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Topping DX3 Pro– The original was one of the thinnest and dynamically flattest sounding devices that I’ve heard. Pro+ may look the same but it is sonically vastly improved. For starters, the bassline has much more weight and slam, so everything sounds fuller and punchier through this version. Sound in general is cleaner and crisper, with more energy, faster transients, and better separation. What hasn’t changed is the thin and analytical tonality of the midrange. You absolutely can. In fact, that is how I have been using it all the time, feeding an amplifier. As for loudness, if you are worried that the max volume is going to be lower, it shouldn’t if you use the C200 at line level, so at the very least you should get what you currently do. Firing up The Pineapple Thief’s “Tightly Wound – Acoustic Version”, shows that along with its neutrality and transparency, the DX3 Pro+ is also a master of timing and timbre. The piano notes are crisp and resonate with a natural decay. 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
DX3 Pro Plus - A Giant Killer DAC/AMP? - iiWi reviews Topping DX3 Pro Plus - A Giant Killer DAC/AMP? - iiWi reviews
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. As indicated by measurements directly from TOPPING and third-party testers, you can expect the DX3 Pro+ to have a wonderfully neutral and distortion-free sonic presentation. And that’s exactly what I hear while listening to Aaron Copland’s “Quiet City”. The dynamics are powerful – the details and subtleties are all revealed. 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. In this review, I’m looking at the TOPPING DX3 Pro+ Bluetooth DAC/Amp. The DX3 Pro+ is an updated version of the DX3 Pro and comes with an ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip and Bluetooth 5.0 with LDAC and aptX HD support. The DX3 Pro+ comes with a host of improvements, including lower THD+N (DAC), 85% lower THD+N (HPA), more power and lower input impedance. Let’s dig in. When talking about size the Sparkos will be the most favorite if I can get it to fit just inside the case horizontally.Obviously, for testing purposes, I want something easy to access and swap and if I like it I'll solder it in more reasonably permanent as close to the PCB as possible.
DAC - TOPPING DAC - TOPPING
I would like to use the Amp. purely as a power amp since I expect the DAC chip in the C200 to be superior to the AS501.The advice to choose a more efficient headphone that can be easily powered (or driven) by the PS5 controller 3.5mm port has value, not least as this option = support for the PS5's 3D audio Tempest engine When it comes to output modes, the DX3 Pro+ can be used as a headphone amp, headphone amp + DAC, DAC, and preamplifier. This gives it a lot of versatility for the desktop, letting you drive not only IEMs and headphones but speakers as well.
TOPPING DX3 Pro+ Headphone Amp/DAC Online in India TOPPING DX3 Pro+ Headphone Amp/DAC Online in India
I'm leaning heavily towards the K5 Pro ESS, but if there is anyone here who has tried both, I would be interested in hearing your opinion. Or if there are any other glaring reasons why I should choose the DX3 instead of the K5 (or if my pros/cons list is inaccurate) I'm all ears. 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. I have tested the SMSL C200 with various headphones, including the HiFiMAN Edition XS and the 7Hz Salnotes Zero. Also I remember you come from Dragonfly Red right? Do you feel right at home with the switch to K5 Pro ESS?I won’t spend your time here as DAC outs have the same general tonality as the headphone output. But while the headphone amplification section stands out with high power and great drive compared to similarly priced devices, DAC out doesn’t have much going for it. It’s simply another highly detailed, analytical, sharp, thin-sounding DAC. Comparisons 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. 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). On top of the device itself and the Bluetooth antenna, which you need to install manually, the SMSL C200’s box comes with a rather slim set of accessories which only includes the remote control, a USB to USB-C cable and the power cable. There are also a manual and a warranty card. Design & Build
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