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Topping E30 II DAC Review

Rate this DAC:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 14 4.3%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 22 6.8%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther

    Votes: 103 31.7%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 186 57.2%

  • Total voters
    325

JohnYang1997

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Audio Company
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Dec 28, 2018
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Location
China
@JohnYang1997 Hi there John don´t know if you can confirm two thinks (of this topic).
1. Are the signal amps of DX5 all TI OPA 1612A like the ones in E50?
2. What's the frequency of the DSD cut-off filter in DX5? (if any)
I'm deciding on buying the DX5 or SMSL M500 MKII
Thanks
1, Yes, opa1612.
2, I have not measured it. But it appears to be about 47khz and it scales with the dsd rate.
 

Saponetto

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Ops, came quite late but read almost all of the thread.
I happily use an E30 first release way more than one year without any sorta problems, all it needs it a good LPSU.
It's anyway interesting to know that a new release of it is on market, twin-dac chipped, better s-pdif compatibility and a very few bells and whistles as its ancestor.

Just a question, if I correctly understood, will this new release implement a brand new power stage inside of the case?
I mean, would the whole DAC performance become a little less critical than the previous one in matter of supplied 5VDC quality?
This is my unique gripe about the little E30.
 

Veri

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Joined
Feb 6, 2018
Messages
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Ops, came quite late but read almost all of the thread.
I happily use an E30 first release way more than one year without any sorta problems, all it needs it a good LPSU.
It's anyway interesting to know that a new release of it is on market, twin-dac chipped, better s-pdif compatibility and a very few bells and whistles as its ancestor.

Just a question, if I correctly understood, will this new release implement a brand new power stage inside of the case?
I mean, would the whole DAC performance become a little less critical than the previous one in matter of supplied 5VDC quality?
-note that if you got an early E30, the newer one hasn't got "better" s-pdif compatility, it's more fixing a problem with later revision E30s that use different s/pdif receiver chip
-the better power supply squeezes out that bit of SINAD difference between E30/E30-ii (besides the DAC chip revision).. 112>116dB, nothing to worry about :p
 

Karu

Active Member
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Dec 23, 2019
Messages
216
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199
So what’s the “good” E30 mk1 serial nr. range? Post the polarity discussion (<2005) and pre spdif chip change? Mine has also been running flawlessly since April last year (50:50 between spdif and toslink).
 

Whoareyou

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Jul 6, 2020
Messages
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126
Location
Chicago
Usually you send back the broken one and get a new one.
What is your understanding for how out of warranty units should be handled (I assume there would be some type of charge)? Also, any chance Topping can work with Apos to improve Apos support's response time?

FWIW - I have sent these same questions to Apos support a couple days ago and I am hoping to receive some type of response from them.
 

Saponetto

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May 19, 2021
Messages
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199
Location
Old Southern Italy
-note that if you got an early E30, the newer one hasn't got "better" s-pdif compatility, it's more fixing a problem with later revision E30s that use different s/pdif receiver chip
-the better power supply squeezes out that bit of SINAD difference between E30/E30-ii (besides the DAC chip revision).. 112>116dB, nothing to worry about :p
Thanks for the clarification, Veri.
 

ngs428

Active Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2018
Messages
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230
It seems that the new Topping E30 II is not to everyone's liking.
Thanks for the laugh! It was like someone was forcing him to use it. I love his review of the remote control. Is it that hard to point it at the device? Honestly, I forget mine has a remote. It just sits in the drawer. And don’t get him started on the button on the front. He has troubles with this too. Ahh good times!
 

tiramisu

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Joined
Jun 24, 2022
Messages
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101
It seems that the new Topping E30 II is not to everyone's liking.
He has some excellent points and some stupid ones. I won't ever buy another bus-powered device with audio outputs. Underpowered outputs suck.
Usability issues are real when it comes to the topping devices.
It is in a cheap box, has poor user controls, and has no features to speak of.

On the other hand, if it doesn't die in the first 6 months, it is a good little standalone box that does its job.
You could buy a cheaper box that does the same thing with no audible differences from the same company or others.

Calling it shit is unfair. It measures amazingly well and as a result, puts real pressure on other manufacturers to step up their game and that is a good thing.
Should you be purchasing DACs based on feature sets rather than inaudible measurement differences? Most likely.

Didn't stop me from buying the L50 though.
 

mvleff

Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2021
Messages
65
Likes
37
This is review and detailed measurements of the Topping E30 II DAC. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $149.
View attachment 220677

The single "SEL" button powers on the unit (touch sensitive) and selects input. Some combination of power cycling and that button lets you change menu settings but bets to use the included remote:
View attachment 220678

There is no power supply included. There is a USB to 5 volt barrel connector giving you the choice of how you feed it. I started with my USB hub built into the monitor but got the best results with a Samsung USB charger. Your situation may vary as you don't have an analyzer in front of the unit.

