Topping DX1 II DAC & HP Amp Review

[john61ct]

That is not "this DAC" despite the name, nor a currently produced model anyway so that specific comparison is a waste of time.

I think the point is, they should focus on the basics implementing new DAC chips, make sure their products work properly AS DACs

before adding all the EQ bells and whistles.

 

[john61ct]

I created a thread for suggestions / discussion of other good-value products in this "DACs with PEQ built in" category

DDC, DACs and HPamp combo units WITH PEQ/DSP

There is these days a lot of excitement around Topping DX1 II both positive about the value pricing combined with stellar objective measurements and many reports of implementation faults that hopefully will get corrected with firmware updates. The topic of this thread is OTHER units that are...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[whazzup]

That is not "this DAC" despite the name, nor a currently produced model anyway so that specific comparison is a waste of time.

I think the point is, they should focus on the basics implementing new DAC chips, make sure their products work properly AS DACs

before adding all the EQ bells and whistles.

Thankfully the dx1 ii has been stable and performant for me, and I bought it precisely because their EQ abilities are a cut above the rest. No one has come close at the current price point and features.

• Fiio products are non-starters with their stereo only PEQ and I forget whether their PEQ is supposed to work, or not work, with optical in / optical out / analogue blah blah combos.
• Wiim is great but in different price category (integrated amp) while Wiim mini is only analogue. Their streamers do not have sub-out until you get to Ultra if I didn't remember wrongly.
• Minidsp 2x4 is overpriced for those who can make do with 2 channels.
• And I'm not a programmer, not going to roll my own dacs with raspberries. I'm not THAT into the audio hobby to want to create more work for myself.

If Topping ever allow the ability to create separate PEQ for digital / analogue outputs in the DX1 ii I'm going to disconnect it and hug it to sleep every night.

Wouldn't have considered it at all if the EQ 'bells and whistles' weren't there. Keep running Topping.

 

[john61ct]

So clarifying a "use case formula" to prevent the reported problems from occuring would be super helpful for prospects currently holding back...

 

[DazST]

Even after numerous firmware updates, I still experience occasional dropouts on both the analog and optical outputs—specifically when using the optical input. It is not a reliable device. At least, not my unit.

Thanks for that. How about headphone output, is that performing OK or also suffering some bugs? I won't be using rca or optical out so just really concerned about performance as a pure headphone amp/dac.

 

[Janox]

Thanks for that. How about headphone output, is that performing OK or also suffering some bugs? I won't be using rca or optical out so just really concerned about performance as a pure headphone amp/dac.

My DX1 II experiences dropouts on the optical input, so the errors likely affect all outputs. I don't use the USB input, so it's possible that one is free of dropouts.

 

[whazzup]

My DX1 II experiences dropouts on the optical input, so the errors likely affect all outputs. I don't use the USB input, so it's possible that one is free of dropouts.

Could it be that the dropouts on the optical input is because your device is going into sleep / standby mode? What's the device?

 

[tb2025]

SMSL PO100 2024 optical output to DX1 II. Option d-2 has random stuttering, but option d-1 is perfectly fine.


Currently using USB input and everything works great.

 

[whazzup]

SMSL PO100 2024 optical output to DX1 II. Option d-2 has random stuttering, but option d-1 is perfectly fine.


Currently using USB input and everything works great.

Ok, switched to using optical input, from my PC into the DX1ii (on mode d-2), RCA out to my amp (couldn't find my 2nd optical cable, right when i need it, as usual). Will report back if I experience any drop-outs or stutters.

 

[Shalvy]

This is a VERY underrated tool, we hear frequencies differently, and we can learn about how our hearing works and fix our own personal peaks.

I've found one better, someone shared this tool on reddit with me. It essentially creates a PEQ for your own ears and HRTF.

It will play 44 samples to you and you have to pick if it is quieter, louder or equal in volume. Its actually quiet cool watching it in live time create your PEQ based on your HRTF.

I've actually been struggling with EQ and dealing with listening fatigue and it wasn't until i used this tool i realised how much some iem's or headphones were fatiguing me. I was shocked to see it create almost a -9db correction at 7500hz on a certain pair of headphones. This peak shows up at 8khz on FR graphs but then i learnt about length mode issues and how we all vary and auto EQ is not a good answer most of the time depending on your anatomy.

This tool has done a lot more fine tuning that i ever could have done manually with my own ears. I'll just add it does mostly between 1khz and 12khz and doesn't touch bass nor upper treble. I think this area would be the most sensitive parts on the audio spectrum for a lot of people. Note it may give you more than 10 filters, it may not. You may need to interpolate if you do get more than 10 filters.

Check it out, its made a very very big difference for me. This is the first time in my life i'm experiencing fatigue free audio in my headphones and iem's.

SoundEQ Dore — Personal Audio Calibration

 

[ziber23]

Hi guys, I'm choosing between the dx1 II and the dx5 II. I'm only interested in listening to music on a computer, mostly through a balanced headphone output. My headphones are hifiman edition XV and XS. Is it worth overpaying for the dx5, or do they sound about the same? If there is a difference, could you describe what it is: the stage, the bass, the separation of instruments. I heard that the dx5 II had problems with balanced connectivity, besides, the dx 1 II is powered only by USB, which is a plus for me. But if the dx5 noticeably wins in sound, I'm ready to choose it.

