No difference unfortunately, still crackling/distortion when leaving the DAC on Standby all day. Turned it on, instantly there. To confirm, this is PC > USB > DAC > 3.5mm SE to headphones. Note that my PC is left on 24/7.
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I leave my PC on 24/7 and leave the DX1 II in standby when not in use. It happened when I come back and turn it on that is has a buzz in the 3.5mm HP out, but switching to Toslink and back quickly fixes it.
Is it the same issue?
Exactly the same symptom and "fix", so it's not us two
I don't know about you, but other than that, i'm pretty sure it's working OK while in use. There rarely might be the odd subtle "pop" but half the time I can't tell if that's the DAC or the recording lol.
No pops here, fortunately.
I am on a Macbook Neo and no pops for me either. The only issue I have had, and I mentioned this before, is that when my Mac goes into standby and I come back in, no sound comes out. I have to unplug the USB-C cable and plug it back in and everything is fine. This has happened to me three times and the few weeks that I have owned the device. Other than that, everything is working well.
I am coming from a ifi Hip DAC 3 and I am enjoying the sound more on this DX1 II.
I am coming from a ifi Hip DAC 3 and I am enjoying the sound more on this DX1 II.
This is interesting. I measured a higher clock deviation at 96kHz and 192kHz, than at 44.1kHz. I don't recall 48kHz, I'll check later. This is not something that we can hear, but that can disrupt a digital communication between two devices, if one does not properly slave to the other.
Also, the drift increases with temperature, up to 2 hours, after which it is stable. So, a communication can be perfectly working for the first minutes, and then will get worse as time goes on and temperature goes up. This particularly true for the digital SPDIF input, and as I’m not familiar with USB type transmission protocol, I don’t know in that case.
I'd be you guys, I'd try not to force resampling from the computer, if you can do that. Say if you listen to an original 44.1kHz sampling rate file, keep it this way with the player of your computer to the Topping. I'm not sure it will help, but if yes, it'd be nice to know from your feedback.
I did not experience issues with USB so I can't replicate/investigate. I had it with optical input, and I guess I found the root cause for this one.
Anyways, I now have a ton of measurements and that's enough to write a comprehensive review. There will be more to test and discuss, but there are lots of functionalities to review and assess, especially when some show flaws. So I guess it's better I release the review with some tangible data and we build on it, to later complement with ideas from the community. I’ll release it tomorrow.
Also, the drift increases with temperature, up to 2 hours, after which it is stable. So, a communication can be perfectly working for the first minutes, and then will get worse as time goes on and temperature goes up. This particularly true for the digital SPDIF input, and as I’m not familiar with USB type transmission protocol, I don’t know in that case.
I'd be you guys, I'd try not to force resampling from the computer, if you can do that. Say if you listen to an original 44.1kHz sampling rate file, keep it this way with the player of your computer to the Topping. I'm not sure it will help, but if yes, it'd be nice to know from your feedback.
I did not experience issues with USB so I can't replicate/investigate. I had it with optical input, and I guess I found the root cause for this one.
Anyways, I now have a ton of measurements and that's enough to write a comprehensive review. There will be more to test and discuss, but there are lots of functionalities to review and assess, especially when some show flaws. So I guess it's better I release the review with some tangible data and we build on it, to later complement with ideas from the community. I’ll release it tomorrow.
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I indeed checked with EQ on or off, and no difference. I did not check more than that (ie changing frequency response), but I sure can.@NTTY could you please check whether enabling this EQ still increases the noise floor around the 100 Hz band? And maybe a lighter EQ replacing this extreme +/- 12 dB with more regular +/- 4 dB for example?
What’s cool with this device is that I can check the impact of the DSP in digital domain since it outputs all via the SPDIF out. So I can tell you that with volume set at -2.5dB, you get the best resistance to intersample overs that I’ve measured (no distorsion at all), and it has a native 1dB ISO resistance at full scale with volume set to 0dB.
SlowLife
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Same issueExactly the same symptom and "fix", so it's not us two
I don't know about you, but other than that, i'm pretty sure it's working OK while in use. There rarely might be the odd subtle "pop" but half the time I can't tell if that's the DAC or the recording lol.
