Topping EX5 MQA Dual ES9038Q2M DAC Bluetooth 5.0 LDAC DSD512 PCM 768kHz Hi-Res Audio HiFi Decoder Headphone Amplifier (Silver)

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There is no need to listen to a few songs, because I will be arriving at the same conclusion all over again that I’m dealing with a highly detailed Delta-Sigma DAC, something that would be unthinkable a few years ago. The chassis is CNC precision milled as usual and I couldn’t find any milling defects or assembly issues.

Topping EX5 MQA Dual ES9038Q2M DAC Bluetooth 5.0 LDAC DSD512

Obviously, my loudspeakers behaved absolutely the same and I’ve never heard pops or hisses coming out of those KEF Uni-Q driver arrays.

This is not yet another DAC made to offer the best measurements at the expense of musicality, instead this time it seems that the engineers have done their homework into making it a real music playing machine. The remote control cycles through four output modes which selectively turns on the different outputs for both on.

TOPPING EX5 Dual ES9038Q2M Digital to Analog Convertor (DAC)

FIR1 is the most natural-sounding one according to my ears and the effects of these filters are quite minimal so I would not advise losing sleep over them. The DX5 is not sterile, there is a touch of warmth and lushness, not very pronounced but still enough to make for an engaging and organic sound signature. Topping and ShenzenAudio can’t possibly operate without helping one another and since doing collaborations became the next best thing, it was only a matter of time when something like that would happen.EX5 was only decent when it came to hard punches in the chest and a far cry from the best I’ve tried. Compared to the old, hard-edged design that Topping has been using for years, the new design offers a fresher, more modern look and softer design cues with rounder, sleeker details. Things like headphone pairings will produce different results and impressions vs what my ears hear on my specific gear.

Topping X ShenzhenAudio EX5 Review — Headfonics Reviews

EX5 offers an instant start and stop of the drivers, it’s very impressive when it comes to speed and fast decays and those little traits carried over to its bass performance.I’m using Tidal almost daily, as it helps discovering new music, always reminding if a favorite band released some new tunes. I’m not surprised anymore, as once again Topping proved that even entry to mid-level devices can kill noise at the inception with clever engineering.

Shenzhenaudio Topping EX5 Review (DAC and Headphone Amplifier)

Also, due to its size, it will fit just about anywhere, so you don’t really have to worry too much about whether it will fit your setup. But I imagine this is very useful to control different output devices using the remote, making this a rather unique multi-function device. Sound quality is quite close to the wired connection, there is a loss in technicalities and refinement plus a touch of edginess to the sound but still very good. Output impedance has been going up and down in some Topping products of this class so good to see them target a near zero impedance yet again. I felt their metallic shimmering, all their RAW and unpolished surface, without making me lower that volume down.

It was a great idea using a mobile variant that needs a lot less power to unleash its fullest potential. Apart from these two, it had authority and a strict control over the drivers and I’ve rarely passed its 85 out of 100 volume level. The mids and vocals overall have ok detail and I can’t say I was disappointed but the main thing I tested this against was the EX5 from Topping and I found that to have better mids.