Luxsin X9 Smart Stereo DAC & Preamp

[respice finem]

Perhaps because digital audio signal goes to max. 0 dBFS?

 

[dimon0869]

Perhaps because digital audio signal goes to max. 0 dBFS?

Professional equipment does have a positive range, and in our Luxsin all the other indicators also have a positive range, hence my question.

 

[CJPopovich]

Excellent! Just hit the button on ordering one, will be replacing a SMSL D400ES. I don't expect an audible difference... until I use the PEQ. I also expect to have a rather immature level of joy associated with the bouncy display, which I'm embracing.

 

[TynanW]

And why does the indicator end at 0 decibels, why not, for example, +3 dB?

I set the level meter up as dBFS . . . dBFS maximum value is 0dB. There are different ways of expressing the same amplitude . . . for example a more VU-style meter might top out at +3 dB (or even +6 dB) to allow a good amount of headroom above nominal level, since VU meters are averaged and not peak-reading . . . it's also common to set 0 VU to measure -18 dBFS.

So basically the volume goes up and down, the markers underneath can show anything you like, different use cases have different needs, but none of them change what the audio does, you could have letters of the alphabet or Hollywood stars on each increment if you wanted !

 

[TynanW]

Professional equipment does have a positive range, and in our Luxsin all the other indicators also have a positive range, hence my question.

Those other indicators are showing VU rather than dBFS (decibels, full scale).

 

[TynanW]

BTW, I like drinking too, bit more on Chinese white wine.

Never tried it, it's now on my list !

 

[TynanW]

I also expect to have a rather immature level of joy associated with the bouncy display, which I'm embracing.

It's great, especially the VU meters, very responsive !

 

[dimon0869]

I observe volume surges in the right channel on my device, approximately at plus 15 decibels, when adjusting the volume within the range of minus 18-20 and 16-18 decibels. I hear it in the speakers, I have not checked it on the headphones yet. These volume surges are irregular, but they occur with enviable periodicity, that is, very often. I assume that this is caused by a defect in one or more relays in the volume control circuit. I do not understand what to do with this and would like to hear comments from the manufacturer's engineers present on this forum. I checked the headphone output - I do not observe a similar problem, but if you stop playback and turn the volume knob, then clicks are heard, and in different volume ranges they are heard differently - in some positions they are not heard at all, in some clicks occur every one or two positions of the regulator, and in some places each switching of the volume knob is accompanied by a click in the headphones. But I repeat once again - this can only be heard when there is no signal, the clicks are quiet, unlike those bursts of volume of the right channel, which can be heard in the speaker output.

 

[compilatus]

Hello, may I ask why a "mono" switch is needed?

To be able to adjust balance. Mono signal should come from the center, preferably on every frequency.

 

[Luxsin]

I observe volume surges in the right channel on my device, approximately at plus 15 decibels, when adjusting the volume within the range of minus 18-20 and 16-18 decibels. I hear it in the speakers, I have not checked it on the headphones yet. These volume surges are irregular, but they occur with enviable periodicity, that is, very often. I assume that this is caused by a defect in one or more relays in the volume control circuit. I do not understand what to do with this and would like to hear comments from the manufacturer's engineers present on this forum. I checked the headphone output - I do not observe a similar problem, but if you stop playback and turn the volume knob, then clicks are heard, and in different volume ranges they are heard differently - in some positions they are not heard at all, in some clicks occur every one or two positions of the regulator, and in some places each switching of the volume knob is accompanied by a click in the headphones. But I repeat once again - this can only be heard when there is no signal, the clicks are quiet, unlike those bursts of volume of the right channel, which can be heard in the speaker output.

As for the right channel volume surge issue, please support us verify it with the following steps:

1. Enable Bypass mode, set the volume step to 0.5 / 1 / 2, then repeatedly adjust the volume within the same range and check if the issue persists.
2. Switch the output to Headset, repeat step 1, and verify the result with headphone.

The R2R volume control system in the X9 produce a very faint popping sound when adjusting the volume. This is mainly caused by the operation of the relays, and it is almost inaudible. Within certain ranges (for example, around -25 to -26 dB), the sound may be slightly more noticeable, as more relays are switching at the same time. Again, this popping sound cannot be heard during normal playback, may only noticeable when the music is paused.

