Topping NX 4

[Oldasdrt]

Hello all,
Am considering purchasing this based on the review here,
Was wondering if anyone can comment on the musicality of the device,specifically the spaciousness of the sounstage,will be pairing with DT 990 pro,80 ohm,and my rooted Pixel 2 with Poweramp and Poweramp EQ,
I prefer a wide sounstage with the music out front,
Any comments or suggestions for a similarly priced portable device are welcome,

Thanks all,

 

[jae]

A good amplifier does not affect "soundstage", and nor will a good dac. If the amplifier/dac is designed well and working properly, the only thing that should be of concern to you are its features and is if it has enough power to drive the headphones you want to the volumes you want. The illusion of soundstage comes from the content of the music itself (composition and how it's mixed/mastered), and the properties of the headphone driver/capsule, its frequency response, and its interaction with your pinna/ear canal.

If this is the sensation you are seeking you will probably be better off EQing your current headphones to something like the harman curve or consider buying new ones that are closer to said curve. Unfortunately, at least the 250 ohm variant of your headphones don't seem to measure that great based on the review here so I am not sure how EQ-able it is. On android, Wavelet is a good app for this which also incorporates AutoEq curves, but it doesn't seem like your particular headphone is added to the database. If the frequency response is similar to the 250 ohm version, you can try that preset, or you can just do manual eq/import a preset from AutoEq database to your own EQ software as a starting point.

You can find the specs of your headphone online and calculate the power needed to drive them to the volumes you wish (just google "headphone power calculator"). The outer design of the Topping NX4 looks nice as does the physical knob, but it is an "older" product and costs $250. It also does not have a flat FR and has its own problems. If you are strictly interested in something for your phone/portability you will find a lot of the newer dongle headphone amps are actually quite powerful, much cheaper, and adequate for most common headphones.

Some portable suggestions:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/e1da-9038d-review-portable-dac-amp.21556/ (you would probably want the single-ended version of this which is the E1DA 9038S Gen 3)

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/hidizs-s9-review-headphone-adapter.21152/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...dizs-s8-usb-c-headphone-adapter-review.10823/ (has physical volume control)

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../ddhifi-tc44b-review-headphone-adapter.22623/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...hifi-pro-usb-c-phone-dongle-dac-review.10423/

As you are on android I would also look into USB Audio Player Pro if you have not tried it already (I can't remember if this plays well with wavelet, but it has its own EQ addon and also a morphit toneboosters addon which is a similar concept to AutoEQ).

 

[Oldasdrt]

A good amplifier does not affect "soundstage", and nor will a good dac. If the amplifier/dac is designed well and working properly, the only thing that should be of concern to you are its features and is if it has enough power to drive the headphones you want to the volumes you want. The illusion of soundstage comes from the content of the music itself (composition and how it's mixed/mastered), and the properties of the headphone driver/capsule, its frequency response, and its interaction with your pinna/ear canal.

If this is the sensation you are seeking you will probably be better off EQing your current headphones to something like the harman curve or consider buying new ones that are closer to said curve. Unfortunately, at least the 250 ohm variant of your headphones don't seem to measure that great based on the review here so I am not sure how EQ-able it is. On android, Wavelet is a good app for this which also incorporates AutoEq curves, but it doesn't seem like your particular headphone is added to the database. If the frequency response is similar to the 250 ohm version, you can try that preset, or you can just do manual eq/import a preset from AutoEq database to your own EQ software as a starting point.

You can find the specs of your headphone online and calculate the power needed to drive them to the volumes you wish (just google "headphone power calculator"). The outer design of the Topping NX4 looks nice as does the physical knob, but it is an "older" product and costs $250. It also does not have a flat FR and has its own problems. If you are strictly interested in something for your phone/portability you will find a lot of the newer dongle headphone amps are actually quite powerful, much cheaper, and adequate for most common headphones.

Some portable suggestions:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/e1da-9038d-review-portable-dac-amp.21556/ (you would probably want the single-ended version of this which is the E1DA 9038S Gen 3)

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/hidizs-s9-review-headphone-adapter.21152/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...dizs-s8-usb-c-headphone-adapter-review.10823/ (has physical volume control)

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../ddhifi-tc44b-review-headphone-adapter.22623/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...hifi-pro-usb-c-phone-dongle-dac-review.10423/

As you are on android I would also look into USB Audio Player Pro if you have not tried it already (I can't remember if this plays well with wavelet, but it has its own EQ addon and also a morphit toneboosters addon which is a similar concept to AutoEQ).

