Topping DM7 8-Channel DAC Review

[restorer-john]

The Japanese standards for front panel manufacturing make this look like amateur hour. I guess the machining of the switch hole is difficult as compared to casting a high accuracy plastic panel with a bazzilion holes in a front panel assembly and with mounts for the switching assemblies. /sarcasm_off.

Make me spit my coffee out! LOL.

The one that really got me was a JVC Super Digifine receiver, RX-1001V. I think it's around 100 buttons (many double ended) on the moulded back plate, under the front panel buttons and above the tactile switches. And every one, perfectly centred, supported and positive. Ahh, the 80s.

It was a retro beast. I have one someplace- you should see the remote! Full backlit touch screen LCD learning thing.

 

[da Choge]

Can it handle multichannel DSD over USB? For those of us that have .dsd/.dsf files from SACD rips, this could be the ticket for multichannel music.

To answer my own question, on the ShenzenAudio site, it says this DAC is capable of multichannel native DSD64 and DSD128 and DSD64 over DOP; so that's encouraging so far. But no mention of Linux compatibility; only Windows 10/11 (w/ appropriate driver) and MAC.

 

[raif71]

The Japanese standards for front panel manufacturing make this look like amateur hour. I guess the machining of the switch hole is difficult as compared to casting a high accuracy plastic panel with a bazzilion holes in a front panel assembly and with mounts for the switching assemblies. /sarcasm_off.

 

[Doodski]

Make me spit my coffee out! LOL.

The one that really got me was a JVC Super Digifine receiver, RX-1001V. I think it's around 100 buttons (many double ended) on the moulded back plate, under the front panel buttons and above the tactile switches. And every one, perfectly centred, supported and positive. Ahh, the 80s.

View attachment 217892

It was a retro beast. I have one someplace- you should see the remote! Full backlit touch screen LCD learning thing.

I've disassembled so many Japanese faceplates that went back together perfectly it amazes me that they could do this stuff over and over and over again with no issues. Got a Coka Cola spill then soak it in hot water then take the dozens of switch buttons out and clean it with a toothbrush and reassemble with no issues. That JVC looks gorgeous with the VFD.(Vacuum florescent display.) I've repaired a ton of VFD stuff too and they always disassembled and went back together wonderfully. I miss the perfection of working on Japanese product.

 

[Doodski]

It does appear to be one of those machining processes that are finicky and require a tight machine tool assembly.

 

[poopy]

Please excuse my ignorance but what or how would an 8 channel DAC be used?

I often use my dac8pro for upmixing 2 channels to 5.1 or 7.1
Upmixing is not a popular topic in ASR, yet a lot of people use their AVR to upmix.

 

[martijn86]

Please excuse my ignorance but what or how would an 8 channel DAC be used?

I can only speak of why I personally, ultimately want a multichannel DAC: The only way to keep up with modern DSP controlled active speakers - while still being able to enjoy the tinkering freedom of passive speakers - is to use an active crossover.

A configuration would look like this:
Two-channel signal, digital DSP & active crossover (high frequency left,
low frequency left, high frequency right, low frequency right, left subwoofer, right subwoofer), multichannel DAC, quad channel amplifier for high, low, left, right and two channels to an active subwoofer on either side makes six channels populated for stereo content and reproduction.

Do I need it? No. Do I want it? Yes!

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Playing Apple Music ATMOS on multichannel interface:

 

[da Choge]

Looks like the standard Topping Remote; really only Power On/Off, Volume Up/Down/Mute, FIR Settings, Display Brightness:

 

[kiyu]

as far I understand in order to get 5.1 or 7.1 the source (movie) needs Dolby digital or dts.
Does this product support those codecs? what about a subwoofer?

 

[GWolfman]

I am not sure I understand the model numbering though. DM7?

DM = DAC Multi-channel?

 

[Doodski]

DM = DAC Multi-channel?

They could call it the XG9er and that would suffice for me...lol. It's just a designation.

 

[amirm]

as far I understand in order to get 5.1 or 7.1 the source (movie) needs Dolby digital or dts.
Does this product support those codecs? what about a subwoofer?

It supports no codecs or subwoofer filtering. You have to do all of in the host computer.

 

[amirm]

DM = DAC Multi-channel?

I get that. It is the number 7 that I don't get.

 

[XaVierDK]

This is a superb product for those looking to do active crossovers on a PC, or decode 7.1 surround sound and run home theatre without an AV receiver. Other 8 channels DAC's cost drastically more, and/or perform worse.

Two of these running a 16-channel Atmos-system out of a PC would be a sight to see.

