Not sure if your comment was directed at my post but if it was, I never said Topping should be banned from anything. My comments to date have been aimed at Topping's approach to releases, based on the DX5 II and the DX1 II, which AFAIK are the two most recent DAC/AMP combos they've released. I don't own either but have been relying on user reports to decide whether I would purchase either. Everyone has different criteria and thresholds for purchasing products. In my case, my threshold has not been met and and I would hope Topping takes the feedback on board for future releases. If the product has worked flawlessly for you then that's great!
Again, not sure if that's directed at my post, but I never said it was a "permanent failure and a write-off" and certainly not in any objective or general sense. Based on the DX5 II history, there's a decent probability Topping will eventually fix all issues but again, it's their approach that's problematic for me. If I buy a product at retail, I expect it to be fully functional with at most, minor issues. Sure, what is "minor" is for each to judge themselves but based on the user reports, I would not consider them minor but fundamental and I would expect to encounter issues in at least some of my usage scenarios, hence why I have not purchased it. Buying a product and waiting for it to be fixed is more akin to a preorder or kickstarter to me. Again, it's all about each individual's thresholds and expectations.
It depends on whether you consider their approach to fixes to be adequate but for me, their history of fixing the noise/crackling
falls short.
I'm basing it on the DX5 II release and the user reports regarding the DX1 II and the history of attempted firmware fixes. IIRC, DX5 II user reports were on two threads:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-balanced-dac-and-headphone-amp-review.64264/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-dx5-ii.60996/
Whether those combined indicates a pattern is debatable but it's sufficient for me, as I expected them to learn from the DX5 II release and was looking forward to the DX1 II being a smooth, easy purchase decision.
Regarding tons of products on the market, I interpret the weight of that differently. Precisely because they have tons of products on the market and brand recognition, I expected better from both releases. If on the other hand it was a startup or a kickstarter, I'd be more inclined to be forgiving. I also have no way to tell if the company today is the same as the company that released previously successful products. It may be that key personnel are no longer with them.