Topping DX5II Balanced DAC and Headphone Amp Review

[Dk33145]

OK, crossfeed is now available

DX5 II version V2.07 firmware update - Topping audio

TOPPING, born in 2008, has evolved into a beloved global HIFI brand favored by users worldwide. We firmly believe that higher-quality music playback devices are essential for truly showcasing the allure of music. By investing extensively in professional technology and exceptional industrial...

www.toppingaudio.com

6. What's updated​

*Fixed: Several other known issues
*New: DSP crossfeed function
*Fixed: Several known issues

View attachment 507349

Buggy crossfeed with significant drop in volume and output select is also buggy, HPA BAL alone is incorrectly set as LO (loud fixed volume) and left right also got reversed on mine.

 

[ziggurcat]

OK, crossfeed is now available

DX5 II version V2.07 firmware update - Topping audio

TOPPING, born in 2008, has evolved into a beloved global HIFI brand favored by users worldwide. We firmly believe that higher-quality music playback devices are essential for truly showcasing the allure of music. By investing extensively in professional technology and exceptional industrial...

www.toppingaudio.com

6. What's updated​

*Fixed: Several other known issues
*New: DSP crossfeed function
*Fixed: Several known issues

View attachment 507349

I think I need a quick lesson on what these crossfeed settings mean.

 

[Yersinia Bestmate]

So could someone who has knowledge of the latest firmware update - is it still flawed as every version before it has been? Do peq settings disappear, change gain by their own etc?

I've got the unit for a few months now but I'm afraid to use the built in peq because of the way Topping handles these situations. I do not want to destroy my speakers.

Last time I'll buy anything from Topping for sure.. Sad, as the physical build quality has been top notch. But the software/firmware side.. basically it seems that their modus operandi is to outsource the QC and testing to customers.

By the way - does the gain setting affect line outputs on the back? In my Dx5II it doesn't and knowing Topping this could be a flaw or a designed feature.

 

[jodrim]

So could someone who has knowledge of the latest firmware update - is it still flawed as every version before it has been? Do peq settings disappear, change gain by their own etc?

I've got the unit for a few months now but I'm afraid to use the built in peq because of the way Topping handles these situations. I do not want to destroy my speakers.

Last time I'll buy anything from Topping for sure.. Sad, as the physical build quality has been top notch. But the software/firmware side.. basically it seems that their modus operandi is to outsource the QC and testing to customers.

By the way - does the gain setting affect line outputs on the back? In my Dx5II it doesn't and knowing Topping this could be a flaw or a designed feature.

Since the last couple of months the DX5 II and firmware's have been stable for me. Mainly use the USB and optical inputs for PC and TV. Have been using the PEQ with three headphones on all HPA outs and 2.1 system with RCA and XLR line outs. The two things that are still an issue perfect for me (as of firmware v1.93) is that my speaker PEQ which is set to L/R mode for per channel EQ sometimes switches to L+R forcing me to reimport my PEQ's for the channels. Although not sure if it is only a visual bug in Topping Tune or if it's actually changing the PEQ. I think it happens when adding new PEQ configs though so not super annoying. And sometimes just after having added a new PEQ, at least for HPA output, it's completely quiet and forces me to cycle through to the EQ for sound to play again. Other than that I'd say it's been working basically flawlessly for me.

The gain does affect line outputs when it is set to preamp mode which is how I use it with my speaker and sub. It has a DAC mode which when enabled doesn't have adjustable gain and the "Normal" page just shows the sampling rate instead of the gain. The high/low gain mode doesn't affect the line outputs in either mode.

 

[satanicek666]

so once again so I understand. when I have Mackie mr524 active speakers connected to the rear XLR output, do I have them set to Pre Amp or DAC in the dx5 II, so the gain can't be adjusted? can only the gain be adjusted on the front headphone outputs??

 

[jodrim]

so once again so I understand. when I have Mackie mr524 active speakers connected to the rear XLR output, do I have them set to Pre Amp or DAC in the dx5 II, so the gain can't be adjusted? can only the gain be adjusted on the front headphone outputs??

If you have the "Line out mode" set to "Preamp" in "Output settings" you can adjust the gain on the DX5 II and it will change the gain for the line outputs, including XLR line out, and therefore your active speakers yes. If you set the line out mode to DAC it will just output line level.

 

[satanicek666]

yes, I have the XLR output set to Pre Amp but when I switch the gain, nothing happens.... where am I making a mistake?

 

[jodrim]

yes, I have the XLR output set to Pre Amp but when I switch the gain, nothing happens.... where am I making a mistake?

When you say "switch" the gain are you talking about the "Gain" option in "Output settings" that can be set to "Low" and "High" or the actual output gain level? The gain option has never affected the line outputs for me at least, only the headphone amp. If the gain level shown on the normal page doesn't work then I'm not sure as it works perfectly for me.

Edit: Found in the manual that it shows the option as "Gain (Headphone gain): Low (default), High" so that setting specifically shouldn't affect line outs

 

[satanicek666]

Sorry, I don't know English. I'm using a translator. I mean GAIN Low (+6dB) or High (+10dB) which gives the headphones a bigger (stronger) sound. Sorry, maybe I misunderstood. Can the GAIN LOW or HIGH be switched to the rear xlr outputs?

