[spruce]

Still testing this unit out and purchased the HE-R9 on sale recently and it may be a better match than the 177X for the G5 in my opinion, less treble energy. I may prefer my Ifi isignature with 177X.

…testing for synergy continues!

 

[spruce]

I would caution folks on purchasing the G5 without knowing about synergy with their headphones beforehand. For example, my sennheisers did not pair well in my opinion (I would say shrill sounding on many headphones I tried would be a good description) and my 177x are too treble happy with the G5 after more extended listening impressions. Contrary to what I said earlier…

 

[Zubo]

G5 is here, still unopened. Got my IE600 yesterday and I try them on RME-ADI2. First impression of the Sennheisers is great, want to get used to a little bit on the RME before switching to G5.... I have no cable nor adapter for my LCD-XC to try on G5 .... Will report back .... Regards

 

[spruce]

I was losing hope I would
find a pair of headphones I liked paired with the G5. I think one of the main issues with my headphones and the G5 is the treble being too thin/sharp for my tastes. I’m currently using the G5 with my AKG K371(with suede pads), sounds pretty good to me. Otherwise, I would not recommend this unit unfortunately due to issues I’ve had pairing.

Edit: got around to pairing with iems, may be where this device is better suited from first listening impressions.

 

[C4PPY]

Any plans for a less powerful more compact G3 maybe? Something like this size of the BC3..

 

[c69k]

Hi everyone,

I bought Topping G5 for Sony EX800ST (16 ohm). Here are my impressions.

I have been using only Sony EX800ST IEMs already 3 years with various dac/amps.

Last 3 dac/amps were

1. Monoprice Monolith THX portable (220mW) @ 16 ohm .... used for 2 years
2. Xduoo XD05 Balanced (2x530mW) @ 16 ohm .... 1 year
3. Topping G5 (2x1W) @16 ohm ...... Bought 3 days ago

Topping G5 can run EX800ST to 'ears give up first' basshead level at its high gain at about 50% volume. With solid reserve.
The difference btw G5 and Xduoo XD05 Bal (both highest gain) is really the power, G5 has simply enough of it for EX800ST.

I prefer G5 also sound-wise as it does not color bass/subbass at all, where Xduoo would distort at the deepest levels of bass/would not have enough power to reproduce the sound. I noticed better details in highs with G5 too.
.
So, to put it mildly, with G5 there is an extra layer of deepest bass that I have not heard with Xduoo no matter the sound volume or EQ.

Highly recommended for EX800ST.

(I use Neutron Player with heavy bass EQ, but most importantly GAIN slider at 100%, and PREAMP slider at minimum, or '-30'.) This sounds best to me.

 

[spruce]

Needed to come back and update my impressions: There may have been an issue with my initial unit as my replacement G5 with an upgraded ddhifi otg cable, paired with my Shure 1840’s, sounded very good the other day! I was very impressed after being disappointed as mentioned in earlier posts.

I’m assuming because the G5 and Shure 1840 are both flat or neutral may have had something to do with this nice synergy. I’ll also need to test with my Shure 1540 which are similar to the 1840.

At the time of listening, I was also substituting my Cayin RU6 which I really love and using the OS mode on the RU6 did not match the capabilities of the G5 to my ears. The G5 provided a substantial improvement and I indeed felt like I was listening to a desktop system in a portable configuration.

My second unit was also different because the magnetic attachment I used to attach the G5 to my iPhone didn’t work as it did originally—I believe I referenced/recommend previously. The new unit had a protective mat and I recall the original unit didn’t.

I think my general knock against the G5 was I personally felt it did not pair well with a variety of headphones, and that may still be the case as I’ll need to do more testing with this new unit.

And I did feel the Cayin RU6 on NOS mode had some distinct advantages in timbre. I would definitely give that portable dac/amp a broad recommendation.

 

[Indrajit]

2 questions.
Does sticking a Topping G5 and a phone on top of one another cause shielding noise even when the phone's wifi and bluetooth are off?
And does it sound bright or too neutral at times?

 

[hungryewok]

Can this be used as a desktop dac/amp without the necessity to charge it?
And does it hiss with sensitive iem? E.g. Andromedas

 

[ExTubeGamer]

Can this be used as a desktop dac/amp without the necessity to charge it?
And does it hiss with sensitive iem? E.g. Andromedas

I would be open to use it that way too. Using the 3.5mm output of the G5 to send audio to my amplifiers. Double Amping with the G5.