Well I got my topping dx1 today!!! First impression soooooooooo clean. The sound coming out of this is so clean, iv used several expensive dacs before my last was the smsl su-8 v2 paired with atom amp. But this I cant pick up anything other than pure details and bliss. Plenty of power for my needs, super loud on my Sennheiser 58x at 25% on low gain. Fair warning this dac sounds so good no offensive sound at all so it makes you want to crank the volume haha. Really recommend this dac amp combo if you dont need a ton of power. I might buy another for my work machine haha
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Topping DX1 mini desktop DAC & AMP
- Thread starter Matias
- Start date
Got my DX1 today. Best part about it is the size, just so tiny. At first I thought it's the size of a D10s but it's actually just much smaller than D10s which makes it very suitable for office use or bring your hifi setup anywhere. Look at the size with the IEMs on it as some reference:
There's no need to talk about sound in this forum as most would agree the no significant sound signiture in qualified DAC+AMP theory, still I am impressed by the transparency and power such an easy to use little device can produce.
The USB cable came with it is trash, though. Sound keeps popping which made me think the device is broken at first but changing USB cable solved the problem. I will not return it just to get a new cable as I got plenty but this may happen to other consumers, too. If you have similar problem try to use another cable first.
There's no need to talk about sound in this forum as most would agree the no significant sound signiture in qualified DAC+AMP theory, still I am impressed by the transparency and power such an easy to use little device can produce.
The USB cable came with it is trash, though. Sound keeps popping which made me think the device is broken at first but changing USB cable solved the problem. I will not return it just to get a new cable as I got plenty but this may happen to other consumers, too. If you have similar problem try to use another cable first.
Received my DX1 yesterday, I quite like the cable and there seems to be nothing wrong with mine. I like the generous length, and also the cable itself - it's sleek and modern, I have never seen a USB type B cable like this. Every single type B I have, including those bought last year and received with various equipment, looks like it's from a 1999 printer.
I have to say, my first impression of a Topping product is extremely positive. The device is sturdier and heavier than I expected, and the packaging is superb to say the least. Love the silicone RCA caps, wish I have enough of these for all the unused interfaces on all my equipment.
The aluminium case is super thick - I bet it will survive a tank running over it.
As for the sound, it's plenty powerful with my low impedance headphones (Hifiman HE-400 and Truthear Zero IEM). The difference between low and high gain is very significant, which is great.
I have felt the effect of low output impedance compared to other two sound interfaces that I have with me (both of which are bad). Other than that, I could find no difference even compared to objectively much worse devices. Which is not to say DX1 sounds bad in any way - only that hearing any difference between two DACs is extremely difficult. I'm glad I didn't go for a more expensive device like DX3 Pro+.
I have to say, my first impression of a Topping product is extremely positive. The device is sturdier and heavier than I expected, and the packaging is superb to say the least. Love the silicone RCA caps, wish I have enough of these for all the unused interfaces on all my equipment.
The aluminium case is super thick - I bet it will survive a tank running over it.
As for the sound, it's plenty powerful with my low impedance headphones (Hifiman HE-400 and Truthear Zero IEM). The difference between low and high gain is very significant, which is great.
I have felt the effect of low output impedance compared to other two sound interfaces that I have with me (both of which are bad). Other than that, I could find no difference even compared to objectively much worse devices. Which is not to say DX1 sounds bad in any way - only that hearing any difference between two DACs is extremely difficult. I'm glad I didn't go for a more expensive device like DX3 Pro+.
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I disagree it is so tiny - it is huge. Huge and heavy mobile dongle DAC/Amp. As it doesn't have power switch, i cannot call it stationary unit. Only one difference - It has two outputs unlike other dongles - one regular headphone out and one line out. Why Topping could not make it in similar shape as FiiO KA3 for example?
Sure nothing is tiny comparing with apple dongles I'm thinking about other desktop DAC/Amp boxes like DX5 or M500 intead of dongles which are from another product line. There's an analog potentiometer and RCA on it with a SINAD better than chord DAVE that made it a fully functional desktop setup to drive your bookshelf monitors as well, which should take some space to implement. Consider the idle power consumption I can't see why you can't leave it connected to your PC. I have an RME Babyface Pro with no switch on it and official suggestion is to leave it on 24/7. I'm sure there are things doing more damage to mother earth than this...
There's an analog potentiometer and RCA on it - there are plenty of dongle examples with loudness control on it and with TRS 3.5mm out which is better for small device and can be easy converted to RCA if needed. You need additional power amp to drive bookshelf monitors anyways (inside speakers or as separate unit).
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You get the idea. There's always a balance between function, size, price. I'd treat this as the lower functionality desktop setup and you treat it a high spec dongle, just different perspective of the same thing. You don't have to unplug and plug to switch between devices as a benifit. Just turn on the speaker (active speakers of course) and it's done.
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Exactly. Agree. My point was whole industry (and not only in audio) is moving toward minimization, so it could be logical to expect it here as well.
Only reason against it in case of DX1 what i can think of - they don't want it to be used with phones and tablets.
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What do you mean? Just because of the size? I believe it's supposed to work with Android and iOS.
Has anyone taken their DX1 apart to make photos? I'm curious to see what's inside, but don't want to void the warranty, at least not yet.
I meant they decided non-mobile form factor - why?
Could be because power consumption, for example, so it cannot be carried with mobile devices.
I tried with Android cell phone - it works very well in bit perfect, but I didn't measure power consumption.
It has to be. The maximum output voltage is higher than 5 V. This is probably a big part of what makes DX1 so awesome and so versatile without requiring an AC power outlet. And note the capacitor rated for 25 V, with the next highest being 16 V (a lot of headroom for 5 V use).
I wonder if the gain switch simply controls a resistive voltage divider, or if it's turning the booster off and on.
ArturoKiwi
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Maybe the first 2 release was alpha and beta test
Maybe but why would you version something not released? Ussualy a manufacture versions a board so they can keep track of whats out in the wild not in their labs for testing. What is also interesting is that it goes to version 3 typically whole version number changes signify major changes between versions while say a version 1.1 would typically represent a minor change that may not even affect performance. I guess the only way we would ever know is if we had a larger sample size or if topping chimed in.
ArturoKiwi
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I saw that on mine there are 3 esagonal screw on the back. But I don't know if it is sealed only with those 3.
I someone want to share the "How to" open it, I'll try
I someone want to share the "How to" open it, I'll try
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