I've bought Topping E2X2 OTG after reading forums and a few youtube reviews, so I decided to share my experience as well. I prefer no nonsense approach, do not like to overspend, just wanted the device which seems to be objectively transparent for headphones & speakers. Many people say these days DACs are quite similar or almost the same, I think the chipsets may be the same, but they are just a part of whole design which may affect the sound.
So here are my 2 cents for less pro-oriented consumers:
- tested this using Sennheiser HD600, HD560S, 490 PRO and Hifiman XS. I generally prefer hard hitting and revealing 560S.
- Topping stands out in low-mid frequency area, it sounds thicker and a bit clearer than DAC dongles, drums sound fuller (not bassier, but have more body), this part is really easy to hear
- generally I would say the tone is kind of thick-flat-smooth and I feel like it is compressed, but it may be just a perception due to flat eq
- most of other cheap DAC dongles I have, including praised Apple dongle, sound more open, they have more treble/air and harder/clearer bass, with some scoop in low mids (again, drums do not sound as thick as on Topping)
- my approach was: if the device is truly transparent, I will just EQ it to get whatever I want, but frankly speaking, after switching and trying devices many times using many songs (I find this part to be important), I just came to conclusion I prefer cheap DAC sound and filling low-mid gap seems to be easier than trying to make Topping more lively/open sounding
- my biggest problem is the lack of punch, I suspect it may be just a perception due to either boosted low mids or cuts in cheap dac dongles, assuming Topping is the perfect one, some of them just hit harder, which is useful in dense metal mixes imho. Even with boosted bass I feel like it is decaying longer, maybe it is just a perception, but that's what I feel
Apple dac sounded quite close to Topping, with more punch in bass, but with a bit low-mid cut. Lacks volume
CX-PRO which is Graveaudio DA06 ? sounds very punchy, with quite clear bass, slightly boosted treble, good with Hifiman XS, with some Sennheisers can be a little bit harsh
Jcally JM6 Pro is slightly rounder/warmer, with still more dynamic but a bit boomy bass, sometimes it sounds good with Sennheisers
Venture Electronics ODO - dry/clean sounding, almost like reduced gain, also not too much volume, smooth treble (or not as sharp as the others), actually very similar to Topping in mid-treble, but lacks bass. In many songs I found it quite good to separate instruments, better separation than Topping, but I did not like the sound anyway, with Hifiman XS it is nice, as XS is slightly dark. Has more low mids than Apple Dac.
....and some others, but I didn't like them that much so I didn't test them as much and unfortunately I don't remember anymore what was the conclusion. Oh I recall ...that realtek was kind of cold/scooped/less punchy.
I had Focusrite Scarlett looong time ago so I cannot compare directly, but I think it was closer to these dongles rather than Topping.
Actually I've seen some yt comparison between Topping and Focusrite, and Topping sounded more open, this is what I liked, so I am quite confused, either that YT Focusrite model was different sounding than mine, or there are some Topping revisions.
So I kind of see why some people may not like it.
