There's not much in the portable world that I'm aware of unless you go to a DAC/amp like the Mojo 2. You'd need to find a portable amp with a discrete circuit design to get better staging.
Sometimes it's also about tonality of the amp rather than power alone and often dongles do perform better when feeding the high impedance input of an amp rather than direct into headphones. I didn't test the RU6 like this, but it might be similar to some others I've tried.
@@PassionforSound I originally used the NX7 to put the RU6, Zen dac v2, and Fiio KA3 against each other, which was interesting. And helped demonstrate dac/amp and headphone pairings, great little experiment.
Mojo 2 review is already live, Keith. Run a Quick search for "passion for sound mojo 2" and it should pop right up. Without giving too much away, my personal Mojo 2 unit showed up today 😉
Wow it seems pretty good. Was gonna upgrade to Fiio Btr7 but I do like the BTR5 sound on my B&W P7 headphones, so I might as well get this for that desktop amp sound. Thank you for the review
My pleasure. I've got the BTR7 review coming soonish if you wanted to wait for that one, but the NX7 is excellent. Just depends on whether you want one box or two and whether you need the extra power from the NX7. In short, the BTR7 is shaping up as a real winner.
The NX7 is a really cool amp. I ordered one from Apos after it was announced. I always wanted a portable 1W+ amp I could take on trips and use throughout my house (so I wasn't limited to my desktop setup for music). Connected to a THX ONYX as the DAC, it's a great combo I can use with any of my full size headphones. I'm very happy with the purchase, it's the flexibility and power I've wanted in a portable amp. Great review, the build comments I agree with. When I use the NX7, it's on a surface and not in my pocket. The volume knob can be odd to use at times, but I don't adjust often, so it works and has a nice feel to turn. It sounds great with everything I've plugged into it so far, which is quite a selection of headphones and other DACs. Great product for the money.
@@jaroslavfricek7772 I've never really put much thought or tried to compare to my desk setup. I use a Lokius for tone controls there, pretty much all the time (I like bass). Nothing about the sound sticks out as off sounding or missing on the NX7, but it's different without EQ compared to my main rig. The problem is I swap headphones all the time. I switch between HE-X V2, HD8XX, LCD-X, and a few others daily. It would be difficult for me to notice changes when I'm so inconsistent with the gear I use. I'll get a lot more time with the NX7 in the near future, it's purpose comes into play in the Spring and Summer.
Hi, Another excellent review, especially the comparisons. They help a lot. I bought Hiby RS6 R2R based DAP for it's warm, smooth and natural sound. I want to add an AMP to drive my headphones HD6XX and LCD2C. Is NX7 going to keep that warm sound?
Glad you liked the review. I think the NX7 should maintain the sound of your source because it's pretty transparent and neutral without being clinical or sterile. I'd expect it to be a good match.
great video. I just purchased one! pairing it with the Questyle m15 when it arrives! I'm hoping it will give me a desktop experience with the Edition XS.
@@dionietzscheus2962 it's a great combo. it just amplifies the m15's sound but you can still here the nx7 sound signature. still no distortion at all. very clean sound when using the m15 and nx7. i would recommend. it feels like a portable desktop setup (maybe just a hair short).
The outputs from dongles can all be used as lineouts by just raising the volume to max or almost max. It's just about having enough voltage so that you're not stretching the signal too far with the secondary amp
7:30 how do you listen to the Topping NX7 in isolation? Doesnt it need to be connected to a DAC? And if so, would the soundstage depth have more to do with the DAC? I thought the NX7 simply powered what came from the DAC?
Haha, yes - fair question. What I meant is that I listened to it initially without comparing it to anything. For many people, they'll be buying without comparisons so I like to start with a discussion of how it sounds without comparing it to anything and then go into more depth with comparisons. As for soundstage, you're right that the amp will only ever be as good as the DAC feeding it, but it can either maximise the experience of what's coming from the DAC or it can limit it.
Hi great review as always. I would like to ask you about your opinion choosing NX7 over Topping G5. I already have decent dac (Questyle M15) and dektop amp (topping L30ll using Marantz PM7000N as a source) but I want to have something on the go (vacation, weekends etc) to power my Neumann NDH20, Sennheiser HD650 and less so my Sennheiser ie600). So the question is which one sounds better, power wise difference (for my setup), convenience (since I have to connect iphone to dac to nx7 to headphones instead just iphone to G5 to headphone)? What would you choose if you are in my shoes hypothetically? Thank you very much, cheers 🍻
Glad you liked the review. I love both devices, but if you have the M15 already (great dongle!) and you're happy to have multiple devices then I'd go NX7.
Congrats for your review! Is this amp compatible with the Beyerdnynamic DT 900 pro x? Or can you suggest another portable amp (or usb dongle) for the same range of price? Thanks!
