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Topping DX5 II
- Thread starter Matias
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Jimster480
Major Contributor
The thing that's weird is that they demo the unit. So if they had one for demo, then the R&D should have been done. Unless they had some problem with tooling or somewhere in production. But again, they could have at least written something.
I would say that the US is a massive market for topping as the US has tons of audio shows and enthusiasts. Topping is amongst the best selling brands in the USA.
Viper780
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Do you have any numbers backing your claim?
Most topping products I saw where in South-East Asia. Very few in the US and Europe.
Maybe they showcase a prototype. There are many things to consider between the first Demo (mostly a market test if someone is interested) and a big scale release.
Most topping products I saw where in South-East Asia. Very few in the US and Europe.
Maybe they showcase a prototype. There are many things to consider between the first Demo (mostly a market test if someone is interested) and a big scale release.
I think you can replace 'US' with 'China' in the above statement and add that China's population is 4x the US, before considering that 58% of the global population resides in Asia.
Topping products are widely available in EU
Jimster480
Major Contributor
Except that the average Chinese is 10x poorer than the poorest Americans. So they are not in the market for audio products like this. They would be purchasing $3 headphones and $8 dongle DAC's.
China market is mostly IEMs and the average Chinese doesn't even own a computer. They do everything with their phone and maybe a tablet. Of almost all Asians that I know; they don't own any desktop computers and the few that do all work in the industry of software development and engineering. There is a reason why LAN Houses (Cyber Cafe) are a big thing; the average person has no money or space for a computer. SO they certainly don't have money or space for a DAC/Amp like the DX5 paired with fancy headphones. This would only be for rich Chinese to purchase, and the same goes for most everyone else in southeast Asia. After all; if you live in Vietnam, Thailand or Laos then you typically make EVEN LESS per hour than you do in China.
This is why the IEM and dongle market is so incredible in that region; since it is what the majority of audio enthusiasts would be purchasing.
Items like that $17 Truthear IEM would be SOTA in that market. I know it is hard for most westerners to understand, but it is just how the world is.
These fancy expensive boxes are mostly made for the west and the west alone. Where people like to spend large amounts of money on things that in Asia people will almost never buy.
Very few in the US and Europe? Every single model is on Amazon.... which is the largest retailer in the USA. There are other retailers and dealers as well which carry Topping products, it just isn't as well established in other circles. However most people shop online in the USA and to be available on the largest retailer says something... audio shows in the USA all contain Topping products and many also contain SMSL. Gone are the days where these brands have no visibility in the market. Today they are prominent.
Of all the people who I know into the audio world (subjective or objective); all of them own or owned Topping products, even if their entire chain isn't Topping powered.
I would say that other brands like SMSL, Fosi, WiiM, AIYAMA, SABAJ are all way less known in the USA. Although with the good reviews of Fosi products in the last years; audiophile circles (at least those in FL I have communication with) all know about both SMSL and Fosi and most also know WiiM.
So the idea that Topping is some China brand that is mostly for Southeast Asia and that products like the DX5 II are just really for China is totally incorrect on every possible level.
China is not really what they used to be.
Ps. It's from 2015.
Ps. It's from 2015.
Bleib
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Yup, people do not tend to keep up with what happens. One of the most common repeated things is that china just steals everything, but if we look at the numbers they are actually investing far more into research than 'we' do
Huawei didn't become great at 5G by stealing the technology from others
Indeed...
China is the largest contributor to global patent applications, substantially ahead of other countries
China’s patent applications have grown rapidly in recent decades, as shown in the chart. Chinese applications surpassed US applications in 2010, reaching over 1.4 million in 2021. According to this data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), China’s applications accounted for...
ourworldindata.org
Jimster480
Major Contributor
Maybe you should watch China Insider with David Zhang. China is really what it used to be, and middle class in China isn't like Middle Class in the USA. They don't have jobs that pay large amounts of money the way that the USA used to have so many of these jobs.
Bleib
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This is complete off topic discussion but one thing can be pointed out.. just because they make less money does not also mean that things are as expensive either..
Jimster480
Major Contributor
Yes, that is how an economy works. However this device is not $100 in China. The price in China is not so different, like 5 minutes of research will show that. Since in the USA for example; we had no real import taxes until last week.
So yes, when I said that a product like this would likely sell more in the west than it would in Southeast Asia; I was 100% on base. This is exactly why they send products for Amir to test. Most of this website is Americans and Europeans; so basically everyone in the west alone. Topping is a top selling brand here in the west and their most expensive products sell more units here than they do anywhere else.
Anyone who thinks otherwise just hasn't been paying attention or doesn't understand how economies work.
Now to stay on topic; it is quite weird that Topping has complete Radio silence for weeks now. I hope nothing bad has happened at the company itself.... since they would atlesat make an announcement for a product that they claimed they were going to release on a specific date.
If you look at their twitter here; it looks like they have some new partnership. No details are announced though and the website they linked literally doesn't load.
So I am not sure if they are combining with this company or if they were bought our or really what is happening.... it says import agreement so you would think that they are just a new retailer of some kind.... but who knows. Yet no posts since then and no mention of the DX5 II since Feb 21 as we see here.
I just posted a comment on the post here and will see if they respond.
Jimster480
Major Contributor
So then it is as I mentioned. Just a new retailer. You would imagine there would be more communication.... but they haven't always been so forthcoming with information.
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I’ll say that from my experience, there are very different standards in marketing communication between Eastern and Western companies so this sort of thing doesn’t surprise me along with the general economic uncertainty right now.
Tuner
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News on the “upcoming” Topping D900 DAC was released around March 2024. The D900 has been at many Audio Shows for over a year. The D900 has yet to be released for sale.
The Topping DX5 II was just recently announced on February 2025. Who knows when Topping will decide to release it for sale and at what price.
Hopefully the new electronics tariff exemption will cover DAC’s and make it reasonably affordable.
The Topping DX5 II was just recently announced on February 2025. Who knows when Topping will decide to release it for sale and at what price.
Hopefully the new electronics tariff exemption will cover DAC’s and make it reasonably affordable.
Jimster480
Major Contributor
I didn't even realize it never came out after seeing it on last year. I just never went back to look for it since it wasn't exactly in the price range of something I would be interested in. So it's interesting that you point out it never even released.
Maybe they mean they're going to release it next year on the anniversary of the DX5.
Bleib
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Nope. They've said that more info comes soon. One year isn't soon
Jimster480
Major Contributor
Depends on your view of time
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