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Review and Measurements of Topping DX3Pro DAC and Headphone Amp

jlpl

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From Topping's own web page (here):
2512336.jpg
That is the lineOut not the headphone output lol.

But I'm going to help you.

In the Should Topping send Amir a DX3Pro LDAC/V2 to test? thread, someone asked me if I could measure DX3Pro LDAC/V2. Considering that this unit was not in my purchase plan, I borrowed one from Topping.

View attachment 43710

View attachment 43711


From its Amazon price of $ 219.99, it seems that it should not be too much to complain about appearance, texture, build quality, etc.
But if you are critical, you can blame the quality of the RCA / COAX connector.
The touch of the surface treatment is very good, and I really like how it feels when touched --- the sound from the friction of the touch is not soft enough.
The encoder switch has good damping and positioning feel. However, the sound is slightly "fluffy", which is not good enough ...

Well, forget the nonsense above ... Measure it!

Part I: DAC
View attachment 43713

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View attachment 43716View attachment 43717View attachment 43718View attachment 43719


Part 2: Headphone output

View attachment 43720
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output impedance:

View attachment 43733

IMO: The headphone output is actually not good enough (sorry, this conclusion does not consider the price). But the DAC part is doing well.

The price is beyond reproach.

BTW: Bluetooth testing may have to wait a few days, my adapter has not arrived yet.


Quoting WolfX-700 - "IMO: The headphone output is actually not good enough..."

Link to the thread:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...measurements-of-topping-dx3pro-ldac-v2.10551/

If I had seen this before...

I rest my case.
 
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Killingbeans

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That is the lineOut not the headphone output lol.

Haha, you're right! :D I shouldn't post things a 2:00 AM :facepalm:

But I'm going to help you.

Thanks, but.... he doesn't measure the frequency response either?

Quoting WolfX-700 - "IMO: The headphone output is actually not good enough..."

If I had seen this before...

Not really enough to discourage my interest in the DX3 Pro. Might not be SOTA performance, but nothing I'd consider alarming.

That being said, it doesn't quite tick all of my personal boxes. I really wish there was more products out there that offered a similar package.

I rest my case.

Yeah, I still think the poor little DX3 Pro is being unfairly prosecuted, but I'll just leave the rest to the jury ;)
 
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habibi

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Has anyone here had issues with their remote control not working? I managed to find a new V1 and the remote is the only issue I have - it just doesn't work at all. I did make sure that I have the battery in correctly, and I tested it using my phone camera to see the IR beam coming out. Seems like the issue is on the receiving end. I'm just wondering if there's anything I can do to get it working
 

gorman

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Quoting WolfX-700 - "IMO: The headphone output is actually not good enough..."

Link to the thread:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...measurements-of-topping-dx3pro-ldac-v2.10551/

If I had seen this before...

I rest my case.
Unless you have low ohm headphones, the 10 ohm output resistance does not influence adversely the headphone output. As such, it's just a matter of making an informed buy. I wanted to use this with Sennheiser HD800, which are 300 ohms. As such the 10 ohm output resistance is pretty much irrelevant. People should do their homeworks before buying and then complaining (even more so when specs are widely available and published by the company itself). It's as simple as that.

https://archimago.blogspot.com/2020/06/measurements-topping-dx3-pro-v2-ldac.html
 
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ZenTraveler

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Unless you have low ohm headphones, the 10 ohm output resistance does not influence adversely the headphone output. As such, it's just a matter of making an informed buy. I wanted to use this with Sennheiser HD800, which are 300 ohms. As such the 10 ohm output resistance is pretty much irrelevant. People should do their homeworks before buying and then complaining (even more so when specs are widely available and published by the company itself). It's as simple as that.

https://archimago.blogspot.com/2020/06/measurements-topping-dx3-pro-v2-ldac.html
Even Tin T2 which is 16 ohm iem, almost no different with higher output impedance
Screenshot 2021-01-01 112742.jpg


KZ ZST which is 10 ohm iem, doesn't play well with higher output impedance
Screenshot 2021-01-01 112742.jpg


Each headphone react differently to higher output. As you said, do homework before buying.
Reference Audio Analyzer site is great place to check if higher output impedance will affect a headphone.
I think how the manufacturer implement or create the driver play a big part on whether the headphone will be affected by higher output impedance. Browsing few models, I noticed Audio-Technica have no issue while each Grado's model will have slight hump around 100mhz
 

gorman

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Each headphone react differently to higher output. As you said, do homework before buying.
Reference Audio Analyzer site is great place to check if higher output impedance will affect a headphone.
I think how the manufacturer implement or create the driver play a big part on whether the headphone will be affected by higher output impedance. Browsing few models, I noticed Audio-Technica have no issue while each Grado's model will have slight hump around 100mhz
Exactly. And here's 0 ohm amping vs 10 ohm amping with my HD800.

1609515287311.png


A.K.A. "irrelevant difference". Which leaves me with an excellent DAC. Not much more I could ask for.
Source
 
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jlpl

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I had no intention to post in here anymore but...

People should do their homeworks before buying and then complaining (even more so when specs are widely available and published by the company itself). It's as simple as that.

https://archimago.blogspot.com/2020/06/measurements-topping-dx3-pro-v2-ldac.html

This are the topping specs from their website:

1609514613672.png


They say that the output impedance is lower than 10 Ohms but not an exact number. And it's not even right because the measured number by wolfx-700 was 10.4Ω.

