This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping EX5 produced exclusively for Shenzhenaudio. The EX5 is slated to cost US $349.99 which it is released. The sample I have is from production run but is awaiting the manual for formal shipments. It was sent to me by Shenzhenaudio.
The EX5 goes into one of my favorite "skins" from Topping with the cute orange LED display:
As you can see, this is a combination DAC and headphone amplifier. Note that the XLR style headphone out is for convenience and does not produce more power.
There are however and surprisingly so, balanced XLR outputs:
We also have the now standard Bluetooth input.
The remote control cycles through four output modes which selectively turns on the different outputs for both on. I did not have the patience to decode all four modes.
But I imagine this is very useful to control different output devices using the remote, making this a rather unique multi-function device.
The remote control buttons are a bit "overloaded" with "M" indicating gain mode of the headphone output rather than being "mute." But you get used to it.
The unit runs a bit warm to touch but nothing that concerns me.
Topping EX5 DAC Measurements
Let's start with our usual USB In and XLR out and see what we get:
And what we get is excellence from Topping as usual even at these rather budget prices. SINAD is in top 20 of all DACs tested:
Unbalanced output is essentially the same:
Dynamic range is excellent:
Intermodulation distortion (60 Hz and 7 kHz signals) is kept very much under control:
It nicely beats the first incarnation of this packaging in DX3 Pro.
Multitone test shows super results despite the 32 tones involved:
Jitter measurements show some very low level unwanted signals but they are way under audibility threshold:
The usual suite of DAC filters are provided with some "correct" ones which is strangely rare:
Linearity is nailed:
THD+N versus frequency using wide band (90 kHz) capture is sensitive to type of filter you use as that determines how much of the unwanted ultrasonics are let through. Here are a couple of them:
Topping EX5 Headphone Amplifier Measurements
Switching to headphone out, here is our very nice dashboard:
Interestingly enough SINAD increases by a couple of dBs.
Signal to noise ratio at much reduced output level of 50 mv to simulate what you would get with a very sensitive IEM shows very low noise floor:
Power versus distortion+noise shows extremely good performance:
Distortion and noise are so low that they almost fell off the bottom of this graph! My threshold is 100 mv here as far as power and we have more than that so you should have little problem driving high-impedance headphones.
Same is true of low impedance headphones:
You get slight clipping right at the limit of 1 watt which is plenty for vast majority of headphones out there. Indeed, this is a capable of headphone amp no matter what load you throw at it:
Output impedance has been going up and down in some Topping products of this class so good to see them target a near zero impedance yet again.
Topping EX5 Listening Tests
The EX5 produced exceptionally good performance with bot my Drop Ether CX and Sennheiser HD650. There was good amount of volume available in low gain and in high gain, it was skull rattling powerful for the second or so I cranked the volume up. Detail, bass performance, absence of distortion -- there were all there. If the sound sucks, it is your content.
Conclusions
I expect nothing but excellence from Topping and we get that here in EX5. The unique feature set of balanced output in this category product put a smile on my face as these devices are usually shipping with just RCA out. The small packaging with orange LCD is one of my favorites. So really, I have nothing to complain about. Shenzhenaudio and Topping have done a great job producing a very functional device with superb performance.
It is my pleasure to put Shenzhenaudio Topping EX5 on my recommended list.
Note: this is a brand new product. My testing is only limited to its performance, not functionality and reliability. If you are worried about any risks in this regard, you may want to wait until early adopters test it first.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Appreciate any donations using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
The EX5 goes into one of my favorite "skins" from Topping with the cute orange LED display:
As you can see, this is a combination DAC and headphone amplifier. Note that the XLR style headphone out is for convenience and does not produce more power.
There are however and surprisingly so, balanced XLR outputs:
We also have the now standard Bluetooth input.
The remote control cycles through four output modes which selectively turns on the different outputs for both on. I did not have the patience to decode all four modes.
But I imagine this is very useful to control different output devices using the remote, making this a rather unique multi-function device.The remote control buttons are a bit "overloaded" with "M" indicating gain mode of the headphone output rather than being "mute." But you get used to it.
The unit runs a bit warm to touch but nothing that concerns me.
Topping EX5 DAC Measurements
Let's start with our usual USB In and XLR out and see what we get:
And what we get is excellence from Topping as usual even at these rather budget prices. SINAD is in top 20 of all DACs tested:
Unbalanced output is essentially the same:
Dynamic range is excellent:
Intermodulation distortion (60 Hz and 7 kHz signals) is kept very much under control:
It nicely beats the first incarnation of this packaging in DX3 Pro.
Multitone test shows super results despite the 32 tones involved:
Jitter measurements show some very low level unwanted signals but they are way under audibility threshold:
The usual suite of DAC filters are provided with some "correct" ones which is strangely rare:
Linearity is nailed:
THD+N versus frequency using wide band (90 kHz) capture is sensitive to type of filter you use as that determines how much of the unwanted ultrasonics are let through. Here are a couple of them:
Topping EX5 Headphone Amplifier Measurements
Switching to headphone out, here is our very nice dashboard:
Interestingly enough SINAD increases by a couple of dBs.
Signal to noise ratio at much reduced output level of 50 mv to simulate what you would get with a very sensitive IEM shows very low noise floor:
Power versus distortion+noise shows extremely good performance:
Distortion and noise are so low that they almost fell off the bottom of this graph! My threshold is 100 mv here as far as power and we have more than that so you should have little problem driving high-impedance headphones.
Same is true of low impedance headphones:
You get slight clipping right at the limit of 1 watt which is plenty for vast majority of headphones out there. Indeed, this is a capable of headphone amp no matter what load you throw at it:
Output impedance has been going up and down in some Topping products of this class so good to see them target a near zero impedance yet again.
Topping EX5 Listening Tests
The EX5 produced exceptionally good performance with bot my Drop Ether CX and Sennheiser HD650. There was good amount of volume available in low gain and in high gain, it was skull rattling powerful for the second or so I cranked the volume up. Detail, bass performance, absence of distortion -- there were all there. If the sound sucks, it is your content.
Conclusions
I expect nothing but excellence from Topping and we get that here in EX5. The unique feature set of balanced output in this category product put a smile on my face as these devices are usually shipping with just RCA out. The small packaging with orange LCD is one of my favorites. So really, I have nothing to complain about. Shenzhenaudio and Topping have done a great job producing a very functional device with superb performance.
It is my pleasure to put Shenzhenaudio Topping EX5 on my recommended list.
Note: this is a brand new product. My testing is only limited to its performance, not functionality and reliability. If you are worried about any risks in this regard, you may want to wait until early adopters test it first.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Appreciate any donations using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
