Review and Measurements of Topping NX4 DSD Dac and Portable Headphone Amplifier

[harleyguy07]

No. The only issue I had it's that the driver works better with Asio output than Wasapi which likes to cut out. But after I installed the driver's I had zero issues getting it to recognize

 

[marX]

Should I try drivers of XU208 from other manufacturers like for JLAudio, DIYINHK etc ?

OR the NX4 DSD I got was defective?

Its interesting to note that Windows detects the device as NX4 but shows there is no driver installed and it doesn't show up in the playback devices list.

 

[skypablo]

Well, I got the NX4 DSD and even after installing the "official" drivers, I cannot make it work!

In the Windows10 device manager, it shows as "The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)" and in playback devices, there is no NX4 to select.

Anyone here faced this issue?

Maybe this helps, at topping support address http://www.tpdz.net/support.html
You can find drivers for nx4 and nx4dsd as different files. Be sure to pick the right one for your device

 

[harleyguy07]

https://www.xmos.com/software/usb-audio
You might look at thesycon direct and try their driver since it's their USB device in the unit. See if their driver see it

 

[Polysheep]

Sent mine back for warranty replacement. It seems like a problem with the usb port (dac) on the NX4 DSD.

 

[Veri]

Maybe this helps, at topping support address http://www.tpdz.net/support.html
You can find drivers for nx4 and nx4dsd as different files. Be sure to pick the right one for your device

You can always use the newest driver btw, all you need is one signed for Topping vendor ID.

 

[gustavjung]

Hi, the NX3s had different SINAD results depending on whether or not the charging cable is plugged in. Is this an issue with NX4 as well?

@amirm hi, could you please comment this. I am considering NX4 for desktop use so if it shows worse results when plugged to USB power may be I should look to other solutions like D10+JDS Atom or other DAC+headphone input solutions.

 

[GeorgeWalk]

Well, I got the NX4 DSD and even after installing the "official" drivers, I cannot make it work!

In the Windows10 device manager, it shows as "The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)" and in playback devices, there is no NX4 to select.

Anyone here faced this issue?

I have the NX4 and I have used it on my Dell Windows 10 laptop, my MacBook Pro, and iPhone with no issues. I never loaded any drivers.

 

[marX]

I tried to add the DAC driver manually under Sound, Video and game controller section in Device Manager as "Savitech" audio device. It then showed two potential drivers and both didn't work and showed "code 10 - device couldn't start" or something.
I'll check again after installing the demo driver from xmos.

Btw, when I connect my Windows 10 PC as well as my Android 9 phone, the DAC LEF doesn't light up. Does this mean the DAC is dead ?

 

[Polysheep]

I tried to add the DAC driver manually under Sound, Video and game controller section in Device Manager as "Savitech" audio device. It then showed two potential drivers and both didn't work and showed "code 10 - device couldn't start" or something.
I'll check again after installing the demo driver from xmos.

Btw, when I connect my Windows 10 PC as well as my Android 9 phone, the DAC LEF doesn't light up. Does this mean the DAC is dead ?

In theory, the NX4 DSD should work with both windows 10 and android by default (plug and play). You might wanna try different cables to rule out faulty cables first. If not, you might have a faulty usb port on the NX4 like mine.

 

[marX]

Yes, I have tried other cables but the result is the same.

What I dont understand is how Windows detects the NX4 correctly if it has a faulty usb port. When ever I connect the device , I can see it in the device manager with a yellow exclamation mark next to it.

Anyway, I'm going ahead with the RMA and let me see what the seller has to say.

In theory, the NX4 DSD should work with both windows 10 and android by default (plug and play). You might wanna try different cables to rule out faulty cables first. If not, you might have a faulty usb port on the NX4 like mine.

 

[marX]

UPDATE!

I got the NX4 DSD working with my phone!
There was a setting in my phone which disables USB OTG and after turning it on, the DAC works!
BUT, it still doesn't work with my PC!

Confused on whether to send it for RMA or not!

EDIT:

I got it working with my PC too!

