Review and Measurements of Topping DX7s DAC and Headphone Amp

[mi-fu]

@rickymiester I think you can try turning off the DX7s completely (with the main power switch at the back), then unplug all the cables. Wait a few minutes, replug everything, switch on, try again.

I use Mac. I once had a situation similar to yours when I restarted my computer. The USB portion became unresponsive (my mac couldn't detect it) while optical worked fine. Switch on / off from the front, factory reset - all couldn't solve the issue.

I finally figured out that I had to turn off the whole thing, unplug the USB cable, replug again, to solve the problem.

I don't know why it behaves that way. Maybe design fault? Or some sort of circuit protection was triggered? The EE here probably will know

 

[nefilim]

Windows USB drivers have a lot of issues, especially for multichannel audio (I know, not relevant here)

 

[ripvw]

I also own a Mac and have experienced the same thing - the system no longer recognizes the DX7s and has reverted back to internal speakers in the audio preferences. This has occurred after an MS Office upgrade restart as well as after using other audio sources besides Tidal - which I run in Exclusive mode with volume maxed. I found that hard booting the Mac solves the problem - need to be sure that the DX7s is powered up when the Mac is rebooting so it can recognize the USB link. I have since turned off the auto start feature of the DX7s and simply leave it on all the time - I'm hopeful that this will solve the problem longterm.

The other issue I have experienced is the DX7s becoming "locked" onto a frequency setting even after the audio source that ran at that frequency is no longer being used. To be more specific I downloaded the PrimeSeat player mentioned in this post:

https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...-res-streaming-in-europe-only.3360/post-81990

I was able to play the various tracks listed on the website in PCM 384kHz - at least that's what the display on the DX7s indicated. I later booted up Tidal but did not get any sound - the display on the DX7s still showed 384kHz. I rebooted the Mac and the DX7s to no avail - unplugged cables, deleted the PrimeSeat software, etc. - no joy. I finally got it working again by deleting the Tidal desktop player and reinstalling it. I'm careful to turn Tidal off whenever I want to listen to NPR or watch a show on Amazon and then turn Tidal back on afterwards.

The joys of computer audio...

 

[rickymiester]

What happens if you unplug the USB cable and plug it into the same or another USB plug?

I have tried unplugging the usb cable from the Topping unit itself and plugging it into different usb ports on my laptop, and unfortunately it does not work.

 

[amirm]

I suggest dropping Topping a note on their website and see what they have to say.

Also, are you running their drivers or class drivers in windows?

 

[rickymiester]

@rickymiester I think you can try turning off the DX7s completely (with the main power switch at the back), then unplug all the cables. Wait a few minutes, replug everything, switch on, try again.

I use Mac. I once had a situation similar to yours when I restarted my computer. The USB portion became unresponsive (my mac couldn't detect it) while optical worked fine. Switch on / off from the front, factory reset - all couldn't solve the issue.

I finally figured out that I had to turn off the whole thing, unplug the USB cable, replug again, to solve the problem.

I don't know why it behaves that way. Maybe design fault? Or some sort of circuit protection was triggered? The EE here probably will know

I will try this and report back later tonight to see if it works.
Thanks for the input!

 

[rickymiester]

I suggest dropping Topping a note on their website and see what they have to say.

Also, are you running their drivers or class drivers in windows?

I wrote to them last night after posting the case here as well, hopefully they get back to me soon.
I downloaded the driver from the website and run it on Windows 10 (let me know if that is what you mean).

 

[amirm]

Yes, that is what I meant. No driver is necessary to download by the way. It works with built-in class drivers in Windows.

Along those lines, when it is not working, do you also not see it in the Sound Control panel?

 

[rickymiester]

Yes, that is what I meant. No driver is necessary to download by the way. It works with built-in class drivers in Windows.

Along those lines, when it is not working, do you also not see it in the Sound Control panel?

That is correct, i do not see it in the sound control panel either. I have to restart my computer and then the only way i was able to use it as my output was through the optical input.

 

[rickymiester]

@rickymiester I think you can try turning off the DX7s completely (with the main power switch at the back), then unplug all the cables. Wait a few minutes, replug everything, switch on, try again.

I use Mac. I once had a situation similar to yours when I restarted my computer. The USB portion became unresponsive (my mac couldn't detect it) while optical worked fine. Switch on / off from the front, factory reset - all couldn't solve the issue.

I finally figured out that I had to turn off the whole thing, unplug the USB cable, replug again, to solve the problem.

I don't know why it behaves that way. Maybe design fault? Or some sort of circuit protection was triggered? The EE here probably will know

I just tried this and it actually works. Unplugging the unit from the back seems to reset whatever problem is happening. Pretty annoying to not know exactly what causing the issue but at least the solution appears to be simple.

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[mi-fu]

I just tried this and it actually works. Unplugging the unit from the back seems to reset whatever problem is happening. Pretty annoying to not know exactly what causing the issue but at least the solution appears to be simple.

Thanks for the help guys!

Glad it works!

Now I also avoid restarting my mac. It seems that turning on / off the computer won't trigger this issue.

