Imagine how much more they could charge for this “world class dac” if they put it in a bigger box, add a few buttons, and put an exotic sounding name on the front.
@@Eric_the_HikingI am willing to bet, you will get the most likes on this thread for your comment. Did you catch the Freudian slip at the beginning of this video? Red meat for the ASR base
You had me going with the PSA PowerPlant joke at the beginning Amir. LOL Wonderful review as usual. Another home run DAC out of Topping. Now I get why they chose the name Topping... They keep on topping their achievements.
Topping strikes again we don't have to spend a fortune to get decent performance, From the measurements they do indeed know what they are doing. Excellent review as always.
Super nice Amir (as usual). Topping seems to be on the top. "Because of you" I bought Sabaj D5 and I am more than happy. And as you said: I tried many time to hear the difference between filters on that DAC - no way for my ears ;-) But your first seconds... PHENOMENAL! (PS Audio) ;-)
I'm just amazed at how well these ChiFi DACs work. I think a lot can be learned from what Topping has been doing because they have consistently turned out incredible value oriented products that measure well and that is no accident. We know there has been some great manufacturing in China but lately we have seen some impressive engineering and design work too. Others need to step up their game.
@@TheKuya28 Don't know but its not a fluke that companies like Topping and Oppo have been turning out world class product. People need to pay attention.
@@chrisharper2658 I don't disagree the products are good. As an artist, it irks me when people take ideas, then sell it for less because it didn't cost them any sweat equity. I get that the chips inside are still proprietary, but I've seen it enough in other industries to start questioning whether to support these guys or not.
@@TheKuya28 I get it, spend your money ethically but I don't think Topping is stealing technology. I think credit should be given when deserved. They have out engineered similar companies like Schiit. Interesting thing about Topping is we have no idea where the engineering is coming from given the way industry works in China. I would hope others are looking closely because being dismissive would simply be ignorant.
Did technology, as of now, surpass humans as listeners, having in mind 21 bits is at the very thermal noise level, the linearity, etc.? If so, why are there new models being rolled out constantly? 22 bits? 23 bits? What's the point? Can we finish the saga of hifi DACs right now? Goldensound already debunked MQA and dCS Bartok (which represents all "high end", based on price), so in my simple mind, what needs to be done is side by side measurement of this Topping DX5 vs dCS Bartok vs $65000 MSB Select DAC. I think this test would, once for all, put the end to audiophooling. Please, owners of dCS Bartok and MSB Select DACs send your prized possessions to ASR for unbiased testing, JA and Goldensound, if you are watching this, do the same testing on your end and publish the results (as obviously, vendors will never do that).
I definitely like to test the MSB and dCS. On your question, distortion is past audibility but noise audibility can still be there depending on how loud you play and whether you use headphones with closed backs.
By going from rca to xlr and real balanced audio there are both objective and subjective advantages, but there are also some practical advantages : if you send rca levels to a pro amp, you can run out of volume pot and then having to deal with amp noise. A more powerful signal is wonderful since the amp volume pot is much lower and subjectively (maybe objectively too) the music feels more puch, more contrast between silence and sound, more impact, and more clarity (meaning speech can be understood at longer distance even if volume is not enough in exterior) etc. Also balanced XLR can be extremely long, hundreds of meters, search for loss, you won't find any. Even doing stupid things like going from xlr to an ethernet cat5 cable and back to xlr will bring a good signal as long as connections and cable have no fault.
Amir, great review of DX5. Man, your written reviews are great, but it's really nice to watch and hear you reviews the hi-fi products on the channel here. Also, it would be great if you could review SMSL DO400; it's priced at 500USD and it seems it has dethroned DX5 for the best value dac-amp combo for up to 500USD.
Great Amir , just wonder if you increase input signal in RCA as high as XLR , do you get the same SINAD , ( note , I am aware of that RCA maximum signal level is 2Vrms)
couldn't care less anymore (as of today last few hours ) who hates what audio person . i'm now devoid of those feelings now couldn't care less about the audio rich class snob people i think that ap device you have should be smashed up and thrown in the cat litter box @@AudioScienceReview
Can I ask you for a suggestion for the best dac/amp or stack comb under 350 usd. Which ones sound the best (one or more suggestions)? Thanks in advance.
