I have an early edition Topping DX3pro and would like to upgrade to a next level dac with pretty much the same capabilities as the DX3pro. I do not car about headphone capabilities though as I do not listen to HP's. Any suggestions are appreciated, I am looking most for sound quality and would like to stay 500.00 or under.
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Dac upgrade
- Thread starter erniek
- Start date
Keith_W
Major Contributor
Short answer: if your DAC does what you need it to do, there is no need to upgrade.
Longer answer: read Amir's review and make sure you understand what the graphs are showing. In particular, note that although there are better performing DAC's than the Topping, the differences are so miniscule that they fall below audible range. Even DAC's that perform worse than the Topping are likely to have differences so small that you won't be able to hear them. The only reason to upgrade would be to chase even better measurements for no audible benefit (some people on ASR), or to chase some nebulous marketing story about how such-and-such gives you better sound.
Longer answer: read Amir's review and make sure you understand what the graphs are showing. In particular, note that although there are better performing DAC's than the Topping, the differences are so miniscule that they fall below audible range. Even DAC's that perform worse than the Topping are likely to have differences so small that you won't be able to hear them. The only reason to upgrade would be to chase even better measurements for no audible benefit (some people on ASR), or to chase some nebulous marketing story about how such-and-such gives you better sound.
Save the money for something else. It’s already as good as it gets.
Totally agree with the previous replies regarding differences in sound quality, but you could upgrade and gain some extra features or functionality.
What are your sources? Would an HDMI/ARC input be useful? Could PEQ/subwoofer output/bass management add to your current setup?
What are your sources? Would an HDMI/ARC input be useful? Could PEQ/subwoofer output/bass management add to your current setup?
As others have already pointed out a DAC change won't alter your audio quality one tiny bit.
Save your money, and put it towards better speakers.
- Thread Starter
- #9
I already have KEF R3's and LS50's. A kind of question for me is if upgrading the dac isn't an improvement why do we such a dizzying array of different dacs to choose from?
I have already owned the OPPO dac and the DX3pro (though very good) did not measure up to me soundwise to the OPPO. This could change with the upcoming amp so I will see, also the dx3pro is 5 or so years old.
I have already owned the OPPO dac and the DX3pro (though very good) did not measure up to me soundwise to the OPPO. This could change with the upcoming amp so I will see, also the dx3pro is 5 or so years old.
Because it's an easy sell, and the industry still does an excellent job making sure people want to buy new DACs from time to time, as is evident here.
I really doubt that you could actually tell the difference between the Oppo and the Topping. If you haven't made a controlled, level-matched, and blind comparison, I would not trust any conclusions.
If you want to improve your sound, look at things like room correction.
As one particularly stupid politician observed, "You don't need 23 kinds of underarm deodorant."
Seriously OP, you are absolutely not hearing differences between adequate DACs. That is completely your sighted listening playing tricks on you. Not any chance you are detecting audible differences. You are telling yourself what you want to hear in order to justify a new toy. Likely.
Now speakers, DSP corrections, those are absolutely appropriate targets for making improvements to your system.
Now speakers, DSP corrections, those are absolutely appropriate targets for making improvements to your system.
I have a DX7 pro, and a Chord Hugo2.
Disregarding headphone use, there is hardly, if any, audible differences through my speakers.
I think the Hugo2 goes for about $2.5K. Just to give you a comparison.
Upgrade your speakers, that is the answer to "what should I change to get better sound" 99% of the time. Changing your DAC wont do anything, because the DX3Pro is already state of the art for single ended output.
If Walmart or Target offers DACs with errors outside of the range of human hearing, then yes. You can buy that for sure.If upgrading does not produce any better sound then why do we not all buy Walmart or Target house brand stuff and be done with it.
D50iii makes sense if you want the EQ functionality or have long runs to your active speakers/amplifier so the balanced connection might have some use. It does nothing for for sound quality if you don't use the EQ.
kemmler3D
Master Contributor
1) Different feature sets
2) Marketing
3) Some people want "number go up" improvements whether or not they are audible.
It is possible to buy a DAC that works poorly, lacks features, has poor support, poor build quality, etc. Cheaper is not always better.
However, once you have a "good" DAC in today's world, (which does not cost all that much - basically all Topping devices qualify) you basically have the best audio performance achievable, i.e. transparent, i.e. does nothing audible to the sound. And so there may be reasons for you to upgrade, but sound quality is not one of them.
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It is possible to buy DACS that have audible noise or distortion. Walmart or Target house brand stuff might fall into this category - or they might not. Without measurements we can't know. A small number of dacs measured here have been fairly bad. Some of those have been very expensive.If upgrading does not produce any better sound then why do we not all buy Walmart or Target house brand stuff and be done with it.
But your topping DAC does not - it has been measured, and is audibly perfect. Upgrade by all means for the reasons others have stated, features, aesthetics, because your've always lusted over a particular brand, brand reputation, after sales support... and so on.
But don't do it thinking you are going to get better sound.
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