Topping EX5 - An Agreeable Collaboration

TIME STAMPS:

Build & Features - 1:36
Sound Signature & Performance - 4:41
Power Output - 11:22
MQA & Bluetooth - 16:57
Value & Conclusion - 19:01

******

Twitter: @NoThemeReviews

When You Walk Into The Room: NA
The Only Thing That Matters: NA
Drum Solo: NA

#headphones
#audiophile
#hifi
#dac
#mojobatterryreplacement
#Hart
#review
#zmf
#beyerdynamiic
#sony
#reference
#astell
#astellkern
#meze
#chord
#sennheiser
#audeze
#audioquest
#cobalt
#focal
#dragonfly
#oriolus
#amplifier
#microphone

[joshualee]

This is the second review of yours I've watched and I'm very impressed. If I didn't already own a amp/dac combo this would definitely be a worthy consideration.

[JM-sneb]

From the manual:
Switch ex5 off
Press volume knob and during pressing turn ex5 on
It will go into the menu without remote

[psychopopdesign]

you need some new adjectives for titles lol great review as always tho

[johnbradshaw]

On measurement, one of the principal benefits of measuring equipment is to keep manufacturers honest. If ASR aren't bothering to raise concerns at discrepancies between claimed and measured performance then it does beg certain questions. That said, an issue with measurement in any field is to understand what is being measured and how, there should be a transparent measurement protocol otherwise it invites "apples with oranges" comparisons. And at the sort of margins loved by measurebators principles such as repeatability and uncertainty become germane. I do wonder about the agenda at ASR, they ignore the power output discrepancies here and this week gave a recommended tag to a Violectric amp costing something like 3000 bucks despite its measurements being nothing spectacular. Actually its measured performance is way way past audible thresholds and so pretty much irrelevant, but that is true of gear cost a tenth or a twentieth of the price of this Violectric which ASR will take issue with because measurements aren't stellar. If people want audio jewelry then I have no issue with that (I actually like Violectric gear even though it is crazily expensive) but ASR seems to veer between obsessing over measures and downplaying their importance based on who made the product. On power, the current obsession with power is ridiculous and with the exception of a handful of outliers the vast majority of headphones reach ear bleeding volume at a small fraction of the power certain websites are trying to tell us we need.

[sazianasazi]

I've been waiting for reviews of this unit. Thanks! -Considering this for DT 177x Go.

[DankOrDavid]

Any plans on reviewing the topping dx7pro? Seems fairly similar to this and recently ran on drop for $580.

[tapmoron]

ASR is advertisenent for chinese firms and products undercover. The only seem to be independant but actually they just do the same job than most youtubers. I m sure that you know that " popular" influencer (ie carpet sellers) like Zreview or Darko are just there to sell people new stuff almost everyday. ASR propaganda is more tricky they hide behind " measurements" whihc mean nothing. I remember buying a topping with " great reviews" i returned it immediatly since it was sounding totally unnatural and electronical.

The chinese industry is no furture one, nothing can be repaired and every product has a lifespan of 1-2 years ...

[arthurwatts]

Wow - you clearly have quite a few axes to grind. The industry is what it is - I regard ALL reviews as entertainment and very few showroom auditions have ever left me thinking that the gear in front of me is worth the retail pricetag, so I may have a few axes of my own ;)

Trust me - people WANT the hype train and they desperately want to believe that the shiny new FOTM really is the answer to all their prayers, Topping, SMSL and Fiio fill a valuable niche in this bonkers hobby - the rest is just a few card details and a click away :D

[oioionionone]

Not sure if this will help anyone more than this excellent video has, but I’ve been comparing the ex5 to a chord mojo2, Fiio Ka3 and Cambridge dacmagic 200, after volume matching to my ears best ability I heard the chord mojo 2 had oodles more bass and mid presence, then I remembered I had EQ’d for a headphone and reset the dsp, I now hear no discernible difference after 3-4 hours of listening to tracks with both

[ashleyjwilliamshand]

Fantastic video. A bonafide editorial take. The algorithm blessed me with your channel. Can't wait to see more!

Thank you!

[rafaelmedina]

Amazing review
Honestly, I can't understand the name of the alternatives to the EX5. 
Could you put in writing the models that you mention at the end of the video?

[johnbradshaw]

Excellent review! This is well featured, powerful and not crazily expensive. If people are looking for a nice DAC/amp combo which comes with a bit of pride of ownership they could do a lot worse, though personally I would rather go for a JDS Element as I like the industrial design and have more confidence in their after sales support, even though it lacks many of the features of the Topping.

[cisco]

How does the su-8s or even the Su-9n and EX5 as a dac compare to the D30Pro. I have a Sp200 with Ananda and going to pick up Focal clear headphone

[juanmaravilla]

Can this EX5 move the sennheiser HD600 at its best? Thanks!

[omeletpants]

How would you compare this to the $500 Monolith dac/amp

[arthuroliveira]

Hello, From Brazil!!! PLEASE HELP A BRAZILIAN, I'M CONFUSED. I Have a Hifi Sundara, and want to know if EX5 can handle it. SUNDARA HAS 37 OHM IMPEDANCE. I enjoyed your video, very informative. Hope you can help me. Thanks.

[nc]

Seems like a d30 case with d50s chips with upgraded power supply, xlr and mqa...with headphone amp. If they got rid of the glare it would be a nice budget dac/amp/pre.

[GREGBT]

Very informative. I bought the Sundara headphone. Which do you recommend between the TOPPING DX3 pro plus or the EX5?

[silvesterponist]

Dear No Theme Reviews, You have said the there are only minor diffrences between DACs from your experience. However, most of the reviewers are claiming that between chip based DAC and R2R ladder DAC are significant differences. What is your opinion? I would be very interested in a review, in which you will compare R2R DAC and chip based DAC. Thank you very much.

[PastorwithoutaPulpit]

As someone who just went from the iFi Zen Dac V2, that was praised to high heavens by reviewers, to the EX5 I noticed a huge difference in the sound.
To me, and remember this is only my opinion, it was like someone pulled my head out from under the water.
The Zen Dac 2 to me was just a heavily veiled colored sound compared to the clarity of the EX5, to me it was a night and day difference.
I like the sound of the Zen, it was okay, but I love the sound from the EX5 it is so much clearer and cleaner to me.
I know that's going to upset some but here's the thing. I now have a used DX7s on the way to see if it deserves all the hype it received and if I like it better than the EX5 it will replace it on my desk. It's an older generation by about 2 or 3 years but it's still highly praised today. So I guess I'll see. The immediate difference I heard in going from the Zen to the EX5 has opened my eyes to the fact their are in fact differences in sound with DACs. Something I really just ignored thinking it couldn't be that big of a difference. I of course knew going from bargain basement DACs, my old Develpeotry DX6, to something better would yield better sound but I wonder how far that scales. I do eventually want to get the RDMI II mainly for all the cool things it can do. Anyway long comment over, thanks for reading if you did...