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Topping DX3 Pro - Live

Hey everyone, so I joined the Massdrop for a Topping DX3 Pro desktop DAC.

The measurements are superb (which I don't care that much about) but the specs that were important to me for a desktop headphone amp / DAC was having an outboard power supply because I think (maybe without evidence) this makes it more likely to have a great headphone amp with lots of reserve power.

I just got mine in. Cold, it had plenty of air, and sounded really really lean. Its getting better as it warms up.
erik_squires
erik_squires OP
16,056 posts
 
I installed the drivers in Windows 10, but no idea if they are even necessary. Found the Tidal exclusive mode settings, and same for my MediaMonkey, things got much better after that.

A certain harshness that was making my ears hot disappeared.

This little headphone amp is really a lot of fun to listen to.
baybars's avatar
baybars
18 posts
 
Great to hear it... Keep us posted about the virtues and weak points of the device...
Enjoy it. I'm still waiting forma mine

erik_squires OP
16,056 posts
 
So I bought this specifically to be a work desk device, so I'll be comparing it to my reference rig, which is inconvenient. A Fiio  X3 II with headphone amp attached.

There is where I keep my ESS 422H and Shure E4c IEMs.

So far with my AKG 712s it sounds technically perfect.

Subjectively, lacks midrange liquidity of tube or Ayre gear which some may like, but has plenty of control and air. It is not at all strident or hard at any volume level so long as I use exclusive mode in Windows.

Bass and treble remind me of the BADA I heard a long time ago. I found myself listening to a lot more music at my desktop than I had intended to as a result, via Tidal and MediaMonkey.
erik_squires OP
16,056 posts
 
For Windows 10, the main benefits to the Topping drivers seems to be the little status window you can view things like current sampling rate, and firmware version.
I can confirm that mine shipped with firmware version 1.04, the latest, which should take care of the popping sound earlier versions had I think when switching sources. I am only using USB, so don’t know.

In DAC mode you view the sampling rate off the amber LED screen, but in headphone amp mode, you only see the sampling rate when it changes, so if you want to be sure you set up Windows and your player to playback native file mode, this is a good utility to have.

Best,

E
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