Topping DX3 Pro+ Review (DAC & Headphone Amp)

[Nicholas B]

More than four years for me without any issues.

 

[Boobisha Chodhankar]

Does it exibit any clicks or pops when going into the standby mode when the playback stops?

 

[lazpete]

Does it exibit any clicks or pops when going into the standby mode when the playback stops?

Havent noticed anything like that, optical connection from a wiim mini.

 

[Cosita]

This or Fiio K11 R2R?

 

[antcollinet]

This or Fiio K11 R2R?

If you value high fidelity - this one.

 

[fquails]

Dang. I have two DX3 pro+ in different stereo systems in the house. Had them for years now. Just learned that both sound harsh in the upper mids and highs when sources are connected to the Topping via toslink, but sound perfect when connected via digital coax cable. Also, both Toppings shut down sound when playing only the right channel, like when calibrating speakers and playing pink noise only on the right channel. As a result, independently calibrating the right channel when using the Topping as the DAC is not possible. Geez.

Other than those quirks, it is a good sounding DAC for stereo systems in my house. Too bad it has those quirks that need to be worked around with.

 

[Wolven]

Dang. I have two DX3 pro+ in different stereo systems in the house. Had them for years now. Just learned that both sound harsh in the upper mids and highs when sources are connected to the Topping via toslink, but sound perfect when connected via digital coax cable. Also, both Toppings shut down sound when playing only the right channel, like when calibrating speakers and playing pink noise only on the right channel. As a result, independently calibrating the right channel when using the Topping as the DAC is not possible. Geez.

Other than those quirks, it is a good sounding DAC for stereo systems in my house. Too bad it has those quirks that need to be worked around with.

Topping shuts down sound, if balance is used? How did you discover it was the dac?
Interesting, I used balance plugging in Foobar2000, and my right channel cut out.
I thought it was my powered speaker. I actually switched speakers around and problem went away.
So, I thought it was the RCA female side of plugs on speakers, as I excluded cable problem.
Hahaha, good to know.

 

[fquails]

Topping shuts down sound, if balance is used? How did you discover it was the dac?
Interesting, I used balance plugging in Foobar2000, and my right channel cut out.
I thought it was my powered speaker. I actually switched speakers around and problem went away.
So, I thought it was the RCA female side of plugs on speakers, as I excluded cable problem.
Hahaha, good to know.

Only when playing sound through the Topping's right channel at a certain volume. I isolated the problem by switching cables, amps, changed cable sides, changed speaker sides, changed connections. It always happened to my two Topping's right channel.

 

[Wolven]

Only when playing sound through the Topping's right channel at a certain volume. I isolated the problem by switching cables, amps, changed cable sides, changed speaker sides, changed connections. It always happened to my two Topping's right channel.

Makes sense. I changed cables, that didn't change anything. I thought I fixed the problem by swapping left and right speakers. My DX3-pro, is not plus model. Everything works fine now.

Incidentally, I completely forgot to mention that a year ago I also used balance plugging in Foobar with SMSL C200 dac and different speakers and the same thing happened, RIGHT CHANNEL WENT AWAY.
My final thoughts were that the problem is the Foobar plugging.
I"m going to have to look more into this.

 

[RandomEar]

Dang. I have two DX3 pro+ in different stereo systems in the house. Had them for years now. Just learned that both sound harsh in the upper mids and highs when sources are connected to the Topping via toslink, but sound perfect when connected via digital coax cable. [...]

Could you describe a little bit how you tested this?

I'm sure you are aware that Toslink and Coax are digital signals. With digital, you don't get small audible changes to a signal: It either works, or it doesn't and you get clear drop-outs or pops. This would be an especially weird case, because Toslink and Coax carry the same actual signal with the same encoding (S/PDIF), just using two different transport media (optical fiber vs. copper). So behind the sending/receiving photo diodes and maybe two resistors and a cap, Toslink and Coax feed into the exact same inputs of the DAC chip.

 

[fquails]

Could you describe a little bit how you tested this?

