be a little tinkering distraction. I swapped out the cheap RCA's for spare DH Labs copper plated and a KLE silver plated copper which are very affordable at $25/pr. Lastly I swapped out the output caps for some spare Muse 47uFs. Easy to do, board solder melts easy. Man, what a treat (or Trick?). I love this baby. I hope to get some highish priced DACs on loan to compare later. The poor separation remains but high end extension is perfect, it sounds even quieter, lower noise/distortion (?), tambor/tone wonderful. Cost $40 plus fancy upgrades at retail equals what $65 shipped max. I'll certainly take this over the Schiit Modi MB or anything I've heard under $500 any day.

The actual capacitor is a 68uf, You have used a 47uf cap. Do you think going lower would be better? or doesn't matter?

wushuliu

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #583 on: 22 Dec 2022, 01:23 am »
The actual capacitor is a 68uf, You have used a 47uf cap. Do you think going lower would be better? or doesn't matter?

47uf is what I had on hand. Probably best to stick to 68-ish.

navi

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #584 on: 22 Dec 2022, 01:57 am »
47uf is what I had on hand. Probably best to stick to 68-ish.

Got it. Thanks.

mresseguie

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Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #585 on: 22 Dec 2022, 03:02 am »
you mean something like this?

https://www.amazon.com/MINIX-NEO-P3-Charging-Compatible/dp/B09JKJ1QRJ/ref=sr_1_5?crid=29AI8T1YFSGH1&keywords=GaN+Power+Adapter&qid=1670780364&sprefix=gan+power+adapter%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-5&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840

i have used ravpower powerbank to power a D50s before and didn't like the sound.  purpose of getting the e30 is just a novel idea to get a system completely powered by the HDPlex 300.  although thinking it's just an idea now.  after comparing against lab12 last night, e30ii doesn't come close.

He didn't use power banks with multiple adapters. He used one wall wart per component. He's a purist(?), so he wouldn't choose one bank to support multiple components. That said, his room is a mess of extension cords with six or eight outlets each. I'd meant to snap a photo of his room, but forgot to. When AC members complain of a rat's nest of cables, they clearly have not been to this guy's home.

dadix4e

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Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #586 on: 22 Jan 2023, 02:35 pm »


This product built on  pcm56 chip It is non-oversampling or not ?

wushuliu

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #587 on: 30 Jan 2023, 05:09 am »
just received topping e30ii a few days ago.  powering the 5v input via HDPLEX 300.  sounds very good.  this dac uses a pair of AKM 4493S

this is a big improvement over the e30 and makes me curious about the AKM4499EX.

funny enough, got an apos spam mail this morning introducing toppings E70 Velvet w/ the exact chip.  so, ordered it.

How's the E70 Velvet?

I.Greyhound Fan

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #588 on: 19 Feb 2023, 06:34 pm »
Has anyone compared the E50 with the E30II and the Topping DX3Pro+?  I am looking for a cheap DAC for TV.  Bluetooth would be nice but not a must have.

I am also looking at the SMSL SU-6 and D6.

Thanks,

Larry

newzooreview

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #589 on: 19 Feb 2023, 07:18 pm »
Well, unless there are convenience features it doesn't support, the Geshelli J2 made in the USA is a great option.

https://geshelli.com/product/jnog2/

I did not like the Topping that I bought, the E30. I'm sure their models vary in performance, but they focus on high scores on ASR rather than sound quality.

viggen

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #590 on: 19 Feb 2023, 10:00 pm »
How's the E70 Velvet?

it's very good.

I.Greyhound Fan

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #591 on: 19 Feb 2023, 10:22 pm »
Well, unless there are convenience features it doesn't support, the Geshelli J2 made in the USA is a great option.

https://geshelli.com/product/jnog2/

I did not like the Topping that I bought, the E30. I'm sure their models vary in performance, but they focus on high scores on ASR rather than sound quality.

Thx, I am aware of this DAC.  It is above my $200 budget.  Also, it must be available on Amazon as I have a $70 gift card.  There is a SMSL C200 for sale on Amazon for $219.  However, it looks like it may have reliability issues.

artur9

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Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #592 on: 20 Feb 2023, 12:09 am »
Schiit's on amazon.  Modi is only $125.

I.Greyhound Fan

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #593 on: 20 Feb 2023, 12:19 am »
Schiit's on amazon.  Modi is only $125.

I own a Modi plus and it is too warm and muddy with TV.  My wife has hearing issues and I am looking for something that has clear dialog. 

Letitroll98

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Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #594 on: 20 Feb 2023, 10:52 am »
I can't imagine that the E30 would be muddy sounding.  It is very sensitive to power supply and it's night and day when run from the wall vs a battery brick, but in either case it's not dull.  I haven't heard the E30II but reports are it's even better.  All of this understanding that you're dipping in the shallow end of the pool here, you're not going to find a $5k sound there.  For my two channel TV setup I run an ancient TC 7510 96khz DAC, sounds great.
« Last Edit: 20 Feb 2023, 12:27 pm by Letitroll98 »

mresseguie

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Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #595 on: 20 Feb 2023, 11:07 am »
Larry,

I've got a Sabaj D5 that I could let go of. HifiShark suggests it's worth about $200. The only catch is you'd have to wait until mid-May before I could ship it to you. It doubles as a headphone amp, but no Bluetooth capability.

Michael

https://www.amazon.com/Sabaj-Converter-Headphones-Amplifier-Preamplifier/dp/B07PYRM6J6

Tyson

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Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #596 on: 20 Feb 2023, 03:56 pm »
The iFi Go Link is an excellent little DAC/Headphone amp.  For $65 delivered from Amazon it's a no brainer if you use IEM's or easy to drive headphones. 

I.Greyhound Fan

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #597 on: 21 Feb 2023, 04:33 am »
Thanks guys!  I ended up buying a Topping E50 DAC.  I had a $70 Amazon gift certificate.  I will report back on how it sounds once it arrives in about 2 weeks.

jonbee

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #598 on: 21 Feb 2023, 05:19 am »
Thanks guys!  I ended up buying a Topping E50 DAC.  I had a $70 Amazon gift certificate.  I will report back on how it sounds once it arrives in about 2 weeks.
An excellent sounding dac for the $. Notably better than the E30 I had.  For a few $ you can get a simple linear power supply that is a substantial improvement over the stock non-supply:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B88ENAG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought one for all 3 of my Toppings and they all worked great.
You'll be glad you did!
Have fun.

I.Greyhound Fan

Re: More Amazing DACs for Peanuts
« Reply #599 on: 21 Feb 2023, 04:27 pm »
An excellent sounding dac for the $. Notably better than the E30 I had.  For a few $ you can get a simple linear power supply that is a substantial improvement over the stock non-supply:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B88ENAG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought one for all 3 of my Toppings and they all worked great.
You'll be glad you did!
Have fun.

Thanks, I will order one if I keep the DAC.   I was thinking of getting an Ifi power supply, but this is cheaper, and the reviews are good.