Ask me questions.

[Robbo99999]

Is he psychic or just answering the questions via PM? I’m confused

He probably got asked too many questions & ran for the hills (understandably!), but he did start the thread!

 

[restorer-john]

He probably got asked too many questions & ran for the hills (understandably!), but he did start the thread!

I don't think anyone gives a chit, one way or another.

 

[EKbluesboy]

Adam G247 helpfully suggested I post this question here -

Hi,
I know it's a slim chance because this is a pretty niche product but hoping someone can help.

I've just unpacked and set up the Topping EHA5 electrostatic headphone amplifier.
When I switch it on I get the LED's flashing twice, pause for 1 second, then repeat. The little user manual tells me that this means "Incorrect firmware version" and that I should flash the correct firmware.

I can't find any firmware for the EHA5! I've tried the Shenzenaudio site and Topping's own site, but apart from the user manual, there is nothing for the EHA5.

I've sent an email to Topping to ask about this but it's Friday and I probably won't get a reply till Monday, and I was itching to hear it over this weekend!

Any ideas?
Thanks.

 

[solderdude]

Probably best to send a PM to @JohnYang1997 as well.
I have not seen him active on any of the places he frequents for a few weeks now so the answer to your question may take a while.
Perhaps return the EHA-5 or at least start a request for this. That may get Topping going ...

 

[AdamG]

Probably best to send a PM to @JohnYang1997 as well.
I have not seen him active on any of the places he frequents for a few weeks now so the answer to your question may take a while.
Perhaps return the EHA-5 or at least start a request for this. That may get Topping going ...

I did give him John’s username for a pm. Why I suggested that he repost his problem here is in the hope that someone prior in thread had a similar firmware error problem and already discovered a solution? I have not read this entire thread. A stab in the dark.

 

[EKbluesboy]

Probably best to send a PM to @JohnYang1997 as well.
I have not seen him active on any of the places he frequents for a few weeks now so the answer to your question may take a while.
Perhaps return the EHA-5 or at least start a request for this. That may get Topping going ...

Thanks Frans and AdamG247 for your replies.
I have posted here, in the Ask Me questions thread and have also sent a pm to John.

Just seems odd, the amp is asking for a firmware upgrade, but there doesn't seem to be any . . .

 

[dartinbout]

There is a firmware port but, as an owner of this model, I have not seen a mention of a firmware error on any of the few forums that follow this unit. If it was mine, I would determine that it is a faulty unit and start the process of a return. Hopefully your vendor is amenable to a speedy exchange. With so few units exhibiting the error, I would just return it immediately. Quick firmware would seem unlikely. Hopefully you chose a vendor with decent CS. Not a plug, but I have had many dealings with Apos, who have treated me exceptionally fairly ($4000 worth of returns from exchange or credit).

 

[Gringoaudio1]

I wish more manufacturers will be as transparent as Topping. . .I love this answer because:

(1) it shows the difficulty in designing power amplifiers, hopefully for the people who say "why can't you do this and do that", myself included, understands it's easier said than done.

(2) how much more advancement we have left in power amp design. So to those who say, amp technology is mature and we've all there is to do, please note that is not true.

(3) shows that Topping continues to work towards more powerful amps. And hopefully one day, Topping will have a high power amp.

But John, can you share with us why it's hard to design a power amp with the power supply inside the unit? Does it have anything to do with EMF/EMI and/or noise?

Probably because of the cost of certifications like UL, CSA, etc. They source a power supply which needs to be certified by that power supply’s supplier. Their amps are low voltage devices which don’t need certifications of the rigour (or any) that anything that plugs into a wall requires. I don’t see this changing.

 

[EKbluesboy]

There is a firmware port but, as an owner of this model, I have not seen a mention of a firmware error on any of the few forums that follow this unit. If it was mine, I would determine that it is a faulty unit and start the process of a return. Hopefully your vendor is amenable to a speedy exchange. With so few units exhibiting the error, I would just return it immediately. Quick firmware would seem unlikely. Hopefully you chose a vendor with decent CS. Not a plug, but I have had many dealings with Apos, who have treated me exceptionally fairly ($4000 worth of returns from exchange or credit).

Thanks very much Dartinbout,

I will wait till Monday to see if I get a reply from [email protected] but it's looking doubtful, and I can see me having to return the amp as defective. I bought it from Amazon, so return is not a problem.

I got my SRS-3100 a couple of weeks ago and have been absolutely blown away by the SQ of this entry level Stax gear. I have a decent source and decent planar magnetic headphones, but I just can't seem to take off these big, ugly, plastic 'earspeakers'.

As you say, you are an owner of the EHA5, and I see from your signature you have a KGST (!), do you mind me asking for your thoughts on the EHA5?

 

[dartinbout]

Thanks very much Dartinbout,

I will wait till Monday to see if I get a reply from [email protected] but it's looking doubtful, and I can see me having to return the amp as defective. I bought it from Amazon, so return is not a problem.

I got my SRS-3100 a couple of weeks ago and have been absolutely blown away by the SQ of this entry level Stax gear. I have a decent source and decent planar magnetic headphones, but I just can't seem to take off these big, ugly, plastic 'earspeakers'.

As you say, you are an owner of the EHA5, and I see from your signature you have a KGST (!), do you mind me asking for your thoughts on the EHA5?

My KGST blew up after a year and no amount of prayer has been able to raise it from the dead. The EBAY seller has gone no contact. I liked it a lot but I haven't been able to find a local repair tech. Enter the EHA5, the amount of time between listening experiences has been too long for any meaningful comparison. A $400 replacement for a $2k bit of kit was a no brainer. So the EHA5 wins by default.

