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Topping L30 Headphone Amplifier Review

Blizz

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I'm exactly in the same situation as you, bought the amp from "Schenzhen audio store" amazon seller at the end of december. The E30 DAC got a '2012' id though.
Same again purchased l30 stack from Apos on 12/31/2020 and got 2011 L30 and 2012 E30. Don't think sellers are even shipping the latest revision yet :/
 

ngs428

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Same again purchased l30 stack from Apos on 12/31/2020 and got 2011 L30 and 2012 E30. Don't think sellers are even shipping the latest revision yet :/

I agree. We can only assume it is out there, but nobody has it yet..
 

odyo

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Just heard the problem with these. Very unfortunate. Sorry for people who lost their precious headphones. What is the current status with this amplifire ?
 

ngs428

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Just heard the problem with these. Very unfortunate. Sorry for people who lost their precious headphones. What is the current status with this amplifire ?
Topping stated to stop using the L30: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...e-amplifier-review.15226/page-133#post-633319

Then they said they need a day or 2 to provide an update: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...e-amplifier-review.15226/page-133#post-633329

No explanation on why this issue is occurring. ESD, premature component failure?? Not sure.
 
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amirm

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I just added this notice to the review:

EDIT: I have learned that one member has had his headphones damaged in use of the L30 headphone amplifier. Topping is aware of this and is trying to investigate. This could be an isolated experience and hopefully it is. If not, I wanted members to know about this potential issue.

FYI I have not kept track of this myself so don't know anymore than I have typed above.
 

Veri

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I just added this notice to the review:

EDIT: I have learned that one member has had his headphones damaged in use of the L30 headphone amplifier. Topping is aware of this and is trying to investigate. This could be an isolated experience and hopefully it is. If not, I wanted members to know about this potential issue.

FYI I have not kept track of this myself so don't know anymore than I have typed above.
Good to add the notice, Amir. Personally, I'm still using mine everyday (exerting caution). I'd be very surprised to see this sturdy little thing die, but I've been proven wrong before :D
 

v5cvbb

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Yeah, I can only laugh on this one. I checked with Apos and I am 14 days past my return window. Sold my Atom to get this... Now Topping in this very thread said we should stop using it. Does my computer even have a headphone out? I’d rather sit in silence than listen to what that output sounds like. :):(
About the same here with Apos. I checked their return policy yesterday. I ordered 11/11/20.
Not using my L30 now. I've been running my HD600 off my monitors headphone out. It's underpowered but listenable. I just assumed the computer's output was crap.
 

ngs428

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About the same here with Apos. I checked their return policy yesterday. I ordered 11/11/20.
Not using my L30 now. I've been running my HD600 off my monitors headphone out. It's underpowered but listenable. I just assumed the computer's output was crap.
Yeah, the Apos return policy shows 45 days at first glance, but them upon closer examination you can read this:
  • Return requests made between 8 and 45 days after the order is marked as delivered will be subject to a 20% Processing Fee*.
*We incur numerous costs during the fulfillment and returns process, including fulfillment fees, forward shipping fees, payment transaction fees, and return processing fees. These costs add up. In order for us to continue offering our 45-day return policy for everyone, return requests made between 8 and 45 days after the order is marked as delivered will be subject to a charge equaling 20% of the total cost of these fees.

Wow, who knows what 20% of the cost of those underlined items is. I would certainly be asking if I were using the 8-45 day return window.
 

threni

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Yeah, the Apos return policy shows 45 days at first glance, but them upon closer examination you can read this:
  • Return requests made between 8 and 45 days after the order is marked as delivered will be subject to a 20% Processing Fee*.
*We incur numerous costs during the fulfillment and returns process, including fulfillment fees, forward shipping fees, payment transaction fees, and return processing fees. These costs add up. In order for us to continue offering our 45-day return policy for everyone, return requests made between 8 and 45 days after the order is marked as delivered will be subject to a charge equaling 20% of the total cost of these fees.

Wow, who knows what 20% of the cost of those underlined items is. I would certainly be asking if I were using the 8-45 day return window.

