Topping E2x2 Audio Interface Review

[elvisizer]

Yes, but it is MAC only.

We are taking audio
I’d hope there’s something similar for alsa on Linux but amoeba only does Mac apps so it won’t be from them

 

[Mulder]

We are taking audio
I’d hope there’s something similar for alsa on Linux but amoeba only does Mac apps so it won’t be from them

On Linux there is JACK

 

[LIΟN]

@JohnYang1997

Every time you connect the audio interface (E2X2) and turn on the software, the window volume of the input changes like this. And Also e2x2 change other device volume.
the Umik (Minidsp) microphone, which is separately connected to the computer via USB, also changes the volume in that way.(Of course, the REW adjusts the volume appropriately for umik use. About -9db, but that's 10db less than that.)
Should I fix this every time?

 

[Jimster480]

I don't know how you can put "customer service" and "Behringer" in the same sentence. I bought one of their speakers on Amazon. Measured it. It was clearly broken. Initiated a warranty repair. After some delay and back and forth, they said to send it to them which I did. Even though I had bought this from Amazon and I had shown then a copy of my online receipt, they answered that I had not provided proper proof of purchase so I had to send them that order reference again. After a while they said they have no parts for it so can't repair it. And proceeded to close the ticket without any offer of a refund!!! So now I not only had lost the original purchase price but cost of shipping too. I tried to get their attention again but they would not respond. BTW, this is on top of the stupid "tribe" thing you have to register just to submit such a ticket.

A few months went by and I decided to contact their sales channel and telling them (again) that I am reviewer. This got their attention and they then offered to make a refund. But not to my credit card but with a wire transfer to my back account (!). I provided all of the information and they say that the info must be wrong as they can't do the transfer. I check with my bank and it is all correct. I send again but they still complain and once again proceed to close my ticket!

The above went on for some 9 months. A couple of months ago on a whim, I complained to Amazon. They immediately issued a refund to me even though this was not their fault.

Based on this, I would never, ever buy anything Behringer.

While the products are decent as I have a UMC202HD for many years now; there is no customer service at all from basically any brand anymore... customers are totally left in the dark if they have issues.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

While the products are decent as I have a UMC202HD for many years now; there is no customer service at all from basically any brand anymore... customers are totally left in the dark if they have issues.

I realize these companies are in a different category from Topping or Behringer, but I've gotten some seriously good customer service from Kali Audio and SVS -- both companies answered my e-mails on the next business day, and when the amp in my subwoofer literally went up in smoke while under warranty SVS sent me a replacement amp assembly immediately after (unnecessarily, but cordially) coaching me through a fault-confirming test procedure. That's a major contrast with my Topping experience and Amir's Behringer ordeal.

 

[JohnYang1997]

@JohnYang1997
View attachment 324533

Every time you connect the audio interface (E2X2) and turn on the software, the window volume of the input changes like this. And Also e2x2 change other device volume.
the Umik (Minidsp) microphone, which is separately connected to the computer via USB, also changes the volume in that way.(Of course, the REW adjusts the volume appropriately for umik use. About -9db, but that's 10db less than that.)
Should I fix this every time?

This has not been reported by others before. Btw we are struggling to change the device settings in Windows by our software. This means we have not implemented anything like this in the software yet.
I'm not sure how this could happen..

 

[LIΟN]

This has not been reported by others before. Btw we are struggling to change the device settings in Windows by our software. This means we have not implemented anything like this in the software yet.
I'm not sure how this could happen..

I sent it to the customer center by e-mail. Also, even if the sample rate is set to 48000, the topping software is always set to 44100 each time you reconnect or restart. The interesting thing is that if you watch the software still, it changes to the value I set at 48000 in about 30 seconds to 1 minute. And the gain of the window input seems to be a bug. When I changed it to 0db, the recording level I expected was correct. (In order to get the desired recording level at approximately -20.9db changed by e2x2, you need to turn almost all of the analog, headphone gain, and speaker gain. It wasn't enough, and I played with all three of the changed gains of software digital gain, hardware analog gain, and window input... Window input was correct 0db)

 

[half_dog]