Thanks Alot,
I'll check these out,

 

[Asylum Seeker]

"Musicality", "spaciousness" in a DAC|Amp. Right

 

[Oldasdrt]

"Musicality", "spaciousness" in a DAC|Amp. Right

Are you liking your NX 4? BTR 5?
If you guys are saying there can't be any spaciousness in an amp, why do other reviewers mention it?
My DT 990s sound different from my VSX-D1S compared to my Onkyo receiver,
Speaking of which,my DT 990s sound fantastic,80 ohm,maybe the review of them here,he had a flawed one,no need for EQ on mine,I do use a bit of compression playing thru my computer with pulse effects though, Ubunto,mine are older, maybe burn in?
Anyway,please let me know how you like the Topping and the BTR 5, thanks,

 

[Asylum Seeker]

Are you liking your NX 4? BTR 5?
If you guys are saying there can't be any spaciousness in an amp, why do other reviewers mention it?
My DT 990s sound different from my VSX-D1S compared to my Onkyo receiver,
Speaking of which,my DT 990s sound fantastic,80 ohm,maybe the review of them here,he had a flawed one,no need for EQ on mine,I do use a bit of compression playing thru my computer with pulse effects though, Ubunto,mine are older, maybe burn in?
Anyway,please let me know how you like the Topping and the BTR 5, thanks,

For the same reason most people in this world believe in "god". Because they imagine things without regard for objective empirical evidence and an appreciation for the myriad biases that cloud and distort our judgment.

 

[raif71]

For the same reason most people in this world believe in "god". Because they imagine things without regard for objective empirical evidence and an appreciation for the myriad biases that cloud and distort our judgment.

Out of topic

 

[Veri]

Out of topic

Well. I believe in our Lord and saviour the Topping NX4 DSD.

 

[tomchr]

How do you define 'musicality'?

Tom

 

[raif71]

Well. I believe in our Lord and saviour the Topping NX4 DSD.

 

[threni]

Are you liking your NX 4? BTR 5?
If you guys are saying there can't be any spaciousness in an amp, why do other reviewers mention it?
My DT 990s sound different from my VSX-D1S compared to my Onkyo receiver,
Speaking of which,my DT 990s sound fantastic,80 ohm,maybe the review of them here,he had a flawed one,no need for EQ on mine,I do use a bit of compression playing thru my computer with pulse effects though, Ubunto,mine are older, maybe burn in?
Anyway,please let me know how you like the Topping and the BTR 5, thanks,

Other reviewers mention it because there is no qualification required to be a reviewer - just a keyboard and internet access. Like Twitter. Do you believe everything people say on Twitter? It must be true - they've typed it, right? If spaciousness has a meaning then define it. Then we can measure different amps and compare the spaciousness, yes? We can define phase, distortion etc. Why not spaciousness. You'd be suprised what horses*** you read on reviews of audio hardware on other sites. Plankton! What the hell is plankton? What's the definition? And how would you measure it? Get the whales in, right?
EQ is a personal choice. My HD660S sound fantastic but they sound loads better with EQ. And by "sounds better" I mean exactly that. They're not actually better - they're the same headphones, but I prefer the sound of them, and I'm largely basing my EQ on the Oratory figures, seasoned to taste. You yourself use compression, which is essentially EQ. People's taste is different, their hearing is different, their experience and expecations are different, so it follows that their choice (or not) of EQ would be different.

 

[Oldasdrt]

Other reviewers mention it because there is no qualification required to be a reviewer - just a keyboard and internet access. Like Twitter. Do you believe everything people say on Twitter? It must be true - they've typed it, right? If spaciousness has a meaning then define it. Then we can measure different amps and compare the spaciousness, yes? We can define phase, distortion etc. Why not spaciousness. You'd be suprised what horses*** you read on reviews of audio hardware on other sites. Plankton! What the hell is plankton? What's the definition? And how would you measure it? Get the whales in, right?
EQ is a personal choice. My HD660S sound fantastic but they sound loads better with EQ. And by "sounds better" I mean exactly that. They're not actually better - they're the same headphones, but I prefer the sound of them, and I'm largely basing my EQ on the Oratory figures, seasoned to taste. You yourself use compression, which is essentially EQ. People's taste is different, their hearing is different, their experience and expecations are different, so it follows that their choice (or not) of EQ would be different.

Well said,

 

[Oldasdrt]

How do you define 'musicality'?

Tom

I guess my definition would be spaciousness,in other words seeming to be out in front,and not just in your head,similar to the THX sounstage