Review and Measurements of Topping NX4 DSD Dac and Portable Headphone Amplifier

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

I'm not sure what Amazon has to do with Massdrop ?
My D10 certainly didn't come from China, or if it did it went to the USA first and then to Germany and then to Australia (if it had come directly from ChinA it would have been very fast indeed, much closer)
Perhaps they thought I was in Austria at first

 

[Wombat]

I'm not sure what Amazon has to do with Massdrop ?
My D10 certainly didn't come from China, or if it did it went to the USA first and then to Germany and then to Australia (if it had come directly from ChinA it would have been very fast indeed, much closer)
Perhaps they thought I was in Austria at first

That Austria mistake happens.

 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

That Austria mistake happens.

There’s an “l” of a difference between Australia and Austria

 

[Rod]

Thanks amirm for the testing, ordered one. Been thinking about something to go with my phone or ipad and tidal for awhile.

 

[Rod]

Sounds great with the DT-770's. No problem with Moto G4. Had to change to audio source in developers settings was all that was needed. My Hifimans HE-400i's started to get a rattle in the right driver so I have to send them back for replacement/repair so I cant test it with them yet. Ebay had a 15% off sale though so I have a pair of Meze 99 classics coming to test with it next.

 

[amirm]

Thanks for the update. Glad to read that it is doing well.

 

[Rod]

Thanks for the update. Glad to read that it is doing well.

I just put on the HE-560. Enough power for them too, they can get uncomfortably loud and still sound OK. Thanks, Amirm.

 

[Rod]

I just put on the HE-560. Enough power for them too, they can get uncomfortably loud and still sound OK. Thanks, Amirm.

Just picked up a used LG V20 for cheap so that I can get the 28 hours using the amp on the Topping. Hope the combo of the Topping and LG works well.

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

Just picked up a used LG V20 for cheap so that I can get the 28 hours using the amp on the Topping. Hope the combo of the Topping and LG works well.

Try the V20 first directly before trying the amp.

 

[Rod]

Ok will do.

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

Ok will do.

I use a V20 as a DAP. The amp has a high power mode for phones over 50ohms.

 

[Rod]

I use a V20 as a DAP. The amp has a high power mode for phones over 50ohms.

Unfortunately, all my headphones are under 50 ohm except for dt-770 80 ohm. There is a way to root it though and change a sound config. file for always on high power. Or another way to do it is to fool it so it starts in high power mode by plugging a jack extension cord that isn't hooked to headphones(infinite ohms) then plugging the headphones into the extension jack. Like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/DTECH-3-5m...751695?hash=item1c773fc30f:g:OpoAAOSwAOdbNyCu. At least that is what I am reading, will find out when it gets here.

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

Unfortunately, all my headphones are under 50 ohm except for dt-770 80 ohm. There is a way to root it though and change a sound config. file for always on high power. Or another way to do it is to fool it so it starts in high power mode by plugging a jack extension cord that isn't hooked to headphones(infinite ohms) then plugging the headphones into the extension jack. Like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/DTECH-3-5m...751695?hash=item1c773fc30f:g:OpoAAOSwAOdbNyCu. At least that is what I am reading, will find out when it gets here.

Yes, plug in a short extension cord and the 50-ohm adapter. Start the music then unplug the adapter and plug phones into the extension. As long as the extension is plugged in, the phone will stay in high power mode.

 

[restorer-john]

Let me make a confession before giving you my conclusion: people accuse me so much of being in Topping's pocket based on good reviews I have given them that I secretly wish that some of their products don't do well so that I can say that and get out of jail!!! Alas, that opportunity is not here yet.

With respect, I'm going to call you on a few things in this review:

We see nice output level of 2 volts but with slight channel imbalance. Distortion is very low. SINAD which is the inverse of that, shows distortion and noise free dynamic range of 104 dB, well in excess of what we need for CD playback (93 dB with dither).

