Gamers, What's Your Audio Set Up?

Raymond Lin · 16 Jun 2025 at 12:00

I saw the DX5 II dropped to £225 again on Saturday..emailed Topping to cancel my order or ask them for a partial refund. Only to be told that it was a mistake and now the price is back at £260.

I should have just orderered another one and cancel my first one and don't give them a reason.

mrk · 16 Jun 2025 at 14:10

Smooth VU meter though, think of the smoothness... Assuming of course it's a good framerate on the DX5 II

Here's something just for you as a fan of VU:

They nailed the natural physics movement of an analogue needle, the 60fps display helps a lot I guess.

Starvald · 16 Jun 2025 at 16:56

mrk said:
Quad's new all in one, the Quad 3, it's got a dedicated current drive headphone amp built in and in typical Quad fashion is decently specced and looks really cool too, like something out of a retro scifi movie. No fancy display but it's period-correct I think in what it does have. Bit of a big unit though at 33cm deep and 10cm high!

MQA tax once again though it seems, £1200

Quad's kit in general looks great, just wish they were more compact for desktop use.

That's interesting to me, as it would have everything in the one enclosure. DAC, Stereo Speaker Amp, Headphone amp. I do like Quad, ever since my brother had some Q-11L speakers, which were gorgeous. Still going to stick with the known quantity, that is the Luxsin, and pick up a speaker amp/speakers, or just go with a pair of active speakers.

Raymond Lin · 17 Jun 2025 at 09:21

Topping my has confirmed they will ship my DX5 II in the next batch on the 20th. Not long to go!

mrk · 17 Jun 2025 at 09:38

Did you get an email?

Raymond Lin · 17 Jun 2025 at 09:42

mrk said:
Did you get an email?

I emailed them asking them to put in a UK plug (not an option when i purchased) and asked for an ETA.

mrk · 17 Jun 2025 at 09:58

Did live chat, 19/20 is the shipping date here too.

Edit* Great to see Luxsin has been very active on Headfi and ASR forums. Taking onboard feature requests and adding a bunch of stuff penned for the next firmware update. This is exactly what it's all about, great hardware only further improved with community feedback.

Raymond Lin · 17 Jun 2025 at 14:54

It's a shame the X9 is that big, I just can't fit it on my desk. It needs to be DX5 II size and about £500 for me to consider it....perhaps they will release their own baby X9 to compete with the DX5 II.

mrk · 17 Jun 2025 at 14:59

I suspect the DX5 II will compete just with missing features//connectivity - At least for sound it should be up there for sure.

I want to free up some desk space as well and tidy up the cabling behind and under the desk and the thought has crossed my mind to just replace the A80 with a dedicated power amp that has no display, no knobs, just pure power amp. Quad's new 303 popped on the radar recently and I'm mulling it over. Old skool sound and quality, though at a price premium.

I'm looking to see what other power amps are out there that fits that form factor and can sit below the desk or to the side on a pedestal quietly doing its thing.

Things change I've changed · 17 Jun 2025 at 17:49

Creek 4040a is a very nice little amp, class D, very powerful, very small, good reviews, from a reputable company, one of the unique features it has is you can go into the sub menu and convert one of the RCA line inputs into a power amp by passing the front volume so you control the amp by the X9 like a true power amp, or you can disable that feature and use the volume the Creek amp instead.

Creek 4040 A Integrated Amplifier Review

stereonet.com

mrk · 17 Jun 2025 at 18:38

Know of Creek from the olden days, didn't know they had modern stuff:

I like Mike's take on the sound he prefers, in alignment there.

It does look impressive, obviously none of the other features mean anything to me but as a speakers amp in bypass mode it seems to be perhaps what would be suitable.

Is the RCA conversion just for the RCA though and not the XLR inputs? I'd be using XLR but if it's line level input then surely can just turn the volume dial to 100% and there, line level input - Which is what I have done on the A80 to test and found no difference in sound vs maxing the X9's volume to 0dB which is its line level output and controlling master volume on the A80.

