[DBaldock9]

After weighing the pros and cons of 1) Buying a new phone (Samsung S7, LG V20, etc.) as a Transport, and buying a quality Portable DAC/Amp; and 2) Buying a quality DAP with a good internal Amp, and keeping current phone (using it as a WiFi Hotspot for Streaming Radio channels) - - - I decided to order an Onkyo DP-X1. I'm also ordering a couple of "Balanced 2.5mm to MMCX" cables for my earphones.
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Looking forward to seeing and hearing the DP-X1.
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Take Care,
David Baldock

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Sujay Rao]

Update and possible bug report:

Been a long time since I posted my Unbox impressions of DP-X1.
Been listening to it a lot. Gotta say it's been absolutely wonderful. Here are some updates.
There might be a bug in the FW. I have a huge number of files on two 128 gb cards. The odd file won't play. Incomplete transfer or corrupted maybe. The thing is, every time this happens, I would find the volume on the next song would be low. The strip on top would show the Line Out legend. But, I would go to "Sound Notifications" and find the "Fixed Line Out" switch turned off. This has happened about 20 times now. The one constant trigger seems to be a non playing file.
Twice this has happened on recharging from very low battery (not complete drainage). Needs fixing.

Otherwise, flawless functioning. Very fast responses. No lags. No working snags. Absolutely love the really big screen. Touch may be a bit too responsive! Reads scrolling actions as taps too often to be coincidental. Google Play Music will occasionally quit by itself. Easy to forgive considering it's working through a really huge load. Nice extensively cross navigable menu, all featuring album artwork. Visually and ergonomically very pleasing.

Intolerant to poor quality recordings. Re-masters of vintage music (old Blues greats, for eg ) sound impressive.

I think it is, by nature, quite neutral and faithful in its rendition of anything you feed it. Doesn't tolerate bright headphones much. I got a pair of Samson 850 cans (open, dynamic. 32 ohms. Unbelievably low cost, but equally hard to believe performance. No A-lister, but well reviewed by many. Tends to bright). Sound a bit shrill in the highs and definitely anemic on bass. AKG K7XX sounds fuller. Closed cans come through with a lot of body. Bass addicts should use the very effective EQ and pair carefully with punchier cans.

Overall, just loving it. There may be more expensive DAPs out there that might sound better. I imagine the margins would be wafer thin and mostly subjective. If I lost my DP-X1, I would buy one again!

 

[rcl5555]

I think it is very odd and disappointing that this unit down samples DSD files.  The DACs in the unit are capable of playing DSD files and the issue appears to be a software issue that results from Onkyo using the Android operating system sound drivers.  Since it is possible to hook up an external DAC and have the unit output DSD to be natively converted to audio by the external DAC, it should have been possible to have the internal DACs natively convert the DSD files.  One way of doing this would be to have the unit treat the internal DACs the same way it treats the external DAC (perhaps by hooking the internal DACs up to the USB output).  Another way would be by bypassing the Android sound system and writing drivers specific to the internal DACs. The Calyx M apparently does this because it is an Android based devise that claims the have native DSD capability.
 
If Onkyo fixed this problem, it would have one of the best DAPs in its price range.  I really like the unit, but I would like it a lot more if it natively played DSD files.  After all its big selling point is that it has two DACS.  It should use them when playing DSD files, not down converting in software. 

 

[Sujay Rao]

Right you are. Like running your marquee super car on kerosene
Onkyo doesn't seem to communicate much. No reason a FW upgrade shouldn't fix this.

 

[bettyn]

   
The pioneer is $100 cheaper because the onkyo has double the memory and some chemi-con component upgrade for better sound, other than that identical. But screw that I'm getting a Sony NW-WM1A.

Same here. My issue with the Onkyo is the lousy battery. None of my other devices have to be charged after 2-3 hours of play. That's just ridiculous. Too bad because the sound on the DP-X1 is great.

 

[lochinvar]

I really would love to have a DAP that you can easily open to change the battery. All of the DAPs nowadays become a very expensive paperweight after the lifetime of its batteries.