Topping E30 II Measurements
This our dashboard using Toslink input:

View attachment 220552

And now USB:
View attachment 220705

Depending on grounding, I could almost get up to 118 dB SINAD. But going with what we have, performance is still excellent:
View attachment 220680

Here is our dynamic range:
View attachment 220553

And IMD test:

View attachment 220554

Jitter performance is very good with USB input:
View attachment 220681

But both Toslink and Coax showed significant 250 Hz jitter components:
View attachment 220682

As noted, these are inaudible though as the typical level is below threshold of hearing/masked.

Linearity shows a hair noise but otherwise is excellent:
View attachment 220683

Multitone test highlights the very low levels of distortion:
View attachment 220684

Here are the included filters:
View attachment 220685

Using the default F2, we get this wideband distortion+noise vs frequency:
View attachment 220686

Not state of the art but still very good.

Conclusions
Great to see my favorite "orange LED" DAC updated. Performance is improved across the board compared to Topping E30. Yet the price has hardly changed. We are talking about near state of the art performance in a finished DAC selling for just $149. With good looks to go with it.

I am a bit bothered by Toslink and Coax Jitter. AKM chip used here doesn't resample as ESS does so any issues there travel right through the DAC. Fortunately it is not an audible concern and for someone like me who uses USB as the primary input, non-issue.

I am going to put the Topping E30 II on my recommended list.

-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
Armin (and anyone else!), HELP! I am considering purchasing the Topping E30 II DAC with one concern I would need to resolve: I would be using the USB only as a potential input, not as a power source.
This is review and detailed measurements of the Topping E30 II DAC. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $149.
View attachment 220677

The single "SEL" button powers on the unit (touch sensitive) and selects input. Some combination of power cycling and that button lets you change menu settings but bets to use the included remote:
View attachment 220678

There is no power supply included. There is a USB to 5 volt barrel connector giving you the choice of how you feed it. I started with my USB hub built into the monitor but got the best results with a Samsung USB charger. Your situation may vary as you don't have an analyzer in front of the unit.

Topping E30 II Measurements
This our dashboard using Toslink input:

View attachment 220552

And now USB:
View attachment 220705

Depending on grounding, I could almost get up to 118 dB SINAD. But going with what we have, performance is still excellent:
View attachment 220680

Here is our dynamic range:
View attachment 220553

And IMD test:

View attachment 220554

Jitter performance is very good with USB input:
View attachment 220681

But both Toslink and Coax showed significant 250 Hz jitter components:
View attachment 220682

As noted, these are inaudible though as the typical level is below threshold of hearing/masked.

Linearity shows a hair noise but otherwise is excellent:
View attachment 220683

Multitone test highlights the very low levels of distortion:
View attachment 220684

Here are the included filters:
View attachment 220685

Using the default F2, we get this wideband distortion+noise vs frequency:
View attachment 220686

Not state of the art but still very good.

Conclusions
Great to see my favorite "orange LED" DAC updated. Performance is improved across the board compared to Topping E30. Yet the price has hardly changed. We are talking about near state of the art performance in a finished DAC selling for just $149. With good looks to go with it.

I am a bit bothered by Toslink and Coax Jitter. AKM chip used here doesn't resample as ESS does so any issues there travel right through the DAC. Fortunately it is not an audible concern and for someone like me who uses USB as the primary input, non-issue.

I am going to put the Topping E30 II on my recommended list.

-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

This is review and detailed measurements of the Topping E30 II DAC. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $149.
View attachment 220677

The single "SEL" button powers on the unit (touch sensitive) and selects input. Some combination of power cycling and that button lets you change menu settings but bets to use the included remote:
View attachment 220678

There is no power supply included. There is a USB to 5 volt barrel connector giving you the choice of how you feed it. I started with my USB hub built into the monitor but got the best results with a Samsung USB charger. Your situation may vary as you don't have an analyzer in front of the unit.

Topping E30 II Measurements
This our dashboard using Toslink input:

View attachment 220552

And now USB:
View attachment 220705

Depending on grounding, I could almost get up to 118 dB SINAD. But going with what we have, performance is still excellent:
View attachment 220680

Here is our dynamic range:
View attachment 220553

And IMD test:

View attachment 220554

Jitter performance is very good with USB input:
View attachment 220681

But both Toslink and Coax showed significant 250 Hz jitter components:
View attachment 220682

As noted, these are inaudible though as the typical level is below threshold of hearing/masked.

Linearity shows a hair noise but otherwise is excellent:
View attachment 220683

Multitone test highlights the very low levels of distortion:
View attachment 220684

Here are the included filters:
View attachment 220685

Using the default F2, we get this wideband distortion+noise vs frequency:
View attachment 220686

Not state of the art but still very good.

Conclusions
Great to see my favorite "orange LED" DAC updated. Performance is improved across the board compared to Topping E30. Yet the price has hardly changed. We are talking about near state of the art performance in a finished DAC selling for just $149. With good looks to go with it.

I am a bit bothered by Toslink and Coax Jitter. AKM chip used here doesn't resample as ESS does so any issues there travel right through the DAC. Fortunately it is not an audible concern and for someone like me who uses USB as the primary input, non-issue.

