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Topping DX3 Pro+ Review (DAC & Headphone Amp)

conuss

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all I need is 24/192 for audio on DVD-A or Bluray audio disks
Have you gotten to that yet?, because there are a lot of complaints about correct S/PDIF compatibility due to jitter values that are critical for the device.
 

WTP

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Have you gotten to that yet?, because there are a lot of complaints about correct S/PDIF compatibility due to jitter values that are critical for the device.
Yes. I have 24/192 (King Crimson) flac music files on my server and they play fine in VLC after selecting default 24/192 in Windows. On Win 10 via a USB>optical converter which indicates 192k whilst on Win 7 USB > USB it sounds identical.

Is there something else I should be looking for?
 

WTP

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Have you gotten to that yet?, because there are a lot of complaints about correct S/PDIF compatibility due to jitter values that are critical for the device.
I bought the Topping because of the reviews here, after originally going to buy the Fiio that also had only slightly less good review.

Their customer support has been faster to respond on Win 7 drivers, so did I do the right thing as I can still return the DX3 pro+ to Amazon?
 

DrFlimFlam

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what sampling rate do you use with dx3? does it matter at all using 32 352 on windows for non production audio? Like having higher sampling than the sources I will use, can have any negative or just don't care?
 

conuss

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Yes. I have 24/192 (King Crimson) flac music files on my server and they play fine in VLC after selecting default 24/192 in Windows. On Win 10 via a USB>optical converter which indicates 192k whilst on Win 7 USB > USB it sounds identical.

Is there something else I should be looking for?
Note that this was about playing audio CDs, not files from the server.
 

WTP

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Note that this was about playing audio CDs, not files from the server.
So the bad comments were when playing CDs, right? Obviously I have already read / translated the 24/192 blurays > flac via my Win10 PC onto my server and played them back on my PC (or my 2 digital streamers) as they don't play directly on Win 7. I don't plan any other method, so am I good to go with the DX3 Pro+ or do I look at the Fiio K% ESS?
 

jankz

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So the bad comments were when playing CDs, right? Obviously I have already read / translated the 24/192 blurays > flac via my Win10 PC onto my server and played them back on my PC (or my 2 digital streamers) as they don't play directly on Win 7. I don't plan any other method, so am I good to go with the DX3 Pro+ or do I look at the Fiio K% ESS?
Why are you sticking with Win 7 in the first place? It hit EOL in 2020, but luckily for you MS offered extended support until Jan 2023. Time is ticking, my friend.
 

DrFlimFlam

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would be any difference when using the RCA line out with a pair of active speakers if using the pure dac mode vs de pre-amp mode?

with the pure dac I cannot change the volume with the dx3, but I don't know if adding a pre-amp to an already pair of active speakers could destroy the sound quality.
 

WTP

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For ASR?
Simple. Like many other music lovers, I have great music editing tools such as Audition which Adobe have sadly downgraded by replacing useful tools with snazzy useless bloated features, so I have to keep Win 7 so I can run the last useful version 3 that will not install on Win 10. Cool Edit Pro was written by an independent company and bought out by Adobe to become Audition, so many music lovers have stuck with the original version 1.5 that probably needs Win 2000 and have no concerns about keeping it.
 

WTP

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Apologies, my last reply was supposed to be in response to the reply by jankz but somehow wrong buttons got clicked !!!
 

Veri

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Simple. Like many other music lovers, I have great music editing tools such as Audition which Adobe have sadly downgraded by replacing useful tools with snazzy useless bloated features, so I have to keep Win 7 so I can run the last useful version 3 that will not install on Win 10.
Fair enough :)
 

Arches

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Turns out it is possible to customize the advertised bluetooth name from DX3 Pro+ to whatever you want and modify pairing behavior (and more!). I got mine to only go into pairing mode when I press and hold the brightness button on the remote. Unfortunately the process involves opening up the device, connecting USB to some PCB jumpers, and installing a bunch of QCC5125 dev tools and drivers found on random dropbox accounts. Oh.. and you risk bricking the BT function of your device and voiding your warranty. If all this sounds like a good time to more than a few people I'll try to find the time to give some tips on how to do it all.
 
Last edited:

conuss

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Turns out it is possible to customize the advertised bluetooth name from DX3 Pro+ to whatever you want and modify pairing behavior (and more!). I got mine to only go into pairing mode when I press and hold the brightness button on the remote. Unfortunately the process involves opening up the device, connecting USB to some PCB jumpers, and installing a bunch of QCC5125 dev tools and drivers found on random dropbox accounts. Oh.. and you risk bricking the BT function of your device and voiding your warranty. If all this sounds like a good time to more than a few people I'll try to find the time to give some tips on how to do it all.
But what, the developers at the same time did not have enough mind so that the user would not toil and simply turn off BT electrically by means of a relay from the remote control? Personally, I am ready to easily pay extra for THIS and I know that this situation worries many.
 

Alec246

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Hey guys, just a couple of question after my Topping arrived.

Really nice so far. I honestly can't say I hear a difference between this and the Apple Dongle I was using. But the numbers dont lie, and I really like this elegant unit over my desk, and controlling volume physically as well. Also using Tidal Master, nice to know my music is playing Bit Perfect.

One of my question is, the volume is in dbs, right? So, it is a logarithmic scale. Being at 30 doesn't mean I am 70% of the Volume for that Gain? Its just I am much closer to 0 than I imagined I would be in my IEMs, other units with linear volume, I never went past 20 out of 100.

Another question is, the proper level for highest audio quality is leaving Windows Level at 100?

Thanks!
 

WTP

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Hey guys, just a couple of question after my Topping arrived.

Really nice so far. I honestly can't say I hear a difference between this and the Apple Dongle I was using. But the numbers dont lie, and I really like this elegant unit over my desk, and controlling volume physically as well. Also using Tidal Master, nice to know my music is playing Bit Perfect.

One of my question is, the volume is in dbs, right? So, it is a logarithmic scale. Being at 30 doesn't mean I am 70% of the Volume for that Gain? Its just I am much closer to 0 than I imagined I would be in my IEMs, other units with linear volume, I never went past 20 out of 100.

Another question is, the proper level for highest audio quality is leaving Windows Level at 100?

Thanks!
I thought the Topping (think it is called ASIO?) driver bypasses the regular Windows driver, as do many other audio products I have used in the past
 

JimiPegorino

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Does the DX3 Pro+ work well with the LCD-X? The headphone is 20 Ohm and I’m reading in the review that it doesn’t like numbers close to this.

Just to add, I’ve been using this unit for the past 6 months without any issue at all. The volume control works with every click (increase and decrease) and it’s been stable throughout. I was having some issues with it going into protection mode during playback in Logic Pro (which is probably a software error on my side, everything else works fine) and that has now disappeared completely since using COAX.

Thanks in advance!
 

DrFlimFlam

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Go into settings and disable the display, it's a big failure point according to reports here. The resale value will be shot if some of the display lines goes kaput.
can you completely disable it? I only managed to find an option to turn of some things, but always shows the USB logo or a small dot on standby
 
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