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My DX3pro+ died!

lordwotton

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Hi all!
This is my first post on the forum but I've lurked since months. I'm not an expert so bear with me about it :)

After reading the reviews, in January I bought a Topping Dx3 Pro + DAC. I use it to drive my Yamaha HS8s connected to my TV via optical, to my PC via USB and via Bluetooth.
Unluckily my unit died a couple of weeks ago while I was playing music and it doesn't power on anymore. The vendor proposed me to send it back to China to repair it, but I don't know if I'm willing to spend at least 50 dollars on it and wait probably a month.
What comparable device would you suggest me to buy, maybe with better QC than topping? I need it to have Bluetooth (possibly with LDAC codec) and I'd like it to be able to drive headphones, since I'm about to buy a pair of Hifiman Edition XS. Also having a remote would be a nice plus since it will be placed in my living room.
So far I saw the SMSL C200 and the Sabaj A10D 2022 but that's more expensive. Both of these are Chinese manufacturers like topping.
I also saw the Xduoo TA-30 that looks lovely to me but it would cost more than twice.
What are your recommendations in the 200-400 usd price range?
 

twsecrest

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Lots and lots of stuff is made in China.
If you like to be able to use a remote, suggest buying a new Topping DX3 Pro +.
Ship the defective one for warranty service, when the replacement arrives, keep it as a spare or sell it off.
 

Puzzle

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shipping it back will be a good choice, if you get a bit luck you don't need to wait for 50 days that long, for my experience (before covid exist), it takes around 25 days for me to replace a broken part from manufacturer in cn?
 
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lordwotton

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thanks for the replies, shipping it back from where I live will cost 80 dollars plus eventual custom costs when they will ship it back, that's why I don't really like this option on a 200 usd product. Next month I'll be back to Italy tho, and from there maybe I could be able to find cheaper shipping options.
Also, would a "balanced" output like the one on the SMSL C200 be beneficial for listening to headphones?
 

Puzzle

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thanks for the replies, shipping it back from where I live will cost 80 dollars plus eventual custom costs when they will ship it back, that's why I don't really like this option on a 200 usd product. Next month I'll be back to Italy tho, and from there maybe I could be able to find cheaper shipping options.
Also, would a "balanced" output like the one on the SMSL C200 be beneficial for listening to headphones?
costing more than 80 sounds a bit bullshxt for me to send it back, for bal devices, if you already have headphones coming with bak cables, and you feel your device is not power enough to drive them, then it worth a try, but beware that bal cables will cost you a lot if your headphones don't come with it. I just got my fiio k7 and so far I'm happy with it
 

twsecrest

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thanks for the replies, shipping it back from where I live will cost 80 dollars plus eventual custom costs when they will ship it back, that's why I don't really like this option on a 200 usd product. Next month I'll be back to Italy tho, and from there maybe I could be able to find cheaper shipping options.
Also, would a "balanced" output like the one on the SMSL C200 be beneficial for listening to headphones?
It does not appear the Edition XS comes with a balanced cable, so it's an extra expense for a balanced headphone cable.
The SMSL C200 does come with a remote :)
But you do not have to use it's balanced headphone jack (at least for now).
 
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lordwotton

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It does not appear the Edition XS comes with a balanced cable, so it's an extra expense for a balanced headphone cable.
The SMSL C200 does come with a remote :)
But you do not have to use it's balanced headphone jack (at least for now).

if I'm not going to use the balanced output it looks better to have repaired the DX3 Pro, looks it has more output power (1800mW at 32 ohm vs 1300 of the C200), right?
 

twsecrest

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if I'm not going to use the balanced output it looks better to have repaired the DX3 Pro, looks it has more output power (1800mW at 32 ohm vs 1300 of the C200), right?
The Edition XS are 18-Ohms, a headphone amplifier, in a $50 mp3 player could drive them.
So it's not really a power issue, with whatever choice you made.
 
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lordwotton

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Ah thanks, I thought they were 32. Well I guess I'll stick to the DX3pro so!
 

