Topping DX5 II

[Aryzon]

Hi,

Could you please provide me with a comprehensive beginner-friendly guide on the topic of PEQ, including its workings, benefits, and other relevant information?
It seems to be complicated at some point. I see so much people hyped when there is PEQ involved in a product. What is the difference between normal EQ?

PEQ is parametric EQ which basically means more finegrain control over what you can adjust. You should always be using that. The software you use for it is up to you, you can use Topping Tune if you have one of the newer Topping DACs that support it or you can use Equalizer APO on Windows which supports any audio device. It will however not work with ASIO and other programs that bypass the Windows mixer incase you use those.

If you want to learn how to EQ you can start here:

 

[Roland68]

Hi,

Could you please provide me with a comprehensive beginner-friendly guide on the topic of PEQ, including its workings, benefits, and other relevant information?
It seems to be complicated at some point. I see so much people hyped when there is PEQ involved in a product. What is the difference between normal EQ?

These are all questions you can answer with a simple Google search. There are countless websites that cover these topics in varying degrees of depth, and it's generally device-independent.
You can also find quite a bit of information here in the forum.

 

[staticV3]

What is the difference between normal EQ?

Flexibility and precision.

With normal (=graphic) EQ, your can only create a rough approximation of the correction curve that you're after.

With PEQ, just a few filter bands allow you to create complex correction curves.

Here's an example where I first overlay, then trace the green correction curve using PEQ:

Room correction is another example where Graphic EQ fails.

Here, the aim is to filter out the frequencies of constructive bass interference that are present in every domestic listening environment.

If done right, the result is a dramatic boost in sound quality.

An example:

(blue=with PEQ)

and the corresponding filter parameters:

(note how sharp and irregular the filter curve is - impossible to replicate using Graphic EQ)

And for a direct comparison, here's what's possible with Graphic EQ:


In this example, I was able to correct the speaker's overall tonality, but I'm powerless against the room mode spike at 95Hz.
If the bassline in a track happens to hit that peak, then it'll sound super weird even with Graphic EQ applied.

To fix it, I have to apply a PEQ filter on top:

 

[DuhDude]

Ill say that again gain != power.
Did you hear clipping with Susvara?
If not turn your knob more so you get your desired loudness and enjoy.

If you can't get desired loudness even at 0db and you are not clipping your amp, consider using additional gain in something like APO, as what you are missing is gain not power

@ObjectiveSubjectivist...Thank you for the suggestion of checking my gain in software...I was going crazy trying to figure out why my volume was low. I use Apple Music and it had volume leveling on as default. Unchecking that fixed my volume (not power issue).

 

[BimboCresciuto]

Good morning everyone.
I have been reading this forum for a long time, and this is my first post.
I need your help.
I would like to buy headphones suitable for properly taking advantage of this dac
Maximum budget €200.
I would use it mainly for video games, but I would also use it with good audio files.
I look forward to your kind reply.

Have a good day everyone.
Thanks.

 

[Ahmonge]

Good morning everyone.
I have been reading this forum for a long time, and this is my first post.
I need your help.
I would like to buy headphones suitable for properly taking advantage of this dac
Maximum budget €200.
I would use it mainly for video games, but I would also use it with good audio files.
I look forward to your kind reply.

Have a good day everyone.
Thanks.

If open headphones suit your needs, the Sennheiser HD560s is a good option (150€)

 

[Aryzon]

Good morning everyone.
I have been reading this forum for a long time, and this is my first post.
I need your help.
I would like to buy headphones suitable for properly taking advantage of this dac
Maximum budget €200.
I would use it mainly for video games, but I would also use it with good audio files.
I look forward to your kind reply.

Have a good day everyone.
Thanks.

I'd say stretch it to 400EUR and get Edition XV. If that's not an option then HD560S is a good option for cheaper.

 

[davmol]

Good morning everyone.
I have been reading this forum for a long time, and this is my first post.
I need your help.
I would like to buy headphones suitable for properly taking advantage of this dac
Maximum budget €200.
I would use it mainly for video games, but I would also use it with good audio files.
I look forward to your kind reply.

Have a good day everyone.
Thanks.

Another option might be Hifiman Edition XS (planar magnetic), which are really cheap these days (sub £200 in UK) so hopefully you could get a pair in your budget. They leak a lot of sound, so if you're not on your own the just make sure everyone is happy to listen along with you!

 

[Aryzon]

Another option might be Hifiman Edition XS (planar magnetic), which are really cheap these days (sub £200 in UK) so hopefully you could get a pair in your budget. They leak a lot of sound, so if you're not on your own the just make sure everyone is happy to listen along with you!

