Topping DX1 II DAC & HP Amp Review

[Matias]

It's like USB lost connection and needs to reset.

 

[Dreamic]

OK. So, the 48khz has been replicated after about 1h 10-15 minutes in.
Here's a clip, the sound volume in this clip is low, so don't worry about blowing your ears off, but remember to LOWER the volume before you play something else

The massive distorsion occurs from about 0:10 to 0:16

PC (Win11, latest build) USB --> Topping DX1 II (-4dB, V15.69.22.69) ---> Topping MX3s ---> Audioengine A5 ---> Xiaomi 15 Ultra

Sometimes it lasts a lot longer. Sometimes it "just" creates short burts of distortion. There is some variation. But once it starts occurring the only way to fully get rid of it for a while is to do as before, change to optical in and then back to USB. As it is now, I won't use until new firmwares are released.

Thanks, I think unless someone reputable says the issue doesn't exist for them they can be ignored at this point.
Someone also reported this happening at samples rates above 48kHz, I'm not sure if only specific ones or all of them.
The more people who can experience this and report it to Topping, the better.

 

[Bleib]

Thanks, I think unless someone reputable says the issue doesn't exist for them they can be ignored at this point.
Someone also reported this happening at samples rates above 48kHz, I'm not sure if only specific ones or all of them.
The more people who can experience this and report it to Topping, the better.

Ok, I'll do some other sample as rate as well..

 

[Janox]

OK. So, the 48khz has been replicated after about 1h 10-15 minutes in.
Here's a clip, the sound volume in this clip is low, so don't worry about blowing your ears off, but remember to LOWER the volume before you play something else

The massive distorsion occurs from about 0:10 to 0:16

PC (Win11, latest build) USB --> Topping DX1 II (-4dB, V15.69.22.69) ---> Topping MX3s ---> Audioengine A5 ---> Xiaomi 15 Ultra

Sometimes it lasts a lot longer. Sometimes it "just" creates short burts of distortion. There is some variation. But once it starts occurring the only way to fully get rid of it for a while is to do as before, change to optical in and then back to USB. As it is now, I won't use until new firmwares are released.

DX1 II had the same error with previous firmware versions. Topping probably didn't fix this error in the latest firmware version.

 

[Dreamic]

DX1 II had the same error with previous firmware versions. Topping probably didn't fix this error in the latest firmware version.

As far as I know people haven't had what happens in Bleibs video on the previous firmware, small pops and crackles are not the same issue or as bad of one.

 

[Demmers]

Well at least it appears the 15.69.22.69 update has resolved the distortion issue that occurred when turning the device back on from an extended time in Standby mode. I'm assuming the same for those that had it as well?

 

[Hapo]

 

[Tango]

I'm not sure what this achieves for my use case

For anyone that looked at that dsdtech ddc for whatever reason, it also measures horribly lol. some guy in the goldensound discord measured it.

 

[Roland301]

For anyone that looked at that dsdtech ddc for whatever reason, it also measures horribly lol. some guy in the goldensound discord measured it.

Am some guy in question; DSDTECH converter has 6ns RMS jitter, was so bad I actually had to change the frequency scaling setting on the AP to get a stable reading in the audio analysis mode..

This unit doesn't have an oscillator in it and is slaved to the USB signal which might explain the poor performance.

For reference an SMSL PO100 has 266ps RMS jitter (typical for spdif), and the Douk U2 (non Pro) has 86ps under same test conditions. PO100 has a single oscillator inside and Douk has three of them.

 

[Tango]

Am some guy in question; DSDTECH converter has 6ns RMS jitter, was so bad I actually had to change the frequency scaling setting on the AP to get a stable reading in the audio analysis mode..

View attachment 541884

This unit doesn't have an oscillator in it and is slaved to the USB signal which might explain the poor performance.

For reference an SMSL PO100 has 266ps RMS jitter (typical for spdif), and the Douk U2 (non Pro) has 86ps under same test conditions. PO100 has a single oscillator inside and Douk has three of them.

Ty for the info

 

[snadge]

I've downgraded my firmware back to V15.54.22.54 and am unable to reproduce the distortion issue at 48khz in either Windows or Linux after 2+ hours of continuous playback. So I think it can be confidently stated that V15.69.22.69 should be avoided like the plague. Unless you want to blow your speakers/eardrums out at 48khz, then by all means, go for it.

