Topping PA5 Review (Amplifier)

[Rafaille]

Verified mine is 2111. Will keep you updated on the return policy.

Mine (suffering from popping noise) is 2110

 

[BoredErica]

Does it happen with nothing connected to the input?

Yes.

Just woke up. Turned on Pa5. Right channel has so much noise all a sudden, I can see the speaker cone move back and forth. That's the case even with connection to dac removed. Perhaps problem is getting worse and right channel just took a dump today.

This is more problematic. Noise is one thing, losing a channel entirely is another. Problem is I'd rather not spend more money on another amp right now (because any other amp would cost more). Kind of in a savings period right now, and Buckeye amp would come August earliest. But then I'm probably going to get another defective unit if I RMA so...

 

[AudioArchitech]

It’s a terrible feeling to have to send PA5 back to HiFiGo in China for warranty, wait.. only to expect another defective unit. It’s lame.

 

[Toku]

On mine predominantly. When I switch off the DAC especially (if that is what you meant... I did not try disconnect the cables)

If noise appears when nothing is connected to IN1/IN2 of PA5, there is a problem with PA5. On the contrary, if the noise disappears, there is a problem on the input source side such as the DAC connected to PA5.

 

[pma]

Yes.

Just woke up. Turned on Pa5. Right channel has so much noise all a sudden, I can see the speaker cone move back and forth. That's the case even with connection to dac removed. Perhaps problem is getting worse and right channel just took a dump today.

This is more problematic. Noise is one thing, losing a channel entirely is another. Problem is I'd rather not spend more money on another amp right now (because any other amp would cost more). Kind of in a savings period right now, and Buckeye amp would come August earliest. But then I'm probably going to get another defective unit if I RMA so...

My sincere recommendation in such case is not to use the amplifier anymore to prevent speaker damage, in case that the speaker has some value for you.

 

[BoredErica]

My sincere recommendation in such case is not to use the amplifier anymore to prevent speaker damage, in case that the speaker has some value for you.

Noted, thank you.

 

[raest]

well, seems like mine has developed the issue after a month. serial 2201

being a relatively new dad, my patience for dealing with this kind of bs is really low, and time even lower, so this has soured me quite a bit when it comes to Topping products. i will try my very hardest to try and return these obviously very poorly engineered products (yes, chasing sinad while making such huge sacrifices to reliability is extremely poor engineering) for a refund (considering my luck with these kinds of things, i'm probably looking at months of back and forth with no refund), and will avoid any and all Topping products in the future, because it has become extremely obvious the company is focused on "gaming the SINAD game" to get as many customers as possible from this website, in spite of everything else, making it only marginally better than the snake oil salesmen so prevalent in high end audio

EDIT: just want to add that until today, i was very happy (if not outright delighted) with how this little thing sounded with my KEF R7s, and made me rethink my preconceptions about amps, and i will be very sad to return it 'cause there's nothing on the market approaching this thing when it comes to sound quality/size/price. a pity nearly everything beats it when it comes to reliability

 

[dsnyder0cnn]

well, seems like mine has developed the issue after a month. serial 2201

being a relatively new dad, my patience for dealing with this kind of bs is really low, and time even lower, so this has soured me quite a bit when it comes to Topping products. i will try my very hardest to try and return these obviously very poorly engineered products (yes, chasing sinad while making such huge sacrifices to reliability is extremely poor engineering) for a refund (considering my luck with these kinds of things, i'm probably looking at months of back and forth with no refund), and will avoid any and all Topping products in the future, because it has become extremely obvious the company is focused on "gaming the SINAD game" to get as many customers as possible from this website, in spite of everything else, making it only marginally better than the snake oil salesmen so prevalent in high end audio

EDIT: just want to add that until today, i was very happy (if not outright delighted) with how this little thing sounded with my KEF R7s, and made me rethink my preconceptions about amps, and i will be very sad to return it 'cause there's nothing on the market approaching this thing when it comes to sound quality/size/price. a pity nearly everything beats it when it comes to reliability

Sorry to hear that you're having problems. Where did you purchase yours from. I bought mine from Apos in Santa Clara, California. I've not had to use their two year warranty service yet, but I do not anticipate any issues. Their post-sales support, where I have had to use it, has been great so far.

 

[Hemi-Demon]

Why did the mods remove the poll on this particular device?

 

[chuckt62]

Why did the mods remove the poll on this particular device?

