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@BrickMan
Topping NX2 portable DAC question!
Running a Sony Z2 > Lindy OTG USB cable > Topping NX2 DAC > Lindy (I think?) 3.5mm/RCA cable > Cambridge Azur 540r > Ruark Paladin
So, running the phone to the amp through the 3.5mm/RCA cable, sounds awful, very quiet, very murky, a whole bunch of no.
Running the phone to the DAC via 3.5mm/RCA then to amp, much better, NX2 is basically behaving as a headphone amp, but the phones built in amp/chip is still having a say in the matter. As far as phones go the sony Z2/3/5 all sound pretty good as standard compared to others.
Running the phone to the NX2 via USB OTG with standard app on phone doesn't yield any better.
Running phone > NX2 via USB OTG cable and a DAC friendly app such as USB audio Pro (?) gets much better results, happy with that. Still doesn't sound as good as a decent source, but then its a £30 battery powered box, not a professional piece of gear.
BUT..... running the NX2 on the OTG USB cable either with or without the DAC USB app I have this problem, which makes me think its not truly operating as a DAC. With the NX2 powered on, sounds as it should, turn the NX2 off though, and audio can still be heard through the amp/speakers albeit very very quiet. To me that feels like the NX2 is still only recieving analogue audio but through the USB cable instead of the 3.5mm jack, correct?