Topping NX7 announced

[tifune]

Aeon Noires and they really need that power. My BTR5 works fine but a dongle would be more practical sometimes because I don’t have to charge it and can use it wired. The BTR5 has some problems when using it wired like losing connection

Qudelix balanced can do it for most people. The other nice thing about Qudelix is it's so small you can augment with NX7 (or beyond) if needed without it really disrupting your pocket's real estate. If LDAC's finicky nature bothers you, as it does me, iFi's go bar looks promising. But, as far as planars go, until I see a 16ohm power spec i'd probably hold off. Otherwise I'm a big fan of E1DA products, although both of mine failed and it's so much $ to ship them back from USA to HifiGo for warranty repair that it really wasn't worth the hassle *for me* (others may be feel very differently)

 

[juliangst]

Qudelix balanced can do it for most people. The other nice thing about Qudelix is it's so small you can augment with NX7 (or beyond) if needed without it really disrupting your pocket's real estate. If LDAC's finicky nature bothers you, as it does me, iFi's go bar looks promising. But, as far as planars go, until I see a 16ohm power spec i'd probably hold off. Otherwise I'm a big fan of E1DA products, although both of mine failed and it's so much $ to ship them back from USA to HifiGo for warranty repair that it really wasn't worth the hassle *for me* (others may be feel very differently)

I'm using an iPhone so I can only use the AAC codec for bluetooth transmission, so a small dongle would make things easier for me. I tried to use my apple dongle with the NX7 but because it's the EU version it only has about 0.5V output which is too low for the NX7. The new Fiio KA1 looks interesting but there aren't many reviews out yet. The bigger Fiio KA3 might be too impractical though because it's basically the size of my BTR5 and I don't want that thing hanging between my phone and NX7.

 

[tifune]

I'm using an iPhone so I can only use the AAC codec for bluetooth transmission, so a small dongle would make things easier for me. I tried to use my apple dongle with the NX7 but because it's the EU version it only has about 0.5V output which is too low for the NX7. The new Fiio KA1 looks interesting but there aren't many reviews out yet. The bigger Fiio KA3 might be too impractical though because it's basically the size of my BTR5 and I don't want that thing hanging between my phone and NX7.

I had a few dongles laying around, so I've been switching between them just to see what results I get. Audibly, about no difference as one may expect. Between my S10+'s 1/8" out, Meizu Hifi, and iBasso DC03 I've settled on the Meizu simply because the size is about the same as a 1/8" cable so it's, in a way, seamless. For the Noire, it's very possible you can get away with nothing more than a E1DA 9038S. iFi Go Bar looks promising but at almost 3x the price.

 

[juliangst]

I had a few dongles laying around, so I've been switching between them just to see what results I get. Audibly, about no difference as one may expect. Between my S10+'s 1/8" out, Meizu Hifi, and iBasso DC03 I've settled on the Meizu simply because the size is about the same as a 1/8" cable so it's, in a way, seamless. For the Noire, it's very possible you can get away with nothing more than a E1DA 9038S. iFi Go Bar looks promising but at almost 3x the price.

Not sure how good the E1DA will work with an iPhone but any dongle with 2V (or at least 1.5V) output will do fine for me

 

[staticV3]

Works fine with an iPhone, as long as you have a suitable Lightning to Type-C adapter

 

[juliangst]

Works fine with an iPhone, as long as you have a suitable Lightning to Type-C adapter

I would prefer something smaller like the DDhifi stuff, but they don’t state any specs except power at 30 ohms. It’ll probably be around 1V I guess but I would really want to know if any of those small dacs have 1.5V or more

 

[staticV3]

most do, actually.

 

[juliangst]

I got the Audirect Atom Mini now which has 2V output and it sounds pretty clean to me. Only problem is that it's pretty unusable because it never turns on. After restarting the phone it will eventually turn on but not all the time.
When it once works and I unplug it, it most certainly won't work the next time I plug it in, so I have to restart my phone again and hope that it will work this time.
A user on reddit said the same about his unit and we don't know of any fix yet.
It is neither caused by inital volume, current playback, sample rate or anything I could find. The user on reddit had an iPhone 8 and I'm using an iPhone 13 mini so it's probably not the phone either. Might be iOS version but I won't downgrade my iPhone just to check. I contacted Shenzhenaudio and waiting for a response.

 

[Phoney]

I'm using this to power a digital piano. Only issue is that I believe the piano will not give this the full output power, due to the weak built in amp in the piano (Roland FP-30X). Unfortunately theres no specs for the headphone output of the piano, but it can't even power the DT770 Pro (80 ohm) properly. I do get enough volume with my DT770 Pro (80 ohm) at high gain (half the pot used), but is there any sonic benefit to go with the NX3 instead, which probably require less voltage? Or am I fine as long as I get enough volume from the NX7?

Another question, it's fine to use 3A charging for the NX7? I know it might be an issue with the Qudelix 5K, hence why I ask.