 

[singleended58]

Same here. My issue with the Onkyo is the lousy battery. None of my other devices have to be charged after 2-3 hours of play. That's just ridiculous. Too bad because the sound on the DP-X1 is great.

I listened to my DP-X1 overnight (mostly 4-5 hours) but its battery still has juice in 2-3 days. Turn off the wifi is best solution of battery drainage since my musics have been streaming to use offline.

 

[FidelityCastro]

 

The pioneer is $100 cheaper because the onkyo has double the memory and some chemi-con component upgrade for better sound, other than that identical. But screw that I'm getting a Sony NW-WM1A.

Same here. My issue with the Onkyo is the lousy battery. None of my other devices have to be charged after 2-3 hours of play. That's just ridiculous. Too bad because the sound on the DP-X1 is great.

Have to agree with you. Battery life not great. I've tried to turn off things that run in the background, and find its better to power off completely if I won't be using it for a few hours, rather that just a single press to turn off the screen. But last night I was listening to Tidal tracks over wifi while downloading a few Tidal albums for offline listening, and the battery dropped very quickly, even in airplane mode. Also agree on the sound though, especially balanced.
I'm thinking about switching to AK70 when they get Tidal done (apparently end of this month on the AK70 and AK3XX models).

 

[Layman1]

  Same here. My issue with the Onkyo is the lousy battery. None of my other devices have to be charged after 2-3 hours of play. That's just ridiculous. Too bad because the sound on the DP-X1 is great.

Have Onkyo mentioned anything about improving the battery life in the new model (DP-X1a)?
 
I haven't been on this thread in a while (but followed it religiously for the first 500 pages or so).
Also, would I be right in guessing that the people reporting short battery times are those using wifi and streaming?
Or even with those switched off, it's still less than 5-8 hours?

 

[berzerk428]

can anyone here that has used the acrylic fix on their DP-X1 tell me what they have used to apply it? Is a toothpick the right size to get it in between the socket and the frame? I've just ordered my DP-X1 from e-earphone.jp and there is a good chance it will be from a newer batch where they optimized the headphone jack but I will do the acrylic fix anyway just to be sure.

 

[howdy]

can anyone here that has used the acrylic fix on their DP-X1 tell me what they have used to apply it? Is a toothpick the right size to get it in between the socket and the frame? I've just ordered my DP-X1 from e-earphone.jp and there is a good chance it will be from a newer batch where they optimized the headphone jack but I will do the acrylic fix anyway just to be sure.

I used a toothpick to apply it but, I used epoxy.

 

[ambrose1985]

has anyone returned their set to onkyo for rma due to socket loose issues ? how long does it take for onkyo to return you the set ?

 

[fordski]

can anyone here that has used the acrylic fix on their DP-X1 tell me what they have used to apply it? Is a toothpick the right size to get it in between the socket and the frame? I've just ordered my DP-X1 from e-earphone.jp and there is a good chance it will be from a newer batch where they optimized the headphone jack but I will do the acrylic fix anyway just to be sure.

I used a thin piece of hard plastic cut to a small point. I found a piece that fit perfectly in the gap and it worked perfectly. I used JB Weld and it's not even noticeable. Was quite pleased with the result.

 

[berzerk428]

I used a toothpick to apply it but, I used epoxy.

I used a thin piece of hard plastic cut to a small point. I found a piece that fit perfectly in the gap and it worked perfectly. I used JB Weld and it's not even noticeable. Was quite pleased with the result.

thanks guys, I will do it the same way you 2 did it then/use the same tools to apply it. I wana make sure this turns out clean. I will be using a 2 component epoxy because it is easy to get where I live, I was also thinking about JB weld which appears to be very similar to using an epoxy but it looked a bit thicker than the epoxy and it's not clear so I figured I'd go for epoxy but I would be fine using either one.

 

[OneL0ve]

I will be ordering a DP-X1a from Amazon jp soon and will compare to my DP-X1(b)