Even with the relatively inexpensive Topping E30, you should feel a big difference in sound quality from the built-in Realtek DAC.
An amp like this should be able to handle 4 or 8 ohm loads without changing any settings. Speaker loads are quite variable in the wild and depend on frequency, with most 8 ohm rated speakers being closer to 4 ohms most of the time. sounds like something is not connected right or something is broken.
Thanks for that. I was somehow thinking that me plugging in 4-ohm speakers without resetting broke things.
Unfortunately, I think it is the latter. I am waiting for the seller on AliExpress to respond....sounds like something is not connected right or something is broken.
Yes I have tried that. No joy.
A30 is a BTL output amplifier. The speaker wiring must always be independent.Yes I have tried that. No joy.
Hi Toku! The wirings are independent in both cases.
Yes since its audible in this case due to a lower output voltage
@Toku, thank you—that’s interesting. So adding a DAC like the Topping E30 should help with volume issues experienced through USB input, while improving sound? The price for the two is around $310. Would you still consider that a good value? This is for 2-channel stereo in a living room.
@Toku, most of this is over my head, so excuse the rudimentary question. From reading through all this, it sounds like a better DAC like the Topping E30 into the analog inputs of the Loxjie A30 will result in better sound quality than USB and also eliminate the lower volume level issue experienced when using the USB. I'm thinking of purchasing an E30 to try this out, but earlier it was said that the DAC and the Loxjie A30 need to be level matched in order to achieve superior sound quality--is that true and what would that entail?
Took your advice and tried the Loxjie A30 with analogue inputs fed by my Topping D10s DAC. The musical source was Roon/Qobuz USB output from a MacMini and I compared this with the direct USB output fed directly to the Loxjie A30's internal DAC. To my middle aged ears, the only difference that I could discern was noticing that the volume was 3 or 4 settings louder using the analogue inputs from the D10s vs. the direct USB inputs. But I could not detect a difference in sound quality based upon my very limited, untrained ears. Probably not a surprise since DACs at the upper part of Amir's rating scale are probably not audibly discernible, but your alls mileage may vary!
Above all, I recommend you to actually compare it yourself.
@Toku, thanks for sharing and for the advice. I have another question about what seems to be a debatable topic, based on what I've seen on other threads. I don't want to steer this thread way off-topic by asking, but here it goes: I'm not using the Loxjie A30 in a desktop, near-field situation. I'm using it for a living room/kitchen area for a pair of 86db bookshelf speakers. My question is: Are there benefits to a more powerful amplifier, aside from the ability to play at louder volumes with less distortion? In other words, would sound quality also be better at lower volumes with a more powerful amplifier?
Haven't heard either and there aren't measurements here, but, FYI, the SMSL DA-8S and the SMSL SA300 both use the same Infineon chip as the Loxjie A30. It's also been said here that the SMSL and Loxjie brands are both owned by the same company (though design and manufacturing at the two brands are separate).