I am going to put the Topping E30 II on my recommended list.

-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
Armin (and anyone else!) HELP! I am considering the Topping E30 II DAC but need to resolve one concern: I would be using the USB as a potential input but not as a power source. The device provides a plug-in point for an outboard power adapter but apparently the adapter is not provided. I'm at a bit of a loss at choosing an appropriate adapter. I was able to download a PDF of the user manual but found it unhelpful. The only thing that is (semi)-obvious is that is needs to provide 5 volt DC. In other situations I've had serious challenges getting replacement/backup power adapters, even to the point of units with absolutely identical specs (volts/amps/watts) but different barrel connectors. Go figure! Like I said, HELP!
 

mvleff

Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2021
Messages
65
Likes
37
Armin (and anyone else!), HELP! I am considering purchasing the Topping E30 II DAC with one concern I would need to resolve: I would be using the USB only as a potential input, not as a power source.



Armin (and anyone else!) HELP! I am considering the Topping E30 II DAC but need to resolve one concern: I would be using the USB as a potential input but not as a power source. The device provides a plug-in point for an outboard power adapter but apparently the adapter is not provided. I'm at a bit of a loss at choosing an appropriate adapter. I was able to download a PDF of the user manual but found it unhelpful. The only thing that is (semi)-obvious is that is needs to provide 5 volt DC. In other situations I've had serious challenges getting replacement/backup power adapters, even to the point of units with absolutely identical specs (volts/amps/watts) but different barrel connectors. Go figure! Like I said, HELP!
And apologies for the somewhat duplicated messages. I thought I had lost the first draft. Duh! My inner Homer Simpson. - By the way and not really relevant to my current inquiry: I recently stumbled on a post/thread titled something like "More humour, please!" There was some really good stuff. Mostly cartoons, I recall. One I particularly loved, a listing of stock market indicator including a per meter increase in the price of audio cables! But now I've lost the link. Anyone have have this on hand?
 

Vini darko

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Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
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Location
Dorset England
Armin (and anyone else!), HELP! I am considering purchasing the Topping E30 II DAC with one concern I would need to resolve: I would be using the USB only as a potential input, not as a power source.



Armin (and anyone else!) HELP! I am considering the Topping E30 II DAC but need to resolve one concern: I would be using the USB as a potential input but not as a power source. The device provides a plug-in point for an outboard power adapter but apparently the adapter is not provided. I'm at a bit of a loss at choosing an appropriate adapter. I was able to download a PDF of the user manual but found it unhelpful. The only thing that is (semi)-obvious is that is needs to provide 5 volt DC. In other situations I've had serious challenges getting replacement/backup power adapters, even to the point of units with absolutely identical specs (volts/amps/watts) but different barrel connectors. Go figure! Like I said, HELP!
A 5V 1A phone charger or a spare USB socket on your computer should be fine.
 

raif71

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He got a point with the required power supply.
it's 2022 things shuld be USB Powered.
I for one welcome the power supply as I'm not using a computer that supplies both power and music files but a DAP for music and I get to get power via the power supply. Neat.
 

Lambda

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I for one welcome the power supply as I'm not using a computer that supplies both power and music files but a DAP for music and I get to get power via the power supply. Neat.
But why can't the power supply be a USB power supply in your case
 

raif71

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But why can't the power supply be a USB power supply in your case
some DAPs fail to act as a power supply... the newer ones do. Like the sony-nwa45, one the DAP doesn't provide usb. I have to use an adapter but the usb connector only use the data portion of usb hence the need of power. Anyway taking power from DAPs drain its battery faster. Better to use the power supply.
 
Last edited:

Asma

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Sep 23, 2020
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He has some excellent points and some stupid ones. I won't ever buy another bus-powered device with audio outputs. Underpowered outputs suck.
Usability issues are real when it comes to the topping devices.
It is in a cheap box, has poor user controls, and has no features to speak of.

On the other hand, if it doesn't die in the first 6 months, it is a good little standalone box that does its job.
You could buy a cheaper box that does the same thing with no audible differences from the same company or others.

Calling it shit is unfair. It measures amazingly well and as a result, puts real pressure on other manufacturers to step up their game and that is a good thing.
Should you be purchasing DACs based on feature sets rather than inaudible measurement differences? Most likely.

Didn't stop me from buying the L50 though.
I have been using my Topping E30 since 2020, everything works perfectly, no problems. I'm thinking of getting Topping E30 II or Topping E50. By the way, I use my E30 with an old Topping A30 amplifier, they don't make it anymore.
 

mvleff

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Messages
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A 5V 1A phone charger or a spare USB socket on your computer should be fine.
Thanks for your response but it doesn't address the fact that I don't want a DAC that has to be joined at the hip to my computer or to a phone charger. I prefer to have a proper wall wart that connects to the barrel connector port on the Topping DAC. Problem is, it seems that a wall wart is not provided and, as I explained, getting a proper power adapter (wall wart) can be challenging.
 
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