 

[jodrim]

Sorry, I don't know English. I'm using a translator. I mean GAIN Low (+6dB) or High (+10dB) which gives the headphones a bigger (stronger) sound. Sorry, maybe I misunderstood. Can the GAIN LOW or HIGH be switched to the rear xlr outputs?

No, as the manual says it is only for headphone gain. But you can still adjust the gain of the XLR and RCA line outs if you're in preamp mode with the gain knob on the device itself or on the remote

 

[satanicek666]

thank you. I was already afraid that I had a faulty dx5 II

 

[satanicek666]

Have you tried the latest fw 2.07 yet??? is everything fine?

 

[jodrim]

Have you tried the latest fw 2.07 yet??? is everything fine?

Yes I've used it for a few hours now and it works fine so far. When testing the new crossfeed on some very stereo panned tracks from The Beatles like In My Life the "Simple" crossfeed makes that song more listenable. I still have the issue I mentioned earlier of Topping Tune converting PEQ configs modes from L/R to L+R in Topping Tune but I haven't encountered any new issues yet.

 

[satanicek666]

so the crossfeed works correctly? I don't use PEQ, only the one built into the dx5 II, which has the basic five to choose from and everything is fine

 

[jodrim]

so the crossfeed works correctly? I don't use PEQ, only the one built into the dx5 II, which has the basic five to choose from and everything is fine

Well this is my first DAC with crossfeed and I don't know how a "correct" crossfeed should sound and I don't know how Topping have implemented it. But the two crossfeed types available are "Simple" with configs/choices "Improved", "bs2b-default", "bs2b-ChuMoy", "bs2b-JanMeier" and "Convolution" with configs "Small Room" and "Studio Room". The "Simple" type generally sounds good on everything and seems to just feed some audio from both channels together a bit and fixes heavily stereo panned tracks and makes my headphones maybe sound a bit more speaker like. The Convolution type sounds like things are playing at a distance with Studio Room seemingly placing them a bit further away compared to Small Room, but that might be placebo.

 

[Timbo2]

Buggy crossfeed with significant drop in volume and output select is also buggy, HPA BAL alone is incorrectly set as LO (loud fixed volume) and left right also got reversed on mine.

I can confirm the significant drop in volume with Convolution selected. You'll lose whatever headroom you have from regular PEQ plus a significant amount for the crossfeed.

If you select one of the "Simple" selections you'll get much of that headroom back.

 

[Timbo2]

I think I need a quick lesson on what these crossfeed settings mean.

From DX9 Discrete

Crossfeed done right​

The headphone crossfeed system uses convolution modeling of HRTF and room acoustics to create natural spatial cues. It reduces the “inside-your-head” effect common to headphones, making the stage sound wider and more realistic. There’s even a simplified BS2B mode for a gentler presentation.

 

[Timbo2]

Now I'll add my gripe with the new crossfeed function. As discussed earlier here crossfeed won't work with a sample rate greater than 48kHz.

I realize I'm edge case, but I use LDAC over Bluetooth. Guess which sample rate Topping uses? 96kHz. LDAC supports lower sample rates, but in most implementations it defaults to up sampling everything to 96kHz. Topping doesn't allow you to change the sampling rate. It also doesn't let you deselect LDAC as a codec.

The only way to get crossfeed to work over Bluetooth if your Android source supports LDAC is to go into Developer Options and force it to use another codec which puts you back to the much inferior aptX HD

 

[jodrim]

Now I'll add my gripe with the new crossfeed function. As discussed earlier here crossfeed won't work with a sample rate greater than 48kHz.

I realize I'm edge case, but I use LDAC over Bluetooth. Guess which sample rate Topping uses? 96kHz. LDAC supports lower sample rates, but in most implementations it defaults to up sampling everything to 96kHz. Topping doesn't allow you to change the sampling rate. It also doesn't let you deselect LDAC as a codec.

The only way to get crossfeed to work over Bluetooth if your Android source supports LDAC is to go into Developer Options and force it to use another codec which puts you back to the much inferior aptX HD

I'm able to choose the sampling rate for LDAC in developer options on my Android. So I can set it to 96 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 48 kHz and 44.1 kHz for the DX5 II while it's still using LDAC. At least I assume it's still using LDAC as testing the same thing but connecting to my FiiO BTR13 it shows LDAC 48 kHz when it's selected instead of the standard 96 kHz. And as you say at 48 kHz and below the crossfeed works.

 

[Timbo2]

I'm able to choose the sampling rate for LDAC in developer options on my Android. So I can set it to 96 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 48 kHz and 44.1 kHz for the DX5 II while it's still using LDAC. At least I assume it's still using LDAC as testing the same thing but connecting to my FiiO BTR13 it shows LDAC 48 kHz when it's selected instead of the standard 96 kHz. And as you say at 48 kHz and below the crossfeed works.

I thought so too, but at least on my Nvidia Shield TV if you change the LDAC sample rate below 96kHz in developer mode it seems to switch to aptX HD.

The way I confirmed this was to go into the DX5II settings and disable aptX. Once I did that I could only get a 96kHz connection with LDAC. Maybe your Android source works better.