It’s in a different thread.
Poll Thread

 

[wlgreg]

well, seems like mine has developed the issue after a month. serial 2201

being a relatively new dad, my patience for dealing with this kind of bs is really low, and time even lower, so this has soured me quite a bit when it comes to Topping products. i will try my very hardest to try and return these obviously very poorly engineered products (yes, chasing sinad while making such huge sacrifices to reliability is extremely poor engineering) for a refund (considering my luck with these kinds of things, i'm probably looking at months of back and forth with no refund), and will avoid any and all Topping products in the future, because it has become extremely obvious the company is focused on "gaming the SINAD game" to get as many customers as possible from this website, in spite of everything else, making it only marginally better than the snake oil salesmen so prevalent in high end audio

EDIT: just want to add that until today, i was very happy (if not outright delighted) with how this little thing sounded with my KEF R7s, and made me rethink my preconceptions about amps, and i will be very sad to return it 'cause there's nothing on the market approaching this thing when it comes to sound quality/size/price. a pity nearly everything beats it when it comes to reliability

First, congrats on being a new(ish) Dad!!! Enjoy the ride! Our kiddo just turned 15, and we're still trying to figure out where the time went!

I just wanted to echo your last paragraph. Until problems developed, I was also really happy with the PA5. Great sound/performance, ideal form factor (for my usage), great price. I have had good past experience with their DACs as well (I own 3 of 'em).

I really wish Topping had done a little more testing/quality control before releasing the PA5 to the market. Since Topping has already acknowledged issues with the unit, I remain hopeful that @JohnYang1997 will chime in and let us know what the potential issue(s) are. At this point, even if they announce a "fix", it wouldn't be enough for me to buy a 3rd PA5 (burned too many times). But, some information about what went wrong (and what steps are being taken to address the issue) might restore some of the confidence I've lost in them.

 

[REK2575]

It does feel like @JohnYang1997 has been conspicuous by his absence in this thread since reports of problems with the PA5 started to surface. It would be nice to get some official acknowledgement in the ASR forum that there are known issues with the PA5, as well as what they think the issues are. There has been speculation about the 38V power supply and whether the PA5's chip is rated to handle this. It would be nice to hear if Topping thinks there's anything to this, for example.

Or are we all supposed to move along, stop paying attention here, and gaze in wonder at Topping's new shiny, the LA90?

 

[AudioArchitech]

Why did the mods remove the poll on this particular device?

Interestingly, there is a poll on Page 1 of the new Topping LA90 Review (Integrated Amplifier). Why not the same for PA5 review?

 

[AudioArchitech]

It’s in a different thread.
Poll Thread

The Poll being referred to here is a bit different. It's for PA5 owners only:

"Is your Topping PA5 amp defective? Yes or No, and See Results."​

 

[dsnyder0cnn]

some information about what went wrong (and what steps are being taken to address the issue) might restore some of the confidence I've lost in them.

I wonder if this could be the answer to what went wrong with the PA5 for some folks.

Poll for Topping PA5 owners only please.

Poll for PA5 owners to report product defects. Discussion for any solutions. I think it would be useful to get a handle on some numbers to estimate just how wide spread the issues are. Addendum: Here is Topping's response to the PA5 issues...

audiosciencereview.com

If so, leaving the power brick plugged in continuously seems like an easy fix.

 

[Laserjock]

I wonder if this could be the answer to what went wrong with the PA5 for some folks.

Poll for Topping PA5 owners only please.

Poll for PA5 owners to report product defects. Discussion for any solutions. I think it would be useful to get a handle on some numbers to estimate just how wide spread the issues are. Addendum: Here is Topping's response to the PA5 issues...

audiosciencereview.com

If so, leaving the power brick plugged in continuously seems like an easy fix.

Seems I read one complainant never unplugged his.

Maybe something to delve into deeper though.

 

[wlgreg]

Seems I read one complainant never unplugged his.

Maybe something to delve into deeper though.

I never unplugged either of mine.

 

[BoredErica]

Same. Never unplugged mine.

New Topping reply says they are struggling to find the cause of the issue. This is from 1-2 days ago.

 

[nawfal07]

Interesting, did they really say “struggling? Really odd choice of word for business, they should use “working”.

 

[BoredErica]

Interesting, did they really say “struggling? Really odd choice of word for business, they should use “working”.

Dear Erica

Thank you for contacting TOPPING support. We are happy to assist.

We are struggling to find the cause. You don't need to send us PA5 for now, but it would be very helpful if you could provide us with some information.

Have you ruled out that the problem is not with other devices or cables, and sure the problem is with the PA5?

Did you find out when PA5 started like this? Under what circumstances did it fail when used? Or did it suddenly break down for no reason at all?

The questions may be a bit too many, thank you in advance for your patience.

Best Regards

I hope they figure it out in a month, and maybe another month to ship enough units that are fixed. I don't know what the timeframe for this kind of stuff is, I'm just hoping it doesn't take too long. One option is return for refund, buy pa5 off Amazon. If Pa5 doesn't malfunction, I'd love the amp. I'm hoping it'll work out.