 

[polmuaddib]

as far I understand in order to get 5.1 or 7.1 the source (movie) needs Dolby digital or dts.
Does this product support those codecs? what about a subwoofer?

You use software decoders. For example, you can use Media Player Classic in windows and it will decode everything. For music, Foobar will do it.
You may need to configure channels for ASIO...
But in Windows it is very easy and straightforward.
I don't how it works on other OS, but I imagine it is not much different.
For HTPC users, this is a wonderful product.
Now, if you could combine the two and get immersive formats like Atmos, that would be game changing...

 

[wisechoice]

I'm struggling to understand how this device can be used in a multichannel surround system. Can it do anything that can or cannot be done by an AVR or surround processor? Is there software that allows it to be used as a DSP incorporating high-pass and low-pass filters, PEQ, channel levels, phase and delay so that it acts like a miniDSP or Dayton Audio DSP-408 but with digital input? How do I get a Dolby Digital 7.1 stream into it? Can it decode that? (Obviously it doesn't support Dolby Atmos in any way, as far as I can see.)

It is likely to perform much better technically than AVRs or pre-processors at the same price, and is much smaller. [EDIT: also, and maybe more importantly, balanced outputs are rare if not-nonexistent at this price point in those products. Pro audio interfaces are another story, but often lack a unified hardware volume control.]

Multichannel DSD is also appealing for many, and not easy to get from a computer into an AVR or pre-processor. For that you need a single DAC, or a series of them driven by the same clock, e.g., via Toslink with the RME Digiface USB. And then you're limited to DSD64, whereas this unit appears to support DSD128 in native mode (although nb this is usually not possible on the Mac without a driver from the manufacturer, which I'm not expecting here).

You can output 7.1 or 5.1.2 Atmos from any Mac with the speaker channels assigned in Audio MIDI Setup. Any decoding needs to be done in software (the native Apple suite can do Atmos; VLC, Kodi can do Dolby Digital). In theory, you can also create an aggregate device with two of these for a sixteen channel setup, although Atmos configurations in macOS are currently limited to 7.1.4.

You can use Audio Hijack or HQPlayer for DSP. I'm pretty sure Roon also has this sort of functionality.

For HDMI input, you need something like a DeckLink Mini Recorder 4K and an HDMI splitter, and Loopback [EDIT: or OBS Studio for a free solution, though neither is perfect.] But you may be limited to 5.1 with that approach, depending on how many channels of PCM your player supports. Apple TV so far is limited to 5.1.

I won't say all of that is as elegant as an AVR, but it sure is more elegant than a multi-DAC computer setup.

 

[Ra1zel]

I'm glad another company decided to make multi channel DAC, however without at least AES in/out it seems very incomplete. Something like Motu Ultralite is much higher value... well any pro interface with many channels really.

 

[Music1969]

well any pro interface with many channels really.

Problem is none of them support IR remote control. They are made for use where you can reach the knobs.

But for us sitting 10+ feet back on a couch, need IR remote control for volume. Critical.

Like Okto DAC8 Pro has. And now this.

 

[DavidMcRoy]

It is likely to perform much better technically than AVRs or pre-processors at the same price, and is much smaller. [EDIT: also, and maybe more importantly, balanced outputs are rare if not-nonexistent at this price point.]

Multichannel DSD is also appealing for many, and not easy to get from a computer into an AVR or pre-processor. For that you need a single DAC, or a series of them driven by the same clock, e.g., via Toslink with the RME Digiface USB. And then you're limited to DSD64, whereas this unit appears to support DSD128 in native mode (although nb this is usually not possible on the Mac without a driver from the manufacturer, which I'm not expecting here).

You can output 7.1 or 5.1.2 Atmos from any Mac with the speaker channels assigned in Audio MIDI Setup. Any decoding needs to be done in software (the native Apple suite can do Atmos; VLC, Kodi can do Dolby Digital). In theory, you can also create an aggregate device with two of these for a sixteen channel setup, although Atmos configurations in macOS are currently limited to 7.1.4.

You can use Audio Hijack or HQPlayer for DSP. I'm pretty sure Roon also has this sort of functionality.

For HDMI input, you need something like a DeckLink Mini Recorder 4K and an HDMI splitter, and Loopback [EDIT: or OBS Studio for a free solution, though neither is perfect.] But you may be limited to 5.1 with that approach, depending on how many channels of PCM your player supports. Apple TV so far is limited to 5.1.

I won't say all of that is as elegant as an AVR, but it sure is more elegant than a multi-DAC computer setup.

Thanks for the explanation. It appears to be more of a product for computer hobbyists than for home theater or immersive music enthusiasts. Too many hoops to jump through for my taste.