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Review and Measurements of Topping DX3Pro DAC and Headphone Amp

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Looking for some opinions/advice from Version 1 owners.

I got my DX3 Pro at the end of 2018, used it for a few weeks and then read the stories of loud bangs, blown headphone drivers and quite honestly I became nervous and stopped using the unit (I didn't want to risk my headphones and I dislike loud, unexpected sounds) so I went back to using my Focusrite Solo as my main listening source.

I left the unit plugged in the whole time and now I'm considering using it again. I'm really intrigued to find out if there are there any Version 1 users here that are still using their original units with headphones, without any faults rearing their heads?

My headphones are PSB M4U1
Impedance 32 Ohms
Sensitivity 1kHz/1mW 102dB

Not sure if the headphone specs made any difference in terms of what caused the blown headphone output issues...

Hi there. An old user here. Purchased my unit back in early 2019 (V1). Besides some oddities that have occured in the last 2 years with the unit, it's still going! I use it every single day, either with my powered monitors or most often IEMs. Use both USB and bluetooth. I think my issues were ground loop related which I posted about in this very thread, which you can read about in the older pages. Its a solid unit, at least mine has been. I have no desire whatsoever to buy another amp/dac and will keep using until it finally dies on me which could be a long time from now!
 

Cidious

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Ohms are not the whole story.

My Mr Speakers Mad Dogs (Fostex T50rp with planar drivers) are 50ish ohms or so but they almost need as much amplification as my 600 ohm Beyers with dynamic drivers to sound really good.

Sensitivity also plays a role as some other aspects. People throwing ohm numbers around here like it's THE measurement of amplification.
 

Veri

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Ohms are not the whole story.

My Mr Speakers Mad Dogs (Fostex T50rp with planar drivers) are 50ish ohms or so but they almost need as much amplification as my 600 ohm Beyers with dynamic drivers to sound really good.

So they need a brand spanking new A30 Pro ;) haha.
 

Cidious

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Whats an A30 Pro lol. New Topping product?

Just to be clear. DX3 Pro can drive my cans just fine. Admittedly the 600ohm Beyers like a tad more but those are just power hungry cunts (I say that with all the love. And pull the modded class A Lehmann out for them). And I've got the Topping A50s that has the balanced port and yes it gives a bit more than the single ended port (and it's own single ended port) But not a ton more or anything.

On the DX3 Pro there would be occasions where you'd activate high gain with hard to drive cans.

Anything mainstream will do just fine! I've not really come across any cans other than the Beyer 600 ohms that it struggles with.
 

Veri

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Whats an A30 Pro lol. New Topping product?

Just to be clear. DX3 Pro can drive my cans just fine. Admittedly the 600ohm Beyers like a tad more but those are just power hungry cunts (I say that with all the love. And pull the modded class A Lehmann out for them). And I've got the Topping A50s that has the balanced port and yes it gives a bit more than the single ended port (and it's own single ended port) But not a ton more or anything.

On the DX3 Pro there would be occasions where you'd activate high gain with hard to drive cans.

Anything mainstream will do just fine! I've not really come across any cans other than the Beyer 600 ohms that it struggles with.
Yeah the A30 Pro. It can do about 2x A50s the power at 33 ohm and almost 4x A50s the power on 300 ohm. It was designed to be able to power 600ohm beyers or modded T50RPs to very loud levels. It's not even for sale yet though, but it will be soon™
 

Cidious

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hahaha.

Are you the lead Topping Marketing manager now? :p


alrighty well DO YOU FUCKING MAYBE POSSIBLY mind if I just enjoy my kit for now? haha.

A50s/D50s for all my cans. Soncoz LA-BoxWithNoLCD_TheNameIsToHardToRemember DAC for my ADAM T5Vs.. DX3 Pro for whatever cans the missus wants to listen to.. and driving Presonus Eris speaker signal..

ARE YOU TELLING ME I should buy the A30 Pro Super Delux Edition? How much will this extend my E-***** sir?
 
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Veri

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hahaha.