Out of curiosity, can I ask how you are feeding signal to your misbehaving EHA5? It has been my impression that Topping emphasizes XLR connections over RCA. As a firmware error, is a unique occurrence, I was wondering if that was the issue.

You might consider posting your dilemma on the ASR EHA5 thread to see if you get a bite. This thread is more for the ASR "Karen" community to air their Topping grievances (real and imagined). My POV may be jaded as I am obviously a Topping fanbois.

 

[antcollinet]

My KGST blew up after a year and no amount of prayer has been able to raise it from the dead.

Have you tried contacting https://mjolnir-audio.com ?


(And this should be an eye opener for some here: - even the most "boutique" "high end" "hand built" manufacturers have failures - and a seeming inability to support the customer.)

 

[EKbluesboy]

Hi Dartinbout,

thanks for taking the time to reply . . .

My KGST blew up after a year and no amount of prayer has been able to raise it from the dead. The EBAY seller has gone no contact.

Crikey, a 2 grand amp lets out the magic smoke and the vendor goes radio silent! That's got to sting! Difficult not to end up a bit cynical after an experience like that.

Out of curiosity, can I ask how you are feeding signal to your misbehaving EHA5? It has been my impression that Topping emphasizes XLR connections over RCA. As a firmware error, is a unique occurrence, I was wondering if that was the issue.

Concerning inputs, yes I'm feeding it from my RME ADI-2 DAC fs balanced-out to Topping balanced-in with good quality cables/connectors (Van Damme Tour Grade XKE with Neutrik XLR's).

My POV may be jaded as I am obviously a Topping fanbois.

Don't worry, bit of a fan-boy myself, although my relationship with Topping had a bit of a shaky start with the L30 situation (luckily my unit had a safe serial number), I have been the proud owner of various Toppings - Topping NX1 (remember that? - still got it, still going strong). Topping L30 and Topping E30 - brilliant low-cost set but wouldn't drive my Beyer DT-880/600ohm or AKG K240 Sextetts (600 ohm), so bought Topping L50 and Topping E50. Then discovered Planars (which you can see in my sig.) which the L50 stack drove brilliantly.

Recently tried Electrostats after buying the SRS-3100 (SRM 252s/SR-L300) and discovered I just can't go back. Have A-B'd between my Stax and my 'brightest' planars, the Edition XS Stealth. It's not even close, there is just something about the sound of these "big, ugly, plastic 'earspeakers'", that I just don't want to take them off.

So, when I found out Topping had made an electrostatic amp I jumped onto Amazon and pulled the trigger. But unfortunately, what was delivered is effectively DOA. But maybe John Yang or [email protected] can find and send me the elusive firmware update file.

Anyway, got a reply from John Yang just saying that he doesn't have the EHA5 firmware on hand, but that they are experiencing a typhoon at the moment and he would get back to me Monday hopefully.

I'm concerned about firmware upgrades and he's experiencing a typhoon!
Puts things in perspective, no?

 

[EKbluesboy]

If I get a solution I'll post it here in case it helps the thousands and thousands of others who buy this electrostatic amp

As promised, here's the solution.

EHA5 FW1.3.rar​

drive.google.com

Got an email first thing this morning from [email protected] containing this link to a firmware upgrade - EHA5_FW1.3.Topping. Incidentally in the ReadMe attached to this file it talks about "Connect LA90 to a PC/Mac via a usb type-C cable. A removable drive will show up in the explorer." I assume this is because the EHA5 contains A90 modules?

Amp now up and running - listening to it as I type . . .

Thanks to all the members who took the time and trouble to reply and try to help, much appreciated.

 

[solderdude]

I suspect the update procedure (not the firmware itself) is the same as for the LA90 and Topping copy-pasted the procedure from the LA90 manual and simply forgot to change the names.
They might have been in a hurry to get it out.

I wonder what FW 1.1 and 1.2 were and what was in the EHA5 before the upgrade.

 

[ajax247]

Keep us updated please

A month in and all is well...

 

[ajax247]

He probably got asked too many questions & ran for the hills (understandably!), but he did start the thread!

Recent news articles suggest that government pressure is being exerted to encourage even folks in private companies to disengage from conversations with foreigners. I really appreciate the cheerful, frank and open comments @JohnYang1997 has shared with us, but that might be all, folks.

 

[Robbo99999]

Recent news articles suggest that government pressure is being exerted to encourage even folks in private companies to disengage from conversations with foreigners. I really appreciate the cheerful, frank and open comments @JohnYang1997 has shared with us, but that might be all, folks.

You think the Chinese government is dissuading them, and in this instance too potentially?

 

[192kbps]

When can we see EHA3 or EHA7?
EHA3 is as big as L30, so exquisite.

 

[dartinbout]

As promised, here's the solution.

EHA5 FW1.3.rar​

drive.google.com

Got an email first thing this morning from [email protected] containing this link to a firmware upgrade - EHA5_FW1.3.Topping. Incidentally in the ReadMe attached to this file it talks about "Connect LA90 to a PC/Mac via a usb type-C cable. A removable drive will show up in the explorer." I assume this is because the EHA5 contains A90 modules?

Amp now up and running - listening to it as I type . . .

Thanks to all the members who took the time and trouble to reply and try to help, much appreciated.

Thank you for hosting this, as it doesn't appear on the appear as yet on the site. https://www.tpdz.net/download
I'm not going to use this yet until it does and has a list of what it affects. My glowing unit hasn't exhibited any issues to date.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Is Topping planning to release any speaker amp (budget) with built in dac (toslink, usb input) combo any time soon?
I'm not sure if I should wait or look somewhere else.