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Review and Measurements of Topping DX3Pro DAC and Headphone Amp
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
Get a long hex key and take a look at the pcb
foobar, pcm option above 384 isnt avaliable on windows mixer
I guess something is burnt. A key can open your device and get the pcb out and make it fully visible. The key should be available in your local hardware store. Here is what it looks like on amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Eklind-54920...t=&hvlocphy=9032020&hvtargid=pla-422950229263
It’s 2mm hex, anything longer than 18mm should suffice.
Alternatively just return it to seller and claim your warranty. Let topping know that (include your serial number) so they can investigate
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I was trying to get such key here locally and it is nearly impossible I was not able to find out such long one anywhere. Do you really think there will be something burnt in such state that it will be visible? If that is the case then I will also detect some smell of burnt electronics I think but this is not the case.
@gypsygib
Hi,I saw your comment about dx3 pro, it's seems like you are using dx3pro to drive dt1990pro. I want to buy a pair of dt1990pro, and I have dx3pro already. Are they matching with each other well?
Thank you.
TL
R Version:Try the HiFi Man Sundara's unless you love that crystal treble sound or use them more for gaming than anything else.
Full Version
I love the pairing, although I don't have much to compare it too (FiiO E10K, Modi Multibit combo). I like a lot of crisp and crystalline treble with clean, detailed and fast punchy base and these fit that need perfectly (can't stand boom). They're extremely energetic. Some would probably like a warmer sound. I had Sundara's before which were phenomenal for everything except PC gaming, which I do a lot so I switched to DT1990's during the return period after comparing them both at the same time. I can't imagine the 1990's being for everyone. If music listening is priority number 1 then the Sundara's were better with most genres. Soundstage was way better, they almost sounded like you were listening to nice speakers instead of headphones. Would have kept them except for gaming they sounded very flat and lacking energy compared to the 1990's. One comparison involved a firework in the distance in FF15. Sounds that had a good distant thump on the 1990s like in real life didn't have any thump on the Sundara's for some reason. But if I could have afforded to keep them both I would have.
Compared to the modi multi bit combo I had before, the DX3 Pro is perfect for me as it's extremely crisp and detailed with a better soundstage and something I could only describe as slightly silky instead of slightly grainy. The FIIO sucked imo and dac alone was even worse. While the multibit was better than the FIIO overall, I thought I may have wasted money on expensive headphones (over $700 in Canada) as the clarity, detail, snappy base and energy all the reviewers were talking about wasn't there. It sounded good but often a bit muffled or compressed in fact and I bought the 1990s for detail and clarity. This may sound weird but I was a bit upset that my S9 with cheap stock earbuds sometimes felt like it produced a more enjoyable sound, at least for netflix. With the DX3 it sounds like I upgraded my headphones. I'm truly amazed by how good some tracks sound.
Warning however, my 1990s now make obvious EVERY flaw in a recording and expose low quality studio work. I thought my DX3 Pro or 1990's were defective at first as I'd here occasional clicks, noise, deep base static and other weird sounds behind the music on many Tidal songs. I then went and played the same songs on my Surface Pro with the 1990s to eliminate the DX3 Pro as the culprit, still there but more faint. Then some earbuds to see if it was the headphones, I could make out the same weird sounds at the same spots on tracks but they were MUCH more faint so I'm assuming I just never heard them before despite being there. I think most modern popular music has a lot of "tuning" and post production involved which can produce sound defects which you wouldn't normally hear unless with revealing headphones/dac/amp. I can certainly now tell a quality producer from a less conscientious one but I guess 1990's were designed for studio work first and foremost. Maybe more producers should get a pair
A lot of mistakes in modern music production. I also think they're absolutely amazing for gaming, the imaging is amazing and they're also great for music as well, but you can get better sounding headphones for most genres of music I think. Build quality of the DT1990s made the Sundara's feel fragile in comparison. It's built like a tank with not weak spots. The Sundara's looked like the joints for the cups wouldn't last the test of time.If you have a headphone store near you, I'd just try out a bunch as sound signatures are so much personal preference as opposed to objective quality (once lack of clarity and boom is eliminated). IMO diminishing returns accelerates rapidly past $250.
