Review and Measurements of Topping DX3Pro DAC and Headphone Amp

[Bun-Bun]

Maybe a Sabaj D5 or DX7 Pro but I'm still wary with the reliability. Then again, with RME at least I would have a peace of mind of that thing not breaking down for next decade or so

Yeah I'm wary of the DX7 Pro after my DX3 Pro experience. That's a lot of money for a device to not have a perfect volume knob.

 

[majingotan]

Yeah my office is so dry when I to my chair and grab the arm rest to sit down I get a shock from the metal portion underneath. This then goes through the air to my desk and my monitors will power cycle and my keyboard/mouse will go haywire and this one time it fried my DX3 Pro...

Crazy that your system somehow is not earthed/grounded I think because even with static charge, as long as the system is grounded, there should be no potential difference throughout when you touch the chassis

 

[Bun-Bun]

Crazy that your system somehow is not earthed/grounded I think because even with static charge, as long as the system is grounded, there should be no potential difference throughout when you touch the chassis

The switching power supply that comes with these is not grounded. So static would go through the RCA connectors or USB to either my receiver or computer to find ground.

The DX7 Pro has the power supply internal, so I assume it's chassis would be grounded.

The Sabaj D5 looks identical to the D7 Pro. Is it the same design? I wonder if Sabaj uses a nicer knob encoder that doesn't have the QC issues of the one Topping uses.

 

[Bun-Bun]

Topping responded to my repair request. I shipped it back to them and they are paying for the shipping. So far I am happy with Toppings service.

"The way we repaired is to directly replace the OPA2140. However, due to the specific usage will caused damage again, we will consider replacing the AD8620 and increasing the output impedance to 4.7ohm. "

I am adding static dissipation to my work area, final method TBD, and maybe directly grounding the case of the DX3 Pro. Think that will help?

Should I get the original OPA2140 or the AD8620? I am not worried about the output impedance as I don't and likely wont have low impedance or difficult to drive headphones. Just worried about losing the silencing relay and SQ.

 

[Deleted member 3718]

"However, due to the specific usage will caused damage again, we will consider replacing the AD8620 and increasing the output impedance to 4.7ohm. "

Do you think you could follow up with them and ask exactly what they mean by "due to specific usage will caused damage again"? I'm taking that to mean the OPA2140 will inevitably fail no matter what. I ask because my DX3 Pro v1 failed recently after 9 months of daily use. After opening it up I found the OPA2140 was dead. I was going to replace it with a new one but if it will just fail again then it seems pointless.

 

[TLDRonin]

It's not impossible I'm sure they fixed faulty V1 units.

Sorry for all the questions

So Is it possible for this unit to be a V1 (1 ohm OI) and have LDAC BT support?

 

[Lifu]

Hi guys.

I just got Topping DX3 Pro from Amazon UK and it's the LDAC version which is rated as "<10 Ohms".
While listening to Blon BL-03 the sound is more pleasant than EarStudio ES100. Makes it a little more mellow which I really like for Blon.
Moondrop Kanas Pro on the DX3 sounds both better and worse. The bass is less tight and the highs have less presence, but the soundstage is deeper and a bit more expanded than the ES100. I don't know how much the difference is because of the high impedance output and how much is from them being 2 different devices.

- Did Amirm say he will review the new LDAC version?
- Are there any other DAC+Amp like this that I could replace it with under £200? I can still send it back till the end of January.
I'm looking for: Remote, volume control for my monitors and easy way to switch between line out and headphones without unplugging the jack.
In the future, I'm looking at something like DX7 Pro for the XLR out and built-in linear power supply, but that one doesn't have a great output impedance either.
- Will a better cable with less impedance than the one it came with Kanas Pro have a meaningful effect?

Thanks

 

[Deleted member 3718]

I made a thread on how I repaired my DX3 Pro V1 here:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-dx3-pro-v1-repair.10550/

Hopefully this will be useful to others looking to repair theirs.

 

[v.koutensky]

Kindly asking for advice - just got my new Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 250 ohm.
I am looking for replacement of my Topping D50 for something with headphone amlifier.

