I got caught slacking on my edit here. EQ in bypass on export. Sincerely sorry for this. It's tearing me up!

I told you.. L is for left and R is for right!

Was it dx7 pro+ you got? There is also the dx7 pro, I use the dx7 pro+ but the back of yours looks like the pro+. Definitely use it for the neumanns as well, it's the full package, speakers and headphones. And make sure you use the remote as well! Ed was doing my box in for like a year cause he was like yeah it's somewhere and guess what.. He found it and.. "awww mate this remote is awesome!" 🙈🤣 With the remote you can switch between all digital inputs (USB, optical, AES, coax, Bluetooth) and speaker outputs (XLR, RCA, XLR+RCA) Theres a button to switch from headphones to speakers, vice versa and even an option to output both at the same time. What's really handy is that it stores the level for phones and speakers independently so when you switch you don't need to adjust level. You can switch between 7 different anti aliasing filters (I reccomend the default) I also reccomend setting it as the master clock as well due to its near immeasurable jitter (if it's connected in an interface chain). I've got dx7 pro+ & sp8 (in live room) connected to evo 16 via it's 2 adat ports. So with the remote I can switch to adat input when I'm in the daw, switch to USB outside the daw and switch between whatever output i want. AND the Bluetooth is super high quality. This is really handy if I'm mixing in the daw with the evo 16 but I quickly want to switch to something in Spotify or apple music from my phone, or you could play from your desktop and switch to USB. And it automatically detects the sample rate when switching to whatever input. So in my rig I've normally got 2 headphones (4 pin xlr & TRS) and 2 pairs of speakers connected and I just switch between what I need. As you can see, I'm extremely attached to my dx7 pro+ 🤣

I bought a dangerous Dbox and the headphone outs on it completely blew me the hell away. it's like my headphones were finally telling me the truth, my third eye opened

The thing I learned early on in electronics is this: When you have an output being plugged into an input, you have to have a MINIMUM of 1:10 ratio between the output impedance and the input impedance. i.e. If my audio interface output impedance is 150 ohms balanced, then the input impedance of my speakeres should be 1.5kohm balanced impedance *absolute minimum.* Of course, most studio monitors are 20kohm input impedance which is another order of magnitude, so it's an even better match. When it comes to headphones, having a dedicated headphone preamp designed to have an extremely low impedance output will give you a better sound. The headphones won't be "pulling" at the output, capacitively or inductively, which would alter the frequency response and also prevent the drivers from being able to be driven to their proper position vs the output waveform (introducing distortion). Little story. When I was designing my passive volume control, I designed it with 1.9k constant input impedance in mind, with relative output impedance depending on where the volume is set. So my audio interface is 150ohm --> passive volume control 1.9kohm --> studio monitors 20kohm. This gave the most linear results due to the rough 1:10 ratio rule. If I chose a lower impedance, it would "pull" on the audio interface outputs. If I chose a higher impedance, it would become more of a voltage divider with the studio monitors, and the volume control would be inaccurate. Electronics can get complex, but there are some fundamentals that are so useful to know - impedance being one of them. Oh, and it works for microphones, too. You know when someone says _"This mic has 600ohm output impedance"_ and they set the input impedance of their preamp to 600 ohms... *Big no!* Impedance matching like that is only for the best power transfer, not the best for audio going from one device to another. Something to take into consideration (1:10 rule again!)

I'm so happy that i am seeing this video and able to hear this info at age of 21. Question: what would you reccomend as best pro headphones for travel (no dac)

1000 Megawatts for a headphone amp seems to be a bit overkill 😉😅 Nice video btw.!

You really got me considering this method, especially since I’ll be moving soon and my studio will be out of commission.

Are you just using the Topping as a headphone amp or are you actually running Your speakers off of it? I was planning on getting one but im not totally positive how the speaker outs work. Will it replace my monitor controller? I have optical running out of my interface into an old Presonus monitor station. I was hoping I could get rid of that and use the topping as my monitor controller. Would that works. ?

How do you connect it to the audio interface?

I was going to get the Topping until I discovered the SPL Marc One... it's unique as it's a high quality headphone amp (with crossfeed), DAC and ADC as well as a monitor controller!

Sorry for the noob question, but if I have a Focusrite 18i20, do I need a separate DAC, or just a headphone amp? Does not also having a standalone DAC defeat the purpose of getting a better headphone amp because the interface’s DAC is rubbish? And if that’s the case, would I want a DAC that also can drive my monitors as well?

Yep. I had my AKG Q701s for years. I bought an SMSL M500 for my monitors and it's also crazy good (the mk3 is even better ) . I suddenly love my headphones.... Also for my monitors and subs it changed the world. Even better when I drive it with spdif out from my RME Raydat card...

How does your mm500 compare to the hedd ? Did you mix on the mm500 as well?

Online price is @$1100 AUD for the topping dx7- can't see $699 anywhere unless that's U.S?

which correction plugin do you use and do you have your individual curve loaded?

Are you working at the NSA as your side job? How do you keep dropping videos about stuff I'm actively researching/thinking about

This is the reason I decided to purchase an RME ADI 2 PRO fs. I get the wonderful conversion as well as a powerful amp for my planar magnetics and all of the other features like eq, built in crossover, and etc....

Thanks so much Nicholas. I saw Pauls video about the Topping a few days ago and was wondering if it was worth it. I'm using the headphone amp in my Apollo X4 with the Mm-500s, which sounds pretty good to my ear. But was thinking about using the SPDIF out on it and routing it to a Topping. Decisions decisions....