It's poor English but I suspect they meant to type:

"... to a charge equaling 20% of the total cost to cover these fees."

"the total cost" being what you paid for the product.
 

escalibur

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I just added this notice to the review:

EDIT: I have learned that one member has had his headphones damaged in use of the L30 headphone amplifier. Topping is aware of this and is trying to investigate. This could be an isolated experience and hopefully it is. If not, I wanted members to know about this potential issue.

FYI I have not kept track of this myself so don't know anymore than I have typed above.
Please update the topic as well.
 

ngs428

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It's poor English but I suspect they meant to type:

"... to a charge equaling 20% of the total cost to cover these fees."

"the total cost" being what you paid for the product.
Quite possibly as that would be how most of these policies work. As written that is not what I am comprehending. I am not using the policy, so more of an FYI for others out there considering to exercise this Apos policy.
 

GGroch

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I just added this notice to the review:

EDIT: I have learned that one member has had his headphones damaged in use of the L30 headphone amplifier. Topping is aware of this and is trying to investigate.,,,,,,

amirm, I believe the number of existing ASR members who reported blown L30s that took out headphones is three. Myself (post 2534) as well as posts 2,391 and post 2,315. I count 4 posts by new members who joined to describe the problem (2,309, 2,418, 2,512, and 2,596). Perhaps "several" would be a more accurate description.

Considering the length of the discussion I had figured the number was higher...but I can't see anyone who is keeping tabs. I imagine hundreds of existing ASR members bought L30s so the percentage is not high. However, many like me may not have reported the failure immediately.
 

artburda

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Your findings would be interesting to say the least. When did you purchase yours btw? To know if it's an early one or not.. :)
I finally did the ESD stress test. All I can say is: I had to retire the L30. It sent my Motu M4 into some sort of protection mode and a samsung galaxy 3303 earbud has now a crippled right driver that gets hot when playing music.
 

_thelaughingman

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Considering the length of the discussion I had figured the number was higher...but I can't see anyone who is keeping tabs. I imagine hundreds of existing ASR members bought L30s so the percentage is not high. However, many like me may not have reported the failure immediately.

I proactively returned mine because I couldn't figure out why I was getting pops and crackles in my headphones when listening to music or videos. I discussed that in a prior post as well.
 

Jack

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Well this is a bummer, hopefully they can figure out what's going wrong. I was looking forward to pushing the one I just bought yesterday.
 
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amirm

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amirm, I believe the number of existing ASR members who reported blown L30s that took out headphones is three. Myself (post 2534) as well as posts 2,391 and post 2,315. I count 4 posts by new members who joined to describe the problem (2,309, 2,418, 2,512, and 2,596). Perhaps "several" would be a more accurate description.
Thanks. Updated the notice. I had only heard of the one instance myself as I have not been keeping up with the topic.
 

NemoReborn

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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

In fact. During the 5 first minutes of listening, ive noticed a slight difference in bass between the l30 stack and the midi3/heresy stack.
Bass felt definitely lighter .. id say especially in sub bass ...

but in revenged felt less congested..
 

enomiss

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If you are in the US and want to avoid the anxiety, return it and get a JDS Labs Atom or Schiit Heresy. Each of them also measures extremely accurate, such that the L30, Atom, and Heresy should all be indistinguishable in sound quality from each other due to the limits of human hearing. And they can power difficult to drive headphones just as well. So your listening experience would be just as good.

Worthless comment. We (most) buy L30 cos we buy E30. We (most) want the combo. E30 plus whatever looks horrible on desk.
 

Sukie

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Worthless comment. We (most) buy L30 cos we buy E30. We (most) want the combo. E30 plus whatever looks horrible on desk.
In what way, shape or form is that @raistlin65's comment worthless? Good advice given in good faith. If you want a matching stack then that's great. Others may prefer something else, particularly in light of the documented issues with the L30.

I rather like a mix-and-match approach. It's somewhat reminiscent of the mismatched bikini that so often graces the physique of many a celebrity beach-goer.:)

For my part I pair the JDS Atom HPA with the Topping D50s DAC. Great combo that won't fry your phones - the benefits of a plastic case!
 
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