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My Topping L30 II just "explode" being off, but connected to power (still works)

metasharp

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If it contributes a bit :
 

okok

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isn't bomb or something, the original L30 is famous for explosion
 

KellenVancouver

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Wow. With holidays coming up I was considering Topping based on Amir's ratings.
Not now.
I have this vision of gifting a bomb to my son. Man, that's scary.
 

Sokel

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So can you post these here, or?


JSmith
Not much to see without opening it as he says and I'm really curious myself.
I have blown caps myself (intentionally) doing my DIY stuff and is quite scary even if you expect it to happen,even with small caps.
 

JSmith

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Not much to see without opening it as he says and I'm really curious myself.
I agree... which is why earlier in the thread I suggested the OP post pictures and there was a discussion about warranty stickers, which I pointed out don't (or shouldn't) mean anything. I believe the consensus was a vented capacitor... however some pictures to confirm that and to verify the issue would be appropriate. OP says he has opened it and sent Topping pictures? I was just wondering why they haven't been posted here, yet Topping keep being tagged on the posts via ASR.


JSmith
 

Cars-N-Cans

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I've contacted HiFiGO detailing what happened and including photos (where nothing strange can be seen), even linking them to this thread, first from Amazon and then directly to their support email, but I have not received any response yet.

I don't know what to do now because it doesn't seem fair (or ethical) to sell it and that someone else can go through the same thing, even though it's perfectly functional and aesthetically like new.

I also don't want to open it to check what happened internally, as this would violate the warranty.

Any suggestion? @JohnYang1997
I would be very concerned with the power brick actually no longer being isolated from the mains. Some of those SMPS transformers are scary, but even some compliant name-brand ones can suffer a loss of isolation if the insulation flows and the secondary comes in contact with an auxiliary winding or something on the primary side. That could do it since if the whole amp floats up to the mains voltage you could have an internal flash-over, and this could be cataclysmic to anything connected to the amp. Question: Does it smell bad? If it does then that answers the venting electrolytic cap. They stink. But either way, unplug it, and don't use it! It could nuke everything else in your system.
 

Sokel

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I've contacted HiFiGO detailing what happened and including photos (where nothing strange can be seen)
I agree... which is why earlier in the thread I suggested the OP post pictures and there was a discussion about warranty stickers, which I pointed out don't (or shouldn't) mean anything. I believe the consensus was a vented capacitor... however some pictures to confirm that and to verify the issue would be appropriate. OP says he has opened it and sent Topping pictures? I was just wondering why they haven't been posted here, yet Topping keep being tagged on the posts via ASR.


JSmith


I also don't want to open it to check what happened internally, as this would violate the warranty.
He probably means photo's of the outside.
 

JSmith

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He probably means photo's of the outside.
Maybe you're correct... however it was pointed out that won't void anything and a request for pictures. I doubt Topping would want pictures of the outside... apart from the serial number. @Merkurio, are you able to elaborate? :)


JSmith
 

Cars-N-Cans

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Not much to see without opening it as he says and I'm really curious myself.
I have blown caps myself (intentionally) doing my DIY stuff and is quite scary even if you expect it to happen,even with small caps.
If its a blown electrolytic that was loud enough to make a bang, there should be some sort of smell, usually really bad. The OP had this: "and short after that, smoke began to come out of the rear RCA inputs, but without any odour." which sounds more like what you get with an arc and vaporized metal and oxides.
 

Sokel

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If its a blown electrolytic that was loud enough to make a bang, there should be some sort of smell, usually really bad. The OP had this: "and short after that, smoke began to come out of the rear RCA inputs, but without any odour." which sounds more like what you get with an arc and vaporized metal and oxides.
I think it depends of the cap.
The small ones I have blown didn't smell too bad,more like burned plastic along with the usual magic smoke smell.
Without opening it we're just speculating,that's the truth.
 

metasharp

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Whats is the serial number of your L30?
 

Roland68

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isn't bomb or something, the original L30 is famous for explosion
Wow. With holidays coming up I was considering Topping based on Amir's ratings.
Not now.
I have this vision of gifting a bomb to my son. Man, that's scary.
Guys, please don't exaggerate and don't mix everything up incoherently.

We're just talking about a single known failure in the Topping L30 II. It could have been a bad capacitor, transistor, chip, or other circumstances.

