New Topping L70 is just insane.

[Roland68]

If that were enough a 76$ amp for a 1300$ headphone the hifi world doesn’t have to exist,this post doesn’t have to exist and we’re all stupid.
I have simplified as much as possible but what I mean I think is clear

In the L70, L30 (II). A10h, A20h, A90 etc all have the TPA6120A2 (2 or 4 pieces). The chip is now fairly exhausted, so it's not surprising that these devices don't differ much in terms of sound (if it should be audible).
The A10h is easily worth $200 due to the relay-based volume control with remote control, the A20h (2 x A10h) is balanced and significantly more powerful and actually worth $350-400. Both the L70 and A20h have 4 x TPA6120A2 installed, as does the A90.
I wouldn't want to do without a relay-based volume control (or potentiometer with resistors) in any device.

I've heard a few headphone amplifiers in recent years, also in the 3-5K range, and not much is happening above that, at best nuances. The only one that stood out for me was the Niimbus US 4+, but the price...

 

[Veri]

The A10h is easily worth $200 due to the relay-based volume control with remote control, the A20h (2 x A10h) is balanced and significantly more powerful and actually worth $350-400. Both the L70 and A20h have 4 x TPA6120A2 installed, as does the A90.
I wouldn't want to do without a relay-based volume control (or potentiometer with resistors) in any device.

Agree about the relay-based volume control. And I guess pretty casing and screen is subjective, the Ax0H series might not be to everyone's taste. Also the connections on the back of the 20H for example. I find these NFCA/TPA6120A2 headphone amps really good value and sounding though, no complaints! They are also great pre-amps as showcased in A90/Pre90/A90 discrete !

 

[HDavidson]

Phoney,

look at here. If E70 is base A90. Maybe A90D will be more interesting for you

Topping A90 Discrete Review – Forging Ahead - Soundnews

My Video Review: Looking closer at the head-fi market, I counted three big waves when it comes to amplifier designs. The first wave came somewhere in ~2018, when THX announced their Achromatic Audio Amplifier modules (THX-AAA for short), that revolutionized the headphone amplifier market as we...

soundnews.net

 

[Nordling]

Hi guys,i have ordered an E70 dac and now i’m stuck choosing between an A90D or a L70.
I’m using Audeze lcd-x headphone,what would you guys would suggest?
A90D is 200$ more than L70 but price is not a problem if i pay for more quality.

Thanks in advance!

If you want to stack your E70 DAC with the headphone amplifier, then keep in mind that the A90(D) is 22 millimeters wider than the E70.

 

[kekotron]

Is there any information out there about the input impedance of this thing? While SMSL pretty much always shares this information in their specs, topping is not that eager to have it in their specsheets.

 

[Thyrox]

Well trigger looks to be basically gravy. Relay volume is the critical feature here. But I would like to hear opinions on the proper location of the volume in the stack, dac or amp?

While considering the following:
1) Source will enter dac via BT or USB.
2) Balanced connection between dac and amp.
3) Need to drive various headphones.
4) Need to drive active studio monitors.

Do we really need volume knobs and remote volume for both dac and amp?

 

[renaudrenaud]

Well trigger looks to be basically gravy. Relay volume is the critical feature here. But I would like to hear opinions on the proper location of the volume in the stack, dac or amp?

While considering the following:
1) Source will enter dac via BT or USB.
2) Balanced connection between dac and amp.
3) Need to drive various headphones.
4) Need to drive active studio monitors.

Do we really need volume knobs and remote volume for both dac and amp?

I just use it (or was using the A90) with DAC at maximum level, it means higher SINAD, and use the L70 as an attenuator.

I do not use very often the headphones because I consider it is dangerous for my ears, especially nowadays when each component is perfect, there is no distortion to tell you it's toooo loud.

I use XLR since years, most of the time with active speakers.

I want a preamp with RCA and XLR inputs because I also like to listen to some turntables, and the phono pre pre is RCA output.

 

[pseudoid]

Acording to the info given at Audiophonics, those XLR:s are singel-ended inputs, not balanced.

you sh*tting me!
This kinda ploy by manufacturers (if indeed true) makes them worthy of tar-n-feathering in the proverbial public square!

 

[Nordling]

you sh*tting me!
This kinda ploy by manufacturers (if indeed true) makes them worthy of tar-n-feathering in the proverbial public square!

No they are balanced. See post #33.

 

[Roland68]

you sh*tting me!
This kinda ploy by manufacturers (if indeed true) makes them worthy of tar-n-feathering in the proverbial public square!

