Jitter with topping e30

[sstenks]

I can confirm that my E30 with the new CS receiver also interrupts at the coaxial and spdif input.
Tried with Marantz CD 6005 and Sony CDP 222 ES and have problem with drop out.
I also heard that except for the E30, the D50s and D30 PRO have the same problem.
I managed to find a solution for the owners of the D50s model, but unfortunately for the E30, the implementation on the CS 8416 is a bit different, so it is not applicable.
It is unheard of that Topping knows all this and they are not interested in selling us a semi-finished product.

 

[Rupert the bear]

Purchased a Topping E30 last week. Unfortunately had the spdif dropout issues over coax & optical. Dropping around 30sec intervals on new CD transport & much more when fed by my 30yr old Meridian (although to be fair I expected this as the Meridian is starting show it's age with tracking problems starting on some discs).

The E30 is now on it's way back to the retailer for a refund (they were very good about it so big thanks to Rapallo AV for their service).

Disappointed as I was going to use the E30 in my home system until the permanent dac for that arrives, then intended to use the E30 elsewhere.
Topping's seeming lack of action on this is poor and I will be reluctant to buy their products in future due to this experience.

 

[geopapa]

Just received my new Topping E30 with S/N 2104xxxxx. I've been feeding it from a Chromecast Audio for hours, no problems so far with the optical input. I'll try it with my Technics SL-PG590 's optical output in the next days and report back.

 

[geopapa]

I confirm that this version of Topping e30 is very picky with its sources:

NAD C520 coaxial: may dropouts
Technics SL-PG590 optical: no sound (weak signal perhaps)
LG DVD DVX550 coaxial: seems pretty OK (but not recommended as a transport as not even the track number is displayed ...)
Chromecast Audio optical: fully stable

So yes a letdown for me but I'm lucky I only use it for chromecast audio and usb
I would also like to add that it's not only the cirrus chip that's the problem. My previous dac (audioengine D1) had the same chip and worked flawlessly with the Technics. It probably has to do with the implementation as well.

 

[Cote Dazur]

What are the brand/model numbers for this? I am hoping to measure one so we can quantify what it is that causes the incompatibility.

It would have been nice to get the exact model numbers of those problematic ones.

I have the exact same issue with Nakamichi CD player using coaxial my serial number is 210473XXXX, received 2 days ago from Amazon.ca

 

[trevi23]

I wish I had read this thread before...just purchased the E30, connected via coaxial cable to an old Philips CD player, and there the jitter goes...
Ready to be sent back...

 

[Hamrin]

Hi, same here but with a Topping D30Pro.
All three CD players I own have this problem and it is not a matter of "price tag" because it happens with a Creek (2K$), a Onkyo (300$) and a Luxman (4K$). Useless to mention that the SPDIF out of these players work flawlessly with other dacs I own, including the super cheap Fiio D5.

I've read the whole discussion and found a solution that has been suggested by MC_RME few pages before: I use an upsampling interface in between and things flow without issues. This could solve things for the E30 too.

I'm using a Cypress DCT39.

 

[antcollinet]

Hi, same here but with a Topping D30Pro.
All three CD players I own have this problem and it is not a matter of "price tag" because it happens with a Creek (2K$), a Onkyo (300$) and a Luxman (4K$). Useless to mention that the SPDIF out of these players work flawlessly with other dacs I own, including the super cheap Fiio D5.

I've read the whole discussion and found a solution that has been suggested by MC_RME few pages before: I use an upsampling interface in between and things flow without issues. This could solve things for the E30 too.

I'm using a Cypress DCT39.

An interesting solution, but shouldn't be necessary. Everything the Cypress is doing in terms of buffering and clock regen should be done by the Topping.

Sadly, between this issue, and the PA5 issues being reported here, I'm taking the view that Topping are not on top of product quality. I'll be steering clear for the time being.

 

[Hamrin]

I do perfectly agree with you... The CYP is totally transparent but "doubles" tasks that should be there.
It is redundant.

It is a pity because the sq of this dac is very good.

 

[billdylan]

Hey Guys .

Been a while since I checked in. Amazing, I can't believe that ,

1) people are still taking 'a chance ' with the Topping E30 when there are many other comparable manufacturer's DACs that just 'work' .

2) Topping close there eyes , while the Topping loving senior guys on here just keep saying "send it back if it doesn't work ". That's great 'customer service ' indeed.

Good luck ..

 

[Rottmannash]

I guess I don't get why so many are angry about this DAC. Mine works flawlessly but don't try hooking it to an old CD transport-not sure of the benefit of that but each to his/her own I suppose. With streaming I only use mine via USB from PC or laptop so have no issues with the infamous jitter issue. I also have one of the older ones that probably doesn't have the inferior chip but have never tried running a CD player or optical out from TV so don't know. If one doesn't like this DAC move on. Enough already.

