Topping E2x2 Audio Interface Review

[fordiebianco]

Hi Chaps and chapettes,

could someone please fill me in on the use of the ADC part of this unit? Do you plug in guitars/basses/microphones in directly? What's the typical analog signal for which the unit was designed?

Ta.

 

[Ra1zel]

Am I the only one who would be scared to plug his 1200$ mic into a topping?

 

[Mulder]

Hi Chaps and chapettes,

could someone please fill me in on the use of the ADC part of this unit? Do you plug in guitars/basses/microphones in directly? What's the typical analog signal for which the unit was designed?

Ta.

First and foremost microphones. It has a microphone amplifier built into it.. But it is also possible to plug in any instrument. You could also use it for measurements of your HiFi system if you want to use EQ (that also requires a measuring microphone of course). I guess you could use it with REW for example. Often you route the digitalized analogue input signal through a computer and then back to this or another unit. You can use it as an input source only (or I suppose you can) and use another DAC for output. EDIT: well, it seems you can´t.

 

[tktran303]

Well I’d sign up for a pre-order of a 2x6
device. If you build it, we will come

@TOPPING-Service

 

[Mathijs Kok]

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

And Topping did a great job when I had a dead device. They sent me a new one, which arrived two days later, and they said I could bin the broken one.

 

[Michael Fidler]

Hi Chaps and chapettes,

could someone please fill me in on the use of the ADC part of this unit? Do you plug in guitars/basses/microphones in directly? What's the typical analog signal for which the unit was designed?

Ta.

It looks like you can plug instruments in directly with a specified input of 1M. It also looks like you can connect it to most line outputs (although the input impedance is rather low at 6k which may be a little too demanding for some line output circuits). There's also a phantom bower option for condenser/powered microphones, so quite a lot of features indeed.

 

[Mulder]

Great for the price and for casual users.

Wouldn’t personally use it in any professional context until driver reliability and customer support is field proven.

Agree. I would say support, software updates and such are as important as the device itself for this kind of products. The use of this device is computer dependent, so without solid software support I would hesitate. The lifespan and firmware support from Topping HiFi have been short. Time will tell how Topping will handle support for this product-category. RME for example don´t just build great devices, they also have an outstanding support adding tons of value.

 

[Mulder]

It looks like you can plug instruments in directly with a specified input of 1M. It also looks like you can connect it to most line outputs (although the input impedance is rather low at 6k which may be a little too demanding for some line output circuits). There's also a phantom bower option for condenser/powered microphones, so quite a lot of features indeed.

View attachment 322669

I looked into this product a bit closer and it seems it can NOT deliver a digital output signal. I think this is a huge drawback that makes it less usable and less attractive. Really an entry level product.

 

[Michael Fidler]

I looked into this product a bit closer and it seems it can NOT deliver a digital output signal. I think this is a huge drawback that makes it less usable and less attractive. Really an entry level product.

This is true but it is $159 after all... Far more than I would expect.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Am I the only one who would be scared to plug his 1200$ mic into a topping?

No I would not plug that in.

However, people using 1200 dollar mics are not the target group of this entry level device. It’s more the one man bands or DJs starting out and being on a budget. And for that it does a good job apparently. Or at least let’s wait if there is any feedback on driver stability and overall quality.

Currently I would go with 4th gen Scarlet 2i2 until more is known about the Topping, if I was in the market for an entry level device.

 

[phoenixsong]

Julian Krause did mention in his video that depending on the power provided, the performance of the headphone output is also affected. However, I didn't really understand that portion. Must the supplementary usb c power input be used to attain that ideal performance, or is it dependent on the device that is feeding the signal to the E2x2 thru the primary usb c connection? If it is the latter, how should we know if our device is adequately powering the E2x2 to hit the ideal headphone output performance without the help of measuring devices?

