Topping PA5 Review (Amplifier)

[Kaval]

MarkWinston: If I request you to rank PA5, DA9, and Rotel, which one would get how many marks out of 10?

And I am requesting you to rank purely in terms of sound quality because, for example, DA9 would win hand down on the display, looks, remote control, EQ, bluetooth, and some other features.

 

[MarkWinston]

If I request you to rank PA5, DA9, and Rotel, which one would get how many marks out of 10?

And I am requesting you to rank purely in terms of sound quality because, for example, DA9 would win hand down on the display, looks, remote control, EQ, bluetooth, and some other features.

PA5 (9), Rotels (8 or 8.5) and DA9 (7). In that order.

 

[Frank Sol]

Like many in this thread... The idea of a PA9 (To integrate seamlessly into the Topping 90 series*) is where I will be ready to buy. Not because I don't think the PA5 is worth the money , it is because I don't have the need of another 'desktop' amp

*XLR inputs & matching footprint to begin with

 

[Enkay25]

Like many in this thread... The idea of a PA9 (To integrate seamlessly into the Topping 90 series*) is where I will be ready to buy, Not because I don't think the PA5 is worth the money , it is because I don't have the need of another 'desktop' amp

*XLR inputs & matching footprint to begin with

Same here.

I already let @JohnYang1997 know that PA5 is a pass for me.

Waiting for the higher power.

 

[D700]

I’d love to see Topping just package up an integrated amp with the retro black industrial styling, Orange VU meters and a smallish footprint. Walnut case optional.

 

[ModDIY]

I would like the price to be a little lower, the assembly to be of better quality, the terminal blocks very solid as with the competitors.

 

[WonkyDonkey]

My PA5 turned up this morning. £267 Inc delivery from Shenzhen Audio store on Ali Express. Will wait and see if I've got clouted for import duty and tax later...

I'm using TR to RCA phono adaptors while the balanced cables that were ordered at the same time as the PA5 struggle to make it 50 miles across the UK....

Impressions?

2x85W into the 4 Ohms and 96dB/W of the Klipsch Fortes is more than enough at 11ft listening distance. I was measuring 98dB peaks at the listening position and it sounded like it was cruising. This was with the speakers run full range which I almost never do, due to two DIY 15" subs handling 80Hz and down.

What was really noticeable was the grip on the bottom end that my 120W 4xKT90 valve monoblocks just can't touch. Much better bass texture and subjectively sounded deeper too.

Mids to highs sound sharper etched, more attacking. Clean though, not spitty and harsh. Just more honest than the valves, although that may prove fatiguing. More listening will tell.

One slight negative is that I can hear a high pitch squeal through the mid-driver. You can't hear it a the MLP and it's still there with the preamp off. You can turn it up/down with the PA5 gain - preamp gain makes no difference. We'll see if balanced connection makes any difference.

Either way, it's a hugely impressive device. Stupid value in the light of the £5k, 55lb monoblocks it may displace.

Russ

 

[tmtomh]

Topping has a lot to learn regarding quality

I'm sorry to be unpleasant, by why do you always feel the need to make silly overgeneralizations like this? One can easily agree that loose binding post connections is a quality control problem without indicting the quality control of all the brand's offerings - especially since to make such a claim one has to ignore the apparently high quality of the majority of their products. (Edit: @ModDIY just made such a comment above - clear and totally reasonable.)

I am not an apologist for Topping - I don't even own any of their equipment - but this kind of commentary from you is getting really, really tedious.

 

[Papaya_X]

I'm sorry to be unpleasant, by why do you always feel the need to make silly overgeneralizations like this? One can easily agree that loose binding post connections is a quality control problem without indicting the quality control of all the brand's offerings - especially since to make such a claim one has to ignore the apparently high quality of the majority of their products. (Edit: @ModDIY just made such a comment above - clear and totally reasonable.)

I am not an apologist for Topping - I don't even own any of their equipment - but this kind of commentary from you is getting really, really tedious.

Because we are customers and we pay for a product. Yes Topping offers high quality products, but why this one has a build quality that is not on par with others of their good products ? Why we, customers that payed for this products, wouldn't have the rights to point the finger on things that, we thinks are not as good as they sould be ?

IMHO, it is totally legitimate to say "Hey, it is a good designed product because it has very good measurements, when I'm listening to music it's like a miracle BUT the build quality is awfull because the solders are ugly, the potentiometer feels weak, the binding post aren't even properly fixed, especially considering that products at less than half the price performs better - in regard of the build quality -"

It is the same for every products on amazon, alibaba, aliexpress, your car, your smartphone, and so on... I highly doubt that when you buy something you take ONLY the performance into account... When you buy a car, if the performance are poor but the design is nice, the build quality is nice it is maybe not a very good product and if you have a performing car but it has very ugly cabin, poor fabrication quality it is the same.