I'm sure you are aware that Toslink and Coax are digital signals. With digital, you don't get small audible changes to a signal: It either works, or it doesn't and you get clear drop-outs or pops. This would be an especially weird case, because Toslink and Coax carry the same actual signal with the same encoding (S/PDIF), just using two different transport media (optical fiber vs. copper). So behind the sending/receiving photo diodes and maybe two resistors and a cap, Toslink and Coax feed into the exact same inputs of the DAC chip.

I've always believed the same--0s and 1s will be the same whether toslink or coax. So I never paid attention. I had my Wiim Pros connected to the Toppings via coax, but had to switch one to toslink because I had a new source that needed the Topping's coax. All of a sudden the music from the Wiim Pro became harsh. I did an A/B blind test with someone doing the switching, using familiar music, same volume verified with calibrated mic. Also used different sources (different Wiim Pros, CD player), to rule out source with bad toslink output. Got it right all the time. On a positive note, I have another system that have always sounded dark, and using the toslink on the Topping for that system made it sound brighter. . Maybe it could be bad optical cable, but I did test two different brand/style cables with similar results. Of course, both cables could be bad. Anyway, I'm sticking with the coax for the smoother sound. Done with listening to the equipment and time to just enjoy the music.

Out of curiosity, I asked Google AI, which we all know is notoriously unreliable: https://share.google/aimode/JZmZM1Z2SzAurvq3U

 

[RandomEar]

I admire the testing effort, although matching the volume using a mic is usually not quite precise enough. But this isn't a qestion of "believing" in 0s and 1s: Unless there is some config with output-dependent EQ on the Wiim, the datastream of music into the DAC is literally identical. It is not possible for something to have more treble (as in "brighter") on effectively the same digital input. No signal cable can introduce such a targeted alteration into a digital datastream - you need a full blown DSP chip plus the right firmware for that. If the transmission would flip individual bits, which is pretty much the smallest change that could happen, you would occasionally get clicks and short but harsh distortions - you can try it with an audio editor by changing individual samples. It's not a subtle defect and sounds nothing like brighter audio. Bit flips sound broken and don't require any A/B testing to detect on known songs.

What I wouldn't exclude is a volume difference between the two inputs due to some weird firmware quirk or misconfiguration of the XU208. But you'd have to check that using a multimeter at the DAC output because, as mentioned, microphones are just not precise/repeatable enough for this when measuring in a normal room.

The Google AI is sadly pretty far off, as usual when asking questions concerning audio stuff. Jitter will lead to a signal drop long before anything will be audible (we're talking high microsecond-level jitter here), ground loops can only happen with Coax and would be audible even with no music playing. The Toslink out on the Wiim Pro also seems to be excellent, so jitter is not a concern. The "ESS Sabre Effect" or "False Warmth" simply do not exist and are made up audiophile woo-woo.

 

[fquails]

I admire the testing effort, although matching the volume using a mic is usually not quite precise enough. But this isn't a qestion of "believing" in 0s and 1s: Unless there is some config with output-dependent EQ on the Wiim, the datastream of music into the DAC is literally identical. It is not possible for something to have more treble (as in "brighter") on effectively the same digital input. No signal cable can introduce such a targeted alteration into a digital datastream - you need a full blown DSP chip plus the right firmware for that. If the transmission would flip individual bits, which is pretty much the smallest change that could happen, you would occasionally get clicks and short but harsh distortions - you can try it with an audio editor by changing individual samples. It's not a subtle defect and sounds nothing like brighter audio. Bit flips sound broken and don't require any A/B testing to detect on known songs.

What I wouldn't exclude is a volume difference between the two inputs due to some weird firmware quirk or misconfiguration of the XU208. But you'd have to check that using a multimeter at the DAC output because, as mentioned, microphones are just not precise/repeatable enough for this when measuring in a normal room.

The Google AI is sadly pretty far off, as usual when asking questions concerning audio stuff. Jitter will lead to a signal drop long before anything will be audible (we're talking high microsecond-level jitter here), ground loops can only happen with Coax and would be audible even with no music playing. The Toslink out on the Wiim Pro also seems to be excellent, so jitter is not a concern. The "ESS Sabre Effect" or "False Warmth" simply do not exist and are made up audiophile woo-woo.

