TOPPING NX3 Portable Headphone Amplifier Impressions Thread

[stefanolandesca]

How do these fare against the fiio e12a?

 

[sgl54]

How do these fare against the fiio e12a?

I'd also me interested in knowing. I do have the E11 k (E3 ) arriving today which may provide ( some ) indication how these fit sound wise etc. If that would help.

 

[drteming]

So I've been playing with the NX3 for couple of weeks now, and I am absolutely amazed by this amp.  It comes really, really close to my O2 amp (self-built kit from Mayflower), but I'm sure I'm limited by my headphones.  It is absolutely flat and does not add anything else to the music.  Like all of my stuff, it has been opened up so I can take a gander at the innards. 
 

 
Here's the top side of the audio portion.
 

 
Close-up of the Ti-6120.
 

 
The underside of the audio portion.
 

 
Close-up of the Burr-Brown 2134 op-amp.
 

 
The top and bottom of the power section.
 

 

[stefanolandesca]

So it has a burr brown amp.. nice

 

[Jazzhum]

My NX3 arrived. Tested it with an XDUOO X3 dap and (old) Sennheisser HD600 headphones. Used Tomita's Snowflakes Are Dancing (in FLAC's), because of the many different sounds, layers and expression in the music. I am happy. The NX3 drives the HD600 very well, without compromising the clear sound of the XDUOO X3. (Without the NX3 they sounded kind of narrow and subdued, even if I had the gain of the X3 set to +6.)

 

[Podster]

  Got the NX3 a couple of days ago.  It's a nice chunk of gear, very well built and substantial. I paired it with my Fiio X3ii, and have been listening with an Audio Technica ATH-M50x and LZ-A2.  I've gone through several albums:  Donald Fagen The Nightfly (Japanese Target RB-FLAC), Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here (SACD DSF), Dire Straits Making Movies (SACD DSF), Yes Close to the Edge (Steve Wilson 2013 Remix 24 Bit 96 KHz), Yggdrasil Prose Edda (RB-FLAC), Daft Punk Random Access Memories (24 Bit 88 KHz), and the whole Shpongle discography (RB-FLAC).  The stock amp in the X3ii sounds very good, but the NX3 adds a nice oomph, especially with the ATH-M50x.  The bass boost kind of muddles things up so I keep it off.  
 


 
The NX3 has less hiss (only noticeable with the LZ-A2) than the NX2 (which I use with my phone and laptop), and is definitely a step up.

Man do we ever have a similar music library! I see the NX3 is considerably larger than the NX2 and NX1 which I have, glad to hear of the improvements in the 3 and seems like is is priced about what the 2 cost me. May have to give the new Topping a try

 

[golov17]

Very confusing. On the Topping's website there isn't a word about it: http://www.tpdz.net/en/products.htm.
Aliexpress doesn't have it, and on eBay found only one NX3 offer with added confusion, mentioning in the specs "DAC decoder - SoundCard: PCM2704 HI-FI USB DAC SPDIF".
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Topping-NX3-HiFi-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-TPA6120A2-Chip-/111828748323?hash=item1a09834823:g:xxUAAOSwLzdWTsn5

http://s.aliexpress.com/auYBvQFn

 

[DjBobby]

http://s.aliexpress.com/auYBvQFn

Thanks. More than 2 months elapsed since my post, so I see it meanwhile showing up all around. Was actually just eyeballing exactly that offer 

.

 

[golov17]

Thanks. More than 2 months elapsed since my post, so I see it meanwhile showing up all around. Was actually just eyeballing exactly that offer  .

more?

 

[Light - Man]

I am impressed with the NX3, early days but I think it is better than the Fiio E12A and the Cayin C5 but as I no longer have them, I cannot do a direct comparison.
I liked it straight out of the box, very neutral and very transparent with very good sound stage and depth, musicality and timbre, etc. - need I say more!

 
Mine is silver and I think it is a nice size and well made, I think the NX1A is a bit too small for my liking and a noticeable step down from the NX3.

 

[Niyologist]

How long can the NX3 last on a single charge?

 

[musicphotolife]

How long can the NX3 last on a single charge?

It can last 25 hours.

 

[Niyologist]

It can last 25 hours.

Thanks. That's pretty impressive.

 

[Light - Man]

  I am impressed with the NX3, early days but I think it is better than the Fiio E12A and the Cayin C5 but as I no longer have them, I cannot do a direct comparison.
I liked it straight out of the box, very neutral and very transparent with very good sound stage and depth, musicality and timbre, etc. - need I say more!

 
Mine is silver and I think it is a nice size and well made, I think the NX1A is a bit too small for my liking and a noticeable step down from the NX3.

 
Update: After some decent burn-in time on both the NX3 and NX1A I find myself preferring the NX1A paired with my Hidizs AP100 DAP and Yamaha HPH-MT220 cans.
 
I find the NX3 has a little too much low bass emphasis ( without bass boost on) with a lack of top end detail and airiness.
 
When I first got the 2 amps I could only try them with one IEM and without much burn-in.
 
I suppose it shows us that the influence of burn-in time (if you believe in it) and pairings/synergies make it more difficult to recommend a product!

 

[hqssui]

   
Update: After some decent burn-in time on both the NX3 and NX1A I find myself preferring the NX1A paired with my Hidizs AP100 DAP and Yamaha HPH-MT220 cans.
 
I find the NX3 has a little too much low bass emphasis ( without bass boost on) with a lack of top end detail and airiness.
 
When I first got the 2 amps I could only try them with one IEM and without much burn-in.
 
I suppose it shows us that the influence of burn-in time (if you believe in it) and pairings/synergies make it more difficult to recommend a product!

 
Thanks for the update. May I ask you, if you turn on the bass switch, would it boost the sub-bass or mid-bass?