Topping G5 Review (Portable DAC & HP Amp)

[restorer-john]

there is a 4000 mAh battery inside, as per the product page.

Ah, that makes sense. I wonder what the battery life is.

 

[staticV3]

Ah, that makes sense. I wonder what the battery life is.

You really don't want to visit that product page, do you

 

[Drengur]

@amirm So it has a battery inside or does it pull power from the phone? If so, how much current does it consume?

According to the marketing material it has a 4000mAh battery and does not need to draw from the device connected to it.

 

[Euphonic_employee]

如果支持麦克风的话就完美了。

Yes, topping should make recording equipment ADC(analog digital conversion). Start with a field recorder then pro audio.

 

[Berwhale]

@amirm So it has a battery inside or does it pull power from the phone? If so, how much current does it consume?

 

[Matias]

Hugo 2 killer, very nice.

 

[Sokel]

At 18Khz it's -0.6dB, and so it's pretty gradual. Doubt it would be noticeable.

Yes,but here is ASR,we don't talk only about noticeable,a lot of things are not noticeable,specially in music which something can getaway with a lot less SINAD.Let's hope is a broken sample.

 

[Moderate Dionysianism]

Users of iphones with magsafe may use this magsafe compatible sticker

Nillkin SnapHold Magnetic Sticker

Buy Nillkin SnapHold Magnetic Sticker. Accessories - Nillkin SnapHold Magnetic Sticker. Nillkin SnapHold Magnetic StickerSnapHold Magnetic Sticker, it can be stick on the wall, on a mirror, on your door or window, and your car or any flat surfaces, you ca

nillkin.org

If your phone dont have magsafe, you may also use SnapLink + SnapHold

Nillkin SnapLink MagSafe Magnetic Sticker

Buy Nillkin SnapLink MagSafe Magnetic Sticker. Accessories - Nillkin SnapLink MagSafe Magnetic Sticker. This product is attached directly to the MagSafe-compatible phone!Compatible with all mainstream Apple & Android models, SnapLink magnetic sticker intr

nillkin.org

I have a non-MagSafe Android phone and zero experience with these. Do I need a compatible sticker on the DAC or will the magnet hold a metal case?

 

[staticV3]

@Moderate Dionysianism Aluminium is non-ferrous.

 

[Moderate Dionysianism]

@Moderate Dionysianism Aluminium is non-ferrous.

yup, asking generally, not whether it would hold a G5

 

[Philipp Paul Klose]

just add a DSP and it would be perfect!

 

[staticV3]

yup, asking generally, not whether it would hold a G5

Virtually all audio products nowadays are encased in Aluminium, so they won't stick to magnets. You'll have to add a sticker made of iron or magnets to the case.

 

[Sokel]

View attachment 224533

What's going on? It's either faulty, your tests are botched or they are lying in their claims.

If Amir's measurement is right and the device not broken (aren't the reviewers samples cherry-picked?) they should correct the above ASAP or else they won't be much different than the rest mambo-jambo claimers.

 

[usersky]

Not terible in my book. I care more about FR than for 20dB SINAD above 96. Hope that filter is fixable with a firmware update.
Edit: what bothers me more is that the bad filter seems to be just to game the measurements. That's just lame if it is the case.

 

[Moderate Dionysianism]

Virtually all audio products nowadays are encased in Aluminium, so they won't stick to magnets. You'll have to add a sticker made of iron or magnets to the case.

Fair enough, I remember magnets would stick to some old desktop PC cases. Not that it was wise to put them there.

The product page for those stickers says there is a 'closed magnetic field' when using magsafe, preventing interferences. I assume it wouldn't be as safe if I just stick iron onto the case. Guess I'm not gonna experiment.

Enough OT. I wonder how the G5 compares to the NX4DSD, besides the wireless functionality.

 

[Rja4000]

This is what they claim:

What's going on? It's either faulty, your tests are botched or they are lying in their claims.

Well, that may be correct at 48kHz or 96 or 192...

That's cheating. I agree.

EDIT: I didn't see it at first, but it's clearly written "@96kHz", so not really cheating, finally.

 

[Sokel]

Well, that may be correct at 48kHz or 96 or 192...

That's cheating. I agree.