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Just return to your seller then.
Just received the DX3 Pro and I have so far had no issues (a few hours of use), and also I'm very impressed with the sound, which is smooth, images precisely, is well-controlled and whose elements are very well-separated. However, one slight concern is that it doesn't seem to me to be as powerful as the official 1000mW x 2 power output suggests. When using my 16 ohms Final Sonorous III, and in high gain mode, my volume dial is between -30 and -25 for comfortable listening levels. Can anyone else confirm that this normal? Please report with your headphone's impedance and the volume level you generally listen to. Thank-you.
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It has a lot of power for me, right now I have it at -27db on 300Ohm HD600. Low gain.
Keep 2 things in mind, first of all decibel scale is not linear. The closer you get to 0dB, the more powerful your sound is going to be with each step. Two, resistance is one thing but headphones are also less or more efficient. I don't know how efficient the ones you use are but this might have impact.
just crank up volume and see if you are happy with the amount of noise it makes.
That aside, dx3 is by no means powerful, there are for sure headphones that will require more power, but it should be good enough to power most.
headphone's impedance doesn't tell the entire story. Its sensitive does. For instance Sennheiser's HD650 is 103db/1vrms. so basically it should be able to get 103+6db(when voltage doubles, power quadruples, and gain increased by 6db) = 109 db at 2vms (which is the redbook line out voltage). that's the loudness it can get at -0 db in DX3's low gain mode.
check your headphone spec (some use db/vrms, other use db/mW) and do the calculation. In a concert hall classical music with a lot of dynamics (such as Mahler and Bruckner) can easily reach 105db+ at its peak (for instance coda in the finale).
With that said, usually 70db-80db is sufficient for me so I always listen at -39db on DX3 Pro.Most likely this is because I live in a very quite place with low background noise. Your milage may vary.
I get your point about headphone efficiency/sensitivity and the non-linear volume control, it's just that I have a couple of headphones amps whose official power outputs are much lower than the DX3 Pro's yet they seem to have much greater power reserves when driving my headphones - in absolute terms they just go louder. I find this a bit puzzling. Is it perhaps to do with the different amounts of gain that each amp applies?
Headphone amps output power vary a lot under different headphone impedance so you can't compare the spec unless they are measured under same impedance. A 30Ohm headphone and 300Ohm headphone may differ 10X in output power.
Your previous headphone amp may have a higher gain. On DX3 low gain is 1X. Some headphone amp may have low gain at 2.5X (for instance Objective 2 by NwAVGuy in default configuration). That makes huge difference.
In addition, the DAC you were using may not output the standard 2Vrms as DX3 does. For instance I once used Objective DAC Rev B from JDS, and their output voltage is 2.1Vrms. So it is of course louder than DX3. Some even output 4Vrms so that's 6db more in full volume.
In @amirm's testing it was outputting 2Vrms at low gain and could reach desired power if you do the calculation (W = UV = U^2 / R where U is output voltage and R is the headphone impedance). So unless your unit is broken you will get pretty standard volume output. If your other amp is louder it may have an entirely different configuration (gain, DAC line out voltage, etc).
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777
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It is the first burn-in, after 10 hours. Will be the second burn-in after 50-100 hours.
There is no way you guys are listening to -40db, you would be listening almost to ambient sound with HD6x0. With final sonorous it makes sense -30/-25.
For me -13/-17 is nicely loud with modern music but for classical I have to go -6. But -25 is already like quiet, and -30/-40 is like ambient sound
I have HD580 tho, its the highest impendace of the HD6x0 i think
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I have no issues listening at -40 on HD600. I hardly ever go beyond -30, usually sitting between -38 to -35.
Depending on mastering obviously. Past -20 starts getting unbearable for me, I can't even imagine listening at -6.
This is all assuming no volume change from OS or player (100%)
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