Ask me questions.

[JohnYang1997]

Are there any plans to release the E50II?

Not in the plan. But there will be new stuff in that price range. So stay tuned.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Hi John

Coffee or tea?

Peanut butter or jam?

Whipped cream or chocolate sauce?

1, 1% coffee 99% tea
2, Used to be both when in AU but neither for now.
3, Neither. If I have to choose, chocolate sauce.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Why test files,you can measure straight with Multitone up to DSD256 (DoP)

But you still do need files to play? It's not like DOP is automatically converting PCM to DSD. Also AP doesn't directly support DSD, we play on foobar and tunebrowser.(personally foobar)

 

[JohnYang1997]

My test files I created using HQPlayer Pro version (pkane knows this software).

Upsampling REW PCM test files to DSD

But yes Multitone Analayzer is a good all in one to test DSD256 @JohnYang1997

From what I saw with broken DSD output performance, no DSD output analogue measurements were done

Hopefully Topping can actually test in design and QA/QC

Especially broken has been DSD Direct mode topping DACs - ess no issues

I don't like HQplayer. Difficult to use, -3db at least full scale. Jriver is honestly better in all practical sense. And even foobar itself is good enough.
So I mostly just use files generated by Jriver or directly use Foobar to convert dsd on the fly.

 

[JohnYang1997]

My test files I created using HQPlayer Pro version (pkane knows this software).

Upsampling REW PCM test files to DSD

But yes Multitone Analayzer is a good all in one to test DSD256 @JohnYang1997

From what I saw with broken DSD output performance, no DSD output analogue measurements were done

Hopefully Topping can actually test in design and QA/QC

Especially broken has been DSD Direct mode topping DACs - ess no issues

We disabled DSD direct mode in E70V. So the only one you could probably talk about is E30 II? I have personally saw it working fine on DSD files but can double check it later.
All of these have to work perfectly fine before production, so we definitely do do the testings.

 

[CleanSound]

TP branding is for that.
On more powerful amps, yes and yes. But not all in 430 format. In TP branding yes.

Can't wait. I need a 430mm wide amp, preferably in silver. 2 x 200w into 8 ohms would be nice

 

[Music1969]

We disabled DSD direct mode in E70V. So the only one you could probably talk about is E30 II? I have personally saw it working fine on DSD files but can double check it later.
All of these have to work perfectly fine before production, so we definitely do do the testings.

When I say DSD is worse than PCM I'm not talking about 3dB worse THD+N

I am talking about a broken looking performance, compared to PCM Like this for E30 II in DSD Direct mode.

This is not normal DSD Direct mode performance - it looks like it wasn't tested in design...

I don't care about which software is used obviously to generate DSD512 - I am talking about the analogue output performance

The specifications of THD+N on the product page obviously don't apply to DSD Direct mode for the DAC... even though the DAC is advertised to support DSD512.

Anyway my point is I hope this is checked in future, if it hasn't been so far.

 

[robwpdx]

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the EE talent pool for analog and digital audio product development in the PRC?

What has been the impact of amateur radio operators on technical knowledge and learning?

When do young people become interested in electronics and science? Is it accepted by their peers? How are the career aspirations of young people segmented, and does it vary geographically?

What is the hifi culture in the PRC? How does that interact with music education? Do adults meet to play classical music together in their apartments?

What is the amateur recording scene with prosumer equipment?

Are headphones preferred in apartments?

 

[Sokel]

But you still do need files to play? It's not like DOP is automatically converting PCM to DSD. Also AP doesn't directly support DSD, we play on foobar and tunebrowser.(personally foobar)

With Multitone Analyzer is simple,it's generator is playing straight DoP (and PCM of course),you just have to choose it.
No need for external source or external files.
For example here is a Freq sweep vs THD+N vs noise of Tone1 playing DSD128 captured by my ancient E-MU:




See F(o) at the bottom left,says DoP128.


(and the same with PCM) :



@pkane knows exactly how it does it.

 

[Steve Rogers]

Hi John,

I have a DX3 pro plus, the input via spdif is from an old chromecast and the dx3 signal goes into a audiophonics mpa-s250nc. The dx3 output display runs from 99db down. Most of the time I am around 20-25 but sometimes, especially with some classical music recorded quitely i am down to 15 or even lower.

My questions are: what do these numbers even mean and how low (loud) can i go without possibly damaging my equipment (ears not counted as equipment!). In general does quality change as i go lower?

