Senn Hd490 pro And Topping dx1

[dogusycblt]

Hello, I recently bought the hd490 pro, besides that I have the topping dx1 which is driving these headphones but I need to turn it up to high gain. There is static at high gain, should I buy dx3 pro or fiio or schiit magni? I am open to alternatives thank you

 

[patoulol]

I've tested the DX1 on many headphones and no high-gain issues

 

[dogusycblt]

I've tested the DX1 on many headphones and no high-gain issues

So should I change it?

 

[staticV3]

So should I change it?

Try plugging the DX1 directly into a phone charger.

Still static in High gain?

 

[unpluggged]

Senn

Apparently, it's an American thing to mangle names? I think this kind of nicknaming should be discouraged here for the same reason the term "Chi-Fi" is. It's just as offending. Is it so hard to spell "Sennheiser" or "Beyerdynamic"? We are dealing here with people's names, not with some made-up words. And people who deserve to be remembered. Yet nobody here tries to do the same trick with the likes of "Shuangmusanlin" or "Shanling", or whatever, for some reason.

 

[mike7877]

Try plugging the DX1 directly into a phone charger.

Still static in High gain?

DX1 only has one USB input.

 

[staticV3]

DX1 only has one USB input.

That's fine.

Plugging the DX1 into a phone charger isolates its inherent noise levels from any external factors that may introduce additional noise.

If you plug the DX1 into a phone charger and the noise is gone, then that means the DX1 is fine and the culprit is elsewhere.

 

[mike7877]

The signal from the DX1 should remain completely clear/distortion free.

DX1 voltage at full output is 3.88V

490 PRO headphone impedance is 130 ohms.

3.88V (DX1 max out) and 130 ohms (490PRO) makes 116mW.
(30mA drawn at 3.88V for the 116mW)

Since the DX1 is rated for 200mW into 32 ohms, it's able to output up to at least 79mA cleanly.
Since 30mA < 79mA, your 490 PROs should not distort at any level from the DX1.
It will only distort if it's broken or it's being fed a distorted signal.




To make sure your DX1 is working properly:

On your PC or phone (connected by USB to the DX1):
Go to google and search "online tone generator"
The first or second result (will have an orange background) is what you want.
Adjust the main, massive slider for the frequency, dragging it towards the left until frequency = 200Hz
Adjust the site's 50% volume slider below to 99%

Now adjust your Windows (or phone) sound (master) level to 100/full


Make sure the volume knob on the DX1 is somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3.
Press "Play" (button above the frequency slider on the website)

Listen to the tone. It's a plain sine wave so should sound very plain, very high bass note.

Gradually increase the volume knob until you reach maximum level.

If you hear anything other than just that tone getting louder, the DX1 is broken (barring malfunctioning software which is unlikely)
edit: if you get a rattling or buzzing in just one side, you could have a small piece of debris inside the headphones touching the driver (happens over time, but since your 490s are really new it's still unlikely anything's got anything back there to rattle around)



If the situation becomes the DX1 just doesn't go loud enough for you, though you like its clarity and functionality, your best bet is probably getting a Topping L30 II to connect to it. It's an extremely powerful headphone amp and will drive almost anything (including your 490s) to almost any level, and it sounds great (I have one)

The DX1 would connect to the L30 II with RCA cables (only the front headphone ports on the DX1 are affected by its volume knob).

If, in the future, you want to upgrade the DAC (for sound quality or even just functionality {ie. maybe s/pdif inputs}), the L30 II makes things easy.
I think the L30 II is a great price and is great quality. Mine's been on medium duty for almost 2 years now, not a thing has gone wrong~

 

[mike7877]

That's fine.

Plugging the DX1 into a phone charger isolates its inherent noise levels from any external factors that may introduce additional noise.

If you plug the DX1 into a phone charger and the noise is gone, then that means the DX1 is fine and the culprit is elsewhere.

It might, it might not. The way the DX1 appears to work is it needs to be receiving a digital signal before enabling the DAC chip (or unmuting it)


I interpreted what he wrote as he needs to use the high gain setting to get his desired output level, and when he does it distorts.