I have to be honest that I don't use the headamp that much since I got my Lehman (Burson v6) which I also use as a pre-amp for my studio monitors. This pairs amazingly with the AKM DAC. At the front of the device is the LED display with vibrant orange lit bottom section used to show most of the information about the unit and a cool-blue lit top portion which shows the active input selected. This is an improvement over the LDAC version’s all orange display but I still would have preferred a less eye-catching color to match the clean look. As expected, the digital volume control produces perfect response with essentially zero imbalance until you get to max volume attenuation of 99 db. No headphone amplifier using analog volume control comes remotely close to this kind of performance. Two gain settings (+6dB/+19dB) make it easy to adjust for the varying impedances of IEMs and full-sized headphones. Four output modes

In that white box, you’ll get a remote control, which may come handy, especially if you plan to use the DX3 Pro in your stereo setup with no remote to control the volume. Also included is a mediocore, cheap power supply, usb cable and an antenna for bluetooth. 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.

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Now let’s talk sound. First I tested it with headphones and I used mostly AKG K92, ISK HP-580, and Samson SR-850, as well as few IEMs. The sound I got was very detailed and open. Dynamics and bass punch were not as pronounced as on Topping NX4 but both were good enough in isolation. DX3 pro sounds pleasantly open, the soundstage is wide, vocals are present and full-bodied while highs have pleasant sparkle. All in all, I’m very happy listening to my AKGs through this little guy. The DX3 Pro+ bass doesn’t carry a lot of weight in sending deep notes but keeps a tight image not overly emphasized and well managed. Depending on the song, this region can get a bit unexciting although it tells how it leaves the lower region untouched if not for its slight cut-off in the sub-bass which pulls the room-filling energy of drums. The product is returned in original condition (with brand’s/manufacturer's box, MRP tag intact, user 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.

It only took three versions for us to finally get our hands on Topping’s entry-level DAC/Amp combo, the DX3 Pro+. And since this unassuming little box is priced very competitively for the number of features it offers, it is one of those “better late than never” kinds of moments. The soundstage is pretty wide and deep, with good layering and imaging. While not ground-breaking or breathtaking in any ways, it’s pretty good for the price, just nothing worth going crazy about. An optimized NFCA circuit provides powerful, distortion-free performance: 1800mWx2 @32Ω, 0.00015% THD+N. High/low gain settings Let’s go over the available settings for the device. First of all, the screen brightness is adjustable. You can manually select one of the 3 brightness pre-sets or you could set it to ‘Auto’ mode and let the device do it for you. You can also switch inputs using the remote between USB/BT/OPT/COA1-2 swiftly. There is no delay, the device switches the input blazing-fast upon prompt. The DX3 Pro+ features 3 output modes. The device can be configured as a pure DAC, or as a DAC/AMP. What’s great here is Topping states that you can use both, simultaneously. Additionally, if you’re worried about volume control bit loss, topping offers a solution for that too. You can toggle on the fixed-volume DAC mode in the menu. The name of this mode is ‘m-d’. There is also an ‘m-p’ mode, it is basically a pre-amp mode and the volume is adjustable in this state. Do note that m-d and m-p modes are can only be changed in the setup menu. Accessing the setup menu is easy, you’ll have to hold the volume knob while the device is powered off then you have to power on the device while pressing down the knob. That way, the device will go straight into the setup menu where you can configure the m-d & m-p modes. When talking about size the Sparkos will be the most favorite if I can get it to fit just inside the case horizontally.

Designing some of the best DACs and AMPs in terms of cost-to-benefit ratio are these products. Dedicated engineers and audiophiles make up their R&D team. In addition, they have made significant investments in the most up-to-date audio testing equipment, such as the Audio Precision APx555. Having experienced the transparency of the A90 amplifier, I went in scrutinizing the DAC section of the DX3 Pro+ anticipating a fairly similar sound signature. I tested the unit’s DAC output by connecting the RCA to my Burson Funk amplifier which is important to note since while it is a fairly resolving gear, it has its sonic characteristics. There are selectable gains for the headphone out (0 and 9 dB) and filter settings. The unit supports PCM up to 768 kHz and up to DSD512.

Yes, do test again with the LPS in place. You might be surprised. Apart from that. I do know what you mean by the DX3 Pro having a more centered sound and more pronounced vocals. Topping manages to squeeze the controls of the DX3 Pro+ GUI using only the volume knob. There is a small learning curve using this method but it is fairly intuitive after going through each menu at least once. The Topping DX3 Pro+ is a budget-friendly, high-fidelity DAC & AMP combo that can decode PCM up to 32bit-768kHz and DSD up to DSD512, natively. It is powered by the critically acclaimed ESS Technology’s ES9038Q2M premium-tier DAC and it features Topping’s NFCA amplifier circuitry. Additionally, the DX3 Pro+ fully supports LDAC thanks to Qualcomm’s high-tier Bluetooth chipset, the QCC5125. I think the DX3 Pro+ seems like a complete unit that’s priced competitively and will be hard to match by rivals, feature-wise. Without further ado, let’s see how it performs, together. The accessories are as anticipated with one exclusion. Topping provides a USB-A to USB-B data USB cable, a remote, couple of manuals, an antenna, and a small power adapter. I especially like the 15V adapter because of its small size. It’s surprisingly small. If you remember, JDS’ 15vac adapters were huge and heavy. Overall, the DX3 Pro+ offers good quality accessories and the inclusion of a remote is very welcome. 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.

So if it's primarily going to be used with headphones it's a great product, but if line-out is something you find important and often used I can't recommend it because there are better sounding DACs to choose from.