I sent it to the customer center by e-mail. Also, even if the sample rate is set to 48000, the topping software is always set to 44100 each time you reconnect or restart. The interesting thing is that if you watch the software still, it changes to the value I set at 48000 in about 30 seconds to 1 minute. And the gain of the window input seems to be a bug. When I changed it to 0db, the recording level I expected was correct. (In order to get the desired recording level at approximately -20.9db changed by e2x2, you need to turn almost all of the analog, headphone gain, and speaker gain. It wasn't enough, and I played with all three of the changed gains of software digital gain, hardware analog gain, and window input... Window input was correct 0db)

I have noticed something similar on my unit:
About the gain:
I had to increase the volume at windows Sound settings (playback and recording) for each input and output.
Sampling rate:
It takes a few seconds to "update" to the correct sampling rate (and I had to change for each input and output as well).

@JohnYang1997 one thing that mine doesn't do correctly is save the setup (mix and name). It doesn't bother me because at least it keeps the last configuration.

 

[LIΟN]

I have noticed something similar on my unit:
About the gain:
I had to increase the volume at windows Sound settings (playback and recording) for each input and output.
Sampling rate:
It takes a few seconds to "update" to the correct sampling rate (and I had to change for each input and output as well).

@JohnYang1997 one thing that mine doesn't do correctly is save the setup (mix and name). It doesn't bother me because at least it keeps the last configuration.

I also sent an email to the topping customer center and asked them to record a video about it, but I delayed it. You're just like I'm going through.
I was able to make a relative comparison because I already had a microphone with a calibrated SPL sensitivity. The first thing I thought was that this wasn't a bug, it was an intended move.(For protect Digital Gain Clipping thins? I dont know. Just i guess.. )
However, I found that everything needs to be changed to 0db (Windows OS Sound Control Panel) to work with normal gain and volume.
This seems to be separate from the digital gain within the software.
And most importantly, it changes the window gain as well, either the input microphone or the input speaker (which is also connected to other devices) connected to the USB connected to the pc.
The sample rate will also change if you wait as you said. That's weird, too. If you stay still for about 10 to 20 seconds, we've seen it change from 44100 to 48000.

 

[JohnYang1997]

I sent it to the customer center by e-mail. Also, even if the sample rate is set to 48000, the topping software is always set to 44100 each time you reconnect or restart. The interesting thing is that if you watch the software still, it changes to the value I set at 48000 in about 30 seconds to 1 minute. And the gain of the window input seems to be a bug. When I changed it to 0db, the recording level I expected was correct. (In order to get the desired recording level at approximately -20.9db changed by e2x2, you need to turn almost all of the analog, headphone gain, and speaker gain. It wasn't enough, and I played with all three of the changed gains of software digital gain, hardware analog gain, and window input... Window input was correct 0db)

The sample rate part is known. The sample rate shown on the control center will be set to default after reconnect. Once you use ASIO or have system audio playing anything the sample rate will be changed to the correct value. So if the sample rate in the audio properties is 192khz then the sample rate will change to 192khz once a sound is played either a Windows sound effect or from a web browser or a music player.

We'll take some time to figure out about the gain though.

 

[JohnYang1997]

I have noticed something similar on my unit:
About the gain:
I had to increase the volume at windows Sound settings (playback and recording) for each input and output.
Sampling rate:
It takes a few seconds to "update" to the correct sampling rate (and I had to change for each input and output as well).

@JohnYang1997 one thing that mine doesn't do correctly is save the setup (mix and name). It doesn't bother me because at least it keeps the last configuration.

The procedure to save to a new workspace is to click save to new then type the name then press enter. Don't click on the "save" icon.

Currently the sample rate on Windows and software are separate. In near future we will add a feature to sync the window sample rate to the one in the control center.

 

[JohnYang1997]

I realize these companies are in a different category from Topping or Behringer, but I've gotten some seriously good customer service from Kali Audio and SVS -- both companies answered my e-mails on the next business day, and when the amp in my subwoofer literally went up in smoke while under warranty SVS sent me a replacement amp assembly immediately after (unnecessarily, but cordially) coaching me through a fault-confirming test procedure. That's a major contrast with my Topping experience and Amir's Behringer ordeal.