The XLR inputs are balanced. But after that...
It is perfectly normal that the balanced signals are unbalanced after the input and are rebalanced after the volume control, before the amplifier stage. This is the case even with many devices costing several thousand dollars.
There are only a few devices that are completely and consistently balanced.
You only have to pay attention to whether the volume control has 2 or 4 channels. So stereo vs quad potentiometer, 2 channel or 4 channel chip, 6-8 relays or 12-16 relays, etc.

 

[Biovexo]

To topping e70 and l70 stack owners, I'm facing an issue with an annoying pop from the left channel when going up or down in volume. I've swapped all xlr cables does it both Pre and hpa. Anyone else facing this issue? Driving me nuts, I can't imagine this being a normal function. I hope it's not the topping pa5 syndrome.

 

[Ctjacks336]

To topping e70 and l70 stack owners, I'm facing an issue with an annoying pop from the left channel when going up or down in volume. I've swapped all xlr cables does it both Pre and hpa. Anyone else facing this issue? Driving me nuts, I can't imagine this being a normal function. I hope it's not the topping pa5 syndrome.

I have the l70 running from my j2 from xlr and rca.I personally have had no problems and am loving the amp so far. I’m sorry you are having that issue. Best of luck!

 

[wacomme]

Does anyone know if or when Amir will review the L70? With his E70 review, it seems that the L70 would follow.

 

[Roland68]

To topping e70 and l70 stack owners, I'm facing an issue with an annoying pop from the left channel when going up or down in volume. I've swapped all xlr cables does it both Pre and hpa. Anyone else facing this issue? Driving me nuts, I can't imagine this being a normal function. I hope it's not the topping pa5 syndrome.

On the L70 as a pre (and only on the L70), have you swapped the left and right cables (input and output)? So that the left channel is on the right on the volume control and vice versa?.
If the popping goes along with it, meaning it's still audible on the left speaker, the L70 isn't the problem.
If you now hear the popping on the right loudspeaker, the L70 is unfortunately the problem and a complaint should be made.

 

[staticV3]

Does anyone know if or when Amir will review the L70? With his E70 review, it seems that the L70 would follow.

Wolf has reviewed the L70 already (Link).
His reviews have so far been more accurate than Amir's, so there's no need to wait.

 

[poxymoron]

Wolf has reviewed the L70 already (Link).
His reviews have so far been more accurate than Amir's, so there's no need to wait.

Do tell.

 

[staticV3]

Do tell.

Spoiler: Graphs

I could go on and on and on

 

[poxymoron]

Spoiler: Graphs

View attachment 245289 View attachment 245290
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View attachment 245280 View attachment 245281

View attachment 245284

I could go on and on and on

Okay, thanks. And how do we know which ones are more accurate? Genuine question btw.

 

[staticV3]

Okay, thanks. And how do we know which ones are more accurate? Genuine question btw.

Because Amir's SNR measurements are consistently 2dB worse than both manufacturer spec and what Wolf measures, we can conclude that his measurement rig contributes somewhat to each measurement and what we're seeing is not purely the DUT's performance.

If we plot Amir's load sweep measurements of headphone Amps as Max voltage before clipping vs impedance, we see some seriously sketchy behavior indicative of either some strange limiting system in the amp, or an erroneous measurement setup.
Since this happens with every single headphone amp Amir measures this way, we can conclude that it's his setup.
See here. Red shows how we expect a headphone amp to behave (it's what Wolf measured), blue is what Amir got.

As for the Meizu HiFi thing, we already know the cause. It's explained here and here.

And the Motu M2 thing is explained here.

Some more fails you can find here and here (comments section).

 

[poxymoron]

Because Amir's SNR measurements are consistently 2dB worse than both manufacturer spec and what Wolf measures, we can conclude that his measurement rig contributes somewhat to each measurement and what we're seeing is not purely the DUT's performance.

If we plot Amir's load sweep measurements of headphone Amps as Max voltage before clipping vs impedance, we see some seriously sketchy behavior indicative of either some strange limiting system in the amp, or an erroneous measurement setup.
Since this happens with every single headphone amp Amir measures this way, we can conclude that it's his setup.
See here. Red shows how we expect a headphone amp to behave (it's what Wolf measured), blue is what Amir got.

As for the Meizu HiFi thing, we already know the cause. It's explained here and here.

And the Motu M2 thing is explained here.

Some more fails you can find here and here (comments section).

Okay, thanks for the detailed reply. I'll have a look at those examples later.
@amirm , would you like to respond? I suspect that you may have responded previously.