Topping A30Pro Review (Balanced Headphone Amp)

[Lupin]

Has anyone replaced the volume knob of the A30Pro with an aluminium one?

Kinda toying with this idea. It was a quite simple and fast modification on the SMSL SP200, just yank of the plastic knob and replace it with a different one. Wondering if this works with the A30Pro to, don't want to yank at the knob and break something

 

[JohnYang1997]

Has anyone replaced the volume knob of the A30Pro with an aluminium one?

Kinda toying with this idea. It was a quite simple and fast modification on the SMSL SP200, just yank of the plastic knob and replace it with a different one. Wondering if this works with the A30Pro to, don't want to yank at the knob and break something

It is an aluminum one...
And don't do it for A30pro it will damage the potentiometer making it loose.

 

[Sharur]

can't imagine why someone would want to replace the A30Pro volume knob

 

[Lupin]

It is an aluminum one...
And don't do it for A30pro it will damage the potentiometer making it loose.

OK, thanks for the reply.
I see wasn't really clear in my last post but I meant the thickness of the knob as I know the knob on the A30Pro is aluminium.
(the knob on the SP200 wasn't)

 

[JohnYang1997]

OK, thanks for the reply.
I see wasn't really clear in my last post but I meant the thickness of the knob as I know the knob on the A30Pro is aluminium.
(the knob on the SP200 wasn't)

So you think it's little short. Ah ok. It's already longer than A90 but it seems the knob is still not big enough.

 

[Sharur]

So you think it's little short. Ah ok. It's already longer than A90 but it seems the knob is still not big enough.

I suppose making the perfect volume knob is an impossible task. The Asgard 3 has a great volume knob if you want something to grip and turn with force. I prefer the finesse in using the A30Pro volume knob over the Asgard. Making the A30Pro's volume knob longer might remove some of the two finger delicateness which could be countered by making the volume knob stiffer. So maybe most people want an Asgard 3 style volume knob?

 

[Lupin]

So you think it's little short. Ah ok. It's already longer than A90 but it seems the knob is still not big enough.

Kinda funny when you think about it..
I find the (dimensions) of the knob on the D30Pro better then the knob on the A30pro. But the D30Pro is a "set and forget" device for me, never touch the knob.. or the device at all.. if only those knobs would be switched..

For me personally the sweet spot is the knob and volume pot on the NFB-11.38
The ALPS pot has some resistance to it but just the right amount of it to make it feel "good". That in combination with a thicker/longer aluminium knob makes it clear winner in my book. The A30Pro pot feels more like you "force" turn it through syrup or something and it moves ever so slightly when you let it go like it needs to settle in the syrup.

Of course this is all knit picking and the A30Pro volume functions fine in the grand scheme but as it is the part which you interact with by far the most one tends to notice those little things.

 

[bboris77]

I suppose making the perfect volume knob is an impossible task. The Asgard 3 has a great volume knob if you want something to grip and turn with force. I prefer the finesse in using the A30Pro volume knob over the Asgard. Making the A30Pro's volume knob longer might remove some of the two finger delicateness which could be countered by making the volume knob stiffer. So maybe most people want an Asgard 3 style volume knob?

The importance of the feel of the volume knob cannot be underestimated now that most manufacturers have mastered the art of making transparent headphone amplifiers. My biggest pet peeve are volume knobs that are placed too close to the headphone jack. While the Asgard 3 solved this issue compared to other Schiit amplifiers, it still suffers from a less annoying issue that I have experienced with the Valhalla 2 and the Lyr 3 - the physical resistance that the volume knob offers is completely different depending on the operating temperature of the amplifier.

Let me explain - on any of the Schiit amplifiers that use the RK27 potentiometer, the feel of the volume knob is very stiff when the amplifier is cold or just turned on. After about 30 minutes, the volume knob becomes very smooth and easy to move. If the volume knob is left in the same position for a while when the amplifier is running warm, moving it out that position will cause a slightly notchy feel until the potentiometer is moved back and forth a few times.