The Topping DX3 Pro seems to be obvious choice, I can buy one for 185 USD.
Also I found Sabaj D4, which seems to be a very similar, just 50 USD cheaper, I also like a direct powering by 220 and that huge toroid :-D . I am unable to find relevant review of D4, but other products of Sabaj seems to be competently designed.

Any idea for comparison these two? Any reason to prefer DX3 Pro over Sabaj? (please help me to justify bigger sum spent on my toys :-D)
The cost difference is relevant, but not crucial.

Rest of the chain is ROON, playing through DAC (of choice) to Yamaha DSP-A2 (in stereo) or to mentioned Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO. The speaker / headphone listening is 80 / 20.

 

[renaudrenaud]

Kindly asking for advice - just got my new Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 250 ohm.
I am looking for replacement of my Topping D50 for something with headphone amlifier.

The Topping DX3 Pro seems to be obvious choice, I can buy one for 185 USD.
Also I found Sabaj D4, which seems to be a very similar, just 50 USD cheaper, I also like a direct powering by 220 and that huge toroid :-D . I am unable to find relevant review of D4, but other products of Sabaj seems to be competently designed.

Any idea for comparison these two? Any reason to prefer DX3 Pro over Sabaj? (please help me to justify bigger sum spent on my toys :-D)
The cost difference is relevant, but not crucial.

Rest of the chain is ROON, playing through DAC (of choice) to Yamaha DSP-A2 (in stereo) or to mentioned Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO. The speaker / headphone listening is 80 / 20.

So go for a Sabaj D5

 

[milus]

"Also I found Sabaj D4, which seems to be a very similar, just 50 USD cheaper, I also like a direct powering by 220 and that huge toroid :-D . I am unable to find relevant review of D4, but other products of Sabaj seems to be competently designed."

This maybe?

 

[v.koutensky]

This maybe?

Thanks Milus, I have already seen it, but I not able to interpret it in a term of relevant comparison with DX3 Pro.

 

[Veri]

Healthy man gear ???

Btw you realise the DX3 included amp is probably not perfectly suited to the 8ohm planar Verum right? Have you tried using it as DAC with external amp?

 

[Veri]

yes, i've tried. even ibasso dongle plays better. About 8 ohm - topping has plenty of power and without any distortion. Also I've tried to add a 30 ohm resistor so Verum 1 bacame 38 ohm headphones - nothing changed (except volume). Topping is a very primitive sound with anemic bass and high frequencies without proper layering.

Funny, I hear none of those bad things. Even SBAF thought it was all right. Have you considered yours is faulty? https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/topping-dx3-pro.7498/

Edit: just noticed you posted the same there, too...

 

[Veri]

Update: i've just listened to it via USB (foobar Asio output). Guys, come on. It's a disaster. Via coax it was at least simple but clean sounding.

Uh-huh

 

[PianoDar]

Update: i've just listened to it via USB (foobar Asio output). Guys, come on. It's a disaster. Via coax it was at least simple but clean sounding.

Something tells me you did not do a level matched double blind test.

 

[Veri]

What hit me immeditely in sound of this thing - significant lack of lower midbass.

Weird that it doesn't show up in any FR measurement then, no?

 

[majingotan]

Sounds like you need a replacement or that some other company is

Weird that it doesn't show up in any FR measurement then, no?

Have you guys looked at impedance vs frequency graph of that planar headphones? In IEMs, this FR graph is useless as the IEM frequency is dependent on the output impedance of the jack. Even as little as 0.5 ohm OI difference would cause my CA Andromeda to sound noticeably different.

 

[Veri]

Have you guys looked at impedance vs frequency graph of that planar headphones? In IEMs, this FR graph is useless as the IEM frequency is dependent on the output impedance of the jack. Even as little as 0.5 ohm OI difference would cause my CA Andromeda to sound noticeably different.

With IEMs, that's a fair remark. I would assume his planar headphones have a flat impedance-frequency curve though.

 

[PianoDar]

So all recommdended amps now has inaudible distortions, noise below audible level etc. Does it mean all of them sounds the same?

Amps/DACs that measure poorly don't sound good. Amps/DACs that measure well sound good. There's no magic involved here.

I suspect your hearing isn't as good as you think it is, and you're a victim of confirmation bias.