Topping DX3 Pro+ Review (2026): The All-in-One with LDAC

Quick Comparison: DX3 Pro+ vs Competitors

The DX3 Pro+ is the only unit at this price with a remote control, and one of the few with Bluetooth LDAC. Its main weakness relative to the K7 is output power for demanding headphones.

The ES9038Q2M: More DAC Chip Than $149 Should Buy

The first thing to understand about the Topping DX3 Pro+ is the chip at its centre. The ESS ES9038Q2M is a high-performance, quad-channel DAC capable of 32-bit audio at 768kHz PCM and native DSD512. It’s the same chip found in standalone DACs costing $300–500 when sold under other brands. Getting it inside a $149 all-in-one is a notable achievement in components sourcing.

ESS chips have a well-known sonic character in audiophile circles — technically precise, detailed, and with a slight brightness that some listeners describe as “clean” and others describe as “clinical” depending on which end of the warm/bright preference scale they sit. The DX3 Pro+ inherits this character. Whether it suits your headphone pairing is the main question.

Build Quality and Design

The DX3 Pro+ is a compact unit — smaller than the FiiO K7, roughly the same footprint as a paperback book. The chassis is plastic rather than aluminium, which puts it slightly behind competitors like the FiiO K7 in the hand. The finish is clean and the unit doesn’t look cheap, but the material difference is noticeable if you handle both.

The front panel is clean: a multi-function knob (volume + input selection), a 6.35mm headphone output, and a small display that shows the input source and volume level. The display and the remote control are genuine quality-of-life additions that the competition often skips — being able to change inputs from across the room is more useful than it sounds.

The rear panel provides USB-B input, optical and coaxial inputs, and RCA line outputs. The Bluetooth antenna is integrated. The line outputs are single-ended only — there’s no balanced output of any kind, and no preamp output for speakers.

Bluetooth LDAC: The Standout Feature

The DX3 Pro+ supports Bluetooth 5.0 with LDAC — Sony’s high-resolution audio codec that can transmit at up to 990kbps. In practice, this means you can stream lossless audio from a Bluetooth-capable phone (most Android phones support LDAC; some iPhones do not) and receive it on the DX3 Pro+ with quality that approaches wired performance.

This is a genuinely useful feature that gets overlooked in the technical specification comparisons. Having LDAC on your desk unit means you can put your phone across the room while audio plays through your proper desktop setup — no USB cable, no source switching. For casual listening sessions, this is convenient in a way that matters daily.

The implementation is good. Connection is stable, codec negotiation happens automatically, and at 990kbps the wireless audio quality is indistinguishable from USB in typical listening conditions.

Headphone Amplifier Section

The DX3 Pro+ includes a built-in headphone amplifier that delivers approximately 1W into 32Ω. This is adequate for most easy-to-drive headphones:

• IEMs: excellent — the noise floor is clean, 1W is orders of magnitude more than needed
• Audio-Technica ATH-M50x (38Ω): more than sufficient
• Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80Ω: drives well
• HiFiMAN HE400SE (25Ω, 91dB): adequate but not ideal — the K7’s extra power is audible
• Sennheiser HD 600 (300Ω): limited — gets to loud volumes but loses headroom on peaks

If your headphone collection includes 300Ω dynamics or current-hungry planars, the DX3 Pro+ will technically make sound but you’ll be leaving significant performance on the table. The better approach for demanding headphones is a separate dedicated amplifier — the DX3 Pro+ used purely as a DAC feeding a Magni Heresy or Asgard 3.

Sound Character

The DX3 Pro+’s ESS chip contributes a slightly bright, detailed character to the sound. Detail retrieval is excellent — micro-details in recordings are easy to hear. The bass is clean and controlled without particular warmth or weight. Treble is extended and airy.

This character pairs well with naturally warm headphones: the HD 650 benefits from the slight brightness, as does the Moondrop Aria. With bright headphones like the DT 990 Pro, the ESS character stacks on the existing treble emphasis — a warmer-sounding DAC like the FiiO K7 is a better pairing for bright headphones.

The Remote Control

This seems like a minor point but it becomes a daily quality-of-life feature. Being able to sit back, put your headphones on, and adjust volume from your chair without reaching across your desk is genuinely convenient. The remote is compact and functional — volume up/down, mute, input switching. No other product at this price includes a remote.

Who Should NOT Buy the DX3 Pro+

• Demanding planar magnetic users: HiFiMAN Sundara, Arya, Audeze LCD-2 users are better served by the FiiO K7 (1.5W) or Schiit Asgard 3 (3W) for their current requirements.
• Separates stack builders: If you already have or plan to buy a dedicated amp, buy the Topping E30 II at $99 — identical DAC chip, $50 cheaper.
• 4.4mm balanced cable users: The DX3 Pro+ has no balanced headphone output. The iFi Zen DAC 3 offers 4.4mm balanced at the same price.
• XLR balanced output users: No balanced outputs of any kind. Step up to the FiiO K7.

Final Verdict

The Topping DX3 Pro+ earns its recommendation for listeners with easy-to-drive headphones who want LDAC Bluetooth wireless and a quality ES9038Q2M DAC in a single package. The remote control is a daily convenience that justifies part of the price premium. For demanding headphones, pair it with a dedicated amp or consider the FiiO K7 for its greater power output.