 

[Pierun]

OK. So, the 48khz has been replicated after about 1h 10-15 minutes in.
Here's a clip, the sound volume in this clip is low, so don't worry about blowing your ears off, but remember to LOWER the volume before you play something else

The massive distorsion occurs from about 0:10 to 0:16

PC (Win11, latest build) USB --> Topping DX1 II (-4dB, V15.69.22.69) ---> Topping MX3s ---> Audioengine A5 ---> Xiaomi 15 Ultra

Sometimes it lasts a lot longer. Sometimes it "just" creates short burts of distortion. There is some variation. But once it starts occurring the only way to fully get rid of it for a while is to do as before, change to optical in and then back to USB. As it is now, I won't use until new firmwares are released.

This is just ridiculous. I guess a potential buyer should wait a few weeks at the very least in order to have a truly non-buggy experience

 

[amirm]

This is just ridiculous. I guess a potential buyer should wait a few weeks at the very least in order to have a truly non-buggy experience

That's for an uncommon sample rate. For everyday usage of 44.1 kHz, it is not a problem. It should still be fixed but it is not what you state.

This is the price of increased software and system complexity. EQ, streaming, etc. doesn't come for free. Let's not even talk about making an AVR/AVP!

 

[Mike123]

That's for an uncommon sample rate. For everyday usage of 44.1 kHz,

Or resample to any frequency above 48 kHz. If it's related to the 48 kHz baseband, you can resample to 88 or 176 kHz. I resample for other reasons, but I've never encountered any grinding noise. Today, I'll try recording it properly: 1 Hz to a 48 kHz WAV file, not to YouTube, and then preview it in an audio editor. If this is a common issue across all devices, I think Topping will find and fix it.

 

[amirm]

Or resample to any frequency above 48 kHz. If it's related to the 48 kHz baseband, you can resample to 88 or 176 kHz.

Why on earth would you be doing that???

 

[amirm]

I resample for other reasons, but I've never encountered any grinding noise.

As I said, this needs to be fixed. But for vast majority of content people play, this is a non-issue.

 

[Mike123]

Why on earth would you be doing that???

It's a long story . I use RPI5/Moode. Moode uses MPD (music player daemon). I use room correction. I have a some number of DSD64 files that I'm too lazy to convert to PCM. MPD doesn't have a sampling frequency setting when converting DSD to PCM and for some reason converts DSD64 to PCM352. The maximum frequency of the DX1-II DAC room correction is 192 kHz. Therefore, for room correction to work on DSD files, I need resampling. Why 176? Well... 88 kHz or 44.1 kHz are also possible. It doesn't matter.

 

[Mike123]

As I said, this needs to be fixed

Absolutely. In the another thread, I helped those who prefer 48 kHz by identifying and recording the problem. However, for those who, for various reasons, have a 48 kHz signal, you can always resample and avoid problems until this error is fixed.

 

[GM Custom Sauces]

That's for an uncommon sample rate. For everyday usage of 44.1 kHz, it is not a problem. It should still be fixed but it is not what you state.

This is the price of increased software and system complexity. EQ, streaming, etc. doesn't come for free. Let's not even talk about making an AVR/AVP!

No offense, but 48 kHz is not uncommon, sir. I use the DX1 II for YouTube, movies, and gaming as well, not just for music. 48 kHz is more of the standard for these kinds of use cases.

And to be fair, Topping advertises the DX1 II as a "Gaming-ready" DAC and headphone amp. So, 48 kHz is supposed to be a basic feature.

I've had the DX1 II for only four days, and I just experienced the crackling issue for the first time.

After leaving it playing 48 kHz audio in foobar2000 for a while, I can confirm that it has issues with the 48 kHz sample rate. My typical playlist is a mix of 44.1, 48, and 96 kHz tracks, so I didn't notice the issue until now.

I'm currently on V15.69.22.69. I'll try doing some testing with other firmware versions.

 

[Sergey198]

Это для необычной частоты дискретизации. Для повседневного использования 44,1 кГц это не проблема.

This is quite a common sampling frequency when broadcasting, for example, from Apple Music. There, half of the tracks have a sampling rate of 48kHz. Or broadcast from Android without using UAPP.