DAC / AmpOverreview

Topping DX9

Topping's limited-run, glass-topped flagship measures at the state of the art — and the argument is over whether a $1,299 all-in-one should still lack EQ, and whether it sounds like anything at all.

20 sourcesUpdated
$1,299Typical US price

Score aggregates reviewer opinions across topics.

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Topping DX9

The short version

What to know.

A $1,299 limited-edition DAC, headphone amp and preamp built around AKM's discontinued AK4499EQ and six discrete NFCA modules. Sources agree it is objectively excellent — an independent bench measured about −121 dB THD+N (and −125 dB at the limit) from the line outputs and confirmed the single-ended power rating — that it is dead quiet with sensitive IEMs, drives nearly any headphone from its balanced outputs, and is exceptionally well finished. They split on three things: whether it has any sound of its own (most hear nothing; a sizeable group hears it as warmer and more organic than earlier Toppings), whether the unit-to-unit quality matches the chassis, and whether the price is fair for a box with no EQ, no streaming and no analog input.

About this product

The original 2023 DX9 "15th Anniversary" limited edition with the AKM AK4499EQ DAC (about 1,800 made, now discontinued) — not the 2025 DX9 Discrete that replaced it with a different DAC and built-in EQ.

Topping built the DX9 for its fifteenth anniversary in late 2023: a wide, CNC-aluminium all-in-one with a tempered-glass top that shows the circuit board under amber light, twin colour screens that can play VU meters or a spectrum, and an aluminium remote. Inside sit one of the last batches of AKM's four-channel AK4499EQ — a chip that went out of production after the 2020 fire at AKM's factory — six discrete NFCA amplifier modules rated at 10 W per channel into 16 Ω balanced, a relay-switched volume control, and nearly every digital input except streaming: USB, two coaxial, two optical, AES, I²S over HDMI and LDAC Bluetooth.

It sold for $1,299 in a run of roughly 1,800 units and has since been replaced by the DX9 Discrete. In that time it collected rave editorial reviews, an independent bench that confirmed its numbers, and a long argument on the measurement forums about whether a Topping should cost this much — plus a quieter debate among owners about whether it finally sounds warmer than the brand's usual house style.

A good fit for

  • Headphone listeners who want one silent box that drives everything from IEMs to the Susvara
  • Digital-only systems that need many inputs plus a high-voltage preamp output for a power amp
  • Buyers who value finish and display as much as measured performance

Think twice if

  • You need built-in EQ, streaming or an analog input
  • You want to run the fixed line-out and the variable outputs at the same time
  • You want a long, simple warranty path — it's a discontinued limited run from a China-based maker
  • You're chasing a warm, coloured sound — most reviewers hear it as neutral

The reviewer consensus

Agreement &
disagreement.

3 / 7topics divide opinion
powernoisefeaturesergonomicstransparencybuildvalue
4 Mostly agree3 Divided opinions

Common ground5

  • Measures at the state of the art — about −121 dB THD+N from the line outputs on an independent bench
  • Effectively silent, even with sensitive IEMs
  • Drives almost any headphone from the balanced outputs; the single-ended jack has about a third of the power

Points of contention3

  • Whether it has a sound of its own — transparent to most, warmer than a typical Topping to some, lean to a few
  • Whether quality control matches the build — a cluster of dead units, wobbly knobs and LED/screen faults
  • Whether $1,299 is fair for an all-in-one with no EQ, no streaming and no analog input

A closer listen.

7 topics · 3 divided
Left: criticalRight: positiveTighter lines: more agreement

Power

PositiveMostly agree
Reviewer sentiment13 supporting sources
CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Broadly praised as enough for almost anything from the balanced outputs, including the HIFIMAN Susvara; the doubts sit at the extremes (the Modhouse Tungsten) and on the single-ended jack, which is rated at about a third of the balanced power.

“This result is consistent with Topping's advertised 3.3W x 2 into 16Ω at <1% THD+N.”

Archimago's Musings (single-ended bench, Part III)

“the DX9 can drive the Susvara quite well from its balanced output using high gain with a comfortable listening level of around 19 dB below its maximum ceiling.”

Headfonics (Marcus)

“I agree that the HPA is slightly weaker than what I expected”

psysword, Head-Fi (owner)

Measured

Archimago measured the single-ended output clipping at about 3.1 W into 20 Ω at 1% THD+N on high gain (0.8 W clip-free on low gain), consistent with the 3.3 W/16 Ω rating; he did not bench the balanced outputs. Topping rates balanced at 10 W/16 Ω, 7.08 W/32 Ω and 950 mW/300 Ω, with high gain of 24.5 dB balanced vs 18.5 dB single-ended.

Link to this topic

The hardware

Specifications.

Checked

Design

Form factor
Desktop
DAC
AK4499EQ · Delta-sigma
PCM
768 kHz / 32-bit
DSD
DSD512
Amplifier
Solid-state · Six-channel discrete NFCA

Output

Output power
Single-ended: 3,300 mW @ 16 Ω · 2,100 mW @ 32 Ω · 1,190 mW @ 64 Ω · 240 mW @ 300 ΩBalanced: 10,000 mW @ 16 Ω · 7,080 mW @ 32 Ω · 4,250 mW @ 64 Ω · 950 mW @ 300 Ω · 460 mW @ 600 Ω
Output impedance
< 0.1 Ω SE · < 0.1 Ω bal.
Gain settings
2
Volume
Relay ladder
Signal-to-noise
132 dB

Connection

Digital inputs
USB-B, Coaxial, Optical, AES/EBU, I²S, Bluetooth
Headphone outputs
6.35 mm, 4.4 mm, 4-pin XLR
Line outputs
RCA, XLRvariable (preamp)
Preamp output
Yes
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.1LDAC, aptX

Physical

Weight
2,750 g
Dimensions
340 × 230 × 60 mm

Manufacturer-published figures, not measurements · from audiophonics.fr, apos.audio.

Follow the evidence

Sources 20

1–6 of 20 sources

Read with context

Limitations & method.

As of

What to keep in mind 5

  1. A read of where reviewers and owners landed as of October 2026. The DX9 was a limited run and is now discontinued, so most buyers will be shopping used or for its successor, the DX9 Discrete.

  2. Only a handful of owner star ratings exist, split across several store listings, so the headline rating rests on a very small sample.

Where to buy Product & retailer links

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