Gamers, What's Your Audio Set Up?

[mrk]

So the volume dial on the black is definitely metal and feels nice to turn etc. the unit is smaller than the photos suggest, it's a shade narrower than the PA7 lol. Will get pic up later as am currently out but did manage to have a quick play before leaving.

First impression as a DAC in pre-amp mode feeding the PA7 a balanced signal....

- Yay navigating the full menu with remote! Although the screen is small so everything ok it is small.
- Menu options are plentiful and you can adjust volume straps but only between 0.5 and 1.
- You can hide certain inputs and outputs that you don't use and can assign functions to th A and B buttons on the remote which is cool.
- Gain mode only offers high or low gain.
- Display quality is good, the VU meter looks nice although it's not as fluid as on the X9. I like it to when you play an emulator on PC but the emulator is running at 110% speed instead of the emulated console's 100 that's what the spectrum and VU screens look like to me. It's nice on its own but next to the X9 the 60fps 1080p display wins obviously.
- Adjusting volume with the dial when music is playing you hear the steppings as the volume attenuates, this is weird as none of my previous Toppings had this, almost as if they didn't bother to smooth out volume adjustments so you don't hear the stepping. Can you test this Raymond?
- Need more listening time but the few songs I played it was clear that there is some soundstage difference Vs th X9, DX5 II doesn't present as wide a soundstage although it could also just be the stereo image isn't as precisely placed as the X9 does. This is with the speakers of course so will be able to tell for sure when I test the Arya when back.
- Material fit and finish is excellent in black. Looks and feels premium.
- No noises or hums coming from the internala.
- In typical Topping style the anti slip feet are crap, swapped them for the ones I bought off Amazon and now the unit won't move if I press the volume button in.

Overall for under £300 it seems good. Reserving final verdict until a few days have passed listening to it only with the same music and media I've been playing lately.

It is not a baby X9 though that's for sure (at least as a DAC and pre-amp). It has some unique features of its own though yeah.

To he continued.

 

[mrk]

what keyboard is that you have and can the swicthes be replaced or just the keycaps?

How large is your desk?

Keychron Q6 Max, everything can be swapped!

Desk is 1.8m long, can't remember depth but the mouse mat is 45cm deep.

 

[Raymond Lin]

It’s one of the Keychron variants

 

[jonneymendoza]

Keychron Q6 Max, everything can be swapped!

Desk is 1.8m long, can't remember depth but the mouse mat is 45cm deep.

Nice. i been eyeing out the Keycron keyboards. I just need barebones one though as i got my own switches

 

[Things change I've changed]

Feed the topping the X9 dac and it should improve, I intend to feed mine the Mojo 2 dac, unfortunately I missed out on the first batch.

 

[mrk]

I'm just going to try out and the headphones amp to see what that's like as I don't want to add another device on the desk with more wires and a socket used.

Main thing with this was to see what it's like and shift it on aso it will sell fairly easily given it's still fresh and batch 2 isn't for a bit yet.

If the headphones out satisfies then I'll consider keeping maybe, but just wish I got the silver one instead so it all matches, though black is more popular.

 

[Raymond Lin]

@mrk can you link me those feet that you bought? I need to raise mine more than the feet that it comes with.

I need at least 8.6mm riser as I want to raise it above the height of the feet of my monitor to save about 1 inch of space lol.

I've found these so far.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I have been using it now for the past hour, a few things I have noticed.

With the Xduoo XA-02, via USB input to the DAC/Amp, I am unable to adjust the volume from the computer, it is basically greyed out and it seems the Mac Mini just passes a digital signal to the DAC. Kind of how I expected it to be.

With the DX5 I am unable to do that. What I also notice with this is that with the XA-02 on Low Gain mode, I never need to go up above 50% of the output. I am currently listening with the DX5 with the computer volume maxed out and the amp at -26db....that is like 75%? With High Gain mode engaged I am now at -35db. I am using the same Edition XS and BAL 4.4mm. This feels almost like it is passing through an analogue signal in a way it is working.

