Review and Measurements of Topping DX3Pro DAC and Headphone Amp

[ozz]

I tried, made zero difference in sound if that's what you mean.

Was it louder at least with the Atom or it's not even more powerful than the DX3?

 

[GeorgeWalk]

It has to be said that the DT880 has the lowest peak, if you can even speak of a peak. The DT880 is tuned neutrally. The peak of the 990 Edition is very high. I'm thinking about sending it back. Without the peak the 990 would be perfect for me. I like headphones with a light bathtub tuning (in German "Badewannen Abstimmung"). But the peak...
DT770, 880, 990 are all good headphones, in the mid price range. These are not high-end headphones. Much better is the Amiron Home, to listen to music. If it has to be analytical then the DT1990 or the DT1770 Pro. If it weren't for the money...

If I were you, I'd think about another/better headphone. In my opinion, headphones are the most important link in the chain. Then comes the DAC and the headphone amplifier.

I have the DT 880 (32 ohm) and drive them with the D50s and the Atom amp. They sound great to me.

 

[Veri]

Was it louder at least with the Atom or it's not even more powerful than the DX3?

Atom in high gain can go louder, yeah. SMSL SP200 even louder still.

 

[TLSX]

Hello friends from all over the world, I have a question about the DX3 PRO LDAC product, about the type of output.

The merchant said that the output type of this machine is type D（Class D). And most people think that type A (Class A) output can bring satisfactory sound quality.
And most amplifiers use the type A (class A) output as a selling point. such as "Da-art Canary ii"and "aune X1S 2020". So I'm confused, Does the type D (class D) of the DX3 PRO LDAC affect the sound quality? Ask you

(type A (class A) sound is delicate and warm, suitable for listening to people singing)

（I am from China, lack of English expression, please understand.）

 

[Veri]

Hello friends from all over the world, I have a question about the DX3 PRO LDAC product, about the type of output.

The merchant said that the output type of this machine is type D（Class D). And most people think that type A (Class A) output can bring satisfactory sound quality.
And most amplifiers use the type A (class A) output as a selling point. such as "Da-art Canary ii"and "aune X1S 2020". So I'm confused, Does the type D (class D) of the DX3 PRO LDAC affect the sound quality?

In the review here on this site, there is no downside to the DAC or amplification design. nothing "measurable" shows up, and people are very happy with DX3 sound. I would not worry. Read also for example:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...surements-of-schiit-aegir-pwr-amplifier.9314/
From conclusions: "Nor do I buy into "Class A" having any benefit. If it had, it would show up in measurements. It does not."

 

[August]

Hello friends from all over the world, I have a question about the DX3 PRO LDAC product, about the type of output.

The merchant said that the output type of this machine is type D（Class D). And most people think that type A (Class A) output can bring satisfactory sound quality.
And most amplifiers use the type A (class A) output as a selling point. such as "Da-art Canary ii"and "aune X1S 2020". So I'm confused, Does the type D (class D) of the DX3 PRO LDAC affect the sound quality? Ask you

(type A (class A) sound is delicate and warm, suitable for listening to people singing)

（I am from China, lack of English expression, please understand.）

DX3pro不是D类，tpa6120通常工作在AB类下，功放的分类也和声音没有直接关系

 

[Hunts887]

Anyone tried the dt 770, 880, or 990 with this? If so what are your opinions on the sound of each

 

[Tucson]

Not enough power for the 600 ohm DT880s unless using the gain switch. The gain may degrade performance.

(Hmm...I wonder if this use of the gain feature was a part of the problem I had with it regarding it's performance?)

 

[Hunts887]

Not enough power for the 600 ohm DT880s unless using the gain switch. The gain may degrade performance.

(Hmm...I wonder if this use of the gain feature was a part of the problem I had with it regarding it's performance?)

I'd be curious to how the 600 ohm dt 880s would sound as I am considering getting them

 

[Toku]

Not enough power for the 600 ohm DT880s unless using the gain switch. The gain may degrade performance.

(Hmm...I wonder if this use of the gain feature was a part of the problem I had with it regarding it's performance?)

The specification specifies that the impedance of HP is up to 300Ω.

 

[TLSX]

[QUOTE =“ Veri，post：266312，member：909”]在此站点上的评论中，DAC或放大设计没有不利之处。没有“可测量的”东西出现，人们对DX3声音感到非常满意。我不会担心。另请阅读例如：

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...surements-of-schiit-aegir-pwr-amplifier.9314/
从结论得出：“我也不会购买具有任何好处的“ A类”。如果有的话，它会在测量结果中显示出来，但不会。” [/引用]
OK, I get it, Thank you for reply.

 

[TLSX]

[QUOTE =“ August，post：266432，member：7549”] DX3pro不是D类，tpa6120通常工作在AB类下，功放的分类也和声音没有直接关系[/ QUOTE]

在听感上 AB类音质会不会不如A类？比如DX3 pro会不会比“ Da-art Canary ii”和“ aune X1S 2020”的音质听起来差

 

[Tucson]

The specification specifies that the impedance of HP is up to 300Ω.

I see. I should of purchased the 250 ohm version of the DT880s. It seems that many desktop amps cannot handle my high impedance headphones.

