Topping DX5II Balanced DAC and Headphone Amp Review

[Inspitic2]

hi everyone, it's my first time making a post here since i'm looking to get an interface for my mic (MV7x) and also for an IEM too (EM6L).

what i'd like to ask is if I should consider getting this interface over say the E2x2 or even the id4 mkii? because i'm based in Singapore and generally the prices of technology is hiked up compared to counterparts in the west, mainly due to conversion rates and taxes.

the dx5ii would cost around $400 sgd (310 USD) while the E2x2 and id4 mkii are both priced at around $220 sgd (170 USD). could anyone make a recommendation or perhaps point me to the right direction?

thanks a lot and i appreciate the fact that there is a platform to rely on for people like myself who are not well informed of the technologies in the audio space.

 

[staticV3]

hi everyone, it's my first time making a post here since i'm looking to get an interface for my mic (MV7x) and also for an IEM too (EM6L).

what i'd like to ask is if I should consider getting this interface over say the E2x2 or even the id4 mkii? because i'm based in Singapore and generally the prices of technology is hiked up compared to counterparts in the west, mainly due to conversion rates and taxes.

the dx5ii would cost around $400 sgd (310 USD) while the E2x2 and id4 mkii are both priced at around $220 sgd (170 USD). could anyone make a recommendation or perhaps point me to the right direction?

thanks a lot and i appreciate the fact that there is a platform to rely on for people like myself who are not well informed of the technologies in the audio space.

Hi @Inspitic2! Welcome to ASR.

The DX5II is no interface, merely a DAC+Amp. There is no microphone input.

The DX5II's powerful headphone Amp is not needed for IEMs.
On that front, you wouldn't miss anything going with the E2x2 instead.

The one advantage of the DX5II is built-in PEQ, but doing that on your PC instead using Equalizer APO/Mathaudio Headphone EQ would be just as good.

Lastly, do consider the E1x2 as well if you only need one Mic input. It's identical to the E2x2 is all other aspects.

 

[Inspitic2]

Hi @Inspitic2! Welcome to ASR.

The DX5II is no interface, merely a DAC+Amp. There is no microphone input.

The DX5II's powerful headphone Amp is not needed for IEMs.
On that front, you wouldn't miss anything going with the E2x2 instead.

The one advantage of the DX5II is built-in PEQ, but doing that on your PC instead using Equalizer APO/Mathaudio Headphone EQ would be just as good.

Lastly, do consider the E1x2 as well if you only need one Mic input. It's identical to the E2x2 is all other aspects.

Ahhh, I had misunderstood what the DX5II is used for, that's my bad. Thank you for the clarification! I will continue to research more on the E2x2 and id4 mkii in that case.

And back here, the E2x2 and the E1x2 costs the same, and the E2x2 Otg costs about $3 more. Would it be more practical to consider the E2x2 Otg even if I don't use the features?

 

[staticV3]

And back here, the E2x2 and the E1x2 costs the same, and the E2x2 Otg costs about $3 more. Would it be more practical to consider the E2x2 Otg even if I don't use the features?

The OTG adds Toslink out, Aux out, and has more channels for routing:


For $3, definitely worth the upgrade.

 

[ziggurcat]

I think I have found an issue, but it's a minor one. Because I have to route things through a USB DDC in my system, but I still need to connect the DX5 II to my computer via USB for FW updates/adding PEQ, I only have the USB and Optical inputs active (not both at the same time) in the menu.

If I let the whole thing go to sleep, and then wake them up, it appears as though it switches to the USB even though it was set to optical before everything went into standby mode. That's the theory, at least. I will have to conduct a more careful observation (in that I need to confirm that it, in fact, switches to USB... I just know I have to reselect the optical input to be able to hear anything again).

If this specific thing is already known, then never mind!

 

[JIW]

I think I have found an issue, but it's a minor one. Because I have to route things through a USB DDC in my system, but I still need to connect the DX5 II to my computer via USB for FW updates/adding PEQ, I only have the USB and Optical inputs active (not both at the same time) in the menu.

If I let the whole thing go to sleep, and then wake them up, it appears as though it switches to the USB even though it was set to optical before everything went into standby mode. That's the theory, at least. I will have to conduct a more careful observation (in that I need to confirm that it, in fact, switches to USB... I just know I have to reselect the optical input to be able to hear anything again).

If this specific thing is already known, then never mind!

I tried to reproduce it by selecting optical input manually. It does not switch to USB after a power cycle using the rear switch nor when switching it to standby and back on. Do you have Input option Auto-detect selected?

 

[ziggurcat]

I tried to reproduce it by selecting optical input manually. It does not switch to USB after a power cycle using the rear switch nor when switching it to standby and back on. Do you have Input option Auto-detect selected?

I have Input Settings > Input Option set to Manual with only USB and Optical selected.

