[0fricks]

about that second G5. I think the DAC is bad. I only used BT for about 5 mins before I thought the battery died. I can use aux and there is no light like it should be. but for USB and BT I get the flashing blue but as soon as I insert or pair, it goes to flashing red, meaning no input.

What wound up happening with your G5 here? I just ran into this myself. Used it for one day, everything was fine. It was paired to my phone and working on Bluetooth or via USB-C. Second day I decided to try it with my laptop (Framework w/ 12th Gen Intel, so modern, all Thunderbolt 4 ports) and as soon as I plugged it in (via the included USB-C cable no less) the status indicator turned to flashing red. Nothing I've tried since will resurrect it. It seems like if nothing is connected it's fine, but the second the DAC sees any signal (Bluetooth or USB) it switches to flashing red.

 

[arbiter76]

What wound up happening with your G5 here? I just ran into this myself. Used it for one day, everything was fine. It was paired to my phone and working on Bluetooth or via USB-C. Second day I decided to try it with my laptop (Framework w/ 12th Gen Intel, so modern, all Thunderbolt 4 ports) and as soon as I plugged it in (via the included USB-C cable no less) the status indicator turned to flashing red. Nothing I've tried since will resurrect it. It seems like if nothing is connected it's fine, but the second the DAC sees any signal (Bluetooth or USB) it switches to flashing red.

yep. pretty much. topping tried to get me to jump through a bunch of hoops testing it but I knew the DAC was shot the second I plugged into line in and the amp worked. I replied back with it's the DAC and then they wanted me to jump through more hoops sending it to china and I was like screw that. already in a country I don't speak the home language so I've been using DHL. I lost $30 shipping it back to amazon. from what I was told about why to ship to China I didn't bother ordering another one just in case you got mine and I got yours on second try. LMAO. btw, when I received mine it was pretty toasty. by toasty I mean it felt like somebody left it on a toaster and handed it to me. it was off. I know it was off. I used it for about 5 mins on bluetooth before it said poof. figured it was battery until I tinkered with it when I got back home. my name is Gollum and this G5 is my preciousssssssss. peace out.

 

[WilCox]

I'm a new G5 user and I am enjoying it with my HD 660S2 and Radiance. However, it gets quite warm (temperature) in DAC mode which has me concerned. Also, and quite logically, the battery life seems rather short. Is this normal? Note I didn't notice the heating up of the unit in Bluetooth mode -- just in DAC mode. I use an iPad with camera adapter for DAC mode. Any opinions would be helpful for me to understand if this is normal. Thanks!

 

[syr1990]

I'm a new G5 user and I am enjoying it with my HD 660S2 and Radiance. However, it gets quite warm (temperature) in DAC mode which has me concerned. Also, and quite logically, the battery life seems rather short. Is this normal? Note I didn't notice the heating up of the unit in Bluetooth mode -- just in DAC mode. I use an iPad with camera adapter for DAC mode. Any opinions would be helpful for me to understand if this is normal. Thanks!

Mine doesn’t get that hot. What kind of battery life are you experiencing? Are you on L, M, or H mode?

 

[0fricks]

yep. pretty much. topping tried to get me to jump through a bunch of hoops testing it but I knew the DAC was shot the second I plugged into line in and the amp worked. I replied back with it's the DAC and then they wanted me to jump through more hoops sending it to china and I was like screw that.

Yikes. And I just tested mine... amp definitely still works in Aux mode with Line In from another DAC, so it's definitely just the DAC that's toast. And just to be clear... when plugging into USB it immediately switched to flashing red as if that fried it, but there was no puff of smoke or that distinct, melted silicon smell. Seems like a weird "soft" failure.

I didn't bother ordering another one just in case you got mine and I got yours on second try. LMAO.

I tried to exchange mine but that didn't work, so I just ordered a new one and will return mine after I receive the new one. I really like the G5 other than this issue! But if the replacement suffers the same fate then I'll have to look for something else.

btw, when I received mine it was pretty toasty. by toasty I mean it felt like somebody left it on a toaster and handed it to me. it was off. I know it was off. I used it for about 5 mins on bluetooth before it said poof. figured it was battery until I tinkered with it when I got back home.

