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Is topping NX4 the best desktop option sub $200?
- Thread starter Kosta
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Veri
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Seems like they removed internal supply to external as well as an increased impedance output from ~6 Ω as measured by amir to 10+ Ω ...
- Thread Starter
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thanks for all the help everyone - some good discussion. Think i might go with the K5 pro - its well within my price range and reviews seem good. At the end of the day I just need a half decent dac/amp that can run my 58x to their full potential.
Bonus is that I checked and its available from the local distributor here for the same price as the official aliexpress store (usually have to put up with ridiculous markups in this part of the world!)
Bonus is that I checked and its available from the local distributor here for the same price as the official aliexpress store (usually have to put up with ridiculous markups in this part of the world!)
I have an iFi iDAC 2, which drives the HD58X Massdrop Jubilee Edition just fine.
And I just ordered a K5 Pro, to see if it does better. Thanks for the idea for that in this thread and the link to the K5 Pro review.
The PowerDACv2 has a lot of THD, take a look at the measurements here: https://e1dashz.wixsite.com/index/pdv2
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If you really care about how it measures (and not about the feature and power it provides), then skip it.
Yes the nx4 dsd could be the best mobile and desktop amp/dac in the price range. It's a good feat to accomplish.
There are very few viable choices in the $150-$250 range at this point. Not really much point trying to pretend they aren't the kings unless you link a new review that I'm sure we'd be all aware of by how groundbreaking it'd be.
Jds atom, nx4 dsd, topping dx3 pro, khadas tone board.
I wouldn't look outside that.
There are very few viable choices in the $150-$250 range at this point. Not really much point trying to pretend they aren't the kings unless you link a new review that I'm sure we'd be all aware of by how groundbreaking it'd be.
Jds atom, nx4 dsd, topping dx3 pro, khadas tone board.
I wouldn't look outside that.
Evgeniy
Active Member
nx4 dsd , $150 new, ~~$100 for used, is nice solution for it's price, small and portable - for work table & notebook / tablet , vacation, weekend, etc.
As pocket DAC for smartphone - I think , player all-in-one is much better.
I have few DAC's, pocket player and currently tested NX4dsd sound.
Better desktop DAC's with good Amp costs more.
As pocket DAC for smartphone - I think , player all-in-one is much better.
I have few DAC's, pocket player and currently tested NX4dsd sound.
Better desktop DAC's with good Amp costs more.
GeorgeWalk
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I have the NX4 DSD and I love it. It is my portable unit. I travel a lot so I take with me all the time. The battery life is good, and it is small and easy to pack. It sounds great. I also have a D50s with an Atom amp on my desk. I can't hear any difference. The NX4 drives all the headphones I have with no trouble. If I was only going to buy one unit for <$200 it would be the NX4. For a little more I would go with the DX3 LDAC.
Except you have no scientific proof a portable player is better while we know the topping nx4 dsd.
You can buy a small dap for $100 with dac support and use the topping as your dac/amp for the best portable solution. If you can get proven performance for cheaper please do tell.
That's the best I've found.
Once he tests the hiby r6 pro, we will have more data.
Evgeniy
Active Member
When I wrote "player all-in-one is much better", I wrote not about audio performance, but about usability.
usability of NX4dsd on table, connected to tablet or notebook, is good,
but usability of NX4dsd in pocket, paired with smartpone, is very doubtful (may be, for other people it's nice pocket solution).
The LG G7 is measurably better, with a SINAD of 110 dB to the NX4's 104 dB, with odd-order harmonics (less pleasing to the ear) provably inaudible (<-120 dB), whereas the NX4's aren't:
The LG G7 also has a flatter frequency response and perfect channel balance (due to digital volume control), whereas the NX4 does not. The only thing the NX4 really has over the LG G7 is higher max output power. From measurements I've seen on other sites of different flagship smartphones (e.g. the Snapdragon Samsung Galaxy S10 series), I suspect that they are also audibly as good or in some cases better than the NX4. I see little reason to get a bulky DAC amp like this (or even a dedicated DAP) if you have one of these smartphones in your pocket already that sounds just as good, unless you have very hard to drive headphones. Then there are the usability and portability advantages @Evgeniy mentioned.
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Evgeniy
Active Member
Not only pure power, G7 HF Amp can't fully drive not only full-size headphones, but many in-ear earphones too.
Because
"All was not perfect here. LG has some screwy logic where it examines the impedance of the headphone and messes with the output level and hence power. This was not always consistent. We managed to get outputs as high as 2 volts RMS but other times, it would step down to 1.5 or even 1 volt. After a while, we managed to get consistent outputs resulting in these power numbers relative to load (just a volume step below clipping):
As we see, the headphone amp does not like low impedances. It sharply drops output voltage resulting in very low power outputs. This is the opposite of external headphone amplifiers where lowering the load impedance increases their output power.
"
Don't take dashboard too seriously. It's the dac performance rather than the whole unit. G7 can't drive load very well. NX4 is much better as a combo.The LG G7 is measurably better, with a SINAD of 110 dB to the NX4's 104 dB, with odd-order harmonics (less pleasing to the ear) provably inaudible (<-120 dB), whereas the NX4's aren't:
The LG G7 also has a flatter frequency response and perfect channel balance (due to digital volume control), whereas the NX4 does not. The only thing the NX4 really has over the LG G7 is higher max output power. From measurements I've seen on other sites of different flagship smartphones (e.g. the Snapdragon Samsung Galaxy S10 series), I suspect that they are also audibly as good or in some cases better than the NX4. I see little reason to get a bulky DAC amp like this (or even a dedicated DAP) if you have one of these smartphones in your pocket already that sounds just as good, unless you have very hard to drive headphones. Then there are the usability and portability advantages @Evgeniy mentioned.
or the fiio k5pro 145 bucks
Also if you don't have a bit perfect source, you don't get the high SINAD. So unless you're using something like uapp, you won't get it.
I'm not against the LG phones, but after learning how android resamples music, it doesn't really make sense to buy a nice dac, only to scramble the input a bit before outputting to the dac. For my PERSONAL uses, it won't work since uapp doesn't sync Metadata with any desktop music manager (or any bit perfect player on Android). Then again, the solution I proposed (cheap dap with nx4 dsd) would also not work.
So still need an android dap with bit perfect system wide playback with good testing from amir.
Still waiting for the r6 pro test.....
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A cheap dap like the Shanling m0+nx4 dsd can be remote controlled from your smartphone, boosting usability. All music lies on the dap, the smartphone just controls playback (if you choose.)
Better than LG phone only being able to use a handful of apps to truly utilize the dac. Not to mention the poor output of amp. I'd only buy an LG player if it was less than $100(i almost did too! But I don't use uapp, only rocket player and mediamonkey, 2 apps that can sync to a desktop manager (iTunes and media monkey)).
Not only pure power, G7 HF Amp can't fully drive not only full-size headphones, but many in-ear earphones too.
Because
"All was not perfect here. LG has some screwy logic where it examines the impedance of the headphone and messes with the output level and hence power. This was not always consistent. We managed to get outputs as high as 2 volts RMS but other times, it would step down to 1.5 or even 1 volt. After a while, we managed to get consistent outputs resulting in these power numbers relative to load (just a volume step below clipping):
As we see, the headphone amp does not like low impedances. It sharply drops output voltage resulting in very low power outputs. This is the opposite of external headphone amplifiers where lowering the load impedance increases their output power.
"
Yeah this is an annoying quirk specific to LG phones, but can be overcome by connecting your headphone cable first into the phone to trigger the higher impedance mode, then into the headphones.
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