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TOPPING EHA5

19lexicon78 said:
why only stax headphones?
perhaps also a voltage switch + connection for sennheiser he60 and he90 phones.
only ifi has one
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Kingsound KS-h4 and KS-H3 can be used also?
 
There are a lot of actually sort-of affordable estat amps coming out lately, along with interesting electrostatic headphones. (I'm really interested in the Dan Clark and Moondrop ones coming up.)

1681501057977.png


Not a lot of faith in the Head-Case Stax thread, they've been burned by cheap Chinese energizers before.
 
NoteMakoti said:
There are a lot of actually sort-of affordable estat amps coming out lately, along with interesting electrostatic headphones. (I'm really interested in the Dan Clark and Moondrop ones coming up.)

View attachment 279299

Not a lot of faith in the Head-Case Stax thread, they've been burned by cheap Chinese energizers before.
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Wait a second. I thought Trump just turned himself in last week. He still tweeting Chi~na~?
 
I got burned buying a Jr Audio estat amp from china. It literally died and started smoking. Spritzer literally did a review on my unit. This was also at a much higher price tag (at least 4-5 fold the topping one). I've been either burned or seriously let down by basically everything else I've ever bought from china. This past year I've been dumping all my chifi gear on the used market. I'm done. I'm disappointed in my A90D as it is. None of it was worth the penning pinching. I recently started buying more Schiit products, and now a Mytek headamp to replace the A90D. Much happier.
 
For those of you looking for cheaper alternatives to estat headphones, with even higher transient speed and precision than estats, I recommend ribbon headphones.
 
I see someone else noticed the mistake in the marketing materials regarding the "appalling" signal to noise ratio. I contacted Topping because I felt bad for them, but I'm sure they are already aware. Doesn't their chief designer hang around this site occasionally ?
 
I ordered one of these within 10 minutes of learning that it existed, looking forward to checking it out. I've been running my L700 mk2 with an SRD-7 Pro transformer box and an Aiyima Aiyima A07. I have no complaints with the sound - it gets plenty loud with headroom for EQ - but having two boxes is kind of a fussy setup.
 
There are reports of first impressions from the subjective side of the "valley" over on head-fi. Interesting stuff for those of us awaiting delivery.
Worth a read...
www.head-fi.org

TOPPING EHA5 on Apos Audio: Unlock the True Potential of Your Electrostatic Headphones

Just got mine today! Ordered from Apos not long after it was listed for sale. It was shipped directly from China. BUILD: The sheet metal is pretty thick which is great. Stax SRM-400S metal on the top/side is quite thin in comparison. Jade II amp is like a tank ... which seems excessive for...
www.head-fi.org www.head-fi.org
 
I have some 'stat headphones, and they DO benefit from a better amp - an amp with lower distortion and noise that can swing more voltage with a higher slew rate than the existing stuff from Stax, Woo, etc. Amir tested some Stax amps but didn't understand how to measure an amp designed to drive a purely capacitive load. I had a Stax SRM1 Mk2 and also an SRM-T1 at first, then moved to a KGSSHV and now use a KG-Carbon. I heard a HUGE difference between the Stax amps and the KGSSHV- my SR-007 mk1's really came alive and I had headroom to EQ them without driving the amp to clipping. I can't say that I can hear much difference between the KGSSHV and the Carbon. At any rate if you have electrostatic 'phones, a better amp than what Stax offers is a step up. It seems the the SR-007's (all versions) REALLY come alive with a better amp, with more noticeable improvement than the other 'Stax phones or the the Koss 950's. (I also have a pair of ESP=950's with a Stax cable, and a pair of SR-Lambda Signatures. They do benefit from a better amp, but not as markedly as the SR-007's. I also had a pair of SR-007 v2's, I sold those, did not like them.)

I may buy one of these Topping amps to try out. Watch this space.