 

[tccalvin]

Hi guys, I'm choosing between the dx1 II and the dx5 II. I'm only interested in listening to music on a computer, mostly through a balanced headphone output. My headphones are hifiman edition XV and XS. Is it worth overpaying for the dx5, or do they sound about the same? If there is a difference, could you describe what it is: the stage, the bass, the separation of instruments. I heard that the dx5 II had problems with balanced connectivity, besides, the dx 1 II is powered only by USB, which is a plus for me. But if the dx5 noticeably wins in sound, I'm ready to choose it.

They sound the same. But they both have reliability issues. Glitches, noises, units failing... buy at your own risk.

 

[Nay16]

I've found one better, someone shared this tool on reddit with me. It essentially creates a PEQ for your own ears and HRTF.

It will play 44 samples to you and you have to pick if it is quieter, louder or equal in volume. Its actually quiet cool watching it in live time create your PEQ based on your HRTF.

I've actually been struggling with EQ and dealing with listening fatigue and it wasn't until i used this tool i realised how much some iem's or headphones were fatiguing me. I was shocked to see it create almost a -9db correction at 7500hz on a certain pair of headphones. This peak shows up at 8khz on FR graphs but then i learnt about length mode issues and how we all vary and auto EQ is not a good answer most of the time depending on your anatomy.

This tool has done a lot more fine tuning that i ever could have done manually with my own ears. I'll just add it does mostly between 1khz and 12khz and doesn't touch bass nor upper treble. I think this area would be the most sensitive parts on the audio spectrum for a lot of people. Note it may give you more than 10 filters, it may not. You may need to interpolate if you do get more than 10 filters.

Check it out, its made a very very big difference for me. This is the first time in my life i'm experiencing fatigue free audio in my headphones and iem's.

SoundEQ Dore — Personal Audio Calibration

Woah I didn't know about this, both test I tried gave me exactly 5.7khz peak on my Hexa, great tool!

 

[Grayswandir]

Hello everyone, thanks for the informative thread. I had a question about the display. Mine is connected via USB to a PC. I have the display auto screen-off set for 10 seconds and to show sample rate. It stays dark forever. Is there any way to wake the display when I play a song with a different sample rate? I thought it used to do this but maybe that was another DAC I had, or a previous firmware? Thanks

 

[Shalvy]

huh? UAC1 and UAC2 sound identical on PC. However, in general I noticed that the DX1 II, after testing all day, sounds different vs 3 other audio outputs I own. (another dac/amp, a portable dongle dac, and an Audio interface.) all 3 of those sound the same on PS5 and on PC. the DX1 II Sounds different. It doesn't sound bad as in quality, it just sounds like it has a slight 3D spatial audio upmixer applied that makes stereo sound like kind of virtual surround sound. I'm wondering if I somehow got a bad unit. I'm not too familiar with how amp power relates to loudness, but using my Sennheiser HD490 Pro Headphones, the DX1 II does not get loud enough at 0dB on low gain. on High gain it gets loud enough around -18dB (single ended btw).

Hi Matthew, did you ever figure out why it sounded different on the ps5? I’d be using with the ps5 as well and would like the sound to be normal and not well, odd by the sound of your experience?

@tccalvin did you have a similar issue too, did the ps5 sound different vs other sources on this dac?

Thanks

 

[tccalvin]

did you have a similar issue too, did the ps5 sound different vs other sources on this dac?

It wasn't on this DAC but yes, USB audio was significantly quieter.

My best guess is that Sony wants to avoid hearing damage with USB headsets...

I also thought it maybe sounded a bit worse (low resolution, distorted...) but it's likely placebo because I know the PS5 truncates the output to 16-bit.

I'll measure the output when I have the time and then we'll know for sure.

 

[matthew4]

Hi Matthew, did you ever figure out why it sounded different on the ps5? I’d be using with the ps5 as well and would like the sound to be normal and not well, odd by the sound of your experience?

@tccalvin did you have a similar issue too, did the ps5 sound different vs other sources on this dac?

Thanks

I actually did partially. The weird sounding audio was fixed by resetting all of my PS5 settings, I'm assuming the 3D audio settings on the PS5 must have been bugged since it sounded like it was enabled even though it was 100% disabled. It's still quieter on the PS5 vs the PC though. Hopefully that can be fixed with firmware.

 

[doodoodude]

I returned this unit, but I wanted to share a few things I found during my testing.


1. Console compatibility

My unit was not recognized at all when connected to the rear USB ports of my PS5(OG). It only worked when connected to the front USB-C port.

On my Switch 2, it was not recognized on any of the three USB ports (2 USB-A and 1 USB-C).

However, when I used a TC-OTG-Y20 power/data separation cable, it was recognized normally on all USB-A ports on both the PS5 and Switch 2.

I'm still not sure whether this was a problem with my particular unit or normal behavior.


2. Optical input dropouts with LG OLED 48C2 TV

* Topping DX1 II: Random dropouts occurred with both settings 1 and 2, about once an hour.
* FiiO K11: Dropouts occurred about every 3 seconds. (Tested before the firmware update.)
* Topping E30 I: Worked perfectly without any additional settings.
* SMSL C200 Pro: Worked perfectly with DPLL set to 6+.
* FiiO K13: Worked perfectly without any additional settings.

 

[matthew4]

However, when I used a TC-OTG-Y20 power/data separation cable, it was recognized normally on all USB-A ports on both the PS5

Just curious, do you remember if the TC-OTG-Y20 power/data cable connected to the USB-A port was the same volume or louder than the front USB-C?

 

[doodoodude]

Just curious, do you remember if the TC-OTG-Y20 power/data cable connected to the USB-A port was the same volume or louder than the front USB-C?

Sorry, I didn't get a chance to test that. But I think that could be the case. It doesn't seem like the consoles provide very stable power through their USB ports.