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"Recommended" Award – headfonia.com
Gem of a High-Performance Headphone Amp, Preamp, and Standalone DAC
Don't settle for less than a peak listening experience. If you're a headphone lover, the new Rotel DX-3 head amp will be your constant companion, revealing new details and dimensions to your music. It will also bowl you over as a standalone preamp and DAC
From its exquisite industrial design to its sophisticated tech and performance, the DX-3 is a gem of a premium, fully balanced headphone amplifier. The ESS Sabre ES9028PRO DAC renders music via a PC-USB input, coaxial / optical digital input, or aptX™ HD Wireless Bluetooth. Analog sources are accommodated, too.
"My First Listen Gave Me Goosebumps"
"The Rotel DX-3 is Rotel’s first offering of a fully balanced, class-A headphone amplifier. Precision built and feature-rich, it offers substantial power in a very small footprint," reports Lory Hawley, Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, September 18, 2025.
"My first listen to the DX-3 gave me goosebumps. I think all the headphone amps that I’ve listened to are noise-free, but the DX-3 is on a different level. The background silence behind the music is velvety black. Music seems to be richer in contrast."
Award-Winning Performance
The DX-3 walked away with a "Recommended" award from headfonia.com. "Want a fun-sized all-in-one that fits fine both on the desk and in most living room systems? The Rotel DX-3 is just that, and more, thanks to its discrete balanced headphone-driving front-end."
"Usually, with these combo units, I have to give caveats that either the amp or, more often, the DAC section is the highlight, and the other is relatively meh. The DX-3 is a completely balanced package where neither can be faulted."
Fully Balanced Circuit Topology
The DX-3 is designed for audiophiles who want to enjoy music in private listening sessions or through powered speakers, combining performance and style. And it excels with either balanced or single-ended, unbalanced headphones.
Fully balanced circuit topology is powered by an in-house manufactured toroidal transformer with ultra-low noise isolation and filter capacitors. The full-color graphic display, extruded aluminum remote control, and front panel controls ensure ease of operation and configuration.
An Immersive Soundstage
At its core the DX-3 is driven by an ESS Sabre ES9028PRO 8-channel DAC ensuring exceptional digital-to-analog conversion rendering music with ultimate resolution maximized on an immersive soundstage. The internal headphone amplifier is powered by a custom in-house manufactured, shielded toroidal transformer with high current drivers to deliver dynamics with an ultra-low distortion of < 0.004%.
"Didn't Break a Sweat"
"It feels and sounds every bit of the piece of high-end audio gear it is. It has enough power to drive just about any headphones well above safe listening levels, and it looks gorgeous doing it," reports Geoffrey Morrison, soundstagesolo.com, June 1, 2025.
"So, if you and your partner want to rock out to the same song using two pairs of big planar-magnetic headphones, the DX-3 didn’t seem to break a sweat. It was barely warm to the touch."
"Built to Last, Built to Deliver"
"Sure, you can find cheaper gear, but most don’t offer Rotel’s build quality, long-term support, or a five-year warranty. That’s a meaningful investment in longevity and peace of mind—especially compared to those flavor-of-the-month devices with short lifespans and questionable parts availability," observes W. Jennings, ecoustics.com, June 1, 2025.
"If you want a solid, no-nonsense all-in-one headphone system that won’t need replacing any time soon – and performs at a level that justifies its price – the Rotel DX-3 is well worth your attention. It’s built to last, and built to deliver."
Standalone DAC and Fully Functional Preamplifier
The DX-3 also functions as a standalone DAC and fully functional Preamplifier via XLR Balanced and RCA outputs. This extends the flexibility of installation to directly drive external amplifiers, powered speakers or feeding an existing audio system.
A full-color front panel display provides all user feedback and simplifies a powerful array of setup options with ease. The included aluminum extruded remote control puts the power of the DX-3 in your hands providing access to all runtime and setup functions.
Whether used as a high-performance headphone amplifier, feature laden preamplifier or high-performance DAC, the DX-3 redefines your personal audio space with performance, features and value.
User-Selectable Gain
Variable user selectable headphone gain levels of High, Medium and Low ensure support for low and high impedance headphones through convenient front panel 4.4mm balanced and61/4' single ended headphone connectors. Volume attenuation is controlled by an audiophile grade NJW1195A analog controller delivering precise steps as refined as 0.5dB.
High-Performance Design
The DX-3 is a full featured, high-performance component. All aspects of the design have been optimized to retain the full dynamic range and subtle nuances of your music.
The unit has a highly regulated power supply incorporating a Rotel custom-designed toroidal power transformer. This low impedance power supply has ample power reserves, which enables the unit to easily reproduce the most demanding audio signals. This type of design is more expensive to manufacture, but it is better for the music.
The printed circuit boards (PCB) are designed with Symmetrical Circuit Traces. This ensures that the precise timing of the music is maintained and faithfully recreated. The circuitry uses metal film resistors and polystyrene or polypropylene capacitors in important signal paths. All aspects of this design have been examined to ensure the most faithful music reproduction.
Digital and Analog, Wireless and Wired Connectivity
Connect your balanced or single-ended phones to the DX-3 or attached directly to a pair of active, powered speakers rending music up to 32-bit/384kHz from the PC-USB input, 24-bit/192kHz via Coaxial/Optical, and aptX™ HD Wireless Bluetooth, or from legacy audio equipment via its analog 'AUX' RCA input.
"The Ultimate Desktop Companion"
"Rotel’s new DX-3 DAC / headphone amp is the ‘Ultimate Desktop Companion,’" reports Jacob Green, audioholics.com, March 25, 2025.
"Though clearly designed with headphone users in mind, the DX-3 is equally well-equipped to be used as a standalone DAC or as a DAC/preamp. It features both RCA outputs and balanced XLR outputs, which can be connected to a pair of active desktop monitors, or to an external power amp feeding a traditional audio system. It’s certainly attractive enough to be left out on display, thanks to its compact form-factor, full-color front panel graphic display, and large diamond-knurled volume knob."
