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

GeorgeWalk

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I have been using the NX4 for about two months now with Windows 10 and Mac. I have tried it with Sennheiser HD 660s, PCX 550, and 599 as well as Beyerdynamic DT880, and MEE Audio Pinnacle P1 IEMs. So far, I like it a lot. I travel frequently so I like to have it with me in my briefcase all the time.

I especially prefer the NX4 with the HD 660s headphones. Great sounding combination.
 
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Bronco

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Happy to report my NX4 is rattle free! :cool:
Exceptional unit - truly exceeds my expectations.
Ordered from Apos (Oakland California - US Topping distributor) - cannot recommend their customer service highly enough (no affiliation).

Thanks for the tip on Apos Audio. I’ve been considering the NX4 for a while and saw some $135 Black Friday deals on Amazon this weekend. Much preferring to deal with a reputable retailer, I went to Apos and found that they have a really slick price matching functionality on their site. Literally within seconds they had honored my price match request, and they offer free shipping to boot. You do have place the order at full price and then have a refund for the difference credited to your account. But with any luck, I should have another $25 coming back to me shortly, along with the piece of mind that comes from knowing you’re working with a well regarded, authorized dealer.
 
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GeorgeWalk

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Thanks for the tip on Apos Audio. I’ve been considering the NX4 for a while and saw some $135 Black Friday deals on Amazon this weekend. Much preferring to deal with a reputable retailer, I went to Apos and found that they have a really slick price matching functionality on their site. Literally within seconds they had honored my price match request, and they offer free shipping to boot. You do have place the order at full price and then have a refund for the difference credited to your account. But with any luck, I should have another $25 coming back to me shortly, along with the piece of mind that comes from knowing you’re working with a well regarded authorized dealer.
I bought mine there as well as the D50s. Great people to deal with!
 

Veri

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SP200 here, honored the price match and send replacement with better volume pot. 10/10 service, really nice people.
 

lasta

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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?
 

Bronco

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So my NX4DSD just arrived and I’m wondering what’s the best way to connect it to my iPhone XS. I see many older comments online talking about how nice it is to use the lightning to micro USB adapter that comes with the amp. But mine doesn’t have one in the box, and looking at current retailers’ sites, I don’t see such a thing listed as an accessory.

Should I just use my CCK adapter? I’m a little reluctant to try this only because there are so many warnings in the user manual about using the provided cables.
 

vkvedam

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So my NX4DSD just arrived and I’m wondering what’s the best way to connect it to my iPhone XS. I see many older comments online talking about how nice it is to use the lightning to micro USB adapter that comes with the amp. But mine doesn’t have one in the box, and looking at current retailers’ sites, I don’t see such a thing listed as an accessory.

Should I just use my CCK adapter? I’m a little reluctant to try this only because there are so many warnings in the user manual about using the provided cables.
You will be fine using a CCK kit, don't worry.
 

Bronco

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You will be fine using a CCK kit, don't worry.

Thanks. I’ll give it a try.

I still have to wonder though why Topping doesn’t include the lightning to micro USB adapter any longer if people liked it so much.
 

raif71

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You will be fine using a CCK kit, don't worry.
Agreed. In my case, I use Fiio CL06 cable (usb type c to micro usb) to connect the nx4 to Fiio m6 dap and all is well. Been using this since October with Senn. 6xx, 660s and ath m50x. Happy camper here :)
 

marX

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I was looking for a DAC ($200) for my PC and iPad to feed my IEMs and the Yamaha AS-500 integrated amp. So, need a decent headphone amp with low impedance and a good enough line-out.
Portable would be cool but not a necessity.
So, I have Topping NX4 DSD and iFi nano Black Label along with the Chord Mojo in my mind.
Any help in selecting the right one would be great!

The ifi micro BL, right? I think the nano was underpowered. It's almost 6 months with my NX4 and I am very happy with it.
Are you sure?
I have seen some superlative reviews for the iFi nano BL and they never mentioned its not adequate.
 

skypablo

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I was looking for a DAC ($200) for my PC and iPad to feed my IEMs and the Yamaha AS-500 integrated amp. So, need a decent headphone amp with low impedance and a good enough line-out.
Portable would be cool but not a necessity.
So, I have Topping NX4 DSD and iFi nano Black Label along with the Chord Mojo in my mind.
Any help in selecting the right one would be great!


Are you sure?
I have seen some superlative reviews for the iFi nano BL and they never mentioned its not adequate.

