THX Onyx Review (headphone adapter)

[Jimster480]

Not much of a headphone person, but I have a new office setup and don't want to disturb my partner, so I grabbed the Onyx and slapped it into my work laptop. Did the firmware upgrade and now listening to the Tidal app. Volume normalization off and volume control at max (controlling volume through the Onyx). I have the HiFi plus tier, so listening to a mix of MQA and HiFi.

Using DT 770 Pro (80 ohm) and thrilled with the bass response and general sound. With the volume at 35 I'm pretty close to the limit of how loud I (or anyone) should listen for any extended period. If I really wanna go ape shit there is an enormous amount of power there. At 55 it got crazy loud without any audible distortion on a very bass heavy, compressed track (Al Green - Lay it Down). It also performed flawlessly with a torture test of Nude by Radiohead balancing the crazy deep bass, synth, string section and Thom Yorke's falsetto as well as anything I've heard.

I need another one now, so I'll be keeping an eye out on eBay.

IT works great with Dynamic headphones, I originally tested it with my Aeon & Oppo PM-2 and was very disappointed.
When I went back to test it again with my Denon AH-MM400 I was happy overall with the sound quality.

How do you do the firmware update? I didn't know there was one.

 

[staticV3]

How do you do the firmware update? I didn't know there was one.

Here you go: https://www.thx.com/thx-onyx/support/

 

[Jimster480]

Here you go: https://www.thx.com/thx-onyx/support/

Thanks! I'm going to update mine now

 

[Curvature]

What fixes does the update make?

 

[Lattiboy]

What fixes does the update make?

Pretty sure it's just random bug fixes. No audible difference.

 

[Curvature]

Pretty sure it's just random bug fixes. No audible difference.

I'm not concerned about audibility so much as understanding what bugs they addressed, even if they are minor.

 

[606_TS-2]

I wonder what DAC part is used..
Edit: found it. DAC chip: ES9281PRO

Revisit -

Found the Onyx in a box again, randomly searching for stuff. And no, I didn’t plug it in to test it again.
Cool looking product, but don’t like it at all.

I got it for this reason, to test the sound chip that was skillfully crafted into it.

Tested it for an hour, and threw it into a shoebox, to collect dust. Not even a collector’s item, product itself is considered paperweight for me.
Immediately noticed the sound processor is not optimized for old school files, and even new tools and audio that should work well with it on various output products, I just don’t find a brilliant taste in it.

DF Red is better, my opinion, but above all, I like the Cobalt, just cleaner and more refined.

Strongly prefer the Dragonfly Cobalt, it’s just superior in every single way compared to the Onyx, for large assortment of DJ music-sound matching, sound recording listening, and movie watching experience.

 

[Veri]

Revisit -

Found the Onyx in a box again, randomly searching for stuff. And no, I didn’t plug it in to test it again.
Cool looking product, but don’t like it at all.

I got it for this reason, to test the sound chip that was skillfully crafted into it.

Tested it for an hour, and threw it into a shoebox, to collect dust. Not even a collector’s item, product itself is considered paperweight for me.
Immediately noticed the sound processor is not optimized for old school files, and even new tools and audio that should work well with it on various output products, I just don’t find a brilliant taste in it.

DF Red is better, my opinion, but above all, I like the Cobalt, just cleaner and more refined.

Strongly prefer the Dragonfly Cobalt, it’s just superior in every single way compared to the Onyx, for large assortment of DJ music-sound matching, sound recording listening, and movie watching experience.

Objective: AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt Review

An objective look at the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt with measurements, teardowns, and a comparison to the Red and Black DragonFlys.

audiophilestyle.com

For shits and giggles, compare it to a cheap cirrus logic dongle like the meizu usb-c. The cobalt really is quite meh.

 

[pk500]

Objective: AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt Review

An objective look at the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt with measurements, teardowns, and a comparison to the Red and Black DragonFlys.

audiophilestyle.com

For shits and giggles, compare it to a cheap cirrus logic dongle like the meizu usb-c. The cobalt really is quite meh.

The entire DragonFly line is "meh" for the money. A triumph of marketing over performance.

