Topping DX1 mini desktop DAC & AMP

[ArturoKiwi]

I think the two screws are holding the panel to the case, and the third one is holding the RCAs to the panel - probably don't need to remove that one.

Have you guys tried installing the Topping drivers for DX1 on Windows? I'm getting this after rebooting:

View attachment 246778

I istalled the driver on my Win10 a couple of weeks ago. I had no problem at all

 

[LDvo]

I think the two screws are holding the panel to the case, and the third one is holding the RCAs to the panel - probably don't need to remove that one.

Have you guys tried installing the Topping drivers for DX1 on Windows? I'm getting this after rebooting:

View attachment 246778

I got the same error after installing latest downloaded driver and restart Win11.
I re-installed it and didn't get the error after that.

 

[LDvo]

Also how hard was it to take apart? Is it only the 3 screws on the back?

I've managed to remove 3 screws and back panel - board did not slide out easy. It has some kind stopper on the back side and also mechanical sensor to check if back panel present. I decided not to remove the board from the case and put everything back.

 

[alloallo]

Does anyone can confirm that DX1 does not support volume control over USB ? Apple Dongle supports it.

 

[ArturoKiwi]

On my Macbookpro at work, right now , the volume of the computer works in combination with the knob on the dx1.
I didn't remember on my Windows laptop at home.

I just checked twice: The volume bar is not locked and it is set to max automatically. I could slide it to zero and it wors, but the changes are minimal and only in the final part of the slider

 

[alloallo]

On my Macbookpro at work, right now , the volume of the computer works in combination with the knob on the dx1.
I didn't remember on my Windows laptop at home

Great news. It means I can use the volume keys on the Mac's keyboard to adjust the volume of active speakers connected to the RCA output.
This is unfortunately not possible with DACs like the Topping EX5 or the SMSL C200.

 

[LDvo]

Great news. It means I can use the volume keys on the Mac's keyboard to adjust the volume of active speakers connected to the RCA output.
This is unfortunately not possible with DACs like the Topping EX5 or the SMSL C200.

I believe RCA output is Line out so it does not change signal level (maybe by Win driver software?).
Volume control knob only affects headphone outputs as far as i see.

 

[ArturoKiwi]

I believe RCA output is Line out so it does not change signal level (maybe by Win driver software?).
Volume control knob only affects headphone outputs as far as i see.

I think you are right

 

[JanesJr1]

This is a late response, but a good example.

I use a balanced dongle to drive current-hungry DCA planar headphones. But I also have an Ety ER4XR IEM for convenience. On my Lenovo Thinkpad laptop, I can plug the Ety IEM into the headphone jack, and it's fine for streaming the news. But compared to driving the IEM from the dongle, driving it from the PC makes it sound thin, insubstantial and kind of grainy.

I don't know why. Surely the IEM is not a big power demand. Both the on-board PC audio section and the balanced dongle go through the same EAPO Eq profile, and the difference in SQ persists if I turn off Eq.. So I don't know why, but I know my PC audio just doesn't sound as good as using a quality dongle.

So it's probably true that the on-board audio will sound ok in many cases, but perhaps not all cases.

(My Surface Pro does sound better.)

 

[staticV3]

I also have an Ety ER4XR IEM for convenience. But compared to driving the IEM from the dongle, driving it from the PC makes it sound thin, insubstantial and kind of grainy.

I don't know why.

High Zo probably.

 

[alloallo]

I believe RCA output is Line out so it does not change signal level (maybe by Win driver software?).
Volume control knob only affects headphone outputs as far as i see.

It is possible change volume with macOS system. The problem is that RCA output is still active when headphones are plugged.

 

[ArturoKiwi]

It is possible change volume with macOS system. The problem is that RCA output is still active when headphones are plugged.

Sure they are driven simultaneously

 

[LDvo]

It is possible change volume with macOS system. The problem is that RCA output is still active when headphones are plugged.

line out vs headphone out

 

[akbetter01]

is there any way to switch between the line out/speakers and headphone out without disconnecting the cables? maybe an rca audio switch? but i dont know if it will affect the sound

 

[LDvo]

is there any way to switch between the line out/speakers and headphone out without disconnecting the cables? maybe an rca audio switch? but i dont know if it will affect the sound

Line out is permanent output of not amplified signal by design and no switching

 

[alloallo]

Line out is permanent output of not amplified signal by design and no switching

There is a stupid solution : buy two. One for headphones, one for line out. And you switch output from the computer.

 

[LDvo]

There is a stupid solution : buy two. One for headphones, one for line out. And you switch output from the computer

There is a stupid solution : buy two. One for headphones, one for line out. And you switch output from the computer.

As this is USB interface it should be theoretically possible to control output by Topping software.
Software does not let me control volume of each channel and output of each channel is disabled -

 

[B00tySalads]

Unless Amir holds my hand and spells it out for me in the excellent manner that he does, I don't have a precise understanding of some of these readings on a chinese website. Does anyone have the headphone amp output measurements in its usual readings?

 

[staticV3]

I don't have a precise understanding of some of these readings on a chinese website.

Use chrome, it'll auto translate foreign websites for you.

Does anyone have the headphone amp output measurements in its usual readings?

These readings are in the same format as Amir's:

Output power (left) / output voltage (right) vs THD+N.
Color coded for the load they're measured at.

310mW at 16Ω
255mW at 32Ω
175mW at 75Ω
46mW at 300Ω

 

[akbetter01]

There is a stupid solution : buy two. One for headphones, one for line out. And you switch output from the computer.

I have my headphones connected to the front, with 2.1 powered speakers connected to the RCA/Line out. Disconnect the headphone is easy, but the RCA cables at the back are not. And the power switch of the speakers is behind the subwoofer on the floor, so very annoying to turn off. Well no easy way to solve this without spending 2x more money. Or maybe i will buy an USB dongle to use with headphones