Topping DX5 Review (DAC & HP Amp)

[Observer]

"Soundstage" is a function of speakers, the room and the recording... nothing to do with noise or harmonic distortion from a transparent DAC or amp. The job of such devices is to convert to analogue and amplify a signal. We listen to recordings with speakers, not amps or DAC's. If you are listening to a DAC, then you're listening to the equipment and not the music. No one here will ever suggest SINAD is the only metric to consider, however it is a great starting point.

Please try and stay on topic regarding the DX3, as "soundstage" discussion has nothing to do with a transparent DAC like the DX3.


JSmith

I am simply answering the question, different dacs can produce different soundstage on same speakers/room/setup.

 

[Ashimaru]

It was designed by @JohnYang1997 ? Where is that man, I haven't seen him here in a long time.

 

[nyxnyxnyx]

Why are people complaining about the hump? If it were at -200dB they'd still be complaining. 'Cmon guys, the peak of the hump is still equal to the best cases performance of the other DACs.

to be fair, everything about this has long past audible threshold. So by that equation, if we praise a product for it's record-breaking SINAD (which, again, is way above our audibility) we can use the same standard to whine about this ess hump (also above audible area)

 

[respice finem]

So, after reading the reviews, I profited again, big kudos @amirm - and, for my coming "TV stereo" active setup, pulled the trigger today, but... on the EX5 after it dropped to 314 € in Germany

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0987SG87T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[raif71]

Why are people complaining about the hump? If it were at -200dB they'd still be complaining. 'Cmon guys, the peak of the hump is still equal to the best cases performance of the other DACs.

 

[fricccolodics]

Nice review!
But from what i read, @amirm and the L7 website have been testing preproduction sample units provided by Topping.
Specs are always changing from preproduction to production.
So it would be better to wait a few months after release of a new product before measuring it.

 

[RHO]

I am simply answering the question, different dacs can produce different soundstage on same speakers/room/setup.

No.

 

[CedarWind108]

I'm very curious how this will compare to the Chord Mojo 2

 

[Guddu]

I'm very curious how this will compare to the Chord Mojo 2

I am sure many would like to see measurement comparison, however I would doubt if any improvement could be of any real use.
DX5 already have almost everything, and we know Mojo 2 does not have balanced out, display, remote, MQA, etc.

 

[galanakop]

I'm in between this (TOPPING DX5 DAC / AMP) but also in this (Topping EX5 MQA)
I want to drive the genelec 8330 but also the hd 650
Which of the two would you suggest ???

 

[audiofun]

I'm in between this (TOPPING DX5 DAC / AMP) but also in this (Topping EX5 MQA)
I want to drive the genelec 8330 but also the hd 650
Which of the two would you suggest ???

neither. genelec 8330 is better driven by digital in so there's no audio quality loss due to AD.

neither of the products has digital out.

hd650 is easy to drive and their much cheaper product (DX3 Pro+) can do the work fairly well.

 

[confucius_zero]

ESS IMD Hump and Toslink jitter are the only two areas of note

Will this be revised with new firmware?

 

[DrZingo]

Regarding the hump, yes. See page 1 in this thread.

 

[OnlyRealWolf]

I’ve recently been thinking about picking up a amp/DAC for desktop use with headphones.

My main use would be gaming and media consumption (music/movies)

I was looking at separate DAC/Amp stacks with some mix and match components and leaning towards the monolith 887 amp, combined with a gustard x16 DAC.

Would something like the DX5 give me the same end user experience for less money?

 

[respice finem]

I’ve recently been thinking about picking up a amp/DAC for desktop use with headphones.

My main use would be gaming and media consumption (music/movies)

I was looking at separate DAC/Amp stacks with some mix and match components and leaning towards the monolith 887 amp, combined with a gustard x16 DAC.

Would something like the DX5 give me the same end user experience for less money?

This one maybe? https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ex5-review-dac-and-headphone-amplifier.24341/

 

[odyo]

$199 aio dac amp combo:

$450 aio dac amp combo

 

[OnlyRealWolf]

Thanks for the replies!

It would appear that I don’t need to spend nearly as much as I was going to.

My understanding is that at a certain point, most of these products will deliver the same quality, and the sound will change based on the headphones being used, and wether you EQ or not.

I realize this is basic, but am I on the right track?

Thanks for giving my some options!

 

[GWolfman]

to be fair, everything about this has long past audible threshold. So by that equation, if we praise a product for it's record-breaking SINAD (which, again, is way above our audibility) we can use the same standard to whine about this ess hump (also above audible area)

Fair point. But to dismiss the product, as it sounded like others were, on the basis of this "flaw" is asanine.

 

[dsnyder0cnn]

I was looking at separate DAC/Amp stacks with some mix and match components and leaning towards the monolith 887 amp, combined with a gustard x16 DAC.

The DX5 looks great if you only have space for a single-box solution, but for only a bit more, I would consider the E50 + L50 combo. This has, essentially, the same DAC but what I understand to be a more powerful headphone amp with proper balanced output. Depending on your headphone choice, the difference could be beneficial.

 

[theREALdotnet]

Where are the limits of inaudibility defined actually ? Imo human brain is much more sensitive than these analysers.

I don’t think the human hearing apparatus is, but the human brain may well be. It seems highly susceptible to marketing claims and peer pressure.