Topping E30 DAC Review

[Piotr]

@amirm
How does the S/PIDF performs?

Can also someone enlight me about multitone/tonality and on which graph can I see it?

 

[PuX]

the styling is getting better, but still a bit ugly.

why can't the Chinese brands stop putting 7 different fonts on the front of their device?

 

[infinitesymphony]

Probably the coup de grâce for the Khadas Tone Board in terms of best value DAC, and this one comes with a case and remote control.

It has a DC 5V input presumably for use as a standalone DAC away from a computer. Is the power adapter included?

Anyone have a favorite Bluetooth receiver with digital output?

 

[BDWoody]

Anyone have a favorite Bluetooth receiver with digital output?

Something like this count?

https://www.amazon.com/ELEGIANT-Blu...+receiver&qid=1584645097&sprefix=elegi&sr=8-3

 

[infinitesymphony]

Something like this count?

https://www.amazon.com/ELEGIANT-Blu...+receiver&qid=1584645097&sprefix=elegi&sr=8-3

View attachment 54991View attachment 54992

Yep. ASR has left my confidence shaken about devices performing simple tasks to spec, so I just want something that will do Bluetooth to coax/optical without messing anything up.

 

[amirm]

Here are some of the requested tests. I tested with a Samsung phone charger and it was basically the same as USB although the nature of the spikes changed much. So I then powered it with a BOTW linear power supply and Toslink input. Results are basically the same as USB:

I also tested with coax and it was the same. Here is coax input and linear power supply on jitter test however:

We have a clear jitter pattern. But levels are at -120 dB down to less than -140 dB so not an issue whatsoever. USB is superior since the DAC has its own clock rather than chasing the input.

 

[amirm]

@amirm Were there ferrite beads on the USB cable used in testing? I wonder if it would cut down on high frequency noise and improve SINAD even further.

There are none on the cable they provided. In general, any attenuation with ferrite cores starts at 100 kHz and really becomes effective post 1 Mhz. So no effectiveness at all in audible band much less down below 1 kHz.

 

[kouki_monster]

Well, this little DAC does everything I need it to and would be perfect for my setup. I just can't get over the way it looks. *cry*
Also not a fan of touch sensitive buttons but that's no biggie.
Cheers to Topping for a great new product, nonetheless!

 

[Jarrett]

I love that they retained that orange LCD, amir. I was considering the D50s (soonafter heard about this product) and do not like its display. It sounds like this should be for sale next week. Anyone know?

Teardown, @amirm ?

 

[amirm]

I just can't get over the way it looks. *cry*

It has a nice glossy front that does not appear so in the picture. It is actually quite good looking.

 

[amirm]

Teardown, @amirm ?

Recent topping devices have been difficult to tear apart. Let me find out if they are OK with and I will try.

 

[kouki_monster]

It has a nice glossy front that does not appear so in the picture. It is actually quite good looking.

I don't think it's ugly; it's just a personal preference. It reminds me of a device that would be found in a police car.. radar gun display, etc. lol. But I see that others prefer the display to the D50s, whereas I am the complete opposite! To each his own.

Curious, is the case (top, sides, bottom) made of plastic or metal?

 

[phoenixdogfan]

If only SOTA speakers could be as cheap as SOTA DACs....

I think high quality speakers will always be expensive. Ultimately they require quality materials that do not lend themselves to low cost, mass production (read: long production runs) like DAC components do. Just too many batch related costs spread out over too few units for speakers.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Lol..very true. The DAC market moves as fast as the CPU market lately. Slight hyperbole of course...

Next generation will no doubt yield SINADs in sub $100 DACS in excess of 115db.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Here are some of the requested tests. I tested with a Samsung phone charger and it was basically the same as USB although the nature of the spikes changed much. So I then powered it with a BOTW linear power supply and Toslink input. Results are basically the same as USB:

View attachment 54997

I also tested with coax and it was the same. Here is coax input and linear power supply on jitter test however:

View attachment 54998

We have a clear jitter pattern. But levels are at -120 dB down to less than -140 dB so not an issue whatsoever. USB is superior since the DAC has its own clock rather than chasing the input.

That's rather strange. Does it change with different digital filters?

 

[TP-Wong]

Recent topping devices have been difficult to tear apart. Let me find out if they are OK with and I will try.

Thank you very much for your review, Amir!

This product is not so easy to disassemble. You need to heat the glass and then tear it off. Then you can see the screws on the front panel. In this process, the glass is relatively easy to damage.

 

[wwenze]

Something like this count?

https://www.amazon.com/ELEGIANT-Blu...+receiver&qid=1584645097&sprefix=elegi&sr=8-3

I usually check the inside... I have one bluetooth receiver that takes the analog from the BT chip and feeds to an ADC for the SPDIF out.

 

[amirm]

Curious, is the case (top, sides, bottom) made of plastic or metal?

Metal.

 

[amirm]

That's rather strange. Does it change with different digital filters?

I did not try.

 

[Music1969]

@JohnYang1997 does this DAC have separate clocks for 44kHz and 48kHz base rates?