I bought the topping D10 balanced to replace my ifi idsd micro, and the difference was really audible. I had some weird noise from the HDMI on my PC and this change killed it. My Krell and ATC SCM20 never sounded so clear and powerful. Thanks ASR.
@@12gauge599 Cool your jets and read my post. I used balanced. I had noise and interference. Barely audible during playback, but very audible during silence. Noise masks certain frequencies. Plus the +6db volume that offers the balanced connection and the result is pretty impressive.
Wow another stellar combo unit. Would you happen to know if the output impedance is low and is the channel matching perfect with digital volume or does it use an analogue pot? Thank you for ridding the audio industry of continuous lies and money wasting schemes for all these years. How things have changed since the original DX3 Pro.
@@AudioScienceReview Thats great thanks. I didn't notice that you wrote the impedance being zero in text i somehow overlooked that even though thats usually how i understand the graphs with your text (its very useful).
Would be great to get an objective review of the 7400$ Chord Dave linear powersupply and others isoteric products that Hans Beek.. acclaims. there is contents for years of debunk lol.
Chord designs measure well. The problem is that they are expensive because Rob Watts thinks humans can hear down to -300 dB! As for Hans, if anyone is watching him for anything more than entertainment and functionality descriptions, they are making a big mistake. But yes, I will be on the lookout for more of Chord products to test.
Have not been offered any Rotel products to test. I have a couple of their pre-amps but they are 30 years old so I don't think it is worth testing. I will look for the D1se to test.
Clearly a great product, probably one I would consider right now if I hadn't already picked up the THX 788 shortly before it was discontinued. Can't help being reminded of a clock radio by the form factor though.
I have a power cord review coming up. :) The fuses are also interesting to test. I just have to figure out the right platform to test them in. But good suggestion.
I have only one query as I reasoned Toppings X5 would be a great if not superior product and that is one thing I will not abide is someone else's idea of what constitutes frequency control especially leaving out Mid-Range. Thus as I'm new to this verses my audiophile, ha ha, System of the Day. Which was according to some great to good allowed me to insert external audio controls. I didn't then, but did interject the Burwin DNF-1201A. Today with streaming etc I would not put together any system which wouldn't allow the inclusion of a Schiit Loki in the mix. This isn't to offset speaker performance, but ear performance. As I know mine quite well after 72 yrs. So, the point is would I have the ability with this DAC Amp to put said unit in the signal path? And Thank You for the Review thorough as always.
Non-chinese companies are not as anxious to get their stuff tested. I have tested a number of them though including the RME ADI-2 DAC which I use personally.
Hi, If I would buy DAC / AMP like this and I need to drive TWO headphones of same model (HD 650). Is it a good idea to connect them to 6.35 mm jack output with Y splitter? Thanks for advice
Can you review the Aiyima A10? I am having buyers remorse after seeing the Topping! Have you heard the Goldenear Triton Five speaker as well Amir? They come highly recommended by my audio engineer friend.
I am looking for a DAC/AMP for my IEM Fiio FH9. Can you please tell me if this device can unlock the potential of the Fiio FH9 to play music in detail? And how comfortable will it be to use this DCA/AMP together with sensitive IEMs? Thanks in advance for the answer!
Hi Amir, how about investigating the effect of vibration on audio electronics. Maybe mount a dac on a vibrating platform and run sweeps with it still and vibrating. Common audiophile belief suggests there should be a significant difference? Just a thought. Rich
Hi Ricardo. I have been wanting for a long time to do a test like this. But have not found a platform to do the testing. Ideally it would be a platform where I could tell it what frequency to vibrate at and then see if we see a signature of it in the audio output. Is there such a thing?
