Electronic Wizards -Need help troubleshooting issues in a TOPPING VX2 amp

[MasTerasTrix]

Kindly Request FM's to help me troubleshoot an issue that is popping up irregularly with one of the TOPPING VX2 FDA that i have from the past 4-5 years, this amp has not been used much and was mostly stored away safely.
A friend of mine had sent this amp for repair & asked me if i could give him the topping for a few days. Took out the amp from storage and fired it up, Everything seemed fine in the begining but after sometime -
1. When I increase the volume it starts increasing it erratically( ex- if it's at 20 and i just touch the knob the volume jumps to 32, 35, 46 etc & stops at some random number)....but when I decrease volume it works fine. (Again Works fine for sometime but while increasing volume it starts the erratic behaviour )
2. The volume starts increasing by itself when I happen to touch the top part of the amps enclosure ( body) .It stops when I remove my hand and starts doing the same thing when I touch the top again.
3. Volume suddenly shuts off while playing though the number on the display still shows the set volume. I then turn off the amp ,switch it on again & it works fine.
I have no clue what might be the issue here, i did try to open it and check if there was a loose solder, but wasn't successful as the board width is not normal here ( coz it's a very tight fit into the groove of the amps body and even though i tried hard just couldn't pull it out).However i noticed that a huge capacitor ( the biggest one was touching the amps body) Could that be the reason for this weird issue ?
The amp has not been dropped or mishandled in any way. I'm attaching a pic of the internals for refrence.
Please do let me know if you have any suggestions on how i could rectify this or have come across something similar in the past .
I know it's best to take it to a technician,but just wanted to see if i could work on it if it was simple and fix it.

 

[manek]

1. When I increase the volume it starts increasing it erratically( ex- if it's at 20 and i just touch the knob the volume jumps to 32, 35, 46 etc & stops at some random number)....but when I decrease volume it works fine. (Again Works fine for sometime but while increasing volume it starts the erratic behaviour )
2. The volume starts increasing by itself when I happen to touch the top part of the amps enclosure ( body) .It stops when I remove my hand and starts doing the same thing when I touch the top again.
3. Volume suddenly shuts off while playing though the number on the display still shows the set volume. I then turn off the amp ,switch it on again & it works fine.

Thats Chi-Fi at its most complex behaviour .
On a serious note, if things happen or stop happening if you touch the amp chasis then there could be a earth problem amongst other things.
Check your amp and power chord and wall socket for a proper earth connection first.
If it still behaves the same get it to a service station.

OTOH Have you written to topping about the same ?

 

[MasTerasTrix]

Thats Chi-Fi at its most complex behaviour .
On a serious note, if things happen or stop happening if you touch the amp chasis then there could be a earth problem amongst other things.
Check your amp and power chord and wall socket for a proper earth connection first.
If it still behaves the same get it to a service station.

OTOH Have you written to topping about the same ?

Had thought of writing to topping, but since I have read a lot about topping not caring a rats a** & do not even bother replying ,i didn't write to em ( this feedback was from overseas forums).
Will check the earthing part like you suggested. Tha ks so much Manek.really appreciate it.

 

[chander]

I remember this used to happen to my Sansui amp ages ago - when not used for a while. My understanding was - it was moisture. When not used and being in humid environment, the volume knob used to behave erratically.

I would just run it for a few hours - sometimes a couple days and it used to behave fine afterwards. The issue will present itself again when not used for a while.

****This is my theory derived from my experience - I am in no way qualified to advice on electric components.

2. The volume starts increasing by itself when I happen to touch the top part of the amps enclosure ( body) .It stops when I remove my hand and starts doing the same thing when I touch the top again.

This I have never experienced.

 

[MasTerasTrix]

I remember this used to happen to my Sansui amp ages ago - when not used for a while. My understanding was - it was moisture. When not used and being in humid environment, the volume knob used to behave erratically.

I would just run it for a few hours - sometimes a couple days and it used to behave fine afterwards. The issue will present itself again when not used for a while.

