Topping D3 TP-D3 Decoder USB/Optical/Coaxial/BNC DAC black

The build quality of this unit appears to be exceptional. The front panel is laid out nicely with a large volume nob. The ability to switch between input sources is also handled very nicely with a soft touch switch. The power switch isa also a very nice touch.This unit is pretty much plug and play and requires now special drivers (for Windows anyway). I had it up and running within 5 minutes from opening the box. It comes with a decent USB cabel with sufficient length for placing the unit just about anywhere on your desk.How does it sound: I purchased this unit to replace a defective NuForce Icon uDAC-2 Signature Gold Edition. I have to admit that the sound of the NuForce was more open and clean. However, this does not belittle the Topping. The sound is quite open with good dynamics. It provides more than enough volume. I think that the DAC chipset used in the Nuforce was just a bit better.I am currerntly using this unit at work with a set of AKG K550 headphones. The combination work quite well together. Most of the music I am listening to are vinyl transfers I have made from my collection. The majority are in MP3 (256K) files that don't sound to bad at all. I have also purchased some 180 G albums. When I record the albums I am recording them at 48K/32B and then converthem down to 44.1K for CD transfer. However, with the 180G albums, I also converted the files to 48K flac files that sound tremendous. I can definitely say that with this combo, I can here all the flaws in the vinyl. Listening to CD's that are recorded or mastered badly are also highlighted. Over all, I am very pleased with this unit. Between this unit and my headphonse, I am the envy of the office.Are there any cons? I only have two cons to report. The first is that on occasion, after pausing the music for a bit, when starting it back up, I get quite loud static. Note that this has only happened a few times in the month that I have had it and can easily be corrected by tunring off the power and back on. The second is that this unit is a little on the large size. While it is not a problem fow me, it may be for otheres.I would reccomend this to others. I gave it a 4 start rating only because I had experienced the NuForce. If I had started with this unit, I would have most likely given a 5 star rating.

Topping D3 DAC & Headphone AmplifierVery attractive package. Well laid out front panel. Solid construction. A nice feel to the box. Well laid out back panel, too.As many features as you could want. I especially appreciated the analog input (RCA connectors) that let you select an analog source to play through the headphones (or your external amp).The headphone amp worked well and had plenty of power for both my earbuds and 62-ohm AKG K702. The audio out to the amplifier was on even when the headphones were plugged in, a surprise. Not a problem, of course, as I simply turned off the amp.The optical input (Toslink) worked fine. I had no use for (and no way to test) the BNC & RCA Coaxial connections.But USB was a problem.I was not able to get the D3 to play audio over the USB interface. Not a problem with my other DAC (which is having problems after 4 years, which is why I bought the D3). Never did figure out what the problem was. Nothing in the instructions addresses this issue. The computer recognized the D3 when it was connected, and reported it as “SPDIF Interface (TOPPING D3 DAC)”. I don’t know if S/PDIF is the correct identification for a USB interface – haven’t seen that before. I didn't follow up on this because other problems surfaced.Early on, I encountered 2 intermittent problems, apparently unrelated.The right analog output channel suddenly stopped working after less than an hour. (But was still fine in the headphones.) Then it recovered a short time later.Then a short time after that, the headphone audio became garbled. (But the audio was still fine in the analog output.) And then the headphones recovered.Finally there's the quality of the DAC itself. Cost is usually a pretty good indicator of this, but I’m seeing the D3 priced (April 2017) anywhere from $115 to over $200.I found the quality of the DAC to be minimally OK. Voices were fine, but music sounded constrained – pretty much what I’d expect from an inexpensive DAC. Music through the analog inputs was fine, in both the headphones and the analog output. So the issue was with the digital converter.Unfortunately, the reliability issues won out and I had to return the D3. Sad. I really loved its feature set and the quality of the physical box. If they’d upgrade the converter this would be one great DAC.Three stars for the feature set and box quality for this price. I took one star off for the quality of the audio, and a second star off for the TWO intermittent problems. One problem I could understand and just exchange the item. That can happen with any electronic device. But two apparently unrelated problems in one product? I’ve never even heard of that before. Left me with concerns about the quality of the electronics.

I love it. Using Audio Technica ATH M50x phones and everything sounds amazing. This is coming from a guy who hasn't used anything but onboard sound in years so I can't compare it to the rest of the DAC market. Have it hooked up using optical cable to electrically isolate it from my electrically noisy PC. Very minimal background hiss when volume knob is cranked up all the way. I have heard from other people that the included power supply isn't of audiophile quality and I'm sure they're right but they also probably spend more money on cables than I did on my headphones. I almost regret upgrading my setup because now everything else I listen to sounds terrible. It also made about half of my mp3 library unusable with how terrible the recordings sound.I didn't open it up and look inside or anything but the unit feels solid, looks solid, and functions as it should with no problems whatsoever for a month of daily use. The unit remembers what input it was on between power states and so there's minimal hassle there. I mainly use the optical input with the occasional use of the RCA input to a 3.5mm jack to a phone. I have also heard a few reviews complaining about a bright blue LED on the thing, either the input indicators or the knob light. Well the design was updated or those people are crazy. Seriously, if anything the lights aren't bright enough and I don't want bright LEDs either.Side Note: Since I updated my headphones and this DAC I was going to upgrade my speakers as well as get an amp. So I started looking at the Topping TP60 since it was a nice match with this DAC -looks wise- But theres like 3 or 4 different model versions and if you're "ocd" like I am It'll be a nightmare trying to find the model that is the perfect match since it seems like it was the original model. i.e. the same knob same faceplate design, same logo placement.

What makes this DAC/headphone amp unique is the diversity of inputs and outputs. Digital inputs are USB, coax, optical, and BNC. But it also has an analog input, which makes it ideal for my need, adding a headphone jack to an Onkyo preamp that doesn’t have one. Putting the analog input and output into the tape loop lets me listen to anything going through the preamp on headphones, but also adds the inputs from the DAC so they can also be heard from the speakers. Very useful. Is the DAC better or worse than any other? I really can’t say, but a CD player connected through the optical or coax input sounds better to me than it does through the analog input. I haven’t seen any other DAC/headphone amp out there that will do all of this.

Got this to connect some very good headphones to my computer. I was honestly shocked at how well-built it is, and also how good it sounds. I've got some properly high-end gear, and this can stand beside it proudly.