Edit* Just checked the manual, I get it now, the Liine 1 RCA inputs bypass the 4040's pre-amp when the mode is enabled, so yeah exactly what I'd be after and can happily discard the XLR input this way.

Line 1 can be set in the Menu as PA Direct, to bypass the pre-amp and feed signals directly to
the power amp from an external pre-amp or volume-controlled DAC, etc.

Edit 2* Ordered via Audio Affair. 30 days refund so enough time to test it out in direct mode and see what's what.

Starvald · 17 Jun 2025 at 21:03

That Creek 4040A looks interesting. I've been procrastinating on the upgrade purchase, trying to convince myself to choose between active speakers, or a pair of passive speakers and power amp combo. The introduction of the Quad 3 integrated amp, threw me a little, as I had to rethink for a bit. Worked through that now. I've ordered the X9, some new headphones and some active speakers. should keep my new desk setup relatively tidy. Hopefully will have them Thursday or Friday. Should have a good weekend.

hornetstinger · 17 Jun 2025 at 21:08

Starvald said:
That Creek 4040A looks interesting. I've been procrastinating on the upgrade purchase, trying to convince myself to choose between active speakers, or a pair of passive speakers and power amp combo. The introduction of the Quad 3 integrated amp, threw me a little, as I had to rethink for a bit. Worked through that now. I've ordered the X9, some new headphones and some active speakers. should keep my new desk setup relatively tidy. Hopefully will have them Thursday or Friday. Should have a good weekend.

Pros and cons of both designs, I've gone passive route, as it allows your change the pre amp/poweramp or integrated at will, or change to AVR, depending on the needs. As I/O changes, ie especially for AV, going from S-Video, to Component, to HDMI, and different HDMI revisions, HD audio etc etc.

Active speakers do have benefits, but have drawbacks as well.

For a PC setup with a couple of sources, I think a Wiim Amp pro is suitable. However if you have tons of sources, of various types, coaxial/optical, RCA, need video routing, HDMI in and out, 4K video support, HD audio with DTS master/DD HD, DTS;X, Atmos, bass management, room correction, subwoofer support, headphone amp, a AVR can serve well.

I use a AVR in the PC desk 2.1 system

mrk · 17 Jun 2025 at 21:09

Keep an eye on the head-fi thread for the X9 as Luxsin is working on firmware updates that add new features people are requesting there so worth tapping the firmware check button in the menu from time to time once yours arrives :cool:

I know I wanted a power amp to keep away from the desk and here I am ordering a desktop based amp lol, but since it's going to be in bypass mode anyway and 12v trigger will turn it on/off, I could get a taller pedestal and still keep it neatly tucked beside the desk next to the PC tower as will never have to interact with it after initial setup. Also means no massive power brick to accommodate around the power rail under the desk too.

Starvald · 17 Jun 2025 at 21:44

mrk said:
Keep an eye on the head-fi thread for the X9 as Luxsin is working on firmware updates that add new features people are requesting there so worth tapping the firmware check button in the menu from time to time once yours arrives

I know I wanted a power amp to keep away from the desk and here I am ordering a desktop based amp lol, but since it's going to be in bypass mode anyway and 12v trigger will turn it on/off, I could get a taller pedestal and still keep it neatly tucked beside the desk next to the PC tower as will never have to interact with it after initial setup. Also means no massive power brick to accommodate around the power rail under the desk too.

Yeah I've been there a bit over the years. I mostly lurk though, much like here. Also on ASR, but I wont post there, as.... well, you know, urghhhh, I just don't want to interact with their most active members. I see you're there as well, been following both Headfi and ASRs threads. It's a useful site though, as the measurements are a hard check to manufacturers claims, as well as a sanity check to the quality of an item.

