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Topping PA5 Review (Amplifier)

Lambda

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And how would it perform in a tow tone full power test?
Most power in a Low Bass note (like in music) and some Power in High-Mid like in music...

How would the Phase of the signal change depending on output power/current?
 

antcollinet

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Doesn't the two tone test people ask for normally have two tones at the high end? Like 18/19KHz, or 18/20kHz?

But yes, full power with a low and mid range tone as you describe might be interesting.
 

pma

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Doesn't the two tone test people ask for normally have two tones at the high end? Like 18/19KHz, or 18/20kHz?

Why do you think so?

1642669190994.png
 

BoredErica

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And again you do not consider intermodulations.
And again you don't consider that musical content is -40 dB at 20kHz and somewhat higher at 10 kHz. Let's see those IMD charts with those levels and then we can conclude something practical.
Please address Matias' point.
 

DSJR

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Thanks @olom70 for your impressions. I have a Rega RP5 that is modded to beat the RP6. If you haven't yet, buy the most current PSU/speed-controller. Also look into a VTA shim kit from Germany. It will make a huge difference and you do not need to remove the arm. I run one and it is incredible how much more information you can gain. I used a couple shims to make VTA adjustments from 0.5mm-6.5mm.

BACK to the PA5...
Thank you for your impression.
The Gustard seems to be adequate.
The volume control is not an accurate method of telling what level you have it set to. The exception is when you have everything else adjusted and you don't require more output. I would advise you to set your DAC to give maximum output before clipping and adjust your volume using a preamp or built in preamp. Then set your gains. XX o'clock is not a consistent measure for output.
I would strongly advise you to play with room treatment after you get the gain controls set. Once they are set you will NOT need to go into the gain controls, the preamp if your DAC is so equipped can take over volume control and it will be a cleaner sound.
Once the gains are set, play with room placement, a couple of inches will make a big difference.

My opinion about the PA5 continues to grow. Setup with any audio equipment can improve the fidelity more than you can believe.
I sense an upgrade of speakers in your very near future. Not for volume, but for clarity and imagine/stagine. JBL bookshelf speakers large or small benefit greatly by speaker placement and toe-adjustment. Sometimes more so than other conventional speakers.

It is my opinion that you have the start of a great sounding system. I think there is room for improvement. Take the time to learn about VTA. Almost all Regas have poor VTA, as in the arm is lifted lightly instead of a very slight downward angle. Feel free to DM me if you have questions.

There is little doubt that the PA5 can fit/suit the casual listener, but you can maximise still what you already have.

The PA5 which I haven't purchased yet is an excellent amp. I have several friend who have one and they cannot speak highly enough about the amplifier. Yes there is better but I don't think there is an amplifier that drastically improves upon it at this price.

Happy listening. Adjust/tweak your room to get the most of it. There is more sound with the eq
Late reply - Current Rega arms seem too high at the pivot rather than too low - and don't forget the tapered arm tube! Something else, many styli offer too deep rake angles, or at least used to, so raising the arm to 'look' more level may actually be *increasing* distortion further, giving that 'sharper' kind of sound that this usually does. For medium compliance cartridges, I'm reliably informed that 1/10g tracking force change is equivalent to a mm or so at least pillar height difference.. Don't forget a mat alternative...

I agree on the power supply recommendation though, and the current Neo supply offers fine speed tuning as well as minimising the motor drone these Airpax motors can exhibit through the stylus.

As you were, sorry for the thread drift...
 

