Topping DX3 Pro+ Review (DAC & Headphone Amp)

[JRS]

Guys how much of an improvement it would be switching from pc motherboard audio to this in terms of sound quality (details etc...). From the "scientific" tests it seems its really great but really curious about real life performance. Even tho Topping is known to produce great products for a great price

I suppose it depends on the quality of the MB. I was using the output straight from an inexpensive Lenovo laptop, and all I can think to say is "my, oh my." It's not so much that a veil has been lifted so much as the wrappings from a mummy. The Sundara's sounded good, but this being my first set of "high end" phones, couldn't understand the hype.

I am effing blown away. At 550. for the pair, it strikes me as a cheap ticket for some seriously good audio. YMMV depending on the difficulty of the load, with the Sundara's fully open at the +6 dB gain setting I am at a perfectly comfortable volume with average recordings. That I have another 13dB on tap once I bother to get out of default mode.... (evil grin).

The sheer resolving power compared to the laptop out is mindblowing. And trust me, I am not one to overstate minor differences.

 

[Dxnc]

I am effing blown away. At 550. for the pair, it strikes me as a cheap ticket for some seriously good audio.

I've been feeling the same way about the HE400i 2020 and DX3 Pro+ for $370. It's so much better than my previous $500ish setup (Sennheiser HD650 + iFi Nano BL), which itself was head-and-shoulders above the Sennheiser 598 + FiiO amp/dac I had before that. I expected to switch back and forth between the 400i and 650 with the DX3 Pro+ depending on music and mood, but 400i 2020 with EQ is better in every way to my ears - even midrange which surprised me.

 

[mamadu]

I’m very torn over whether to get the Topping DX3 Pro+ or the Loxjie D30 as a Bluetooth DAC (with bonus headphone amp) for my vintage stereo setup. Which of the two would you recommend? Any notes on the sound quality of either DAC? Best place to order online for a Canadian? Cheers! (Also: second post)

 

[Killingbeans]

Which of the two would you recommend?

Depends on what headphones you plan on using. The Topping has a lot more output power.

The Loxjie has its PSU built in, so there's that.

Any notes on the sound quality of either DAC?

The RCA outputs on both of them are most likely better than what human hearing can possibly ask for in any practical sense

 

[jools]

Mine arrived today and there was a night and day difference from the old V2 version. My wife came running from the kitchen, tears in her eyes, overwhelmed by the beauty. And then I woke up and realised I had nodded off without even unpacking the new one. I thought it was odd because I'm not even married.
Now it's plugged in and there is a night and day difference - the new one being black instead of shiny silver - and I'm basking in the improved measurements that sound exactly the same to me. Happy days.

 

[Bleib]

Mine arrived today and there was a night and day difference from the old V2 version. My wife came running from the kitchen, tears in her eyes, overwhelmed by the beauty. And then I woke up and realised I had nodded off without even unpacking the new one. I thought it was odd because I'm not even married.
Now it's plugged in and there is a night and day difference - the new one being black instead of shiny silver - and I'm basking in the improved measurements that sound exactly the same to me. Happy days.

Hilarious

 

[Miiman]

Mine arrived today and there was a night and day difference from the old V2 version. My wife came running from the kitchen, tears in her eyes, overwhelmed by the beauty. And then I woke up and realised I had nodded off without even unpacking the new one. I thought it was odd because I'm not even married.
Now it's plugged in and there is a night and day difference - the new one being black instead of shiny silver - and I'm basking in the improved measurements that sound exactly the same to me. Happy days.

Haha, i laughed hard!
I also got mine, yesterday. For me it was a quite a bit larger upgrade going from the built in crappy 3.5mm output on my computer! Oh yeah i like this small amp

 

[Veri]

Mine arrived today and there was a night and day difference from the old V2 version. My wife came running from the kitchen, tears in her eyes, overwhelmed by the beauty. And then I woke up and realised I had nodded off without even unpacking the new one. I thought it was odd because I'm not even married.
Now it's plugged in and there is a night and day difference - the new one being black instead of shiny silver - and I'm basking in the improved measurements that sound exactly the same to me. Happy days.

Hate when that happens

 

[haen]

I can see more and more people receiving their units. I wonder if anyone observed the same problem that I'm finding on my device.

The volume knob something does not work when trying to increase the volume. I can hear a click, but the volume level - as displayed by the device - stays the same. This is fairly reproducible - sometimes one click is skipped, sometimes more - and seems to some degree to depend on the position on my fingers on the knob ('You are rotating it wrong!'). There are not such problems with the remote or decreasing the volume level using the knob.

I will contact the vendor to get some advice maybe, but I kind of bummed when I think about handling my warranty claims - I ordered the unit on Amazon from ShenzhenAudio, so no quick returns and I expect really long times with potential return of the device and then waiting for another one :/

 

[Toku]

I can see more and more people receiving their units. I wonder if anyone observed the same problem that I'm finding on my device.

The volume knob something does not work when trying to increase the volume. I can hear a click, but the volume level - as displayed by the device - stays the same. This is fairly reproducible - sometimes one click is skipped, sometimes more - and seems to some degree to depend on the position on my fingers on the knob ('You are rotating it wrong!'). There are not such problems with the remote or decreasing the volume level using the knob.

