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Review and Measurements of Topping DX3Pro DAC and Headphone Amp

simonchretien

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Well, I bought one on Amazon, and it worked out of the box. There was some weirdness with the power supply- it came with a European plug and a US adapter... SMH. I ordered a mean well 15vdc 1.2A wall wart. I've been listening to it for six hours now, going back and forth between this and my Schiit stack(USB Bifrost w/ original 4399 boards, Asgard 2) with my trusty Fidelio X2. I don't know if it's a house sound thing or what, but I like the Schiit stack better despite it not being quite as clear. If I had to put numbers on it, it's like the DX3 Pro has a 5% bump in clarity over my Schiit. The stack just has better authority in the bass region- a little more nuance with a little less effort, like it's not working as hard as the Topping. No argument that it's got some haze or grunge blanketing the sound, but what's there is more engaging.

I think my tastes run toward "flavored" instead of dead neutral. I love listening to midrange-forward, slightly rolled off highs, and big bass. That puts me squarely in hybrid tube amp range, or in this case, pure inefficient class A. I'm glad I have the Topping, and I'm still looking forward to the D70, but the DX3 Pro is going to get moved around a bit. It's too neutral for just enjoying the music in my reference setup.

I realize that at $219 (plus $20 for a shipped US wall wart), it wasn't designed to be "reference" quality, but it's very good for the price and offers a lot of utility. I'll be happy to use it with the xbox, and my computer, and my girlfriend's computer, and wherever else I plug it in. It just won't replace the Schiit stack as my primary headphone rig.

Well youre comparing a 200$ all in one, versus a 650$ stack. I sure hope there's something better with the stack hehe.
 

Stonetown

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The DX3Pro is making my vintage Denon POA-2400 sounding fantastic!

And by reducing the max volume with the attenuator potentiometers on the amplifier front, a speaker accident by pressing the DAC-button on the remote is avoided. Highly recommended to do this "hardware" volume limit. Also dynamic range from the DAC will be more optimum, compared by using the max gain in the power amp.
Cheers,
Per
IMG_4794.jpg
 
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TiborG

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The DX3Pro is making my vintage Denon POA-2400 sounding fantastic!

And by reducing the max volume with the attenuator potentiometers on the amplifier front, a speaker accident by pressing the DAC-button on the remote is avoided. Highly recommended to do this "hardware" volume limit. Also dynamic range from the DAC will be more optimum, compared by using the max gain in the power amp.
Cheers,
Per
View attachment 23525

If I didn't start every playback at minimal volume, my respectable AVR Sony STR DB 830 QS he would always reward me with the replacement of glass and door panels. DX3 Pro Measures Power with DX4 DSD and Even After a Month I Can't Give a Winner's Wreath for Line Out Sound.
Of course, it is grilled on AVR just for taking pictures
03.jpg
 

Barce

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Got my Argons in at last and am pleased to report that the DX3pro has more than enough juice to push them to hearing damaging levels, with a bit more headroom to spare. Currently getting my head brutally thumped by visceral sub-bass at -8db in High Gain.

Edit: An hour of nonstop enjoyment in, every reviewer who loves these were correct about the pure Fun of their punchy, non-sibilant assault. Also sufficing nicely on low gain too, depending on the mixing of the songs at hand. The most dynamic planar I've yet heard, they were right about that, too.

Edit #2: The NX4 also makes these things sing entirely within low gain, and the bass boost augmentation is dandy. Fantastic!
 
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NTomokawa

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I haven't been following this one lately. Has anybody figured out what was causing the shutdown/sleep issues?
 

Barce

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Not yet but supposedly Topping engineers have been focusing on it for the past month, silently.
 

NTomokawa

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Not yet but supposedly Topping engineers have been focusing on it for the past month, silently.
Hmm, releasing a public communiqué would have been nice.

I'm guessing Amir has yet to find anything with the two defective units he purchased?
 

commonman27

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I'm guessing Amir has yet to find anything with the two defective units he purchased?