That isn't remotely confidence inspiring. You're right, that seems like a battery issue. Mine was not like that at least.

 

[arbiter76]

I'm a new G5 user and I am enjoying it with my HD 660S2 and Radiance. However, it gets quite warm (temperature) in DAC mode which has me concerned. Also, and quite logically, the battery life seems rather short. Is this normal? Note I didn't notice the heating up of the unit in Bluetooth mode -- just in DAC mode. I use an iPad with camera adapter for DAC mode. Any opinions would be helpful for me to understand if this is normal. Thanks!

the ess 9068AS is a desktop chip. desktop chips tend to hotter than the portable counterparts like ess Q2M chips. mine doesn't get anywhere near as hot as DAC mode but bluetooth sometimes warms up, especially when listening to music, rather than podcasts.

 

[arbiter76]

Yikes. And I just tested mine... amp definitely still works in Aux mode with Line In from another DAC, so it's definitely just the DAC that's toast. And just to be clear... when plugging into USB it immediately switched to flashing red as if that fried it, but there was no puff of smoke or that distinct, melted silicon smell. Seems like a weird "soft" failure.


I tried to exchange mine but that didn't work, so I just ordered a new one and will return mine after I receive the new one. I really like the G5 other than this issue! But if the replacement suffers the same fate then I'll have to look for something else.


That isn't remotely confidence inspiring. You're right, that seems like a battery issue. Mine was not like that at least.

I'm not sure if battery the issue as the amp still worked fine. mine also went poof in BT mode, not USB. I'm not mad but seeing how many "used" units are often on sale doesn't inspire confidence. the second was supposed to be mostly portable use as the first one would play portable desktop role but I am waiting to see other reports and what inventory and other reviews have to say for a while. damn shame too. I live in mexico so getting it here for $295 shipped was awesome and then disappointing. I am also waiting to see who takes theirs apart first to see how bad the epoxy job is. supposedly topping tends to use some thermal epoxy that expands and contracts over time loosing up solder joints. not good. topping already uses crap batteries. depending on future reports and if this g5 holds out and gives me enjoyment for at least a couple years decides whether or not I ever buy topping again. don't care how good it sounds if it can't last. I bought a JDSlabs C5D dac amp in 2014 and I just sold it recently here in mexico and it still works great. even the mini usb port isn't worn out yet. smdh. topping nx4 gave me about 14 months before the battery crap on me. I just sold that too and I could tell the battery was expanding inside the shell.

 

[WilCox]

Mine doesn’t get that hot. What kind of battery life are you experiencing? Are you on L, M, or H mode?

H mode with the HD 660S2. I haven't measured the battery life as I've used it intermittently and can easily sum up my usage. I will try to tally battery use going forward to get a better idea of how many hours a charge can last. Thanks for your response.

 

[syr1990]

H mode with the HD 660S2. I haven't measured the battery life as I've used it intermittently and can easily sum up my usage. I will try to tally battery use going forward to get a better idea of how many hours a charge can last. Thanks for your response.

I’ve been using mine in M mode. I wonder if it heats up more in H.

 

[arbiter76]

I’ve been using mine in M mode. I wonder if it heats up more in H.

yes. if listening to music. podcast probably not. L and M usually only get very warm but I've had it get hot unexpectedly. it just takes longer than H.

