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TOPPING Announces A50s Balanced Amplifier & Preamp

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Over the past 12 years, TOPPING has enjoyed great success. After that, the company launched the flagship A90, followed by its younger sibling, the L30. Today, TOPPING announced a new…
TOPPING A50s

Over the past 12 years, TOPPING has enjoyed great success. After that, the company launched the flagship A90, followed by its younger sibling, the L30. Today, TOPPING announced a new ultra-high performance headphone amplifier and preamp, the TOPPING A50s.

The new A50s is the official successor and upgrade to the earlier midrange offering from TOPPING, the A50. The A50s has a lower noise floor, greater dynamic range, higher power output, and a new 4.4mm balanced connector. The new A50s, D50s, and P50 combine to form the TOPPING “50” stack. And the A50s doesn’t disappoint — at least in terms of design and performance.

Introducing The New TOPPING A50s

Interestingly, the A50s look very similar to its predecessor, except for the balanced 4.4mm headphone output on its front panel. The TOPPING A50s fits inside a precision-machined CNC-machined aluminum case carefully designed for optimum heat transfer. Furthermore, the thermal column transfers the heat from the and power supply and operational amplifiers to the enveloping aluminum exterior; The improved design allows the A50s to provide excellent performance and maintain its tiny footprint.

TOPPING A50s Aluminum case

Aluminum is an excellent material because of its high thermal dissipation efficiency and structural durability. The TOPPING A50s measures 12.0 cm in width, is 12.3cm deep, and weighs close to 2 lbs.

High-Performance Balanced NFCA Modules

NFCA modules

The NFCA modules provide tons of power combined with ultra-low noise and distortion levels. A50s uses TOPPING’s NFCA (Nested Feed Composite Amplifier) modules in a balanced setup, allowing the amplifier of outputting high amounts of power and current.

TOPPING A50s Headphone Amplifier Measurement

Performance is beyond the limits of what the AP can measure in terms of noise and distortion. Revolutionary voltage-current hybrid architecture provides exceptionally low noise and distortion performance. The result is a drastic improvement in sound quality, with no hint of noise or distortion.

Headphone amplifier measurements

The high current output makes the A50s suitable for driving low impedance. On the other hand, high voltage output benefits high impedance headphones. A virtually nonexistent ultra-low noise floor of 0.3uV makes the A50s it a excellent choice for sensitive IEMs.

TOPPING A50s Headphone amp

TOPPING A50s Headphone Amplifier

Tremendous power output, great dynamic range, and an unheard-of ultra-low noise floor enable the TOPPING A50s of reaching new heights of performance that up until now has been unheard of.

6.35mm SE & Balanced 4.4mm Outputs

Single-ended and balanced outputs

Despite its single-ended RCA inputs, internally, the circuit design of the TOPPING A50s is internally balanced. Therefore, the front panel includes a 6.35-millimeter single-ended output and a 4.4 -millimeter balanced output.

TOPPING A50s headphone amplifier SE & Balanced outputs

TOPPING A50s

The balanced 4.4mm output of the A50s provides the benefits of balanced headphone output, such as higher power output, higher voltage swing, and avoidance of mains noise. Therefore, A50s can adequately drive single-ended headphones through its 6.35mm SE output and balanced headphones through its 4.4mm balanced output.

High-Performance Amplifier & Preamplifier

TOPPING A50s preamp

Besides being a headphone amplifier, the A50s is also a state-of-the-art preamplifier. A pair of single-ended RCA output on the rear panel provides a preamp output connection to a power amplifier or powered speakers, delivering superb performance. The volume knob on the front panel adjusts the volume of the RCA preamp outputs. In the same way, the low output impedance of 20 ohms ensures smooth integration with many devices.

Automatic Switching between Amp & Preamp

Automatic switching

Unplugging the connected headphones will activate the analog preamp mode of the A50s. Preamp mode switches off the headphone amplifier section of the A50s. On the other hand, plugging the headphones back in activates the headphone amplifier section, allowing the A50s to function as a headphone amplifier.

TOPPING A50s Dual Gain Settings

The gain levels of the A50s allow for easy switching between 0dB/6dB (single-ended) and 6dB/12dB (balanced) using the power/gain switch button on the front panel. With this intention, the dual gain settings and headphone outputs enables users of adjusting the headphone amplifier according to their listening preferences.

Dual gain settings

The noise level for single-ended output is 0.3uVrms and 0.4uVrms in low and high gain, respectively. At all gain settings, the noise floor and dynamic range of the A50s are miles ahead of the competition on all outputs and gain settings.

Power Output @2Vrms & Maximum Power Output

Amplifier specs

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. By the same token, when paired with a 2Vrms source, the A50s should provide 1950mW into 32 ohms and 208mW into 300 ohms.

Near-Zero-Ohm Output Impedance

Silver D50s, A50s, and P50

The near 0-Ohm output impedance of the A50s produces a high damping factor that minimizes frequency-based reactive-load impedance shifts and ensures a predictable frequency response. What’s more, the high damping factor provides adequate control over the connected headphone’s drivers, allowing for powerful bass and accurate sound reproduction.

Pricing & Availability

The TOPPING A50s is available at $199 and ships with a 15V DC adapter. In addition, separate linear power supply which can improve the performance is also available for purchase.

Source: From HiFiGo.

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