Something is amiss there I think? How do I get it "louder" or more direct?

Also, a couple of times earlier when I was listening to a track all the sound went dead in the amp and sound started to come out of the Mac Mini instead and then it flip back to the headphones in like a split second, it did it a few times. I turned off/on from the back Switch and it hasn't happened again...I am hoping that was just a bug. Wait, it just did it again just now.....

I am trying to figure out whether it is my Mac or Stream Deck doing it or the Amp....as I have a plugin in the Stream Deck that can switch between audio output devices.

edit - the volume thing seems to have stopped after I fiddled with the Stream Deck app, let's hope it was that. It's now 4hrs later and not happened since.

 

[Raymond Lin]

But it does sound very good though!! Odd hiccup....and my view of keeping things simple is best still stands lol

edit - it seems the Mac can remember independent volume level between it's built in speaker and the USB-out, so if I am maxed out via the USB when I switch back to the Mac Mini it doesn't go full volume which is good.

p.s. it hasn't flip the sound off again since, it was doing it basically every 3 minutes.

 

[Raymond Lin]

@mrk What do you mean by the stepping? I can't hear anything when I am adjusting the volume?

After about 2 hrs I think I am figure out most of it's quirks now. I seemed to have fixed the glitch in the sound cutting off and back again, think that was the Stream Deck software being weird.

The volume thing though, I am expecting it to be louder than this, or don't need to dial it up so much....or perhaps the way it implements it isn't quite so linear. It seems between -99 to -50db isn't that much in terms of increase, I am almost never need to go to the -20db and higher range but it seems the idea that I am in -30db (70%) seems a bit nuts to me. Especially when I was listening at around 40% with the Xduoo. (both units on Low Gain mode)

 

[Things change I've changed]

Max out the volume on the MAC/PC, and let the amp attenuate the volume, the DX5 is attenuating the volume in decibels which are logarithmic, as opposed to linear, they scale differently to just a simple numbered 1-100 volume dial, basically 10dB of gain is roughly double the volume and 20dB of gain is roughly 4 times the volume and so on and so forth, the closer you get to reference 0.0dB it will get louder exponentially so don't worry about that.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Max out the volume on the MAC/PC, and let the amp attenuate the volume, the DX5 is attenuating the volume in decibels which are logarithmic, as opposed to linear, they scale differently to just a simple numbered 1-100 volume dial, basically 10dB of gain is roughly double the volume and 20dB of gain is roughly 4 times the volume and so on and so forth, to the closer you get to reference 0.0dB it will get louder exponentially so don't worry about that.

Logarithmic would make sense and explain the way it increases the volume.

My biggest worry was the sound flipping to the Mac Mini randomly and back again....I would definitely have to go through a RMA at that point, but it hasn't happened since.

Anyway, this amp does sound good, very good. I won't go into any descriptions lol but I there is no noise when the track is silent. The VU meter is erm....not as lively as I expected and it doesn't move as fast as a real one. The FFT graph is much more responsive to what is being played. The VU meter almost seems to be doing it randomly at times and not reflecting what is being heard.

 

[RobotGirl]

I have been using it now for the past hour, a few things I have noticed.

With the Xduoo XA-02, via USB input to the DAC/Amp, I am unable to adjust the volume from the computer, it is basically greyed out and it seems the Mac Mini just passes a digital signal to the DAC. Kind of how I expected it to be.

With the DX5 I am unable to do that. What I also notice with this is that with the XA-02 on Low Gain mode, I never need to go up above 50% of the output. I am currently listening with the DX5 with the computer volume maxed out and the amp at -26db....that is like 75%? With High Gain mode engaged I am now at -35db. I am using the same Edition XS and BAL 4.4mm. This feels almost like it is passing through an analogue signal in a way it is working.

