CoryGillmore Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 (1) Topping PA5 Review (Amplifier) | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum I've seen this little beast mentioned here I believe. ASR got their hands on it, we have nearly AHB2 performance here for $350. Incredible. Couple this with their matching balanced DAC and you have quite the combo for any Heritage speaker pair. This little combo was basically made for us lol. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Evans Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 Wow! I’d like to own one with the DAC! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoryGillmore Posted November 28, 2021 Author Share Posted November 28, 2021 16 minutes ago, soundbound said: Wow! I’d like to own one with the DAC! It'd be one hell of a clean and transparent combo for less than $600. I tell you what if it had a remote I'd buy one to use for my main system lol. It makes the same power as my Audiolab 6000a Play and I guarantee you it measures better. We already they're going to come out with a larger more powerful unit, likely with an integrated DAC and all the other bells and whistles. Should be very interesting to see what they come up with. Exciting times for us audiophiles. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry4841 Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 Class D. Anyone know what kind of chip it uses? I admit some of the newer class D offerings good sound for what they cost. My TPA 3255 is almost as good as my expensive A/B amplifier. Sounds like good deal for those on a budget. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racer X Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 Curious about these economical small powerful Class D amps. Would like to try but don't want to pop my bubble and have to part ways with my tube amp, it's part of my identity. Really like my Topping E30 DAC, it has made digital listenable for me. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff. Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 @Racer X, too funny, and I get it! I bought my son a pair of the Costco Ion Total PA speakers to play around with and was deathly afraid they would steal some thunder from the Klipsch stable. Was relieved to discover they are two different animals that can co-exist together. Impressive nonetheless for $200 a pop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiva Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 I read the Topping review this morning. Sounds like a great piece of gear. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wetowne Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 Mine is on the way. It's replacing a Topping PA3s(which btw sounds extremely good) that replaced my Musical Paradise tube amp a few months ago. So far I don't miss the tube amp at all and I thought I liked tubes. Then again I used to like vinyl. Topping is keeping secrets about the technology involved, I'd really like to see a tear-down. It'll be a few weeks 'till it arrives and I will give my impressions then. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoryGillmore Posted November 28, 2021 Author Share Posted November 28, 2021 49 minutes ago, wetowne said: Mine is on the way. It's replacing a Topping PA3s(which btw sounds extremely good) that replaced my Musical Paradise tube amp a few months ago. So far I don't miss the tube amp at all and I thought I liked tubes. Then again I used to like vinyl. Topping is keeping secrets about the technology involved, I'd really like to see a tear-down. It'll be a few weeks 'till it arrives and I will give my impressions then. Are you the one who started the "honey I shrunk the system" thread? Maybe that thread was talking about the PA3. These new breeds of class D amps are changing the entire audiophile landscape. These boutique amp manufacturers making wildly overpriced amps that measure terribly should really be scared. I just hope Schiit has an answer for this class D craze as I much prefer to buy American when I can. I'm sure they'll be announcing something next year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry4841 Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 Class D is the wave of the future. I expect A/B amplifiers to diminish in sales and offerings except in the high end market. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wetowne Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 34 minutes ago, CoryGillmore said: Maybe that thread was talking about the PA3 No I have the Pa3s, it's pretty good. I switched out all my tube amps in three different systems for small form factor class d stuff from China and have been happy so far. I had been considering going all out with Hypex or Purifi but this new PA5 might scratch that itch. I also have two Topping E50 DACS which I am very satisfied with. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wetowne Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 I Just got the shipping notice from Amazon! Should be about ten more days from Shenzhen China. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoryGillmore Posted November 29, 2021 Author Share Posted November 29, 2021 4 hours ago, wetowne said: I Just got the shipping notice from Amazon! Should be about ten more days from Shenzhen China. Awesome brother what speakers will you be pairing with? And which DAC? You do know this PA5 only has balanced TRS connectors, right? So you’ll have to pair it with a balanced DAC and you’ll likely have to use some sort of XLR to TRS adapter, unless your current DAC has balanced TRS out, which I find unlikely haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avguytx Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 Pretty impressive. What gets me though is their oddball power ratings. What is this amp rated for from 20 to 20k at reasonable distortion at 8 and 4 ohm? Not that I'm ready to give up my 460wpc Carver M-1.0t just yet. lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wetowne Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 It will go with my Fortes replacing the PA3s amp that I'm already running balanced TRS with an E50 DAC. That will be my first tier system. Second tier is my Heresy IIIs paired with a Sabaj A20 amp and E50 DAC. Third place goes to my beloved old Heresy Is running Sabaj A10 amp and a Khadas Tone Pro 2 DAC. All three systems sound excellent to amazing since I started using the latest stuff from China. I know, I know, let's not go there please. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoryGillmore Posted November 29, 2021 Author Share Posted November 29, 2021 47 minutes ago, avguytx said: Pretty impressive. What gets me though is their oddball power ratings. What is this amp rated for from 20 to 20k at reasonable distortion at 8 and 4 ohm? Not that I'm ready to give up my 460wpc Carver M-1.0t just yet. lol From what I understand it’s rated at 50wpc at 8ohms and 80wpc at 4ohms (.08THD) with quite a bit more headroom at 1% distortion. I think it was like 130wpc at 1%THD at 4ohms. Very impressive stuff for a loudspeaker amp smaller than most headphone amps and even most headphone DACs. 43 minutes ago, wetowne said: It will go with my Fortes replacing the PA3s amp that I'm already running balanced TRS with an E50 DAC. That will be my first tier system. Second tier is my Heresy IIIs paired with a Sabaj A20 amp and E50 DAC. Third place goes to my beloved old Heresy Is running Sabaj A10 amp and a Khadas Tone Pro 2 DAC. All three systems sound excellent to amazing since I started using the latest stuff from China. I know, I know, let's not go there please. Hell yeah that’s awesome brother. Is the E50 DAC the one that stacks perfectly with this amp, size wise? That’s an amazing little stack dude. I literally just bought a 50wpc integrated and I’m very tempted to pick up this Topping stack just for the damn novelty. If it had a remote I would absolutely pick it up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wetowne Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 It matches the E50 perfectly. Here's my rack with the PA3s just waiting for the PA5. As you can see I'm using the DAC in preamp mode and I use it's remote for volume control. I run the amp wide open and it's dead quiet. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEH Synergy Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 Very interesting to see this thread on topping gear. I have owned a couple pieces from them and found their gear to be great sounding and a solid value, IMO. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiva Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 Love that little stack of gear. First class rack as well. Very sturdy looking.👍 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racer X Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 Yes, stereo should not be so simple and cute. It needs to more Rube Goldberg to sound better. 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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