TOPPING Launches D10s DAC

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Today many TOPPING fans were happy to read this news, TOPPING launches D10s DAC. If you follow the latest news in the audiophile scene, you’ve probably heard of the name…

Today many TOPPING fans were happy to read this news, TOPPING launches D10s DAC.

If you follow the latest news in the audiophile scene, you’ve probably heard of the name TOPPING. The company’s DACs and AMPs have become ubiquitous lately. As a matter of fact, TOPPING’s new products seemed to offer great value and excellent performance measurements that surpassed even the best offerings of other competitors.

So is TOPPING’s new D10s going to be one of their record-breaking DACs? Or is it just another addition to TOPPING’s lineup. Is the new D10s better than the E30? And more importantly, what does the D10s bring to the table over the previous D10? Let’s have a closer look.

TOPPING D10s vs. D10

The previous D10 was one of the company’s earliest products, a small-sized excellent performing DAC that targeted budget-minded consumers.

The D10 was undoubtedly not one of TOPPING’s flagships. This is probably because it offered “so much” while keeping the cost “so low.” Along the way, It paved the way to upcoming, higher-end products.

Meet The New TOPPING D10s DAC

When you take a look at the D10s, the first thing that comes to mind is the extreme similarity of the new TOPPING D10s to the previous D10. The compact chassis is built out of thick aluminum. As a result, the D10s has a good of heft to it.

The front is adorned with a retro-looking orange LED display. Many find the screen helpful as it displays the chosen input, audio format, and the currently playing sample rate. Despite its low price, this is a good-looking compact DAC.

A Look Under The Hood

For the DAC chip, TOPPING put a single ESS ES9038QM DAC chip inside the D10s. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because TOPPING used two of those chips in their D50s DAC.

The ES9038QM DAC chip from ESS technologies is an excellent performer with low power consumption. TOPPING using a single chip in the D10s allows you to power the device solely using USB, while at the same time boasting an excellent 0.002% of THD+N @1kHz!

TOPPING Launches D10s DAC with XMOS XU208 USB Chip

While the USB interface is certainly USB audio class 2 compliant (no need to install drivers), thanks to TOPPING‘s decision of using the latest XU208 USB chip from XMOS for the USB interface, But at the same time, installing the custom Thesycon ASIO drivers allows you to decode higher sample rates and DSD.

Supported Formats

D10s can decode up to 32-bit 384 kHz PCM and native DSD256 via USB, and up to 24-bit 192 kHz PCM and DSD64 via its optical/coaxial input.

Automatic Power On/Off Feature

Entirely powered by USB, the TOPPING D10s can automatically power on/off simultaneously with your laptop or PC. Considerably conserving the battery of your device and removing the need to plug/unplug your DAC.

USB To Optical/Coaxial Converter

One nice feature that sets the D10s apart from some of its competition is its ability to convert its USB input to optical/coaxial output. This feature alone is worth the DACs asking price as it allows you much better compatibility and connectivity with other devices.

OP-AMP Rolling

The D10s uses a swappable and socketed op-amp. Therefore, professional users could use pliers or an IC extractor and swap the default op-amp with another compatible op-amp to change the sound.

Be careful, though, as swapping op-amps is not a risk-free procedure, it can quickly destroy your DAC. On top of that, TOPPING doesn‘t officially recommend nor endorse swapping op-amps to users.