Some info about Topping's incoming DX1 II

[Power Pop 23]

It is my impression from postings that a Topping DX5 II has been the 'daily driver' for @amirm since he measured it.

I hope he has an opportunity to measure a Topping DX1 II and compare the functionality of each.

 

[Bleib]

OK, I just got the sound bug for the first time even with the latest firmware. Was playing Cyberpunk 2077 and it happened after about one hour of use.
As it's been said it's rather loud but at least it didn't play louder than the volume I used. First time I've had glitches with a Topping DAC. Just paused the game and reconnected to DX5 II (same USB cable) and it works as it always does.

 

[Demmers]

OK, I just got the sound bug for the first time even with the latest firmware. Was playing Cyberpunk 2077 and it happened after about one hour of use.
As it's been said it's rather loud but at least it didn't play louder than the volume I used. First time I've had glitches with a Topping DAC. Just paused the game and reconnected to DX5 II (same USB cable) and it works as it always does.

I'm still getting it after I leave it on Standby for a period of time. I come back to turn it on, and there is immediate crackling. Reconnecting the USB cable stops it, then it's fine to use. Note that my PC is left on 24/7 so the DAC won't be getting a constant "reboot" like most others, but following what you've said, maybe there is a time delay for this regardless of it being used or not. I'm curious to know if any other users have noticed separate bugs, as this is the only thing "wrong" with mine.

 

[Bleib]

Mine happened as I was using it.. I expected a rare BSOD but it didn't happen, it was just the audio and just DX1 II
So with this in mind, no recommendation from me at this point as DX5 II works fine and so does Fosi FZ3 and Creative Labs AE-5 soundcard

 

[olieb]

When it happened to me shortly after installing V2.50 the “crackling“ sounded a bit like the buffer under/overruns one gets in DAWs sometimes from a (too) tight setting and from the loudness of the “crackling“ I would assume that these impulses were full scale and they were not get extremely loud only because of the short duration of these impulses and the low impedance of my Para 2.
I separated and reconnected the USB and that helped, but only for a short period, then the crackling came back.
As I was not interested in investigating Topping's banana approach to firmware any further, I went back to V2.46 and this works flawless so far.

 

[SlowLife]

I'm still getting it after I leave it on Standby for a period of time. I come back to turn it on, and there is immediate crackling. Reconnecting the USB cable stops it, then it's fine to use. Note that my PC is left on 24/7 so the DAC won't be getting a constant "reboot" like most others, but following what you've said, maybe there is a time delay for this regardless of it being used or not. I'm curious to know if any other users have noticed separate bugs, as this is the only thing "wrong" with mine.

I had the same problem.
FW 15.54.22.54
The solution without unplugging the USB cable: Switch the input to OPT, then switch back to USB before playing music for the first time.

 

[Asher]

I would say the DX1 II is enough for IEMs and small headphones, gaming, office. While the DX5 II is clearly more capable for demanding headphones and suited for enthusiasts. For each his/her own.

Without PEQ, the DX1 II drives all my headphones fine even on low gain, including DCA Aeon RTs, which (by the measurements here) are fairly insensitive. With PEQ, the high gain mode still leaves plenty of headroom. (Admittedly, I don't like to listen to music at very high volume.)

 

[sphenicstands]

Sounds like Topping needs to do a soak test over a longer period of time.

So far the crackling bug only affects USB input? Has anyone been using optical?

 

[tunkejazz]

DX5-II has over 6x the power output, a colour screen, coax and Bluetooth input, and 12v trigger. I think if you don't need any of that functionality then the DX1-II looks like a winner. I think Topping has done enough to differentiate them and has two great products at amazing price points.

True, good points.

Another feature of the DX5ii is the dedicated power supply. I have had bad experiences with some of my USB-powered devices, picking up noise from the USB port.
But that might not be the case with the DX1ii. Can any of the owners confirm this?

 

[Bleib]

True, good points.

Another feature of the DX5ii is the dedicated power supply. I have had bad experiences with some of my USB-powered devices, picking up noise from the USB port.
But that might not be the case with the DX1ii. Can any of the owners confirm this?

