The DX3 Pro+ comes in an understated, clean white box that’s almost bare apart from the TOPPING logo on the top. Inside the box, the DAC/Amp is seated securely in a soft foam insert with an additional foam pad on top. The cans I'm going to be running from these at the moment are Sennheiser HD560s, HD598, Hifiman HE400se and surely more in the future. But haven't chosen anything yet. I just want to be "future proof". Thanks David! Running in DAC mode makes all the difference. Running in pre-amp mode must compromise my amplifier in some way. I also have the volume cranked all the way up in iTunes and in my system preferences. I can’t help but feel this is going to damage something, but maybe this is standard operating procedure for outputting laptop audio to a stereo system?

Topping DX3 Pro+ ES9038Q2M Bluetooth 5.0 LDAC Audio Decoder

For a device this small, the SMSL C200 is quite versatile and offers a lot of input and output options. Not only can you use USB, but there are also optical and coaxial ports as well as Bluetooth. Speaking of which, you get Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity with SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX and LDAC codecs, which makes the C200 able to deliver great sound quality even without using the wires. You can select both the input and the output, though you can’t differentiate between balanced and unbalanced (and that’s reasonable). Tebi ustvari treba kombinacija DAC/Headphone-amp koja ima digitalni ulaz jer iPhone nema ugrađeni DAC. Sada, to možeš da razdvojiš na dva posebna uređaja DAC i Head-Amp… ali je po meni bolje da koristiš uređaj koji ima to 2u1. Ovaj Topping je baš to, Schiit Vali je samo amp kome treba DAC… Tako da, gledaj da to bude DAC/AMP uređaj. I ended up getting the ESS K5 Pro and been really pleased with it. The Sennheisers and specially the Hifiman HE400se sound lovely with it.As you can legitimately expect, the SMSL C200 has a perfectly neutral signature, which means it’s indistinguishable from most other solid-state devices out there. I deem this a good thing as it means the device is not going to add its own flavour to your music, staying instead out of the way and letting you concentrate on the music itself (or on the headphones, if you wish to do so). There’s a remarkably low noise floor and there’s no hiss nor buzz, despite other devices on my desk having it – which appears to be proof of a good job done by SMSL in managing the power. I find transients to be quite fast, which is especially appreciable with fast headphones like the aforementioned HE-560 or the Edition XS. Final Thoughts

Topping DX3 Pro+ Review - Headfonia Reviews

Plugging in the Moondrop KATO called for low gain mode and I spent most of my time between -38dB and -32dB. This is a wonderful pairing, resulting in a clean, dynamic and punchy sound brimming with musicality and detail. Switching to the FiiO FH5s reveals even more details and a wide, expansive soundstage. Conclusion I did experience a burn in time with the DX3 Pro where it started off real strong and then got a bit dull and flat for quite some hours. After which it opened up again. I never am a big believer for burning in DACs or headphone amps... (Headphones and speakers with mechanical parts I do believe need to burn it) but this thing did seem to need some time to settle.. The DX3 Pro+ sounds cohesive and expressive whether you’re feeding it absurdly large DSD files or streaming from Spotify. Obviously, you need to use high-quality files to get the absolute best fidelity from a DAC like this. But at the same time, you’re not going to feel disappointed if you’re streaming files via Bluetooth. Either way, the DX3 Pro+ will impress. It's a different sound. The D50 was with an LPS so I need to wait to get my LPS for the DX3 Pro before I can do a more fair comparison. Also, the D50 had a few months of use and the DX3 Pro has only one day of use so I need to burn it in sufficiently. Just a warning: if you connect your DX3pro (previously set in "preamp" mode) directly to your AMP you may have a big problem :Although it’s so small, the SMSL C200 is able to drive practically any headphones out there. Even fairly demanding headphones such as the HiFiMAN HE-560 are driven easily and show no issues at all. It's more like hobby than that it makes sense haha. The OPA1612A is already a really good opamp. I am guessing the improvement will be marginal but audible. I'm hoping to open up the soundstage a bit more. From what I've read the Sparkos discrete opamp is practically the best there is. And since the DAC is not really struggling with much else hanging behind a quality LPS and with the guys from topping knowing what they are doing. Rolling in a top notch opamp seems to be one of the improvements that can be made for a slightly different sound signature.