Are you the lead Topping Marketing manager now? :p


alrighty well DO YOU FUCKING MAYBE POSSIBLY mind if I just enjoy my kit for now? haha.
Haha, of course, my bad. I'm using a measly L30 myself :p I don't need a lot of gain, me. Used to own an Alpha Prime T50RP mod though, miss those! Needed a lot of power those cans.
 

Brianc

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Just bought an almost new DX3 (version 2) from my friend. Like it a lot so far. It's greatly simplified my set up. Reading the review and the comments has been very informative. Love this site! A couple of questions: is there any functional advantage to upgrading to the aluminum DX7 remote? My one complaint so far is that the remote buttons sometimes require multiple presses. Other question is about gain. It appears to only be switchable when using the headphone out and not with the line out. This is how it's supposed to work? Thanks
 

Cidious

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Just bought an almost new DX3 (version 2) from my friend. Like it a lot so far. It's greatly simplified my set up. Reading the review and the comments has been very informative. Love this site! A couple of questions: is there any functional advantage to upgrading to the aluminum DX7 remote? My one complaint so far is that the remote buttons sometimes require multiple presses. Other question is about gain. It appears to only be switchable when using the headphone out and not with the line out. This is how it's supposed to work? Thanks

It's mostly a more premium feel to it. I have both. And use both without issues. However it's just nice to have the aluminium block laying on the desk instead of the plastic flimsy one. A vanity upgrade.
 

TiborG

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Hi, can I use this amplifier with AKG K702 which have 62ohm? Thank you
I use AKG K 702 64 Ohms with bass mod and Beyerdynamic DT 880 32 Ohm. Already at approx. 15-20 dB (high gain + 9 dB) It reliably pulls your head out of the hinges and without distortion (Low gain around 10 db)
 

ck42

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So what's the deal with the DX3 Pro at this point? Everywhere it's unavailable. Seems to still be a current product on the Topping site though.
Seems like it's the next step up, for a little more $$, from the Loxjie D30.
I have another need for a combo unit and really like the DX3Pro, but need to figure out what's going on with it. Anyone?
 

ck42

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sorry for the bump, but I'm really interested in this (will affect a buying decision)
 

ck42

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It being less available probably has more to do with AKM chip supplies drying up. It still seems order-able though:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085LBXS8R/

Ahh....hadn't thought about the chip supply issues. That could very well be the issue.
Thanks for the Amazon link. When I had looked there myself, it wasn't available...or I was looking at the wrong listing.

And still curious, anyone else also think that the DX3 Pro would be the next step up from a Loxjie D30 (for a combo unit)?
 

Veri

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And still curious, anyone else also think that the DX3 Pro would be the next step up from a Loxjie D30 (for a combo unit)?
As a DAC the D30 looks very good, but the included head-amp is indeed not very good, while on the DX3 the head-amp is miles ahead.
The DX3 is no doubt the better combo unit.
 

Tks

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Just phoning in as I do every several few months for people concerned with reliability. The V1 DX3 Pro still working great for active speaker duty, and for HD6XX's for over two years now I believe.

Every 4-5 months I have the device randomly go to sleep in the middle of audio playing, and that is basically the only negative I've observed with this device.
 

artburda

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Just phoning in as I do every several few months for people concerned with reliability. The V1 DX3 Pro still working great for active speaker duty, and for HD6XX's for over two years now I believe.

Every 4-5 months I have the device randomly go to sleep in the middle of audio playing, and that is basically the only negative I've observed with this device.
Same here. Is there any explanation for the random shutdowns which happen once in a while?
 

TiborG

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Same here. Is there any explanation for the random shutdowns which happen once in a while?
I reinstalled the USB driver for Windows to version 4.47 and DX3 Pro no longer knows what a break in gaming is. He works 6-12 hours a day
with 3 three sources - Intel NUC, Tempotec V1, smartphone, FiiO X5-3.
But I don't use DX3 auto start.
 

Tks

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Same here. Is there any explanation for the random shutdowns which happen once in a while?

Who knows, could just be glitchy firmware or software. Not the end of the world, just seems like one of those little unrefined things from budget products one must contend with. Hasn't happened for a few months now, so it's really hard to test for something like this. Even Topping I doubt would know why it occurs. Could be some overly sensitive current protection perhaps, or some auto-start trigger gone wrong?
 
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