[DaOchin]

Unless they made a significant improvement I think that would be a mistake but I'm not Topping. It's one of my favorite things about the Dx7pro.

 

[povidlo]

No mention of op amps in the marketing material.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/top...-apos-on-august-23-2022.964283/#post-17068981

 

[xtiva]

Oh may be a discrete amp? hehehe

 

[DaOchin]

I still want to try the Sparko Discrete Op-amps in this.

 

[AgentXXL]

I haven't been able to catch up on this thread after some health issues sidelined me for a bit. Alas my DX7 Pro appears to have just died. Went to lower the volume using the front panel knob and it would only let me increase the volume. I thought it might be a glitch so I powered off and now it won't power back on. I've removed all cables and am leaving power disconnected overnight to bleed off residual charge from capacitors. I'm not very hopeful though as others have experienced the same issue and had to return their unit to China for repair.

If anyone has had the same issue and theirs repaired, can you advise what part(s) they changed? I'm suspecting the rotary encoder/push button unit itself might be the cause of the fault. I'm an electronics tech with 35+ years of experience so hopefully it's a part that I can buy and swap out myself. I was just getting ready to buy some replacement op amps but that's now on hold - no reason to buy them if the DX7 Pro isn't affordably repairable.

At least I kept my Fiio Q5s TC so it's now back in service feeding the A90 amp. Big sigh....

 

[CJG888]

Could the ribbon cable have detached itself from the back of the control panel? It’s the one you need to disconnect in order to open the unit up.

 

[AgentXXL]

Could the ribbon cable have detached itself from the back of the control panel? It’s the one you need to disconnect in order to open the unit up.

I've never opened mine and it's only been moved a couple times in the 16 months I've owned it. The last 'move' was about 6 weeks ago but it had been working fine up until today. I'll wait to hear back from Topping before I open it up, just in case they decide to cover it under warranty.

UPDATE: I went ahead and opened it to take a look and see if there was anything obvious like a burnt component or PCB trace. I found nothing obvious. I was able to confirm the switch/rotary encoder appears to be OK so it's something on the mainboard that's preventing it from powering up.

No response from Topping yet... my unit is out of warranty so I hope they can advise me on the cause and what parts are available to repair it. Since it's out of production (and no longer listed on their website other than in the Downloads section), maybe they'll be willing to supply schematics. We'll see... I truly hope it doesn't have to be sent back to China for repair.

 

[AgentXXL]

Anyone that has had their DX7 Pro repaired outside warranty, what approximate cost was the repair? I've been in a back-and-forth email exchange with Topping but they seem to disregard my questions about estimated maximum repair cost.

Like others, my DX7 Pro now refuses to turn on. Topping would only say that the MCU is one component that has failed for others with this issue, but also mentioned that other components have as well. I've asked them repeatedly for an estimated maximum cost for the repair but they refuse to answer that question - they just ignore it.

Also note that since my unit is out of warranty and the unit is now discontinued from production, I asked if they would sell me schematics. As expected they refused so I added them to my list of companies that don't support the 'Right to Repair' international movement.

I'm debating if I'll even get it repaired based on their poor responses, but also am not fond of looking for a replacement for it. I considered upgrading to a D90 but with Topping's poor service responses, I'm not that keen on buying another Topping product. Any current suggestions I should look at as a replacement?

I'm currently using my Fiio Q5s TC as the DAC, feeding my Topping A90 amp. It's a workable and enjoyable pairing, but I'd prefer another desktop DAC similar to the DX7 Pro.

UPDATE: Good news! Although Topping themselves are still wanting to charge me for the repairs (and not tell me what kind of charges to expect), I decided to contact the storefront I purchased mine from. Surprise! They cover the products sold by them for an additional year! So I'm now preparing the shipment to send back to Shenzhen Audio. Very pleased with their response time too... I was able to contact their support on Discord within 30 minutes vs the 1 - 2 day turnaround for emails to/from Topping. I can safely recommend purchasing from them if they carry the product(s) you're interested in.

 

[Kentajalli]

DX7 pro plus
https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/topping-dx7proplus/

 

[Kentajalli]

Recently I had the opportunity to try some Burson op-amps in my DX7 Pro.

The op-amps I tested were the V6 Classic Dual, and the V6 Vivid Dual. I also used a pair of the Burson Extension Legs, which made testing the 2 op-amps back to back an easy task. You will need the extension legs if you plan to upgrade to these op-amps, as they are too tall to fit inside the housing without them. I tested them in the headphone output stage only, with Sennheiser HD820 headphones.