 

[billdylan]

Hey Bud..
Remember, If you don't like what you are reading move on to the next thread , this one's not for you ,it's that simple .Unless you are some kind of self appointed arbiter ? Who knows, maybe that honour comes with being a Major Contributor on this site .

 

[Hamrin]

I guess I don't get why so many are angry about this DAC. Mine works flawlessly but don't try hooking it to an old CD transport-not sure of the benefit of that but each to his/her own I suppose. With streaming I only use mine via USB from PC or laptop so have no issues with the infamous jitter issue. I also have one of the older ones that probably doesn't have the inferior chip but have never tried running a CD player or optical out from TV so don't know. If one doesn't like this DAC move on. Enough already.

TV/Laptops/Streamers have their own "buffering strategy".
This is the reason why even "less tolerant" chips work fine.

CD Players read data from a spinning disc, while moving an optical unit.
Also CD players use to buffer "before" sending to internal dacs, but almost no unit does this for SPDIF out (which bypass internal converters).
The older CD transport I mentioned above is a 2015 model... The Luxman is a 2020...

 

[antcollinet]

I guess I don't get why so many are angry about this DAC. Mine works flawlessly but don't try hooking it to an old CD transport-not sure of the benefit of that but each to his/her own I suppose. With streaming I only use mine via USB from PC or laptop so have no issues with the infamous jitter issue. I also have one of the older ones that probably doesn't have the inferior chip but have never tried running a CD player or optical out from TV so don't know. If one doesn't like this DAC move on. Enough already.

Well clearly it is not a problem for your use case. But it's not unreasonable to expect a DAC with SPDIF to work with the most common non computer** source of digital music.

I currently stream digital from ripped CD's - but I might like to play with an CD transport in the future. That makes this DAC unsuitable, and I have (as you say) moved on. Doesn't stop me wanting to point out toppings poor performance here though. It is sort of incomprehensible that Topping think it is OK to sell without warning customers about the problem. If they published that it is not suitable for a CD transport, then there would be little to discuss.


** by "computer" here, I am including streamers, network players etc.

 

[Hamrin]

If they published that it is not suitable for a CD transport, then there would be little to discuss.

Exactly... I've ben able to spot a tiny footnote with a perfectly shaped gobbledygook on few Amazon stores.
It should be clearly visible in their "product specs" page, and it is not.

D30Pro Fully Balanced Desktop DAC-TOPPING

Not blaming the product, but if this is a "by design" choice, dear MrTopping please let us know.

 

[tcli]

I managed to find a solution for the owners of the D50s model, but unfortunately for the E30, the implementation on the CS 8416 is a bit different, so it is not applicable.

Why all these input buffering ?
The CS8416 datasheet tell a simpler solution :

 

[Rottmannash]

Hey Bud..
Remember, If you don't like what you are reading move on to the next thread , this one's not for you ,it's that simple .Unless you are some kind of self appointed arbiter ? Who knows, maybe that honour comes with being a Major Contributor on this site .

I suppose I could keep up this meaningless back-and-forth but let's just leave it at this-the DAC has issues-at this point everyone knows about it. Either don't buy it or if you have it send it back it within the return window. Out.

 

[geopapa]

Why all these input buffering ?
The CS8416 datasheet tell a simpler solution :
View attachment 206208

I m pretty sure that it's not the chip's fault but the implementation. My audioengine d1 has the same CS8416 chip but not the same problems with cd sources. I'm not affected by the issue as i only use files/streaming but i get that for some people that's not the case

 

[billdylan]

I suppose I could keep up this meaningless back-and-forth but let's just leave it at this-the DAC has issues-at this point everyone knows about it. Either don't buy it or if you have it send it back it within the return window. Out.

Fantastic . nice and easy.....keep it up Rotty..Out.

xx

 

[nobleb]

Hi there you guys, i started reading very good reviews here for the topping e30 and i bought one, never saw anything that would sugest problems, if i did i would never bough it... to my surprise these units don´t work well with any digital inputs, cds or dvds.. you always get the jitter problem on all phisical media... that just eliminates the purpose of the dac, some only connect it to tv´s and pc´s but its a digital dac that should be good to revive your old cd player or dvd... this is a problem with all of them, not a few as i read somewere and also with the akm chip... this is a shame and it´s not something to be overlook by a company who knows about these problems at least for 2 years and keeps selling them like there is nothing wrong.. this is just wrong practice, i will never buy anything from them again and we should boicot them until they fix these problems.