It has been discussed to death and proven multiple times, we all have that level of trust in Topping now.
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Shenzhenaudio Topping EX5 Review (DAC and Headphone Amplifier)
- Thread starter amirm
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respice finem
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Semper caveat - but, here we have one person (Amir) privately testing loads of gear. To make it "100% scientific" you would have to test every batch continuously, of every peace of gear. Good luck with that...
Occasional re-testing would be nice of course, if someone sends the same item from another batch. That would certainly soon require more resources, including personnel. And winning the lottery to finance it.
Ceterum censeo: not going to happen. Mors certa est, et tributa
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OP
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The distributor sent this in not the manufacturer.
Question, if I used this to connect via XLR outputs to Genelec powered speakers, for example the 8331s would the volume control adjust the speaker sound output? And are there any downsides to using this set up? Thanks in advance for feedback!
You're suggesting that previous Topping products genuinely measure well but this particular product somehow cannot be made both measurably excellent and repeatably so they've had to send him a "golden sample"? Do you have a suggestion for why this might be the case? The problem with places where people buy their own gear and review it is that typically they're not competent.
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Cool product. I like the orange LED display too. The blue OLED displays are becoming ubiquitous as the green vacuum fluorescent displays in 80's VCRs.
I'm wondering if Apos will eventually have a comparable model?
I'm wondering if Apos will eventually have a comparable model?
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Not everyone.
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Well it took awhile, but I think I’ve finally been convinced...given the reasonable price and the excellent overall specs of the EX 5 that a separate dac/headphone amp is something worth considering in my future.
Well...almost. Y’all just had to bring up integrated PEQ didn’t ya?
Well...almost. Y’all just had to bring up integrated PEQ didn’t ya?
ClosDeLaRoche
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@JohnYang1997 how will this do with high jitter sources like a TV? ESS chips will experience audio drop-outs with some TVs if, I believe, the DPLL setting is too aggressive.
Where is that bullshit coming from lol. It's absurd to the point that's hilarious.
How much do they pay for the license? That's a quite steep price reduction you are asking for considering all these features and performance. Even without MQA it's quite a bargain.
drfous
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I went back and looked, if you check Amir's reviews of Toppings products many of them have been sent directly from the manufacturer.
I'm not saying it's a bad product or won't measure well.
But if its Audio SCIENCE Review, I would think those particular pieces of equipment should be expected to have been pre checked by the manufacturer and may not be a representative unit.
How did you come to this conclusion? How much is the MQA licence for manufacturers?
I have the same question. I am guessing the volume control is done in the analog domain, so no.
John?
Volume is done in digital.
Works as preamp just fine. But won't be as good as D30pro.
Most stuff reviewed here gets sent from site visitors. He put where the test unit came from in the review. Everything is mass produced these days so the best a manufacturer can do by checking before sending is avoid sending a faulty one, rather than sending something which is unrepresentative and which most users could not hope to buy. It doesn't magically stop being science just because there were no third parties between manufacturer and reviewer.
That would be quite unfortunate, this has everything to be used as a preamp, a fixed level analog output has very little use, why would they do that.
And you assume manufacturers don't "pre check", or in other word, do quality control, before selling them to stores or distributors?
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Oh man... This is so tempting... I have an E30/L30 for work, and the DAC here is better, plus I'd be able to only have one device on my desk, and only one RCA going to my speakers... Question, how do you switch between headphone out and rear RCA/XLR (and vice versa)? Is it when you plug in headphones it switches to that, or can I leave them plugged in and switch via remote or the button on the device? I switch between IEMs and speakers quite often, so I currently tend to leave the IEMs plugged in and just use the switch on the L30.
Crazy performance for the money If the differences were audible I'd sell my SMSL M500 to get this!
Getting into PC gaming and collectibles is horrid right now (parts shortages, high demand, etc.), so it is nice to see a hobby where obtaining amazing performance is still getting cheaper
If the differences were audible I'd sell my SMSL M500 to get this!Getting into PC gaming and collectibles is horrid right now (parts shortages, high demand, etc.), so it is nice to see a hobby where obtaining amazing performance is still getting cheaper
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