Topping DX7 Pro+ Review (DAC & HP Amp)

[Awsmone]

I much prefer from convenience built in power supply, less wires
the results are incredible what dac chip is it using the implementation is incredible in such a small unit , noise suppression truly impressive

 

[Mulder]

Adding on, I don't think jitter is the problem but rather, the actual clock rate of data. Audio slaved to video could deviate a lot from nominal sample rate.

I have had problems with a CD player and the D30Pro. The SPDIF signal from the CD player chops after a few seconds. I don't know what causes it, but it's a problem that some players have but not others. My OPPO Blue Ray/DVD works without problems.

 

[Bleib]

Great. But not the greatest value.

 

[staticV3]

@HDavidson depends on which headphones you want to use.
Number 2 has heaps more power

@HDavidson Number 1, not number 2. Sorry for the confusion. I edited my post to correct.

 

[Mulder]

I imagine if it were just excessive jitter, then the DAC would output at least some signal, albeit a broken one.

Yes, but that is exactly what is happening. It works for a few seconds, then it starts to hang up, then it works again for a few seconds before it starts messing up again. And so it goes on.

 

[cheapmessiah]

Aeon 3W? I have Aeons and use them all the time, they don't need 3W? 1W is more than enough.

My experience is different with my own aeons, for loud listening I have seen the need of such amount of power.

 

[audiofun]

Only measuring PCM performance at 44.1/48 is not very useful.

In most Topping ESS products, when playing DSD128 or 256 the noise performance dropped by ~20db.
And they refused to provide a fix...

 

[Deleted member 50971]

Thank you for the detailed review Amir!

I must say that I really like the style of this, and it reminds me of another piece of gear that you reviewed. It kind of has that higher end iFi audio look, and I just think it’s stunning looking.

Talk about pretty much perfect engineering hygiene as you sometimes put it… there it is.

 

[Dennis_FL]

You need a new panther for this one. Maybe a "Babe Ruth" panther hitting a home run?

As an aside, most of the current DACs have the same input choices (AES, IIS, opt, coax, BT, USB), and I'm betting 90+ % of users are plugging into the USB port.

I just had a need for a second USB port and had to buy a USB to Opt/coax adapter. Wouldn't it be nice to have more than one USB port? And a remote with discreet input selection buttons?

 

[Kishore]

As usual another stellar performer/review. Subjectively I wish one could hear top 3-4 DAC performers and would there be sonic differences say on Salon2 (I mean Amir's current ref speaker) or XYZ speakers in your 2 CH setup (not headphones)?

 

[JamesYeomans]

You need a new panther for this one. Maybe a "Babe Ruth" panther hitting a home run?

As an aside, most of the current DACs have the same input choices (AES, IIS, opt, coax, BT, USB), and I'm betting 90+ % of users are plugging into the USB port.

I just had a need for a second USB port and had to buy a USB to Opt/coax adapter. Wouldn't it be nice to have more than one USB port? And a remote with discreet input selection buttons?

A second USB port was one of the features that drew me to the Soncoz DAC.

You can get around that using one of these, which works for one of my other systems. Might not be ideal for you though, but worth considering:

Cable Matters USB 2.0 Switch Hub USB Sharing Switch for 2 Computers and 4 USB Peripherals - Button or Wireless Remote Control Swapping https://amzn.eu/d/9ZuCRvl

 

[beagleman]

I see many voted Great, but $700.00 is the price of a LOT of components and other things that do a lot more....

I mean it measures great sure, but is this how much it costs to get something to measure great?

 

[Deleted member 50971]

I see many voted Great, but $700.00 is the price of a LOT of components and other things that do a lot more....

I mean it measures great sure, but is this how much it costs to get something to measure great?

I think this one cost more because of the way it looks, and the engineers were squeezing out every last bit of measured.

There are definitely ones that are less expensive, have nearly the same specs, and features.

This one looks great in my opinion, although I’m not a headphone guy.

 

[diaolodoro]

I have three questions:
1) Is there any reason to buy a D90(se) anymore?
2) Are there any audible improvements over the DX5,EX5 or similar offerings which costs less than half the price of the DX7 pro+?
3) Amir, is it possible to see real load measurements like instead of ideal? For example THD+N vs freq. with a real HD650 load.

 

[staticV3]

1) Is there any reason to buy a D90(se) anymore?

Higher output voltage (5.2Vrms vs 4.2)
1dB higher SNR/DR

2) Are there any audible improvements over the DX5,EX5 or similar offerings which costs less than half the price of the DX7 pro+?

They differ in output power, which is definitely audible. See here.
The DX5 is weaker across the board. The EX5 is actually louder below 20Ω, but quieter above.

 

[theREALdotnet]

This seems like a really nice device. DAC performance looks to be beyond reproach anyway these days, but it’s good to see that effortless and accurate built-in head amps are becoming the norm. Almost a pity I don’t use headphones anymore…

I also like the built-in power supply.

@amirm did you get a chance to test the remote control reach in a living room (as opposed to desktop) listening situation? That’s pretty much the only aspect of my current Topping DAC I don’t particularly like.

 

[BALKAN_RAKIA]

Cool product, but no orange display is a deal breaker for me.
Their line up is a bit confusing with several offerings in each price bracket. Topping mx5 is the one I am interested in, not that I want to buy it, but it seems like a lot of bang per buck.

 

[diaolodoro]

Higher output voltage (5.2Vrms vs 4.2)
1dB higher SNR/DR

But will that 1dB sinad make any audible difference? The DX7pro+ seems like it performs as good as the D90se but adds a state of the art headphone amplifier on top of that for $200 cheaper.

 

[caocaolatre199x]

Does someone have a photo of the board inside?

 

[juliangst]

I gave it a fine because I don’t see great price to performance here. At this point all amps and dacs from topping are textbook perfect and the only thing to wish for is good power output.

A Topping A90d with an smsl DO100 will give you about the same I/O, same SOTA measurements and a ton more power.

BTW: I really like the 12 Ohm power vs distortion measurement. Most amps have a significant drop on power after 16 ohms.

I always wondered why my A30 Pro doesn’t get really loud with m Planars and it’s for that very reason