 

[ABQdude]

Mac user here on iMac and DX7s for over 3 months. I have had the same problems as @rickymiester and @mi-fu, and mi-fu's solution has worked for me also. I will watch with interest if Topping has any reply to rickymiester's inquiry.

I also wanted to report on interesting findings on using Audirvana and HQPlayer/Roon on the DX7s via USB on an iMac. My music library is mostly ALAC 44.1/88.2/96/176/192. On Audirvana Plus (latest version) I can get PCM upsampled to 705/768, but I get dropouts and clicks at that setting. PCM upsampled to 352.8/384 works fine and sounds very good. On DSD upsampling of PCM files, I can get to DSD256 but again I get clicks and dropouts. No such problems when upsampled to DSD128. On the DX7s in Audirvana Plus upsampled to DSD128, I get strong sibilance on female vocalists, but less so on PCM 352.8/384.

Using HQPlayer/Roon on the DX7s, I can easily upsample PCM to705/768 and DSD256 (the max available on a Mac) without any dropouts or clicks, and no sibilance. So as much as I have been a happy and long-time Audirvana user, I now use HQPlayer/Roon and upsample all my music to DSD256. The sound is quite nice to my ears using my music and desktop system, Paradigm MilleniaOne CT active speakers and SennHD650 balanced into the DX7s. The HQPlayer/Roon combo seems to be a synergistic pairing with the DX7s. Very nice indeed.

 

[Timbo2]

For all those having trouble with the DX7s dropping out - have you tried disabling all the power saving USB features on the specific USB port the device is using?

Edit: Another option may be a powered USB hub. They are relatively inexpensive.

 

[mi-fu]

Mac user here on iMac and DX7s for over 3 months. I have had the same problems as @rickymiester and @mi-fu, and mi-fu's solution has worked for me also. I will watch with interest if Topping has any reply to rickymiester's inquiry.

I also wanted to report on interesting findings on using Audirvana and HQPlayer/Roon on the DX7s via USB on an iMac. My music library is mostly ALAC 44.1/88.2/96/176/192. On Audirvana Plus (latest version) I can get PCM upsampled to 705/768, but I get dropouts and clicks at that setting. PCM upsampled to 352.8/384 works fine and sounds very good. On DSD upsampling of PCM files, I can get to DSD256 but again I get clicks and dropouts. No such problems when upsampled to DSD128. On the DX7s in Audirvana Plus upsampled to DSD128, I get strong sibilance on female vocalists, but less so on PCM 352.8/384.

Using HQPlayer/Roon on the DX7s, I can easily upsample PCM to705/768 and DSD256 (the max available on a Mac) without any dropouts or clicks, and no sibilance. So as much as I have been a happy and long-time Audirvana user, I now use HQPlayer/Roon and upsample all my music to DSD256. The sound is quite nice to my ears using my music and desktop system, Paradigm MilleniaOne CT active speakers and SennHD650 balanced into the DX7s. The HQPlayer/Roon combo seems to be a synergistic pairing with the DX7s. Very nice indeed.

Thank you for the detailed report.

I have never used HQplayer. Maybe I should try that out. Thanks!

 

[mi-fu]

For all those having trouble with the DX7s dropping out - have you tried disabling all the power saving USB features on the specific USB port the device is using?

Edit: Another option may be a powered USB hub. They are relatively inexpensive.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Actually I did switch to a powered USB hub with my mac and DX7s. I still have the same glitch if I restart the computer.

On a side note, my D50 doesn't suffer from the same problem.

 

[nefilim]

Thanks for the heads-up.

Actually I did switch to a powered USB hub with my mac and DX7s. I still have the same glitch if I restart the computer.

On a side note, my D50 doesn't suffer from the same problem.

That's curious, as apparently the DX7s and D50 uses the same USB receiver (XMOS XU208) - wonder if the firmware differs?

 

[Toku]

That's curious, as apparently the DX7s and D50 uses the same USB receiver (XMOS XU208) - wonder if the firmware differs?

USB drivers for Topping D50 and DX7s are exactly the same. I got a response from Topping when discussing the problem of noise occurring in the ASIO (Native mode) of D50 and DX7s. I actually installed both USB drivers and confirmed the operation, but there was no difference in the operation.

 

[nefilim]

USB drivers for Topping D50 and DX7s are exactly the same. I got a response from Topping when discussing the problem of noise occurring in the ASIO (Native mode) of D50 and DX7s. I actually installed both USB drivers and confirmed the operation, but there was no difference in the operation.

Makes sense, of course for above poster on a Mac - it's the same Apple driver (no third party drivers needed for mac)

 

[Toku]

I wrote to them last night after posting the case here as well, hopefully they get back to me soon.
I downloaded the driver from the website and run it on Windows 10 (let me know if that is what you mean).

I have connected DX7s to Windows 10 Pro (1803) + Core i 7-7700k PC, but I have experienced the same problem three times. I had a panic when the problem first occurred.

 

[astr0b0y]

I haven’t had this issue with my DX7s (connected to Mac mini via USB2.0). My unit is put into standby between each use. I use Roon exclusively and it’s set to upsample everything to DSD256. It must be very annoying to have these lockouts, I feel for you guys.