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Topping L30 Headphone Amplifier Review

deathpiles

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I'll clarify and say that it gets more than satisfyingly loud for a long session, but there are moments where you just want to crank it up for a bit- so extra headroom would be nice. I'm also considering picking up some HD600s for the less aggressive EQ, alternatively maybe balanced cables and a balanced amp for more power.

I just tried this with my L30 + HD6XX with the same profile and I couldn't go past 3 o'clock on the volume with +6dB gain before it got too loud for me. It was well into hearing damage territory.

+0db gain with the volume at noon seemed like a comfortable listening level for me with this preset but YMMV.
 

Aperiodic

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Here's the problem with subjective reviews, which is one of the reasons I appreciate this site:
From Amazon: "
"The L30 is not a terrible unit. In fact the noise floor is whisper quiet. However it struggles with providing powerful and full bass to my headphones and no matter which pair I used the high end was noticeably rolled off.

I can recommend this unit for those who primarily listen with IEM's but for those of us who like a full sounding headphone experience i feel this amplifier falls a bit short of the mark." 3 stars out of 5

Amazon's bar graph shows 5% one-star. Looking for the review(s), it shows no one star reviews. Five percent of what number is zero? Been awhile since high school math...

Complaints there seemed to be: Sliding around due to light weight, and getting hot. Personal-tastes territory. My now-sold Schiit Modi Multibit DAC ran hot too. If that bothers you there are other choices. Wonder what the reviewer here thinks of this reviewer's comments re sound quality. Doesn't sound like they listened to the same amp...
 
Last edited:

virtua

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Here's the problem with subjective reviews, which is one of the reasons I appreciate this site:
From Amazon: "
"The L30 is not a terrible unit. In fact the noise floor is whisper quiet. However it struggles with providing powerful and full bass to my headphones and no matter which pair I used the high end was noticeably rolled off.

Something about the way the amp looks probably threw them off and made their brain do strange things to the sound I think.
 

infinitesymphony

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Here's the problem with subjective reviews, which is one of the reasons I appreciate this site:
From Amazon: "
"The L30 is not a terrible unit. In fact the noise floor is whisper quiet. However it struggles with providing powerful and full bass to my headphones and no matter which pair I used the high end was noticeably rolled off.

I can recommend this unit for those who primarily listen with IEM's but for those of us who like a full sounding headphone experience i feel this amplifier falls a bit short of the mark." 3 stars out of 5

Amazon's bar graph shows 5% one-star. Looking for the review(s), it shows no one star reviews. Five percent of what number is zero? Been awhile since high school math...

Complaints there seemed to be: Sliding around due to light weight, and getting hot. Personal-tastes territory. My now-sold Schiit Modi Multibit DAC ran hot too. If that bothers you there are other choices. Wonder what the reviewer here thinks of this reviewer's comments re sound quality. Doesn't sound like they listened to the same amp...
The single 1-star rating doesn't have an accompanying review.

The ReviewMeta for the Topping L30 looks good, granted there aren't many reviews yet.

It's hard to know what to think of that review because we don't know what equipment the reviewer was using before. It's possible that the previous device was not flat, the reviewer got used to that signature, and now the reviewer is hearing and not liking the true sound signature of the equipment. The only way to know for sure would be to have the reviewer take a measurement.

Amir's measurement shows that the frequency response of the unit he tested was flat as a pancake:

index.php
 

Reckoner

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Hey does anyone else notice that the L30 pre amp out is inferior to E30 pre amp? at the same volume level, there is noticable clipping on my r2000db speakers

Hello, I came to correct a comment I made a long time ago, and I came across your comment. I had the same impression and I mentioned it a long time ago, but I was wrong. It is that I had not seen the comments of JohnYang explaining certain things.

You can turn the volume knob from L30 to the maximum, by 0db and you will get the same result you got before with your E30 + speakers. Try and confirm.

First of all, L30 uses a logarithmic scale / audio setting, so for example 12 o'clock is NOT half volume.

Maximizing the potentiometer to L30 does NOT introduce distortion. On the board, L30 is set to 0dB with the volume potentiometer at maximum. So there is no distortion.

The amplifier does NOT break a sweat at maximum volume. So feel free to maximize it, without fear. The distortion will not increase.

Technically, 0dB is the best performance setting. Typically -9dB is to provide a more usable volume range for sensitive IEMs, 9dB is to provide more power for headphones that just can't get enough volume at 0dB max volume.

Try using L30 (0db knob max) + speakers at the volume you used before, and you should get the same results as when you didn't use the L30.

When I made my unfortunate comment, I was expecting E30 (DAC mode) + L30 (at 12 o'clock) + powered speakers to give the same result as E30 (DAC mode) + powered speakers. Which was stupid of me.

