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Topping MX5, A new device?

kmmk

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Hi everyone,

I bought the Topping MX5 right after @rbq commented, as my speakers are insensitive and are in a far-field setup. The unit arrived later that day, and I've been using it daily since then (one week).

TL;DR: I really love the Topping MX5 so far, and the noise isn't an issue for me.

Noise

Let's start with the major point of discussion, the high-frequency noise. I was really worried about this because my ears are very sensitive, so I listen to music very quietly. (Roughly 1/4 of most people.) I actually hear high-frequency noise from a variety of electronic equipment that no one else can, and it regularly drives me nuts trying to find the source when in a new place (e.g. hotel room).

My speakers have a low sensitivity of 86 dB at 2.83 W / 1 m. When it's completely silent, the noise is loud and irritating with my ear within 1 foot of the tweeter. By 3 feet, the noise is clearly there but it's ignorable. At my listening position 8 feet away, the noise is faint. It is a bit annoying if my girlfriend is listening on headphones and my ears are wide open, but no big deal. Even then, I don't usually notice.

My girlfriend (24) has normal hearing and can't identify the noise until she's quite close. After locking onto it, she has to concentrate to hear it after about 2 feet from the tweeter. Overall the noise pales in comparison to the periodic noises caused by other things in the home. I guess it may be worse if your speakers are close together so that you can hear the noise from both at once.

Recall that the high-frequency noise is only present when the output is set to headphones only. Listening to audio through headphones, especially closed-back and especially at a significant volume, drowns out noise. If your speakers are not very sensitive or are not in a near-field setup, it will be less of a problem. And of course if your high-frequency hearing is not the greatest, that will help you too. Personally, I'm not bothered.

Sound

To keep it brief for now, the Topping MX5 sounds amazing. It's much clearer than my previous unit and doesn't distort at higher volumes. It's easily able to power my inefficient speakers at my girlfriend's loud volumes with plenty of headroom. The headphone out is very powerful; our Sennheisers reach adequate volume at low levels.

Where this unit really shines for me is with IEMs. With the venerable Apple dongle, I generally don't have a usable volume range unless I use my IEMatch. (Remember, I have very sensitive ears.) The MX5 gives me all the volume range I could desire with excellent sound quality. I only have insensitive IEMs now, so I can't properly judge the noise difference.

Build etc

It's too early for me to give a full review, but overall I really love this device. Somehow it seems smaller than I expected, despite knowing the measurements. It's very simple to use and all features work flawlessly as expected. There are a lot of nice touches, like the auto-off display, that make it a pleasure to use. The build is very nice as well, and I do actually like the button, although I just use the remote. It does everything I want it to with high quality and no fuss, and I can hand the remote to others with minimal instruction. For the price, I think it's a no-brainer.
 

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luxxxman

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Hi guys I recently got the Topping MX5 and thought I'd add my observations. I'd also like to know if others have experienced the same problem as me...

My setup: Optical out on my LG CX TV connected to optical-in on MX5, which is connected to passive speakers.

Pros:
  1. The sound seems great and the device is nice and compact at a great price
  2. I have not noticed the high frequency noise issue that was previously mentioned here
  3. The auto-on feature works really well and makes it really convenient to use as a soundbar
Cons:
  1. For some reason the sound intermittently drops out for ~1 second but only when listening via the LG CX TV optical toslink connection (maybe once every 10 mins), and more frequently when watching via my Apple TV (a few times per minute). I have tried many different troubleshooting steps, but my current theory is that the jitter tolerance of the Sabre ESS chip is set too narrow to deal with the output from my TV (this issue has been reported in other forums). The shop where I bought it is currently running tests on the device to see if they can reproduce the problem. I have also contacted Topping to ask if they plan to update the firmware to allow setting the PLL width to 'wide', but they don't appear to support this like some other DAC manufacturers with this chip have.
  2. Topping isn't on the list of supported devices for the LG CX TV's universal remote feature, so I can't use it to control the volume (hopefully this can be added in the future)
 

kmmk

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I'd also like to know if others have experienced the same problem as me...

My setup: Optical out on my LG CX TV connected to optical-in on MX5, which is connected to passive speakers.
I have a very similar setup: optical out of my LG NANO85 TV connected to optical in on my MX5, which is connected to my passive speakers. My TV is outputting PCM.

I haven't had problems with dropout. Occasionally songs are cut off early when streaming Spotify highest quality, but that's a Spotify Connect syncing issue unrelated to my setup.

I don't mind having two remotes because I like to use the preset buttons on the Topping remote to switch between speakers and headphones anyway, since I can set default volumes and tone controls.
 

Lord-Maniac

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Hey guys would this be a good option for the KRK gen4 7s and the KRK sub ? new to the real audio game.,... thanks
 

luxxxman

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I have a very similar setup: optical out of my LG NANO85 TV connected to optical in on my MX5, which is connected to my passive speakers. My TV is outputting PCM.

