Topping DX7 Pro DAC and Headphone Amp Reviewed

[Vovgan]

And to be clear, you can't capture more than 20 bits either for the same reason. So no high res music has music information in rightmost bits.

Thank you. Just ordered DX7 pro from China. Eager to see how it sounds compared to my Chord Qutest. If it sounds just as good* I’m gonna get myself a Benchmark AHB2 (Qutest lacks XLR output and preamp which prevented me from buying AHB2 earlier).

* I expect to hear no difference with my Denon 6500 working as a amp but let’s see, some other expensive DAC not reviewed here (Audiolab) did sound worse than Qutest

 

[veeceem]

Thank you. Just ordered DX7 pro from China. Eager to see how it sounds compared to my Chord Qutest. If it sounds just as good* I’m gonna get myself a Benchmark AHB2 (Qutest lacks XLR output which prevented me from buying it earlier).

* I expect to hear no difference with my Denon 6500 as a amp but let’s see, some other DAC not reviewed here (Audiolab) did sound worse than Qutest

Hey! I'm also using a Qutest! I'll be ordering XX7 Pro this Monday! Hype!

 

[Vovgan]

Hey! I'm also using a Qutest! I'll be ordering XX7 Pro this Monday! Hype!

Nice!! Let’s catch up when we’ve got and tested our Toppings! My delivery date is still a month away though.

 

[Veri]

Keep us posted guys, interesting to know about your impressions. Let's see if this is a 'Chord killer'

 

[777]

Amirm, can we see the ultrasonic FFT ?

 

[MediumRare]

I was just about to ask about that. Comparing the Matrix, the Okto and the Topping.

Clearly something is not completely implemented to "perfect" especially when compared to the Okto. Almost 20 dB rise in the DX7Pro isn't quite small change I think.

Yes, I missed this in the review. So, how to interpret? Is it distortion or noise? Is it approaching audibility?

 

[MediumRare]

And to be clear, you can't capture more than 20 bits either for the same reason. So no high res music has music information in rightmost bits.

And I recall you saying human audibility under perfect conditions is 116 dB. Is that correct? Are we talking noise? THD+N? What about in certain frequencies?

 

[MediumRare]

And to be clear, you can't capture more than 20 bits either for the same reason. So no high res music has music information in rightmost bits.

And I recall you saying human audibility under perfect conditions is 116 dB. Is that correct? Are we talking noise? THD+N? What about in certain frequencies?

 

[filo97s]

Yes, I missed this in the review. So, how to interpret? Is it distortion or noise? Is it approaching audibility?

It depends on the feedback used somewhere in the dac, maybe in the output stage.
It can be easily demonstrated that given a transfer function L(s) controlled with a unity gain negative feedback, the error is 1/(1+L(s)). Then, the higher the frequency, the higher the error (because the loop it's having hard time chasing the input with frequency gradually increasing - frequency response at higher frequencies begin to fall, so L(s) is smaller). Same with the power in amplifiers: the higher the power (higher L(s)) the lesser the error (that's why THD+N typically continues to fall until the clipping)
I think that what you're seeing it's distortion then.

 

[daftcombo]

Hope you're right. The D70 was good, but not spotless. But perhaps it had nothing to do with the AKM part.

Can we know in which regard?

 

[gvl]

Can we know in which regard?

Relatively "high" THD at full output.

 

[RickSanchez]

If anyone on this thread finds this helpful, here's a measurement comparison of the Sabaj D5 vs. the Topping DX7 Pro.

• https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-comparison-sabaj-d5-vs-topping-dx7-pro.9457/

 

[GrimSurfer]

It depends on the feedback used somewhere in the dac, maybe in the output stage.
It can be easily demonstrated that given a transfer function L(s) controlled with a unity gain negative feedback, the error is 1/(1+L(s)). Then, the higher the frequency, the higher the error (because the loop it's having hard time chasing the input with frequency gradually increasing - frequency response at higher frequencies begin to fall, so L(s) is smaller). Same with the power in amplifiers: the higher the power (higher L(s)) the lesser the error (that's why THD+N typically continues to fall until the clipping)
I think that what you're seeing it's distortion then.

This is very useful, @filo97s, because it explains precisely what I was seeing in the measurement of a Yamaha PA amp. Only in that case it wasn't frequency roll-off but an increase in distortion with power prior to clipping. It could be that this was a conscious decision on the part of the designer, where distortion was chosen over roll-off in a PA amp.

That thread here:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ower-amplifier-review.9420/page-6#post-249113

 

[veeceem]

If anyone on this thread finds this helpful, here's a measurement comparison of the Sabaj D5 vs. the Topping DX7 Pro.

• https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-comparison-sabaj-d5-vs-topping-dx7-pro.9457/

Sadly Sabaj D5 is $750 if I want to buy, along with the risk of being scammed.
DX7 Pro is available for $520 here. So I went with it. No need the headphone output anyway only use as DAC+preamp thru rca/xlr outputs

 

[Category 5]

Sadly Sabaj D5 is $750 if I want to buy, along with the risk of being scammed.
DX7 Pro is available for $520 here. So I went with it. No need the headphone output anyway only use as DAC+preamp thru rca/xlr outputs

Best I can find is 599 USD now. Are you in the us?

 

[veeceem]

Best I can find is 599 ugly now. Are you in the us?

Vietnam. But buying something by myself is hard (nobody wants to tbh). So we usually ask a third party to buy, but it comes with the risk of being scammed, either by the third party or the webshop, or both... So the risk of double-scam exists. That's why I picked DX7 Pro, because its available in local shop for $520 plus shipping why so cheap? Cuz Vietnam is right next to China

 

[filo97s]

This is very useful, @filo97s, because it explains precisely what I was seeing in the measurement of a Yamaha PA amp. Only in that case it wasn't frequency roll-off but an increase in distortion with power prior to clipping. It could be that this was a conscious decision on the part of the designer, where distortion was chosen over roll-off in a PA amp.

That thread here:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ower-amplifier-review.9420/page-6#post-249113

sure, there are many factors that can affect negatively the distortion. Generally speaking, it's the negative feedback that controls its performances, but also other nonlinearities can occur. One of these for example could be the fact that transistors in a power amplifier being discrete are not exactly equal to each other so distortion can vary unpredictably (Integrated chips instead are produced from a single production process, transistors inside of each chip are identical - that's why headphone amps usually exhibit less distortion than speaker amps - and that's why exotic headphone amps with discrete transistors usually perform worse than cheaper ones that use integrated op amps)

 

[Snafu]

Glad that i passed D70.

Based on DAC side of DX7pro D90 might be one helluwa DAC (yes, ak not ess) because surely Topping doesn't want this to best it...

 

[Labjr]

Though I've never listened to an AKM DAC, the D90 should be great, because it uses the flagship AKM chip. It appears to use the same enclosure as the DX7 PRO so the looks will be almost the same.

 

[NielsMayer]

Waiting till D90 because "Worth mentioning is that D90’s USB support MQA decode." per https://www.facebook.com/shenzhenaudio/photos/a.1880730788709687/2446370332145727/?type=3&permPage=1