Loxjie D40 Pro DAC & HP Amp Review

[Bow_Wazoo]

This is basically a Topping D90SE + Topping A90 with almost identical circuit (8ch 1612s for summing. 4 6120s in composite topology for hp out), at less than 1/3 of the price. amazing. it would be even better if it has negative gain.

If the amplifier is identical to the one in the A90, then I'd better not buy the D40 for my Noire X, because I remember, I got acquainted with the DC protection of the A90, when I tried to listen to my LCD-5 loudly.

 

[zWo3]

hey everyone i have a question maybe someone can help me i have a Loxjie D40 Pro for about 1 month now and i am really super satisfied as speakers i use Wavemaster Two Pro connected via xlr to rca.

My problem is when I start the PC and turn on the Loxjie the first thing I hear is 44.1hz on the display and from the speakers comes a really heavy noise and crackling which is extremely unpleasant after I start a song it switches to 192hz and the Dac runs without problems sometimes the problem is not even when I start the DAC but again and again I have to start a source before I get the speakers out of standby.

Sometimes I also have to restart the Loxjie D40 Pro completely which is really strange I am really satisfied so far but this problem is really bothering me and I wonder if it is a hardware problem or Windows USB problem.

The USB cables I have are an Audioquest Cinnamon and a Lindy Chroma USB. The problem occurs with both.

I am now at my wit's end and am considering returning the device. If anyone knows or has had similar problems, it would be nice to have a solution

Thanks

and have a nice day to everyone here.

 

[Berwhale]

@zWo3 What's wrong with the USB cable that comes with the DAC? Is sounds like you are using WASAPI (exclusive) or ASIO to drive the DAC from Windows, what happens if you use DirectSound or WASAPI (Shared)?

 

[Doodski]

The USB cables I have are an Audioquest Cinnamon and a Lindy Chroma USB. The problem occurs with both.

Sorry to say it but you overpaid for snake oil cables. USB expensive cables are snake oil.

 

[zWo3]

Sorry to say it but you overpaid for snake oil cables. USB expensive cables are snake oil.

that's true but everything is good i paid relatively little for it the audioquest cost 20€ and the lindy just 6€ i just wanted to test it if you can hear a difference and yes i use xmos usb driver ASIO i downloaded the driver from the loxjie site is there any other way? As I said would be very grateful =)

 

[Berwhale]

that's true but everything is good i paid relatively little for it the audioquest cost 20€ and the lindy just 6€ i just wanted to test it if you can hear a difference and yes i use xmos usb driver ASIO i downloaded the driver from the loxjie site is there any other way? As I said would be very grateful =)

The ASIO driver is pretty much irrelevant unless you have told your media player to use ASIO. What is your media player?

 

[zWo3]

The ASIO driver is pretty much irrelevant unless you have told your media player to use ASIO. What is your media player?

I use Youtube Premium and Amazon Music Unlimited. Thats all

 

[Berwhale]

I use Youtube Premium and Amazon Music Unlimited. Thats all

OK, so something is telling the D40 to switch sample rates to 192k, have you set Windows to output at 192k? Have you tried lowering this?

 

[zWo3]

OK, so something is telling the D40 to switch sample rates to 192k, have you set Windows to output at 192k? Have you tried lowering this?

yes i have set it to 192k but i have also set it to 44.1k the same problem which is also strange only a few hz settings work 384k for example is much quieter 176k also only a few certain ones go i really wonder what the problem is otherwise i am very happy with it but sometimes i have to turn everything off and plug the power cord back in then it works.... this can't be normal i installed the firmware update and all frequencies worked for 2 days without problems but then the problem came back. I hope it is not a hardware problem. otherwise I'll probably order the SMSL Do400 or the Loxjie D60. Thanks for your help.

 

[Berwhale]

I would try different USB cables and different ports on the PC, avoid USB 3.0/1/2 ports if you can (blue, red or yellow ones).

 

[Mark K]

hey everyone i have a question maybe someone can help me i have a Loxjie D40 Pro for about 1 month now and i am really super satisfied as speakers i use Wavemaster Two Pro connected via xlr to rca.

My problem is when I start the PC and turn on the Loxjie the first thing I hear is 44.1hz on the display and from the speakers comes a really heavy noise and crackling which is extremely unpleasant after I start a song it switches to 192hz and the Dac runs without problems sometimes the problem is not even when I start the DAC but again and again I have to start a source before I get the speakers out of standby.

Sometimes I also have to restart the Loxjie D40 Pro completely which is really strange I am really satisfied so far but this problem is really bothering me and I wonder if it is a hardware problem or Windows USB problem.

The USB cables I have are an Audioquest Cinnamon and a Lindy Chroma USB. The problem occurs with both.

I am now at my wit's end and am considering returning the device. If anyone knows or has had similar problems, it would be nice to have a solution

Thanks

and have a nice day to everyone here.