Something is amiss there I think? How do I get it "louder" or more direct?

Also, a couple of times earlier when I was listening to a track all the sound went dead in the amp and sound started to come out of the Mac Mini instead and then it flip back to the headphones in like a split second, it did it a few times. I turned off/on from the back Switch and it hasn't happened again...I am hoping that was just a bug. Wait, it just did it again just now.....

I am trying to figure out whether it is my Mac or Stream Deck doing it or the Amp....as I have a plugin in the Stream Deck that can switch between audio output devices.

edit - the volume thing seems to have stopped after I fiddled with the Stream Deck app, let's hope it was that.

In time they will iron out the bugs with firmware updates ,it looks great !

 

[Raymond Lin]

In time they will iron out the bugs with firmware updates ,it looks great !

I tell you something, it pairs really well with the HD600. I don't remember the HD600 sound this good with the XA-02. I actually spent 80% tonight listening to the HD600 over the Edition XS.

 

[Things change I've changed]

Logarithmic would make sense and explain the way it increases the volume.

My biggest worry was the sound flipping to the Mac Mini randomly and back again....I would definitely have to go through a RMA at that point, but it hasn't happened since.

Anyway, this amp does sound good, very good. I won't go into any descriptions lol but I there is no noise when the track is silent. The VU meter is erm....not as lively as I expected and it doesn't move as fast as a real one. The FFT graph is much more responsive to what is being played. The VU meter almost seems to be doing it randomly at times and not reflecting what is being heard.

I also find that the HD600/650 respond really well to most topping amps as they are very clean and neutral, also I'm sure the extra power is helping scale them up a little!

 

[mrk]

Absolutely typical!

I think my X9 has developed a fault with the 4.4 and single ended headphones outputs, for some reason the balance has started to be biased to the left channel, if I take the left and right channels out of the headphones and swap the cables over the bias travels to the right side so it's definitely the X9's headphone output. I have ordered an XLR adapter to see if it exists on the XLR headphones out too which will arrive during the daytime, then feedback this to Luxsin see what they say. I think it has something to do with the auto gain calibration it does when plugging in SE or 4.4mm cabled headphones, the XLR jack doesn't do auto sensing as it's not supported on this type of connector so have to manually assign headphone gain and set headphone output.

If I disconnect and reconnect the cable from the X9 a bunch of times correct balance resumes randomly....

In the meantime... More quirks noticed with the DX5 II, like I said before these sorts of details bug me because once you see them you (me) always see them. Adjusting volume with dial or remote makes the VU meter or spectrum stutter, almost like there isn't enough processing power to multitask both functions at once smoothly, it's a nitpick as nobody is focusing on the VU whilst changing volume I guess but it's still a thing:

+ the VU up close:

@mrk can you link me those feet that you bought? I need to raise mine more than the feet that it comes with.

These are the ones, excellent tackiness for keeping stuff where it it placed:

12 x Black 22.3mm x 10.1mm Self Adhesive Recessed Bumper, Rubber Feet for Furniture, Glass, Tables, Crafts - from The StickyStuff Company : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

12 x Black 22.3mm x 10.1mm Self Adhesive Recessed Bumper, Rubber Feet for Furniture, Glass, Tables, Crafts - from The StickyStuff Company : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

www.amazon.co.uk

With the Xduoo XA-02, via USB input to the DAC/Amp, I am unable to adjust the volume from the computer, it is basically greyed out and it seems the Mac Mini just passes a digital signal to the DAC.

With the DX5 I am able to do that.

This is normal, some DACs will tell the OS volume control is fixed, most won;t, you just leave the OS at max volume as you don't want software attenuating the master signal.

Bear in mind that not all brands operate within the same margin values of gain, what is low gain on one amp can be high gain on another, so this might explain that. My X9 sets the Arya at medium gain for example, and the DX5 II is at high gain, with both amps set to -28dB which is my normal "loud" listening level, they both sound nearly identical in loudness, yet the X9 is in medium gain!

