[Cidious]

New board on the way from the Topping factory. I contacted them from their official Taobao shop and the board should be in the day after tomorrow. I also ordered a brand new original unit to compare with. The replacement board I will continue modding but the original unit I'll keep original and see how the mods will work out fast switching between them in listening tests.

 

[balata38]

Sorry to hear things gone wrong with your promising tentative to improve this very good kit.
wouldn't we be more efficient if we could make a list of all the improvements we expect TOPPing to make on this DX3pro ?
at least we already have 2 easy ones with great return (see my post on preamp mode which is not secured + your AOPs upgrade...)
does this make sense ?

my 2 cents.....

 

[mhoopes]

Sorry to hear things gone wrong with your promising tentative to improve this very good kit.
wouldn't we be more efficient if we could make a list of all the improvements we expect TOPPing to make on this DX3pro ?
at least we already have 2 easy ones with great return (see my post on preamp mode which is not secured + your AOPs upgrade...)
does this make sense ?

my 2 cents.....

I would like to add the following refinements:

• Volume levels should be preserved for each I/O combination when switching between them during any listening session.
• I/O volume levels should be saved as “presets” with a long press of the multifunction knob. The presets would be the levels that will be used for each I/O combination when returning from standby.
• I think fixed DAC mode (0 dB Line Out) should be optional (and variable the default), with a toggle available in the settings configuration.

 

[Cidious]

So far the mod cost me €80 for the discrete opamp and €100 for a new board and some loose components. I can't really advice it to anyone price effectively! But I've already gone through most of it so let's finish it and report back if it's worth it or not!



Puzzle


Best option for low profile and good connection and swappable. It's not the prettiest and I'll need to be careful to not swing it around...



Needed some modification. Combining parts of all different options and finetuning so it would just fit.



Might need to put a piece of isolation tape over it to be sure. But I'd prefer not to since it will obstruct with releasing it's heat.

In about 2 days I'll be able to give my listening experience between modified and not modified. What I hope to hear is more defined bass and a wider sound stage. The comparison between the DX3 Pro and my LKS 9018 Model II is that indeed as described above between the D50 and the DX3 Pro. Where the DX3 Pro has better vocals and more forward mids, it lacks in the lower regions. Just doesn't have the oompf I'm used to from my studio monitors and headphones. Also the sound stage is quite a bit narrower than the ES9018.

I do think this is chip flavor and less output stage flavor.. since both DACs use OPA1612 from factory.

I haven't seriously listened to the Sparkos opamp yet since my Lehman is running fine with the Burson V6 but I'll be rolling them against each other in the DX3 Pro to see which one will pair nicely.​

 

[lacknothing]

The oompf and sound stage are most probably not to be altered that much by opamp rolling but by improving PS decoupling between channels from the DAC chip down stream
just my 2ct

Looking forward to you findings at your second attempt

 

[Cidious]

The oompf and sound stage are most probably not to be altered that much by opamp rolling but by improving PS decoupling between channels from the DAC chip down stream
just my 2ct

Looking forward to you findings at your second attempt

Agree with you. I asked topping for schematics but don't think I'll have much luck with that. For now the most simple mod I can do is rolling the opamp for a discrete one to refine everything a bit.

Let's be clear about my intentions here. Seeing how I already threw about 4000 RMB (€500) in total on this little project breaking one board and ordering another unit for comparison it's nothing that makes actual sense. For 4000 RMB I could get a really slick DAC with a better power circuit etc. But the performance of this little gem has impressed me a lot that I wonder if there's more to be gained from it. I could have probably better waited for the D70 if I wanted better performance out of the box.

Anyway it's just my curiosity at play here.

 

[Cidious]

Here a photo of the damage I had done to the socket when I accidentally pulled the dip8 convertor off... being tired and impatient..


I send the board to my friend that will tinker with it and can probably fix the opamp socket by pulling wires straight from the resistor positions. I ordered him a new display too so he can play around a bit and come up with useful modifications.

I myself started burning in my new original unit since yesterday morning, which I won't modify to use as reference for the mods I'll do on the new board I got in today.

I did modify the new board properly today. Here are some photos of process and result.

removed the sop8 opamp properly.


The kit I put together


A bit of soldering

Soldered the dip8 socket on. I had to lower it as much as possible. So a lot of tweaking to shorten it.