Puzzle

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Another thing just caught me is, does your machine still boot up? If it is, you can always try to flash in the new version of manufacture firmware (it won't void the original warranty). Some machine will have inner protection and using this way, it will reset the software protection. And if your machine is dead, it's dead, you can still send it back for repairing or replacing, in case it's alive, you saved your money and time. The website for firmware is this one (for dx3 pro+ only, 2022-07-07 updated ) : https://www.tpdz.net/newsinfo/663552.html
 

Trell

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I’m sorry to hear that your Topping DAC died in less than a year.

All manufacturers have devices so buying from a seller offering better warranty and support is very important.

From your post I would ditch the vendor you bought from and go elsewhere.
 
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lordwotton

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Another thing just caught me is, does your machine still boot up? If it is, you can always try to flash in the new version of manufacture firmware (it won't void the original warranty). Some machine will have inner protection and using this way, it will reset the software protection. And if your machine is dead, it's dead, you can still send it back for repairing or replacing, in case it's alive, you saved your money and time. The website for firmware is this one (for dx3 pro+ only, 2022-07-07 updated ) : https://www.tpdz.net/newsinfo/663552.html
No, unluckily the unit doesn't power on, the screen remains black. Also from the speakers only comes out an interference.
I already flashed the latest firmware on the unit without problems some months ago
 

Puzzle

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No, unluckily the unit doesn't power on, the screen remains black. Also from the speakers only comes out an interference.
I already flashed the latest firmware on the unit without problems some months ago
Then it should have some hardware problem inside, unlucky bro
 
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lordwotton

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I’m sorry to hear that your Topping DAC died in less than a year.

All manufacturers have devices so buying from a seller offering better warranty and support is very important.

From your post I would ditch the vendor you bought from and go elsewhere.

Yes I agree with you, unluckily seems that topping products are all sold from Chinese vendors on Amazon. Anyway shouldn't be legal to make the customer pay for the shipping of a defective product, the money we pay does not have defects :)
 

MAB

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thanks for the replies, shipping it back from where I live will cost 80 dollars plus eventual custom costs when they will ship it back, that's why I don't really like this option on a 200 usd product. Next month I'll be back to Italy tho, and from there maybe I could be able to find cheaper shipping options.
Also, would a "balanced" output like the one on the SMSL C200 be beneficial for listening to headphones?
The sellers know well and good they have you between a rock and a hard place with the return shipping cost and the value of the DAC. And they are unwilling to take any loss of any kind even on a defective unit within warranty. I had the same problem on two Topping pieces from two different sellers. A PA5 amp broke after just a few dozen hours of use. I paid $80 to ship it back to Shenzhen Audio, they lost it. I ended up demanding my money back, which they eventually refunded, albeit in stages, involving lots of hard-nose emails. I had a n A30Pro channel go bad after several months, and Aoshida tried the same game, but I just got hard nosed right off the bat and they refunded me the money, and didn't even ask for the unit back, it's collecting dust in a box of used parts.

Back to your predicament. Demand full refund. Or return for service with shipping paid by vendor. I think ideal is just a refund. Nobody needs another one of these broken things shipped across the planet...

And, careful on the other devices you are looking at. The problem here is the sellers and the absolute absence of warranty support. Yeah, Topping has some apparent rel issues, maybe worse than average, so does everybody more or less. For the prices of the D30Pro and A30 Pro, I would have rather spent the money on and RME ADI-2 FS which appears to have great customer support, and the extra $300 would easily be made up for by the awesome DSP and the lack of drama with the sellers.
 
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lordwotton

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The sellers know well and good they have you between a rock and a hard place with the return shipping cost and the value of the DAC. And they are unwilling to take any loss of any kind even on a defective unit within warranty. I had the same problem on two Topping pieces from two different sellers. A PA5 amp broke after just a few dozen hours of use. I paid $80 to ship it back to Shenzhen Audio, they lost it. I ended up demanding my money back, which they eventually refunded, albeit in stages, involving lots of hard-nose emails. I had a n A30Pro channel go bad after several months, and Aoshida tried the same game, but I just got hard nosed right off the bat and they refunded me the money, and didn't even ask for the unit back, it's collecting dust in a box of used parts.

