Topping A30Pro Review (Balanced Headphone Amp)

[NdvfN]

Just got my A30 Pro in today, and I got to say, it packs a lot of power! Curious, I hear a lot about these units getting "hot"... about how long does that take? My unit has been in use for a few hours and is Luke warm to the touch. Does heat up depend on the headphones used?

 

[NiagaraPete]

Just got my A30 Pro in today, and I got to say, it packs a lot of power! Curious, I hear a lot about these units getting "hot"... about how long does that take? My unit has been in use for a few hours and is Luke warm to the touch. Does heat up depend on the headphones used?

Mine gets warm but not hot. I'm driving Senn HD6XXX and Grado SR225x.

 

[NdvfN]

I have a ADI-2 DAC before the A30, linked via XLR. Is it better to adjust volume with the A30 only? Does it matter if I used the RME unit to adjust volume? If it is preferable to use the amp for volume adjustments, is there a preferable volume to set the Line Out on the DAC?

 

[AlexTSG]

I just created an account on ASR to thank everyone who's contributed to this thread.

Based on all the information here, I've ordered an A30 Pro to replace my DX3 Pro (V2). I'm hoping it will be a good match for a pair of Hifiman Edition XS that are also on the way. I haven't had any problems with the DX3 Pro, aside from one of my neighbours connecting to it via Bluetooth (by accident I assume).

The extra power and much lower output impedance seems like it should be a better match for the Edition XS and my other, generally lower impedance headphones.

I plan to get the D30 Pro later in the year and connect it via XLR, but for now I'll either use the DX3 Pro or an older Nextdrive Spectra connected via RCA, as both should be far superior to my motherboards ALC1200.

 

[Lupin]

I haven't had any problems with the DX3 Pro, aside from one of my neighbours connecting to it via Bluetooth (by accident I assume).

Just disabling BT seems like a lot cheaper solution to me..

 

[AlexTSG]

Just disabling BT seems like a lot cheaper solution to me..

100%

My primary reason for buying the A30 Pro is it's < 1 ohm output impedance.

The 10 ohm output impedance of the DX3 Pro seems like a bad match for the 18 ohm Edition XS.

Of course there could be almost no audible difference between the D30 Pro and DX3 Pro, but without other amplifiers to test that, I'd always have a niggling feeling that I wasn't getting the most out of the Edition XS.

I'm also hoping that after this purchase I won't have the itch to buy another headphone amp for a while, as this one seems capable of driving any headphones I may buy in the future, with ease. The next pair may be the DCA Aeon Noire as a comfortable closed back option.

 

[Lupin]

Of course there could be almost no audible difference between the D30 Pro and DX3 Pro

Audible there will will no differences between the DX3 pro and D30Pro/A30Pro stack as both options measure way above the threshold of what is audible. Serious impedance mismatch could lead to changed frequency response which could be audible.

I'm also hoping that after this purchase I won't have the itch to buy another headphone amp for a while.

I'm prolly biased as I own the D30Pro/A30Pro stack but I see no reason to "upgrade" for a long time. The A30Pro drives anything with authority with extra headroom for some overkill EQ. D30Pro doesn't have BT but besides that it got all the bells and whistles, don't really see an "upgrade" path their either. Only way I would even consider buying something else is when Topping would come with an AIO that will have the performance of the D30Pro/A30Pro stack combined with a decent ADC. Everything else is just a sidegrade at best to just please the upgrade itch and have something new.

 

[860lacov]

I can't buy 30 stack at the moment.
With a future upgrade in mind can I use topping d10s with a30 pro?
I know I can but can I expect any problems with such combination?

 

[usern]

I can't buy 30 stack at the moment.
With a future upgrade in mind can I use topping d10s with a30 pro?
I know I can but can I expect any problems with such combination?

D10s will be quieter than D10b. I heard noise from D10s when connecting to A30pro, but ground lift on A30pro got rid of it.

 

[860lacov]

D10s will be quieter than D10b. I heard noise from D10s when connecting to A30pro, but ground lift on A30pro got rid of it.

Thanks
With my lcd2c my laptop hes enough vol une for me, snd currenly the price is priority

 

[cfarley137]

Just got an A30Pro a week or two ago. My unit has a really annoying, high-pitched coil whine that you can hear from across the room even when the power is switched off. It sounds like a lot of people were complaining about this on this thread back in April. I just thought I'd report that the issue is still ongoing in case anyone is curious.