The result


I just fits. But to be safe I put a little bit of black isolation tape on the case to not shortcut the opamp... (costing €80 this would be a shame)


More mods coming. Tomorrow I'll be testing it. The opamp also still needs to be burned in properly so it will be a while before I can give a proper conclusion if the mod was useful or not.

 

[Taz777]

Has anyone found a way to disable the Bluetooth radio on the Topping DX3 Pro?

 

[Cidious]

I have three units. Combine it with a 1.5A PSU and no problems whatsoever

 

[malestorm]

I have three units. Combine it with a 1.5A PSU and no problems whatsoever

Please give your opinion of this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GWCB53...&colid=Z6YSDHRE4XQ&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I could use it on two of my devices..A solid state headphone amp and my DX3 Pro? Do you think it would work as well as the one you recommended? It states that it will supply 15V@1.66A, and for my SMSL sAp II it will supply 24V@1.04A which is double the amps required. I'm a noob so please forgive my knowledge gap. I asked about the one you recommended and I got back reply that it is too much money and they recommended going with a cheaper Meanwell. I'd like to have a backup in case my existing power supply fails and also see improved bass quality. I feel that I prefer the one you recommended. I'd just like to see what you think of this variable voltage unit. Thanks in advance.

Another thing this one has going for it is it can be operated worldwide on 115V/230V. AC

 

[malestorm]

I could go the Meanwell route if I just want a backup. If Im going to spend $100+ would I be better off buying this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/100VA-Ultr...r-supply-DC-5V-24V-With-display-/131867485038

 

[mhoopes]

Yesterday, I noticed that I lost USB audio output from Windows 10 on my DX3 Pro. The display indicated that it was switching to the desired sample rates, up to the max. PCM rate, but there was no audible output. BT audio was working fine.

I rebooted a few times, to no avail. When I checked the Windows Mixer (which did indicate positive unmuted signal levels for System and iTunes), I noticed that Skype had been stealthily installed on Jan. 29 (by Microsoft) and was one of the sources. I uninstalled Skype, and my USB audio became audible again. Did anyone else see this?

 

[daftcombo]

Taz777, could you plug your headphones directly in the DX3 Pro, without headphones amp, and test it like that?

Because the headphones amp of the DX3 Pro is said to be very good!

 

[Taz777]

Taz777, could you plug your headphones directly in the DX3 Pro, without headphones amp, and test it like that?

Because the headphones amp of the DX3 Pro is said to be very good!

I tried this today and listened to a few songs from Tidal HiFi. The DX3 Pro was put into headphones mode with volume set at -38dB (<-- very important to set the volume low to start with BEFORE plugging in your headphones!). I used my AKG N40 IEMs with a fairly decent MMCX cable.

I played three HiFi tracks from Tidal, and one Masters track.

Initial impressions are that it sounds pretty good! There is a good amount of bass. Treble is slightly subdued, but that may be the IEMs. Layering is a not as much as I'm used to. Increasing the volume to -30dB makes the music quite loud, but also adds a little more dynamics to the sound. Vocals are just ever so slightly 'cloudy'. There's a pronounced mid-bass underlying every track that can sound good or bad depending on the song.

It's a very comfortable sound to listen to. I have a much higher resolution dedicated headphones system so I'm comparing against that, so some of the criticism may be a little unfair.

All in all, for what you get for the money, the DX3 Pro's headphone output is pretty good. It doesn't quite grab me or amaze me, but is pleasant. I could listen for hours so it's not tiring. The overall signature is 'rounded'. It could do with a little more dynamic range.

I don't think anyone would be disappointed with the sound quality from the headphone jack of the DX3 Pro given just how much capability is packed into the little unit at such a great price.

I'm happy to try one or two other headphones if you want me to as they may match the DX3 Pro better than the AKG N40s.

 

[daftcombo]

Thank you very much for your review Taz777.

I have two pairs of headphones: an AKG K701 bought 15 years ago and a brand new Magnet LZR 980, both very nice and complementary.

As for a dedicated headphone amp, I heard about the JDS Lab Atom Amp. Do you know it?

For my speakers, I have a Topping D10 DAC plugged in my solid-state amp.
Do you think it would be a better move to get the JDS and feed it with my Topping D10, or to replace both by a DX3 Pro? (and I could still cross the JDS Lab via its RCA output to reach my amp for speakers listening)

Cheers