Starvald · 17 Jun 2025 at 21:51

hornetstinger said:
Pros and cons of both designs, I've gone passive route, as it allows your change the pre amp/poweramp or integrated at will, or change to AVR, depending on the needs. As I/O changes, ie especially for AV, going from S-Video, to Component, to HDMI, and different HDMI revisions, HD audio etc etc.

Active speakers do have benefits, but have drawbacks as well.

For a PC setup with a couple of sources, I think a Wiim Amp pro is suitable. However if you have tons of sources, of various types, coaxial/optical, RCA, need video routing, HDMI in and out, 4K video support, HD audio with DTS master/DD HD, DTS;X, Atmos, bass management, room correction, subwoofer support, headphone amp, a AVR can serve well.

I use a AVR in the PC desk 2.1 system

Oh, I get ya. Been putting off a battlestation upgrade for many months, plonked a 42inch LG C4 in last month, since they went cheap. Then needed a desk upgrade, so threw together a standard ikeahack desk. Now it's audio, and decided to go audiophile, after looking at all levels below that. I spend most of my time on my PC, so why not, lol. My conscience is free, unlike my credit card!

mrk · 17 Jun 2025 at 21:57

Starvald said:
Yeah I've been there a bit over the years. I mostly lurk though, much like here. Also on ASR, but I wont post there, as.... well, you know, urghhhh, I just don't want to interact with their most active members. I see you're there as well, been following both Headfi and ASRs threads. It's a useful site though, as the measurements are a hard check to manufacturers claims, as well as a sanity check to the quality of an item.

I try to lurk there as much as possible but sometimes it's hard when the topic is relevant lol, headfi is fine though, they do throw jabs at ASR often

hornetstinger · 17 Jun 2025 at 22:00

Starvald said:
Oh, I get ya. Been putting off a battlestation upgrade for many months, plonked a 42inch LG C4 in last month, since they went cheap. Then needed a desk upgrade, so threw together a standard ikeahack desk. Now it's audio, and decided to go audiophile, after looking at all levels below that. I spend most of my time on my PC, so why not, lol. My conscience is free, unlike my credit card!

I'd probably recommend a AVR, just for it's jack of all trades. My sources are squeezebox (coaxial) PC- (optical), with AVR OSD via that also displays on the monitor for setup, 6.5mm headphone amp, since I have subwoofer it high passes the speakers does room EQ on them, low passes the subwoofer time aligns it as well (no EQ as Yamaha), IR remote control. Also if I want to go 4.1 I have that option

If you want stereo only then look for a "stereo digital integrated amplifier", so it has built in DAC as well, and ideally headphone amp/socket

something like this

BasX TA1 Stereo Preamp/DAC/Tuner With Integrated Amplifier

The TA1 is a stereo preamplifier, which includes a stereo FM tuner, inputs for line level analog sources, and a built-in DAC. Shop online today!

emotiva.com

it has high pass too that's pretty cool, although 90hz might be a bit high, I guess if you have fairly small bookshelf speakers (which for a PC setup you might want) may be fine.

mrk · 20 Jun 2025 at 21:25

Alright bit of an update as the Creek 4040 A arrived today and I've had the day to play around and get to know it.

Sadly, I have bad news, it's not very good, unless I've been sent a dud unit which I doubt, then the issues I've noticed have slipped through the net on the very few reviews of it out there....

At £800 I expected much more considering the £200 Aiyima A80 is better lol.

