Onkyo DP-X1 “the world’s best digital audio player”

The DP-X1 press release makes no bones about it – “Onkyo has launched the world’s best Hi-Res Digital Audio Player, the DP-X1”

That’s a lofty claim to say the least but Onkyo must be pretty sure of themselves.

As you would expect, it handles all the existing Hi-Res formats you can think of, including MQA.

With the rapid rise in consumers wanting “higher than CD quality” High Resolution Audio (High Res Audio) formats, the availability of multiple streaming audio and video services, and High Res-capable headphones, many users have been looking for ways to enjoy their High Res Audio content everywhere they go.

The DP-X1 is powered by the Android OS, and supports the vast majority of High Res Audio formats, up to DSD 11.2MHz, 384kHz/24bit FLAC/WAV audio files.

The new player embodies Onkyo’s dedication to ‘Pure Sound’ as seen on the headphones I recently reviewed.

To isolate sources of internal noise the Audio and CPU circuits are built on separate boards. The Audio circuit design employs ESS Technology’s SABRE ES9018K2M DAC and SABRE 9601K amp in a dual mono setup (ie: a separate DAC and amp per channel) with a 2.5mm 4 pole jack for fully balanced output with support for normal BTL (balanced transformerless) output as well as Active control GND drive, a first in this product category.

The DP-X1 has been built for expansion beyond its built in functionality. It includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for wireless connectivity to peripherals, two microSD card slots for storage (up to a monstrous 432GB!), and access to Google Play to expand upon the builtin apps. There is, of course, the OnkyoMusic app preloaded so you can grab your High Res Audio files without the need of a PC.

It all reads pretty impressively, I’m sure you’ll agree. But, until I get ears on, I shall await to be amazed.

Onkyo DP-X1 specs at a glance

Operating System	Android OS 5.1.1(Lollipop)
Display	4.7 inch capacitive touch screen(720 x 1280)
Internal Storage	32 GB (approximately 7GB used by system)
Expansion port	micro SD x 2(SDXC)
Wi-Fi	802.11b/g/n/ac (Wi-Fi direct / WPS)
Bluetooth support	Profile: A2DP/ AVRCP/ HSP/ OPP/ HID/ PAN Codec: SBC/apt-X Low Latency (Transmit only)

Supported Audio format	DSD(DSF/ DSDIFF)/ MQA/ FLAC/ ALAC/ WAV/ AIFF/ Ogg-Vorbis / MP3/ AAC
Sampling frequency and bit rates	44.1k/ 48k/ 88.2k/ 96k/ 176.4k/ 192k/ 352.8k/ 384k 16bit/ 24bit DSD2.8MHz, 5.6MHz, 11.2MHz 1bit (32bit float/integer will downconvert to 24bit) Sampling rates above 192kHz, DSD, and 44.1kHz and its multiples are supported via microUSB output
Supported playlist formats	M3U/ PLS/ WPL
Supported video codecs	H.263/ H.264 AVC/ H.265 HEVC/ MPEG-4 SP/ VP8/ VP9
Supported image formats	JPEG/ GIF/ PNG/ BMP/ WebP

Output	75 mW + 75 mW Unbalanced / 32ohms 150 mW + 150 mW Balanced / 32ohms
Total Harmonic Distortion	Less than 0.006 %
S/N ratio	Over 115 dB
Frequency Response	20 Hz – 80,000 Hz
Impedance	16 – 300 ?

I/O ports	2.5 mm 4 pole Balance headphone output (From tip R-/R+ /L+ L-) 3.5 mm 3 pole headphone output (Line out mode) (no microphone support) Micro USB /OTG output (for charging and data transfer)
Gain	Low/Normal/High
Battery life	16 h (96kHz/24bit Audio playback via unbalanced output)
Dimensions (HxWxD)mm	129.0 x 75.9 x 12.7 mm
Weight (g)	203 g
Language support	Japanese/English/German/French/Spanish/Italian/Chinese(simplified)/ Chinese (traditional)
Accessories	Screen protect sheet (affixed as factory default), Micro USB cable (1m)