Considering a new HP amp and dac and I like a lot of what I've reading about the Toppings (specifically the A70/D70). I've been looking at Schitt products as well though I dislike some design choices (power switch in the back) and prefer the look (as I don't expect there to be an observable difference in sound to my ears) of the Topping. Curious as to what type of reliability owners of these products, or Topping in general, have experienced.
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Topping Reliability
- Thread starter Jefrpol
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I've had my D50s since Nov. 2019, and other than a little screen burn-in, it works fine. I've had my A50s since early January 2022 and its fine. I've had an original Atom amp since Nov. 2019 and it still works perfectly fine.
Crow
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Thanks to this forum I bought a Topping D10s (my first DAC) three years ago and it worked flawlessly 12 to 15 hours 7 days a week for 2 and a half years, then I moved to another house and returned to the computer SB card, in December I bought a WiiM Pro with a good discount and had better music again. I still need a DAC but that's another story.
Your post made me think in the Topping D10s so I just checked and it works fine, I should sell it
I think it’s fair to say:
Other than products like the PA5 which have clearly higher failure rates than expected, there is nothing to suggest that Topping DACs fail at a higher rate than the average DAC.
At least in the United States, if you are unlucky enough to have a failure or warranty claim, it has been according to forum trends much harder to get warranty service for a Topping product than a Schiit product.
In contrast, if you do need warranty service in the U.S., Schiit seems
have a better track record.
If I lose my remote control, for example, it’s pretty easy to order a replacement Schiit one.
Other than products like the PA5 which have clearly higher failure rates than expected, there is nothing to suggest that Topping DACs fail at a higher rate than the average DAC.
At least in the United States, if you are unlucky enough to have a failure or warranty claim, it has been according to forum trends much harder to get warranty service for a Topping product than a Schiit product.
In contrast, if you do need warranty service in the U.S., Schiit seems
have a better track record.
If I lose my remote control, for example, it’s pretty easy to order a replacement Schiit one.
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My problem wasn't that my Topping DAC failed while under warranty. My problem is that it took Amir personally intervening for Topping to even get back to me -- and when they did, they insisted that I send the DAC back to them in Shenzhen at my own expense so they could "examine it and determine if the warranty applies."
digitalfrost
Major Contributor
I've also been running D50 for years. I never turn mine off. I have the screen disabled so no burn in. However, if they run longer than 6 months at a time, they will lock up eventually. A power cycle fixes this. Also I have one stacked on top of each other so the upper one is warmer, but they still work.
I also have a D10 that I use for headphones.
e: On a related note: I used a Geshelli Archel Amp and that doesn't work anymore. Replaced it with Topping L30.
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I just put together an A70pro D70 octo stack and bought hundreds of audio products for the business from all the brands. Topping is about as reliable as SMSL or the others. If you buy Topping then Hificollege is best since their warranty is local and they're good about it
If you buy with a credit card that doubles the 1 year warranty it's even better. Just read the fine print on your CC to see what their claims process is (save all printed receipts and invoices in the box).
If you buy with a credit card that doubles the 1 year warranty it's even better. Just read the fine print on your CC to see what their claims process is (save all printed receipts and invoices in the box).
Guddu
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Topping products, in my view:
Performance- probably best for the price
Product Quality- better than many around similar price point
Reliability- not a concern
After sales support- definitely a concern
Returning a product for warranty claim- pain in the neck, on your own expense
Overall resolution time, if successful- too long
*** Saying all this based on my experience owning Topping D10, E50, D90, PA5 II, PA7
Performance- probably best for the price
Product Quality- better than many around similar price point
Reliability- not a concern
After sales support- definitely a concern
Returning a product for warranty claim- pain in the neck, on your own expense
Overall resolution time, if successful- too long
*** Saying all this based on my experience owning Topping D10, E50, D90, PA5 II, PA7
Owning the first topping D10 did replace a reference Philips CD630. This DAC works flawlessly. Stil amazed for 79,- euro for it sound. Zero intention to replace it.
I've owned 3 Topping units thus far, two secondhand, no failures yet.
The one time I bricked one by updating it with the wrong firmware, their service department got me straightened out in under 24h.
That said, threads like this are not a good way to assess reliability.
What you want to know is the overall failure rate compared to other brands. What you will get is exclusively complaints about failures, fanboys excusing failures, or people with nothing better to do commenting (me). You won't get actual data, and whatever you do get is definitely biased and impossible to compare to a baseline.
The data you want is exclusively in the hands of Topping itself or possibly some retailers who deal with returns. Unfortunately, they aren't sharing this data.
As such, the more important thing to consider is how well their service department handles failures, if one occurs, and how long the warranty is. Personally I'm not sure about this, but it's easier to find out.
If you really want to know about failure rate, I would suggest going through Amazon reviews of several DAC brands and searching the reviews for keywords associated with failure, like "broke", "bricked" "died", etc. Compare the percentage of reviews that mention those keywords and you might be able to form a rough, relative estimate of reliability.
DX7Pro for about four years with no problems. At least none that it didn't come with, specifically the volume knob that another member accurately called a random number generator (hyperbole).
Overall I would not hesitate to buy Topping.
Overall I would not hesitate to buy Topping.
JSmith
Master Contributor
DAC's, all good, a proven track record... amps though are another matter.
JSmith
JSmith
I am using a Topping A90D as my current headphone amp (also preamp for my active monitors). Been great for 1.5 years. If this one dies anytime soon, I'll probably get a Benchmark, just for local service/warranty availability. But no complaint so far.
Keep in mind that topping is much bigger company so you get more complaints considering more quantities sold
solderdude
Grand Contributor
Topping E30. Works problem free since I bought it a few years ago.
manisandher
Addicted to Fun and Learning
My Topping TP60 has worked perfectly for the last 12 years or so. (Though it's not been on 24/7 by any means.)
I have a number of more recent Topping amps and DACs (also SMSL) which have also worked perfectly so far. The PA7s get quite warm to the touch, so require reasonably good ventilation. (Nothing like as bad as a class-A amp though.)
HTH.
Mani.
As you suggested you get users that have problems with unlucky device an right so complain but overall depending how many specific gear is build it will be more or less.
For instance i have a NAD C370 running now for 22 years. It is not running 24/7 just at the most average a couple of hours weekly. The amp had a failure in progress ( protection circuite starting up slower an slower) so i repaird it. But that was till now the only problem. But if you Google NAD C370 it has lot of ( potential) problems. I got the impression that this NAD was massively produced in the 10.000sends probably stack/serie of them had some problems but overall at least mine experience besides the protection circuit is it is a very reliable amp.
The topping D10 what could go wrong with such solid state device running on usb power supply.
Over all in 50 year using serious audio gear i can't remember that an device broke besides volume knods that has a cracking sound.
Problems i encounterd is with mine Laptops power knob broke an ventilator(s) had to be replaced.
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