Sometimes my laptop cannot recognize it...And the firmware upgrade progress is a bit difficult
No complaints about its sound.....But not sure it is as powerful as my A90

 

[JIW]

Sometimes my laptop cannot recognize it...And the firmware upgrade progress is a bit difficult
No complaints about its sound.....But not sure it is as powerful as my A90

According to Amir's reviews of both, power at 300 Ohm on the balanced output is 554 mW for the D40Pro and 4*196 mW = 784 mW for the A90 which is 10*log10(4*196/554) = 1.5081 dB higher. The D40 Pro can produce 4.4 W at 33 Ohm and the A90 can produce 4.8 W at 50 Ohm. According to Toppings specifications, the A90 can do 6.4 W at 32 Ohm at <0.1 % THD+N. At that threshold, the D40 Pro can do around 5 W which is 10*log10(6400/5000) = 1.0721 dB less than the A90. Thus, the A90 is just slightly more powerful than the D40 Pro.

The D40 Pro has 14 dB high gain with balanced output being 6 dB higher and the A90 has 9.5 dB high gain for the single ended and 15.5 dB high gain for the balanced output. Using balanced connection between the D40 Pro and the A90, the D40 Pro's output level at full volume is around 14 dBV which is also the output of its balanced headphone output at full volume in low gain with the single ended output being 6 dB lower. The contrafactual maximum output without voltage and current restriction for the D40 Pro's balanced output is thus 14+14 = 28 dBV while it is 14+15.5 = 29.5 dBV for the A90's balanced output. However, comparing medium gain on the A90 of 6 dB with low gain on the D40 Pro of 0 dB, with balanced connection, the maximum output of the A90 is 6 dB higher and it may thus appear much more powerful.

 

[Mark K]

Thank you very much for such a detailed calculation which proves to be correct. My A90 is only slightly more powerful leaving.

 

[Mark K]

Bought an expensive USB A cable but still, my laptop fails to recognize D40pro

 

[JIW]

Bought an expensive USB A cable but still, my laptop fails to recognize D40pro

Is USB input selected?

 

[Mark K]

Thanks...
Turned out my input selection was shifted
Nevertheless I bought a few more 'audiophyle' grade USB cables, good enough for my other dacs

 

[Timyao4]

Thanks for all the time and effort you put into documenting this. I'm sure it may be of help to someone. Unfortunately, it is not working for me. It always fails at exactly the same step. It just never connects when I press the connect button. The only thing different I am seeing is that, when I try it, it automatically sets the baud rate to a hire value than you are using. I tried setting it to the rate you reccomended, but it had no effect. It still fails to connect.

Hello, I got my d40pro recently and met this problem too, but I solved it today. It happens may because that Win11 cannot automatically recognize d40pro when d40pro is turned off or in the update mode. I went to the Windows update in the system setup and found there is an extra drive named wch.cn. I installed it and re-insert the USB cable, and then my D40pro successfully connected to the firmware update app. Hopes it be helpful for you.

 

[ceausuc]

Go for it!!! I was astonished! I decided to build a secondary set for my music in my basement. I bought I wiim ultra, 2 klipsch rp-500 II and a Fosi Za3. Result was no so exciting. So I bought a sub Canton. Something better, but sound was a little bold but without soundstage and depth. I realized that wiim ultra has a decent built in DAC but not so capable. So reading ASRW I discovered this DAC and even if it's one of the ugliest piece of HI-FI I ever bought, I went for it. And a miracle happened! First of all I could connect Loxjie to ampli with XLR output and secondary the music suddenly become rich, full of detail with instrument beautifully separated and positioned. Soundstage and width fantastic!! The only limit at this point are my Klipsch and the ampli for music such as heavy metal. But the rest is sounded superb and energic. The headphone ampli drives without problems my cans, but I have two simply headphone to drive, Hifiman XS and Denon AH-D7200. Bottom line is an incredible device with a ridicolo us price. I got a Audio Analogue AADAC in my primary rack and frankly I can't find any difference with this DAC. Maybe precision in high freq and a much more depth. But it cost more than 10 times this chifi dac. One of my best value for money purchase

I bought D40 mostly because of your post, and price of course
Connected it COAX to Wiim Ultra and YES, better sound than RCA-out from Ultra.
Better soundstage, bass, details, body... a pleasant surprise. Thank you.
However, I tried also USB connection and it was pretty disappointing.
Problem is, now I'm thinking about trying other dacs or maybe other connection modes : IIS?
May I ask how did you connect Ultra to your Dac? Coax, Opt?

ps: I think it looks better in person than is photos

 

[staticV3]

Can this DAC/Headphone Amp drive the HD660S2 properly in balanced mode with low gain?

119dB SPL Peak -> extremely loud.

If you're curious about any other DAC+Amps, then you can use the formula below to calculate the dB SPL Peak yourself.

105+20*log10(sqrt([output power in W]*300))

Amir measured 85mW @300Ω for the D40 Pro Bal out Low gain, hence 105+20*log10(sqrt(.085*300))=119dB SPL Peak.

 

[JIW]

119dB SPL Peak -> extremely loud.

If you're curious about any other DAC+Amps, then you can use the formula below to calculate the dB SPL Peak yourself.

105+20*log10(sqrt([output power in W]*300))

Amir measured 85mW @300Ω for the D40 Pro Bal out Low gain, hence 105+20*log10(sqrt(.085*300))=119dB SPL Peak.
View attachment 446707

You can just use 10*log(x) instead of 20*log(sqrt(x)) since sqrt(x) = x^(1/2) and log(a^b) = b*log(a).