Topping DX3 Pro+ Review (DAC & Headphone Amp)

[gael]

You'd need a power bank with Power Delivery and support for the 15V version of that. Something like this.
Next, a Type-C Power Delivery trigger to make the bank output the correct voltage.
And finally, a way to hook up the trigger to your DX3Pro+.

It's definitely possible, but not without risk.

I think I found one, apparently those that power up laptops (or just Dells?) should do.

 

[staticV3]

I think I found one, apparently those that power up laptops (or just Dells?) should do.

Oh nice! I genuinely didn't know they made those.

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

Why is it given special mention here?
isn't this behavior completely normal?
I want to connect an over-ear with 16 ohms impedance.
That should work without any problems, right?

 

[Veri]

I want to connect an over-ear with 16 ohms impedance.
That should work without any problems, right?
View attachment 187201

Not necessarily. It says it does in protection mode <= 20 ohm, 16 is not within the range so if you connect that headphone and saturate the output by going high in volume, the amp could shut down at bursts where there is no ample power. No guarantee that will happen, but in Amir's review it is indicated there is that possibility..

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

Time to order

 

[staticV3]

Why is it given special mention here?
isn't this behavior completely normal?
I want to connect an over-ear with 16 ohms impedance.
That should work without any problems, right?
View attachment 187201

I think Amir still has to perfect that test somewhat. Here's what WolfX-700 from L7Audiolab got with his APx555:


>5Vrms before clipping, even at 16Ω load

 

[Veri]

Time to order

Yours follows the purple/pink line so should be good up to 2Vrms in amir's graph, which is likely already very loud. So maybe it will work just fine especially if you don't listen to ear-obliterating volumes.

I think Amir still has to perfect that test somewhat. Here's what WolfX-700 from L7Audiolab got with his APx555:
View attachment 187202

>5Vrms before clipping, even at 16Ω load

Curious.. but I think amir's is correct and Wolf's is not. Amir uses Neurochrome HP-LOAD headphone amplifier load which always runs in differential mode even when measuring non-balanced loads and is a "real-life" headphone load simulator. See A10h review.

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

Do you know the output impedance of the M500 MKII?

 

[staticV3]

@JohnYang1997 what do you think regarding max output voltage before clipping vs load? Are Amir's results correct


or WolfX-700's?

 

[Veri]

Do you know the output impedance of the M500 MKII?

The headphone amp should be <= 1 ohm, suitably low.

 

[staticV3]

@Veri it looks to me like Amir didn't use short enough bursts while testing THD+N vs output voltage vs load, resulting in excessive heat and in the DX3Pro+'s overheat protection kicking in. This would of course not be representative of real-world usage, making Wolf's results more accurate.

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

If UPS keeps its promise,
I'll try tomorrow whether the lcd5 gets along with the Topping...

 

[raistlin65]

Why is it given special mention here?
isn't this behavior completely normal?
I want to connect an over-ear with 16 ohms impedance.
That should work without any problems, right?
View attachment 187201

It depends on the sensitivity of the headphones and how loud you run them.

What headphones do you have?

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

Audeze Lcd-5.

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

@JohnYang1997 what do you think regarding max output voltage before clipping vs load? Are Amir's results correct
View attachment 187204

or WolfX-700's?
View attachment 187205

An uneasy feeling remains.
If Amir's measurement had to be optimized, I wonder why an EX5 performs significantly better in this respect?

I like to listen loudly.
In addition, basically after Harman target.
We'll see, either the light goes out, or it stays on.

 

[Gridlink]

If you don't use the balanced line-outs then no, it's not crazy, especially not if you can sell the Gustard. While the DX3 Pro+ measures better I highly doubt here will be any audible differences (except for the lack of buzzing you mentioned..).
And regarding balanced headphone jacks: unlike balanced line connections those bring no real benefits, imo.

I may have to hold off on the switch. Reading through the thread someone had issues with the DX3 Pro+ and the optical out from a LG OLED TV due to Sabre DAC's not liking the jittery output from the LG's optical out. I'd be connecting the DX3 Pro+ to a LG C1 and would very likely run into the same issues unless LG fixed the issue in a firmware update sometime since then. There's a thread on avforums about the issue and unless a DAC has an setting that allows changing to a wider sync tolerance I'm pretty much guaranteed to have the audio drop out issue. What a bummer.

I don't technically need a new amp/dac but it's more that I wanted one. A DX3 Pro+ could certainly find a place replacing my A20H as my PC amp/dac and then use the A20H for pre-amp and TV duties. Something worth considering at least as I do the majority of my headphone use on the PC.

 

[Mushidon]

Hello everyone, today my topping dx3 pro+ finnaly arrived and is amazing how wonderful they pair with my hd6xx.
I'm kinda new into dacs and amps and I dont know so much about topping products, so I have some questions.

First: I hear a noise from the topping dx3 pro+ after press the standby button on the remote control, like a click similar when I move the volume knob, it's normal?

Second: Unfortunately the power adapter who came in the box is US PLUG and in my country we use the EU PLUG. Now, I'm using a power adapter from a modem who has the OUTPUT: 15v - 1.5a, would this cause any problems on the product? If yes, its possible to use a plug adapter US to EU without risks?

Thanks for the attention and sorry for any errors in my writing, I'm learning how to properly read and speak the English language.

 

[gael]

What headphone impedance range is the target for DX3 Pro+?
I've just read that you are supposed to pick headphones for your amplifier based on impedance - general rule of thumb is that you want headphones that have 8 times the impedance of the amplifier output. From the DX3 Pro+ spec sheet it has output impedance <0.1 Ohms, but there is also an adapter impedance of >8 Ohms. So what are my target Ohms then? 70-ish?

 

[Killingbeans]

First: I hear a noise after turn ON/OFF the topping dx pro+, like a click similar when I move the knob, it's normal?

Yes, as far as I can tell, the pro+ has a relay at the headphone output. It's probably this you're hearing switching on.

 

[Veri]

@Mushidon about the power, fortunately you can't do much wrong as long as it's 15V DC (can anyone confirm the default supplied amperage?) so it should be fine really. Most switching supplies have wide compatibility though so a travel adapter on the topping supplied one will likely work too. That's what I did with the US THX 789 I had.