I have had two mojos, bought sold, rebought resold. I can`t appreciate it a lot. I had the hugo2, sold after the sabaj d5+thx887. I had in 2018 the ifi idsd BL , sold. Now I own the sabaj d5 and the nx4 and g7 as portable solutions (nx4 bought last week). Well I finally reached a status of peace. The nx4 is great, black background, great power, portable. The only thing that I do not like of nx4 is micro usb as it is less strong than usb c but it is not a problem considering the price of nx4. From my remembrance between the 3 you are considering I will catch the nx4 without a doubt.
 

vkvedam

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I have had two mojos, bought sold, rebought resold. I can`t appreciate it a lot. I had the hugo2, sold after the sabaj d5+thx887. I had in 2018 the ifi idsd BL , sold. Now I own the sabaj d5 and the nx4 and g7 as portable solutions (nx4 bought last week). Well I finally reached a status of peace. The nx4 is great, black background, great power, portable. The only thing that I do not like of nx4 is micro usb as it is less strong than usb c but it is not a problem considering the price of nx4. From my remembrance between the 3 you are considering I will catch the nx4 without a doubt.
I sold my Mojo+Poly after acquiring NX4 :)
 

marX

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Wow, that's some endorsement for the NX4!!
And the best thing is it's the cheapest one of the lot!
So, the NX4 it is then!
Thank you guys!

I have a question reg. NX4. Can I use it while it's charging ?
I'm going to use it as my main DAC for gaming sessions which can last up to 7 hours.

OFFTOPIC:
I'm amazed at Mojo in that it uses a FPGA or something like that. Also the reviews it gets is incredible. Its only in ASR that it gets a sort of a neutral review.
With the recent price cut, it's in my budget and that's the reason why I selected it as a possible candidate.

Very interesting to see you guys actually ditched it for the NX4.

Btw, I'm a member of head-fi as well and I got a recommendation for the FiiO X3 mk3 there.
Seems like FiiO too have some well specced dacs, even in their DAPs!
They use AK dac chips mostly. Kind of different from the ESS dac chip used in the NX4.
Intriguing...
 

vkvedam

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Wow, that's some endorsement for the NX4!!
And the best thing is it's the cheapest one of the lot!
So, the NX4 it is then!
Thank you guys!

I have a question reg. NX4. Can I use it while it's charging ?
I'm going to use it as my main DAC for gaming sessions which can last up to 7 hours.

OFFTOPIC:
I'm amazed at Mojo in that it uses a FPGA or something like that. Also the reviews it gets is incredible. Its only in ASR that it gets a sort of a neutral review.
With the recent price cut, it's in my budget and that's the reason why I selected it as a possible candidate.

Very interesting to see you guys actually ditched it for the NX4.

Btw, I'm a member of head-fi as well and I got a recommendation for the FiiO X3 mk3 there.
Seems like FiiO too have some well specced dacs, even in their DAPs!
They use AK dac chips mostly. Kind of different from the ESS dac chip used in the NX4.
Intriguing...
Can be used whilst on charge, no issues.

I wouldn't say Mojo/Poly were bad but it had it's issues. Mojo was very RFI prone, whistling caps. I was picking up a lot of it through the headphones and earphones. NX4 is pitch black when it comes to background noise. And it's 1/8th the price of Mojo/Poly combo, no brainer! And listening to audio through the PC needs a physical connection anyway, I needed that desperately.

You won't be disappointed, honestly. I had Mojo for 4 years and Poly for 2 years.
 

harleyguy07

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Yeah I have been blown away with the NX4 DSD since i bought it several months ago. The sound punches way above its weight and price. I would not see why anyone would need more from a portable rig IMHO. I would put the money saved into upgrading to best headphones you can get. There might be better out there but I haven't heard it. Its end game portable rig until the chipsets it way better or technology changes(I don't see how you could improve a whole lot over what is out there now), or digital audio has some kind of breakthrough format that is better. To me MQA is not a format on its own but a encoding on an existing format that allows high definition files to be compiled for better streaming
 

marX

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Well, I have bought the NX4 and is in transit.

Gonna be a long wait though as there is rioting and all kinds of crazy things going on. There's a good chance of delays in shipping.

Fingers crossed!
 

Polysheep

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Does anyone happen to have the firmware updater for the NX4 DSD? I bought one 3 days ago but i have an issue with the DAC function. It worked the first time i plugged it to my laptop but once I reboot it, I can't get it to work. Same goes for my phone and home laptop, works on the first plug in and nothing after reboot.

I could still get it to work on my phone once in a bluemoon after it gets charged but once i reboot it, my phone only detects it as a charging device.
 

NTomokawa

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Does anyone happen to have the firmware updater for the NX4 DSD? I bought one 3 days ago but i have an issue with the DAC function. It worked the first time i plugged it to my laptop but once I reboot it, I can't get it to work. Same goes for my phone and home laptop, works on the first plug in and nothing after reboot.

I could still get it to work on my phone once in a bluemoon after it gets charged but once i reboot it, my phone only detects it as a charging device.
All I could find were drivers.

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

You might wish to contact Topping directly.
 
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