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Review and Measurements of Topping DX7s DAC and Headphone Amp

D

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I've never dealt with Massdrop, is this the standard deal with them, only a 30 day warranty?
I've never dealt with them either, was just quoting Darwin's post. $360 is a great price and I'm certain I'd be happy with the unit. But I think I'll be patient and wait for the "Monolith by Monoprice Desktop Headphone Amplifier and DAC with THX AAA Technology" to come out and see how that measures up against the DX7s. It'll either be one of those or the ADI-2 for my first true DAC.
 
D

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Would be interesting to see what failed in it. Are you interested in sending it to me for a look? If you are in US, should only cost $20 or so.
This comment wasn't mine originally, it was quoted from the "Discussions" in the DX7s Massdrop link. The second comment was quoted from the D50 "Discussions" Massdrop link. Had it been mine I'd be more than happy to send it your way.
 
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amirm

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This comment wasn't mine originally, it was quoted from the "Discussions" in the DX7s Massdrop link. The second comment was quoted from the D50 "Discussions" Massdrop link. Had it been mine I'd be more than happy to send it your way.
Ah, I was wondering. :)
 
D

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Here is the operation in the three different modes:

1. Headphone: RCA mute, volume control for headphone
2. DAC: headphone mute, Fixed RCA with no volume control
3. DAC+HP: headphone and RCA both on, volume control on both

Note that while the multi-mode control on the unit has to cycle through the above three modes, the remote has three distinct buttons to instantly select each: "headphone symbol," "Line Out," and "Headphone Symbol+Line Out." So this lets you nicely control whether you want your active speakers to play together with the headphones or not while having full use of volume control (or not).

Was just looking through the manual hoping to find a 4th mode, which would be:

4. DAC + HP: headphone and RCA simultaneous output, with volume control on HP out and fixed RCA output. Seeing that this is not possible (maybe with mods), is the ADI-2 DAC FS capable of this type of output?
 

maverickronin

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is the ADI-2 DAC FS capable of this type of output?

The DAC can't. All its volume control is digital and it only has one DSP and DAC chip so the same signal has to be sent to all of it's outputs.

I think the ADI-2 Pro has two of each and can do that but you'd have to check its manual to make sure.
 

Majestyk

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There's a post on head-fi's dx7 thread (by Voxata) that is a bit concerning, IMO. I wonder if it has anything to do with some units giving up...

"There was a major quality issue with my DX7S. When I started modding it I noticed the heatsinks were not level and when correcting it I discovered there is no thermal pad either! The heatsink was only making side contact on one chip so I'm thankful this was caught early. So if you are comfortable talking the DX7S apart I'd recommend this fix. It's easy, just pull front first by loosening the side screws and unplug. Then unscrew the bottoms and slide board out from the back. Unscrew sinks from back of the board and apply a thermal pad or paste."
 
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The DAC can't. All its volume control is digital and it only has one DSP and DAC chip so the same signal has to be sent to all of it's outputs.

I think the ADI-2 Pro has two of each and can do that but you'd have to check its manual to make sure.
I appreciate the reply! I guess in my case it would be best to get a separate headphone amp that accepts the DAC's balanced outputs and I could use the DAC's RCA outputs as a fixed output.

There's a post on head-fi's dx7 thread (by Voxata) that is a bit concerning, IMO. I wonder if it has anything to do with some units giving up...

"There was a major quality issue with my DX7S. When I started modding it I noticed the heatsinks were not level and when correcting it I discovered there is no thermal pad either! The heatsink was only making side contact on one chip so I'm thankful this was caught early. So if you are comfortable talking the DX7S apart I'd recommend this fix. It's easy, just pull front first by loosening the side screws and unplug. Then unscrew the bottoms and slide board out from the back. Unscrew sinks from back of the board and apply a thermal pad or paste."

This was exactly my suspicion for the dying Topping units. Poorly mounted heatsinks. They probably made a stash of them and didn't bother with quality control in order to cut costs, hence the no warranty drops on Massdrop.
 

Gold Toazt

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Has anyone here heard or ever sent back a Topping unit for repair? They offer a 1 year warranty and they will do the repair for free but you as the costumer must pay for the shipping from and to China and I'm afraid that will cost more than the unit itself after all import taxes are applied.
I really like the DX7s it looks like the best dac/amp combo on the market but for 499$ with questionable QC and basically no repairing ability it seems like a gamble.
 

andreasmaaan

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Has anyone here heard or ever sent back a Topping unit for repair? They offer a 1 year warranty and they will do the repair for free but you as the costumer must pay for the shipping from and to China and I'm afraid that will cost more than the unit itself after all import taxes are applied.
I really like the DX7s it looks like the best dac/amp combo on the market but for 499$ with questionable QC and basically no repairing ability it seems like a gamble.

Sure it won't be cheap, but unless I'm mistaken about your country's customs laws, there will be no import taxes levied on a product being returned to its owner following repairs.
 

Majestyk

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It depends on what they write on the customs label. If they repair the unit and send it back with a declaration of $199+ (which would make no sense) then duty will apply, depending where you are. But if they do the right thing by putting $0 "Repair" then you'll only pay shipping...which is still quite a bit to/from China.
 

derp1n

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:rolleyes:
 

Darwin

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Am I crazy or am I not seeing "all" these dead units in the reviews?

I'm seeing it in Massdrop reviews and also Amazon. No warranty on Massdrop is a non-starter.
For the D50 out of 8 reviews on Amazon 3 of them report DOA.
I'm too lazy to go back to Massdrop and count sine they have so many moments and reviews there :)
 

jsmiller58

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There's no warranty buying it off massdrop?
I would direct you to: https://helpdesk.massdrop.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003723748-Do-products-purchased-on-Massdrop-have-a-warranty

Specifically the first paragraph...

”Some products purchased on Massdrop include a manufacturer's warranty. These products will have the warranty listed on the drop page. Products that don’t come with a manufacturer's warranty will be subject to a 30-day return policy.”

I do not find a manufacturer warranty noted on the DX7S drop page, so...
 
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