PC 24/7 with settings at 32/192kHz
(but not using the stock USB cable)
- Crackling/distortion every day, 2-3 times a day.
Affected with both 4.4Bal headphones and 4.4Bal speakers.
Note: If set to 32/384kHz, it happens immediately.
- Pops only occur when listening in ASIO mode, only when changing songs at the beginning. No pops during the song.
Currently, I've set "Device knob single-click function: Input Setting" to switch immediately when crackling/distortion occurs.
Is it a "painful", high volume crack?
Does anyone have a similar problem to mine?
I have a DX1 II connected as a preamp to a Denon power amplifier. The DX1 II is connected to a CD or DVD player via optical cable.
When playing a 44.1kHz CD and multiples of this frequency 88.2 and 176.4kHz, there are sound drops every few seconds.
When playing a 48kHz DVD and multiples of 96 and 192kHz, everything is fine.
However, when switching frequencies, a loud click is heard. When changing another functions, a loud click is heard too on RCA.
I have tried several CD and DVD players from Panasonic, Technics, Sony, Yamaha, Kenwood, Denon and they all have the same problem when playing CDs - sound drops.
Is it a hardware fault? Or is it a firmware fault?
I have a DX1 II connected as a preamp to a Denon power amplifier. The DX1 II is connected to a CD or DVD player via optical cable.
When playing a 44.1kHz CD and multiples of this frequency 88.2 and 176.4kHz, there are sound drops every few seconds.
When playing a 48kHz DVD and multiples of 96 and 192kHz, everything is fine.
However, when switching frequencies, a loud click is heard. When changing another functions, a loud click is heard too on RCA.
I have tried several CD and DVD players from Panasonic, Technics, Sony, Yamaha, Kenwood, Denon and they all have the same problem when playing CDs - sound drops.
Is it a hardware fault? Or is it a firmware fault?
Quick measurements from the balanced line output (I will only use it). Firmware Version 15.40.22.40. ADC - E1DA. I'm fine with the balanced output. Everything is fine with the connection to the Windows computer. Pay attention to the overload capacity. Signal level -0.05 dB
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As someone with 0 electronics knowledge, I'm curious why there is a heat sink by the volume knob. Is that where the DAC chip itself is? Most DAC chips i've seen are exposed. Compared to everywhere else with capacitors, I would have thought they generate the most heat as they do the amplification, or have I got that completely wrong lol?My precious has arrived too. The box as worth $500. The DAC is very small. Almost a dongle.
View attachment 539642View attachment 539643View attachment 539644
There is a high probability that there is a headphone amplifier there. I'm more surprised by the dual-board design. No one could have stopped them from making the DAC slightly larger and placing everything on a single board. But apparently the marketing requirement for minimal dimensions was the top priority.
Power consumption when operating on a balanced line output:
2.31 watts with no signal.
2.57 watts with 8*2 PEQ room correction, output level -5 dB.
2.67 watts with a full 0 dB signal (5.16 V) across 2 channels.
This means that PEQ does not increase power consumption.
This also confirms the already known information that even in DAC mode, the DX1-II consumes more than 0.5A (530mA), which exceeds the maximum current of many USB connectors.
2.31 watts with no signal.
2.57 watts with 8*2 PEQ room correction, output level -5 dB.
2.67 watts with a full 0 dB signal (5.16 V) across 2 channels.
This means that PEQ does not increase power consumption.
This also confirms the already known information that even in DAC mode, the DX1-II consumes more than 0.5A (530mA), which exceeds the maximum current of many USB connectors.
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Human Bass
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That is expected, Toslink is from 1983, ofc it wouldn't have the protocols to do this type of configuration.
Oh I know there is a hp amplifier in there, but from a circuit board design POV…
A heat sink needs a flat surface to work, so what electrical component does it that’s flat? I assumed amplification was done by capacitors etc. But like I said, 0 electrical knowledge lol.
solderdude
Grand Contributor
Actually heatsinks work better when they are not flat. What they need is as much surface area as needed.
There are no heatsinks in the (flea)power output stage of internal HP amps as they aren't needed.
There are no heatsinks in the (flea)power output stage of internal HP amps as they aren't needed.
terminus12
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I meant the bottom surface, like a CPU heatsink
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