At this time, I'm only assuming it switches to USB when it wakes up. I haven't properly checked to see if it sets itself to USB when the DX5 II wakes up since the VU meter display -- as you know -- doesn't display any other information. I'll switch to the "Normal" display option, and come back after it's all gone into standby, which should confirm things either way (switches to USB or remains where it was).

Another setting that may be of note: I have the On/Off trigger set to "Signal." I'll even try to let the audio go for a little longer to see if it just needs a bit more time to "wake up."
If it remains on optical, and the sound doesn't kick in after letting a song run for 20 seconds, then I'll report it to Topping once I'm more certain of what's happening.

EDIT:

Also, forgot to mention that it doesn't seem happen if you force the DX5 II to go into standby by turning it off/on again (either from the switch, volume knob or remote). And because of how I have to have things set up, the Mac sees the D10s (using it as my USB DDC) as the audio device, not the DX5 II.

 

[JIW]

I have Input Settings > Input Option set to Manual with only USB and Optical selected.

At this time, I'm only assuming it switches to USB when it wakes up. I haven't properly checked to see if it sets itself to USB when the DX5 II wakes up since the VU meter display -- as you know -- doesn't display any other information. I'll switch to the "Normal" display option, and come back after it's all gone into standby, which should confirm things either way (switches to USB or remains where it was).

Another setting that may be of note: I have the On/Off trigger set to "Signal." I'll even try to let the audio go for a little longer to see if it just needs a bit more time to "wake up."
If it remains on optical, and the sound doesn't kick in after letting a song run for 20 seconds, then I'll report it to Topping once I'm more certain of what's happening.

EDIT:

Also, forgot to mention that it doesn't seem happen if you force the DX5 II to go into standby by turning it off/on again (either from the switch, volume knob or remote). And because of how I have to have things set up, the Mac sees the D10s (using it as my USB DDC) as the audio device, not the DX5 II.

I have set it to optical input with trigger set to signal. It turns off even with a USB signal present but does not turn on afterwards if it keeps receiving a USB signal. However, if the USB signal disappears, and then reappears - in my case by plugging the USB cable out and in again both while on or in standby - it turns on again with USB as input.

Edit: It does it with the DX5II not selected as system output in macOS. Also, with trigger set to signal, it does not disappear as a possible output unlike in standby even with USB not selected. With USB deselected under manual inputs, it still does it but switches to optical when exiting the input option menu.

 

[ziggurcat]

I have set it to optical input with trigger set to signal. It turns off even with a USB signal present but does not turn on afterwards if it keeps receiving a USB signal. However, if the USB signal disappears, and then reappears - in my case by plugging the USB cable out and in again both while on or in standby - it turns on again with USB as input.

Edit: It does it with the DX5II not selected as system output in macOS. Also, with trigger set to signal, it does not disappear as a possible output unlike in standby even with USB not selected. With USB deselected under manual inputs, it still does it but switches to optical when exiting the input option menu.

I can confirm that the input does switch to USB if I let things go to sleep naturally (sounds like you probably triggered it without having to wait). Not sure if it's a bug, then, or if it's expected behaviour. However, I don't have it set to auto-select the input, so it should technically stay set to whatever I had selected prior to things going to sleep.

I also heard a "sizzle" sound for a second or two while messing around with the settings in the MIDI app (music was playing at the time), but I can't quite remember how it triggered. It's not something I would ever do anyway, but it might be enough to warrant letting them know.

 

[JIW]

I can confirm that the input does switch to USB if I let things go to sleep naturally (sounds like you probably triggered it without having to wait). Not sure if it's a bug, then, or if it's expected behaviour. However, I don't have it set to auto-select the input, so it should technically stay set to whatever I had selected prior to things going to sleep.

I also heard a "sizzle" sound for a second or two while messing around with the settings in the MIDI app (music was playing at the time), but I can't quite remember how it triggered. It's not something I would ever do anyway, but it might be enough to warrant letting them know.

Does it do it even with USB disconnected?

 

[ziggurcat]

Does it do it even with USB disconnected?

I do not know, but I can test that this evening.

@JIW Got home, and the DX5 II was set to Coax, which I don't even have selected as an option in the menu (nor is there a Coax connection to the DAC). Will unplug the USB, and let it go to sleep, now.

Update:

Unplugged the USB connection, left and came back a few hours later. Clicking the mouse/keyboard woke up the D10s, but the DX5 II's screen was off, and didn't wake up. I just used the remote to turn the DX5 II back on, and it was still set to Optical, so playing a song should have triggered it to wake up (which I tried before turning it on manually). So it looks like once the Optical signal has cut off, it switches to USB even though it really shouldn't because I don't have it set to auto-select the input. It's weird that it picked Coax before, though.