Now I can confirm that I have been listening to E30 (DAC mode) + L30 (max knob at 0db) + amplified speakers for months, and there is no distortion of any kind, and the volume is the same as if I were listening to E30 + Speakers.

I can't edit my old comment, but I felt compelled to correct it so as not to confuse anyone.
Cheers

MY old comment that he no longer agreed with was this:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ne-amplifier-review.15226/page-68#post-525095
 

wrigglycheese

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Hello, I came to correct a comment I made a long time ago, and I came across your comment. I had the same impression and I mentioned it a long time ago, but I was wrong. It is that I had not seen the comments of JohnYang explaining certain things.

You can turn the volume knob from L30 to the maximum, by 0db and you will get the same result you got before with your E30 + speakers. Try and confirm.

First of all, L30 uses a logarithmic scale / audio setting, so for example 12 o'clock is NOT half volume.

Maximizing the potentiometer to L30 does NOT introduce distortion. On the board, L30 is set to 0dB with the volume potentiometer at maximum. So there is no distortion.

The amplifier does NOT break a sweat at maximum volume. So feel free to maximize it, without fear. The distortion will not increase.

Technically, 0dB is the best performance setting. Typically -9dB is to provide a more usable volume range for sensitive IEMs, 9dB is to provide more power for headphones that just can't get enough volume at 0dB max volume.

Try using L30 (0db knob max) + speakers at the volume you used before, and you should get the same results as when you didn't use the L30.

When I made my unfortunate comment, I was expecting E30 (DAC mode) + L30 (at 12 o'clock) + powered speakers to give the same result as E30 (DAC mode) + powered speakers. Which was stupid of me.

Now I can confirm that I have been listening to E30 (DAC mode) + L30 (max knob at 0db) + amplified speakers for months, and there is no distortion of any kind, and the volume is the same as if I were listening to E30 + Speakers.

I can't edit my old comment, but I felt compelled to correct it so as not to confuse anyone.
Cheers

MY old comment that he no longer agreed with was this:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ne-amplifier-review.15226/page-68#post-525095

Sorry if I have totally misunderstood this but are you saying this applies to headphones ? As in, you can turn up the volume above say, 12, and it makes no difference (bar the obvious like, it's too loud for ears or headphones)

Cheers.
 

Thalis

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But I would like to use E30 as DAC only, what cons would there be putting E30 in preamp mode while using L30 for plugging in my gear?

you asked if you can use the remote as a volume control... so the only way to do that is to put the E30 in preamp mode. you set the L30 to the loudest you feel for your ears then just control the volume using the E30
 

HoJ76

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Hi, I'm waiting in excitement for my l30, will be using it with Luxman turntable. Can't wait, have both dx3pro and dx7pro from before.
 

Reckoner

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Sorry if I have totally misunderstood this but are you saying this applies to headphones ? As in, you can turn up the volume above say, 12, and it makes no difference (bar the obvious like, it's too loud for ears or headphones)

Cheers.

Hello, I do not know if my messages are interpreted well, I use a translator. If I understood your question correctly, I was referring to the PRE mode, not the HPA, specifically the volume, of the E30 L30 and speakers. I tried to explain that it is possible to achieve the same volume using E30 and speakers or using E30 L30 and speakers, without modifying the volume steps on the speakers. Because it had happened to several users that with the E30 and the amplified speakers we obtained better results without adding the L30 to the combo. That is, when adding the L30 we had to raise several volume steps in the amplified speakers, or we felt that it was losing power in the bass or depth. Of course you can also set a suitable volume on the amplified and regular speakers with the L30. I hope now I have been clear. Cheers
 

Veri

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No pre out but rca and balanced jack pass through am i right?
RCA + balanced TRS pass-through, so you will need some kind of cable that works over balanced TRS. But yes, correct! Between L30/A50s/A90/A30 Pro, only the last one has pass-throughs. So if you need PASS this is the one to get.
 

ToneDeafLoser

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On APOS website, it says these are getting an increase in price "due to covid" to 149.99. Not sure if other retailers will reflect same price.
 

raif71

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RCA + balanced TRS pass-through, so you will need some kind of cable that works over balanced TRS. But yes, correct! Between L30/A50s/A90/A30 Pro, only the last one has pass-throughs. So if you need PASS this is the one to get.
If A50 is still available, this is pass through as well.
 

AllanDavidson

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On APOS website, it says these are getting an increase in price "due to covid" to 149.99. Not sure if other retailers will reflect same price.

Well, although the availability may be understandable, I don't get the price hike.

For $150, it's a tough sell, considering JDS Atom cost $99 regular and sometimes $89 on deals.
 
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