• Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Shenzhenaudio Topping EX5 Review (DAC and Headphone Amplifier)

Jimster480 said:
I don't think that anybody seriously retooled their production lines around MQA, except for maybe when it first launched, but other than that, most companies simply just included DACs in their products, which could do MQA, and it was as simple as including the software on the X-MOS side.
Click to expand...

I think you are underestimating the significant re-engineering required to add a blue LED to a DAC :)
 
Berwhale said:
I think you are underestimating the significant re-engineering required to add a blue LED to a DAC :)
Click to expand...
lmao you are right; those Blue LED's are both rare and require very specific wiring which is not even common knowledge amongst normal engineers.
 
Jimster480 said:
lmao you are right; those Blue LED's are both rare and require very specific wiring which is not even common knowledge amongst normal engineers.
Click to expand...
Blue LEDs are a groundbreaking invention. Three physicists were awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014 because of blue LEDs.
 
Berwhale said:
I think you are underestimating the significant re-engineering required to add a blue LED to a DAC :)
Click to expand...
Just solder a blue LED in an existing DAC and call it a day. ;)

I'm absolutely convinced that pro MQA people will say that the music sounds better when they see the blue LED even when the DAC is rigged to always have the blue LED on even when the source is an 320Kbps MP3 file. :rolleyes:
 
Lupin said:
Just solder a blue LED in an existing DAC and call it a day. ;)

I'm absolutely convinced that pro MQA people will say that the music sounds better when they see the blue LED even when the DAC is rigged to always have the blue LED on even when the source is an 320Kbps MP3 file. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Hey, those hood stickers add horsepower dontcha know...
 
I am trying to troubleshoot optical input to this unit because I am interested in testing it. I plugged a toslink cable into the motherboard, and Windows recognises the digital optical output. The red light was visible on the other end of the cable. I did the test tones and it was responsive in Windows. However when I plug it into the EX5, the screen is flashing 'OPT' and it has no output. Is the cable or the DAC at fault here? I have taken care not to bend the cable much.

I have tried reinstalling Windows drivers, Topping drivers, uninstalling and reinstalling Equalizer APO and reconfiguring the APO.

I also tried a different PC which is using Windows 10. It also recognised the optical output connected and indicated that the test tones were working, yet the EX5 continued to flash 'OPT'.

Also is there a way to have the screen show volume all the time instead of sample rate?
 

Attachments

  • ex5 optical troubleshooting.png
    ex5 optical troubleshooting.png
    56 KB · Views: 113
Last edited:
Vitt said:
I am trying to troubleshoot optical input to this unit because I am interested in testing it. I plugged a toslink cable into the motherboard, and Windows recognises the digital optical output. The red light was visible on the other end of the cable. I did the test tones and it was responsive in Windows. However when I plug it into the EX5, the screen is flashing 'OPT' and it has no output. Is the cable or the DAC at fault here? I have taken care not to bend the cable much.

I have tried reinstalling Windows drivers, Topping drivers, uninstalling and reinstalling Equalizer APO and reconfiguring the APO.
I also tried a different PC which is using Windows 10. It also recognised the optical output connected and indicated that the test tones were working, yet the EX5 continued to flash 'OPT'.

Also is there a way to have the screen show volume all the time instead of sample rate?
Click to expand...
Set your output to PCM, uncheck Dolby and DTS, and uncheck sample rates past 96 for optical. Why aren't you using USB, that would be the preferred method.
 
Everett T said:
Set your output to PCM
Click to expand...

Is PCM in the device options pictured? I could not find it. I have tried every combination of those tick boxes and nothing has changed.

Weirdly, if I have optical plugged in while using USB, the sample rate displayed 44.1 instead of 96 in windows, but I could not reproduce this again. At least it seems like the DAC is being affected in some way by the optical.

I wanted to explore if optical has lower latency than USB.
 
Vitt said:
Is PCM in the device options pictured? I could not find it. I have tried every combination of those tick boxes and nothing has changed.

Weirdly, if I have optical plugged in while using USB, the sample rate displayed 44.1 instead of 96 in windows, but I could not reproduce this again. At least it seems like the DAC is being affected in some way by the optical.

I wanted to explore if optical has lower latency than USB.
Click to expand...
Uncheck all digital formats as you can't decode any over optical with this DAC. USB gets you high rez and I wouldn't worry about latency in a typical setup, IMHO. You can measure it to see though.

I can't recall the answer to your question about displaying volume instead of sample rate, but there is a section in the manual with regards to the display options.
 
Right, I did uncheck DTS, Dolby Digital, and Microsoft encoded formats, and 192kHz sample rate. However the DAC is not recognising optical from my PC or another at all, and remains flashing 'OPT'. None of the dropdown options in advanced>default format>dropdown menu change this either.
 
Vitt said:
Right, I did uncheck DTS, Dolby Digital, and Microsoft encoded formats, and 192kHz sample rate. However the DAC is not recognising optical from my PC or another at all, and remains flashing 'OPT'. None of the dropdown options in advanced>default format>dropdown menu change this either.
Click to expand...
What is under the advanced tab, I don't have a PC with realtek to see the settings options. Also, under windows settings what do you have the optical port set to output?
 
All I've got is in this pic attached.

Even when digital output is selected, the 'USB' indicator is solid on the DAC, so it registers something there. But with 'OPT', it keeps flashing no matter what I do. I don't have another toslink cable to test, but I tested on another w10 pc and had the same result. Could the cable be broken despite the red light showing on the other side?
 

Attachments

  • sound settings.png
    sound settings.png
    184.4 KB · Views: 113
Last edited:
Vitt said:
Could the cable be broken despite the red light showing on the other side?
Click to expand...
Yes, it could be.

FWIW, I used my Topping D50s attached to my PC with Toslink for several months due to a ground loop issue. I solved the issue permanently by replacing my D50s/A50s with the EX5 which is has balanced outputs and broke the loop between my PC and monitors. More recently, I have driven the EX5 from a Chromecast audio using Toslink (whilst still attached to my PC via USB) and that worked fine.
 
Vitt said:
All I've got is in this pic attached.

Even when digital output is selected, the 'USB' indicator is solid on the DAC, so it registers something there. But with 'OPT', it keeps flashing no matter what I do. I don't have another toslink cable to test, but I tested on another w10 pc and had the same result. Could the cable be broken despite the red light showing on the other side?
Click to expand...
Ok, thanks. This is the only thing I found for your controller that may help you, as your problem isn't unique for it
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

amirm
  • Poll Poll
Topping DX5II Balanced DAC and Headphone Amp Review
54 55 56
Replies
1K
Views
239K
Mario1969
Mario1969
amirm
  • Poll Poll
Topping A50 III Headphone Amp Review
4 5 6
Replies
115
Views
33K
IgorD
I
J
Topping DX5 II Coaxial input issue... Stuttering audio... FIXED!
Replies
9
Views
1K
anyangpiggy
A
amirm
  • Poll Poll
Fosi ZH3 Balanced Headphone Amp & DAC Review
13 14 15
Replies
297
Views
87K
HLTT
H
K
Ideal combo - Looking for advice
Replies
2
Views
342
JeremyFife
JeremyFife
Back
Top Bottom