Here is what Amir had found with the unit I sent over:

FYI I received the broken unit that won't come out of standby. There is a soft control from the microprocessor that turns on the power supply to the analog output. In the broken unit, the microprocessor does not assert this so the unit remains powered off (enable pin low on the switching supply). I replaced the front panel with a good one but it made no difference so the control signal to the processor seems fine.

It has since been returned to Amazon as it was inside the return period.
 
OP
amirm

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FYI I happened to be able to make the second DX3 Pro go into standby when inserting the headphone jack into it. I turns back on and remains functional. I can't replicate the conditions though. Those of who have had standby issues, is it related to plugging in the headphone?
 

Barce

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I incidentally had my first spontaneous shutdown while I was actively listening to music a few weeks ago. I was in high gain (don't use it often so far) on my 2Cs, and I heard a click and silence as the display shut off. Turned it back on immediately with no lasting issue. Supremely baffling, there was no rhyme or reason to the timing of it.
 
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FYI I happened to be able to make the second DX3 Pro go into standby when inserting the headphone jack into it. I turns back on and remains functional. I can't replicate the conditions though. Those of who have had standby issues, is it related to plugging in the headphone?
Mine was from the first batch of Units shipped. I have not seen any standby issues so far. I HAVE NOT USED USB OR HEADPHONES OUT till date. Only use the Bluetooth streaming and Line out to Amp. Haven't faced any shutdown issue till date. Also i have been using the stock firmware and NOT updated the firmware as well.
Seems the standby issues are caused by Headphone usage and maybe in USB DAC mode [Not sure on this though]
 
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david99

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Mine was from the first batch of Units shipped. I have not seen any standby issues so far. I HAVE NOT USED USB OR HEADPHONES OUT till date. Only use the Bluetooth streaming and Line out to Amp. Haven't faced any shutdown issue till date. Also i have using the stock firmware and NOT updated the firmware as well.
Seems the standby issues are caused by Headphone usage and maybe in USB DAC mode [Not sure on this though]
I think it will be something connected with headphones out - headphones amplifier as most of the issues are connected with pop in one of the headphones channels and in most cases then permanent damage of headphones out.
 

Yuno

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I think it will be something connected with headphones out - headphones amplifier as most of the issues are connected with pop in one of the headphones channels and in most cases then permanent damage of headphones out.

Every single time my dx3 pro shut down (about 6 times by now), it was in variable line out mode.
 

Yuno

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Any time since you bought the DX3, did you connect the headphones or as a USB DAC mode ?

Yeah, I switch between headphones (hd600) and line out all the time. I have not had any issues with amp itself (pops, hisses, broken channels) but then again those seem to happen with low impedance headphones I think, which I don't use.
 

agjell

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First post! I received my DX3 Pro from Massdrop on Feb 5th. Firmware was updated to 1.04 before usage. Automatic power on/off was disabled. Included PSU was replaced with Meanwell as I wanted one with an EU plug. Unit have been used exclusively in "headphone amp output" with a pair of Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee (rated at 150 Ω). After a month of frequent usage I experienced a random shutdown last week during a PC gaming session. Unit went into standby, without hiss, clicks or any other sounds in the headphones. Powered it back on immediately and it worked fine, but figured it was worth reporting it here.
 

Veri

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First post! I received my DX3 Pro from Massdrop on Feb 5th. Firmware was updated to 1.04 before usage. Automatic power on/off was disabled. Included PSU was replaced with Meanwell as I wanted one with an EU plug. Unit have been used exclusively in "headphone amp output" with a pair of Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee (rated at 150 Ω). After a month of frequent usage I experienced a random shutdown last week during a PC gaming session. Unit went into standby, without hiss, clicks or any other sounds in the headphones. Powered it back on immediately and it worked fine, but figured it was worth reporting it here.
How is the 58X with the DX3 treating you? :)
 
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