No such issues. I guess the last time I had similar issues was about ten years ago. In that case connecting a device to USB3 lead to noise in audio signal. I solved it by connecting to USB2 instead which only the keyboard and mouse use.

As I mentioned my soundcard, I always make sure to buy motherboards so that I can connect the soundcard as far away from the GPU as possible. Previously this has helped so I've been doing this for ages as well

 

[Fomalhaut]

Sounds like Topping needs to do a soak test over a longer period of time.

So far the crackling bug only affects USB input? Has anyone been using optical?

I use USB in and OPT out for D70pro sabre, haven't met this problem yet, after I update to the latest firmwate version

 

[tccalvin]

True, good points.

Another feature of the DX5ii is the dedicated power supply. I have had bad experiences with some of my USB-powered devices, picking up noise from the USB port.
But that might not be the case with the DX1ii. Can any of the owners confirm this?

You will always get some USB noise (it varies depending on the setup) if you use the unbalanced RCA output and the devices connected via USB do not have floating ground. Balanced Out and Headphones don't have this issue. You can also solve this by using galvanic isolation (SMSL PO100 to convert USB to Optical, for example).

 

[vdem]

You will always get some USB noise (it varies depending on the setup) if you use the unbalanced RCA output and the devices connected via USB do not have floating ground. Balanced Out and Headphones don't have this issue. You can also solve this by using galvanic isolation (SMSL PO100 to convert USB to Optical, for example).

Or use Topping HS02 to eliminate ground loop issue

 

[Bleib]

So far the sound bug has happened three times. Switching between USB and optical fixes the error, it seems to reset the sampling rate

I'm also now using optical out, it works fine, sending it to Wiim Amp Ultra

 

[huzidada]

V2.54 Firmware is out to address these issues

 

[Bleib]

V2.54 Firmware is out to address these issues

It doesn't work

 

[huzidada]

It doesn't work

At all? Strange

 

[Lalosama]

I'm curious. I already have the Fiio K13 and I like the sound, but always I wanted to try a delta Sigma DAC without expending too much. I only use these devices for gaming (not only FPS, all kind of games). I don't do mixing or want to hear music in a clinical level. Did you think is worth a try to test this device? Thanks!

 

[Demmers]

At all? Strange

Not really. A few of us (myself included) are experiencing crackling after a period of time. In my case, i've had it after turning the device back on from Standby, while others have had it while in use (read the last couple of pages here). I'm leaving it on Standby this evening then will turn it on in the morning as a test. This is all while using 2.54 (15.54.22.54).

 

[sphenicstands]

I want to thank all the brave early adopters taking time to report their issues in this forum. This really helps out others like me.

At all? Strange

IIRC, there have been 4 firmware updates released so far:

https://www.toppingaudio.com/download/dx1-ii-version-v2-46-firmware-update
https://www.toppingaudio.com/download/dx1-ii-version-v2-50-firmware-update
https://www.toppingaudio.com/download/dx1-ii-version-v2-53-firmware-update
https://www.toppingaudio.com/download/dx1-ii-version-v2-54-firmware-update

Crackling/noise reported in this thread started from v2.50 IIRC and have continued, despite both 2.53 and 2.54 listing noise fixes in the change log. However, even the v2.46 change log states "Fixed: After automatic screen-off, noise could occasionally be output." So by my reading, Topping has had 3 goes at fixing crackling/noise and hasn't been able to do so, albeit v2.46 appears to be reported as the most reliable. Either they aren't identifying the root cause properly, or haven't identified the correct fix for the root cause, or else it's a hardware problem that no amount of firmware updates will fix. Whichever it is, it's not a good look and the multiple failed fixes also means they aren't testing properly. Given the amount of issues faced during the DX5 II launch, the DX1 II launch seems to confirm Topping's culture is to use customers for alpha testing and they have not learnt from the past. It's a business strategy that mystifies. Apparently sales and returns are not affected by this approach?

There was also the below observation that v2.53 states "Optimized: Crackling on analog output when switching sample rates on Mac computers". Similar to the above, this has me wondering whether it's not actually fixable but that could either be due to the DX1 II hardware or Mac peculiarities. If the latter, it's more understandable.

Should people considering this device be concerned by the fact that they only “optimized” crackling on analog output when switching sample rates on Mac instead of fixing it?