Do be careful with Hifiman sibilance. If you can hear it, you will never be able to cope with it. Found out the hard way.

 

[BimboCresciuto]

If open headphones suit your needs, the Sennheiser HD560s is a good option (150€)

You're very kind, thank you.
I looked at the review and read that bass isn't its strong point.
What do you think of the Hifiman HE400SE?

Of course, thanks also to the other users who contributed.

 

[BimboCresciuto]

Good morning.
A quick question.
Does this product work like it does in this photo?
Thanks

 

[Ahmonge]

You're very kind, thank you.
I looked at the review and read that bass isn't its strong point.
What do you think of the Hifiman HE400SE?

Of course, thanks also to the other users who contributed.

Talking about bass, the Hifiman HE400se has slightly less sub bass than the Senns, according to measurements shown in

AutoEq

Automatic headphone equalization

autoeq.app

 

[Downos01]

I love mine and just got one after reading the review. I love this device!

Has anyone ever encountered error where it got stuck at "Unlock" on the screen and its not detected at all in Windows? somehow I got this after leaving my PC on for couple of days

Hi mate, did you ever find an answer to this? I got mine this afternoon, it worked fine, I updated firmware and 'unlock' appeared on the screen and windows now doesn't recognize it!

 

[Bauhaus]

Just got mine.
It is so small, same width as my Mac Studio.
I will see how it compares vs my old Schiit Hel 2E.

 

[BimboCresciuto]

Good morning.
A quick question.
Does this product work like it does in this photo?
Thanks

 

[Bleib]

Good morning.
A quick question.
Does this product work like it does in this photo?
Thanks

Another great option is to connect optically from the TV to the DAC instead, that way you get everything the TV plays through the DAC

 

[Bauhaus]

You're very kind, thank you.
I looked at the review and read that bass isn't its strong point.
What do you think of the Hifiman HE400SE?

Of course, thanks also to the other users who contributed.

You could go with the Sennheiser/Drop PC38X. It is similar to the 560s but with more bass and it has a good mic.
I use it everyday and it is amazing in game.
It works perfectly with the Ps5 Pro. No problem for me.

@Bleib @Bleib The issue is that you won’t be able to take advantage of the 3D audio (Tempest) in-game that’s used in the PS5.
It's really great in some game. It brings a lot of immersion in solo games

 

[Aryzon]

Alright finally got my firmware update working and updated to V1.78
Well, big freaking mistake because now my EQ profiles will randomly set their gain values to either +12 or -12 depending on whether they were positive or negative originally.
I always forget to follow my golden rule of never updating my software under any circumstance.. and well I am reminded that I made this rule for a reason.

 

[Timbo2]

Alright finally got my firmware update working and updated to V1.78
Well, big freaking mistake because now my EQ profiles will randomly set their gain values to either +12 or -12 depending on whether they were positive or negative originally.
I always forget to follow my golden rule of never updating my software under any circumstance.. and well I am reminded that I made this rule for a reason.

Welcome to the club!

Topping DX5 II

Is this Dac/Amp still recommended despite the bugs? I'm on the hunt for a Dac/Am and there are quite a few bargains at the moment. I'm actually looking at the DX5 II, K13 R2R or the T71. I love the T71's fucntionality and PEQ. even thought about buying the RME adi-2 dac fs, but it may be a...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I'm still on 1.72 after having to revert. However, some have suggested it is my PC that's the problem instead of the multiple people here who have posted similar problems. The disadvantage to that firmware is you can only adjust PEQ in 0.5 steps.

 

[Aryzon]

Welcome to the club!

Topping DX5 II

Is this Dac/Amp still recommended despite the bugs? I'm on the hunt for a Dac/Am and there are quite a few bargains at the moment. I'm actually looking at the DX5 II, K13 R2R or the T71. I love the T71's fucntionality and PEQ. even thought about buying the RME adi-2 dac fs, but it may be a...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I'm still on 1.72 after having to revert. However, some have suggested it is my PC that's the problem instead of the multiple people here who have posted similar problems. The disadvantage to that firmware is you can only adjust PEQ in 0.5 steps.

Could you provide the 1.72 file please? Topping now only gives 1.78 and 1.76.
I have no words to express how pissed I am right now that they remove old firmware versions and force you to use the latest which are broken. So many companies do that these days and go unpunished.

EDIT:
I found a 1.72 reupload on some japanese site. So here it is incase anyone else needs it too.