-Luxsin

 

[Luxsin]

Really nice looking meters! Adding user-switchable icon for VU meter is something we never done before, I will talk to our software guys next Monday to check the possibility, just don't want to disturb their well-deserved rest time.

BTW, I like drinking too, bit more on Chinese white wine.

Checked with our software engineer, it is doable but requires more effort to implement compare to a normal VU. For now, we've set it as mid-tier priory, but I am pushing to try and get it included in next firmware.

 

[dimon0869]

As for the right channel volume surge issue, please support us verify it with the following steps:

1. Enable Bypass mode, set the volume step to 0.5 / 1 / 2, then repeatedly adjust the volume within the same range and check if the issue persists.
2. Switch the output to Headset, repeat step 1, and verify the result with headphone.

The R2R volume control system in the X9 produce a very faint popping sound when adjusting the volume. This is mainly caused by the operation of the relays, and it is almost inaudible. Within certain ranges (for example, around -25 to -26 dB), the sound may be slightly more noticeable, as more relays are switching at the same time. Again, this popping sound cannot be heard during normal playback, may only noticeable when the music is paused.

-Luxsin

I conducted experiments and report the following: In my system, the standard position of the balance control is minus 8 decibels. This is due to the peculiarity of the arrangement of the speakers and my position relative to them. Of the effects when outputting to the speakers, only the subwoofer output is turned on. Volume surges in the right channel are very obvious at a 2-dB adjustment step, at a 1-dB step they are less frequent, at 0.5 decibels even less frequent, but at a 3-dB step they are practically non-existent, and all this manifests itself less, the closer the channel balance is to the 0-dB position. I also report that when adjusting the balance from left to right to zero decibels, sometimes there are clicks in the right channel. All of the above also manifests itself when the balance is set to plus 8 decibels, but the volume surges appear already in the left channel, and the clicks when the balance is moved from right to left occur already in the left channel, but all of this happens much less often than when the balance is set to the left by minus 8 decibels!
Enabling the bypass mode eliminates all of the problems!
I could not hear any volume surges when adjusting it on the headphones, but there are also clicks when adjusting the balance, and I heard them a couple of times even after turning on the bypass mode.

I forgot to add one request to you - please add the ability to manually turn on and off the high-pass filter for the speakers when turning on the subwoofer (and maybe even make it possible to adjust the roll-off), so that it would be possible to supply a full signal to the speakers when they are working with a subwoofer.

 

[Luxsin]

I conducted experiments and report the following: In my system, the standard position of the balance control is minus 8 decibels. This is due to the peculiarity of the arrangement of the speakers and my position relative to them. Of the effects when outputting to the speakers, only the subwoofer output is turned on. Volume surges in the right channel are very obvious at a 2-dB adjustment step, at a 1-dB step they are less frequent, at 0.5 decibels even less frequent, but at a 3-dB step they are practically non-existent, and all this manifests itself less, the closer the channel balance is to the 0-dB position. I also report that when adjusting the balance from left to right to zero decibels, sometimes there are clicks in the right channel. All of the above also manifests itself when the balance is set to plus 8 decibels, but the volume surges appear already in the left channel, and the clicks when the balance is moved from right to left occur already in the left channel, but all of this happens much less often than when the balance is set to the left by minus 8 decibels!
Enabling the bypass mode eliminates all of the problems!
I could not hear any volume surges when adjusting it on the headphones, but there are also clicks when adjusting the balance, and I heard them a couple of times even after turning on the bypass mode.

I forgot to add one request to you - please add the ability to manually turn on and off the high-pass filter for the speakers when turning on the subwoofer (and maybe even make it possible to adjust the roll-off), so that it would be possible to supply a full signal to the speakers when they are working with a subwoofer.

Our engineer is looking into this issue, would you please let me know which source input you were using, and the firmware version installed on the X9.

 

[SanojS]

Personally, I would go for the Topping DX5 II, which at less than $400 is likely to really hurt the competition.