TOPPING DX3 Pro+ Headphone Amp/DAC Online in India TOPPING DX3 Pro+ Headphone Amp/DAC Online in India

Usage is around 90% on PC thru USB and 10% on gaming console thru optical. RCA possibly with turntable but it would be somewhat niche activity. PC usage includes roughly equal parts of gaming, movies and music listening from a very wide range of genres. The unit also comes with a remote controller. It is not necessary to control the SMSL C200, as you can do it using just the volume knob, but it does make things easier and more convenient. It’s made of plastic and it has the following buttons: power, up, down, left, right, enter, input, FN (used to switch outputs and, when long pressed, to set the screen to automatically switch off), mute, raise and reduce volume. Features & Specs

Also I remember you come from Dragonfly Red right? Do you feel right at home with the switch to K5 Pro ESS? My linear power supply for the DX3 Pro arrived today and I replaced the Topping D50 in my computer based HiFi system with the DX3 Pro + linear power supply. I'm listening to it as I type this post. The sound is beautiful. I preferred the Topping D50 in my headphones system. However, I prefer the DX3 Pro in my speaker-based system.

DAC/AMP Combo Recommendations - Headfonia Reviews DAC/AMP Combo Recommendations - Headfonia Reviews

I had to turn the subwoofer gain up a tiny bit - around 2-3 degrees of the rotary gain control. The mids are more forward. Vocals, once again, are beyond imaginably good! Listening to Lindsey Webster singing "Those Three Words", it seems like she's in my listening room! Vocals are very, very smooth. Now I hear the 'velvet sound' of the AKM DAC chips in the DX3 Pro. Treble is a little further away. Pausing the music and holding my ear to the speakers and subwoofer, all are 'dark' with no interference noise. Soundstage is a little narrower than the D50 (as was the case with my headphones system), and instrument separation is less too. Overall, the sound is very musical and great for me as I work from home a lot so it's lovely to listen to for several hours a day. It's nicer to listen to for long periods - less fatiguing. I have tested the SMSL C200 with various headphones, including the HiFiMAN Edition XS and the 7Hz Salnotes Zero. The DX3 Pro+ is basically a plug and play device with both MAC and Windows computers. However, some ASIO functionality requires the installation of the customized Thesycon ASIO driver for Windows. Basic functions are easy to operate using the multi-function dial on the device while everything else is simply done via the remote. The SMSL C200 is based on the ESS Sabre ES9038Q2M DAC chip. It appears like just one DAC chip is used, which would make the C200 incapable of “true” balanced audio – which would require two DACs to process the signal in parallel. On the other hand, though, amplification is managed by four OPA1612A chips, which are able to output an overall 2.6 W of power – quite a large amount for a device this small. SoundIn the heart of the device, there is a well-known Sabre DAC chip ES9038Q2M. That’s a change from the original model that was using AK sourced DAC chip. The amplification section is also revamped and now offers almost twice the power compared to the original. With 1800 mW into 32 Ohm and 250 mW into 300 Ohm loads, nobody should feel wanting for more. XMOS XU208 powered USB input supports up to 768 kHz PCM and DSD512 native. If you’re into wireless, Pro+ supports LDAC, AAC, SBC, APTX, APTX LL, and APTX HD protocols. Sound (Headphone Out) Some have said these are more warm than the DX3 but the comparisons were made on the older dac chips and not the ESS ones I definitely feel right at home switching from the Dragonfly Red to the K5 Pro ESS, though. VERY similar tonality. I will say the soundstage feels wider on the Fiio, and the vocals have a lot more room to breathe. With the Dragonfly vocals feel closer and a little more in front of you, vs more enveloping with the Fiio.