Topping A30Pro Review (Balanced Headphone Amp)

[JohnYang1997]

Didnt benchmark had an article, that balanced headphones out are technicaly worse than Single ended, because of the extra circuitry needed, which in turn produces more noise - although the XLR connection is superior in form of contacts? So this would be actually as good as it gets with all that power.

I wouldn't be so generalized. Balanced output of A90 is quieter than HPA4. So this needs to be case to case. And sure single ended output of A30pro/L30/A90 is much quieter than A90's balanced output.
Also yes that A30pro is already as powerful as THX 789's balanced out but with single ended output.

 

[raif71]

?

The 2x 6.35mm output would be perfect to connect it to my two monitors that has balanced 6.35mm input each. Of course, need new cables.

 

[Absolute]

He he. He means 'yes', just don't come crying to him when you break something.

This amp is exactly what I have been waiting decades for! I only need 2W max (115db/1w 2452SL) 16 ohm, 400hz cut off. This is not a hard drive to 100db. The A90 already handles this fine, but another 3db headroom for a crazy peak in action films (just in case) is now perfect! And yes, the background is DEAD (ear against the diaphragm) silent.

That was my exact thoughts as well. But if there's some crazy pops coming through because of this or that it might be an expensive silence

While the tweeter noise from the Crown 4/1200 drivecore is very faint from my LP in my quiet room, it's still there and that bugs me when I'm listening to music with low spl at night.

It looks like the concern is heat dissipation, and that is an excellent point. When we EQ down the excess response we'll lose quite a bit of that sensitivity and even more if there's any boosting needed. Should still be quite a bit above 100 dB though.

I'm tempted.

 

[Absolute]

Oh, and congrats to @JohnYang1997 for the results, this is seriously impressive stuff.

 

[YSC]

Not bridged just same wiring. The connectors are just for convenience. But the power is still very high. Designed for He6 and DT880 600Ohm.

So it means the wiring is still basically a single ended port in balancer connector?

 

[JohnYang1997]

So it means the wiring is still basically a single ended port in balancer connector?

Yes. Exactly. Same power same everything.

 

[ninetylol]

What are the gain settings for low and high gain? My mathematic skills are losing me

 

[BigSweeny]

@amirm A fantastic technical video review. The little bits of information about what the graphs mean are stellar. I have been lurking for a long time and made a few purchases simply based on knowing that what I'm paying for is worth it, technically speaking, based on your reviews and measurements. Before these new videos I had a rudimentary understanding of a lot of the graphs (SINAD = Big number above 115 is good, Distortion = needs to be low, etc) but these give a quick tech explanation to why that's important and I really like that. I can go to a lot of youtube reviews for subjective opinions on what the hardware is like to own or operate (and I do! I would advise people gain as much knowledge as they can from various sources) but having the additional technical specifications is amazing. Thanks for putting in the effort to do both the youtube reviews and text writeups.

@JohnYang1997 Another fantastic product. I know Topping has had their mishaps with some issues recently but I like to see companies learning from issues (which happens with a lot of growing companies) and moving forward. The a30 pro and d30 pro stack are exactly what I've been looking for on my next upgrade and I hope it fits my price budget when released

 

[JohnYang1997]

What are the gain settings for low and high gain? My mathematic skills are losing me

14db

 

[FreaK]

@JohnYang1997 : That's an impressive pice of electronics you guys made, congrats for that! Can you maybe give us info about price and availability?

 

[vkvedam]

Wow !

 

[uwotm8]

Just curious if it's possible to use that thing as a desktop speaker amp (does it handle 4-8 Ohm load well?)

 

[JohnYang1997]

Just curious if it's possible to use that thing as a desktop speaker amp (does it handle 4-8 Ohm load well?)

Nope.

 

[uwotm8]

Nope.

Thx, so what's the minimum recommended load impedance? I have 6...8 Ohm planar-magnetic phones as well.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Thx, so what's the minimum recommended load impedance? I have 6...8 Ohm planar-magnetic phones as well.

It's not about load impedance. It's the power output and power dissipation. For planars it's fine, you won't likely use 100mW.

 

[Merkurio]

Yes. Exactly. Same power same everything.

Big kudos for the FANTASTIC performance achieved as usual, it's basically a SE endgame dream come true.

Just as a friendly feedback, for the sake of consistency around the product concept itself (a SE monster), it would have been great to see just SE port connectors in order to avoid confusion about whether it's a balanced amp or not, only the 6.35 mm and the missing 3.5 mm (instead of the much less used 4.4 pentaconn).

I can understand that it would result in a very empty front I/O, but who knows, maybe it could be the perfect chance for a true DAC/AMP endgame in a similar form factor? A DX3 Pro on steroids with this kind of performance (and the D30 Pro's) and both 6.35/3.5 mm connectors (a DX7 Pro MKII?), letting the future "DX9 Pro" as the ultimate balanced all-in-one solution. It would be amazing and much more consistent with your current line-up naming scheme.

 

[ninetylol]

Big kudos for the FANTASTIC performance achieved as usual, it's basically a SE endgame dream come true.

Just as a friendly feedback, for the sake of consistency around the product concept itself (a SE monster), it would have been great to see just SE port connectors in order to avoid confusion about whether it's a balanced amp or not, only the 6.35 mm and the missing 3.5 mm (instead of the much less used 4.4 pentaconn).

I can understand that it would result in a very empty front I/O, but who knows, maybe it could be the perfect chance for a true DAC/AMP endgame in a similar form factor? A DX3 Pro on steroids with this kind of performance (and the D30 Pro's) and both 6.35/3.5 mm connectors (a DX7 Pro MKII?), letting the future "DX9 Pro" as the ultimate balanced all-in-one solution. It would be amazing and much more consistent with your current line-up naming scheme.

I like having a connector choice. I guess many enthusiasts who are interested in this amp also already have some sort of fancy cables for their headphones, so having the choice is nice.

 

[YSC]

Is the volume pot those custom made ones for better channel match or is it one of the alps ones?

 

[Merkurio]

I like having a connector choice. I guess many enthusiasts who are interested in this amp also already have some sort of fancy cables for their headphones, so having the choice is nice.

And I absolutely agree, but as John stated, the amp wiring is still single ended and there are no power gains using the "balanced" connectors (XLR and 4.4), so why would anyone want to use balanced connections if they can get the same power output with a regular 6.35 jack (or a more standard 3.5 mm one)?

I think that it should be the point of designing an authentic SE endgame, to avoid the use of balanced connectors and being able to extract the maximum power output using the regular cables that most headphones normally include.

If you want BAL connections, there is the A90 which is a truly balanced design.

Just my opinion, of course.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Is the volume pot those custom made ones for better channel match or is it one of the alps ones?

Same as A90, L30. Custom made ones with novel connection.