Distortion is very low, but you must be still using a 24 bit, 44.1K signal from the AP as the THD is below the theoretical lower limit for 16bit? (0.0015% or so).

Saying it is 'well in excess of what we need for CD playback' and comparing the two is a little misleading as CD is 16 bit, 44.1KHz.

Considering if you are using a 24/44.1 or even a 16/44 signal (from the AP), the tested S/N is pretty poor actually, and based on the Topping specs, the test unit doesn't remotely meet its spec on residual noise. Using your numbers, the residual noise comes in at around 11.8uV vs a rated spec of 3.5uV (low level settings). Over three times worse than rated spec. Consider also your test is not even wideband, you are filtering above 22.4K (on the AP) and these Topping D/As are only going to get worse figures and considerably noisier above 44.1fS.

Basically, if I read your settings correctly, you are testing a DSD capable D/A at its lowest sampling rate, bandwidth limiting the FFT and feeding it a nice clean 24 bit signal. It should be achieving considerably better S/N than it does, after all, we had 16 bit CD players back in the late 1980s that hit 117dB S/N on actual tests- ie, residual noise under 2.8uV. (and that is without 0 level/LSB muting)

Let's see what it actually does on a 16/44 signal, a 24/96 and 24/192 as I don't reckon anyone has files or musical content at 24/44. And if I have misinterpreted your results, I apologize.

 

[maxxevv]

Yes, plug in a short extension cord and the 50-ohm adapter. Start the music then unplug the adapter and plug phones into the extension. As long as the extension is plugged in, the phone will stay in high power mode.

With the extension, there is no need for an additional 50 Ohm load.
The sequence will trigger the 'external device' mode on the LG V20. It will provide an additional 30~40% headroom in volume loudness.

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

With the extension, there is no need for an additional 50 Ohm load.
The sequence will trigger the 'external device' mode on the LG V20. It will provide an additional 30~40% headroom in volume loudness.

It did not, at least with my V20. I needed the higher impedance for it to work. Do you have a V20 also? Did you have a different result?

 

[Rod]

Well the MEZE 99 classics came in. They sound better than the DT-770s and dont need much power to drive them. Enough headphones for now though as the wife is starting to notice. Hard to hide them and there boxes. I have tried, trust me. She always finds them.

 

[maxxevv]

It did not, at least with my V20. I needed the higher impedance for it to work. Do you have a V20 also? Did you have a different result?

I have tested the sequence on a V20 and G6 Quad. The guys over at Head-Fi have tested it on the V30 as well.

They all work the same.

 

[Rod]

I admit I was confused myself, some threads mentioned a 50 ohm load, some said just the jack extender was enough to fool the device.

Well the MEZE 99 classics came in. They sound better than the DT-770s and dont need much power to drive them. Enough headphones for now though as the wife is starting to notice. Hard to hide them and there boxes. I have tried, trust me. She always finds them.

I know that there is some controversy with using the Sonarworks program. But with the Meze it really helps. There bloated in the bass and frankly dont sound very good to me because of that without Sonarworks. With Sonarworks running it still sounds like to much bass(I like neutral bass and some headphones really push the bass) but then I use the bass eq(tone control) on the RME dac and cut it down some more until they sound neutral to my ears. After all that they sound really good, I would of been returning them without EQ.

 

[csricharan]

i recently woke up to the realisation of the need for a DAC (especially for use with a stereo music system setup to which i want to hook up both a laptop and occasionally an android phone). so i started looking around and one thing led to another and the Topping NX4 DSD came into my radar. Yours was probably the only in-depth review of it that i found in my searches. So a very big thanks! i really want to buy one but the trouble of shipping it to china should the need every arise during its warranty period is giving me second thoughts. on looking further, the Fiio Q1 Mk2 seemed to be a good alternative as they have their sales and service setup in India. amirm, do you or any of the other members here, have any idea how it compares with the Topping NX4?