@@AudioScienceReview Hi Amir I would have thought an MDF platform mounted on rubber isolators would work. Would need a DC motor bolted onto it with an offset cam to provide vibrations, and a variable voltage supplying it. U could measure the frequency with an app like Dbx. Or for more accuracy you would need a stepper motor and controller. Shame I am not in US would give it a go! Hope you get hold of a Chord TT2 or Dave soon, would be interested to see those numbers. I am fascinated by the connection between audiophile products and hi quality sound reproduction. I’m not sure what side of the fence I am on TBH! I would only say the room and speakers are the big ones to sort out. Thanks for the great content. Rich.
@@AudioScienceReview As a non "specialist" my feeling is that mechanical vibrations - within common sense limits! Not like in a moving car - would not influence electronics. I would personally use a subwoofer for generating the vibrations - you can easily control what it does up to say 200-250 Hz. I don't see why one would need to test higher than that but maybe I'm missing something.
The image is already flipped! That was actually the problem. If I didn't flip it, it would have me look the wrong way so long time ago I put a mirror filter in there. Had not thought about it screwing things up with text until I produced this video.
Hi, Would you also have figures about any timing issues between the channels? I have heard one recent Topping DAC (E30) and to me it adds a small spatial effect. The different filters do not change this effect.
Hello Amir, I'm a little confused as I am looking for my first dac\amp purchase. The amp portion is internally unbalanced, correct? What exactly does this mean for me? Will I be able to run balanced headphones from the XLR port on this? Will I even notice a difference? This seems to check every box, but the "unbalanced" part of the unit has me concerned. Love your reviews. Thanks!
how are these balanced ? i always wondered. as far as i know a headphone driver is and cant be balanced. ground and + is all i see. unless the headphones are not a passive device. . might be missing something ?
This one doesn't have balanced headphone out anyway (balanced is only there for DAC output/pre-amp use). Headphones are NOT ground referenced as there is no ground in a headphone. So naturally they present a balanced load. As such, as long as the negative is not common between left and right headphones, you can drive them differentially and get up to 4X the power.
ok so the difference is L and R (for the headphone) dont share a ground ?, as in most headphone outputs. i find it confusing with a normal balanced input/output that has more benefits. :)
@@joppepeelen It is requirement that the L & R don't share a ground in order to drive them with balanced cable. Otherwise you will be shorting out the two amplifier outputs.
Topping seem to be number 1 at the moment may be "well known" brands will be knocking on their doors to badge up products for them and sell with huge mark ups this does happen Bose bluetooth speakers MG cars etc etc
Is the remote good enough to use the unit in a mid field speakers setup ? I previously bought a Topping Pre90 but the remote was so bad I had to return it.
Wouldn't it be nice if Topping included a DSP software with their DACs now, like Creative does with their "Sound Command" available on their AE-7 etc...? Nice to have some EQ-ability, etc...Wonder if there is some simple PC app to do that...
I own the Topping e70. I specifically bought it for the xlr to remove those ground loops you mentioned. I use it with my PC, before this everytime i would move my mouse id hear buzzing.
Problem with your reviews , when it is about superb products like this one, is that i suddently feel the unecessary need to upgrade my dac/headphone amp. Audio is tough. 😅
Hi Amir! You seem to be a very popular fellow. It´s the first time I experienced a review from you. It was very detailed. So now I know alot about the DX5. It is very detailed and dynamic. But how is the presentation? I mean is cold, neutral or warm? I´m shure you understand what I´m getting at. Kind regards Mikael
The presentation is whatever is in your music and what your headphone provides. I have yet to find any DAC or amp that changes either one of those, sans tube amps that really distort and make the sound grungy. Please don't believe audiophile myths that transparent gear sounds cold, etc. There is zero truth in it.
Amir, would you get this or the A30 pro and a separate dac. Would there be any advantage ? I have the hd650 headphones. Thanks for the great work you are doing.
Any sighted test is invalid when it comes to tiny distortions/noise. Whether you measure first or second doesn't make it more valid. It is still a sighted test. Now, if a reviewer measured first, they would at least know not to make up stuff about what they are hearing.