Back to your predicament. Demand full refund. Or return for service with shipping paid by vendor. I think ideal is just a refund. Nobody needs another one of these broken things shipped across the planet...

And, careful on the other devices you are looking at. The problem here is the sellers and the absolute absence of warranty support. Yeah, Topping has some apparent rel issues, maybe worse than average, so does everybody. For the prices of the D30Pro and A30 Pro, I would have rather spent the money on and RME ADI-2 FS which appears to have great customer support, and the extra $300 would easily be made up for by the awesome DSP and the lack of drama with the sellers.
Yes I agree, initially the vendor didn't want to offer me a refund, then after contacting Amazon customer service and directly Topping, they offered me only a 20% refund. If they had offered me a full refund I would have bought a new unit from them immediately
 

MAB

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Yes I agree, initially the vendor didn't want to offer me a refund, then after contacting Amazon customer service and directly Topping, they offered me only a 20% refund. If they had offered me a full refund I would have bought a new unit from them immediately
Sounds so familiar. Like I said above, I got my PA5 refund in stages too! Started low, email after email I eventually worked it to 100%.
With that in mind, I took a different approach with Aoshida when the A30Pro started acting up. I was quite suprised how quickly they just refunded me. Sadly, I did make a really big stink:mad:, and hope to never have to do that again.:facepalm:
 

Trell

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The sellers know well and good they have you between a rock and a hard place with the return shipping cost and the value of the DAC. And they are unwilling to take any loss of any kind even on a defective unit within warranty. I had the same problem on two Topping pieces from two different sellers. A PA5 amp broke after just a few dozen hours of use. I paid $80 to ship it back to Shenzhen Audio, they lost it. I ended up demanding my money back, which they eventually refunded, albeit in stages, involving lots of hard-nose emails. I had a n A30Pro channel go bad after several months, and Aoshida tried the same game, but I just got hard nosed right off the bat and they refunded me the money, and didn't even ask for the unit back, it's collecting dust in a box of used parts.

Back to your predicament. Demand full refund. Or return for service with shipping paid by vendor. I think ideal is just a refund. Nobody needs another one of these broken things shipped across the planet...

And, careful on the other devices you are looking at. The problem here is the sellers and the absolute absence of warranty support. Yeah, Topping has some apparent rel issues, maybe worse than average, so does everybody more or less. For the prices of the D30Pro and A30 Pro, I would have rather spent the money on and RME ADI-2 FS which appears to have great customer support, and the extra $300 would easily be made up for by the awesome DSP and the lack of drama with the sellers.
Living in EU I buy from sellers located in EU on order to take advantage EU consumer laws, in case something goes wrong with the device. It’s far cheaper too than shipping to China along with customs and other fees.
 

Puzzle

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To my experience, electronics company won't cover the shipping fee for repairing or replacing with in warranty period even they are really large corporations (like samsung, asus, msi), generally you have to pay the shipment by yourself and what make things worse is that small companies like topping, do not have factory or workshop on other countries other than china, and they only send their products to local vendors and vendors generally won't (and not willing to ) cover any warranty cases, you have to suffer from high cost of shipping (plus customs sometimes) and long time of waiting. I used to fixed my ibasso dx200's battery and it took around one month for me to get it back. To be fair it's not their fault, but it is always worth to consider the potential risk on spending time and money on filing an aboard warranty. It's always a trade off like this, go save money and put yourself in a mess or just go higher price for convenience.
 

Dunring

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What are your recommendations in the 200-400 usd price range?
I'd sell what you have for parts on eBay and get the JDS Atom Amp+ DAC+ combo just as much for how good it sounds, but their support is epic and in the USA. The Schiit Magni Heresy/Modi combo is good too, can't go wrong with either one. Personally the volume wheel on the Heresy is too annoying, had several and maybe if you're left handed it wouldn't be bad. If you go with the Atom stack, ask them at checkout to add the 4 weights to the case which they'll drop in for free. They're just little bars that get stuck inside with adhesive pads so it won't move on the desk as easy. Have to request it though.
 
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