 

[AlexTSG]

Just got an A30Pro a week or two ago. My unit has a really annoying, high-pitched coil whine that you can hear from across the room even when the power is switched off. It sounds like a lot of people were complaining about this on this thread back in April. I just thought I'd report that the issue is still ongoing in case anyone is curious.

Damn, I was hoping this had been sorted out, perhaps with a revision of the power supply.

One of my colleagues has just let me know that DHL delivered a package from Shenzhen Audio, an hour after I left the office for the day.

I guess I'll find out tomorrow if my A30 Pro suffers from the same coil whine issue, or at least if my older ears can hear it.

I did see a post much earlier in the thread where someone mentioned that they had solved the problem by replacing the power supply, but I haven't seen any other mention of it, or any links to a suitable replacement.

 

[cfarley137]

It took me almost two weeks to notice the noise, but once i did I couldn't stop hearing it. I kept the unit in a pretty quiet room. I am 51 years old, and my kids have to tell me when I've left a CRT on because I can't hear them at all. But I could definitely hear the A30 power supply. I suspect my unit was exceptionally bad, because unlike other reports it did not only appear once the amp was warmed up. It was constant. It's a shame because the A30/D30 stack was pretty perfect otherwise.

 

[TheFrator]

I'm looking at pairing either this or the A90 with my ADI-2 (the amplifier is great on that system but I just need a separate amplifier next to my headphone station). Is there a clear reason to spend the extra $150 on the a90 over this amp?

 

[AlexTSG]

I'm looking at pairing either this or the A90 with my ADI-2 (the amplifier is great on that system but I just need a separate amplifier next to my headphone station). Is there a clear reason to spend the extra $150 on the a90 over this amp?

The main reason I could see for getting the A90 over this would be if you need to use it as a pre-amplifier.

While you can attach studio monitors/active speakers to the A30 Pro, it operates in a pass through mode where you would turn off the A30 Pro to send the audio to the speakers instead.

The A90 also produces a bit more power when using one of it's balanced outputs, although I'd imagine you can drive almost any headphones with the power you get from the A30 Pro.

 

[usern]

The A90 also produces a bit more power when using one of it's balanced outputs, although I'd imagine you can drive almost any headphones with the power you get from the A30 Pro.

A90 has a bit more power from balanced connector, but less power from unbalanced connector so in that regard A30pro can drive more demanding headphones that only use unbalanced connector. But there probably is not many headphones that demand so much power so primary factor should be if you want preamp functionality or not.

 

[TheFrator]

Awesome. Thank you both for the replies. I don't have a need for a preamp (yet) so I'll save some cash and get the A30.

 

[AlexTSG]

So, I've had my A30 Pro setup for 2 days now.

Like others have mentioned, mine does suffer from some coil whine from the internal power supply when the rear rocker switch is on, and the front toggle switch is off (not in any other positions).

However, I would have probably never noticed had I not read about it in this thread. I'm usually up quite early in the morning (around 4am), and it's pretty quiet. Even then the coil whine on my unit is only audible if I get within 8 inches or so. Once my PC is on, or there's more room noise later in the day, then I'd probably need to push my ear up against it to hear anything.

As long as it doesn't get any worse it's not going to bother me.

I'm more concerned about how hot it gets. I might get out my FLIR and post a thermal image once my Hifiman Edition XS arrive, but it was already warmer than I thought it would get with my AKG K701's connected. I'm assuming it's going to be hotter the harder the headphones are to drive.

 

[TheFrator]

I'm more concerned about how hot it gets. I might get out my FLIR and post a thermal image once my Hifiman Edition XS arrive, but it was already warmer than I thought it would get with my AKG K701's connected. I'm assuming it's going to be hotter the harder the headphones are to drive.

My Schiit Magni would get pretty hot even with my easy to drive HD660s (150 Ohm) but it wouldn't get any hotter than when I had my DT1990s (250 Ohm) connected. Of course this was subjective feel and not measured . Is the A30 your first headphone amp?
My A30 should be here next week and I'll chime with my experience of it.

 

[Lupin]

My Schiit Magni would get pretty hot even with my easy to drive HD660s (150 Ohm) but it wouldn't get any hotter than when I had my DT1990s (250 Ohm) connected. Of course this was subjective feel and not measured . Is the A30 your first headphone amp?
My A30 should be here next week and I'll chime with my experience of it.

Just the impedance of a headphone alone doesn't say anything about if it's hard or easy to drive.

11W of power out of that tiny box.. one can expect things to heat up