Dismantling the housing is a fairly simple process of 6 screws on the underside and 2 at the rear. The motherboard will then slide out of the housing (after disconnecting a single ribbon cable connected to the front panel). After doing this, you can re-connect the front panel ribbon cable, to enable bench top testing with easy swap-out of the different op-amps via the extension legs. Otherwise, if you are upgrading without testing, it is a simple matter of connecting the extension legs and op-amps, then bending the extension legs so that the op-amps will clear the enclosure when it is slid back on. I will admit that this part was a little daunting for me, as I had seen many photos of these coming apart during the bending process. I needn’t have worried though. I found that pinching the wires near their mid-point and bending/twisting as required was the best way to do it without putting too much strain on the connections.

First up I tested the Classic op-amps. Immediately there was more detail across all frequencies, as well as an improved soundstage. Instruments were ‘de-cluttered’, with much better separation. Overall sound was slightly warmer than the stock op-amps in the DX7 Pro. Bass was deep, but appeared to have better detail. I thought to myself ‘I am keeping these!’

I then swapped the Classics out for the Vivid, and immediately there was a ‘sparkle’ to what i was listening to. They had all the benefits of the Classics, but treble became more pronounced, (at the slight cost of warmth), but i think this is exactly what is needed for the HD820, as they are a little warm to begin with. With the fantastic soundstage, this now gave an airiness to everything, with much more of the ‘just like being there’ feeling.

The DX7 Pro is an excellent DAC, but in my opinion has always been a little lacking on the amplifier stage. These op-amps go a long way to solving this, and making the DX7 Pro a more ‘complete’ DAC/Amp combo.

I will be keeping the Vivids, and look forward to many hours listening ahead

Not to jump on the bandwagon...

I was recently presented with the opportunity to test out any Burson Op-amp I chose and provide a review of my experience. After evaluating the options I decided to test the V6 Classics.
Impressions using the LCD-XC (2021), I tested both balanced and singled ended to compare if one provided a benefit over the other. To my ears the single ended output performed better, more detail, soundstage and punch from the drums so I stayed with that. Burson describes the Classics as more intimate but there is still plenty of space between the instruments and the imaging is superb. I would describe the sound as a bit more on the analytical side but still somewhat warm.

The new XC tuning is really good from the factory so I haven't used EQ much at all. Drums really shine, snare, toms, cymbals and bass kicks sound so immersive and when the recording separates the channels well it really adds another dimension to the sound. I've used my Elex, Ananda and Crystal 6 and I had baseline eqs set for all of them, I have been leaving the eqs disabled and honestly really been enjoying the different sounds of the headphones themselves. The flaws they have seem to stand out less or my hearing is going, either way the Classics make them all sound really good.

One of the few negatives is the form factor, the extensions are required to have any hope of closing the casing back up. As mentioned by others they are too tall to fit in the stock position unless maybe the front heat sink is changed and the plastic housing on the Opamps are removed. I have seen other posts about the flexible extension wiring failing but I have not been able to confirm this personally. Features of the sound signature have been relatively consistent across my headphones. Some may not like this but that's all down to personal preference. It could be said there is more coloring and it's not presenting the actual headphone sound signature. While eq is great it can be said there's a benefit to just sitting down and listening as well. I would like to try the Vivids to directly compare but that may have to wait a bit.

When I first purchased the Dx7Pro I was pleased but a little underwhelmed as perhaps I was expecting more from it. The Bursons are a great option for unlocking the performance that can be obtained from this DAC.

Burson Has kindly sent me a pair of V6-Vivid to test and write a review, using my DX7 pro.
All they required of me is to be honest and post the results on the net, which I shall do in due time.
To be fair on Burson, I shall create a new thread and post a link here, when I am done.
As well as original opamps in the DAC (I believe being LME49720) and the Bursons, I also found in my draw, some basic NE5532 's as well as Muses8820 and Muses8920.
So I shall make it a group test towards the end.
Currently I only have a slightly modified Hifiman Edition XS as headphones, but I have on order a pair of Audeze LCD-XC 2021, which should get to me in Nov. (long story).
So if anyone is interested, watch this space, coming soon.

 

[Tlen]

Very interested, i'm waiting for your testing to read.

Speaking of, while you're in contact with Burson, could you ask them
if they could do (eventually on custom ordering) a "bended" version of their OPAMP to fit directly into the DX7 with closed case (without furter extensions needed)?

That would be a big jump forward.

 

[Dartin Bout]

I have the DX7 Pro with Burson V6 Vivid in the preamp stage. The "Daddy Long Leg) extensions work fine but they are fragile. I don't use the HPA as it doesn't drive my Modhouse Argons or HD650 well enough. I have it on a Nobsound 3x3 XLR switch. One of the connections goes to the Topping A90, a perfect marriage. I also switch it into my main amp\speakers.