With only the speakers connected and no source inputs, at any volume level there ia ambient noise floor hiss, the only time the hiss goes away is when you press mute. The hiss exists when selecting any input in the menu.
With the RCA cables connected from the X9 into the Creek there is audible interference noise coming through, it's like the Creek isn't grounded internally or a filter is missing since there is zero noise on the Aiyima A80 connected the same way suing the same cable. The higher the volume on the Creek is dialled up the more audible the interference becomes. If i change the input source in the menu then the interference noise gets lower in volume but it's still there.
The display has latency when responding to inputs I make, like turning the source knob there's latency, cycling the menu it's slow to react, turning the volume there's latency initially.
The volume dial notches/ratchet is fine and feels nice actually, weighted well and damped as well, but the volume increments are not calibrated to each notch on the pot, so by the time you half turn the knob, an increment advances on the display, meaning you will miss an increment if you quickly just wanted to dial in +2 or -2 on the volume.
Enabling PA mode to bypass the pre-amp and control volume from the X9 makes all of the above interference noises even louder.
Plugging the power cord into its own socket at the wall changes nothing,. so it's not because of the power rail I'm using with other stuff sharing the rail.
The front panel feels great, nice and thick like the X9's front, but the rest of the housing feels cheap, isn't textured like even cheaper amps are.
If you decide to use the 4040 A for headphones, then there is no volume memory between headphones out and speakers out, so you must manage the volume manually.... Again, £800 SHOULD have volume memory given that my old Topping MX3S that cost £280 had it and that's years old.
The noise mentioned already is also audible through the headphones.
The volume only goes up to 80, why 80? Why not 100? It's not a dB display.....
It's obviously eco friendly to have an auto-standby mode that kicks in after xx time of inactivity, this is fine and I welcome it, but it seems when the 4040 A sleeps. it will not wake up when audio is played back, a feature that works on all other amps and DACs I have used which have auto-standby. There is an option for USB activity wake, so I assume it works fine for USB just not any of the other inputs, certainly not the RCA anyway.
The soundstage places vocals central in the stereo image, and whilst the imaging is great at placing instruments and background vocals, the main singers voice is always central/narrow in the middle which isn't a pleasing thing to experience on speakers that have wide soundstage and really focused on presenting vocals in a 3D space with some authenticity which the triangles do really well with those magnesium horn tweeters.

So erm yeah, it's not very good device, it's like as if nobody tested out all of these things outside of a factory settings as a normal listener who cares about details that matter.
It is being returned and I have just placed an order for the Topping PA7 (don't need the extra power of the Plus) for £499. Should be here tomorrow.

It looks good, at least there's that....

Things change I've changed · 21 Jun 2025 at 13:02

Doesn't sound good but a couple of points, a good centre image like vocals for example is usually a good thing in hifi circles and sought after, (as long as the reverb of it is carried across to the left and right), you should in practise with a good amp and speaker positioning be able to close your eyes and genuinely feel that there is a centre speaker, an amp with poor imaging and soundstage won't be able to achieve this, cheaper amps tend to smear the soundstage across the speakers and you don't get that pin point centre image as well, my friend has the NAD 3020, very basic amp but that also achieves very good centre imaging and performs over it's rated specs.

The volume only going to 80 complaint is a strange one, lots of amps don't go to 100, more recently the very popular recently released SMSL PA-X power amp only goes to 70, part of the new GaN (Gallium Nitride) amps that are starting to crop up which could eventually compete and dethrone class-D amps in the future.

The delay on the volume is intentional as not to be change the inputs or volume to quickly, the click you feel and hear isn't connected to a digital switch, you just have to turn the volume a dial a certain amount to register input and volume changes regardless of clicks.

The auto standby is the same as a great majority of 'conventional' hifi amps, (Av amps included) if enabled, like my hifi amp at home, if will just go into standby after ten minutes of no audio, then you hit the standby button to turn on again, if you using the amp regularly then it's advised to disable the auto standby feature, I've tested auto standby triggered by audio a few times on Chi-Fi amps and personally I can't say that it's the most reliable thing, sometimes not being triggered on low volume.

Obviously this isn't the amp for you, the noise floor just shouldn't be there, not when marketing also pitches this as a desktop amp also whereby you will be much closer to the speakers being able to hear noise floor, I've heard the amp in a listening room and it performed very well but I didn't hear any noise floor as I was quite far away from the speakers.

You are never going to find massive feature sets on 'conventional' hifi amps like these, you going to be left wanting, and certainly I wouldn't be using any of them for headphones, ever, they are speakers amps that just happen to have a headphone socket.