****This is my theory derived from my experience - I am in no way qualified to advice on electric components.


This I have never experienced.

That's great news. Appreciate your suggestion. Will try it for sure and hope that it fixes the issue. How does using silica pouches all round the amp kept in a box sound to you? I know you must be laughing ur rear end off, but this just came to my mind out of the blues.lol

 

[chander]

That's great news. Appreciate your suggestion. Will try it for sure and hope that it fixes the issue. How does using silica pouches all round the amp kept in a box sound to you? I know you must be laughing ur rear end off, but this just came to my mind out of the blues.lol

That is what I do with IEMs/PMPs I store away, but I do not have amps to put away anymore. But it should work just about fine.

 

[MasTerasTrix]

That is what I do with IEMs/PMPs I store away, but I do not have amps to put away anymore. But it should work just about fine.

Sounds good.appreciate your inputs and thankyou so much for all the pointers.

 

[MasTerasTrix]

I remember this used to happen to my Sansui amp ages ago - when not used for a while. My understanding was - it was moisture. When not used and being in humid environment, the volume knob used to behave erratically.

I would just run it for a few hours - sometimes a couple days and it used to behave fine afterwards. The issue will present itself again when not used for a while.

****This is my theory derived from my experience - I am in no way qualified to advice on electric components.


This I have never experienced.

Hi Chander, how are you ? Just like you suggested I kept the amp powered on for a couple of days (it's on even now) without actually connecting any speakers and to my surprise the erratic behaviour just seems to have vanished. I try fiddling around by touching the chasis ,pressing it around and other stupid tests to check, but it seems to be normal. Never would i have imagined that moisture/dampness would cause things to behave erratically if not for you.Really appreciate you chiming in as it made the difference here in my case.cheers & have a great evening + weekend

 

[chander]

Hi Chander, how are you ? Just like you suggested I kept the amp powered on for a couple of days (it's on even now) without actually connecting any speakers and to my surprise the erratic behaviour just seems to have vanished. I try fiddling around by touching the chasis ,pressing it around and other stupid tests to check, but it seems to be normal. Never would i have imagined that moisture/dampness would cause things to behave erratically if not for you.Really appreciate you chiming in as it made the difference here in my case.cheers & have a great evening + weekend

I am glad it is working. I have realised this with happens to amplifiers the most, nothing else seems get effected, when things get humid.

 

[MasTerasTrix]

Kindly Request FM's to help me troubleshoot an issue that is popping up irregularly with one of the TOPPING VX2 FDA that i have from the past 4-5 years, this amp has not been used much and was mostly stored away safely.
A friend of mine had sent this amp for repair & asked me if i could give him the topping for a few days. Took out the amp from storage and fired it up, Everything seemed fine in the begining but after sometime -
1. When I increase the volume it starts increasing it erratically( ex- if it's at 20 and i just touch the knob the volume jumps to 32, 35, 46 etc & stops at some random number)....but when I decrease volume it works fine. (Again Works fine for sometime but while increasing volume it starts the erratic behaviour )
2. The volume starts increasing by itself when I happen to touch the top part of the amps enclosure ( body) .It stops when I remove my hand and starts doing the same thing when I touch the top again.
3. Volume suddenly shuts off while playing though the number on the display still shows the set volume. I then turn off the amp ,switch it on again & it works fine.
I have no clue what might be the issue here, i did try to open it and check if there was a loose solder, but wasn't successful as the board width is not normal here ( coz it's a very tight fit into the groove of the amps body and even though i tried hard just couldn't pull it out).However i noticed that a huge capacitor ( the biggest one was touching the amps body) Could that be the reason for this weird issue ?
The amp has not been dropped or mishandled in any way. I'm attaching a pic of the internals for refrence.
Please do let me know if you have any suggestions on how i could rectify this or have come across something similar in the past .
I know it's best to take it to a technician,but just wanted to see if i could work on it if it was simple and fix it.