I haven't had problems with dropout. Occasionally songs are cut off early when streaming Spotify highest quality, but that's a Spotify Connect syncing issue unrelated to my setup.

I don't mind having two remotes because I like to use the preset buttons on the Topping remote to switch between speakers and headphones anyway, since I can set default volumes and tone controls.
Thanks for letting me know -- at least doesn't seem to be an issue with all LG TV optical outputs then.

And yes my complaint about the remote is a minor one, but would be nice value add.
 

PipHelix

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]
  1. For some reason the sound intermittently drops out for ~1 second but only when listening via the LG CX TV optical toslink connection (maybe once every 10 mins), and more frequently when watching via my Apple TV (a few times per minute). I have tried many different troubleshooting steps, but my current theory is that the jitter tolerance of the Sabre ESS chip is set too narrow to deal with the output from my TV (this issue has been reported in other forums). The shop where I bought it is currently running tests on the device to see if they can reproduce the problem. I have also contacted Topping to ask if they plan to update the firmware to allow setting the PLL width to 'wide', but they don't appear to support this like some other DAC manufacturers with this chip have.

I just got my MX5 and am getting sound drop out when sending a signal from my Blue Sound Node 2i via coax into the MX5. It. Drops. Out. Every. Second. And. Is. Incredibly. Annoying.

When I run the Node into my Topping E30 and through my preamp into the MX5 using single ended cables, all is well. It’s a shame. The MX5 is a cheap unit that does almost all I’d need it to but do I really want to keep something with a defective input or input circuit?
 

luxxxman

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I just got my MX5 and am getting sound drop out when sending a signal from my Blue Sound Node 2i via coax into the MX5. It. Drops. Out. Every. Second. And. Is. Incredibly. Annoying.

When I run the Node into my Topping E30 and through my preamp into the MX5 using single ended cables, all is well. It’s a shame. The MX5 is a cheap unit that does almost all I’d need it to but do I really want to keep something with a defective input or input circuit?
Interesting that the Topping DAC spdif input issue arises not only with TVs (LG, Samsung) but also with your Bluesound Node, which I would have assumed is a very high quality source.

It really is a shame that this problem exists in what otherwise seems like a fantastic device.

I recommend that you contact Topping support via the email on this page (as I did, and I got a reply from them):

Hopefully if enough people complain they might do something about the issue, which I surmise has to do with being able to adjust the PLL width to 'wide' (there are many other forum posts on the issue).

I also wonder whether the firmware on the Topping MX5 is user upgradeable -- there is a USB in but not sure if it can be used to upgrade the firmware.

If this can't be fixed I think I'll sell the Topping and buy another device with a PLL width that can be adjusted and that also has a port to upgrade the device firmware.
 

PipHelix

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Interesting that the Topping DAC spdif input issue arises not only with TVs (LG, Samsung) but also with your Bluesound Node, which I would have assumed is a very high quality source.

It really is a shame that this problem exists in what otherwise seems like a fantastic device.

I recommend that you contact Topping support via the email on this page (as I did, and I got a reply from them):

Hopefully if enough people complain they might do something about the issue, which I surmise has to do with being able to adjust the PLL width to 'wide' (there are many other forum posts on the issue).

I also wonder whether the firmware on the Topping MX5 is user upgradeable -- there is a USB in but not sure if it can be used to upgrade the firmware.

If this can't be fixed I think I'll sell the Topping and buy another device with a PLL width that can be adjusted and that also has a port to upgrade the device firmware.
Thanks for the tip. I just wrote to them via the email you provided.

Luckily, I bought my unit through Amazon and am well within the return window. It’s a shame that the MX-5 won’t work with my Node 2i though. I was looking forward to selling off some more expensive gear and replacing it with this. Perhaps they’ll figure this issue out with a new model if not through firmware. I think the USB port on the MX-5 is just for digital signal input.
 

luxxxman

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Thanks for the tip. I just wrote to them via the email you provided.

Luckily, I bought my unit through Amazon and am well within the return window. It’s a shame that the MX-5 won’t work with my Node 2i though. I was looking forward to selling off some more expensive gear and replacing it with this. Perhaps they’ll figure this issue out with a new model if not through firmware. I think the USB port on the MX-5 is just for digital signal input.
Thanks for getting in touch with them.

After some further research I am fairly confident that the firmware on the Topping MX5 is user-upgradeable -- I am basing this on the fact that there is a Topping DX3 pro firmware update available on the website, and the instructions tell the user to connect the device, which has the same USB plug as the Topping MX5, to their computer:

The firmware update is here:

See the photo of the Topping DX3 pro USB input here:
 

PipHelix

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Thanks for getting in touch with them.