I'd be curious to how the 600 ohm dt 880s would sound as I am considering getting them

I think the DT880s would work well with the DX3 Pro. Someone correct me if I am wrong here, but I have heard the ESS SABRE chip based DACs also do boost the high frequencies a bit. The DAC used with the DX3 should not have this problem, which is good for the DT880s,

The phones have a "sterile" quality to them. They do play exactly what is there with no coloration. The small bump in the mid-high frequencies is not as much as other headphones. I understand this is a good characteristic for sound engineers to mix the music more accurately. It makes the detail in that range more apparent. I guess they can use this to more easily detect mixing glitches in that frequency range, like perhaps sibilance from the singing voice. Apparently the "bump" in mid-HF is small. I enjoy listening to this accuracy of sounds on albums. For me, who at my age is hearing impaired much above 8K, I think this "bump" does help me allot. However, I think that these phones can make certain kinds of mastering errors more apparent.

Update: I am using the line out of my DAC/Amp. Damping factor is about 7. I set to bypass with my EQ software. There is no longer any real sibilance in some of Enya's works, like Amarantine. So, compared to the headphone out, the line out performs a bit better. This makes sense. One advantage of 600 ohm headphones.

 

[Veri]

在听感上 AB类音质会不会不如A类？比如DX3 pro会不会比“ Da-art Canary ii”和“ aune X1S 2020”的音质听起来差

Amplification class does not have a specific 'sound'

 

[TLSX]

Amplification class does not have a specific 'sound'

The triode works in the Class A state and the sound is delicate and warm.
Other states are slightly stiffer than Class A, Class A is similar to the sound of bile duct

 

[Nobbi]

Not enough power for the 600 ohm DT880s unless using the gain switch. The gain may degrade performance.

The DX3 Pro is not specified for 600Ω headphones. The amplifier has too little power for that. To operate 600Ω headphones properly, you need an amplifier with more power.

The DX3 has an output power of 125mW x 2 @300Ω.
The JDS Lab Atom has an output power of 125mW (8.68 VRMS) @600Ω.
The SMSL SP200 has an output power of 220mW x 2 @600Ω.

With the Atom and the SP200 you can use 600Ω headphones sensibly... With the DX3 Pro it makes no sense to use such high impedance headphones.

 

[BDWoody]

The triode works in the Class A state and the sound is delicate and warm.
Other states are slightly stiffer than Class A, Class A is similar to the sound of bile duct

A properly built amplifier shouldn't audibly add or subtract anything from the signal that wasn't there in the first place, other than amplitude. There are a lot of myths about sound signatures of different devices...a solid state device shouldn't have a sound signature, unless you have designed it to have one...

I'm not sure what a bile duct sounds like?

 

[Tucson]

The DX3 Pro is not specified for 600Ω headphones. The amplifier has too little power for that. To operate 600Ω headphones properly, you need an amplifier with more power.

The DX3 has an output power of 125mW x 2 @300Ω.
The JDS Lab Atom has an output power of 125mW (8.68 VRMS) @600Ω.
The SMSL SP200 has an output power of 220mW x 2 @600Ω.

With the Atom and the SP200 you can use 600Ω headphones sensibly... With the DX3 Pro it makes no sense to use such high impedance headphones.

When I had purchased the DX3 Pro, I did not realize its lack of power. I thought any good desktop DAC/Amp should be able to power pro style 600 ohm headphones. Even the reviews that I had read did not mention this limitation. Amir's tests had the data there, but I did not know its significance in relation to my headphones. I guessed it may be underpowered just a bit, but I thought it still would work out for me since I do not listen at ear splitting levels.

This has me thinking. I wonder is there is such thing as a transient response of an amplifier? This is the ability for the amp to deliver power within very brief intervals. An example would be a cymbal crash, or more telling, something in the bass range, like strong pounding of a drum, or some such strong, sharp sound. Perhaps the sound from the cannons in Tchaikosvky's 1812 Overture at a good volume? I do imagine the volume level would be a factor. The reason I mention transient response is I could get the amp to deliver what apoeared to be enough volume, but barely. Switching on the gain increase did help, and at least perceptually improved bass response. So when the phones are adequately powered, this would not be an issue.

UPDATE

I just realized something. If the DX3 Pro is anything like the DX7 Pro, the headphone out will perform not as well as the line outs. Much of Amir's tests were on the line outs with this model, the DX3. I should of tried the line outs with my high impedance headphones, before I sent it back. A oversight on my part. As per example, the DX7 Pro line outs specs as good, maybe just a tad better, than my Apogee Duet. This is very impressive. However, the headphones out of the DX7 is not as good in a numerically noticeable way. Whether this difference can be heard is up for debate.

 

[Tucson]

[QUOTE =“ August，post：266432，member：7549”] DX3pro不是D类，tpa6120通常工作在AB类下，功放的分类也和声音没有直接关系[/ QUOTE]

在听感上 AB类音质会不会不如A类？比如DX3 pro会不会比“ Da-art Canary ii”和“ aune X1S 2020”的音质听起来差

我不这么认为。据我了解，放大器的类别不会影响声音。一个只是比另一个更有效。

 

[Yuno]

I just realized something. If the DX3 Pro is anything like the DX7 Pro, the headphone out will perform not as well as the line outs. Much of Amir's tests were on the line outs with this model, the DX3. I should of tried the line outs with my high impedance headphones, before I sent it back. A oversight on my part. As per example, the DX7 Pro line outs specs as good, maybe just a tad better, than my Apogee Duet. This is very impressive. However, the headphones out of the DX7 is not as good in a numerically noticeable way. Whether this difference can be heard is up for debate.

dx3 pro v2 has line out impedance of 100 Ohm which is unsuitable for basically any headphones. Most of dacs have line out impedance way above levels that are good for headphones.
The difference very well could be heard, but not in positive way.