Features wise, how does the DX3Pro compare to a L30 + E30 stack?
-
Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!
Review and Measurements of Topping DX3Pro DAC and Headphone Amp
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
DX3pro has blutooth,get the L30+E30 stack more powerful amp,only a couple dollars more,I have both DX3pro v1 and L30+E30 stack i like em both.
Nice. Well, I found the right person to get answers I guess! Could you use the L30 as an analog pre-amp too?
L30 has preamp
artburda
Active Member
All of a sudden I can't play hi-res flac files anymore in foobar via USB, works only up to 96 khz. Uninstalled and reinstalled the driver multiple times and factory reset the DX3, still not working. Updated to the newest foobar version, doesn't change anything. Any ideas what might be the issue?
Edit: Also tried it with jriver and music bee. Same issue, it says the device doesn't support the sample rate.
Edit: Also tried it with jriver and music bee. Same issue, it says the device doesn't support the sample rate.
Last edited:
artburda
Active Member
I had to change the USB cable, now it works again. So a USB cable can be partially damaged so that it only works up to a certain sample/data rate?
Last edited:
Yes, I believe the protocol has error correction. Past a certain numbers of errors it probably negotiates a lower speed.
Drop has version 2 and Audioscience reviewed first revision. Performance is not the same between revisions. All the complaints about reliability drive me to the Fiio K5 Pro. Rock solid stability and great sounding so I'm quite happy with that purchase.
Is that a comparable product? Any independent measurements around?
Rickydenim
Member
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2020
- Messages
- 11
- Likes
- 5
I just got some new studio monitors (Focal Shape 50) and thought I'd test out the DX3 Pro using the pre line-outs. Whilst it sounded quite good, it was lacking compared to my Motu M4 interface (ESS Sabre 32 DAC). I prefer the DX3 Pro's headphone output to be honest but via line-out it wasn't quite as good - treble, soundstage being the most obvious.
I haven't had a chance to test just DAC out however would it be much difference? Would also worry about software volume control as my monitors don't have volume controls - and these suckers are LOUD.
I haven't had a chance to test just DAC out however would it be much difference? Would also worry about software volume control as my monitors don't have volume controls - and these suckers are LOUD.
Killingbeans
Major Contributor
Rickydenim
Member
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2020
- Messages
- 11
- Likes
- 5
Sorry to cause impending head implosion! Not sure why this upsets you? Ive read quite a lot of reviews stating that the lineout was a let down and tbh I didn't see why that would be the case , but after testing for myself Id now have to agree. The difference to the Motu was evident right away. But like I say, I do prefer the headphone out on the Topping better than the Motu, much punchier. Anyway that's my experience which I thought I would share.My head's about to implodeI need a break from ASR...
Killingbeans
Major Contributor
No worries. Not upset, just tired
It prompted something in me, that made me want to be "that guy". The guy who more than often is perceived as smug and/or disrespectful to other peoples opinions. I wasn't really in the mood for that. And then there's the high risk of ending up kicking a dead horse. But I'll give it a go, and I'll try to be civil.Topping has no reason to give the lin-out a sound signature, and none of the measurements on this site suggests that it should have one(???).
A likely scenario: Some deeply respected subjective reviewer imagines that the line-out sounds different in some way. A bunch of the other reviewers sees this, and by the time they get to review the product, the idea is already thoroughly imprinted in their mind, so naturally they hear it as well. Finally you read the reviews and fall into the trap of thinking that trying to arm yourself with negative bias before listening will negate the risk of positive bias, but it doesn't.
The brain is a scumbag. It's obviously useful, but don't trust it for a second. It's designed for survival, not critical analysis.
ZenTraveler
Member
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2020
- Messages
- 51
- Likes
- 39
Curious, how you do the testing to determine the difference? Do you do volume matching?
Rickydenim
Member
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2020
- Messages
- 11
- Likes
- 5
No worries. Not upset, just tired
Topping has no reason to give the lin-out a sound signature, and none of the measurements on this site suggests that it should have one(???).
A likely scenario: Some deeply respected subjective reviewer imagines that the line-out sounds different in some way. A bunch of the other reviewers sees this, and by the time they get to review the product, the idea is already thoroughly imprinted in their mind, so naturally they hear it as well. Finally you read the reviews and fall into the trap of thinking that trying to arm yourself with negative bias before listening will negate the risk of positive bias, but it doesn't.
The brain is a scumbag. It's obviously useful, but don't trust it for a second. It's designed for survival, not critical analysis.
All good
I don't disagree at all to be honest. I read this a few times on pro reviews and on reddit reviews but I was also seeing comments saying there isn't anything to it, so being the optimist I am, I was preparing for it to be absolutely fine. But yeah...brains!And to be fair, this was NOT very scientific at all. I only volume-matched by ear and tested on a track I am very familiar with 'Glass Animals - Black Mambo'. This has some very articulate panned instruments at the beginning and a defined bass-line and I flicked between the Topping to the Motu after a few minutes listening of each. My ears heard the Topping as being good, but then moving to the Motu I could hear the opening plucks had a lot more air, clarity, and the stereo image was a bit wider.
I have the dx3 connected to my laptop and it's a work day so will spend the day using the monitors with it - will be good to spend more time to see if my brains gets out of the way!
nickthestain
Member
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2020
- Messages
- 10
- Likes
- 0
Sorry for the huge delay, yes I bought it and returned it, since I preferred to use a balanced output to connect it to my JBL LSR 305s and I wanted a lower headphones output impedance. Right now I'm using an SMSL SU-8 with balance output and I'll buy a separate headphones amp soon. This combo DAC+amp would be about 400 EUR. An alternative could be the Topping DX7 Pro, with the added bluetooth (which I don't need), which is 600 EUR and has a ~6 ohm impedance for headphone out. Hope this helped
milus
Member
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2018
- Messages
- 84
- Likes
- 85
@artburda
Something similar happened to me recently. One morning, after turning my PC on, Windows simply did not recognize the unit, for it, it "cease to exist".
After trying Bluetooth connection I could relax a bit. It was not the DAC or, at least it was only the USB part of it.
Changing the USB cable solved the problem (I previously try other things: switch USB port on computer, restart both, computer and DAC, etc., etc.)
The faulty cable was the original which came with the unit, a V1 model from October 2018 that never before give me any kind of trouble, working flawlessly since then.
Fortunately that was a simple problem, easy and cheap to solve!!
So, I guess maybe your case was rather similar, though instead of a completely faulty cable it was a partially faulty one?
Glad you solve it, too.
Cheers!
artburda
Active Member
It was not the USB cable provided by Topping, I used another old one. I guess it was plugged/unplugged and twisted too many times.
milus
Member
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2018
- Messages
- 84
- Likes
- 85
Mmm. I see. OK. Anyway glad we could solved it!
Last edited:
Similar threads
- Poll