 

[AloLeg]

Hey guys, I've been following this thread for a while and I want to share my experience which is pretty fun IMO. First of all I tried the Burson V6 on both Headphone stage and DAC stage. Ngl I felt disapointed to hear no to REALLY subtle difference with the stock LMEs (even after 24h+ of burnin). But looking at this thread with ppl saying Sparkos 2590 are an even bigger step from burson, I wanted to try it myself. It shouldn't fit, but I thought I could make those fit somehow. First I tried it with sockets, it feels quite nice. As I know myself and I wouldn't turn back with LMEs, I tried to make those fit, the one on the right with 2 sockets barely fits and is not securely plugged. The second one was the most difficult by far : I thought I could just plug 2 extenders in a row, but it just wouldn't fit (the extremity where the socket is is too stiff and I broke 2 of them trying to bend them to their maximum). As I really didn't want to call this a day and leave my new op amps unused, I decided to make my own extender. I took 2 sockets, and soldered 8 wires. I was so desperate I didn't expect this to work, but my extender was in fact stronger than Burson ones. I managed to solder it 90° so I could make everything fit. And it works ! I closed the box and I'm listening to it right now. Conclusion : DON'T THINK YOU CAN FIT SPARKOS 2590 IN THE ORIGINAL CASE. Not that I find myself particularly good, but rather lucky, and actually it isn't worth the HIGH risk of breaking sockets, op amps or anything. I just put a picture of the final pre-assembly. As for the sound, I find it better now that theres some hours of burn in. The investment is not worth but I always was into this "get the most of your device" kind of thing. I ordered cheap class A opamps from ali express just because I wanted to have every socket in discrete but I won't even consider to re open the case, I'll just let it that way, I've done way too much already.

 

[Dartin Bout]

Hey guys, I've been following this thread for a while and I want to share my experience which is pretty fun IMO. First of all I tried the Burson V6 on both Headphone stage and DAC stage. Ngl I felt disapointed to hear no to REALLY subtle difference with the stock LMEs (even after 24h+ of burnin). But looking at this thread with ppl saying Sparkos 2590 are an even bigger step from burson, I wanted to try it myself. It shouldn't fit, but I thought I could make those fit somehow. First I tried it with sockets, it feels quite nice. As I know myself and I wouldn't turn back with LMEs, I tried to make those fit, the one on the right with 2 sockets barely fits and is not securely plugged. The second one was the most difficult by far : I thought I could just plug 2 extenders in a row, but it just wouldn't fit (the extremity where the socket is is too stiff and I broke 2 of them trying to bend them to their maximum). As I really didn't want to call this a day and leave my new op amps unused, I decided to make my own extender. I took 2 sockets, and soldered 8 wires. I was so desperate I didn't expect this to work, but my extender was in fact stronger than Burson ones. I managed to solder it 90° so I could make everything fit. And it works ! I closed the box and I'm listening to it right now. Conclusion : DON'T THINK YOU CAN FIT SPARKOS 2590 IN THE ORIGINAL CASE. Not that I find myself particularly good, but rather lucky, and actually it isn't worth the HIGH risk of breaking sockets, op amps or anything. I just put a picture of the final pre-assembly. As for the sound, I find it better now that theres some hours of burn in. The investment is not worth but I always was into this "get the most of your device" kind of thing. I ordered cheap class A opamps from ali express just because I wanted to have every socket in discrete but I won't even consider to re open the case, I'll just let it that way, I've done way too much already. (I don't know how to upload picture dumb me)

I am running V6 Vivds in the DX7 Pro in the pre circuit and I like it. The Burson extender legs are fragile as a daddy long legs with rickets. I tried filling out an Asus Essence II Strix 7.1 card with the Burson V6 using the extenders. What a nightmare!. I have a set of Sparkos that I was planning to slap in the DX7 Pro. I have been warned. I also have a set Burson V6 Classics that I might try. I do like the opamps in the pre-pro

 

[AloLeg]

I am running V6 Vivds in the DX7 Pro in the pre circuit and I like it. The Burson extender legs are fragile as a daddy long legs with rickets. I tried filling out an Asus Essence II Strix 7.1 card with the Burson V6 using the extenders. What a nightmare!. I have a set of Sparkos that I was planning to slap in the DX7 Pro. I have been warned. I also have a set Burson V6 Classics that I might try. I do like the opamps in the pre-pro

I was talking about SS2590. Those are the big pro version. But if you have the 3602 this is even a better fit than burson it appears, you shouldn't have any problem with them