It is NORMAL.

 

[tmtomh]

Because we are customers and we pay for a product. Yes Topping offers high quality products, but why this one has a build quality that is not on par with others of their good products ? Why we, customers that payed for this products, wouldn't have the rights to point the finger on things that, we thinks are not as good as they sould be ?

IMHO, it is totally legitimate to say "Hey, it is a good designed product because it has very good measurements, when I'm listening to music it's like a miracle BUT the build quality is awfull because the solders are ugly, the potentiometer feels weak, the binding post aren't even properly fixed, especially considering that products at less than half the price performs better - in regard of the build quality -"

It is the same for every products on amazon, alibaba, aliexpress, your car, your smartphone, and so on... I highly doubt that when you buy something you take ONLY the performance into account... When you buy a car, if the performance are poor but the design is nice, the build quality is nice it is maybe not a very good product and if you have a performing car but it has very ugly cabin, poor fabrication quality it is the same.

It is NORMAL.

I agree with what you say here - but your comment does not address the point I was making.

 

[WonkyDonkey]

EDIT: I arrived back from the shop to find my balanced leads had arrived. Now, even with the gain on the PA5 maxxed, there is no noise whatsoever. Absolute inky silent blackness. Perfect.

 

[NTK]

My take is that this is not so much a quality problem (as in quality of assembly) but a design problem. Picture below is from post #1013.

The nut (with the serrated lock washer) holding the speaker binding post compresses against the rear chassis panel through a thick plastic piece (for electrical insulation). Plastics tend to relax under load, and the compression force preventing the binding post from rotating can diminish rapidly after assembly. Applying the proper torque during assembly will likely not stop the posts from loosening with time.

As a comparison, here are pictures of WBT binding posts. They designed features into their binding posts to prevent them from spinning.

 

[bravomail]

Update to my review of PA5 and comparison to A07.
1. I noticed there might be issues with E50 Pre volume going to PA5 - do not set it to 0.0dB, set it to -4dB max.
2. I ran ReplayGain analysis of my test track and applied it - with values being track gain -4.89dB, track peak 0.976
3. After these two changes I notice no differences between PA5 and A07 - they sound identical

Side note to improved subbass of PA5 (kickdrums) - it does indeed sound cleaner and stronger, but not "punchier" as (likely) all harmonics, giving punch, got sucked out.

With this input clipping finding, and zero speaker noise at max volume, my preferred setup to use PA5 will be - set PA5 to max volume and control volume in your pre-amp/DAC or PC.

 

[D700]

My take is that this is not so much a quality problem (as in quality of assembly) but a design problem. Picture below is from post #1013.

The nut (with the serrated lock washer) holding the speaker binding post compresses against the rear chassis panel through a thick plastic piece (for electrical insulation). Plastics tend to relax under load, and the compression force preventing the binding post from rotating can diminish rapidly after assembly. Applying the proper torque during assembly will likely not stop the posts from loosening with time.

As a comparison, here are pictures of WBT binding posts. They designed features into their binding posts to prevent them from spinning.

View attachment 175317 View attachment 175318

I'm a big fan of WBT but that would likely add $50-$70 to the build cost. Maybe in the next size up.

 

[maty]

Or better idea, with low mass... ETI Research BP-20C Binding Post

Maybe, a future Topping PA5 Special Edition?

 

[somebodyelse]

I'm a big fan of WBT but that would likely add $50-$70 to the build cost. Maybe in the next size up.

Pick any reputable brand of binding posts at much lower cost - they all have a similar notch in their panel cutout. This has been normal for at least 30 years, and probably much longer. I just assumed the ones Topping were using would have something similar as it's not normally visible once the posts are fitted, and that they were loose rather than freely rotating. I guess in some arrangements (like those ETI and WBT ones) they could disengage from the notch and rotate once the nut becomes loose enough. Topping have been pretty good at fixing emerging issues in later batches so I expect we'll see something similar with this issue.

 

[Arashi_Tsunade]

my beloved Rega IO came out destroyed by the measurements of this site, yet I have been enjoying it for a year, to my ears it sounds great ... Has anyone listened to both amps? I am referring to the PA5 and the Rega IO. The idea of buying the PA5 is assailing me

 

[ogonex]

If someone was looking for ICEpower 200as2, they still have it here.
149E with cables.

ICEpower 200AS2 Amplifier Module with Integrated Power supply

blackdotaudio.eu

 

[pkane]

Got a PA5 for desktop use and for measurements

First successful test: at 5W into 8ohm, Cosmos ADC did the measuring. Not bad for an amp that's smaller than my DAC (ADI-2 Pro FS)

And a very low-level 1kHz signal playing:

 

[Enkay25]

Below -120db

-thoughtful-