Rotel DX-3 awarded Popular Science

2025 Audio Awards: 25 Sound Investments for Sonic Satisfaction

When we’re reviewing and need to spread out a bunch of specs sheets, our curved monitor is our greatest asset. But it’s also a liability when it comes to desk space for a DAC/amp. Thankfully, the $1,499 Rotel DX-3 tucks neatly beneath our panel, offering plenty of headroom in a low-profile body (8 1/2 x 2 3/4 x 9 3/4”). This desktop decoder features an ESS Sabre ES9028PRO chip to handle a USB-C source up to 32/384 with DSD, plus coax/optical to 24/192. There’s aptX™ HD/AAC Bluetooth, plus it’s Roon Tested. And it condenses the Japanese hi-fi brand’s big-amp know-how into an in-house toroidal power supply and fully differential signal path. The end result is neutral, natural, capable of dynamic drive but never prone to exaggerated expression. And with <0.6Ω output impedance on the balanced 4.4mm port, up to 2.8 W @ 16Ω Class AB amplification with three gain levels, and 0.5 dB step analog volume control, the DX-3 is IEM-friendly and planar-capable. We’ve used it with everything from the in-ears featured in these awards to the FiiO FT7, HiFiMAN Isvarna, and Dan Clark Audio Noire XO, and we’ve gotten an inky background and elastic, unhyped resolution without hot edges.