The switching back to Mac output and then back to the DAC could be a USB bug, this has happened with Topping DACs before and some said changing USB port sorted, it, whilst others used a different cable, you could set USB mode to UAC 1 as well and see if that sorts out the issue.


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Now my final first impressions based on using it now for several hours for headphones and speakers as both DAC and pre-amp is as follows, and this is comparing to the X9, as well as my memory of the K11 R2R which I remember well as it sounded quite distinct.

Soundstage (headphone and DAC/pre-amp mode) is very similar but there are differences and I would not say one is better than the other, though my preference because I am used to the signature is the X9, though I could get used to the DX's signature after a week with it too. I connected both DACs up to the PC via USB and did the output toggle in Windows and at the same time swapped the headphone cable over between both, this allowed immediate differences to be noticed.

As it stands both have excellent soundstage and stereo imaging, though vocals and the upper midrange is brought slightly forward on the DX which can with some music make it feel "thinner". I am not using any HP-EQ or PEQ on either, so this is what it sounds like out of the box.

Bass remains similar between both, no complaints, though because the upper mids are brought forwards, there is a sensation with some tracks that doesn't feel quite right, as if the mids are a bit too in your face giving the impression of harshness.

The volume stepping can still be heard on bass heavy tracks. Play a bassy track and adjust the volume by a large amount, you should hear a type of distortion/stepping effect as the volume increments up or down, it's not smoothed like it normally would be is what I am hearing, once the volume is set, it is fine though.

I do like the ability to set quick actions on the remote buttons and on the volume knob.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Oh yeah, it does a pause when you turn the volume knob on FFT screen. I didn't even notice until you said, but in a way, I almost prefer if I does what the UV meter screen where it makes the digits bigger because its hard to see from far away that i am changing the volume with it being so small increments.

 

[Timber]

These are the ones, excellent tackiness for keeping stuff where it it placed:

12 x Black 22.3mm x 10.1mm Self Adhesive Recessed Bumper, Rubber Feet for Furniture, Glass, Tables, Crafts - from The StickyStuff Company : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

12 x Black 22.3mm x 10.1mm Self Adhesive Recessed Bumper, Rubber Feet for Furniture, Glass, Tables, Crafts - from The StickyStuff Company : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

www.amazon.co.uk

I was just going to say, I bought a pack of 12 of these the other day - the clear variant. Very good. I needed something to raise Ubquiti gear and these are quite tall.

DX5 II sounds good for the money. More competition in that £200-300 bracket. I did notice the other day Fiio K13 R2R didn't make the latest audio show in China, but the K15 has pictures released where it uses the the same case as their new K17 (slight 1980's/early-90's retro vibe, could be mistaken for a MIDI box). Although the K15 might be too rich for me - again there's a few things to look forward to.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Okay, after like 4hrs listening to it last night, flipping between my XS and HD600, I love this little thing. Apparently the PEQ app thing doesn't quite work but I am not even sure if that runs on Mac anyway so I'll leave them to fix that or something as what I need it to do for my purposes, there is no bugs for now.

It is a great little unit, more inputs and outputs than my Xduoo, looks better too but also 50% more expensive with the same DAC. The Xduoo is probably better value as you can get it for under £200 (I paid like £185) on Aliexpress but the Topping is lovely and between the 2 I would keep the Topping.

 

[Things change I've changed]

I'm trying to find it but I remember one of the reviews, I think (youtube) said they thought one of the channels was slightly louder on their X9 but kind of brushed it off, this is what I alluded to with chi-fi brands, there always seems to be issues, I'm not saying right off their brands entirely but caution should be applied imo, cheaper stuff like the DX5 I don't mind so much as your not investing to much and it's a big value proposition that temps you, I really love the look of the Topping DX9 but just not prepared to give them that much money to potentially have a dead weight in the future.