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Topping DX5II Balanced DAC and Headphone Amp Review
- Thread starter amirm
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ziggurcat
Addicted to Fun and Learning
A small update: Topping did get back to me regarding the sample rate discrepancy, and they said they'll investigate. In the grand scheme, it's pretty minor, and does sort of police itself if you just let things naturally go into standby (it's weird that manually putting the DX5 II into standby does not resolve this). At this point, I'm not sure if it's a Topping Tune or DX5 II issue.
In response, I mentioned the hiss in the right channel I encountered yesterday, but stressed that I have no idea how it happened or how to reproduce, and that I would let them know the moment I figure it out.
In response, I mentioned the hiss in the right channel I encountered yesterday, but stressed that I have no idea how it happened or how to reproduce, and that I would let them know the moment I figure it out.
ziggurcat
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Another update:
The hiss issue happened again. I have a theory as to why it happens, but it's one of those issues that seem to happen when you're away from everything, and there's no concrete cause. This time it would have happened in about a 4-hour window. In both instances where this has happened, I had been adding/deleting EQ profiles in Topping Tune, and both times, I manually put my Mac to sleep, then walked away. All of the EQ profiles were all manually entered, and only under the User Config tab in Topping Tune (I do not have any saved Local Config profiles other than the one that says "Default", which I did not create or save there myself.
Now, I didn't panic this time, and I switched to the saved speaker profile, and turned on my external amp. No hiss came through the speaker, and when switching back to my saved headphones profile, the hiss was gone.
I'm going to follow up with Topping very shortly.
The hiss issue happened again. I have a theory as to why it happens, but it's one of those issues that seem to happen when you're away from everything, and there's no concrete cause. This time it would have happened in about a 4-hour window. In both instances where this has happened, I had been adding/deleting EQ profiles in Topping Tune, and both times, I manually put my Mac to sleep, then walked away. All of the EQ profiles were all manually entered, and only under the User Config tab in Topping Tune (I do not have any saved Local Config profiles other than the one that says "Default", which I did not create or save there myself.
Now, I didn't panic this time, and I switched to the saved speaker profile, and turned on my external amp. No hiss came through the speaker, and when switching back to my saved headphones profile, the hiss was gone.
I'm going to follow up with Topping very shortly.
SorenTyson
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I miss my weekly andrenaline rush updating the firmware :-(
Greetings to all community members! I'm experiencing this issue on my dx5 ii (firmware 1.78, Topping Tune 1.9): when I increase the volume while listening through headphones, distortion appears in the right channel starting at about -25 dB. After that, reducing the volume doesn't resolve the issue. After rebooting the device, the distortion disappears, but when I increase the volume, the issue recurs. This issue occurs with both the parametric equalizer on and off. This has never happened before. Has anyone else encountered a similar problem?
Damn that sucks. Are you going to get it replaced? I assume it’s under warranty.Mine died already
It was actually pretty decent up until then for reliability without any issues. Wasn't even during a firmware update or anything: just turned it off for the night and it didn't start up the next day.
I kind of bought this knowing it’s a bit of a gamble, but still sucks to see it play out like that.
I have not experienced that, nor have I ever heard of that issue.
Has anyone successfully used the Topping DX5 II with an Android device via its USB connection? I don't expect this to be a valid use-case and I assume Topping only tested this with PCs and Macs.
I thought it might just work, but I get distorted audio and it sounds very much like buffer underruns. I'm seeing PCM 48kHz on the DAC, which seems standard for Android so I don't think the samplerate is the problem.
I thought it might just work, but I get distorted audio and it sounds very much like buffer underruns. I'm seeing PCM 48kHz on the DAC, which seems standard for Android so I don't think the samplerate is the problem.
For reference Bluetooth works completely fine. But I was curious if I could take advantage of USB to get low-latency audio for some musical apps I'm running.
ziggurcat
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Is it distortion or a hiss?
I have been trying to figure out a hissing noise from the Right channel over the last week that seems to involve the PEQ feature (FW v1.78, TT v1.09). I think I might have the steps down, but it's all still very unclear whether what I'm doing is the actual trigger. In my case as well, disconnecting the DX5 II does correct the issue. This is done by either turning it off from the switch on the back or pressing the C1/C2 buttons on the remote (which causes the DX5 II to momentarily disconnect).
I have only had this happen with PEQ enabled, and it seems like it's partially caused by how I have my particular desktop system set up.
Perhaps I expressed myself incorrectly and these distortions could indeed be called hissing. I've already written a letter to Topping's support team, I hope they can explain what might be causing this issue.
ziggurcat
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Are you able to list the steps you've done to get this to trigger?
And how are things connected?
While listening to music on my headphones (Fiio FT1 PRO), I simply turned up the volume and heard this hissing noise in the right channel. I thought there was something wrong with my headphones, so I swapped them for a different pair, but the problem persisted. Furthermore, turning the equalizer on and off doesn't solve the problem; only turning the device off with the button on the back does.
ziggurcat
Addicted to Fun and Learning
I have not had it happen just by turning up the volume on the DX5 II. I'm using HPA BAL, and I'm using the 4.4mm cable with my FiiO FT1 headphones. If you get it to happen again, try pressing the C1 or C2 buttons on the DX5 II remote. I have noticed that the DX5 II will momentarily disconnect from my computer, which is enough to cause the hiss to stop in my experience.
How do you have the DX5 II connected (i.e. USB, OPT, COAX)? I have things connected rather uniquely in order to fix a popping issue from my Mac's USB output. So, for me I have USB out from my Mac to a Topping D10s, then TOSLINK out from that to the DX5 II. I also have a physical USB connection from the DX5 II to my Mac to be able to update FW, and add/edit/remove PEQ profiles in TT, but I only have the OPT input enabled in my DX5 II's Input Option menu (USB is disabled in the Input Option menu).
I have not been able to reproduce the hiss with only USB out from the Mac to DX5 II (and removing the D10s entirely). With how I have to have things connected, it has involved creating a new PEQ profile in TT under the User Config tab, editing that slightly, selecting an already-existing PEQ profile instead, and putting everything to sleep. My D10s and DX5 II will periodically come out of/go back into standby over a period of time, and that is when the hiss triggers. It doesn't happen the first time they wake up/go back into standby, either, and can take a few hours for it to start hissing.
I'm using the HPA BAL and a 4.4mm cable with FiiO FT1 PRO headphones. The issue doesn't resolve itself when I press the C1 or C2 buttons on the remote.
The DX5 II is connected via USB to my Windows computer.
It seems we're having different issues, as on my device, the issue occurs when I increase the volume.
Lux Maldini
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Sorry, I'm just curious. Why do you want to replace it?
Probably in terms of performance they're comparable. RME has more features, though. In terms of longevity, probably not comparable. DX5 ii is a lot cheaper.
Bernard23
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Just stumbled across this thread having just acquired a Wiim pro to feed my JDS Element 2. I had been using a PC + Roon as the streamer and DSP but figured a used Pro would work out cheaper and easier / more portable solution. Wondering if this DX5 II would be a better solution.
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