What's been your experience with our customer service? In my mind it wouldn't be so different from SVS's you described.

 

[JohnYang1997]

If you bought E2X2, whether you experience any issue or not, welcome to my discord server. https://discord.com/invite/3UZGSffF
This is semi official.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

What's been your experience with our customer service? In my mind it wouldn't be so different from SVS's you described.

I was told via e-mail I would have to ship my inexpensive product, an E30 DAC, to China for some sort of evaluation before it could be "repaired" (or replaced?) under warranty -- and that was after Amir helped me finally get a useful response from Topping. This is in sharp contrast to SVS's (and Kali Audio's) excellent approach to customer service.

 

[musicforcities]

For the price it seems a killer mic interface for desktop use, semi pro podcasts and online teaching.


Indeed, this is what I needed during covid teaching classes online. condenser mics picked up too much background noise so I bought a Sampson dynamic mic for the desk (AT mics were ubobtainium at the time) and a shure dynamic head mic with a long mini xlr cable, because I could not stand giving lectures while seated at a desk. Both were great but of course needed relatively high gain input. The Samson includes a half decent usb interface inside it (including a no lag headphone dac/jack for monitoring) but the shure needed an interface and the inexpensive ones one could find were all pretty hisssy, had lots of usb hub issues with hums, buzzes other noise and often were laggy. Ended up using the MacBook Pro internal adc as it automatically adjusts the preamp mic gain based on signal level. The higher gain needed for dynamic mics had more hiss but was loud enough and clear without clipping and best I tried for around $109-150 and most importantly no usb noise /ground issues. Plus it passed a clean no lag signal to zoom, etc.

But I would I have loved this topping device.

 

[half_dog]

The procedure to save to a new workspace is to click save to new then type the name then press enter. Don't click on the "save" icon.

Thanks!! it worked as intended!

May I ask you about this function?

 

[bequietjk]

Wouldn't expect anything less from Topping, to jump into the audio interface game. Ooooo wee! Cannot wait to see what's next!

 

[LIΟN]

I rented a local soccer field today for binaural measurements.
Before leaving the house, I checked that all inputs, outputs, umik mic, EQ and gain apply well.
But as soon as I got to the site and set it up, I changed the sample rate from 48000 to 44100 in one second, and I changed it to 44100 with infinite repetition when I returned it.
Not only that, but my umik microphone is dead and I don't understand it.
So I lost confidence in the software. I spent 80% of the time I rented the football field today to fix this error and would have liked to throw away the audio interface if it wasn't for my binaural measurement purposes.

This definitely needs to be fixed. I wouldn't be able to respond on the spot if I didn't have any experience with audio programs. Then it's completely ruined. (Today's message is almost ruined, too. my cost and time)

Hardware(E2x2) is No Problem.
But software is hell or nightmare (at least for me today).

 

[Blumlein 88]

View attachment 326028

I rented a local soccer field today for binaural measurements.
Before leaving the house, I checked that all inputs, outputs, umik mic, EQ and gain apply well.
But as soon as I got to the site and set it up, I changed the sample rate from 48000 to 44100 in one second, and I changed it to 44100 with infinite repetition when I returned it.
Not only that, but my umik microphone is dead and I don't understand it.
So I lost confidence in the software. I spent 80% of the time I rented the football field today to fix this error and would have liked to throw away the audio interface if it wasn't for my binaural measurement purposes.

This definitely needs to be fixed. I wouldn't be able to respond on the spot if I didn't have any experience with audio programs. Then it's completely ruined. (Today's message is almost ruined, too. my cost and time)

Hardware(E2x2) is No Problem.
But software is hell or nightmare (at least for me today).

That is a bad experience for sure. Having done live recording this type of experience once will make you swear off of a brand. Sorry this happened to you.

 

[LIΟN]

Also ,
While dealing with these errors, I couldn't even properly place the basstrap, and all the EQs didn't apply, but I did a beautiful setting of an initial reflection close to -40db at a distance of 2.4m.
But the binaural recorded IR that was recorded today All the notes don't work. OMG
My day was just deleted.