JeyElDee

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One just arrived today and I hoocked it op to a pair of JBL Ti10k ... This will be a tough job for this amp I supposed.
But no it plays just fine with good bass impact. Signal comes from the RME ADI-2 PRO FS R.
Before the JBL's were driven by a McIntosh integrated MA6300.
So in comparison with the McIntosh ... (I know it is an overkill but the Topping PA5 has better measurements than the McIntosh (slightly) so ... )
I am glad it does not beat the McIntosh. Soundstage is slightly more narrow than the Mc. Mids a bit louder but than I miss some detail or airyness.
I makes me wonder... What does (I am not talking about price or views) make the McIntosh amps so special : it is like you have more time to hear the music with a mac. It does not simply amplify the music to get rid of it, music is presented on a plate with every detail available for the listener to absorb. Right, I now am reviewing McIntosh. That was not the intention.
Back to thet PA5... I can't find any faults. Lowering the input from +0 DB to -4 makes the Topping play even more transparent. Strange. I have been listening for a good hour. I will come back to it later.
 

Kuba

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One just arrived today and I hoocked it op to a pair of JBL Ti10k ... This will be a tough job for this amp I supposed.
But no it plays just fine with good bass impact. Signal comes from the RME ADI-2 PRO FS R.
Before the JBL's were driven by a McIntosh integrated MA6300.
So in comparison with the McIntosh ... (I know it is an overkill but the Topping PA5 has better measurements than the McIntosh (slightly) so ... )
I am glad it does not beat the McIntosh. Soundstage is slightly more narrow than the Mc. Mids a bit louder but than I miss some detail or airyness.
I makes me wonder... What does (I am not talking about price or views) make the McIntosh amps so special : it is like you have more time to hear the music with a mac. It does not simply amplify the music to get rid of it, music is presented on a plate with every detail available for the listener to absorb. Right, I now am reviewing McIntosh. That was not the intention.
Back to thet PA5... I can't find any faults. Lowering the input from +0 DB to -4 makes the Topping play even more transparent. Strange. I have been listening for a good hour. I will come back to it later.
What does (I am not talking about price or views) make the McIntosh amps so special :

Visuals, nothing more.
 

tvrgeek

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You bring up points that some find objectionable. Amplifiers that have a signature, and what about them causes them to be preferable. Can we measure it? Or is an amplifier with no signature of it's own, our assumed goal, superior to our ears. I have never been a Mac fan, maybe turned off buy the fancy front plates. Recently I listened to several moderate size integrated, and only one had an identifiable signature. ( Rotel, just lifeless) Moon, Atoll, Rega, Naim, Arcam were indistinguishable with the music on hand with the same ( Hugo I think) DAC. Is the Topping in that group? All "good enough". Or by some fluke, all with whatever distortion my brain prefers? I wish I could measure my amp, but it is in the noise of my IO box, so not much to be learned on my bench.

I checked the power to SPL models for my current speakers, and the PA5 might just pull it off. But the next set I am planning on needs a bit more for the same SPL. I kind of knew that when I was using my Creek for a week. Great 90% or the time, but when I cranked it up to live levels, it was falling short. That is louder than one could do in an apartment BTW. That could be misleading though as I understand dynamic compression in AB amplifiers, I do not know how class D perform.

In blind AB tests, there is usually a bias for the less pristine sound, but what flavor differs person to person to person. Yes, head in the sand'ers, I have been in blind tests.

Yup, one had to chime in. Sigh.
 

JeyElDee

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What does (I am not talking about price or views) make the McIntosh amps so special :

Visuals, nothing more.
If you mean :With a McIntosh the music becomes visual, than I agree.
Every time a new wonder-amp presents itself I think : lets have a go. And than we listen and listen. Not only me, but my wife, friends that come over, we all listen and many of these amps sound nice and then ... back to the McIntosh and everything opens up again like I have never heard. When there is a new good amp in the house and we love it, at the end we have to say ... But it's no Mac :-( McIntosh is way overpriced but if there really is nothing that can beat it, McIntosh remains the only way to go, even if you don't like the visuals, have a bad back or have to break the bank.
 

wjp007

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Interesting. If these results are accurate, it looks like the PA5 is a complete differential amp, balanced all the way to the output. I do notice a substantial difference in the sound of the PA5 when driven by the MOTU M4 vs Audient ID14 MkII. The Audient is only resistive balanced on its output while the MOTU is differential. I don't listen loud enough to notice any lack of power but driven by the Audient it sounds warmer and less defined.