Audiophile dacs are nice. I've been running a Schiit Modius with a THX AAA 789 amp for almost 5 years and so far I have not been able to improve on it. Granted, it depends on the DAC, you can absolutely get nonlinear sources, but there was a move that THX kicked off in like 2018 where they suddenly dropped noisefloor and distortion down to like -180 DB in USD $300 products. The audiophile brands looked at how it was done and most of them have a take on the idea now. There are more expensive versions that push the measurements even further, though in my case I have to ask if I'd be better served with newer higher end headphones before buying a $2000 headphone amp. I'm still interested in trying one of the Schiit Multi-bit dacs at some point, though they start at around the same price as this Topping and don't measure as well - it's a very different architecture philosophically and the people who hear them all seem to love them, but I don't have the confidence to just pick one up and start working through it. If I ever had "eff you" money I'd want to try a Chord Dave, look that up some time.

arent they like a billion grams on your neck? Curious if you midrange reaction was due to neumanns being usually slightly mid boosted without room correction

Be careful recommending Topping, all the audiophiles are going to start making up claims about them sounding unnatural due to negative feedback. That being said....yeah, they sound amazing. And it seems like we're on a similar trajectory, though not exactly the same gear. I've pretty much converted to all-ITB and not even using my speakers. They're very nice, but they don't tell me anything that my IEMs don't. The opposite is not even close to true. I'm 90% sure that wwitching to a sit-stand desk with IEMs is the future. My next room probably won't even have speakers.

Bought a topping L50 for similar applications. Not quite up to the specs of the dx7 pro but it’s pretty damn good. Main reason I went with it over the others is it has a through for speakers that’s passive on a toggle switch so I can have headphones and amp OR direct out from my interface outs to speakers at a toggle when needed.

I went the same route separate Topping dac (d70 pro) and amp l30ii - useful for mobile use. With the Audeze LCD x it’s made mixing and as mastering reference tool fantastic. We are able to go as good as the big studios now in terms of gear without breaking the bank.

I may be mistaken here, but speaker (or headphones in this case) sensitivity will play a big part in this too. How reactive to the mW's the driver of the headphones are. More mW isn't strictly better in every case ( at least as far as I understand), it's only better when using it to drive a lower sensativity pair of headphones. Just like driving high sensativity speakers from old low power tube amps are a good combo ( and exactly like how more modern lower sensativity speakers match up much better with high output SS power amps of the moden era), it's all about matching them up well that matters the most, and not the pure mW output level (because all that is is power output, like the amp wattage power output and your speakers rated power handling, and it all depends on if the speaker driver can convert it all into distortionless audio or not, providing you meet a decent threashold of what can drive the particular cans in question to begin with). Having too high mW will be the same as having a stupidly over powered amp for the set of speakers you've got, you go past 1 on the dial and your speakers are distorting. It's all about marrying the pair well. OFC once you're above the threashold of being able to drive the low end correctly at a decent level. Now there may be an overall slight benafit in having much higher mW output and less sensative drivers, or there might be a benafit in having higher sensativity drivers and less mW output power. I'm not really sure, and have a feeling I'll know by the end of the vid, but it's the impeedance (1:10 minimun output:input ratio and 1:50 is even better) and power to sensativity matching that is the most important factor in getting good sound out of your cans, providing you have good cans and a good clean amp and DAC to begin with. You just happen to have a pair that really need some ompf to get them going, I mean they are humongus for headphones - (well I've seen much bigger old broadcasting cans, but they are up there lol), which is ofc great for more effortless low end, especially as they are AMT :P. EDIT: you covered that they are power hungry near the end, I misunderstood your stance earlier on and thought you were saying more mW is better full stop, but you were specifically talking about for them cans. ;)

Great Video! never really liked using headphones def notice this but didnt know what was actually going on but mm i wonder if this is why a lot of "Tracks" sound the way they do in certain "genres" since its preached that all you need is a "laptop and headphones"

sorry for the interruption , why not use the drop thx 789!

this is crazy. i literally have dx7 in my basket for a month ever since i saw Paul Third's vid. i had no idea. I even purchased Topping DX1 for on the go solutions. i also am an AUdeze MM-500 user. i love my headphones but i feel i dont get the most out of them. i will sell apollo solo and get dx7. thank you.

love the shirt

it´s weird to see you from the front... just kidding. Great Video!

is the big revolution here really "when you dont impedance mismatch headphones, and properly drive them, they sound better" because lol.

I use a Topping DAC for my headphones, they are great 👍🏾

I had Audeze LCD2 (or something?) and the HEDDPhone v1. I chose the Focal Clear MG Professional over these 2. Audeze have a really nice vibe, that’s true! Especially for contemporary Pop and urban music. HEDD v1 were a pain on the head (literally). Ridiculously huge and heavy. And yes the sound was very neutral and almost boring. For mastering yes, but not for mixing or even producing. The focals have deep deep bass and are very accurate and fast. They do have a certain sound though. You have to like them.

Now plug that sh&/ into an APOGEE Symphony ...and start crying ; )

Mm 500 or this?

It’s pronounced ‘ordeez’ I think

I literally can't finish this video can someone tell me the point

I find it hard to watch your videos due to this horrendous sound quality.

4 minutes in please get to the point 😩

Can you hear distortion in voice caused by voice assymetry and poor mastering in that track you mention? pointless.

Voice audio is terrible, so muddy & rumbly all i hear is "MMMMGNNNMGMMMMNMMNMNNN"