I posted in this tread in the first place because this is the first link that you get when google topping dx3 pro, and it's not clear, from the thread title, that this review is not for the last iteration of this dac (not blaming amirm for that). The manufacture did not make it clear, as it maintained the same name, and even on amazon, the sellers maintained the reviews from the first iteration even thought the product is different.

People come here to do their "homework" but are misinformed by others who bought the second version but continue to post as if the product is the same, even when they know that it's not, and with that not advising about potential problems if using low impedance headphones.

I bought mine on a black Friday deal so didn't had much time to decide and didn't know that there was a different version than the one in this thread.

My goal is to warn people that is in the market to buy a new dac/hpAmp that the headphone amp on the dx3 pro newer version is not the same as the one that is reviewed here.

Don't have anything against people who buy amps that serve a specific pair of headphones, but when buying a dac/hpAmp I'm aiming for one that can be used with any pair of headphones and not be restrained to some. Don't want to buy one for each pair of headphones that I have or will be buying. But that is just me.

Farewell.
 

gorman

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People come here to do their "homework" but are misinformed by others who bought the second version but continue to post as if the product is the same, even when they know that it's not, and with that not advising about potential problems if using low impedance headphones.
Are there examples of people here glossing over the output impedance? It seems strange, as when I bought the product I got pointed out about the difference on these very pages, pointed to Wolfx-700's review and basically given all info I needed to make an informed purchase.

I own HD800, DT880 and Viso HP50.
1609520188026.png


For Beyerdynamic is irrelevant, for NAD it doesn't change the sound signature till 14KHz. Above there is no difference the 10ohm impedance doesn't make a difference, so at the same volume level very high frequencies might get slightly emphasized. But I honestly doubt my hearing capacity at those frequencies (given age).

So I don't know, I can simply stress the need to make an informed purchase and reiterate that I found all the relevant info on these pages.
 

gorman

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@amirm maybe you could put in greater evidence, at the beginning of the review, the fact that currently the product on sale is not the one reviewed here. And link to Wolf's measurements (if that's something you are willing to do).
 

Veri

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They say that the output impedance is lower than 10 Ohms but not an exact number. And it's not even right because the measured number by wolfx-700 was 10.4Ω.
Dude.. depending on how this measurement is done (how the dummy load is measured) it can easily vary by that much. 10.4, haha.. o_O
 

Mr:River

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Dx3 pro would be problem with a 35ohms HE400i?
Would amplification power be missing?
 

bleachershane

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Looking for some opinions/advice from Version 1 owners.

I got my DX3 Pro at the end of 2018, used it for a few weeks and then read the stories of loud bangs, blown headphone drivers and quite honestly I became nervous and stopped using the unit (I didn't want to risk my headphones and I dislike loud, unexpected sounds) so I went back to using my Focusrite Solo as my main listening source.

I left the unit plugged in the whole time and now I'm considering using it again. I'm really intrigued to find out if there are there any Version 1 users here that are still using their original units with headphones, without any faults rearing their heads?

My headphones are PSB M4U1
Impedance 32 Ohms
Sensitivity 1kHz/1mW 102dB

Not sure if the headphone specs made any difference in terms of what caused the blown headphone output issues...
 

BDWoody

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Looking for some opinions/advice from Version 1 owners.

I left the unit plugged in the whole time and now I'm considering using it again. I'm really intrigued to find out if there are there any Version 1 users here that are still using their original units with headphones, without any faults rearing their heads?
...

I use mine regularly.
Never a problem.
 

Toku

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Looking for some opinions/advice from Version 1 owners.

I got my DX3 Pro at the end of 2018, used it for a few weeks and then read the stories of loud bangs, blown headphone drivers and quite honestly I became nervous and stopped using the unit (I didn't want to risk my headphones and I dislike loud, unexpected sounds) so I went back to using my Focusrite Solo as my main listening source.

I left the unit plugged in the whole time and now I'm considering using it again. I'm really intrigued to find out if there are there any Version 1 users here that are still using their original units with headphones, without any faults rearing their heads?

My headphones are PSB M4U1
Impedance 32 Ohms
Sensitivity 1kHz/1mW 102dB

Not sure if the headphone specs made any difference in terms of what caused the blown headphone output issues...
I've been using two DX3 Pro Ver1s with the power on for a year and haven't had any problems. However, I'm not a heavy headphone user.
I have purchased several SMSL and Topping DACs so far, but DX3 Pro works most stably.
 

bleachershane

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I've been using two DX3 Pro Ver1s with the power on for a year and haven't had any problems. However, I'm not a heavy headphone user.
I have purchased several SMSL and Topping DACs so far, but DX3 Pro works most stably.
I did like the unit and found it quite stable in playing a variety of formats and bit rates. My other options was to finish building an O2 headphone amp I started about 5 years ago and using the line out of the DX3 to feed it. If I remember back, the line output didn't have issues with blow outs and DC on the lines?
 
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hi, i have not followed this topic for a long time and now i must sold my first revision unit. Could you tell me what is changed good / bad in second rev.? I know about problems some had with self turning off etc. but i have zero of it since 28 November 2018 (i've only bought a branded ac adapter for less interference)
 
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