Poll for Topping PA5 owners only please.

[restorer-john]

I believe you would live peacefully and without hearing any real difference with an aiyima A07 for your use. they also save a lot of money.

I agree. They are as cheap as chips and I've not heard of a single one failing.

 

[thebigbadash]

For general PC use or gaming you definitely don't need a very high performance SINAD amplifier ... I believe you would live peacefully and without hearing any real difference with an aiyima A07 for your use. they also save a lot of money.

Wow... That's a significant saving!

Serial number (at least in my case) could be a reversed date in year / week format followed by four sequential numbers (Mine starts 220212, which if the convention fits would be 2022 week 21 ie late May).

 

[anli]

Wow... That's a significant saving!

Serial number (at least in my case) could be a reversed date in year / week format followed by four sequential numbers (Mine starts 220212, which if the convention fits would be 2022 week 21 ie late May).

Or Feb 12.

 

[thebigbadash]

Or Feb 12.

I... I'm not sure I'll ever recover from this.

 

[RandomEar]

Purchased 27th August, popping on right channel began 20th Sept. Returned for refund.

Edit: Anyone know of an alternative? General computer use / gaming, driving a pair of Procella P5s (from another project) and an active sub. Not involved in pro audio.

I would check out the SMSL AO200. Fits the use case and has a sub output.

 

[thebigbadash]

I would check out the SMSL AO200. Fits the use case and has a sub output.

Thanks for the suggestion. If the Aiyima doesn't work out, that'll be my next option.

 

[Upped]

Purchased 27th August, popping on right channel began 20th Sept. Returned for refund.

Edit: Anyone know of an alternative? General computer use / gaming, driving a pair of Procella P5s (from another project) and an active sub. Not involved in pro audio.

I switched back to my Loxjie A30 when my PA5 killed itself. It is still a pretty decent little speaker, and headphone amp. The headphone amp is a decent bonus, but I wouldn't use it for power-hungry headphones. and it also has a sub output.

I've had it since Feb 2, 2021, well over a year without any issues. Unlike any of my Topping amps, it's been reviewed here too.

Loxjie A30 Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the multifunction Loxjie A30 power (speaker and headphone) amplifier with integrated USB DAC and Bluetooth input. It was kindly sent to me by a member and costs US $159 plus $7 shipping on Amazon. The A30 sports a high resolution and high contrast...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[MAB]

Before I bought the PA5, I wondered about buying this:

Yamaha A-S301

Stereo integrated amplifier with built-in DAC

www.crutchfield.com

About the same price, and actually has features, and comes from a well established manufacturer with global support. I got swept up by the high SINAD in tiny devices craze. But only one of the tiny Topping pieces I bought still work at then end of the first year, and I am imagining the Yamaha would not have broken or would not have involved me in such a customer service melodrama...

 

[Sokel]

Before I bought the PA5, I wondered about buying this:

Yamaha A-S301

Stereo integrated amplifier with built-in DAC

www.crutchfield.com

About the same price, and actually has features, and comes from a well established manufacturer with global support. I got swept up by the high SINAD in tiny devices craze. But only one of the tiny Topping pieces I bought still work at then end of the first year, and I am imagining the Yamaha would not have broken or would not have involved me in such a customer service melodrama...

The one without the dac has changed 5 different houses,5 family members with not the best intentions and care,connected to all kind of speakers (even stuff that a sane person does not consider as actuall speakers) 12 years(?) now.
I think it will outlive us all.

 

[Kael]

Was directed over here from the review thread.
So I had initiated a return but held fire because I noticed if I turned the volume pot to max, the static and popping noises became far less noticeable. Well today the left channel has now completely failed and won't output anything louder than a whisper.

I'm in a bit of a 'sod it' mood, so I'm thinking about going with a different unit instead. Any thoughts on similarly priced quality amps, maybe something like the Audiophonics MPA-S250NC? I guess Nord is an alternative amp maker, what's the difference between that and a Nord One MP NC252? I'm based in the UK so that's why I lean a little toward Nord.

Returns from China might take a couple of months which is a rather long time to just be using headphones. I could sell the replacement when/if it eventually arrives.

 

[Roland68]

Has anyone ever figured out what exactly is defective in the failed PA5?

The PA5 has a relatively simple structure and the built-in amplifier chip is not known for its sensitivity or failures.
If you take a close look at the structure, the error can only occur in the circuitry of the amplifier chip under the heat sink or in the topping black box with the NFCA circuit.
Faults in the rest of the power supply should be easy to locate.

 

[Canuck57]

Has anyone ever figured out what exactly is defective in the failed PA5?

The PA5 has a relatively simple structure and the built-in amplifier chip is not known for its sensitivity or failures.
If you take a close look at the structure, the error can only occur in the circuitry of the amplifier chip under the heat sink or in the topping black box with the NFCA circuit.
Faults in the rest of the power supply should be easy to locate.

