Pros
Great aesthetics with the Carbon fiber look.
Very nice build quality (feels heavy)
Good price
Very neutral sound
Cons
No USB to USB-C adapter for connecting to laptops or pc
EPZ TP20 Pro review
I am an audiophile from sunny South Africa. This TP20 Pro Dac/Amp was send to me by EPZ as part of the Audio Geek South African review tour. This review is totally my own opinion and I receive no compensation in any way from the company as my integrity and name are much more important than any financial gain. Dealing with EPZ is always a pleasure as they respond to email and WhatsApp messages very fast. It’s one of those companies that want to do business and my package arrived within two weeks after discussing with EPZ.
Unboxing
This Dac/Amp sells for R990-00 in my country and the packaging certainly is reflective of the price as this one of the sturdiest cardboard boxes I have ever received portable audio stuff in. I really have to commend EPZ on their packaging as this is now a 3rd product from them I am unboxing and the packaging quality is top notch. When you slide the black box open by the little black piece of lint you are immediately greeted by the TP20 Pro and cable. At the bottom there is just little instructions card and also your quality control card. I am very happy with the packaging and how the product is displayed.
Specs
DAC: CS43131*2
PCM: 32Bit/384KHz/DSD256
Output power: 2vrms @ 32ohm 121mw (3.5) / 4vrms @ 32ohm 171mw (4.4)
Signal-to-noise ratio: ≥125db (3.5)/ ≥130db (4.4)
THD+N: ≤0.0008%
Dynamic range: ≥125 dB (3.5) / 130 dB (4.4)
Output:3.5MM/4.4M
Weight: 25g (excluding packaging box)
Connectivity
This TP20 Pro features a USB- C TO USB- C cable so you can connect it to your phone and tablet, pc and laptop. I connected it to my Windows 10 laptop with a usb to usb-c adapter (unfortunately not included) without any need to install a driver. I also connected it to my Oppo A78 and LG V20 phones. I found the greatest synergy and ease of use by plugging it into the Hiby M300 dap which to me is a great transport if you collect dongle dacs and want to switch between dongles. Also if you are a IOS user you are going to have to get a usb-c to lightning adapter.
Look & Build
The Tp20 Pro is such a fresh new look with the carbon fiber and I like it a lot. It is also heavy and you can feel its quality. The buttons are sturdy and also feels like quality. I liked to use it lying on its side with the wording being on top and I wish the green led would have been just on the opposite side of where it is currently located but that is just me nit picking because if I have to see if the device is on I have to flip it over. I totally feel by this sturdy build quality that you are getting your money’s worth as I handled an almost twice expensive dongle the other day which felt so cheap and plastic. I really like the cable quality even though I prefer 0.78mm 2pin connectors I can’t fault the QDC connectors because that is just personal preference and not universal.
Sound
As I am looking at my written notes and writing this review I am listening to the Tp20 playing dac and amplifier for the Hiby m300 digital audio player. Connected in turn to the Nicehck mx7 mk4 and I have to say that I am enjoying this very much with some Andrea Bocelli- Time to say goodbye and my eyes is closed and I am humming to the beautiful vocals of Andrea and Sarah Brightman. The magic in the sound of a neutral device is it will faithfully reproduce whatever you feed it so the ear tips, iem’s and source and source material will be a far greater influence on the sound than the TP20.
I tested the TP20 pro with various IEM’s like the Nicehck nx7 mk4, Kefine Klanar, Arrti R1, EPZ Q5 and CVJ Nightelf and the Tp20 is so neutral that you can recognize the strengths and weaknesses of each of those IEM and that is a great feat. I have listened to AK, CL and ESS dacs and I don’t know if its psycho acoustics but I can distinguish between them. The AK’s the warmest to me then the CIRUS Logics and lastly the sterile Ess dacs which I have a love and hate relationship with as I love them in all my LG V-Series phones.
I got a really enjoyable sound with the TP20 pro connected to the Hiby M300 Streaming Tidal High res and it shined on any genre and I used the black tuning nozzle on the NX7’S. I also tested the 4.4mm balanced output side with the Kefine Klanar planar IEM’S which came with the 4.4mm balanced cable and never did it feel that the planars were underpowered and on the contrary I could never get the volume past 70% without it getting very uncomfortable on my eardrums.
Whenever I played some better recorded albums like Regina Spektor- Far the TP20 pro stepped up and fed the EPZ Q5 with some audiophile tones and Take Five by Dave Brubeck had my foot tapping.
Conclusion
I did not test the TP20 with any full Headphones so I can’t comment on that but I am very happy to be using it every day with all my in ear monitors. I can definitely recommend the TP20 because its price vs performance ratio is huge and I think it is a good all-rounder dac/amp to own. If the TP20 Pro is this good , I can't wait to try out the TP50.
