TOPPING DX1 DAC & Headphone Amp

I got this little beauty to complement my Sennheiser HD560 headphones. The headphones are pretty good in their own right, but with the addition of this DAC they have entered the stratosphere of sonic delight. One great feature is the low/high gain switch on the back, meaning the Topping will power just about any set of cans. There are also standard RCA connectors, allowing you to use bypass the, most likely, inferior DACs in your blu ray player or laptop. If you're serious about hearing music in true high fidelity, you need a box of Chinese electronic magic, such as the Topping. It really is the tops!

Excellent little DAC Enough power to not need a seperate amp, volume control and high/low Was plug and play on my windows laptop I have a slightly complicated setup, using an akai mini as a DAW through the laptop using Ableton, however we are a mainly instrument band. So the Akai acts as a keyboard, Ableton lets us select the instrument, then it has to go out to the Tascam 12 channel to be recorded alongside the other instruments This lovely little DAC helps it all link up well Why did you choose this product over others?: Price was good, mind you I could have saved £12 the day later

Brilliant little dac/headphone amp. Drives my Sennheisser HD650 and HD800S with plenty of oomph.Powered by USB input and with lo-hi gain settings and fixed o/p to feed to a preamp. Sound is excellent, full, good bass and nice detail. A bargain imo.

The Topping DX1 punches way above its price. Housed in a compact, all-metal chassis with a smooth volume knob and dual headphone jacks, it feels premium despite its budget tag. Ease of use: For most systems, it’s pure plug-and-play. Windows users may need to install XMOS drivers for full ASIO support, and that process isn’t the most intuitive—but a quick search for “DX1 drivers” sorts it out. After that, it’s smooth sailing. Performance: Sound is clean, neutral, and detailed, with plenty of power for IEMs and most full-sized headphones—even classics like the HD600. It adds clarity, separation, and punch that onboard audio just can’t match, whether you’re gaming or listening critically. Value: At around £99, the DX1 is one of the easiest upgrades you can make to your audio setup. It’s built well, sounds excellent, and stays out of the way. Verdict: If you care about your audio but don’t want to overspend, the DX1 is a no-brainer—for gamers and audiophiles alike.

Seems a well built little unit and got it for £84 in the black Friday sale. Powered via the usb so no need for a separate power supply and will run fine from a smartphone/ipad - can't really tell any difference in sound if running from a laptop so smartphone is my preferred choice. Definitely makes a difference in sound quality - open sound stage and quite detailed.. Using a Marantz PM7001 Amp and B&W 865 S2 speakers being fed Amazon HD/UHD so only a modest system but very happy and a noticeable upgrade over the LDAC bluetooth Dac I was using.

Great value mixed DAC and amp. Works wonderfully with my Sennheisers.

Good build quality. Does what it says it does.

RECOMEND

Two months in, and I have this DAC + Amp combo paired with an Aune AR5000 as my headphones. I had a pretty decent sound system before with the audio interface my high end motherboard offered, but as I'm sure you know, in order to get the most out of higher end headphones with stricter ohm impedance and thus higher requirements to properly drive, you need to get an amp no matter what. Since my finances were somewhat limited at the time, I needed a budget option for an amp and a DAC. I'd already tried and returned so many models, but this one stands out as the holy grail somehow. I've already recommended it to a few friends, who all stand by the quality of this system. ==THE GOOD== The Topping DX1 is a beautiful, little device that is USB-powered, and supports both 6. 35mm and 3.5mm headphone output; I have tested both and they are of equal performance. The quality of the case looks professional, the system does not overheat, and the volume adjustment knob moves satisfyingly smooth. The AK4493S is a pretty good sound chip at the price range, and I can't complain. This is just a solid device all around that works as advertised, and downloading the drivers is a must. ==THE BAD== (!! Please read updated segment first !!) If you are using this DAC + Amp combo on a Windows platform, not only will you have to configure the device to disable the Windows "sound enhancement" and properly configure the audio frequency and fidelity, but you will need to accept the fact that some applications just do not register this device. The most common culprits are not the ones you'd expect. For example, in gaming, Fortnite does not recognize this device and will not play audio through it, while Marvel Rivals detects it just fine. For audio listening, Winamp, Audacity, and WACUP do not register this device, while Spotify and YouTube pick up the device just fine. I'm sure a simple driver update by Topping would fix this issue, and I sincerely hope they are willing to read this review, but until then, it is my one complaint. There is no reason why this device shouldn't work on every application, especially the ones specifically designed with music listening in mind. Would I recommend it? Yes, as long as you are willing to switch back and forth whenever you find an application that doesn't recognize it... a bit cumbersome. After Topping fixes the driver issue, this will be an amazing device. ==== Update (2025.05.25) Recently, a friend informed me about how to solve my issues. As it turns out, some applications (INCLUDING WinAmp) are finicky and either only support up to 24 bit depth (This device is 32 bit depth), or only transmit audio up to 192khz (Device is 384khz). This isn't Topping's fault, and just requires a simple change in your settings to adjust for the appropriate applications. I have now used this amp + DAC combo to drive three different open back headphones with varying ohm impedance, and it's been pretty stellar. For an entry level device, this is about as good as it gets, but you will obviously need something more powerful if your reference headphones are rated near or above 250 ohms. Updating my score to 5 stars to reflect this.