 

[192kbps]

1, regarding resellers, we have regional resellers that are doing better like Apos, Audiophonics, Addicted to audio. But we will put pressure on other resellers to give better service.
2, I am aware of how much reputation has fallen around here. But the thing is more complicated
1) Although not much increase, in the poor economical environment we don't seem to have decrease in sales. So in a way ASR may not cover enough user base. It's weird thing to say but it's true.
2) The general consensus here has changed a lot. Not many chases after the last bit of performance like before. It may because it's not audible (but noise is certainly audible in some types of devices). It may be it's over the ap555's limit.
3) But again like the first, the people here(at least comments) are a bit different than what's shown on sells. People here seem to be much more sensitive to pricing. When the lower cost brands/subbrands came they draw a lot of attention. More casual buyers may not care about performance or too much on pricing anything like that if they feel like to buy they buy or they get recommend by friends.
3, our biggest market is US. So it's automatically a benefit to be domestic brands like schiit(and JDS and other amp builders in the US). People in the US are more comfortable buying US brands especially when they don't cost more. We import components from the US, and we distribute via resellers so it adds a lot of cost just to get to the US. On the other hand like in AU it's more appealing to buy our products or AU's domestic brands like burson. So the biggest thing in between is the reseller. Our new TP branding doesn't have resellers but ourselves so it maybe inconvenient in some way but it's a choice. Then the usual Hifigo, SZA thing. It's difficult. SZA is the biggest reseller in the industry, we can only do so much we can't control them. And we need other resellers to compete with SZA. And even Apos sources. from SZA. So basically it's a mess. Simpler situation is either go with apos, audiophonics, A2A or directly from us. We are looking for more regional resellers especially NA but again difficult. Recently we are looking at making the pricing in AU match the US pricing but then it requires discussion, time, people to do.
4, on the reliability, yes we are putting more and more resources onto this. We have kind of worked our way out on how to achieve the result we want. So in the future it will be much much better. Sometimes it amazes me other brands don't have these issues or maybe they do just not to the scale maybe or simply people don't care about those brands so minimal reports. So in short we have upped our game in testing before production and testing after production. And continue improving largely in coming 1-2 years.

Speaking of JDS Labs, I would like to ask when you will support UAC1.0? Don't forget PS4/PS5 or Nintendo Switch users.
No offense, I think TOPPING should try to make products that truly fit the actual scenario and teach users how to use them. I saw a large number of users asking how to use DM7 in the link, which shocked me very much.

 

[sarumbear]

I concur decently performing AVP’s are simply unicorns it would be a game changer even you used it for only 2 channels, you get a digital preamp with room correction and subwoofer xover .

Sound quality of a DAC is a solved problem, the DAC should be commodity used inside more interesting products.

If you can’t handle the hdmi/Dolby/dts licensing mess .

Some kind of 2 channel preamp with both digital and analog inputs and DSP and subwoofer integration would be very interesting.

I would not hold my breath, it’s an massive software undertaking in a business where it’s the norm to have shoddy and buggy software.
But one can always hope

And the question was?

 

[sarumbear]

@JohnYang1997 you may want to split this thread to two and a new one titled “Let me hear your suggestions” as it seems many ignore your clear thread subject.

 

[Mnyb]

And the question was?

.. any plans for such a product Topping in the AVR/AVP market ? it's completely stale and ready for some disruption ( you can argue that it already happened with soundbars and earc capable lifestyle speakers )

 

[Ahmonge]

@JohnYang1997 Thanks for answering questions about Topping. Will you be releasing a successor to the MX5?

 

[Matias]

I have tried for two years with self oscillating class D. Minor success in the beginning but due to some critical problems that I can't solve I pretty much stopped the development.

Any chance of licensing class D tech from Hypex, Purifi, ICEpower (they have an interesting new design coming)? So that you could use your own or 3rd party power supplies, and instead of chip amps, use higher end discrete designs licensed from them, but the board built by your suppliers? Like NAD does.

 

[mongobot]

@JohnYang1997 So just in case I missed a reply upthread, does Topping have any interest / plans to introduce an AVP?

 

[sarumbear]

.. any plans for such a product Topping in the AVR/AVP market ? it's completely stale and ready for some disruption ( you can argue that it already happened with soundbars and earc capable lifestyle speakers )

I agree but remember that Topping is a 45 person, niche manufacturer. Most AVR manufacturers have more staff at their offices in various countries. AVR/AVP is a huge undertaking from licensing to stock to distribution.

 

[Colonel7]

@JohnYang1997 How long will the TP RA3 be offered and sold by Topping? Is it scheduled already to go out of production or a new model to come out?

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi @JohnYang1997 Kudos for opening this thread, it's appreciated

Can I ask about your differentiation between the "Topping" and the "TP" brands?
Can you categorise what they represent, and do you expect new products to come for both brands? (any more brands planned?)