Topping DX5II Balanced DAC and Headphone Amp Review

[staticV3]

I know the definition of Stand By can be a little flexible sometimes, but not inside Europe, Topping must check that.

OTOH you have monitors like the Adam T8V, made in Germany, which don't even have Standby.

They permanently draw ~20W unless you flick the power switch on the back.

 

[respice finem]

EU regulations are a bit more complex, so it depends what is really meant by "standby"

Standby, networked standby and Off mode

Off mode, standby and networked standby mode. Energy efficiency of products.

energy-efficient-products.ec.europa.eu

 

[malaire]

Interesting, I hadn't noticed recent changes in EU standby regulation: Since May 2025 devices must use less than 0.5 watts in standby mode, or 0.8 watts if displaying some information. So since DX5II display is off in standby it needs to use less than 0.5 watts to be legal in EU.

 

[respice finem]

But who knows how many exceptions are hidden in other regulations... Or, we are measuring it wrong?
What is also possible - many devices might be "irregular" but nobody really checks it.
Corruptima Res plurimae leges

 

[Sokel]

OTOH you have monitors like the Adam T8V, made in Germany, which don't even have Standby.

They permanently draw ~20W unless you flick the power switch on the back.

Maybe a way to get around it?
Is the law "IF" they have stby must be under 0.5W?
It would make sense as power tool structures would be totally illegal.

 

[Sokel]

But who knows how many exceptions are hidden in other regulations... Or, we are measuring it wrong?
What is also possible - many devices might be "irregular" but nobody really checks it.
Corruptima Res plurimae leges

In another thread we got deep into it, the distinction is "Network" or not and "info on screen" (0.8W at this case, giving an extra 0.3W for the screen instead of the normal 0.5W) or not.

 

[staticV3]

Maybe a way to get around it?
Is the law "IF" they have stby must be under 0.5W?
It would make sense as power tool structures would be totally illegal.

FWIW, Adam A7V has standby and draws 3.6W there

Edit:
D3V, a more recent product, draws 0.3W in standby so it may be a new law as @malaire suggested.

 

[respice finem]

So what would be with the Neumann KH 310A active speakers? Zero standby, only on or off.
I don't really believe they don't meet regulations.

 

[Sokel]

FWIW, Adam A7V has standby and draws 3.6W there

Boy, they are way off!
If a 3k series Hypex PSU has accomplished 450mW at standby (as they state) , it's a bit of a shame such lower power applications to draw so much more.

 

[staticV3]

So what would be with the Neumann KH 310A active speakers? Zero standby, only on or off.
I don't really believe they don't meet regulations.

No standby, 24W idle

So yeah, probably a new regulation that didn't exist yet when the KH310 and A7V were designed.

Anyway, all this is quite off-topic so best to stop here

 

[amirm]

Limited 20 kHz THD+N graph were performed by L7Audiolab and NwAvGuy

Such a measurement would be meaningless above a few kHz as their harmonics are no longer captured. At 20 kHz, no harmonics are included which makes for a non-sensical measurement. This is why you see this false step down in THD at higher frequencies when bandwidth is so limited.

 

[IgorD]

Amir,

Here you have tested JCALLY JM20 and you have noted that THD+N w/BW 45 kHz reflects performance of this device better than THD+N w/BW 90 kHz:

This is due to the DAC pushing the noise from audible band into ultrasonic above 50 kHz. Hence the reason when I limit bandwidth to half as much (green/brown lines), we get the excellent response we expect

Now, if that noise shaping has occurred at 20–30 kHz, then even THD+N with a 45 kHz bandwidth will be greatly polluted, and THD+N with a 20 kHz bandwidth would reflect real audible performance more realistically.

At 20 kHz, no harmonics are included which makes for a non-sensical measurement.

Yes, and that’s expected. In the case of a test tone at 11 kHz, all its harmonic components 22 kHz, 33 kHz, etc. will be low-passed (if the bandwidth is 20 kHz). I doubt there is a single person who can describe what a harmonic at 22 kHz sounds like, or who has ever found it audible at any point.