By the way, Spritzer and Dr. Gilmore are snobs and don't like much commercial gear. Dr. Gilmore's designs are often brilliant, but just because something is made in China doesn't mean it will be junk. They need to look at some of Topping's amps, DACs stc. Topping headphone amps beat the snot out of any Gilmore/Headamp stuff on the test bench. I see no reason to suspect that a Topping electrostatic amp would be badly designed or built.
 
milosz said:
I have some 'stat headphones, and they DO benefit from a better amp - an amp with lower distortion and noise that can swing more voltage with a higher slew rate than the existing stuff from Stax, Woo, etc. Amir tested some Stax amps but didn't understand how to measure an amp designed to drive a purely capacitive load. I had a Stax SRM1 Mk2 and also an SRM-T1 at first, then moved to a KGSSHV and now use a KG-Carbon. I heard a HUGE difference between the Stax amps and the KGSSHV- my SR-007 mk1's really came alive and I had headroom to EQ them without driving the amp to clipping. I can't say that I can hear much difference between the KGSSHV and the Carbon. At any rate if you have electrostatic 'phones, a better amp than what Stax offers is a step up. It seems the the SR-007's (all versions) REALLY come alive with a better amp, with more noticeable improvement than the other 'Stax phones or the the Koss 950's. (I also have a pair of ESP=950's with a Stax cable, and a pair of SR-Lambda Signatures. They do benefit from a better amp, but not as markedly as the SR-007's. I also had a pair of SR-007 v2's, I sold those, did not like them.)

I may buy one of these Topping amps to try out. Watch this space.

By the way, Spritzer and Dr. Gilmore are snobs and don't like much commercial gear. Dr. Gilmore's designs are often brilliant, but just because something is made in China doesn't mean it will be junk. They need to look at some of Topping's amps, DACs stc. Topping headphone amps beat the snot out of any Gilmore/Headamp stuff on the test bench. I see no reason to suspect that a Topping electrostatic amp would be badly designed or built.
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Let’s not comment on spritzer trump’s fancy made in iceland piece of treasure that he meant to sell for non-profit, regardless of whatever those sloppy chassis may cost. The market will tell.
 
And for those who think Edifier is screwing STAX, stax was sold to Edifier for only less than 2 million dollars, which is less than many fancy apartments in China. So whoever think Hifi market is something that worth a big deal and their preference means that much, the market is telling you, no one gives a crap about audiophiles especially those who claim to hear all kinds of fictional differences.
 
I ordered a a Topping EHA5 from APOS Audio last night. I'll report on it after it arrives. I have no real test gear so I can't do any real testing; I do have OmniMic and also the RightMark audio analyzer app, as well as a Scarlet A/D converter which is quite good, so I COULD do some S/N and distortion comparisons of the Carbon amp vs the Topping EHA5 acoustically using my Stax SR-007a headphones and a DIY mic coupler - not sure it would reveal much about the amps, though, as their distortion levels would have to be pretty high to show any differences between the amps through the headphones. Certainly I couldn't do any kind of meaningful FR testing with a cardboard acoustic coupler, but I think it would be possible to compare the noise and distortion through the 'phones between the two amps. And I can do a listening comparison, though actually I would be surprised if there are any audible differences . I'll post some pictures of the insides.
 
Pretty harsh critic here regarding safety issues:

www.head-case.org

Topping EHA-5

Well this just arrived and as is our fashion, it has not been plugged in at all before I rip it apart. I'm having some camera issues (bloody Lightroom) so not as many as I'd like. Now first off why this belongs on a trashpile... here is the output: It's a pain to get a camera to focus between the...
www.head-case.org

@JohnYang1997
 
I've just been told by Apos that they won't be able to ship my order until after May 25th. I'm ok with waiting as I'd rather not be the first to potentially have my L700 Mk ii burst into flames, while listening to Hendrix. :eek:
 
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dartinbout said:
I've just been told by Apos that they won't be able to ship my order until after May 25th. I'm ok with waiting as I'd rather not be the first to potentially have my L700 Mk ii burst into flames, while listening to Hendrix. :eek:
Click to expand...

I think we are blowing things out of proportion lol... It's basically a Topping amplifier with output transformers...
 
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Many people already use powerful amplifiers that are capable of blowing up their speakers when driven at full volume, I don’t see them stopping to use those amplifies anytime soon, they just have to be careful with the volume control or use it in low gain mode, I thought this was common sense in Audio. I don’t see why the topping EHA5 should be treated differently. Topping got a bad reputation after the L30 problem with it sometimes outputting DC instead of AC but that can’t possibly happen to the EHA5 because DC can never physically pass through a transformer let alone be stepped up by it, if it did, Tesla would have never been as famous as he is and USA would probably still be powered with Edison’s DC.
 
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Aokman said:
I think we are blowing things out of proportion lol... It's basically a Topping amplifier with output transformers...
Click to expand...
Probably, but all I'm really saying is, that a delay caused by an abundance of orders, has an upside. I say this as a geek, who has built computers since the 80's, so I've spent time on the bleeding edge. I prefer my adoption of new tech to leave a bruise rather then stitches.
 
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