Some issues with Topping M50

Mycroft Holmes

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Hello Forum,

I just bought a Topping M50, but I'm seeing some issues.
1) I stream from a windows pc via DLNA/Upnp using foobar2000 + upnp plugin.
I have several streamers (including a Cambridge Audio CXN) and I have no issue, generally.

2) when I send music to the M50, mp3s are fine: I see metadata displayed on the M50 tiny screen.
when I send FLAC, I see no picture/unknown song/unknown artist, but I can hear the music.

3) I cannot advance to the next song, unless I disable gapless playback, which is super-annoying because it's a global option (I'm not sure I can disable ONLY for this streamer editing the profile)

do you have any advice/similar experience?
I'm considering to return the M50 while I still can.

thanks,
MH
 
Hello Forum,

I just bought a Topping M50, but I'm seeing some issues.
1) I stream from a windows pc via DLNA/Upnp using foobar2000 + upnp plugin.
I have several streamers (including a Cambridge Audio CXN) and I have no issue, generally.

2) when I send music to the M50, mp3s are fine: I see metadata displayed on the M50 tiny screen.
when I send FLAC, I see no picture/unknown song/unknown artist, but I can hear the music.

3) I cannot advance to the next song, unless I disable gapless playback, which is super-annoying because it's a global option (I'm not sure I can disable ONLY for this streamer editing the profile)

do you have any advice/similar experience?
I'm considering to return the M50 while I still can.

thanks,
MH
No experience but this device doesn't sound very useful as it stands especially as you have others.
Is it's software up to date?
If it is then returning it would seem to be your only option.
 

ThisIsJimmy

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Interesting.

What language tracks are you playing? My car Entertainment system, IPOD, and some media players have a fit when I send some Japanese Language metadata for example and exhibit similar issues.

Have you also tried contacting Topping Support? I have always found them helpful when I have needed assistance in the past.
 

Mycroft Holmes

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some more details:

1) foobar2000 upnp output plugin v1.4 doesn't work at all.
I see the m50 listed in the output devices, but I cannot play anything on it.

2) foobar2000 upnp controller/renderer plugin v0.99x works partially: I need to disable gapless playback.
ALAC files and mp3 do send their metadata, but FLAC do not. not sure if _all_ flac or only some.

3) I tried streaming from an android phone.
the hiby app can control the m50 via bluetooth, but then I can only play music stored locally on the m50 (streaming is disabled).
the "AK connect" app seems to work, but oddly, it show some random album artwork on the phone (while on the m50 display you see the right picture, even for some FLAC).

I tried sending an email to topping, but I got no response yet.
 

ThisIsJimmy

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So doing some reading here on Toppings website and foobar 2000.

1) I presume you are using Bluetooth here in Bridgemode to use DLNA/Airplay. UPNP is not supported on the M50.
2) Running like this you are capped to audio files that are up to 24bit/96Khz . If you try to stream anything higher than this it wont work.

I don't have have Foobar installed on here to investigate further the configuration options you have on audio rendering but reading the Foobar forums suggests their are options in Foobar you can change to distinguish between DLNA and UPNP.

As you are using windows, have you tried Windows Media Player to rule this out being a player specific issue?
 

Mycroft Holmes

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1) I presume you are using Bluetooth here in Bridgemode to use DLNA/Airplay.

absolutely not: both dlna and airplay require wifi.
only the "hiby link" uses bluetooth to send commands to the device, basically as if the app was the remote, but this in turn disables streaming (more precisely, it seems there's no option to stream files stored on the phone to the m5o while the hibylink is active).

UPNP is not supported on the M50.

when I say upnp maybe I should use the official name which is upnp/dlna, they are basically the same protocol (dlna conforms to the upnp standards, so when it comes to audio streaming you should assume that upnp and dlna are synonyms).
however it's a negotiation-based protocol: a device advertises some capabilities, and the other endpoint adapts to this configuration, so there can be "compliance" problems (e.g. a device says it supports flac -or whatever-, when it's not true, or the software misinterprets a result, etc.).

their are options in Foobar you can change to distinguish between DLNA and UPNP.

there are options to fine-tune the upnp configuration for specific devices, that's exactly why I'm asking.
maybe this issue was solved by some other forum user.

anyway I didn't try windows mediaplayer. I tried a couple of (randomly picked) android apps, one in particular seems to work fine, except for the "unknown metadata" issue (which might be a file-related issue, as I've seen metadata transmitted for some FLAC and not for other).

if you are curious, the app I mentioned is:
 

Tuber

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Not sure why you think that this is a good use case for the M50. It is basically a non network player. Just load your music on a miscroSD card and/or a USB drive and enjoy better SQ than any stinkin' PC without the need for a network. Just be aware that it doesn't navigate nested folders. But the sweet spot is that it DOES play selectable random shuffle. It also plays by genre so you can be creative with your library.
The display is marginal anyway. It only shows album art and song title, no artist or album names.
I'm just happy to play music when the internet is (often) down.
Someday someone will build the ultimate player with a BlueTooth remote control with nested folders navigation. Try to get the builders to listen to their customers.
It looks like Topping already gave up on this one.
 
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Mycroft Holmes

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Not sure why you think that this is a good use case for the M50.
It is basically a non network player.

well, they call it network player...

It looks like Topping already gave up on this one.

yes, exactly. it's a dead product. customer support never replied to my emails.
I'm happy I returned the m50 because it really feels like an incomplete product.
 

Tuber

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well, they call it network player...



yes, exactly. it's a dead product. customer support never replied to my emails.
I'm happy I returned the m50 because it really feels like an incomplete product.
I 'm happy I've nursed it along because it is unique.
Chinese translation be dammed. (sic)
A non network player is a fine goal.
Hoping the next iteration is more robust.
 
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