Topping DX5 II

[Deleted member 86328]

Has there been any confirmation from Amir that he has a unit to review?

He hasn’t confirmed it, no — but I find it hard to believe Topping hasn’t sent him a unit, given the buzz and expectation surrounding this model.

 

[plant550]

He hasn’t confirmed it, no — but I find it hard to believe Topping hasn’t sent him a unit, given the buzz and expectation surrounding this model.

I agree - it's a very hyped product. But the lack of pre-launch reviews is a bit different - seems the first reviews we see of this will be from actual customers, not reviewers.

 

[john100a]

Did you not read my post? The OG DX5 shares output switching on volume double click functionality with the EX5. But the DX5 II has a dedicated input button, so output switching is now the default behaviour of the volume single click.

On the DX5 II, you can remove unused inputs and outputs from the rotation for both input and output selection. Which is a nice piece of additional functionality (Occasionally, I land on the RCA only output on my EX5 and become discombobulated at the lack of sound emanating from my monitors)

I see. So basically, you are saying that a single knob click would have the option to immediately switch between outputs? According to the image at least

 

[Berwhale]

I see. So basically, you are saying that a single knob click would have the option to immediately switch between outputs? According to the image at least

Yes - and you can exclude the outputs you do not use from the rotation. The example in the manual restricts the selection to all outputs, all headphone outputs and all line outputs (so 3 clicks to go through them all, rather than 7)...

Personally, i'll probably set this to HPA ALL and LO BAL as that's all I have need for.

 

[john100a]

Yes - and you can exclude the outputs you do not use from the rotation. The example in the manual restricts the selection to all outputs, all headphone outputs and all line outputs (so 3 clicks to go through them all, rather than 7)...

View attachment 458175

Personally, i'll probably set this to HPA ALL and LO BAL as that's all I have need for.

Wow this is great then. So essentially if you have Headphones OUT on the front, and XLR out on the back, 1 click on the button will cycle between them?

I'm a bit wary when it comes to wording from topping, because the one for the DX5 was very vague.

 

[ziggurcat]

I don't think you should look at it this way. The quantization error will only happen in low frequencies when you have PEQ activated with a gain. You can see in Amir's review that when PEQ is enabled but no band is used, the result is transparent.
In his review the low frequency noise level deteriorated 9db (from 122 to 113db) when he only activated one low frequency band with gain of 5db. In real use cases, if you have many EQ bands in the low frequencies, and considerable amount of gains (such as 5-10db), you may have considerable amount of noise that is audible.

I think this is exactly the issue I am discussing with Topping right now. With PEQ enabled, and there are filters in the lower frequency range, I hear two pops after audio has stopped/paused. If I remove/disable the low frequency filters in Topping Tune, the pops disappear. If I simply turn on the PEQ function with no PEQ configuration (i.e. it says NULL in the settings menu), there are no pops.

It also seems to be volume-dependent. With my D50 III in DAC mode, my L50 HPA's gain switch set Low, and its volume knob at around 33% (around the 10 o'clock position), a filter at 20Hz exhibits a few pops. Leaving everything the same on the DAC/HPA, and the 20Hz filter is disabled -- leaving a 66Hz filter active -- there are no pops. If I turn the volume up on the L50 to around 50%, the pops are audible again. The lowest frequency that doesn't exhibit any pops with my L50's volume at max (gain still set to Low, and the DAC in DAC mode) is 100Hz. However, it is audible with an active filter at 100Hz if I switch the L50's gain to Medium.

None if it is immediately audible when listening to everything through speakers -- it is audible if one were to hold their ear up to the speaker drivers, but you have to get pretty close to hear (Topping has asked me to get a recording because they can't reproduce on their end, but the audibility makes it so that a recording is near-impossible). I also think that if I had my DAC in preamp mode, the popping wouldn't be as audible (or entirely gone) at my normal headphone listening levels.

 

[audiofun]

I think this is exactly the issue I am discussing with Topping right now. With PEQ enabled, and there are filters in the lower frequency range, I hear two pops after audio has stopped/paused. If I remove/disable the low frequency filters in Topping Tune, the pops disappear. If I simply turn on the PEQ function with no PEQ configuration (i.e. it says NULL in the settings menu), there are no pops.

It also seems to be volume-dependent. With my D50 III in DAC mode, my L50 HPA's gain switch set Low, and its volume knob at around 33% (around the 10 o'clock position), a filter at 20Hz exhibits a few pops. Leaving everything the same on the DAC/HPA, and the 20Hz filter is disabled -- leaving a 66Hz filter active -- there are no pops. If I turn the volume up on the L50 to around 50%, the pops are audible again. The lowest frequency that doesn't exhibit any pops with my L50's volume at max (gain still set to Low, and the DAC in DAC mode) is 100Hz. However, it is audible with an active filter at 100Hz if I switch the L50's gain to Medium.

None if it is immediately audible when listening to everything through speakers -- it is audible if one were to hold their ear up to the speaker drivers, but you have to get pretty close to hear (Topping has asked me to get a recording because they can't reproduce on their end, but the audibility makes it so that a recording is near-impossible). I also think that if I had my DAC in preamp mode, the popping wouldn't be as audible (or entirely gone) at my normal headphone listening levels.

