Luxsin X9 is More Than Just a Groundbreaking Headphone Amp
Luxsin (a new brand from Zidoo, the guys who brought us Eversolo) just came out with their first release, the groundbreaking X9 DAC & headphone amp. Based on the powerful and amazing sounding combination of AK4499EX/4191EQ DAC chip and AKM 7739 DSP chip, this new DAC/amp is rapidly earning accolades all around the review/social media circuit for the past few weeks for its excellent sound combined with groundbreaking new features including automatic impedance detection/matching and a built-in database of over 2,500 custom headphone EQ profiles to extract a preferred Harman curve sound from almost any audiophile headphone you may have on hand.
Well hey, that’s cool and all…but it’s almost disappointing how nobody is really talking about what an amazing preamp this thing is! There is literally no preamp at this price point that combines full bass management (besides the basic ability to set crossover point, you also get to choose from a huge plethora of crossover slopes including seldom-seen options of 30, 36, 42, and 48dB/Octave as well as [with the latest beta firmware] speaker and subwoofer delay), stereo/dual subwoofer outputs, and an analog, relay-controlled resistor ladder volume control (the closest thing in this price range is a miniDSP, but that comes with a digitalvolume control).
From a left/right matching standpoint, yes, digital is unbeatable, especially at low levels, but you’re never going to have, “oops,” moments with analog volume controls, and they attenuate the entire signal, so you get a reduced noise floor, especially at lower volume levels. On this point alone, the Luxsin X9 beats out the miniDSP competition. Then you talk about the bass management features—there is absolutely no preamp or streamer in this price range that has analog volume control combined with (switchable) stereo/dual subwoofer outputs, and even if you do have a couple of preamps with analog volume control plus a single subwoofer output (sure, you can use a splitter for multiple subs if you don’t need them to receive actual stereo signals), how many of those at this price point have the level of crossover and time/delay control that this does? As far as I am aware, none!
Plus the thing is just so easy to use, between the intuitive touchscreen interface, the equally intuitive smartphone amp, and even the web-based interface (for those who don’t want to install another app on their device). And most importantly of all, it sounds freakin’ amazing. I was using a WiiM Ultra grouped with a WiiM Pro Plus to simultaneously high-pass filter my speakers and feed my stereo subwoofers (a pair of SVS 3000 Micros symmetrically placed directly behind my speakers, a pair of LS50 Metas, and crossed over at 150Hz so that the subs can alleviate the portion of the frequency band where the LS50 Metas distort the most when played loud), and by replacing that setup with the Luxsin X9 (initially fed by just the WiiM Ultra) I was able to get a significantly improved integration of the subs to the speakers!
Subsequently I decided to replace my DSPeaker Anti-Mode X2D (full range stereo) room correction unit, which sat between the WiiM and the X9, with DIRAC Live by using my laptop to replace the WiiM and the Anti-Mode and then I finally understood the true power of DIRAC room correction…it works absolutely perfectly with the X9 as a dancing partner and now my system has truly never sounded this good!
Looks a whole lot cleaner, too…without all the extra crap that the laptop & X9 combination has replaced!
-Ed
