Luxsin X9 DAC/Headphone Amplifier Review

Luxsin is a new brand under the Zidoo Group, the parent company of Eversolo, which produces popular streamers like the DMP-A6, DMP-A10 and more. The X9 is Luxsin’s first product, and even though the name is new, it is incredibly polished and makes for a fantastic listening experience, as we shall see…

Up Close

It’s a lovely thing to look at. The chassis is made with CNC aluminium, allowing for improved heat dissipation. The bevelled edges on the sides of the front panel provide some softening to the sharp angles and edges, with the front panel being tilted at a 15 degree upward incline for better accessibility.

The front panel is simple but beautiful, with a 4-inch 1080P full-colour touchscreen in the middle. This display is how you navigate through the settings and features, including the ability to switch between multiple VU meter styles. To the right of the display, we have a knob for the R2R volume controller, which feels fantastic to turn and provides an audible click each time the knob is turned. Next to that, we have the power button discreetly tucked to the side.

On the left are three headphone outputs – a balanced 4-pin XLR, an unbalanced 6.35mm headphone port and a balanced 4.4mm port. The 6.35mm and 4.4mm options are of particular note, thanks to Luxsin’s self-developed headphone impedance checking system. When a pair is plugged into either of the two ports, the X9 automatically tests and determines the impedance before setting the most suitable output gain setting. The feature works very effectively. With a pair of CIEMs, the X9 selected the medium impedance setting of 32 ohms, while plugging in the Sennheisers HD 6XX correctly resulted in a high impedance setting of 300 ohms.

Moving to the rear of the unit, there are plenty of connectivity options. For inputs, there’s a USB-C port and a USB-B port, which can support PCM up to 32-bit/768kHz, an HDMI ARC port that supports PCM up to 24-bit/192kHz, an optical port, a coaxial port and unbalanced RCA inputs. There’s a subwoofer output and RCA outputs at the rear. There is also a USB-A port, but it’s purely for updating software. The trigger input and output are handy if you’re adding the X9 to an existing stack.

Internally, the X9 sports AKM’s highly respected AK4191EQ+AK4499EX two-chip DAC combo, as well as the AKM 7739 DSP chip. Everything runs on a fully differential balanced circuit, with a low noise linear power supply inside the chassis, the company says.

With the headphone outputs on the front panel, it’s clear that one of the X9’s main functions is as a headphone amplifier. This delivers a claimed 4-15 Vrms @ 0dBFS with a signal-to-noise ratio of >128dB, and total harmonic distortion plus noise (THD+N) is put at under 0.00016% (-116dB) – impressive stats, both. The 6.35mm and 4.4mm sockets support low (16 ohm), medium (32 ohm) and high (300 ohm) impedance headphones.

Using the X9 is a pleasure. The large touchscreen is highly responsive, and the LuxsinController companion app makes things easy. Whether it’s adding custom EQ profiles, turning on effects or choosing between outputs, it’s easily done via smartphone – but software updates must be done on the device itself. If you just want basic control of the X9, there’s an IR remote for skipping tracks, adjusting the volume and such. Menu navigation and toggling of features like EQ and bypass still need to be done through either the app or the touchscreen, however.

The Listening

I paired the Luxsin X9 with a variety of devices, including Audioengine A2+ active speakers, DUNU Arashi planar headphones, Sennheiser HD 6XX dynamic headphones and custom in-ear monitors – as I wanted to test how the DAC/amp works with different products, as well as to check the automatic impedance function. First off, with the Audioengine A2+, the X9 opens up the soundstage with fantastic height and depth. Stereo imaging is excellent, with instruments placed very accurately. On the default settings with effects, bypass, and crossfade turned off, the X9 shines with acoustic music and tracks that have an emphasis on guitars and instruments.

For example, the opening guitar strums of Yellowcard’s Ocean Avenue are deep and impactful, and when the drums and cymbals kick in, the track immediately takes off. Bass is handled impeccably, with great texture and heft as evidenced by the thumping bassline in songs like Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy or The Weeknd’s The Hills. It also shows plenty of finesse, with Bad Guy’s hi-hat pattern rendered beautifully, and each note hitting accurately with no smearing.

Getting into the Effect tab, there are a variety of ‘Styles’ to choose from, depending on the genre of music you enjoy most. I particularly like Popular, which adds extra timbre and warmth to vocals while enhancing the upper mids for extra crispness and detail retrieval. There’s also a ‘Stereo width’ option which helps to open up the soundstage further; it can get a bit too unrealistic if you crank it to 100, so I typically left it at around 25.

Using the X9 with the DUNU Arashi, the first thing to note is that this unit will remember your preferred volume settings for different outputs. This makes switching between outputs easy since you won’t have to tweak the volume once initially set. I used the balanced XLR plug on the front for the Arashi headphones, and while this port doesn’t support an automatic impedance checking system, the appropriate gain setting can be detected and switched to with the ‘Redetect’ option under the headphone gain tab in the Audio Settings section.

With all effects and the HP-EQ turned off and in bypass, the DUNU Arashi sounds excellent, with guitars, drums, percussion and vocals all beautifully rendered. However, things start to really pick up when the HP-EQ is turned on. While the X9 allows for custom EQ profiles to be set, there are also preset profiles for a good number of headphones currently on sale. The DUNU Arashi is one such headphone, and when picking the profile, you can even select what sort of target curve you’d like. This done, the sub-bass and upper-midband get a nice boost, while vocals have a touch more warmth and richness, along with a slight push to the front. The magical mids are mostly untouched, which is a great choice. Treble has been tamed slightly, which makes for a more laidback sound. Of course, this is purely my personal preference, and many will simply choose bypass mode.

The Verdict

Whether you’re using the Luxsin X9 as a standalone DAC/amp or as part of a stack, it performs beautifully and sounds more expensive than it actually is. Some of its features are really useful for audiophiles who have multiple headphones and don’t want to adjust gain settings every time they switch between them. Highly recommended then, and well worth an audition.

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