Why bother with Amirs videos, you obviously think the measurements don’t equal good quality. John darko making coffee may be a better watch !. Good luck !.
I haven't kept track of whether there is a combo with more power. If you post in ASR forum, members can answer (they have better memory than me :) ). You can buy this and if you need extra power, get the A90.
@@AudioScienceReview I might do that, although I was eyeing the SU-9n with the SP-400, because the SMSL amp has better channel matching due to the stepped attenuator. Please, If I may ask another question, what is your opinion on software such as BACCH4mac to enhance soundstage? I am considering purchasing it, but it costs ~6K and there is even a 15% restocking fee. I can stomach that no problem if it has a real positive impact on sound quality, but knowing how much snake oil there is in this industry, I am naturally a bit skeptical. Thanks for your great work!
It is hard to answer without measuring the gain and sensitivity in the amp. I would start by setting the volume on DX5 to max and use the integrated volume control and see if it works. If it doesn't produce distortion (at all listening levels) then you are good to go. Longer term you want to get just a power amp if you don't need the rest of this amp's functionality.
Just a reminder to folks who EQ their phones that if you're boosting areas of the FR you're going to have to potentially drop a few DBs to compensate for that (to avoid distortion) and some albums, such as Brothers in Arms are from before the loudness war era (yeaahhh) and therefore are going to need an extra mils of twirl on the potentiometer. Just a few things to consider in terms of headroom! happy music :)
Sure. That is how I use it. It is class compliant with Windows/Max/Linux. They also have an ASIO driver. Both interfaces are natively supported by Roon.
I have nothing to do with Topping. My job is to provide the performance data. Yours is to figure out if it is a good value or not. You don't need me for that.
@@AudioScienceReview Ķnow that I and I...KNOW that ASR is not a part of Topping , Bopping, or Lopping....further know that I and I ....remains most pleased with ASR work...If you dont keep it up...I and I will be mad...please hang this over your computer 🥇.
People who actually prefer paying for a good engineered product that suits his needs with a certain set of features, maybe? I mean, I can't blame them.
@@edverbeek6292 But what if that cheaper device doesn’t have the features I want or need (like balanced outputs for active monitors, integrated power supply, BT capability, etc.)? Measurements are one parameter to consider for a purchase decision, but it’s not everything.
You will absolutely hear more powerful headphone amplifier. Or benefits of balanced out if your current system doesn't have it. Or the reduced noise floor if you use sensitive IEMs and headphones. I explained a lot of this in the video. Did you not play the whole thing?
Who tf is talking about only sinad numbers here? If anyone buys a product purely based on sinad alone, which is not only the data presented here, he or she doesnt deserve good sound. All the data is laid out, too bad so sad if cant interpret it correctly.
When are you going to learn to read/watch the whole review? I measure a ton of things and it is the sum total that indicates this unit is fully transparent. Whatever myths you believe in there with respect to feedback, is audiophile myth and folklore.
“Amazing speed…” “do not cut quality…” till they do, and your headphones (and hearing) blow up. Another thing Topping is also amazingly good at is sponsoring every review channel out there. Combined with abnormally short product cycles, this ensures they are fearured nonstop in every review resource and hence can guarantee a non-stop marketing support from said channels and forums. Indeed, ASR has become their unofficial marketing and support forum, with, no doubt, a nice financial benefit to Amir.
If only we could listen the numbers, Audio Science Review would be all that we need. Although SINAD is a good base, if you are interested in the music aspect - trust your ears. Let them to be deciding factor. Don't forget we just learned how to measure accurately. Your ears however are product of millions years of evolution, after all the music is for listening, not for measuring.
By your notion we don't need microscopes because your eyes have evolved in "millions of years." And your doctor could just look at you instead of running tests to see what is wrong with you. Perhaps you cover your car dashboard when driving because your body tells you how fast you are going. Your ears were evolved from being in caves and in the wild to hear the source of danger. It is quite deaf to many things in audio which is why many audiophiles buy poorly performing audio gear that don't perform well at all. Measurements threaten the belief that they have good ears so they have come up with arguments like you have. Fact that there is no proof of such doesn't bother them one bit....