After some further research I am fairly confident that the firmware on the Topping MX5 is user-upgradeable -- I am basing this on the fact that there is a Topping DX3 pro firmware update available on the website, and the instructions tell the user to connect the device, which has the same USB plug as the Topping MX5, to their computer:

The firmware update is here:

See the photo of the Topping DX3 pro USB input here:
Well, I wrote to them the night you posted their contact info and they got back to me within a few hours asking me if the cut-out issue happens with optical and coax and I told them it did. They haven’t gotten back to me a second time.

I clicked that link to the firmware update. The notes say it “Fixed an issue where there would be no output when driving low-load speakers in rare cases” so it doesn’t address the issue we’re having.

Hopefully, they’ll get back to me soon. It’d also be nice to see some independent measurements of the device overall. Though the DAC seems more or less broken for the moment. Unless USB works? I suppose I could try…
 

luxxxman

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Well, I wrote to them the night you posted their contact info and they got back to me within a few hours asking me if the cut-out issue happens with optical and coax and I told them it did. They haven’t gotten back to me a second time.

I clicked that link to the firmware update. The notes say it “Fixed an issue where there would be no output when driving low-load speakers in rare cases” so it doesn’t address the issue we’re having.

Hopefully, they’ll get back to me soon. It’d also be nice to see some independent measurements of the device overall. Though the DAC seems more or less broken for the moment. Unless USB works? I suppose I could try…
Sorry my bad i should have explained better, and Whatever you do dont try to apply that firmware update because its for a different device — I was just saying that it seems possible to update the firmware with that USB port at some point in the future if they fix the issue.

Yeah you should try connecting your device to the DAC via usb if thats possible to see if that fixes the sound issue (vs SPDIF), and let us know the results :)
 

PipHelix

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Sorry my bad i should have explained better, and Whatever you do dont try to apply that firmware update because its for a different device — I was just saying that it seems possible to update the firmware with that USB port at some point in the future if they fix the issue.

Yeah you should try connecting your device to the DAC via usb if thats possible to see if that fixes the sound issue (vs SPDIF), and let us know the results :)
The little bit I quoted is from a firmware update for the MX-5 dated 3/11/22. I guess it just showed up today but addresses a different issue.

https://www.tpdz.net/download

72E2C212-4926-4A4E-8070-369C250E7AED.jpeg

As for USB…..it works! So now we have a DAC with 1 useable input out of 3. Too bad coax is what I use 90% of the time. USB is only for my iPad which I seldom connect to my DAC. Impractical in my setup.
 

luxxxman

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The little bit I quoted is from a firmware update for the MX-5 dated 3/11/22. I guess it just showed up today but addresses a different issue.

https://www.tpdz.net/download

View attachment 191795

As for USB…..it works! So now we have a DAC with 1 useable input out of 3. Too bad coax is what I use 90% of the time. USB is only for my iPad which I seldom connect to my DAC. Impractical in my setup.
Oh sorry I didn’t notice there was a new MX5 firmware update.

Yeah Topping really need to fix the SPDIF input issue (from what I’m reading not only in the MX5 but also in their other DACs). There is enough evidence out there in forum posts, etc that this is a real issue and that they should act.
 

PipHelix

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Oh sorry I didn’t notice there was a new MX5 firmware update.

Yeah Topping really need to fix the SPDIF input issue (from what I’m reading not only in the MX5 but also in their other DACs). There is enough evidence out there in forum posts, etc that this is a real issue and that they should act.
Well, it’s been 6 days since I’ve heard from and then replied to Topping customer service with the info they requested, so it looks like I’ll be returning my defective unit to Amazon. It’s a shame because the amp section works just fine. I could work around the mostly useless DAC, but why keep something that only partly works?

Perhaps someone else will develop a class D DAC/speaker amp that actually functions as it‘s supposed to?

***EDIT*** Topping got back to me twice overnight. First, they wrote to ask what brand of cables I was using. A few hours later they wrote back to say “I think you may be experiencing compatibility issue. Contacting the seller for a return and refund might be a good choice.”
 
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luxxxman

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Well, it’s been 6 days since I’ve heard from and then replied to Topping customer service with the info they requested, so it looks like I’ll be returning my defective unit to Amazon. It’s a shame because the amp section works just fine. I could work around the mostly useless DAC, but why keep something that only partly works?

Perhaps someone else will develop a class D DAC/speaker amp that actually functions as it‘s supposed to?

***EDIT*** Topping got back to me twice overnight. First, they wrote to ask what brand of cables I was using. A few hours later they wrote back to say “I think you may be experiencing compatibility issue. Contacting the seller for a return and refund might be a good choice.”
Thanks for the update.

'Compatibility issue' is an interesting way of framing it. I hope that Topping publishes a list of known 'compatibility issues' so other buyers don't fall into the same trap. Better still I hope they are able to fix the issue.
 

gr-e

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In which way is DX3 Pro + better?
Besides, the DX3 doesn't have bass/treble control, does it?
See the comment I'm replying to: it's better on paper for headphones.
 
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