How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a desktop-grade DAC and headphone amp that can also pull Bluetooth from your phone, choose Fanmusic Topping DX3; if you need truly wireless earbuds with adaptive noise cancellation for commuting and calls, choose Anker Soundcore Liberty 5.
• Fanmusic Topping DX3 — biggest strength: a real ES9038Q2M DAC paired with an NFCA headphone amp circuit, plus four switchable output modes (Headphone Amp, Headphone Amp + Line out, DAC, Pre amplifier) so it can sit at the center of a desk setup.
• Fanmusic Topping DX3 — biggest trade-off: it is a metal, surface-mount box with wired outputs. You supply the headphones or speakers, and there is no battery, no case, no cable-free listening.
• Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 — biggest strength: Adaptive ANC 3.0 that re-tunes every 0.3 seconds, Dolby Audio, LDAC and Hi-Res support, and up to 48 hours of total playtime with the case.
• Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 — biggest trade-off: it is in-ear only. There is no line out, no pre-amp mode, and nothing to feed a pair of desktop speakers or a power amplifier.
• Who each pick is for: the Topping DX3 is for someone building a home listening station around wired headphones or powered speakers; the Liberty 5 is for someone who wants silence and music in their ears while moving through the day.
The DX3 Pro+ is a decoder first and a headphone amplifier second, and that order matters. At its core sits an ES9038Q2M DAC, and the Bluetooth side is handled by a QCC5125 chipset — but Topping doesn't hand the analog job to that chip. Instead it routes the QCC5125's digital signal into the ES9038Q2M to do the conversion, which is the kind of design choice that tells you this box is meant for listeners who care about what happens after the signal arrives. Over USB it runs a second-generation 8-core XMOS XU208, supporting PCM up to 32-bit/768kHz and native DSD512. That is a lot of headroom for a desktop unit.
The NFCA circuit is the part I find most interesting for real-world use. Topping tuned it for this specific unit to keep noise and distortion low, and the company positions it as a match for both high-sensitivity IEMs and high-impedance, power-hungry headphones. That is a genuinely wide spread. If you own a sensitive in-ear monitor that hisses on lesser amps, and you also own a demanding over-ear that needs voltage, this is the kind of amp that can serve both without you buying two boxes. The four output modes — Headphone Amp, Headphone Amp + Line out, DAC, and Pre amplifier — are what turn it from a headphone toy into a hub. In DAC mode it outputs a fixed 2Vrms and the screen shows the current sampling rate. In pre-amp mode you get digital volume control with no left-right channel imbalance, which matters if you're feeding powered monitors.
Who should buy it? Someone with a desk, a pair of wired headphones or active speakers, and a phone, tablet, laptop or media player they want to stream from. The Bluetooth 5.0 implementation supports LDAC, AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX LL and aptX HD, and the unit carries Hi-Res Audio Wireless and LDAC certification, so a phone that transmits LDAC gets a genuinely better path than plain SBC. Connect your phone or laptop over Bluetooth, hook your headphones or amp to the output, and the DX3 Pro+ becomes your Bluetooth headphone amp. If you'd rather go wired, any device that supports OTG external sound cards — iOS, Android, media players — can feed the USB input and use it as an external DAC.
Who should skip it? Anyone who wants music in their ears while walking, training or riding a train. The DX3 Pro+ is a surface-mount metal unit with no battery and no wireless output. It has no noise cancellation, no microphones and no touch controls. It is a stationary component, and it should be bought as one.
The Liberty 5 is built around one problem: human voices leaking into your ears on a train or subway. The ANC 3.0 system uses a purpose-built acoustic cavity to target, dampen and block voices, and Anker claims that's twice as effective as before. The more useful detail is the adaptive part — the algorithm re-adjusts every 0.3 seconds to track small changes in your surroundings, so the cancellation doesn't fall apart the moment the environment shifts. In a carriage where the noise floor keeps changing, that continuous re-tuning is the difference between "quiet" and "quiet, then suddenly not."
Sound is handled by wool paper diaphragms and bass-enhancing tubes, with LDAC and Hi-Res Audio support on the wireless side and Dolby Audio on top, including custom modes for music, movies and podcasts. That combination points at a tuning that aims for balanced rather than bass-only: the diaphragms are there for detail and treble nuance, while the tubes add low-end weight. Dolby Audio's separate movie and podcast modes are a practical touch — a podcast mode usually means voices are pushed forward, which is exactly what you want for spoken content.
