Topping DX5 Review (DAC & HP Amp)

[cheapmessiah]

By the way, did you contact Topping or the retailer?

When my A50 was defective, the processing via Shenzenaudio was completely unproblematic...

Did you have to send it to China? Was it expensive?

 

[et_uptown]

It's a firmware bug.
Install V1.37

Funny (not funny) -- the same huge / instant volume jump happened to me within the first hour of using my DX5 on v1.35 and almost melted my LCD-X's AND blew out my ears. I contacted Topping about this immediately and it was apparently not something they had heard about. This was only a week or so ago. Anyways I did update to v1.37 but had to use the D90 DFU since the DX5 DFU for MacOS wasn't working.

Fortunately, on v1.37 I've been stable for about a week now, and without any near-deaf experiences.

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

Did you have to send it to China? Was it expensive?

Yes.
DHL. 16€. Without tracking

 

[pavelk]

So I have the DX5 sitting on my desk and I am just in process of ordering Hypex Ncore NC252MP amplifier...

The first impressions from DX5:

• it does not look cheap.
• firmware update to the latest version was easy
• The volume button is OK, but nowhere close to the nice feel that my old DENON/SONY gear has...
• I need to buy new headphones or I am simply deaf - I am unable to hear any difference with my old Yamaha hph-mt120 using DX5 versus using a cheap headphone output in the DENON RCD-M40-DAB :-(
• The unit supports the auto-standby feature, but it means that it is constantly hot/warm (in the standby) - anybody else experiencing this?

 

[Toku]

• The volume button is OK, but nowhere close to the nice feel that my old DENON/SONY gear has...

A rotary encoder is used for the volume control of DX5. This is a mechanical rotary switch. By operating this, an up-down signal is generated and a command is given to the MCU (CPU) that controls the DX5. It is fundamentally different from the analog variable resistors used in DENON / SONY.

 

[pavelk]

A rotary encoder is used for the volume control of DX5. This is a mechanical rotary switch. By operating this, an up-down signal is generated and a command is given to the MCU (CPU) that controls the DX5. It is fundamentally different from the analog variable resistors used in DENON / SONY.

I understand that… but lets admit that the Toppings mechanical part of the rotary switch is nowhere close to being “top notch”…

 

[hidehide]

I understand that… but lets admit that the Toppings mechanical part of the rotary switch is nowhere close to being “top notch”…

I find that it is common issue for China product that doesn’t have a proper volume knob. My car’s dsd player always failed to register the turn I made. Is there any better option out there?

 

[lordhumungous]

This is a very good dac for the money but I sure wish the volume level would change when you plug in headphones to where you had it before instead of using the remote to switch to headphone use versus line out use.

 

[dgmen]

Forth and fourth are not the same word

 

[hidehide]

This is a very good dac for the money but I sure wish the volume level would change when you plug in headphones to where you had it before instead of using the remote to switch to headphone use versus line out use.

This and the volume knob alone might steer me towards the JDS EL stack…

 

[carmol]

Hello I bought DX5,
I update from 1.35 to 1.37 firmware,
now there's a new option in setup
dither (L).
Does somebody knows about this feature and/or
has an upgraded manual ?
tx
P.S. very nice dac anyway.. yes, quite expensive,
but very complete, top performances both as dac and phone amp,
nice display, remote and good looking too IMHO

 

[JoetheLion]

Hello all,

apparently my DX5 tried to update (without asking), but that did not work. The display alternates between "upgrading...", "upgrade success", "CPLD update" with constant click sounds, and at the end the display says "upgrade failed". Does anyone have an idea how I can get the device working again?

 

[eddychow]

Hello all,

apparently my DX5 tried to upgrade (without asking), but that did not work. The display alternates between "upgrading...", "upgrade success", "CPLD update" with constant click sounds, and at the end the display says "upgrade failed". Does anyone have an idea how I can get the device working again?

Same here, just got my DX5 dead a few minutes ago and come here to check if anyone experienced the same...

 

[Cherubael]

But it does not have a Network Interface so how is it happening? could it be the driver on the computer that is doing this?

 

[eddychow]

But it does not have a Network Interface so how is it happening? could it be the driver on the computer that is doing this?

No, it does not have a network interface.

I unplugged it and placed it closer to my nose. It smells like some components inside got burned.

 

[lordhumungous]

No, it does not have a network interface.

I unplugged it and placed it closer to my nose. It smells like some components inside got burned.

Glad I didn't attempt the firmware update. Geez. Awful.

 

[eddychow]

Glad I didn't attempt the firmware update. Geez. Awful.

I believe it was not caused by firmware update. It seems like something inside suddenly broken down, and the device was in a faulty state, causing the random "upgrade" on screen messages.

 

[lordhumungous]

I believe it was not caused by firmware update. It seems like something inside suddenly broken down, and the device was in a faulty state, causing the random "upgrade" on screen messages.

Well sorry to hear your dac bit the dust.

 

[Jayzqa]

Finally arrived. I cannot differentiate the sound from dx7 pro and that's a little saddening.

 

[Electr0]

Hi, i am have issue with MQA tracks (on TIDAL and Foobar2000), then start play or scroll track it make 'clicks' then change mode from PCM to MQA, same as here https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...dac-and-headphone-amplifier.24341/post-902276

this bug or feature?)