Topping DX7Pro+ All-In-One DAC/Headphone Amp Review & Comparisons w/ EF400, SMSL & Schiit Stacks

Thanks to Apos Audio for the loan of Topping DX7Pro+! Apos has made no attempt to influence my opinion on this piece. All thoughts opinions are my own.

Other Apos Audio links for mentioned gear (all affiliate links)

My Reviews of Other Gear Mentioned in Video:

Timestamps...

00:00 Intro & Disclaimers
01:26 About the DX7Pro+
03:23 Features & Build
08:31 A Functionality Quirk
10:02 Sound: Bottom Line
10:52 Objective Performance
11:31 Subjective Performance
17:30 Matching to Headphones
21:14 Comparisons Intro, Setup, Methods
24:44 vs HiFiMan EF400
27:42 vs SMSL SU-9n & SH-9
30:50 vs Schiit Modius & Asgard 3
33:38 vs Schiit Modius & Lake People G111
34:23 Conclusion

[Starsunder]

Bought a EF400 based on this channels review and no lie, it blew me away and continues to do so. such a marvel of a unit. I'm using it to power my Arya V2's and i cant see myself upgrading from this unit unless i snag some truly endgame headphones.

[dasninjastix]

EF400 is a surprisingly excellent unit for sound given the price though obviously feature limited and use case dependent. I've only just started using the balanced output because it was just too much volume gain for my headphone collection to be able to safely use the volume knob. Had to constantly feather it. I'm using iFi's IEMatch adapters (have both the SE and balanced variants) to better control how much volume play I'm afforded. Really see no reason to consider upgrading from the EF400 at this point provided I stay with mostly easy to drive mid-fi gear. I was speaking to Lachlan from Passion for Sound and I think we agree that lower impedance headphones (generally speaking) really seem to do well on it. It has significantly elevated the sound of my Campfire Cascades and Meze Neo, the latter of which I was just going to sell but they sound fantastic on the balanced output. Definitely one of the better price-to-performance units out there provided USB is all you need.

[JTB--]

It's crazy how much audio gear Topping and SMSL pump out. Hard to keep track of it all. I'm Loving the EF400 btw

[deltak]

Great review, lot's of good information. You went all out to cover a wide wide field of products and combos in the comparisons - Kudos!
I could be in the market for an all-in-one for a different spot in the house so I was particularly interested in the DX7Pro+ and EF400.

[BatteryAzz]

Hi WT, any chance you'll be reviewing the Topping L70? The E70/L70 stack is supposed to be a tad warmer.

[olimphus]

EF400 stomps right now. I’m gonna shill for that unit for the rest of the year.

[jamesbailey]

Hello, could you please help me. I was about to go and buy a DX7 pro+ to uses with IEM’s for gaming. But I see you said that the spatial presentation isn’t as good as some of the others. My question is which DAC AMP combo or stack would be best to hear footsteps in FPS shooter games (warzone) and at similar price point the DX7 pro+.

[hdsarma]

Its not true balanced, its XLR single ended, same with DX5, topping confirmed it somewhere.

[Male_Parent]

So what I'm hearing is get a dedicated AMP if you're running hard to drive headphones, and keep the topping as a good, feature full, DAC. At that point it might be better to get one of there flagship only DAC's like the D90.

[hireality]

WaveTheory, I can clearly conclude, after years of observing many headphone “reviewers” here, that you are on a whole another level when it comes to reviewing headphone-based systems. Also, your evaluation is definitely more valuable and insightful than those of so-called pure “scientific / objectivist reviewers”.
Keep up the great work. Your channel deserves much more subscribers 👍

[zzezzobike]

Finally someone with real audiophile ears. It's exactly what I heard with those popular Chinese products.
I support you for your opinion.

[fahryst]

I don't think topping and smsl would appreciate to be called sister companies.

[ncokicsi]

Im thinking about modius + topping d90

[AQUPAS]

Have you tried this unit while using the Optical Input? If so have you experienced any audio dropouts? Thx.

[SimpleMailWork]

I have EF400 and Fiio k9 pro. The EF400 is the best, magic sound! You can get rid of all the rest of your dacs.

[AtamanTube]

I don't care about Topping products but I challenge you, or any other flat-earther like you who speaks out of their ass really, to define and explain how a DAC "loses resolution when music gets busier". It is not always a good idea to say it out loud just because it makes sense in your head.

[JalenF]

It’s a tough buy. The DX7 Pro + is a feature-packed Dac/Amp, but the inability to drive headphones I plan on getting kind of takes it off the list for me. Maybe I could get a used one and resell it when I decide to buy some Hifiman products.

[TC-bzsm]

Thanks for the great review, which is much more straight forward than a lot of ‘subtle’ comparisons !
I’m new torn between EF400 and the Shiit stack. If I only listen from iphone (AAC files) which one should I get ?

[kanz]

is the EF400 a good pairing the Dan Clark Audio Aeon Noires?

[hcho]

I think Topping is going to revise this product, based on your review. And I wonder if Topping will use what Chord has used without copying of course to tailor the sound using dsp.