If it was flat @20Khz the THD+N vs frequency measurement would end up near the 90's range,and some ESS hump (already visible) would be a lot more.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[SaltyCDogg]

If you were in the market for such a device, that can drive the majority of headphones on the market extremely well, there doesn't seem to be anything else anywhere near this good for this sort of money, the weight is the only thing that would put me off.

I personally could care less about the roll off, though I understand the complaints about it.

 

[respice finem]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping G5 portable, battery operated DAC, headphone amplifier with bluetooth. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $299.
View attachment 224471
The G5 comes in a super stout metal enclosure. It is on the heavy side for a portable product (2 to 4 times heavier than a typical mobile phone). There are dual headphone output jacks but they both have same power. There is aux in if you want to just use its headphone amp. I tested it as a combination DAC+Amp.

The G5 is very easy to use courtesy of simple to set sliding switches:
View attachment 224472

Topping G5 Measurements
I treated the unit as a DAC by setting the gain to medium and maximum volume. This is our usual dashboard:
View attachment 224473

This is excellent performance for a desktop DAC. For a portable one, it is state of the art.
View attachment 224474
View attachment 224475

And that is at 2.1 volt output. Performance will likely improve at higher output level.

Noise performance is up there as well:
View attachment 224476
View attachment 224477

This makes the G5 very suitable to drive very sensitive IEMs.

IMD distortion is excellent:
View attachment 224478
Linearity is nailed:

View attachment 224479

Multitone is superb:
View attachment 224480

Jitter is near perfect:
View attachment 224481

The default filter is set to one that starts to attenuate early:
View attachment 224482

It has great suppression but you do lose a bit of audio spectrum:
View attachment 224483

I have email into Topping to see if this is intentional or specific to my sample. Fortunately there is little audible impact as most of us don't hear that high up. Getting older has some benefits!

The strong filter makes great showing in THD+N vs frequency:
View attachment 224484

This kind of performance would make a lot of desktop DACs blush with embarrassment.

Switching to headphone amp performance (which using DAC as input), we get plenty of power for a portable product:
View attachment 224485
View attachment 224486

Notice how it easily beats its desktop older brother, the DX3 Pro in every category: noise, distortion and output power.

Output impedance is essentially zero:
View attachment 224488

There is some variability in channels as volume is adjusted. But it remains below my 0.5 dB threshold until max attenuation:
View attachment 224487

Topping G5 Listening Tests
I started with my hard to drive, low impedance Dan Clark Stealth headphone. I was pleased that I could get pretty high volumes out of it using high gain. For loud listening, I had to go to 3:00 pm on the volume control. There was a bit more volume to be had if you turned it to max. There, I only heard distortion when the sub-bass notes arrived. Otherwise, the sound was super clean, detailed and enjoyable.

I then switched to high impedance Sennheiser HD650. The G5 drove these with ease, allowing every bit of their performance to shine through. Dynamic range was fantastic with bass notes almost causing resonances in my ear lobes at highest volume. Low level detail was superb as was overall fidelity.

With either headphone, I just wanted to sit back and just listen to my music!

Conclusions
We expect perfection from Topping and company delivers even in this constrained category of battery operated product. No excuses are made for that with a DAC that provides state of the art desktop performance. The headphone amplifier is quite powerful although desktop products do edge it out. This only impacts the least sensitive headphones though. For vast majority of headphones out there, the G5 drives them as hard as you need with any distortion being the headphone, not the amp.

The only "hitch" is the slower roll off in the DAC filter. I almost knocked the overall rating lower but once I listened to the G5, I could not go there. Performance is too good to give it any score other than top of the line. You get to disagree otherwise by voting in the poll.

The other bit is the size and weight of the unit. This is no small device to tie up to your cell phone even though Topping provides the usual rubber band and cabling to do so.

I am happy to put the Topping G5 on my recommended list.
----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Almost as predictable as the cable tests
Can also be very useful for a headphones-only desktop setup.

 

[tifune]

View attachment 224486

I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but for us planar addicts is it possible to start showing 16 ohm power for mobile HPAs? Topping have proven their specs match real world pretty closely, but not all are so "forthcoming."

Historically, although it seems to have improved lately, many mobile devices lose power below 32 ohm (I've still never heard why that is, if anyones willing to link/summarize I'd appreciate it)

Also, could you let us know what track gave you trouble w sub-bass on Stealth? I'd like to try it with my NX7 (only slightly more powerful)