I’m pretty much a noob when it comes to DAC amps. I currently use a qk5 for my iems and my 560s. I’m looking into getting my first lower mid tier headphone, which will likely be a planar (likely the DCA ACX or one of the Hifiman headphones). Any suggestions on how this will fare? Any suggestions otherwise that would be good?
The NX7 is a pure amp, but will do a nice job giving you amplification and using the Q5K as your source. Otherwise the Topping G5 is very similar to the NX7, but with DAC capabilities too. Both are excellent.
Great review👍 I bought one today so i came to see this video. Suggestion: your vocals sound digital and like telling a secret in my ears. Otherwise great. Subrscribed👍
Hope you love your NX7, Jithu! My son is often asleep in the room next door to my office which is why I've been talking quietly. That's also mean the need for more noise reduction and likely why the quality might sound a little digital. It's changing now as he's less prone to waking 🙂
Thank you for your review. My question is, Is it better to get an good dac dongle like cayin ru6 or questyle m15 or add this amp to an standard apple 10€ dongle. Which would sound better. A dac dongle like cayin ru6 alone or an apple dongle + this amp.
That's a really interesting question. I think the DAC in the RU6 or M15 is significantly better than the Apple dongle so even a better amp with the Apple dongle will still be limited. On top of that, a single device is always a simpler setup to carry and to hook up. I'd go with the better dongles.
Will this improve the sound when used in between my smsl su8 dac and my little dot 1+ tube amp to bring more details in songs and clean background signal. And than the little dot gives it more space/stage? Or should i invest in a better dac, like the smsl d300 for example?
Sorry, my first response was incorrect as I got mixed up about which product you were asking about! I wouldn't use the NX7 in between other devices as it's not really designed as a preamp. I haven't compared it to other desktop amps, but my experience has generally been that mains powered devices are often better than battery/portable devices due to less restrictions on their size and power use. If you don't need portability, I'd go with a desktop amp like the ones you mentioned, but I haven't tried the iFi so can't compare for you - sorry!
Any single-ended dongle will do fine (you can't run a balanced dongle output into the NX7). I'm guessing they didn't put in a DAC because some people only need an amp, but it would have made it more versatile. I've got the xDuoo Poke II coming up for review soon and that's similar to the NX7 in many ways, but with a DAC and Bluetooth
@@PassionforSound Although I asked Topping and told me NX7 is still better in amp section, so better amp than G5's amp. If you want only amp take the NX7. If you want dac/amp, take the G5. I think for my case I will take the NX7 as I already own Topping NX4, hip dac and xduoo xd 5 plus.
It shouldn't really be necessary I think as the M11 Plus is already pretty powerful I think. I doubt it would improve the quality of sound so it would only be for power or maybe a slightly different tonality
There's more to the sound of an amp than transparent tonality. Things like the ability of the amp to respond to rapid changes in the signal (slew rate is at least part of this) and also how feedback is used in the amp circuit can both influence spatial cues.
The NX7 has slightly more power at 32 ohms (that might vary slightly at different impedances), but they both have way more than is needed for almost any headphone (except something like Abyss 1266 or Susvara)
@@PassionforSound I've heard that NFCA is "better" than THX, do you think that's true to some extent? BTW, I just ordered the NX7 and also sent my NX4 for repair. I had an amp problem on It some time ago, one channel stopped giving signal. Topping told most likely can be repaired for free, so recently I decided to send It.
Different brands, same concept. Both use feedforward to correct for distortion. My guess is that the Chinese manufacturers reverse engineered THX to produce their own version.
Just saw the second comment. I do actually find that some of the NFCA designs (NX7, G5, etc.) seem to have more dynamics and are more enjoyable than THX modules in amps like the FiiO BTR7 or K9 Pro, but the THX module in the Benchmark HPA4 is great so I don't think it's a hard and fast thing.
For a few fast food combo meals one can buy a single unit amp/dac to stack with your phone and call it a day. With the Nx7 you need a dac to feed it good clean signal and end up with a 3 stack high wrapped in rubber bands, I mean who still does that? Yeah 10-20 years ago maybe. Awesome review btw 👍👍
@@PassionforSound Did you get the $15 in kangaroo coins I sent from PayPal? I've never used that feature before so I don't know if it's anonymous or under my real name. Cheap Audio Man paired the NX7 with the Cayin RU6 and the Sennheiser HD560S, which I have but never use because I don't like the way it sounds. But the NX7 might be overkill for my needs. I was thinking of getting the Xduoo XD05 basic because of its flexibility, including optical in and ability to use the amp section with another dac, like the RU6. But I don't want to throw away money chasing a sound that doesn't exist.
Some of those are a tough job for a $700 device when they're really designed for flagship systems. I'm surprised the IEMs didn't impress though. What were you comparing to?
