Topping DX5 II desktop DAC and headphone amp
There’s no excuse now for anything but high-quality audio at your desk as DAC specialist Topping announces its DX5 II. With a price tag of just £299 it could become the new budget benchmark for desktop DACs and headphone amps.
Distributed in the UK by Electromod, Topping’s latest device, the DX5 II, is a compact powerhouse – an ultra-hi-res DAC, preamplifier and headphone amplifier with fully-balanced architecture and remarkable specifications given its price tag.
Measuring 19×4.4×15.5cm (WxHxD), it forms a versatile ‘digital hub’ with an impressive connectivity array, equally at home in a multi-component hi-fi system or nestling next to a computer on a desk. Its purpose is to deliver exceptional sound quality with any digital source – smartphones and tablets, PCs and Macs, media players and games consoles… any entertainment device with a digital audio output or Bluetooth.
The new unit has been designed very much with headphone users in mind, with a built-in amp producing class-leading power and engaging clarity thanks to proprietary technology. And its versatile design makes it ideal for a range of system configurations, with a fixed analogue output mode to pair with an integrated amp and passive speakers, and a preamp mode with volume control for connection to a power amp or powered speakers.
DX5 II sports an impressive array of inputs and outputs for such an affordable device. There are three hi-res digital inputs – USB, coaxial and optical – as well as high-definition Bluetooth with state-of-the-art codec support. Line/preamp outputs come in balanced XLR and single-ended RCA flavours, while a trio of headphone outputs encompass balanced XLR, balanced 4.4mm and single-ended 6.35mm. A 12V trigger input and output is also provided for system synchronisation.
The DX5 II’s crisp, compact design is complemented by a functional control scheme and two-inch colour screen. But it’s what lies beneath the surface that makes this such an impressive DAC/headphone amp at its modest price – top-quality components and clever circuit design deliver a sound that is spacious and brimming with detail, engaging the listener with bold dynamics and an expressive, full- bandwidth performance.
DAC’s entertainment: two to tango
The DX5 II’s DAC stage is built around the ES9039Q2M – a high-spec chip from ESS Technology’s 32-bit Sabre range, featuring new-generation Hyperstream IV architecture to deliver ultra-low-noise and exceptional dynamic range. This would be impressive enough at the DX II’s price, but Topping hasn’t settled for just one of these chips; instead, two are used – one dedicated to the left channel of the stereo signal, the other to the right.
The ES9039Q2M is a two-channel DAC chip. Incorporating two of these chips to decode the left and right channels independently enables a pair of differential signals per channel, further lowering the noise floor, improving channel separation and enhancing the DAC’s ability to resolve fine musical detail and micro-dynamics.
Feature packed
Among its features, the DX5 II boasts
- X-Hybrid fully balanced four-channel headphone amp with ultra-low noise floor (1.8uVrms) and prodigious power (up to 2x 7600mW)
- Full connectivity suite: USB, coaxial and optical inputs; XLR and RCA line/preamp outputs; XLR, 4.4mm and 6.35mm headphone outputs
- High-definition Bluetooth support includes LDAC and aptX Adaptive (up to 24-bit/96kHz)
- Two-inch colour display with new Aurora UI
- Parametric EQ facility for ultra-precise sonic tailoring
The new DX5 II DAC/headphone amp will be available from selected UK retailers from mid-July,