I believe it has been crickets from Topping ;-(

 

[norcalscott]

I believe it has been crickets from Topping ;-(

Yes, at one point John Yang was active in this thread but doesn't look like he's been around at all for a few weeks. Would be really interesting to understand the failure analysis of these amplifiers, and that would go a long way towards restoring any lost faith in the reliability of Topping amplifier products.

 

[airbornimal]

I am still waiting to hear about the supposed added 2nd year of the warranty.

 

[YSC]

Yes, at one point John Yang was active in this thread but doesn't look like he's been around at all for a few weeks. Would be really interesting to understand the failure analysis of these amplifiers, and that would go a long way towards restoring any lost faith in the reliability of Topping amplifier products.

I hope he's just got caught in the still consistent lockdown in China... rather than dodging the problem, it's sad for a vendor capable to produce ground breaking SINAD at low cost and small box but failed so miserably on reliability

 

[TonyJZX]

I wonder if they are just flat out replacing the mainboard with ones straight off the line or are they replacing integrated circuits they know is faulty. My assumption that a unit this size only really has one board and everything is SMD soldered down.

I think how they handle this and how shenzen audio and hifi express and all the other shops handle this is an indictment on all of these products really. We know Topping SMSL Sabaj etc. are closely related and we really should expect this level post sales support going forward. This really casts a pall on everything. All the SINAD in the world is no good if the units up and fail like this. And $350 isnt a small amount. At the Aiyima 07 level they would just flat out replace the unit but I dont think Topping can afford to do that unless the unit is flat out board dead and there's no choice.

Would you trust Topping again? Hmm...

 

[JohnnyNG]

Would you trust Topping again? Hmm...

I wouldn’t rule them out if the product suits my needs, as a number of their products currently do in my system, but in the future I will only buy through Apos here in the US. Reasonable warranty service is far more important than trust. My PA5 is running perfectly since Feb. but since it was an Amazon purchase I’m assuming I’m SOL should an issue arise.

 

[Canuck57]

I wonder if they are just flat out replacing the mainboard with ones straight off the line or are they replacing integrated circuits they know is faulty. My assumption that a unit this size only really has one board and everything is SMD soldered down.

I think how they handle this and how shenzen audio and hifi express and all the other shops handle this is an indictment on all of these products really. We know Topping SMSL Sabaj etc. are closely related and we really should expect this level post sales support going forward. This really casts a pall on everything. All the SINAD in the world is no good if the units up and fail like this. And $350 isnt a small amount. At the Aiyima 07 level they would just flat out replace the unit but I dont think Topping can afford to do that unless the unit is flat out board dead and there's no choice.

Would you trust Topping again? Hmm...

No, based on the rate of failure of this unit (yes I realize this thread is not accurate statistically), poor customer service, and lack of communication explaining what the root cause of the failures are.

Excellent engineering, my ass!

 

[anli]

At the Aiyima 07 level

But does A07 bring you the same level of music listening experience as (not broken) PA5 does? I have thought the amps belong to different categories in sounding rather in price only.

 

[WileeCoyote]

Quick update from my experience, PA5 purchased from Shenzen Audio in China, I'm in the UK;

PA5 worked beautifully for over 3 months, then one channel cut-out completely. Dead, none of the noise noted by other posters.
Returned to Shenzen, I had to pay postage (£23 GBP UK Royal Mail). Out of the 30d refund period but still in warranty for repair. I wanted a refund, but those are the terms I agreed to ...

8 weeks later it arrived in Shenzen who sent it on to Topping who, 2 weeks after that, have repaired it. I asked for fault details ... "an internal component was broken and has been replaced ..." I've asked again for better details and I may still get a reply.

My repaired PA5 will now be sent back to me, at Shenzen's expense, and hopefully I'll get it back before old age overtakes me ...

After quoting this forum, Shenzen have refunded my initial shipping costs. I'm happy with that customer service. @SHENZHENAUDIO. I have corresponded with Cloris (referenced in this thread a few times) and with "YangYang Chai" who has handled my claim from the start and has been pretty good.

So: my fault for buying direct from Shenzen but I can't complain about the terms that I signed up to. Progress has been glacially slow which might be the UK Mail service. Communication from Shenzen has been pretty good throughout. I did not appreciate having to falsely declare the PA5 as a cheap DAC but in the end it was my choice to do that. I did appreciate having my postage costs refunded. I'm content that a broken component has been replaced. I remain very concerned that there may be design issues with the PA5 and that my repaired unit fails again, but I have no real evidence that this is a valid concern ... just a worry.

Lessons? I'll buy more locally next time (Audiofonics perhaps), I may be less keen to be an early adopter but Topping has a good reputation on this site (PA5 now excepted) and there were no warning signs at the time. With hindsight I'd have pushed my budget and gone for an Audiofonics NCore MPA-S250NC XLR ... but that's how hindsight works and a budget is a budget.

In all honesty I cannot fault Shenzen (apart from the customs declaration). If the repaired unit fails I will be less understanding, with Topping.

Waiting so long is painful - but at least I now have a decent headphone set-up

Did you get your PA5 back yet?

I just purchased a PA5 from a local reseller here in Australia, but before I read all these negative reports. Im hoping no issues as others have reported.