 

[JeanPaul Petrosyan]

I'm not sure if battery the issue as the amp still worked fine. mine also went poof in BT mode, not USB. I'm not mad but seeing how many "used" units are often on sale doesn't inspire confidence. the second was supposed to be mostly portable use as the first one would play portable desktop role but I am waiting to see other reports and what inventory and other reviews have to say for a while. damn shame too. I live in mexico so getting it here for $295 shipped was awesome and then disappointing. I am also waiting to see who takes theirs apart first to see how bad the epoxy job is. supposedly topping tends to use some thermal epoxy that expands and contracts over time loosing up solder joints. not good. topping already uses crap batteries. depending on future reports and if this g5 holds out and gives me enjoyment for at least a couple years decides whether or not I ever buy topping again. don't care how good it sounds if it can't last. I bought a JDSlabs C5D dac amp in 2014 and I just sold it recently here in mexico and it still works great. even the mini usb port isn't worn out yet. smdh. topping nx4 gave me about 14 months before the battery crap on me. I just sold that too and I could tell the battery was expanding inside the shell.

Hm, wouldn't have expected that from Topping, as a relatively highly esteemed brand, tbh. Damn shame if it's true and they still haven't improved in those regards. Thanks for the heads-up.

I think maybe removing the protective faux leather onlay on the back could help with heat dissipation somewhat. Alas, my knowledge and understanding of thermodynamics and material science is superficial and mostly intuitive...

Also, not to be a moralist, but I hope you did warn the buyer about the state of that NX4 you sold. No offence, though, no intention to place your personal integrity under doubt.

 

[arbiter76]

Hm, wouldn't have expected that from Topping, as a relatively highly esteemed brand, tbh. Damn shame if it's true and they still haven't improved in those regards. Thanks for the heads-up.

I think maybe removing the protective faux leather onlay on the back could help with heat dissipation somewhat. Alas, my knowledge and understanding of thermodynamics and material science is superficial and mostly intuitive...

Also, not to be a moralist, but I hope you did warn the buyer about the state of that NX4 you sold. No offence, though, no intention to place your personal integrity under doubt.

I would love to remove the faux leather to see the guts but that will have to wait until failure, battery dying or enough wear I don't care. I would love to stuff some thermal putty in there to help conduct heat away from the electronics. I would definitely take a lot of pictures if I do ever peel it off.

lol. of course I told him. I told him about the C5D battery still working and being portable for maybe 4h on a good day and told him the C5D was always used as a desktop setup because of the mini usb not being portable friendly. I told him the NX4 battery was dead. His response was 'batteries can be replaced'. lol. I stressed to him in the meantime he would have to use it at the desk. I think he's a 40-50 something year old man who just recently got into audio. He keeps texting me asking what else I have to sell. I do have extra blon03s and KZ ZSXs so I caved and sold him one of each. I also sold a tin audio T2 I didn't like and never used beyond the initial listening period. I also sold my akg N60NC I got for free when I bought the galaxy note 9. I used those for portable sensory deprivation and used the NC to try and tune as much of the world I can. I also sold him a brand new earstudio es100. I had 2 small portable amps, one nx1s and the other some SMSL amp. I used the nx1s for a while with es100/q5k. I didn't tell him about my qudelix 5k. I might now since I rarely use it the last 6 months. He's very happy. Keeps bugging me about focal elegias though. He keeps pestering me to pick him up a pair when I go to the US soon. at this moment I am transferring 600GB+ of music for his listening pleasure. He's going to be in audio heaven soon. He asked what I listen to and I told him about the G5. He offered to pay whatever price I ask after I described how good it sounds. I told him no bueno. it's my preciousssssSSsSssSsssss. lmao. he's happy. he's a repeat customer and wants more. I made an edit and it cracks me up because you were checking if I was honest unloading on an unsuspecting audiophile latino and you just don't know how I kind of feel like a coke dealer because he wants more. always texting me asking what else do I have like I'm baskin robbins.

 

[WilCox]

New problem. My G5 relay starts to "chatter" when it is turned off! The only way to stop this is to move either of the slides switches and the chattering stops. This is independent of the input mode. Has anyone else seen this? I've email Drop this morning to see if my G5 can be returned or replaced but have not heard back.

 

[Theri0n]

How does this DAC work wired with iPhone?

 

[kfotheringham]

How does this DAC work wired with iPhone?

Hopefully you have the lighting edition Topping G5 that comes with the cable to plug IPhone in?