Calls get six microphones, AI noise cancellation and a wind-resistant algorithm. The claim is natural, clear voice pickup with wind noise reduced. For anyone taking calls outdoors or on a windy platform, the wind algorithm is the spec that actually matters, because wind buffeting is what normally destroys earbud call quality. Fit is clearly taken seriously too: six ear tip sizes ship in the box (XXS through XL, with M pre-installed), which matters because ANC performance depends heavily on a proper seal. There's also HearID 4.0 and multipoint connection, so you can pair two devices and switch between them.
Battery is where the Liberty 5 is genuinely strong. Anker rates up to 12 hours per charge and 48 hours total with the case in normal mode; with ANC on, that's 8 hours per charge and 32 hours total. A 10-minute charge gives 5 hours of playback, and a full charge takes about 3 hours. Bluetooth range is listed at 10 meters. The earbuds are in-ear, plastic-bodied, black, with touch controls and no headphone jack — wireless only.
Who should buy it? Commuters, travelers, gym-goers and anyone on calls all day who wants one small case instead of a desk full of gear. Who should skip it? Anyone who needs to drive speakers, feed a power amplifier or run a wired headphone chain. There is no line out and no pre-amp mode here. Note too that this listing is a renewed unit carrying a 90-day limited warranty, so if a long warranty matters to you, factor that in.
• Best for desk and home listening → Fanmusic Topping DX3. Four output modes, an ES9038Q2M DAC and NFCA amp circuit make it the only one of the two that can anchor a speaker or headphone setup.
• Best for noise cancellation → Anker Soundcore Liberty 5. Adaptive ANC 3.0 re-tunes every 0.3 seconds and specifically targets human voices.
• Best for battery life → Anker Soundcore Liberty 5. Up to 48 hours with the case in normal mode, 32 hours with ANC on, and 5 hours from a 10-minute top-up.
• Best for wired headphones of all types → Fanmusic Topping DX3. The NFCA circuit is tuned for both sensitive IEMs and high-impedance, power-hungry headphones.
• Best for calls and meetings → Anker Soundcore Liberty 5. Six mics, AI noise cancellation and a wind-resistant algorithm.
• Best for high-resolution wired playback → Fanmusic Topping DX3. USB supports PCM 32-bit/768kHz and native DSD512 via the XMOS XU208.
• Best for portability → Anker Soundcore Liberty 5. 57.1 g total, in-ear, wireless, with a charging case. The DX3 is a metal surface-mount component with no battery.
• Best for pairing with a phone over Bluetooth → Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 for on-the-go use, but Fanmusic Topping DX3 if that phone is feeding a home system — it accepts LDAC and routes it through the ES9038Q2M.
In my opinion these two barely compete, because they solve different problems — so I'd pick based on where you actually listen. If most of your listening happens at a desk with wired headphones or speakers, I'd buy the Fanmusic Topping DX3: the ES9038Q2M decoding, XMOS USB input, DSD512 support and four output modes give you a component you can build a system around for years. If most of your listening happens in your ears, on the move, I'd buy the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5: adaptive ANC, Dolby Audio, LDAC, six-mic calls and up to 48 hours of total playtime cover commuting, work and travel in one case. If you can only justify one and you move around a lot, the Liberty 5 is the more flexible everyday pick.
FAQ
No. It's a desktop DAC and headphone amplifier in a metal chassis with no battery. It receives Bluetooth 5.0 from a phone, tablet or laptop, but its outputs are wired — headphones, line out or a pre-amp feed to speakers.
No. It's an in-ear wireless earbud with no headphone jack and no line output. It's designed to play into your ears, not to feed other gear.
The Liberty 5, clearly. It's the only one of the two with active noise cancellation, and its adaptive algorithm adjusts every 0.3 seconds while specifically targeting human voices.
The Liberty 5. It's rated up to 12 hours per charge and 48 hours with the case in normal mode, or 8 and 32 hours with ANC on. The DX3 has no battery at all — it runs from its own power source.
They sit in different product categories, so check the current price on Amazon for each using the buttons on this page before deciding — the specs above are what should drive the choice first.
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