If you are in contact with them just ask if they fixed the above quantization bug reported by Amir.

 

[ziggurcat]

If you are in contact with them just ask if they fixed the above quantization bug reported by Amir.

I don't have a DX5 II to be able to do a real world comparison, but I'm sure anyone can send them an e-mail to ask.

 

[Nezil]

I don't have a DX5 II to be able to do a real world comparison, but I'm sure anyone can send them an e-mail to ask.

Which email address (of theirs) are you using to communicate with them?

 

[ziggurcat]

Which email address (of theirs) are you using to communicate with them?

[email protected]

 

[Sokel]

If you are in contact with them just ask if they fixed the above quantization bug reported by Amir.

What we see is not a bug, is just a symptom of a broad range of gear suffering from the same disease.
It's a combination of many things, including horsepower of the DSP engine.

For anyone who wants to gig deeper here's an interesting thread:

DSP Measurements and Rising Noise Floor

In several threads related to DSP platforms I've seen requests for measurements with filters engaged. I thought it unlikely that implementing filters in a DSP would have measurable effect on noise / distortion other than the obvious change in the fundamental, however @Sokel recently mentioned...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Tano]

Well, hope that Topping replies and clear the PEQ matter.
That's definitely a deal breaker for me, cause most of my EQs are easily over 5/6 db of bass boost and I want to be able to use them without any noises.

 

[Nezil]

Well, hope that Topping replies and clear the PEQ matter.
That's definitely a deal breaker for me, cause most of my EQs are easily over 5/6 db of bass boost and I want to be able to use them without any noises.

Dumb question perhaps, but is there any reason, besides volume, and if you have the amp capability, not too much of a concern, why you'd want boost in PEQ over cutting the frequencies that you don't want boosted. Wouldn't that net out to the same result, and if so, would that bypass the noise issues?

 

[Raymond lin]

So how many of you got a unit already? Any pics?

I want to see real world size if possible.

 

[ziggurcat]

So how many of you got a unit already? Any pics?

I want to see real world size if possible.

Topping DX5 II

Not all: the RME ADI-2 DAC has a hybrid gain + digital attenuation that maximizes SINAD through all volume levels. An amazing feature. See here. From my understanding this is about the distortion levels, but it doesn't say anything about the channel imbalance that I used to hear with...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Topping DX5 II

As DX5 old user upgrade to DX5II, I will say DX5ii is way more powerful amp, better functionalities pair with adam D3V is absolutely

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Raymond lin]

Topping DX5 II

Not all: the RME ADI-2 DAC has a hybrid gain + digital attenuation that maximizes SINAD through all volume levels. An amazing feature. See here. From my understanding this is about the distortion levels, but it doesn't say anything about the channel imbalance that I used to hear with...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Topping DX5 II

As DX5 old user upgrade to DX5II, I will say DX5ii is way more powerful amp, better functionalities pair with adam D3V is absolutely

www.audiosciencereview.com

Thanks. Oooh, you are from HK, unless you collect HK money.

What is the knob feel and turning feel like? Is it resistence with clicks or is it clickless and smooth? Metal or plastic knob?

 

[Laika2]

Topping DX5 II

Not all: the RME ADI-2 DAC has a hybrid gain + digital attenuation that maximizes SINAD through all volume levels. An amazing feature. See here. From my understanding this is about the distortion levels, but it doesn't say anything about the channel imbalance that I used to hear with...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Topping DX5 II

As DX5 old user upgrade to DX5II, I will say DX5ii is way more powerful amp, better functionalities pair with adam D3V is absolutely

www.audiosciencereview.com

The Topping DX5 II measures 18cm in width, 14.8cm in depth, and 4.5cm in height. These dimensions are consistent across both the original DX5 and the newer DX5 II models, according to Amazon and AliExpress.

Look at the first post in this thread and you get a good rough idea of size, use the above dimensions if you have a tight spot planned for location

 

[ziggurcat]

Thanks. Oooh, you are from HK, unless you collect HK money.

What is the knob feel and turning feel like? Is it resistence with clicks or is it clickless and smooth? Metal or plastic knob?

Not my photos, and I am not in HK.

 

[Laika2]

See my above post, replied to the wrong person.

 

[audiofun]

What we see is not a bug, is just a symptom of a broad range of gear suffering from the same disease.
It's a combination of many things, including horsepower of the DSP engine.

For anyone who wants to gig deeper here's an interesting thread:

DSP Measurements and Rising Noise Floor

In several threads related to DSP platforms I've seen requests for measurements with filters engaged. I thought it unlikely that implementing filters in a DSP would have measurable effect on noise / distortion other than the obvious change in the fundamental, however @Sokel recently mentioned...

www.audiosciencereview.com

after reading your thread I confirmed that this is a bug...
it may caused by not using the correct precision when doing the computation.
jds element iv, using the same chip, has transparent dsp result. (see attached)