Loxjie D40 Review (DAC & HP Amp)

[LeoL]

Is the volume control via digital attenuation or relay based?

 

[AnalogSteph]

nice!
does anyone know why the multitone graph usually shows more distortion in lower frequencies?

My guess is a combination of windowing artifacts (keep in mind that frequency scale is logarithmic so FFT bins get progressively wider down there) and opamp 1/f noise. Only occasionally is there an actual rise in distortion e.g. as a result of coupling capacitors or internal power supply issues.

 

[amirm]

Is the volume control via digital attenuation or relay based?

Pretty sure it is the volume control in the DAC.

 

[laudio]

Cost on the loxjie DACs keep going up with marginal performance increase. The original d30 was $150 and measured quite well. Hp power was more if I recall as well.

 

[audiofun]

I'm still not sure what's the point of this product --- their sister company (SMSL)'s M500 MKII is similar priced (maybe only $10 more expensive), but with better performance (no ess hump for instance). M500's HP Amp is significantly better (almost 10db better 50mv SINAD, and much higher power). It also comes with a very nice display and in a prettier, more compact package.

 

[PeteL]

I'm still not sure what's the point of this product --- their sister company (SMSL)'s M500 MKII is similar priced (maybe only $10 more expensive), but with better performance (no ess hump for instance). M500's HP Amp is significantly better (almost 10db better 50mv SINAD, and much higher power). It also comes with a very nice display and in a prettier, more compact package.

They are marginal differences, 1.1 watts vs 700 mW is about 1.5 dB, I don’t call that « much higher power » I think it comes down to look and feel. Me I prefer this one, but it’s me. Performance wise they are effectively about the same in real world. Beside maybe for some ultra sensitive IEMs

 

[LeoL]

Pretty sure it is the volume control in the DAC.

Thanks, Amir.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

MiniDSP Flex

Do we have measurements for this?

 

[respice finem]

Wow. For a name you would never think of when you saw it on Amazon that's amazing.

View attachment 187650

View attachment 187651

It's as if performance matters!

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Yet another great performer. Nice design too, will match well with Cambridge audio etc.

It looks though, like the measurements presented in this diagram are slightly worse than they are here - maybe it was a prototype.
Sidenote: "the distortion of the D40 is as high as 0.00008%..." - if it was intended as a joke, it's a good one

 

[Beershaun]

Do we have measurements for this?

Minidsp Flex Review (Audio DSP)

This is a review and detailed measurement of the Minidsp Flex audio signal processor. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $475 for unbalanced and $550 for balanced that I tested. Flex borrows the interface from SHD and puts it in a compact package. Seeing how I really liked that...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[amirm]

It looks though, like the measurements presented in this diagram are slightly worse than they are here - maybe it was a prototype.

They use a-weighting which improves SNR and in turn, SINAD. My measurements are unfiltered.

 

[DACs_Lover]

HI there.
Benchmark talked about headroom for intersample peaks. Can we read from Amir's measurement if this DAC supports or not?
Thank you.

 

[frix]

That constant stream of unheard brands and DACs is surprising. Why and where are they all coming from. The market must be completely oversaturrated by now. But anyway this one does perform really good.

 

[respice finem]

They use a-weighting which improves SNR and in turn, SINAD. My measurements are unfiltered.

But then, shouldn't it be the other way round - their diagram should look better?
Sorry if it's a silly thought, but I'm not an engineer and such things aren't so obvious to me...

 

[Keened]

HI there.
Benchmark talked about headroom for intersample peaks. Can we read from Amir's measurement if this DAC supports or not?
Thank you.

I would like to hear more about intersampling in general. From what I can tell it isn't a problem except when it is, but it also seems like 99% of the time the answer is just to pull back on the digital volume/source volume a tiny bit.

So if you theoretically had a digital source without a volume control and fed it to a DAC without a (digital) volume control could run into this issue, but that's pretty rare. So companies touting this are essentially putting a tiny digital 'resistor' against every signal in drop the digital volume below the bit limit of the DAC.

 

[Tangband]

Not bad at all. But for just a bit more money, wouldn't you rather have a MiniDSP Flex and a $120 headphone amp (say, the Magni) that performs better?

With the Flex, you can listen LPs with properly EQd headphones with the full 20 bit dynamic range. And then add a tube amp EQ filter when you want to dream about your ancestral hi fi sound. Maybe you can make Joy Division sound like it was intended to: on a cassette player in a car.

Of course, the second paragraph is meant to be cute. But I honestly think the MiniDSP Flex is a game changer. It should completley change the workflow for how Amir tests speakers.

This is a good point. Why be interested in a good dac for 400 dollars that dont have crossover abilitys or dsp eq ?
Minidsp flex has turned things around.

Topping d10s is so good as a dac, thats theres no reason to buy something more expensive. Thats only 100 bucks.
Buying such a dac will bring minimal improvement in sound , if any . The biggest fault in hifi is using passive loudspeakers. Its like having a component in the hifi-chain with a SINAD of 30. The ironcoils used in most commercial loudspeakers are really that bad.

To gain real improvements in sound quality , the serious audiophile should instead build active loudspeakers, that can be done with every passive loudspeaker ripping out the passive crossover if using minidsp flex.

Edit: This tested dac seems to be really good though, thanks amirm for testing..

 

[ralph]

Thanks for the review @amirm ! Assuming that this device can work as a preamp how well would it do?

 

[daftcombo]

Thanks Amir!

What about channel balance?
Can it be used as transparent preamp to power amp?

 

[PenguinMusic]

Not bad at all. But for just a bit more money, wouldn't you rather have a MiniDSP Flex and a $120 headphone amp (say, the Magni) that performs better?

With the Flex, you can listen LPs with properly EQd headphones with the full 20 bit dynamic range. And then add a tube amp EQ filter when you want to dream about your ancestral hi fi sound. Maybe you can make Joy Division sound like it was intended to: on a cassette player in a car.

Of course, the second paragraph is meant to be cute. But I honestly think the MiniDSP Flex is a game changer. It should completley change the workflow for how Amir tests speakers.

Hi,

Just a bit more money ?

Loxje D40 = 430$ on Amazon.

miniDSP Flex with Balanced option = 550$ + Shiit Magni = 100$ = 650$ = 50% more.

Sounds like a little more than just a bit more does it not ?
I'm talking relative and maybe you're talking absolute

Anyways, it looks like this is using ESS9068 DAC. And still that ESS Hump ?
Is there really no way ESS can fix this in the next generations ?

Regards.

 

[alashikata]

Decent price. I am gonna get it in summer