With the Topping L30, the ESD problem was just a design flaw. There are several devices on the market that would have the same problem with a metal case.
And how many ESD cases were there with the Topping L30? 4? 5? That beats every car and TV manufacturer by far, that's less than 0.1% failures.
And the only thing that "exploded" there was a 5mm chip, really dangerous.
 

Holmz

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I've contacted HiFiGO detailing what happened and including photos (where nothing strange can be seen), even linking them to this thread, first from Amazon and then directly to their support email, but I have not received any response yet.

I don't know what to do now because it doesn't seem fair (or ethical) to sell it and that someone else can go through the same thing, even though it's perfectly functional and aesthetically like new.

I also don't want to open it to check what happened internally, as this would violate the warranty.

Any suggestion? @JohnYang1997

Well if they do not accept it for warrenty, then see if someone here wants to trouble shoot and send it to them to do the analysis.
I’ll chuck in $5 for postage, so if a couple more contribute then you throw it in the mail, rather than in the trash.

I am assuming that you will be posting it one way, and the recipient will dispose of it when they are done.

It is at least worth the learning experience at this point… to learn what failed.
 
OP
Merkurio

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Maybe you're correct... however it was pointed out that won't void anything and a request for pictures. I doubt Topping would want pictures of the outside... apart from the serial number. @Merkurio, are you able to elaborate? :)


JSmith

I taked photos (L30 itself, power brick and RCA cable) in order to fullfill the petition of HiFiGO, but it's irrelevant since I haven't opened it to avoid problems with the warranty and everything is perfectly on the outside, so little interesting to see.

Here they go anyway, for the curious:

IMG-7208.jpg


IMG-7209.jpg


IMG-7210.jpg


IMG-7212.jpg


IMG-7211.jpg


IMG-7214.jpg


I still haven't received a response from the seller, at this point I don't know whether to contact Topping directly or what else to do.
 

Holmz

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I still haven't received a response from the seller, at this point I don't know whether to contact Topping directly or what else to do.

I guess after a week to 10 days, one must assume that they are slow playing you…
 

JSmith

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based on Amir's ratings
Amir tests the products and recommends items based on the measured results, however that isn't anything to do with parts or longevity... that is up to the buyer to ascertain. All devices have a percentage of expected failure and even well known brands like Samsung are not exempt from this. For example, there was this problem for a number of years which affected numerous brands and devices across the board; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

There is a reason many DAC's measure well, but differ wildly in price... caveat emptor as always.

If one was to worry about one report of a failure, then one would never buy any devices at all. Certainly multiple reports all over the internet would be a concern... but that doesn't appear to be the case here with this specific model.

OP only purchased this a few months ago, well within warranty period, so there really should be no issue at all returning the product for a refund or replacement sent upon receipt of the failed device.
contact Topping directly
Well if the seller isn't replying, yes contact Topping and inform them as well you've not heard from the seller; [email protected].


JSmith
 
OP
Merkurio

Merkurio

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I guess after a week to 10 days, one must assume that they are slow playing you…

I did it a week ago indeed (from their web form), but I just sent an email directly now, let's see if I have any more luck.
 
OP
Merkurio

Merkurio

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Amir tests the products and recommends items based on the measured results, however that isn't anything to do with parts or longevity... that is up to the buyer to ascertain. All devices have a percentage of expected failure and even well known brands like Samsung are not exempt from this. For example, there was this problem for a number of years which affected numerous brands and devices across the board; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

There is a reason many DAC's measure well, but differ wildly in price... caveat emptor as always.

If one was to worry about one report of a failure, then one would never buy any devices at all. Certainly multiple reports all over the internet would be a concern... but that doesn't appear to be the case here with this specific model.

OP only purchased this a few months ago, well within warranty period, so there really should be no issue at all returning the product for a refund or replacement sent upon receipt of the failed device.

Well if the seller isn't replying, yes contact Topping and inform them as well you've not heard from the seller; [email protected].


JSmith

Is what I will do next if I've no luck with the seller.

I'd definitely like to open it up to check what happened and document it as a potential product failure, but clearly I'm not going to take any chances and be out of warranty.

Thanks for your interest and follow-up guys, I'll keep you informed!
 

Sokel

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I did it a week ago indeed (from their web form), but I just sent an email directly now, let's see if I have any more luck.
Can you hear any small parts loose if you shake it?
 
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