Topping Audio DX5 II DAC Preamplifier Review

Topping Audio may not be the first name that springs to mind when it comes to affordable digital audio equipment, but the Guangzhou-based Chinese company has been hard at it since 2008. And with products like the DX5 II headphone amp/DAC preamp tested here, it may have reached the point where mainstream recognition – perhaps even ubiquity – is just a whisker away.

Costing less than many spend on a decent pair of RCA interconnects, this is a usefully compact [44x190x155mm, HxWxD] box that is variously a DAC, preamplifier, and headphone amp. Its build quality and standard of finish are frankly beyond what you’d expect given its meagre asking price. Whether you opt for the black, silver, or white finishes on offer, you’ll be the owner of a neat and attractive little bit of kit.

This dinky device is better specified than you might imagine. On the outside, there’s plenty going on, with no less than three front-mounted headphone outputs covering most eventualities – balanced 4.4mm, single-ended 6.3mm, or balanced XLR. The fascia is also home to some physical controls and a bright, full-colour display screen. There are buttons for opening set-up menus, selecting input, and cycling through options for the display (choose between numerical descriptions of volume file size, a ‘spectrum analyser’, or a very pleasing virtual VU meter), and a ‘turn/press’ dial dealing with menu navigation and volume control. Everything feels reliable and positive in action. An entirely unremarkable remote control handset is also supplied.

Around the back, you will find a mains socket, a power switch, coaxial and optical digital inputs (capable of working at up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution), plus a USB-B input (supporting up to 32-bit/768kHz and DSD512). There’s an aerial to facilitate Bluetooth connectivity – the DX5 II uses Bluetooth 5.1 and is compatible with SBC, AAC, and LDAC codecs, as well as several aptX variants, including aptX Adaptive. And you’ll spot two pairs of analogue outputs – balanced XLR and single-ended RCA – that can be specified to operate at preamp or line level.

Inside resides a pair of ESS Sabre ES9039Q2M two-channel DAC chips, one handling the left channel and the other the right. They are built around the company’s new Hyperstream IV architecture, which is claimed to offer extended dynamic range and vanishingly low noise. Topping has also developed a bespoke current-to-voltage conversion module in an effort to offer the widest possible compatibility with headphones of every type, while also reducing noise and distortion further. The company’s ‘X-Hybrid’ headphone amplification technology is also used in the DX5 II. A fully balanced four-channel amplifier design, it features three stages: a discrete input stage, the gain stage, and a discrete output stage.

Windows users may need to install a driver to use the DX5 II’s USB-B input, but they can take advantage of the company’s new PEQ (parametric equaliser) function, which offers precise control of gain, frequency, and bandwidth across ten user-definable bands. It’s not a unique feature, as FiiO has been particularly keen on it for a while now, but it has real appeal to head-fi fans. Users can create and save multiple audio profiles and upload them to the DX5 II. Target curves can be imported, and different profiles can be applied to individual outputs, allowing the sound of speakers and/or headphones to be tailored to the end-user’s needs. Apparently, Topping will make this software available for other operating systems as soon as possible, but for now, it’s only Windows users who have this functionality.

The Listening

The DX5 II sounds musical and engaging, direct and unequivocal. It brings order to bear on even the most unruly recordings, and can open up the densest, foggiest mixes, contextualising the most fleeting and minor musical details in an apparently effortless manner. For example, the classic late seventies disco of Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough (via an Apple MacBook Pro running Colibri software via USB-B) is an absolute banger via the Topping.

The recording sounds open and spacious, with every element of what is a very busy mix given more than sufficient elbow-room in which to express itself. The variety of tonal variation has just as much prominence as the broader dynamics of volume, intensity, and attack. And the frequency balance is very largely even and smooth. Detail levels are stratospherically high, yet the DX5 II is no fussy tool of analysis. Sure, it’s able to tease out and contextualise fine details, but this is not at the expense of excitement or engagement. Such incisiveness is a means, not an end in itself. It presents as complete a picture as possible, in an effort to entertain the listener rather than clinically deconstruct the recording.

Regardless of the programme material you play, bass sounds deep and textured with great grip, so the rhythmic element of the recording is always confident. Momentum is maintained without audible stress, yet there’s a satisfying punch to percussive sounds. The midrange communicates in the most positive and eloquent manner. Vocals are delivered with all of Michael Jackson’s attitude intact, alongside his highly distinctive phrasing technique. His later-period style became an unspontaneous succession of exclamations and vocal tics, but here he is in his prime, sounding articulate and engaged – and the Topping makes this abundantly clear.

The only downside that I can hear with the DX5 II is right up in the upper echelons of the treble, which can be a bit too well-lit at times. It’s pleasingly lustrous, but there’s a slight suggestion of brilliance– a kind of over-amped brightness. This isn’t a problem in most situations, but it’s still something to be aware of if you own a forward-sounding pair of headphones. That’s it for gripes, though. Context is everything, and considering the modest price of this small, multifunction digital audio device, it’s almost churlish to complain.

The Verdict

For those who haven't been paying attention, Topping Audio is turning heads with its range of highly affordable yet exceptionally capable products – and the DX5 II continues this trend. Its combination of price, performance, and features is seriously hard to argue with. An essential audition, then, if you’re looking for a budget black box to control your system with.

For more information visit Topping Audio