Poll for Topping PA5 owners only please.

[Lräk]

With me they tried all sorts of cat like back twisting moves to make themselves land of their feet.
Luckily I ordered from Amazon, and said “No Thanks.”

I also ordered through Amazon and after contacting them about my dead PA5, they had the seller (Aoshida HiFi-US) contact me about sending it to their China office. They were very specific to only use USPS and declare $20. I do have to pay the cost of shipping there and they will pay the return cost. They did seem to know the issues with the PA5 and the 2 year warranty. Hopefully it works. Fortunately I have this cheap Aiyima to use in the meantime.

 

[delta76]

I also ordered through Amazon and after contacting them about my dead PA5, they had the seller (Aoshida HiFi-US) contact me about sending it to their China office. They were very specific to only use USPS and declare $20. I do have to pay the cost of shipping there and they will pay the return cost. They did seem to know the issues with the PA5 and the 2 year warranty. Hopefully it works. Fortunately I have this cheap Aiyima to use in the meantime.

I would recommend to take it up with amazon customer service. The seller is trying to make you do things illegal, at least, unethical. I am quite positive that amazon will take your side and just refund you the money.

 

[Frank Sol]

@Lräk IMO... Try and get a refund from Amazon then wash your hands and walk away from this PA5

 

[Holmz]

I also ordered through Amazon and after contacting them about my dead PA5, they had the seller (Aoshida HiFi-US) contact me about sending it to their China office. They were very specific to only use USPS and declare $20. I do have to pay the cost of shipping there and they will pay the return cost. They did seem to know the issues with the PA5 and the 2 year warranty. Hopefully it works. Fortunately I have this cheap Aiyima to use in the meantime.

Which amp works better?
The cheap pure that works? Or the broken one?

 

[delta76]

Which amp works better?
The cheap pure that works? Or the broken one?

I assume he has aiyima t07 which is a very decent one. On tests it does not perform as well as PA5 but good enough. You likely won't hear a difference.

 

[Lräk]

Which amp works better?
The cheap pure that works? Or the broken one?

Good question. When I first got the Aiyima (which I bought just for fun), there was NO DOUBT the PA5 sounded better. I didn't do a blind test, but switched the speakers cables twice and it was obvious to me. Then I did the op-amp swap on the Aiyama and initially it sounded much better. Since I didn't do the A/B testing, it's purely subjective and easy to discount my ears.

That said, For $80 the Aiyima is pretty darn good. Not quite enough power for my speakers, but plenty loud enough to bother my wife.

 

[Holmz]

Good question. When I first got the Aiyima (which I bought just for fun), there was NO DOUBT the PA5 sounded better. I didn't do a blind test, but switched the speakers cables twice and it was obvious to me. Then I did the op-amp swap on the Aiyama and initially it sounded much better. Since I didn't do the A/B testing, it's purely subjective and easy to discount my ears.

That said, For $80 the Aiyima is pretty darn good. Not quite enough power for my speakers, but plenty loud enough to bother my wife.

OK - thanks.
Is there a link to the op-amp stuff?

I got the AIYAMA as it looks like it has more power. And I think need that for a centre channel, using a higher voltage power supply.
For surrounds they do not need a whole lot of power.

I am pretty sure that the Topping units I got were defective ones that someone else had returned.

 

[Lräk]

Is there a link to the op-amp stuff?

Replace OP amps. Completely pointless, or not?

Why do so many OPs change amps in, for example, the amplifier AIYIMA A07 TPA3255? What's the point of that? Does not modern OPs amps amplify the signal completely linear straight(if the construction they sit in is well constructed, and made to fit OP amp X)? Do not modern OP amps have a...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[bboris77]

It would be great if one of the admins could verify/confirm that @TOPPING-Service is in fact a legitimate representative of Topping.

 

[delta76]

It would be great if one of the admins could verify/confirm that @TOPPING-Service is in fact a legitimate representative of Topping.

They have the Manufacturer tag so I assume they cleared with the admins

 

[Martinvb]

@JohnYang1997 is replying to a.o. the PA5 issues in the Topping E30 review thread.