The only amplifier that I have tried that managed to have a 100% uniform feel regardless of the temperature of the amp AND solved the ergonomic issue of the volume knob being too close to the input jack is the EL AMP II.

 

[Sharur]

My biggest pet peeve are volume knobs that are placed too close to the headphone jack.

I mentioned this earlier and it is certainly an annoyance using the A30Pro. Of course, if I was using the balanced headphone out this wouldn't be an issue, but all the different outputs have to be fitted somewhere I guess.

 

[ouimetnick]

Schiit uses cheap poor feeling potentiometers on their gear. The pot in the SYS feels cheap and light. The motorized pot in the Saga+ is better, but neither compare to the friction and feel of say an Alps Blue Velvet potentiometer. I replaced the stock failing pot in my Hafler DH-101 preamplifier with an Alps Blue Velvet, and the rotation is silky smooth.

I'm not blaming Schiit necessarily, high quality pots aren't cheap, and their equipment is built to a price point. The SYS retails for $49, and the Blue Velvet pot was $18 when I bought it 5 years ago.

 

[Cidious]

Am I the only one that actually LOVES both the knobs on the D30 Pro and the A30 Pro? Coming from the A50s this is so much better!

What helped for me was to put the slightly taller feet under them and set them next to each other.

Small devices don't have the space for huge knobs you guys can't have it both ways.

A90 has a too shallow knob. But they have corrected this on the A30 Pro and D30 Pro. Seriously I find nothing wrong this round.

 

[Curupira]

So you think it's little short. Ah ok. It's already longer than A90 but it seems the knob is still not big enough.

On that note, is there any particular reason you guys won't adopt the digital control volume knob with relays on the amps? Is that an exclusivity to DAC/amp combos? I know some people just love analog and "infitiny" intervals, but following your measurement philosophy I can't see a reason why you wouldn't adopt a solution which implies (AFAIK) perfect matching (and leaves less contingency to QC, like the L30 unit Marv got over SABAF).

 

[Sharur]

To combat the volume knob being too close to the headphone jack, I simply use my index and middle finger to adjust volume and it's quite satisfying

 

[JohnYang1997]

On that note, is there any particular reason you guys won't adopt the digital control volume knob with relays on the amps? Is that an exclusivity to DAC/amp combos? I know some people just love analog and "infitiny" intervals, but following your measurement philosophy I can't see a reason why you wouldn't adopt a solution which implies (AFAIK) perfect matching (and leaves less contingency to QC, like the L30 unit Marv got over SABAF).

What a joke from SBAF!

They messed up the setup producing completely different test that looks bad in the first glance.
That's +-0.5dB down to -50dB attenuation. This is basically our internal criteria for the channel matching. In fact our criteria is -40dB. His particular unit is already 10dB better.
The A30pro measured here has roughly the same performance +-0.5 at -50dB.

If you have a look at A90's and a50s review it's basically the same too.

We did test the L30 sent to Amir and we didn't find it to be so perfect. Also this test has run to run variance. There's basically nothing wrong.
But it's very expected behavior from SBAF.

 

[Blaze_NY]

Anyone know how good this would pair with an e30? Would buying a d30 pro be a better choice?

 

[Sharur]

Anyone know how good this would pair with an e30? Would buying a d30 pro be a better choice?

D10 Balanced for full power

 

[Blaze_NY]

D10 Balanced for full power

Would you say its worth returning my e30 for the d10?

 

[Sharur]

Would you say its worth returning my e30 for the d10?

If you have A30Pro, D10 is much higher value

 

[Blaze_NY]

If you have A30Pro, D10 is much higher value

Still kinda new to this hobby does running a balanced connection on the a30 pro mean i cant use the single ended port?

 

[Sharur]

Still kinda new to this hobby does running a balanced connection on the a30 pro mean i cant use the single ended port?

Using a high VRMS balanced DAC simply increases power across the board compared to E30