@@AudioScienceReview We are discussing ears and music, focus please. Are you implying that now, because we have measuring equipment, we can finally hear music better then before. As such a "scientist" you should research (if you don't know already) that the human ear is vastly superior then a microphone, any microphone...and yet you are measuring with, mics, dummy heads etc...unfortunately for you, no machine can replace the mastering audio engineers, who rely solely on their ears to finish a piece of recorded music... Even with untrained ears it's better to go through the trial and error process, build an experience and not dismiss product based on slightly worse SINAD or your autocratic disapproval. At the end of the day, we connect with music on emotional level, the machines are merely imperfect tools in a chain that can be completely avoided by listening unamplified, acoustic instruments or singing.... You do your microscopes and gadgets...and I will enjoy the music...
@@momchilzanev5861 You're mixing notions in a complete absurd way. Nothing stands between your musical enjoyment and the fact that your ears are not capable of differentiating between an instrument grade DAC/AMP and another (even poorer) one, Amir is only evaluating the technical performance of these devices and their features, even knowing that they exceed completely what we are capable of hear in most cases. Knowing about audio equipment and how your ears work doesn't make you enjoy music any less, on the contrary, it leads you to enjoy it even more without wasting time worrying about magical synergies and thus, to make better purchasing decisions. It's funny when subjectivists talk about the importance of listening to music and the associated feelings in these non-related technical/objective topics, when they spend more time trying to find absurd justifications for their confirmation biases instead of simply learning the basics of electronics/acoustics and enjoy their music. More knowledge = less esoteric bullshit = more music enjoyment.
@@renecastillo5667 Or perhaps. Amir and his cult missed my initial point, in which I never say that SINAD is bad, but just one of the elements for choosing equipment and unless you like only to look at it you have to be able to find pleasure in listening to it. There is plenty of opamps transistors or tubes that measure the same but people are still able to pick the sound signature that is most pleasant to them. Therefore SINAD doesn't necessarily translate to the best listening sensation, also recommending gear based on SINAD solely is pretty close minded - exactly what Amir is doing all the time. Would you buy an album just because I told you that it was recorded with the best measuring equipment or you would like to know what kind of music is recorded on it?
@@momchilzanev5861 Again, mixing ideas and trying to find relationships where there aren't (sorry, the album analogy doesn't work nor does it make you a better music connoisseur). Of course that SINAD isn't the most important thing in a buying decision for a device like this, especially considering that there're OVER 200 models that Amir has measured (and recommended) that exceed our hearing threshold in terms of noise and distortion, in many shapes, sizes, feature sets and price tags, that's not in discussion. Hell, just check the ASR forum to see how people are tired (in the good way) of the "perfection" of Topping and demand more ambition from them and other TOTL chinese manufacturers, as they already nailed the engineering game time ago (and nailed what are you capable to hear objectively even before that). What does not fit with my reasoning was the attacking nature of your first comment, questioning Amir's criteria for recommending this product on a channel that is CLEARLY oriented towards scientific audio discussion and, therefore, to products that excel in objective metrics like this one. Why does it bother you that much? Do you want another sound signature that your headphone doesn't satisfy? Fair enough, you have plenty of options, many of those as powerful and almost free as the parametric equalization (with much better and precise results that swapping opamps or adding distortion with tube amplification, but that's up to you). Are you interested in making a constructive criticism demanding more innovation from Topping (or another manufacturers), as I mentioned in the second paragraph? Great, me too. But please, stop that trite and childish argument that subjectivist audiofools use to convince themselves that they are special; "hey look at me and my golden ears byproduct of millions of years of evolution, I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm better than you" (although a lot of them don't know shit about music and are walking clichés with their Hotel California recordings, let alone knowing the very basics of audio and electronics).
