Topping DX7 Pro DAC and Headphone Amp Reviewed

[veeceem]

Looking to output rca in the Atom. But the measurements are xlr, so I'm curious of the rca.

If you use DX7Pro with Atom:
DX7 in DAC mode -> connect to Atom thru RCA at the back -> then you can use headphone out or rca outs on Atom and use Atom volume knot for volume control, up to you.
RCA measurements doesnt really matter I think. You would probably stack them and run a very short pair of rca cable anyway

 

[confucius_zero]

RCA measurements doesnt really matter I think.

But the measurements are xlr, so I'm curious of the rca.

 

[MediumRare]

Full specs here: http://www.tpdz.net/products_detail/productId=44.html scroll to bottom.

 

[BertJeTheHague]

Dear @amirm thank you so much for your review and all the measurements and effort you put into this forum. I just aquired the dx7pro and I'm thinking to not just using it as a dac but actually using it as a pre-amp in combination with a Benchmark AHB2 power amplifier (combination with Benchmark preamp is beyond my budget). As such I am really curious about the pre-amp performance of this dac and if you think this combination could work. What do you think of this idea? It would be great to have measurments on the pre-amp section both over RCA as wel as XLR. Thank you for your reply!

 

[777]

DX7 Pro output impedance at XLR is 200 ohms https://m.shenzhenaudio.com/topping...sb-full-balanced-dac-headphone-amplifier.html so looks like 23:1.

Wrong ! In fact is 235:1

 

[777]

Dear @amirm thank you so much for your review and all the measurements and effort you put into this forum. I just aquired the dx7pro and I'm thinking to not just using it as a dac but actually using it as a pre-amp in combination with a Benchmark AHB2 power amplifier (combination with Benchmark preamp is beyond my budget). As such I am really curious about the pre-amp performance of this dac and if you think this combination could work. What do you think of this idea? It would be great to have measurments on the pre-amp section both over RCA as wel as XLR. Thank you for your reply!

Dx7pro doesn't has dedicated pre-amp. It has instead DAC output with digital volume control. Probably you need an extra gain with Benchmark AHB2 in a low-gain mode. If I correctly remember, AHB2 has in low-gain 9x.

 

[Veri]

Full specs here: https://drop.com/buy/topping-dx7-pro-dac-amp

Those specs are mostly all wrong, they must be of the DX7s...

 

[MediumRare]

Wrong ! In fact is 235:1

Of course you are correct! I will fix my post. Damn decimals.

 

[MediumRare]

Those specs are mostly all wrong, they must be of the DX7s...

I replaced the link, The DX7 Pro is much better than what Drop shows. I shouldn’t have trusted them.

 

[MediumRare]

Dx7pro doesn't has dedicated pre-amp. It has instead DAC output with digital volume control. Probably you need an extra gain with Benchmark AHB2 in a low-gain mode. If I correctly remember, AHB2 has in low-gain 9x.

Are you sure about that? Photos seem to show dedicated dual op amp chips separate from headphone amp. And line out is 2V or 4V rms as normal. http://www.tpdz.net/products_detail/productId=44.html

 

[JohnBooty]

@amirm, thanks again for the great work. I love when ASR brings great products to light. This seems like it could realistically be an endgame product for a lot of folks. (For me, the DX3 Pro is actually an endgame product for the forseeable future!)

One concern I have, though, is that I just noticed our beloved "nice shot!" Pink Panther has... actually missed the ball. He appears pleased with himself but has actually failed!

(I'm sure 100 other people have pointed this out already)

 

[777]

Are you sure about that? Photos seem to show dedicated dual op amp chips separate from headphone amp. And line out is 2V or 4V rms as normal. http://www.tpdz.net/products_detail/productId=44.html

There is not pre-amplifier, it is just classic line out(2v from RCA, 4v from XLR) with digital volume. There are not dedicated op-amps, there are only LPF + summing signal, part of the line output stage. Rather headphone amplifier could be seen like a preamplifier.

Did you know what op-amps are in the I/V stage ?

 

[amirm]

Does DX7Pro output impedence not matter with Ether CX cause planar magnetic headphones have flat impedence curve?

Correct.

 

[amirm]

Dear @amirm thank you so much for your review and all the measurements and effort you put into this forum. I just aquired the dx7pro and I'm thinking to not just using it as a dac but actually using it as a pre-amp in combination with a Benchmark AHB2 power amplifier (combination with Benchmark preamp is beyond my budget). As such I am really curious about the pre-amp performance of this dac and if you think this combination could work. What do you think of this idea? It would be great to have measurments on the pre-amp section both over RCA as wel as XLR. Thank you for your reply!

My pleasure and it should work great with AHB2. It has low enough distortion and noise to live up to the AHB2. As noted, just make sure to set the gains appropriately on AHB2 to get maximum power.

 

[MediumRare]

There is not pre-amplifier, it is just classic line out(2v from RCA, 4v from XLR) with digital volume. There are not dedicated op-amps, there are only LPF + summing signal, part of the line output stage. Rather headphone amplifier could be seen like a preamplifier.

Did you know what op-amps are in the I/V stage ?

Nope, we’ve reached the limit of my capabilities. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can help.

 

[Gradius]

Wrong ! In fact is 235:1

That link isn't even the PRO version !

 

[Gradius]

DX7 Pro output impedance at XLR is 200 ohms https://m.shenzhenaudio.com/topping...sb-full-balanced-dac-headphone-amplifier.html so looks like 235:1.

Wrong link as IS NOT the PRO version !

Here is the PRO one:

 

[MediumRare]

Wrong link as IS NOT the PRO version !

Here is the PRO one:

Good catch, here’s the official link http://www.tpdz.net/products_detail/productId=44.html

 

[ZippCen]

I'm a little confused as to how the output selection of the DX7 Pro works.

If the output mode is Headphone+Line Out are the line outs (XLR|RCA) active when headphones are plugged in, or do they activate when the headphones are removed?

 

[amjosh]

Lol, I bought the D50s and was waiting for the Monolith 887 when the DX7 Pro came out. So I cancelled the D50s and ordered the DX7 Pro. But since you already have an amp, the only question is how impatient are you? I suspect the D50s performs beyond the range of audibility so anything coming down the line will be better on paper only. Counter-arguments r welcome!

I have ordered Aune S6 from Drop warehouse. They had some crazy sale where S6 and S7 combo was for $300. @amirm has not reviewed this here, but have heard a lot of good things about this. Looking forward to seeing how it works.