Topping revises the E50 with the $199 E50 II
A second-generation take on one of the most widely measured budget desktop DACs, at $199.
Topping has released the E50 II at $199, a revision of the E50 desktop DAC. It carries an AK4497S converter, LDAC Bluetooth input, ADAT support and full parametric EQ, positioning it as a desktop hub rather than a bare DAC.
Succeeding a well-measured product is a particular kind of challenge: the outgoing model's numbers are public, so the new one is compared against a known baseline from day one rather than judged on its own terms. That is a healthy dynamic, and the reason budget DAC performance has improved as fast as it has.
Announcement sources
More new DACs
FiiO swaps the R7's delta-sigma converter for a resistor ladder in the R7 R2R
The all-in-one desktop streamer, DAC, preamplifier and headphone amplifier returns with FiiO's own R2R converter in place of the ES9068AS, at around $700.
Fosi Audio shows the ZH1, a dual-CS43131 desktop DAC for around £130
Shown at CanJam London ahead of a September release, the ZH1 puts two Cirrus Logic converters and more than a watt of output in a hexagonal chassis, for roughly £130.
FiiO teases the K17 R2R Pro, a resistor-ladder DAC and amp with Wi-Fi
Coming mid-2026, the K17 R2R Pro uses a proprietary resistor-ladder architecture in place of a conventional delta-sigma chip, with global pricing announced in June.
This is an announcement, not a verdict. Specifications come from the manufacturer and nothing here is measured until a unit reaches the rig. For tested dacs, see DACs reviews. Back to all new releases.