UPDATE - [ TO AVOID FURTHER INPUTS ]
ISSUE WITH THE AMP SORTED. FIRED IT UP & SURPRISED AS THE AMP SOUNDS INSANELY AMAZING.

A highly deserved shout out to FM @chander for his input as i would never have thought about such a simple solution to the issue faced with the Topping Amp.
This clearly shows that there's nothing called as a stupid, silly or small suggestion when it comes to fixing things. I have learnt to appreciate every other pointer or suggestion given to me by people who are way more experienced and knowledgeable than myself. I say so coz at times we second guess ourselves and stop from giving out that pointer / suggestion thinking it's too silly or won't make a difference. I have done that myself on many occasions and then got to know that it was the exact same thing that had worked .
Im glad to be a part of such a collective that has no such limitations or mind blocks while coming up with noble ideas or suggestions that work wonders in real world situations.

FINAL RESULT - To my surprise this $60 amp that i was planning to get rid off as soon as I got it fixed gave me an unexpected jolt in return. I had bought this around 5 yrs ago and used it for max 1 hour & had packed it away only to be opened last month. Just realised what I had missed for 5 whole years when I finally paired this amp with speakers today. This amp sounds heavenly and beats many amps I've owned in the past from SMSL, Technics, Sansui & even the newly purchased smsl A100. I suddenly feel like a fool who went hungry for years while an entire buffet lay waiting neatly packed right under my nose.
PS - This is just an instance of extreme venting due to the joy of coming across this New Sound that could thrill anyone listening & has nothing to do with the countless other HiFi gear that FM's own and have heard in the years.( Infact im trying hard to keep it short ,finish writing this asap and quickly get back to treating my auditory system with what's being pumped out from this tiny black box) . Cheers !

 

[rgaleckio]

Kindly Request FM's to help me troubleshoot an issue that is popping up irregularly with one of the TOPPING VX2 FDA that i have from the past 4-5 years, this amp has not been used much and was mostly stored away safely.
A friend of mine had sent this amp for repair & asked me if i could give him the topping for a few days. Took out the amp from storage and fired it up, Everything seemed fine in the begining but after sometime -
1. When I increase the volume it starts increasing it erratically( ex- if it's at 20 and i just touch the knob the volume jumps to 32, 35, 46 etc & stops at some random number)....but when I decrease volume it works fine. (Again Works fine for sometime but while increasing volume it starts the erratic behaviour )
2. The volume starts increasing by itself when I happen to touch the top part of the amps enclosure ( body) .It stops when I remove my hand and starts doing the same thing when I touch the top again.
3. Volume suddenly shuts off while playing though the number on the display still shows the set volume. I then turn off the amp ,switch it on again & it works fine.
I have no clue what might be the issue here, i did try to open it and check if there was a loose solder, but wasn't successful as the board width is not normal here ( coz it's a very tight fit into the groove of the amps body and even though i tried hard just couldn't pull it out).However i noticed that a huge capacitor ( the biggest one was touching the amps body) Could that be the reason for this weird issue ?
The amp has not been dropped or mishandled in any way. I'm attaching a pic of the internals for refrence.
Please do let me know if you have any suggestions on how i could rectify this or have come across something similar in the past .
I know it's best to take it to a technician,but just wanted to see if i could work on it if it was simple and fix it.

HI its 2024 and im doing a diy project where im buliding a trasperent speaker as amplfier i hav a topping vx2 the point off this whole project is that its all stuffive found in garqage or broken spekears . the problem im tryng to solve is that every cable i use bwtween my pc my ipad my phone seems useless as the device sees the cable but not the speaker and it stops makin sound from the main speaker but the speaker doesnt do any sound so wtf? i tried with a usb to usb-c then i tried an adtor usb-c to jack 5.5mm than i tried rca/coaxial to jack (the only cable i found was with 2 rca males and a jack5.5 male still failed pls help me tell me a way to connect it to my phone or pc or ipad the ONLY DEVICE IT WORKS WITH IS THE MCBOOK