Great recommendations! The Audio-Technica ESW-9 has to be my favorite out of of this list of recommendations with the Bowers & Wilkins P5 coming in close second. I do see these Marshall headphones receiving some talk lately and even my local Best Buy has started carrying some. I’ll have to try them out sometime. Great list once again! I’d get the T51P for on ear but the DT770 for overear. DX90 and AK120ii are both really good, it depends what you want to spend. the DX90 does have more drive power than the AK

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

I started my testing with Sennheiser HD-650 in high gain mode. Here, there was plenty of power and no hint of strain from the amplifier. Tonal response remained constant up to max volume which was quite loud. But not loud enough to make the cups flap in the wind. Built in screen is a joy to use and to navigate all options this small device has, whether you want to change volume, input, output etc. If you absolutely need the portability without the cable mess, then it might be the best possible solution from a pure sound quality perspective. For pure sound quality, the SG1 is much better than many other BT DACs I’ve tried.

Controls

When we look at the device’s features, material quality, and the components underlying its chassis, we can easily say that the K7 is a very competitive, price-performance-focused DAC & AMP. Especially the use of dual 4493SEQ DAC chips and dual THX 788+ amp modules is almost miraculous at this price point. I am confident that the K7 will further cement FiiO’s place in the desktop market. After making a big mark on the premium level with the K9 Pro ESS, FiiO ensured that they won’t be leaving the budget market for the taking. Now I have my fully tuned and customised ES9018 DAC next to it with dual AD828 opamps in class A. And i'd have to say the 9018 is wider in sound stage and has that typical ESS sparkle but less detail and depth. Less musical. The DX3 Pro is my easy choice to go to for daily listening. It's well balanced and maybe not having that sparkle that I've come to love from ESS chips but a solid well rounded ans detailed sound.

Topping DX3 Pro | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org Topping DX3 Pro | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

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. Based from what you say is it better to try the K5 Pro ESS then? Also another friend suggest if I like the Dragonfly Red just buy a Jitterbug and be done with LOL. 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. 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. I really like the K7 and I congratulate FiiO for their amazing job. If you need a solid, powerful DAC & AMP for your headphones and you are on a budget, the K7 can make you very happy.My only question is about its over-heated issue for me.It had turned into a sigh of “H P” on the led screen after running it about 1 hour. And it completely muted without no function. I guess it should not have performed that way. Does it perform normally? By the way, I paired it with Ayima A07 as the power amplifier. Thanks for your attention. I assume that everyone of you already have a smartphone – you may even be reading that review with one – which mean that you have a very potent source in your hand. Give this source the gift of a (short) lifetime, and pair a FiiO Q7 with it/him/her, it’ll be worth every penny. For Bluetooth 5.0, the DX3 Pro+ utilizes a Qualcomm QCC5152 chip with support for LDAC, aptX LL and aptX HD. Unlike a lot of Bluetooth DACs, the built-in DAC on the QCC5152 is bypassed and the signal is decoded by the ES9038Q2M. Wow that's big, I expected a similar form factor to the original power adapter, only more powerful. OHHHH I'm in the same boat here. To be honest I'm perfectly happy with Dragonfly Red running as desktop unit. But maybe just getting bored and want to try something new but also want to keep the same warm sound. Also curious to try something a bit more powerful than Dragonfly Red so I'm also looking at the DX3 Pro+ and the K5 Pro ESS.

DX3 Pro+ ES9038Q2M Bluetooth 5.0 LDAC Audio Decoder Topping DX3 Pro+ ES9038Q2M Bluetooth 5.0 LDAC Audio Decoder

Finally, that song has several musical instruments that I could place on the soundstage easily with the D50. With the DX3 Pro all of the instruments were closer to the centre of the soundstage and it was more difficult to separate them. The bass is well controled on both the Hifiman Sundara and Sennheiser HD650, with good layering and great texture, which you can especially hear in the strings of a bass guitar. Sound quality is superb, build quality is very good, I/O is excellent and the conception design makes it the perfect companion for your computer, whether you’re a MacOS or Windows user. And, if your usual source is a DAP or your smartphone, the USB-C port should offer enough versatility for you to connect. Internally, the DX3 Pro+ is centred around the ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip. An XU208 supports up to PCM32bit768kHz and DSD512 native via USB.

Packaging & Accessories

Clipping never really sets in and as such, the output is distortion free all the way to max! SINAD even in high gain mode stays above 100 dB which is superb. This means if you have a 300 ohm headphone like Sennheiser HD-650, you can turn up the volume as much as you want and any distortion you hear is that of the headphone or the source. The sound quality is excellent and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a tiny laptop/smartphone DAC/Amp companion on the go. The price is a bit steep compared to other USB dongles, but I’m sure you’ll be surprised by the sound when you try it with your phone/PC. 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

Topping DX3 Pro+ Review — Headfonics

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. ComparisonsViolectric Chronos is the best USB dongle I’ve ever listened to. As the first-ever portable product from Violectric, this is quite a success. The Chronos has excellent build quality, simple operation, and a minimalistic design with elegance. 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 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.