This seems like it might be a similar situation to the Schitt Magnius, which measured massively poorer with a single-ended input.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-magnius-balanced-headphone-amp-review.15252/ I'll be watching this thread with interest!
I’m confused on why the gain looks different between the two outputs when driven singe ended. Any thoughts?
 

Gio

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One just arrived today and I hoocked it op to a pair of JBL Ti10k ... This will be a tough job for this amp I supposed.
But no it plays just fine with good bass impact. Signal comes from the RME ADI-2 PRO FS R.
Before the JBL's were driven by a McIntosh integrated MA6300.
So in comparison with the McIntosh ... (I know it is an overkill but the Topping PA5 has better measurements than the McIntosh (slightly) so ... )
I am glad it does not beat the McIntosh. Soundstage is slightly more narrow than the Mc. Mids a bit louder but than I miss some detail or airyness.
I makes me wonder... What does (I am not talking about price or views) make the McIntosh amps so special : it is like you have more time to hear the music with a mac. It does not simply amplify the music to get rid of it, music is presented on a plate with every detail available for the listener to absorb. Right, I now am reviewing McIntosh. That was not the intention.
Back to thet PA5... I can't find any faults. Lowering the input from +0 DB to -4 makes the Topping play even more transparent. Strange. I have been listening for a good hour. I will come back to it later.
Please provide further details if possible. The fact that you have to carefully search for adjectives to differentiate the two makes it quite curious. I mean: it should be an abyss.
 

Xulonn

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Lots of audiophile subjectivist blather showing up in this thread. Many new arrivals seem to be unaware that their flowery descriptions of supposedly audible differences between amplifiers disappear when tested in rigorous ABx double-blind scientific testing.

Tyson - Good Thing About Science.jpg
 

Gio

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Lots of audiophile subjectivist blather showing up in this thread. Many new arrivals seem to be unaware that their flowery descriptions of supposedly audible differences between amplifiers disappear when tested in rigorous ABx double-blind scientific testing.

Are you suggesting that my Amazon Echo sounds like a McIntosh 6300? Do I really need to make an AB comparison double-blind scientific testing?
 

AudioArchitech

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Hello guys

Any advices for a good DAC with this power amp ?

With :

Bluetooth
Balanced
Good ASR Review

Thanks !

These are the ones I would be interested in myself:

SMSL SU-9N (SU-9 minus MQA for a bit cheaper)
SMSL DO200
Topping D30 Pro
 

Xulonn

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Are you suggesting that my Amazon Echo sounds like a McIntosh 6300? Do I really need to make an AB comparison double-blind scientific testing?
I do believe that this thread is about the Topping PA5 and not the Amazon Echo, which is not even an amplifier. The Echo is a small active "smart" loudspeaker, which makes your comment an absolutely ridiculous non sequitur. And a huge strawman!

Since this is a science-oriented forum, if you hang out here for a while, you should soon learn that science tells us that amplifiers with the "below audibility" noise, distortion, and frequency response specs, feeding speakers with no impedance or other compatibility issues, and operating below clipping levels are very, very likely to sound the same in precise level matched blind testing.

There are a lot of newbies here at ASR here after the Topping PA5 and Carver Crimson 275 reviews, and it seems that many of them believe the B.S. about being able to hear differences between equal-measuring Amplifiers and DACS. But of course, those differences are discernible ONLY when they know what audio components they are listening to. The 1.5 lb Topping PA5 and the 37 lb MA6300 should sound the same in the same system when played at matched levels within their specified output limits. (But, of course, the Mac, with its robust industrial-strength build quality, will probably outlast the Topping by many years.)
 
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AudioArchitech

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On the flip side, some people on ASR need to try more gear. Or get their ears measured. ie: too many believe all DACs sound the same..
 
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