Topping DX3 Pro+ ES9038Q2M Bluetooth 5.0 LDAC Audio Decoder DSD512 DAC AMP NFCA Headphone Amplifier Pre Amplifier (Black)

For $200, it's really hard to beat this DAC. I like to listen to music at work, but the PC audio of my work computer is awful. I had a portable DAC+AMP, but it finally bit the dust. I rolled the dice on this, and I'm incredibly surprised.First of all, this was pretty much plug-and-play. Set up just involved plugging in the USB and power, and turning it on. In my experience, most USB DAC setups in Windows can be finnicky to say the least- more so true the cheaper the device. Even though it was playing fine out-of-the-box, I did install the drivers from the website afterwards and then upgraded the firmware, and again it was hassle-free.The sound is very good, if not a little uninteresting. It's clear, clean, and very neutral. Which is certainly fine, but so unremarkable it's hard to comment about it. But hey, that's a pass in my books. It does support very high PCM and DSD bitrates, which for the price is phenomenal.The amp is serviceable. I doubt anyone who's considering a $200 desktop amp has a pair of Sennheiser HE1s, so for its target audience, it's certainly powerful enough to drive a decent pair of headphones. With that said, anything with more impedance than a set of mid-range cans, and I would have my doubts.I did try the bluetooth capability on my Pixel 6 Pro. The sound was very very clear and clean- there were no hiss or static coming through, and the stream was at a high quality bitrate with LDAC enabled. There was of course a bit of lag, but it wasn't atypical of most BT playback.The display is easy to see. The wheel is stiff and clicky, so there's little chance of bumping into the knob and rupturing your eardrums. It's reasonably small, enough to fit most desk spaces. Generally, the build quality seems to be really good considering the cost. Wherever they cut the corners, it wasn't on the case.There are a few very minor annoyances. The power supply is very short, and since it's a 15v power supply, it's a somewhat odd voltage to replace. I also wish that there were more buttons, so that I don't have to rely on the clicker as much.Overall, it's a fantastic buy- especially for an audiophile that's a beginner, someone on a budget, or just looking for a DAC+AMP that punches well above its weight class.

This dac/headphone amplifier is an excellent value. I found it very easy to set up and use. The sound quality is incredible, very linear, ruler straight neutrality. It is a very small unit that is perfect for desk top use and build quality is superb. I hear details in the music that I never heard before. Check out Audio Science review about the DX 3 Pro

Just missed the return window.I finally got around to measuring this dac and noticed that frequencies above 5k don't come out of the left channel. So now I am stuck with a $200.00 paper weight.I will update this review if the warranty covers the issue and the second one works.UPDATE:The seller sent a replacement that was delivered pretty quickly. ThanksNo problems with the second unit. Sounds great on both the left and right channels now. Thank God, it's hard to find this feature set at this price.So a good product with good customer service. Just wish there wasn't a need to test both but, stuff happens.

I've purchased a few items from Topping though Amazon, also recommended to friends. I'm a very experienced audio enthusiast, also been involved with sales of some of the best audio gear in the world. I'm continually astonished how Topping can produce such high quality products that perform so well at very affordable prices. The manufacturers of kilo-buck bling products continually denigrate many Chinese manufacturers as being poorly made as well as producing sub-par sound quality, which isn't true, at least in the case of Topping. Disassembling this unit shows high quality surface mount components with what appears to be the same standard of assembly that the bling boys use. You didn't think that those laser etched faceplates and jewel like appearance was free, now, did you?

I thought it was my ears. The sound was weaker on the left. I also doubted my headphone (Dan Clark Aeon 2). But it was a faulty earphone jack. I was too lazy doing the research. I finally did full test after almost one year. change Amp, change headphone, waring the headphone left and right reverse. test using headphone extension code. testing COAX left and right out put. It is a faulty phone jack. I threw it in the trash then had a second thought. I took it out of trash and open it up and try to fix it. So far i haven't been able to make it work. Oh I found similar review on headphone.com review. His case was more obvious (no sound on left) so I think he got the replacement.

I dont have much of a perspective in any other DAC but what I know is that this works great. The bluetooth is receive and not transmit, so if you connect your phone you'll hear phone audio through your wired headphones. In the year or so I've had it I have no reason to get anything else.