I installed the Xmos audio class 2 driver and it didn't detect the DAC. But after that, I installed the Windows 7 driver from Topping website and it worked! May be there was something wrong with my Windows 10 audio drivers which was corrected by the xmos driver, I don't know!

 

[harleyguy07]

UPDATE!

I got the NX4 DSD working with my phone!
There was a setting in my phone which disables USB OTG and after turning it on, the DAC works!
BUT, it still doesn't work with my PC!

Confused on whether to send it for RMA or not!

I wouldn't just yet. If it is working on your phone then the USB receiver chip is working. Did you use that same cable on your PC. And have you Googled the error codes given to make sure one of your services isn't shut down or a setting on your pc

 

[harleyguy07]

This is what I found on code 28

 

[harleyguy07]

UPDATE!

I got the NX4 DSD working with my phone!
There was a setting in my phone which disables USB OTG and after turning it on, the DAC works!
BUT, it still doesn't work with my PC!

Confused on whether to send it for RMA or not!

EDIT:

I got it working with my PC too!

I installed the Xmos audio class 2 driver and it didn't detect the DAC. But after that, I installed the Windows 7 driver from Topping website and it worked! May be there was something wrong with my Windows 10 audio drivers which was corrected by the xmos driver, I don't know!

Sorry i didn't see the edit on the post that you got it working. It is surprising that you had to do that to get it to work but with all these things working together and having to communicate sometimes you have to go outside the box to make them work correctly. Is it playing all the high res formats as well. I have heard of people also having issues with higher res formats until they get the issue totally figured it out

 

[Sinquito]

For me it has worked almost flawlessly with my android phone, without messing around with any settings, plug and play with spotify. On my work's PC I first installed the official drivers from their page and it worked fine on windows 7. Then on my personal PC (Windows 10) it worked without any drivers as most of my others DACs, pretty cool. The work PC got updated to Windows 10 and still works just fine.

http://www.tpdz.net/wdzn_detail/newsId=59.html

These are the official drivers as far as I know.

 

[Lance768]

Hi, a proud owner of this wonderful DAC/AMP combo. Very powerful output, can drive my Sony Z7 at ease with high gain @ 50% vol, and also those power hungry planar. I notice no one posted internal pics of this beast (unless i missed it). So here it is (anyone want components name or hi-res pic, you can PM me). My unit has a flat head screws, I actually had a earlier unit with pentalob? screw, a bitch to open it.
View attachment 22107
View attachment 22108
I also replaced stock WIMA caps on my own NX4DSD with something more classic to suit my taste, Nichicon UES caps. Made this beast even better. On iFi counterparts there are only those small SMD caps so I cant tinkering with, a minus for iFi and big plus for Topping Anyone with brave steady hands can even replace those tiny Opamp with something else or modded a socket into it for big and easy opamp rolling (SOIC-8 to PDIP-8 socket)

can you please tell me if nx4dsd uses ad8610 op amp like their nx5 amp. Zooming in the picture blurs everything so i cant read the marking on chips.

 

[GermanViking]

Hello

Anybody here who tried the Nx4 with a 600ohm headphone like the Beyerdynamic T1?
I have a LakePeople headphone amp at my workdesk, but I am searching for a second amp for my smartphone.
Tx in advance.
Marko

 

[Sinquito]

Hello

Anybody here who tried the Nx4 with a 600ohm headphone like the Beyerdynamic T1?
I have a LakePeople headphone amp at my workdesk, but I am searching for a second amp for my smartphone.
Tx in advance.
Marko

I don't have a 600 ohm headphone, but my HD600 (300 ohm) and DT1990 (250 ohm) sounds terrific through the NX4 DSD, even in low gain you don't need to go past 1 o'clock on the pot (maxes on 5:30 o so), in high gain I would use them on 11:30 or so. For the price and the power I don't think it can be bested, but for me is a bit big to be truly portable.

 

[Sinquito]

can you please tell me if nx4dsd uses ad8610 op amp like their nx5 amp. Zooming in the picture blurs everything so i cant read the marking on chips.

Based on that attached picture, I think that the OPAMPs used there are the OPA1652 and OPA1688, in any case, they appear to be all Texas Instruments by the logo on the DIP IC, so no Analog Devices that I can see.