Some info about Topping's incoming DX1 II

[Bleib]

I see mine has reached customs yesterday. From there it can take up to 10 days before I receive it

That's good actually, you might need a new firmware too, take a well deserved break

"I'm just glad I don't get it [distortion] when in actual use!"....... Until this afternoon
The lack of updates since 2.54 has me sweating.

They respond to emails, so expect things to come. No idea when though.

 

[OlolOshnik]

Hi everyone!
I read the thread and saw that there are some issues that they plan to address with new firmware, so the purchase is being postponed.
One last question: does anyone know what op amps are used for the LinOut and HeadOut?
Does anyone have any photos of the internals?

 

[NTTY]

Faster than anticipated

 

[NTTY]

First trial with optical input (24bits/48kHz) and SE output (rear RCA):

This is a SINAD of 120.6dB with the same measuremnt BW as Amir (10Hz-22.4kHz). It is 120.8dB with 20Hz-20kHz span.

The below is from front headphones, balanced, high gain, 7.7Vrms @0dBFS:

High output voltage, that is, and the SINAD is crazy good at 122.6dB!
At 4Vrms output (-5.5dBFS), the SINAD is still an excellent 119.5dB!

In low gain, the max output is 1.6Vrms and the SINAD is also an excellent 119.2dB!

Rear balanced outputs suffer high PS leakage, I don't know why and can't get rid of it even with everything running on batteries (including all my test gears).

Anyways, more to come some, this one will require time, there's a lot to test!

 

[NTTY]

I updated with couple of more measurements. It will be quite long to review it in full.

One big issue: when using the USB input, if the PC recognizes the Topping, and the DX1 shows the sampling rate when I change it, I don’t get anything from any of the outputs. Actually I have the same issue from my DX50 III. This has been a regular issue: the DX50 III works well from time to time, and it seems random. I installed the latest driver from Topping, same problem.

All goes well with any of my SMSL gears, so I don’t know what’s the issue with Topping. If you have any idea, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[Matias]

Any chance you can measure 3.5mm low gain SNR into 50mV for IEMs? They advertised the very low output noise, I am curious how it compares to the best in Amir's reviews.

Latest chart:

 

[NTTY]

I need to verify how Amir performs that measurement to ensure we can compare.
But in low gain mode, with unbalanced headphones output, at 50mVrms output into 10kohm load, I measured 95.4dB SNR. So it would be at the top end of this ranking.

EDIT: I see the Topping A50III is at the top and I own it, so I’ll be able to align to Amir’s chart. I’ll look at that later tomorrow

 

[Matias]

I need to verify how Amir performs that measurement to ensure we can compare.

AFAIK he uses 1 kHz into 300 ohms, unweighted, 20 to 22 kHz BW.

 

[NTTY]

AFAIK he uses 1 kHz into 300 ohms, unweighted, 20 to 22 kHz BW.

Thanks, I should be able to do the same. I’ll report.

 

[Bleib]

@NTTY , if you still have the Fosi Merak CD player, could you try connecting them optically?

Rear balanced outputs suffer high PS leakage, I don't why and can't get rid of them even with everything running on batteries (including all my test gears).

Hmm, guess it was great I kept my DX5 II

Edit: Latest experiment. What if I used USB-C to USB-C cable instead, because it has more power than the other options.. nope. Does not work, the bug appears anyway.
If I connect optically from Soundblaster AE-5 then it works without problems.

 

[BoraBora]

Rear balanced outputs suffer high PS leakage, I don't why and can't get rid of them even with everything running on batteries (including all my test gears).

What is PS leakage?

 

[Bleib]

What is PS leakage?

Power supply noise leaking into audio

 

[BoraBora]

Power supply noise leaking into audio

Oh great. So right now the problems are:

* PS leakage from the rear balanced outputs
* With USB input, if the PC recognizes the Topping, and the DX1 shows the sampling rate when it's changed then no sound from any of the outputs
* Glitches with the latest firmwares

Have I forgotten something?

 

[Bleib]

Oh great. So right now the problems are:

* PS leakage from the rear balanced outputs
* With USB input, if the PC recognizes the Topping, and the DX1 shows the sampling rate when it's changed then no sound from any of the outputs
* Glitches with the latest firmwares

Have I forgotten something?

Well, at this point I would call it the worst release since PA5 and L30. Stay clear.

 

[NTTY]

@NTTY , if you still have the Fosi Merak CD player, could you try connecting them optically?

Sure, what type of measurement/test are you interested in?

 

[Bleib]

Sure, what type of measurement/test are you interested in?

No, no.. I'm just interested. Does the Fosi Merak even work with optical with the DAC? Cos I can't get it to work. It's just noise.

It's a very buggy release, so can you listen to the Merak with the DAC?

 

[NTTY]

Oh great. So right now the problems are:

* PS leakage from the rear balanced outputs

Wait that I confirm via the review. It could be something I missed, although I doubt.
EDIT: tested again and same. Front output is ok but rear balanced outputs leak a lot whatever I do. I also see that when selecting the headphones out only, rear outputs leak. When having both rear and front selected, it’s ok. But rear balanced continue to leak as I said. I’ll show measurements soon.

* With USB input, if the PC recognizes the Topping, and the DX1 shows the sampling rate when it's changed then no sound from any of the outputs

Could be my PC and driver software. I have the same issue with the DX50III. I’ll probably uninstall/install again.
EDIT: I uninstalled the driver and my Windows 11 recognized the DAC as « Topping DX1 II ». It also showed in my list of inputs with the same name. But I could not get it to play anything. I don’t know why. So that leaves me with optical input only.

* Glitches with the latest firmwares

Have I forgotten something?

I will need to read the thread here to understand what is that issue and how to reproduce.

 

[NTTY]

No, no.. I'm just interested. Does the Fosi Merak even work with optical with the DAC? Cos I can't get it to work. It's just noise.

It's a very buggy release, so can you listen to the Merak with the DAC?

Ok, I see. From my tests of the Merak, the optical out was ok. But I’ll try, just need to find where I’ve put it!

 

[Bleib]

Ok, I see. From my tests of the Merak, the optical out was ok. But I’ll try, just need to find where I’ve put it!

Yes, the Merak works fine with everything else. I've connected (optically) it to:
Wiim Amp Ultra
Topping MX3s
Topping DX5 II

Not a single glitch
All works, all with the same optical cable

But not with DX1 II

 

[NTTY]

So you can’t get the optical input to work, and on my side it’s the USB that refuses to play music…

BTW, I tried to uninstall and reinstall the driver, tried different cables and USB outputs of my computer, tried UAC1/2 and different players, but got no sound. Oddly, I could update the firmware, proof that the PC can communicate with the Topping via USB, but obviously not to play music