Doesn't have HDMI ARC. Doesn't support subwoofer. Doesn't have good volume control.

 

[SanojS]

This is exactly it. I was in the demo room of an AV store at the weekend auditioning a pair of HD800S which I have never heard before so always wanted to and now finally did it. The amp they used was the recent Cambridge Audio EXA100, a big integrated amp BUT I didn't feel like it looked or felt like a £2000 amp. The CA marketing makes some bold claims about how it is tuned in London and represents the pinnacle of audio fidelity from the ESS chips but again I didn't think I was hearing anything remarkable that sounded on the same level as to what I am hearing back at home on my Arya Stealth and X9 setup.

It could well be that the EXA100 has a crap headphone stage of the amp I don't know as no specs for it are available, but even still, the whole thing did not represent to my hands and eyes and ears something that is £2000 whereas the X9 absolutely does at its price point given all of the features and high res display animation and how hefty the unit and controls feel.

I think people just see words on a page, notice the brand they have never heard of before and think it must price itself low as a "newcomer" as it has no right to be higher priced against all the big brands that market based on name badge primarily and so on.

Cambridge, to my experience, have never had any good headphone stage on any of their integrated components ....

 

[dimon0869]

Our engineer is looking into this issue, would you please let me know which source input you were using, and the firmware version installed on the X9.

The latest firmware 0.16 is installed, the source is a computer, Windows 11, the software player is Foobar 2000, connected to Luxsin via USB Type C.

At my request to make a low-frequency cutoff for the speakers when the subwoofer is turned on, adjustable or at least just a software switch in the subwoofer menu, to enable manual selection, you still haven't answered...

I also ask you to add to the database the settings for the Fiio JH 3 and Fiio FA 19 headphone models, which I am currently using, as well as for the Fiio FX 17 headphones, which I plan to purchase in the near future.

 

[Luxsin]

The latest firmware 0.16 is installed, the source is a computer, Windows 11, the software player is Foobar 2000, connected to Luxsin via USB Type C.

At my request to make a low-frequency cutoff for the speakers when the subwoofer is turned on, adjustable or at least just a software switch in the subwoofer menu, to enable manual selection, you still haven't answered...

I also ask you to add to the database the settings for the Fiio JH 3 and Fiio FA 19 headphone models, which I am currently using, as well as for the Fiio FX 17 headphones, which I plan to purchase in the near future.

As for the option of full frequency output to main speaker when turn on subwoofer, I have submitted this request to our software team.
For new headphone model addition, please submit it to our forum, our team will handle it accordingly.

Headphone Model Addition Request Thread

This thread serves as the official channel for actual X9 users to request the addition of specific headphone models to our database. To avoid...

forum.zidoo.tv

 

[TynanW]

Checked with our software engineer, it is doable but requires more effort to implement compare to a normal VU. For now, we've set it as mid-tier priory, but I am pushing to try and get it included in next firmware.

A VU 'style' meter design (it's actually a dBFS meter), no requirement for on-screen buttons as it features both a Peak and RMS indicator on screen at the same time.
It's also got a clip indicator (over 0dBFS) and 'silence' (or -INFdB) indicator, which could be set to something like -96dB
Needs a little more work, but I like this one.

 

[dimon0869]

As for the option of full frequency output to main speaker when turn on subwoofer, I have submitted this request to our software team.
For new headphone model addition, please submit it to our forum, our team will handle it accordingly.

Headphone Model Addition Request Thread

This thread serves as the official channel for actual X9 users to request the addition of specific headphone models to our database. To avoid...

forum.zidoo.tv

Thank you, I really count on you, and I wrote the desired supported models in your forum.

 

[TynanW]

A technical question . . . . for anyone with a more technical mind !

I am making a lead, to come out of the X9's RCA stereo out, and into an active mono speaker (Aventone MixCube). I am summing the Left and Right ground wires, and then running each of the Left and Right signal wires through a 4.7kΩ resistor first, before also summing them as well . . . the idea is to stop any voltage feeding back into the X9's RCA outputs.

Can anyone who is better at the technical stuff tell me if this looks ok to them ?