 

[phoenixsong]

Also, I have high hopes for better gear to follow. "E" is often the lowest line in Topping products after all

 

[staticV3]

Julian Krause did mention in his video that depending on the power provided, the performance of the headphone output is also affected. However, I didn't really understand that portion. Must the supplementary usb c power input be used to attain that ideal performance, or is it dependent on the device that is feeding the signal to the E2x2 thru the primary usb c connection? If it is the latter, how should we know if our device is adequately powering the E2x2 to hit the ideal headphone output performance without the help of measuring devices?

The E2X2 requires 5V 0.8A for full output power.
If your PC cannot supply 0.8A via USB, then you can use the auxiliary USB port to supply power externally from a USB charger, power bank, etc.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Not the performance we expected,specially on the DAC part which is a 15 yo performance considering interfaces at similar price.

Well, it is using one of about two models of codec suitable for a midrange audio interface, neither of which has a spectacular DAC portion by modern standards. It seems to be an AK4621, which dates from 2011. With some accomodation, an audio interface in its original intended application can easily get by with a fairly modest DAC, and this one is well into blameless territory by audibility standards (just not measurement-grade).

The E2x2 is basically a souped-up version of the Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen product segment, with a mic preamp that wrings better-than-datasheet performance out of the codec's ADC and a bombastic headphone amp section. It is about as much as you can ask for in a 2x2 interface at the price. Keep in mind it still costs less than a MOTU M2 or 4th gen Scarlett 2i2.

 

[thewas]

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.

Of course Behringer is probably the probably one of the worst counterexamples/alternatives but there are other brands in similar price ranges which despite a tad lower SINAD I would prefer any day due their long product history, reliability and existing costumer service.

 

[ocinn]

Agree. I would say support, software updates and such are as important as the device itself for this kind of products. The use of this device is computer dependent, so without solid software support I would hesitate. The lifespan and firmware support from Topping HiFi have been short. Time will tell how Topping will handle support for this product-category. RME for example don´t just build great devices, they also have an outstanding support adding tons of value.

The PA5 fiasco is somewhat a red flag for me.

however the “stakes” of a product like this are much higher. Pa5 is designed for enthusiast consumers. If their amp dies, oh well, they lose an amp that they use for an enthusiast hobby. It’s annoying but is not costing anyone income or reputation/professionalism.

In in professional contexts there are deadlines and expectations. A driver bug that stagnates work or corrupts a perfect take, that takes a week before the manufacturer can solve the issue is completely unacceptable.

Am I saying the prospective client of a $150 interface is needing to deal with strict deadlines etc….? Not necessarily.

But competitors like focusrite, MOTU, and RME (somewhat, they are pretty high end overall), who not only serve the budget/prosumer line, but also operate in ultra professional studio scenarios have customer support and development infrastructure to handle extremely urgent and serious matters, and have DECADES of software development experience to back it up (so there are no issues from the get-go) and that support directly translates down to their cheapest most entry level products.

ASR has a very strong focus on technical measurements, etc… but most of us in the pro world are happy to take a hit in performance for absolutely guaranteed reliability and customer support.

Issues cost enthusiasts convenience, issues cost professionals money and reuputarion.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Am I the only one who would be scared to plug his 1200$ mic into a topping?

Why should there be a reason to be afraid? Mics are already built to deal with 48 V phantom power (which has fairly modest current limits to boot). The only instances of mics being damaged by inputs I've heard of were concerning very old / blatantly miswired (cheap) dynamics where the mic capsule ended up between P48V and ground - and then any input with phantom power turned on would do it.

 

[Tangband]

Dont buy this unit before you know about its reability !

This is Alfa and Omega when doing recordings. Much more important than good measurements.

Can this unit be bought in a regular store ? If not - its worse than Behringer regarding quality issues. Who are you gonna phone ?

I hope Im wrong on this , but as I said - wait a year, then we know about the real quality.

 

[Postlan]

ASIO?

 

[staticV3]

ASIO?

Yes. The driver is here: https://topping.pro/2023/08/02/e2x2-drivers-and-user-manual/