 

[jsm]

hummm do you think it's time to sell my Deq2496 + Gustard X16 for this one ? Is RME still worth it for a nice DAC + room correction?

 

[Joachim Herbert]

Interesting, I hadn't noticed recent changes in EU standby regulation: Since May 2025 devices must use less than 0.5 watts in standby mode, or 0.8 watts if displaying some information. So since DX5II display is off in standby it needs to use less than 0.5 watts to be legal in EU.

There is that German saying "Wer misst misst Mist" which describes the issue pretty perfectly. I am sure the gentleman that came up with anything between one watt and something else was in perfect control of the setup.

 

[malaire]

New power measurements with better meter which has 0.1 W resolution:

standby, On/Off trigger: Off 1.2 W
standby, On/Off trigger: 12V, no trigger connected 1.2 W
standby, On/Off trigger: Signal !!! 4.0 - 4.1 W !!!
powered, USB not connected 5.3 - 5.4 W
powered, USB connected, no input 5.4 - 5.7 W
playing music via USB, HPA SE, low gain, 0 dB 5.8 - 5.9 W

Looks like my earlier measurements of either 1W or 4W in standby were actually correct. There seems to be two different standby modes depending on "On/Off trigger" setting. When this setting is "Off" or "12V", standby uses 1.2 W which is according to specs (<1.3W) but not EU regulation (<0.5W). When using "Signal" which enables DX5II to automatically go to standby when not receiving signal, standby uses whopping 4.0 W. This is clearly not according to specs and also kinda defeats the purpose of automatic standby.

Also with "Signal" setting standby seems to always use that 4.0 W regardless of other factors, e.g. whether standby was entered manually or automatically, whether USB cable is connected or not, etc.

ps. I don't have any other device with 12V trigger, so I can't test "On/Off trigger: 12V" with trigger signal actually connected.

 

[ziggurcat]

My DX5 II is scheduled to arrive on Thursday! Can't wait to set it all up.

Edit: For any Canadians ordering from Amazon -- you will also have to pay an additional import/duty/brokerage fee if you order from the Shenzhenaudio store (I think it comes up as "Fanmusic"). Not a big one -- only about $22 for me, which seems to be the sales tax (where I am, there's no Provincial sales tax, so we just pay GST) -- but I'm letting people know in case they aren't expecting to pay any additional fees.

 

[pieterv1]

Thinking about adding this to my setup, connected to the WiiM Ultra (over USB, with 12v trigger). I would like to pair it with a compact class D amp with XLR inputs though. I'd like the Topping and new amp to fit where currently my Rotel RB-06 sits.

First options for a poweramp which come to mind:
3E Audio A5
Audiophonics MPA-S250NC XLR
Audiophonics AP300-S250NC

Maybe there's some new options I've missed? I'd love to see Topping release matching poweramp

 

[jr41]

In the marketing blurb for the DX3 Pro+, I note Topping make a point of stating they don't use the dac in the bluetooth chip, but route the bloothtooth digital signal to the main dac in the DX3 Pro+ to get the benefit of the better dac chip.

In the material I've read for the DX5 II, I can't see mention that the DX5 II does the same thing. Does anyone know? Thanks.

 

[ziggurcat]

In the marketing blurb for the DX3 Pro+, I note Topping make a point of stating they don't use the dac in the bluetooth chip, but route the bloothtooth digital signal to the main dac in the DX3 Pro+ to get the benefit of the better dac chip.

In the material I've read for the DX5 II, I can't see mention that the DX5 II does the same thing. Does anyone know? Thanks.

That might be something to e-mail Topping about.

 

[staticV3]

In the material I've read for the DX5 II, I can't see mention that the DX5 II does the same thing. Does anyone know? Thanks.

100% it does the same.

Using the Bluetooth receiver's DAC would actually be more effort and would make the DX5II a more complicated and costly device.

It's much easier to connect all signals (BT, USB, SPDIF) to the ESS DAC via i2s.