ASIOに対応しているのでDTMで使用しています。 出音は同価格帯のオーディオインターフェースより遥かに良いです。 録音しない人、持ち運びのサブ用途に、 ヘッドホンメインで使ってる人、 にはコスパが良くオススメです。

Der TOPPING DX1 hat viel mehr Beachtung verdient als bisher... Das Gerät ist relativ unbekannt, aber in gleich mehrfacher Hinsicht ein VOLLTREFFER. Leider sieht es mit der Lieferbarkeit in Deutschland schlecht aus; vermutlich auch der Grund für diese Missachtung. Der DX1 ist der kleine Bruder und ein Nachzügler in der DAC/KHV Reihe von TOPPING. Da TOPPING sich auf DACs und KHVs (Kopfhörerverstärker) meist getrennt spezialisiert hatte, fehlte noch die kleine und preiswerte KOMBO. Der DX1 ist bestens gelungen, was die REDUKTION auf das Wesentliche bei zugleich maximaler MUSIKALITÄT angeht. Die Technik-Füchse werden es wissen: es gibt eine kleine Rivalität zwischen AKM (Japan) und ESS (USA) um die Krone des besten DAC-Chip Herstellers, und sie geht, wie ich meine, an die Japaner. Ich bevorzuge AKM wegen der Musikalität, d.h. der Wärme, der räumlichen Tiefe und der Harmonie-Sicherheit, wie sie aus den besten Musikstücken ganz zweifelsfrei hervorgeht. - Aber es gibt auch dramatisch orientierte oder auch "techno-phile" Hörer, die sich leidenschaftlich für die ESS einsetzen. Das ist wie in der Politik: man kommt nicht leicht zusammen. Der DX1 hat alle 3 Stufen eines DAC/KHV gut im Griff. Der USB-Controller ist ein Chip von XMOS; der Wandler ein AK4499, von AKM; und die Ausgangsstufe sind Operationsverstärker von RiCore, mit der Typenbezeichnung RT6863. Die RiCore haben ebenfalls nicht den Ruf, den sie verdienen. Es ist ein exzellentes Bauteil, wenn man sie nicht mit Strom überfordert. Der Betrieb ist eingegrenzt auf IEMs (low gain) und niederohmige Kopfhörer (high gain), aber das ist kein Qualitätskriterium. Im Gegenteil: den richtigen Schallwandler vorausgesetzt, kann man hier ein kleines Wunder erleben. Man muss sich die Schlichtheit der Architektur nur einmal vor Augen führen, während man das Ergebnis abhört. Denken Sie wenigstens einmal darüber nach, wieviele tausend Euro Sie in eine Wohnzimmer-HiFi Anlage investieren müssten, um ein ähnlich bezauberndes Erlebnis zu bekommen. Den DX1 bekommen Sie für schlappe 100€. Das ist eine ganze Größenordnung, wenn nicht zwei... TOPPING hat also geschafft, worauf sich seit Jahren eine ganze Anzahl von Kleingeräte-Herstellern spezialisiert hat. Ein ästhetisches Musikerlebnis auf den Schreibtisch zu zaubern, das der unscheinbaren Rechenmaschine (Computer) ein Stück weit Glanz verleiht. Der Vertrieb dieses kleinen Wunders geschieht auf verschiedenen Wegen. Es gibt die internationalen Plattformen von LINSOUL und von SHENZHEN Audio, und natürlich AMAZON. Bei den Händlern auf AMAZON muss man acht geben, denn die meisten liefern von CHINA aus. Dauert natürlich gut 10 Tage. Der Vertrieb HIFI College macht es genauso, aber es gibt auch eine Anzahl von Geräten, die sofort lieferbar ist, innerhalb der EU. Der Kunde muss acht geben: welche Lieferzeiten werden angegeben?! Welche Standorte werden genannt?! - Bei unklaren Bedingungen gibt es eine Faustregel: unklar heißt immer China!! FAZIT: wer die Entwicklung in der Branche (Desktop-Geräte) verfolgt hat, wird dem DX1 eine besondere Bedeutung beimessen. Es ist ein kleiner Stromfresser, wohlgemerkt. Diese Eigenschaft macht es nötig, ein besonders hochwertiges USB-Kabel einzusetzen. Ich bevorzuge das Kabel von OTTERBOX. Das ist vielleicht das einzige Manko, das mir einfällt. Aber ich will es ausdrücklich erwähnen. Es wäre nämlich schade, wenn Sie den DX1 unter Wert einsetzen. Bitte, geben Sie dem kleinen Gerät ein gutes Kabel. Dann spielt es wie ausgewechselt in der Oberliga der DAC/KHV. Kaufempfehlung! Kaufempfehlung!

Non sono un audiofilo, e ho preso questo strumento per il mio pc da gaming. Detto ció l’articolo è ben fatto, solido, facile da usare e ben rifinito. L’audio mi sembra molto migliorato e non sto avendo problemi di alcun tipo Consigliato!

Great little dac/amp. comes in a very decent box, with a usb cable included. Build quality is pretty good, it feels very worth it. The volume knob feels good and smooth. all connections are good and over all it works as expected. i installed the driver and was good to go within a minute or 2. sound quality is good, i have been using my audio interface as a dac so sound quality wise i havent been able to detect any differences. not that i believe in that very much.. high quality is high quality. this little amp surely has the quality. it is build well and the design is also nice. i have been using it with Sennheiser hd650's these are 300 ohm headphones and they need an amp. This DX1 drives them nicely. Although, it can't get it super loud, as in.. You can turn up your music to a point where It's too loud to listen to... but you are then also nearly maxed out on volume. so with the hd650 you are on pretty high volume. not that its a problem. Any headphone with less impedance will do more than fine and surely can make you deaf if you want it to. The size is also great.. If you move around with your laptop and need a DAC/amp.. You can literally put this dx1 in your back pocket. Can recommend this thing :)