I also figured out how to trigger that sizzle sound, and it requires the use of a USB DDC. Another quirk about how I have things set up is I like to disable my Mac's volume controls, so I create a Multi-Output Device profile in the MIDI app. Some components I've used do this without requiring me to create this device (E50, and the SMSL PO100 USB DDC), but both the D10s and DX5 II do not. At any rate, to trigger this, I select both the D10s (or whatever USB DDC you may have) and the DX5 II in the Multi-Output Devices profile as active devices, then from the DX5 II's device profile, change the bit/sample rate while there is music playing. If the DX5 II is not selected in the Multi-Ouput profile, and I change the bit/sample rate of the DX5 II, there's a bit of a stutter, but no sizzle (which I think is perfectly normal to expect when changing that setting while music is going).

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Just received my unit.
As for now I can say that topping did improve remote significantly - now it's nothing to complain about, you can point directly to a wall and it is working just fine - that's very nice.
As for the heat - I'm using it with XK Audio Serene (same drivers as Susvara) and it's barely warm to the touch. It seems to be cooler than RME adi2
Will write some more impressions in the next week or so.
First impression is positive

 

[ziggurcat]

Just received my unit.
As for now I can say that topping did improve remote significantly - now it's nothing to complain about, you can point directly to a wall and it is working just fine - that's very nice.
As for the heat - I'm using it with XK Audio Serene (same drivers as Susvara) and it's barely warm to the touch. It seems to be cooler than RME adi2
Will write some more impressions in the next week or so.
First impression is positive

Interesting. I have found that the remote range isn't nearly as good as the BC-15A that was with the D50 III. I have found that I have to point the remote right at the DX5 II in order for it to register a button input. Anything more than 45 degrees left/right and 30 degrees up/down doesn't work.

 

[staticV3]

Interesting. I have found that the remote range isn't nearly as good as the BC-15A that was with the D50 III. I have found that I have to point the remote right at the DX5 II in order for it to register a button input. Anything more than 45 degrees left/right and 30 degrees up/down doesn't work.

BC=Bluetooth Control

Pro: DAC doesn't have to see an IR light to react -> better range
Con: Remote aggressively sleeps to preserve battery -> delay on wakeup

 

[Berwhale]

My DX5 II arrived yesterday. I swapped it with my EX5 and immediately upgraded the firmware (before even listening to it ).

After some initial listening tests to check it was working OK, I tried to adapt the automation I had setup with the EX5 to change PEACE/eAPO profile with the output buttons on the Topping remote. However, the 'smart' nature of the DX5 II defeated me...

The DX5 II lacks 'hard' buttons to switch between headphone and line outputs, so there are no discrete IR codes to capture and map to PEACE hotkeys to switch profiles. I tried simulating EX5 setup with the programable keys (C1 and C2), but these keys change much more than just the output. Using these keys causes the DX5 II to disconnect and reconnect to my PC. This stops the music playing and it has to be restarted after switching which is not a great experience. So I bit the bullet and transferred the PEQ for my iLoud MTMs and HD660S to Topping Tune and disabled PEACE/eAPO (and FLiRC) on my PC.

Note: Topping Tune will not accept the .peace files that PEACE generates for profiles. However, if you switch to a profile in PEACE it will update the peace.txt with the filters for the profile (this is how PEACE inserts the filters into eAPO). If you strip the first to lines of the peace.txt file, you can import this file directly into Topping Tune.

I now have just HP BAL and LO BAL outputs enabled, with the appropriate PEQ remembered for each output and I can switch between them by pressing the volume knob without interrupting the music. I paid £198 for the DX5 II after a rebate for delayed delivery, so I'm pretty happy with it.

The only negative I can find is that the finish on the case is a bit of a fingerprint magnet when compared to the EX5 (I have a black EX5 and DX5 II)

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

First request to @TOPPING @JohnYang1997 to add possibility to setup PEQ with interface on the device itself. Please please please.
Personally for me it's potentially the deal breaker.

 

[Jazigo]

Hi everyone!
I have been circling this DAC for a while now. I have 2 questions that I hope someone with insight can help me with:

1: Does the PEQ add any group delay to frequencies that are modified?
2: Could I use this PEQ as a Linkwitz Transform? (boosting the sub-region to get more bass out of a sealed speaker)

 

[liupublic]

Just bought a silver version on Amazon from toppinaudio seller on 8/5. Shipping directly from China to USA. Looking forward to try it out w Sennheiser hd660s2.

 

[ngs428]

My black one ordered a month ago from Apos finally shipped direct from China. Should have it in 1-2 weeks!

 

[oal]

I am looking for a room correction solution. Roon has a MUSE Convolution feature, but since I play sources other than Roon from my Mac, it would be best if I could use room correction with a USB DAC, such as the Topping DX5II.

Besides Topping DX5II and Topping Tune, miniDSP Flex and Dirac Live are my other candidates, though the latter is considerably more expensive.

I don't know about the future, but right now, I don't plan on using a subwoofer. For now, I need only 2ch room correction (not 2.1 or 4ch).

Do you have any comments on the room correction performance for 2ch of these two candidates? Or any other options?