Topping has launched the DX5 II DAC with high-powered headphone amplifier for high-resolution music enthusiasts. The DAC supports wired headphones with ultra-low noise floors. The DX5 II has an MSRP of $299 and is available from the Topping store on Amazon.
The DX5 II utilizes dual 32-bit 2-channel ES9039Q2M DAC chips to drive balanced headphones with a 133 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), 133 dB dynamic range, and THD+N at 1 kHz (A-wt) less than 0.00006%. The X-Hybrid amplifier can drive 16 Ω low-impedance headphones at 7600 mW to 600 Ω high-impedance headphones at 490 mW with THD+N less than 1%. External active speakers can also be directly connected to the Topping DX5 II in preamp mode for convenience.
The Topping DX5 II also supports wireless music reception with a Qualcomm QCC5125 Bluetooth 5.1 SoC. The DAC can receive music over Bluetooth using standard SBC and AAC, aptX Adaptive, higher-quality aptX HD (24-bit, 48 kHz at 576 kbps), and High-Res Audio LDAC (24-bit, 96 kHz at 990 kbps) codecs. Interestingly, the DX5 II does not support streaming music to Bluetooth headphones.
The DAC can be connected to PCs using a USB cable, enabling playback of music from streaming services and local music files, including 32-bit 768 kHz PCM and DSD512 sources. The DX5 II can also be used in ASIO mode with the Thesycon driver, enabling low-latency professional audio work. The 12 volt input/output trigger enables automation when connected to other audio gear.
The audio can be fine-tuned using the 10-band parametric EQ PC software, and multiple custom profiles can be saved and recalled. All settings and status information can be viewed on the 2.0-inch LCD display using the input knob and three control buttons.