 

[staticV3]

Only issue is that I believe the piano will not give this the full output power, due to the weak built in amp in the piano

The NX7 requires 1.4Vrms input voltage to reach full output voltage in high gain.
You can try measuring your piano's output voltage youself by playing B1 (61.74Hz) with full sustain and measuring the RMS voltage on the outputs using a cheap multimeter and a 1/4" DIY plug like the Neutrik NP3X.
Perhaps the Line out on the back has higher voltage than the headphone out on the front, or vice versa.

but is there any sonic benefit to go with the NX3 instead

Definitely not. The NX3S has much lower gain than the NX7, so will sound even more quiet.

Another question, it's fine to use 3A charging for the NX7? I know it might be an issue with the Qudelix 5K, hence why I ask.

The device that's being charged controls the charging current, so even a 5V 10A charger would be safe to use.

 

[Phoney]

The NX7 requires 1.4Vrms input voltage to reach full output voltage in high gain.
You can try measuring your piano's output voltage youself by playing B1 (61.74Hz) with full sustain and measuring the RMS voltage on the outputs using a cheap multimeter and a 1/4" DIY plug like the Neutrik NP3X.
Perhaps the Line out on the back has higher voltage than the headphone out on the front, or vice versa.

Definitely not. The NX3S has much lower gain than the NX7, so will sound even more quiet.


The device that's being charged controls the charging current, so even a 5V 10A charger would be safe to use.

Thank you. If I use the Qudelix to feed the amp, it will not be a problem considering it's 2v? Only if I crank the volume to max on both?

The only output on the back for external sound is L and R for speakers.

 

[juliangst]

Thank you. If I use the Qudelix to feed the amp, it will not be a problem considering it's 2v? Only if I crank the volume to max on both?

The only output on the back for external sound is L and R for speakers.

View attachment 224401

I would just use the output of the piano. Using Bluetooth might add to much delay. If you want the best possible sound quality out of the keyboard you have to use a VST and control everything from your PC.
I personally don't care much about sound quality when I'm practicing.
You can just use a left and right TS mono cable to 3.5mm and connect it to the topping

 

[Phoney]

I would just use the output of the piano. Using Bluetooth might add to much delay. If you want the best possible sound quality out of the keyboard you have to use a VST and control everything from your PC.
I personally don't care much about sound quality when I'm practicing.
You can just use a left and right TS mono cable to 3.5mm and connect it to the topping

I agree, sound is more than good enough using the NX7 out of the headphone output with the beyers. I was just a bit puzzled that I needed to use high gain with a headphone like the DT770 Pro. Has to be due to the output of the piano, but in high gain everything is good. I was planning to try some of my more power hungry headphones with the piano through the NX7 for giggles, but I have less faith in it now due to this. Might try tomorrow.

 

[Phoney]

How much power will I be able to output using the Qudelix with a 3.5mm to 3.5mm into the NX7? I'm assuming I can just use high gain and get 2 VRMS from it. Is that enough to power the NX7 fully? Specs for the NX7:

 

[juliangst]

How much power will I be able to output using the Qudelix with a 3.5mm to 3.5mm into the NX7? I'm assuming I can just use high gain and get 2 VRMS from it. Is that enough to power the NX7 fully? Specs for the NX7:

View attachment 290927

The specs already answer it. You’ll reach full output with 1.5V when using the topping in high gain

 

[Phoney]

The specs already answer it. You’ll reach full output with 1.5V when using the topping in high gain

But I need 13V to reach full output in low gain? That is what confused me. Does it mean that I can reach maximum volume at low gain too, but that will require a lot more voltage?

Edit: I read back the thread and apparently it's about maximum voltage for each gain. Does that mean that I shouldn't use Qudelix in high gain with the NX7 also in high gain, because it will overload? Or is that only a risk at the higher volumes?

 

[juliangst]

But I need 13V to reach full output in low gain? That is what confused me. Does it mean that I can reach maximum volume at low gain too, but that will require a lot more voltage? Edit, I read back the thread and apparently it's about maximum voltage for each gain. Does that mean that I shouldn't use Qudelix in high gain with the NX7 also in high gain, because it will overload? Or is that only a risk at the higher volumes?

That's the entire point of low gain. You cannot reach the full output with a low voltage source on a low gain device.
This is very useful if you have sensitive IEMs and want to use the entire range of the volume pot without risking destroying your IEMs and ears.

And yes, technically you would need high voltage source for a low gain device to get to the same output as with a low voltage source on a high gain device.

 

[Klingsor]

It's OPA1612 (1pc) + BUF634A (4pcs) powered up by TPS65131

Is this composite amp compensated? Without compensation it starts to oscillate with only 200 pF (see here).

 

[feconicu]

Is this still worth a purchase today? Or are there newer released devices (without a dac|) with balanced output?

 

[staticV3]

Is this still worth a purchase today?

I'd say so.