[sharpi31]

Good work, glad I could help mate. Do you notice a difference? Keen for someone to compare a modded NX1S with an NX3....

 

[skajohyros]

Bass has definitely improved. Don't have a nx3 to compare but I am working on a starving student tube amp.

 

[RyanM]

I received the Topping NX1s a few days ago, and I’ve been trying it out with various IEM’s and earbuds. I’m not a headphone guy so I can’t speak to that. I will say that it seems to pair very well with earphones that are a tad brighter, for example the shows the Shozy Hibiki sounds pretty amazing with it. However I don’t necessarily find that the Zen 2 synergizes quite as well. The Zen sounds much much better with the Topping NX2. With this in mind, the NX2 is cooler sounding and the NX1s is pretty warm IMHO. I’m using an iPod Classic and iphone SE as sources here. Regardless, both these little amps represent incredible value at around 35-40 USD - wow. The bass boost and gain settings are a nice plus for the NX1s, but if you’re looking to pair with a set of warm IEM’, you may prefer the NX2. Cheers.

 

[bsoplinger]

I've been playing with this for driving my Fostex TH-X00 purpleheart instead of the Xduoo XD-05. I saw reference to uncoupling the capacitors. Found the explanation here. Sounds completely reversible as long as I just bridge the capacitor legs but don't actually cut them. Am I correct?

 

[skajohyros]

I've been playing with this for driving my Fostex TH-X00 purpleheart instead of the Xduoo XD-05. I saw reference to uncoupling the capacitors. Found the explanation here. Sounds completely reversible as long as I just bridge the capacitor legs but don't actually cut them. Am I correct?

Yes.

 

[bsoplinger]

Yes.

I finally got a chance to pull out the soldering iron and bridge the capacitors. Wow, much better low end than before.

 

[skajohyros]

Yes it's quite noticeable. Now we've got a decent amp on the cheap. I'm enjoying my zs5v1 and Dt 990 250 ohm with nx1s goodness. Hope you are doing the same.

I finally got a chance to pull out the soldering iron and bridge the capacitors. Wow, much better low end than before.

 

[bsoplinger]

Yes it's quite noticeable. Now we've got a decent amp on the cheap. I'm enjoying my zs5v1 and Dt 990 250 ohm with nx1s goodness. Hope you are doing the same.

ZS6, thinksound ON2 and rain3, Fostex TH-X00, NuForce Primo 8, Xiaomi Hybrid Pro HD, SoundMAGIC E10 and PL50, Mee Pinnacle PX, Brainwavz B150, Senzer, Marshall Mode, TFZ Exclusive 5 among others. Been trying to find both headphones and IEMs I like and a set of cheap IEMs for portable use.

 

[bsoplinger]

… I received my NX1s today. Looking at Toppings frequency response graph the bass is >2db down at 20Hz. Sure enough this appears to be largely due to undersized coupling caps between the volume pot and gain stage (1uF into 9.4Khz resulting in a -3db point of 16.9Hz). The good news is that there is no DC bias on the coupling caps, so it should be possible to bypass them (rather than find some way to replace them with larger capacity caps within the small amplifier case). I measured less than 1mV DC offset on the outputs with the caps in place - I'll short out th coupling caps and remeasure, to ensure the level doesn't become problematic.

It's worth addressing this issue (by bypassing the existing caps or replacing with larger ones) as the phase response of the amp is compromised significantly above the -3db frequency. The normal rule of thumb would be to set the coupling caps to have a -3db point of 1/10 the lowest frequency you're aiming to reproduce (so 2Hz if you want clean 20Hz playback).

Update: all works fine with iPad Pro source and bypassed coupling caps. I'm measuring 0.5mV and 0.6mV on the NX1s outputs. Bass definitely bigger and tighter (not over the top, just less softened).

Any idea if the NX2S has the same issue and has a similar fix?

 

[sharpi31]

Any idea if the NX2S has the same issue and has a similar fix?

The NX2s datasheet shows that the response is flat to 20Hz, so there doesn't appear to be an issue to address.

It's possible that Topping went with undersized coupling caps in the NX1s due to lack of space. I wonder if they were also happy for the more expensive units to have better bass

 

[jmwreck]

My NX1s just arrived, I will try the mod later.

 

[VShaft]

Hi all, I'd like to bother you for a bit of advice.

The short story: I'm looking for an amp or DAC or DAC/amp for office use. Budget 40$.

The longer story: As it happens, I have the luck to be able to listen to music in the office, for the most part uninterrupted, and well, it's actually where I do most of my listening. The sound on the office PC is somewhat... anemic. It is fine generally, of course, but recently I've tried using the FiiO A1 portable amp with the desktop, and even this little basic guy gave a nice oomph to the music, which I liked (especially with the bass boost option on). I'd actually be happy with, too, but I also use it with my smartphone and portable player, so I'd want to have something stationary just for office use. I was thinking of another A1, but decided to explore the options in a similar price range.

I've been looking at budget amps, DACs and DAC/amps and I've sort of narrowed it down to the following:

Topping NX1s ($40) - amp
FiiO K1 ($40) - DAC
Sabaj DA1 ($30) - DAC/amp
Sabaj PHA1 ($30) - amp

Now, loudness is not really a problem, so I'd probably be better of with a DAC. On the other hand, a nice amp is probably a wiser choice than a mediocre DAC, and considering the prices these DACs can't possibly be some wonder devices (but I'm guessing they're still better than the default built-in components of the PC). The FiiO A1, as I've said, gives off a satisfying sound. So I was thinking maybe get the NX1s and use it instead of the A1 with the smartphone/DAP, and transfer the A1 to the office and "promote" it to a desktop amp?

But the thing is, I've not heard any of these devices (especially the Sabajs), so I'd like to have some input from you guys. What would be your choice?

Another thing: at the office we use Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. I presume it doesn't matter for the amps, but the DAC would have to be compatible with Linux. Can anyone confirm that these devices I singled out would work? As for earphones, I use mainly the TY Hi-Z 32ohm, and sometime switch between some various KZ IEMs: ATE-S, ZSE, ZS3.

 

[photosonic]

Hi all, I'd like to bother you for a bit of advice.

The short story: I'm looking for an amp or DAC or DAC/amp for office use. Budget 40$.

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/smsl-sap-ii-headphone-amp

 

[VShaft]

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/smsl-sap-ii-headphone-amp

Thanks, but I'm outside of US. With Massdrop, I'll pay shipping + import fees + customs and in the end I'll end up paying double the price that is listed on the site.

 

[photosonic]

Thanks, but I'm outside of US. With Massdrop, I'll pay shipping + import fees + customs and in the end I'll end up paying double the price that is listed on the site.

$68 on Amazon or around $60 on eBay. It's a really powerful and clean sounding amp. You could use it with your desktop and then continue using your FiiO A1 with your phone.

I have the Topping NX1s. It's a great amp if you do the coupling bypass mod listed a few pages back on this thread.