Post in thread 'Topping E30 II DAC Review'
https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-e30-ii-dac-review.36028/post-1261614

 

[JohnYang1997]

Shenzhenaudio actually sent me a video on how to disassemble the PA5 during my customer-service disaster with them:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14woByOFfpdYYkT2u-PHoJJxY49_pRY10/view?usp=sharing

Their claim was that the noise was caused by a "loose connection port", and they wanted me to disassemble the amp and see.
A few things:
No way this was gonna fix the issue.
No way a random customer should be messing around with defective merchandise like this.
No way this can be called customer service.

Even if you are a qualified electronics technician, this is the wrong approach for warranty service. But, since warranty service isn't part of this product's bill of materials, at least you have the video!

I'm extremely sorry for this. This procedure was for the first batch devices which could have loose speaker terminals as discussed in the PA5 thread in the earlier time.

Since then several improvements were made to ensure the terminals won't be loose anymore.

There's no way this is gonna work for the issue you are facing right now.

EDIT: And people questioned if it's safe to open this device. Low voltage operating devices like PA5 is safe to open and touch components or whatnot.

 

[JohnYang1997]

I am sure that they appreciate your input as to what they should do.

With me they tried all sorts of cat like back twisting moves to make themselves land of their feet.
Luckily I ordered from Amazon, and said “No Thanks.”

I am at the point where I do not trust anything from them, nor do I trust the fan-bois that bellow their praises.

It's recommended to get the units from Apos, Audiophonics, Addicted to audio and Amazon.
And you demonstrated this, if you encountered issues you can know for sure you will be getting excellent service.

And there's something a bit complex about Amazon, fullfiled by amazon(from Amazon warehouse) is the way to go.

 

[vkvedam]

Thanks for showing up and responding @JohnYang1997, I bought it from @SHENZHENAUDIO so it's a bit of a tricky one for me to send it back to China from the UK. My other Topping devices work fine, it's only the PA5 I have an issue with.

 

[airbornimal]

Just making sure this is clear, so anyone who ordered from Shenzenaudio is basically out of luck? My fault for ordering from them?

 

[Canuck57]

It's recommended to get the units from Apos, Audiophonics, Addicted to audio and Amazon.
And you demonstrated this, if you encountered issues you can know for sure you will be getting excellent service.

And there's something a bit complex about Amazon, fullfiled by amazon(from Amazon warehouse) is the way to go.

If Shenzhenaudio is not providing proper after purchase customer service Topping should strongly encourage them to do so and if not Topping should drop them as a seller of their products.

 

[AudioJester]

If Shenzhenaudio is not providing proper after purchase customer service Topping should strongly encourage them to do so and if not Topping should drop them as a seller of their products.

What is the relationship between Shenzenaudio and Topping? I bought from Shenzenaudio as they supplied the sample product for Amir to measure.
I thought I was buying direct? Shenzenaudio undercuts the local retailer A2A. Its actually cheaper to buy from them.
So whats the deal? Where does Shenzenaudio fit in with Topping?

 

[vkvedam]

Just making sure this is clear, so anyone who ordered from Shenzenaudio is basically out of luck? My fault for ordering from them?

Not really, until they find a fix there's no point swapping units around

 

[Gringoaudio1]

If Shenzhenaudio is not providing proper after purchase customer service Topping should strongly encourage them to do so and if not Topping should drop them as a seller of their products.

Exactly. The manufacturer/dealer relationship needs to be addressed. Topping should be pissed at the damage to their reputation that Shenzhenaudio is wreaking on them.

 

[Holmz]

Exactly. The manufacturer/dealer relationship needs to be addressed. Topping should be pissed at the damage to their reputation that Shenzhenaudio is wreaking on them.

The fan bois who are spruicking the good news far-n-wide, also have lost credibility.
Maybe the gear is on average really good, and I got 2 defective units?

But it is like being bitten by a dog once, and avoiding all dogs.
(And now also avoiding being bitten by vampires.)