 

[Jimster480]

Objective: AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt Review

An objective look at the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt with measurements, teardowns, and a comparison to the Red and Black DragonFlys.

audiophilestyle.com

For shits and giggles, compare it to a cheap cirrus logic dongle like the meizu usb-c. The cobalt really is quite meh.

I don't know how this guy thinks that AQ Dragonfly touches anything here... none of that lineup is that great.

The entire DragonFly line is "meh" for the money. A triumph of marketing over performance.

Exactly, nothing in that lineup is impressive. I looked at all the models over the years and it really isn't worth it. Even if I didn't like the Onyx when I tested it; I also used Planars with it and it isn't made to drive Planars... Might take it back out of the box again now to use with my IEMs but meh... might just sell it too.

 

[RoboEd]

My new addiction is DAC dongles and I have far too many of them to justify. Nevertheless, this thing just went on promo for $130 so I decided to play ball with it too.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09HN7887V?psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

The indication on both the THX and Razer sites is that these come with 90 days of Qobuz now, which sweetens the deal significantly.

 

[RoboEd]

In preparing for its arrival I downloaded the firmware updater from THX's website, and was immediately struck by the fact that it is identical software to Questyle's...

If that's who is actually OEM'ing these, then the pedigree is obviously exceptional.

 

[Jimbob54]

My new addiction is DAC dongles and I have far too many of them to justify. Nevertheless, this thing just went on promo for $130 so I decided to play ball with it too.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09HN7887V?psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

The indication on both the THX and Razer sites is that these come with 90 days of Qobuz now, which sweetens the deal significantly.

Its very expensive for what it does- for that money you might as well get the wonderful E1DA 9038D6K

 

[RoboEd]

Its very expensive for what it does- for that money you might as well get the wonderful E1DA 9038D6K

I try different things. I'm trying this. It's on a heavy sale so if I decide to ditch it I can get back what I paid for it on eBay after the holidays. That's the name of the game.

Around the price point I already have a Shanling UA3 and FiiO BTR5. The THX looks like something different and I want to see how it travels and feels. And every review I have seen on it confirms that it doesn't do anything badly.

 

[Jimster480]

In preparing for its arrival I downloaded the firmware updater from THX's website, and was immediately struck by the fact that it is identical software to Questyle's...

If that's who is actually OEM'ing these, then the pedigree is obviously exceptional.

The software is actually from XMOS because it has an XMOS controller of some kind. This is why its the same for both.

I try different things. I'm trying this. It's on a heavy sale so if I decide to ditch it I can get back what I paid for it on eBay after the holidays. That's the name of the game.

Around the price point I already have a Shanling UA3 and FiiO BTR5. The THX looks like something different and I want to see how it travels and feels. And every review I have seen on it confirms that it doesn't do anything badly.

It works quite well, if you are really going to use it you probably will like it as long as you don't try to drive planars with it.

 

[symphara]

I try different things. I'm trying this. It's on a heavy sale so if I decide to ditch it I can get back what I paid for it on eBay after the holidays. That's the name of the game.

Around the price point I already have a Shanling UA3 and FiiO BTR5. The THX looks like something different and I want to see how it travels and feels. And every review I have seen on it confirms that it doesn't do anything badly.

I very much like mine but it does do something badly - it doesn’t have enough power for some headphones, like for example my DK Noires. It doesn’t sound right with them, no bass at all etc. So I keep the Onyx for my Audio Technica headphones and it’s superb there.

 

[PeteL]

Its very expensive for what it does- for that money you might as well get the wonderful E1DA 9038D6K

What more does the E1DA do?

 

[staticV3]

What more does the E1DA do?

13dB lower distortion and noise
10dB higher DR
No ESS hump
Less jitter
Higher output voltage
Configurable min and max volume
Removable USB cable
Support for DSD256

 

[Jimbob54]

What more does the E1DA do?

Bit cheaper (sales and availability notwithstanding), more power at both ends of the impedance spectrum, touch more inaudible SINADS ;-)

EDIT- and what Static said

 

[Veri]

And don't forget better anti-aliasing filter, the one on the Onyx is rather lazy.