Review and Measurements of Topping DX3Pro DAC and Headphone Amp

[trademark]

How does this dac/amp compare to the aune x1s, topping mx3, topping d10/a30 stack and a smsl stack. Im looking for a dac/amp to used with my new he-400is.

 

[Yuno]

How does this dac/amp compare to the aune x1s, topping mx3, topping d10/a30 stack and a smsl stack. Im looking for a dac/amp to used with my new he-400is.

topping mx3 is supposed to be used mainly to drive bookshelf speakers with headphones being second priority.
topping d10/a30 stack will have higher output impedance (10 Ohm). So does aune. I don't hear audible differences between aune and dx3 pro by the way.

If I were you I would either look into d10+jds labs atom stack od dx3 pro. atom is a better amp than what dx3 has so if you are just looking for a device to drive headphones I would go with this. dx3 pro is better if you have any use for additional functionality it brings (remote control, headphones/rca output switch via button). Digital volume control is quite nice. Also it's better if you just want one unit instead of a stack of 2.
If I didn't use speakers I would get d10+atom just because of how good that amp is for the price.

 

[bellyofthebizd]

First time poster, have been considering a USB DAC for an age (always eyeing up the Topping D30) but also needed a headphone amplifier. Noticed Shenzen Audio were selling through Amazon UK and that some of their items were fulfilled by Amazon (including the D50).
Stumbled on the DX3 Pro and it ticked every box for me, USB DAC, seemingly great headphone amplifier and as a bonus can be used as a preamplifier (I'm considering converting one of my old Cyrus One amplifiers into a pure power amplifier and I think I could get away with all digital sources through the DX3 Pro). Sadly the DX3 Pro isn't fulfilled by Amazon yet so have to wait for shipping from China, £144.99 (about $185 in today's conversion rates). No idea what will happen with customs and taxes, fingers crossed!

Really looking forward to this as an upgrade from my Focusrite Solo being my PC based listening system. Hope it's an audible upgrade!

hi, i have ordered it too from Shenzhen Amazon UK (althought im from Poland), it's going by DHL and if you check the policies on seller site there is a note:
"Prices are displayed inclusive of any applicable VAT." I think this is some kind of first hand seller so the prices can be very attractive.

 

[trademark]

topping mx3 is supposed to be used mainly to drive bookshelf speakers with headphones being second priority.
topping d10/a30 stack will have higher output impedance (10 Ohm). So does aune. I don't hear audible differences between aune and dx3 pro by the way.

If I were you I would either look into d10+jds labs atom stack od dx3 pro. atom is a better amp than what dx3 has so if you are just looking for a device to drive headphones I would go with this. dx3 pro is better if you have any use for additional functionality it brings (remote control, headphones/rca output switch via button). Digital volume control is quite nice. Also it's better if you just want one unit instead of a stack of 2.
If I didn't use speakers I would get d10+atom just because of how good that amp is for the price.

Im going to hong kong next month so im looking to buy there. Is there any chi-fi alternative to the atom?

 

[Yuno]

Im going to hong kong next month so im looking to buy there. Is there any chi-fi alternative to the atom?

That I don't know. Well, dx3 is a good alternative, it measures well and has decent amp with low output impedance. It's just that it's not as good as atom, and for instance if you wanted to drive 600 Ohm headphones with dx3 it could struggle. Other topping devices seem to have higher output impedance and in general a lot of chi-fi amps seem to be around 10 Ohm output impedance. Topping only fixed this now with dx3 pro.

 

[ngs428]

Im going to hong kong next month so im looking to buy there. Is there any chi-fi alternative to the atom?

The only thing the DX3 is missing vs the Atom is power. If you don’t need it, it doesn’t matter. If you do, you can hook the Atom up to the DAC on the DX3.

You are gaining many other things by using the DX3 pro. One important one being channel balance with the digital control.

 

[bleachershane]

hi, i have ordered it too from Shenzhen Amazon UK (althought im from Poland), it's going by DHL and if you check the policies on seller site there is a note:
"Prices are displayed inclusive of any applicable VAT." I think this is some kind of first hand seller so the prices can be very attractive.

Just today I got the notification that it has been dispatched by DHL from Shenzen, China, no idea how long this will take but Amazon state 15-27 December.

Im interested in the jitter suppression issues people are talking about here.
I have a model of DVD player that essentially contains the equivalent of a Genesis Digital Eye within in (I believe it would remove all jitter before the signal left the unit when used as a transport). Was wondering how the Topping would handle a perfect digital signal from this player? Will it introduce jitter? Will the jitter suppression issue not matter with the 'perfect' output from the player/transport?

See here to get an idea what I'm going on about with my Pioneer DV600.

http://lampizator.eu/LAMPIZATOR/REFERENCES/Goldmund/goldmundizator.html

 

[john100a]

Can you use this unit with wireless headphones like the qc 35 or even airpods? How does the Bluetooth part work in terms of transmission?

 

[Yuno]

Can you use this unit with wireless headphones like the qc 35 or even airpods? How does the Bluetooth part work in terms of transmission?

You can't, It's bluetooth input, not output.

 

[john100a]

You can't, It's bluetooth input, not output.

Are there any dac amp combos that offer a bluetooth output?

 

[jsheard]

Are there any dac amp combos that offer a bluetooth output?

I don't know of any. There's plenty of standalone bluetooth transmitters on the market though, which you could feed from the line-out or digital-out of a dac/amp if you wanted to.

 

[ngs428]

Seems like a Bluetooth output would be as useful or more useful than an input. Surprised to hear that so few have outputs.

 

[BurritoJustice]

Seems like a Bluetooth output would be as useful or more useful than an input. Surprised to hear that so few have outputs.

With bluetooth output the dac/amp in the DX3 would be totally ignored in favour of the components in the headphone. So if it did have it, there would only be a minor benefit to using the DX3 at all over just connecting the bluetooth device to the source (convenience only, really).

 

[Hammondk]

Just received my DX3 Pro..... mindblown

Way way way better than i have imagine.

Compared to IFI iDSD black label, nothing short of astonishing. It is easily on par or better anything around 200-300% its price. Running it on Win10 with FooBar2000 and honestly, its worth the wait.

 

[NDRQ]

I am really thinking ofbuying this, but that linearity looks terrible.
That is something like 14-15 bit?Is that really ok for 220 bucks?

 

[Hammondk]

I think Amir's chart said it linearity is like 19-20 bit

 

[jsmiller58]

I am really thinking ofbuying this, but that linearity looks terrible.
That is something like 14-15 bit?Is that really ok for 220 bucks?

Where did you see 14-15 bits? I don’t think so...

 

[WondrousHippo]

Where did you see 14-15 bits? I don’t think so...

He said it's about 15.5 bits: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...dx3pro-dac-and-headphone-amp.4967/post-111113

 

[jsmiller58]

He said it's about 15.5 bits: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...dx3pro-dac-and-headphone-amp.4967/post-111113

You are right - just went back and looked, after I posted that, d’oh. Apologies.

 

[Wolven]

Can someone explain this bit stuff and effects on the sound?
I'm listening to this puppy right now and sounds great.