I will contact the vendor to get some advice maybe, but I kind of bummed when I think about handling my warranty claims - I ordered the unit on Amazon from ShenzhenAudio, so no quick returns and I expect really long times with potential return of the device and then waiting for another one :/

I have read and answered the same questions as you many times in the past.
The part connected to the DX3Pro + knob is called a mechanical rotary encoder, which is a rotary mechanical switch.
The cause of the symptom is that the contact structure is a simple brush. Even if it works properly at the beginning of purchase, poor contact is likely to occur if it is used, and it appears as such a symptom.

Magnetic or optical rotary encoders are a good way to prevent these symptoms, but they are very expensive and cannot be used with cheap products.
Even if you return or exchange the current product, the symptoms will reappear if you use it. Therefore, in order to reduce the occurrence of symptoms, we suggest that you use the remote control as much as possible.
Unfortunately, most current products use mechanical rotary encoders and have the same problem.

 

[Miiman]

I can see more and more people receiving their units. I wonder if anyone observed the same problem that I'm finding on my device.

The volume knob something does not work when trying to increase the volume. I can hear a click, but the volume level - as displayed by the device - stays the same. This is fairly reproducible - sometimes one click is skipped, sometimes more - and seems to some degree to depend on the position on my fingers on the knob ('You are rotating it wrong!'). There are not such problems with the remote or decreasing the volume level using the knob.

I will contact the vendor to get some advice maybe, but I kind of bummed when I think about handling my warranty claims - I ordered the unit on Amazon from ShenzhenAudio, so no quick returns and I expect really long times with potential return of the device and then waiting for another one :/

I can confirm it skips steps or more accurate misses steps sometimes when turning the the volume knob. I only use the remote as i sit farther away so it does not bother me but it would be nice if they could fix it with a FW or something (if its possible).

 

[haen]

I have read and answered the same questions as you many times in the past.
The part connected to the DX3Pro + knob is called a mechanical rotary encoder, which is a rotary mechanical switch.
The cause of the symptom is that the contact structure is a simple brush. Even if it works properly at the beginning of purchase, poor contact is likely to occur if it is used, and it appears as such a symptom.

Magnetic or optical rotary encoders are a good way to prevent these symptoms, but they are very expensive and cannot be used with cheap products.
Even if you return or exchange the current product, the symptoms will reappear if you use it. Therefore, in order to reduce the occurrence of symptoms, we suggest that you use the remote control as much as possible.
Unfortunately, most current products use mechanical rotary encoders and have the same problem.

Thanks a lot, very informative. Useful to remember next time I go fishing for audio equipment (especially if something more pricey).

I perfectly understand that building devices like DX3 Pro+ requires lots of compromises. It is just sucks that you can observe the problem practically from the get-go.

Out of curiosity - judging from your posts history/profile I would assume that you may be in position to answer such a question - can you provide any ballpark estimation how much expensive the device would be if Topping used magnetic or optical rotary encodes? I assume it primarily boils down to the costs of materials and design and then manufacturing challenges/complexities.

 

[danix21]

I have it connected to a LG C9 through optical and sometimes I notice a crackling/popping noise, sometimes can go ten minutes or more without any problem and then it sound the noise.
I've tested it through USB connected to a PC too and there I haven't noticed any problem.

Before buying the Topping I had the tv connected to a Sound Blaster DAC/Amp through optical and I didn't have any problem.

 

[UAN]

Topping is probably selling a poorly tested, crude DAC again. Let's wait for Topping DX3 Pro 2+.

 

[conuss]

The part connected to the DX3Pro + knob is called a mechanical rotary encoder, which is a rotary mechanical switch.
The cause of the symptom is that the contact structure is a simple brush. Even if it works properly at the beginning of purchase, poor contact is likely to occur if it is used, and it appears as such a symptom.

You have a large collection of DACs. Which one of them has a properly working knob?

 

[Killingbeans]

I can see more and more people receiving their units. I wonder if anyone observed the same problem that I'm finding on my device.

The volume knob something does not work when trying to increase the volume. I can hear a click, but the volume level - as displayed by the device - stays the same. This is fairly reproducible - sometimes one click is skipped, sometimes more - and seems to some degree to depend on the position on my fingers on the knob ('You are rotating it wrong!'). There are not such problems with the remote or decreasing the volume level using the knob.

I will contact the vendor to get some advice maybe, but I kind of bummed when I think about handling my warranty claims - I ordered the unit on Amazon from ShenzhenAudio, so no quick returns and I expect really long times with potential return of the device and then waiting for another one :/

This is just a guess, but it might not be a defect, but "just" a glitch in the firmware.

Depending on how the firmware reads the state of the encoder, it's possible that some of the clicks gets ignored when the microcontroller is working on something with higher priority that's also timing sensitive. The DX3 Pro+ probably doesn't have a massive amount of processing power, and I would imagine that the encoder reading is done with simpel polling rather than a dedicated interrupt handler.

 

[*Cihan*]

Does lack of MQA support mean I can't use it with Tidal? Computer sends PCM but what codec does Android use when I connect phone to dx3 pro+?

 

[huzidada]

Sorry for the late reply, mine came on Monday and I live in the jungles of Africa ordered direct from China

 

[Apichai]

anyone subjectively a/b testing this with the old ldac version?

 

[UAN]

I received today.
LDAC from the phone sounds good, compared to Pro V2, the resolution is better and does not mumble.
CDs over coax are a little brighter and harder, but the DAC should "warm up". The encoder works fine, smoothly.
In general, the impressions are positive.