Topping DX1 II DAC & HP Amp Review (NTTY)

[ATTI]

DAC chip doesn't take part in SPDIF routing at all.

 

[Matias]

I know it is asking too much for the price and processor, but I wonder if Topping could include even more features like crossfeed and loudness compensation via firmware updates?

 

[ATTI]

What else can XU316 do?

 

[Bleib]

Posting here too, as it's not bug-free yet

"Ok, so I tested some 48khz (24bit, connected to USB 3.0 which should provide about 4.5w of power) and I still have some bugs, but nothing as severe as in that video
As I start to play a youtube video I get some noises which sound like the microphone is not working properly. But if I play it repeatedly the bugs occur in different places.

I've repeated the same clip with DX5 II and it's bug free, with the same 24bit 48kHz windows setting"

 

[sansenri]

@NTTY given your vast tech experience, could you give your possible interpretation of what may be happening here? thanks

Some info about Topping's incoming DX1 II

Good measured parameters are useless if the device is unreliable, unpredictable, and capable of destroying the rest of the sound system. Loud clicking and distortion are not good for speakers.

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Tango]

Does anyone know if it would be a good idea to just always leave the volume down on the digital out a bit to account for possible intersample overs, and any idea how much?

 

[NTTY]

Per my review and the several tests I reported on the matter, yes.

 

[Mike123]

Does anyone know if it would be a good idea to just always leave the volume down on the digital out a bit to account for possible intersample overs, and any idea how much?

I add volume reduction to the room correction and after measuring True Peak in modern music, I set not -2..-3, but -4.8 dB

 

[tccalvin]

Does anyone know if it would be a good idea to just always leave the volume down on the digital out a bit to account for possible intersample overs, and any idea how much?

What I do is set my listening levels on the DAC instead of on the amplifier. This way you don't have to worry about dialing in an exact amount of volume reduction.

 

[Tango]

What I do is set my listening levels on the DAC instead of on the amplifier. This way you don't have to worry about dialing in an exact amount of volume reduction.

I plan on putting the device fully hidden so that would be suboptimal. I'll just drop it 6db to be safe.

 

[Tatteredmidnight]

@NTTY when you said the following

NOTE: The EQ is inactive from optical input to optical output.

Did you mean you didn't enable it, or is this a device limitation (it is unable to apply EQ toslink to toslink)?

 

[NTTY]

@NTTY when you said the following


Did you mean you didn't enable it, or is this a device limitation (it is unable to apply EQ toslink to toslink)?

What I said means it's not active, even if enabled, I recall trying to measure an impact on optical out, but no, nothing.

 

[sphenicstands]

What I said means it's not active, even if enabled, I recall trying to measure an impact on optical out, but no, nothing.

I wonder if this is intended or a bug. I interpreted the product page as meaning the DX1 II could be added inline to a legacy system to add PEQ capabilities. It doesn't explicitly state it will work with optical out but it also doesn't say it won't. For those interested in the functionality, it may be worth asking Topping directly.

 

[VientoB]

I wonder if this is intended or a bug. I interpreted the product page as meaning the DX1 II could be added inline to a legacy system to add PEQ capabilities. It doesn't explicitly state it will work with optical out but it also doesn't say it won't. For those interested in the functionality, it may be worth asking Topping directly.

View attachment 542119

I take that to mean you can use the DZ1 II as a PEQ DAC rather than merely for PEQ.

 

[NTTY]

I wonder if this is intended or a bug. I interpreted the product page as meaning the DX1 II could be added inline to a legacy system to add PEQ capabilities. It doesn't explicitly state it will work with optical out but it also doesn't say it won't. For those interested in the functionality, it may be worth asking Topping directly.

View attachment 542119

Indeed, this suggests active PEQ on optical output, and I think it works from USB. But from optical input to output no. It might possibly be a bug indeed.
I loaned the Topping to a friend so I can’t test anymore.
I might give it a try again at the end of the summer. There should be firmware updates by then.

 

[tccalvin]

I take that to mean you can use the DZ1 II as a PEQ DAC rather than merely for PEQ.

Yeah, I think it means that if a source (like a CD player) has an optical out then you can link it to the optical input on the Topping and access the DSP (routed to the analog outs). Some older topping (D50 III I think?) didn't offer the option to use DSP from optical, only USB. So that's why they're advertising the feature (I think).

 

[sphenicstands]

Yeah, I think it means that if a source (like a CD player) has an optical out then you can link it to the optical input on the Topping and access the DSP (routed to the analog outs). Some older topping (D50 III I think?) didn't offer the option to use DSP from optical, only USB. So that's why they're advertising the feature (I think).

The fact there are multiple interpretations and none of us can really say for sure, perhaps it's a good indication the advertising could be clearer. However, my point was more that if anyone was interested in/hoping for PEQ being applied to optical out, and I'm not one of those people, they might want to clarify with Topping. You never know, it might be either intended to work or Topping might add it later on.

 

[sphenicstands]

@VientoB @tccalvin I think you might both be correct in your interpretation of the screenshot I posted. I think it's the following bit further below that had my mental model thinking the intention was you could have a chain of optical source -> DX1 II PEQ -> optical out -> legacy DAC -> analog out. I thought it might be their way of marketing to owners of expensive older DACs who don't want to update their DAC but will be willing to pay a bit to add PEQ to the chain.

 

[kukocz]

The user guide (page 19) clearly states that PEQ could be enabled/disabled for optical out.

 

[NTTY]

Yeah, we want to believe it works and so we believe it works this way
Note that the user guide does not help either. The below suggests the optical output gets PEQ and it does not say that it’s only from USB input source.

But maybe a future firmware will route digital input through the DSP for PEQ to optical out. I actually don’t get why it does not do it since volume control is possible on digital out, and optical compatibility option d-1 modifies the digital signal.

I don’t have the device with me anymore, but it would be interesting to test again with the two compatibility options (d-1 and d-2) from the latest firmware.

I’ll get it back at the end of the summer, time for Topping to release few more firmware updates