Thank you for the explanation. I understand and believe what you said. For context, I am one who always used the most basic cables as I never believed they affect sound, and I believe digital signals are all the same regardless of how they are transmitted. But in the end, I listen to music with my ears, not with scientific measuring devices, and in this instance, I will stick with using the coax for the Topping because the difference is just too obvious to my ears (which my audiologist says is way way above average, btw). It is actually more than the harshness--the bass was also more articulate with the coax, the music details more apparent despite being less harsh. It truly did astound me, as I have always believed toslink and coax should not make a difference. Anyway, enough with tech talk, and back to just enjoying the music.

 

[antcollinet]

the bass was also more articulate with the coax,

Again - to re-iterate what @RandomEar said - digital signals CANNOT MAKE THAT SORT OF CHANGE, there is no physical mechanism for them to do so. What you are hearing is the result of your very human and very powerful perceptive biases, which you, I, and all humans are subject to, and nothing to do with the sound waves reaching your ears.

 

[charonme]

please does anyone know whether it's possible to make it turn on automatically after powerup without having to turn it on manually? If everything else fails I'd consider putting a small arduino inside and make it send the "turn on" command into the IR receiver circuit on powerup

 

[lazpete]

please does anyone know whether it's possible to make it turn on automatically after powerup without having to turn it on manually? If everything else fails I'd consider putting a small arduino inside and make it send the "turn on" command into the IR receiver circuit on powerup

My powers on automatically when it receive signal from the toslink optical cable connected to the wiim mini. If that was the question.

 

[fquails]

please does anyone know whether it's possible to make it turn on automatically after powerup without having to turn it on manually? If everything else fails I'd consider putting a small arduino inside and make it send the "turn on" command into the IR receiver circuit on powerup

Mine are connected to power outlets that are triggered on by my amps. Didn't do anything to the settings. My Toppings function automatically when they are plugged in to an active power source.

 

[charonme]

My powers on automatically when it receive signal from the toslink optical cable connected to the wiim mini. If that was the question.

Mine are connected to power outlets that are triggered on by my amps. Didn't do anything to the settings. My Toppings function automatically when they are plugged in to an active power source.

I'm using mine as a USB DAC and when I connect it to power just an orange dot appears on the display and the sound doesn't turn on, I have to manually turn it on with the remote. I also tried the toslink optical and both spdif coax connections and they behave the same way.

 

[dsouza]

I'm using mine as a USB DAC and when I connect it to power just an orange dot appears on the display and the sound doesn't turn on, I have to manually turn it on with the remote. I also tried the toslink optical and both spdif coax connections and they behave the same way.

I am also using it as USB DAC/HP amp connected to my desktop PC, and it has the same behavior you described. I turn it on by pressing the volume knob.

I am wondering if the "Automatic standby setting" might change this beahvior. I have not tested it, but the user manual implies that "Automatic Standby" feature should to be set to "On" for it to automatically enter and quit standby mode as follows:

(...) Power on: When connect to power supply, DX3 Pro+ enters the standby state, the screen displays a bright spot (...) When the automatic standby function is on, if the current input is not connected or input signal is invalid in 1 minute, it will automatically enter the standby state. Once having detected valid signal, it will automatically return to working state. (...)

To activate this function, also from the user manual, remote control is required. More information from the user manual below.

 

[fquails]

I am also using it as USB DAC/HP amp connected to my desktop PC, and it has the same behavior you described. I turn it on by pressing the volume knob.

I am wondering if the "Automatic standby setting" might change this beahvior. I have not tested it, but the user manual implies that "Automatic Standby" feature should to be set to "On" for it to automatically enter and quit standby mode as follows:


To activate this function, also from the user manual, remote control is required. More information from the user manual below.

View attachment 551207

Don't need the remote. Unplug the power, push the knob and hold while plugging into power source--this gets you into the menu to adjust all the settings including auto standby.