Topping A30Pro Review (Balanced Headphone Amp)

[usern]

I mean youtube reviews that talk about sparkles or warmth or wide soundstage of a neutral amplifier. If someone says for example that A90 has better sound stage than A30 then that's audiophiliac nonsense.

 

[David_M]

I have the EX5 dac and was thinking of upgrading someday to a Topping D70 or SMSL SU-9 Pro. Are you saying there are no, zero audio differences amongst these 3 dacs and will sound completely identical?

 

[usern]

Only upgrade if they have some feature you want to use that EX5 is missing. They are all neutral good performance DACs. They do not expose DSP to the user that could change the tone of the sound.

With EX5 + A30pro you have one of the best performing audio gear you can get that can drive essentially any headphone. If you want different sound, try different headphone not AMP or DAC. Or use good performance low distortion headphone and experiment with equalizer and / or VST plugins with Equalizer APO.

 

[David_M]

Only upgrade if they have some feature you want to use that EX5 is missing. They are all neutral good performance DACs. They do not expose DSP to the user that could change the tone of the sound.

With EX5 + A30pro you have one of the best performing audio gear you can get that can drive essentially any headphone. If you want different sound, try different headphone not AMP or DAC. Or use good performance low distortion headphone and experiment with equalizer and / or VST plugins with Equalizer APO.

Thanks!

 

[David_M]

Only upgrade if they have some feature you want to use that EX5 is missing. They are all neutral good performance DACs. They do not expose DSP to the user that could change the tone of the sound.

With EX5 + A30pro you have one of the best performing audio gear you can get that can drive essentially any headphone. If you want different sound, try different headphone not AMP or DAC. Or use good performance low distortion headphone and experiment with equalizer and / or VST plugins with Equalizer APO.

Are the pretty screens of the D70 Pro or SU-9 Pro reason enough to switch?

 

[LTig]

Are the pretty screens of the D70 Pro or SU-9 Pro reason enough to switch?

That's for you to decide.

 

[Monosauras]

With EX5 + A30pro you have one of the best performing audio gear you can get that can drive essentially any headphone. If you want different sound, try different headphone not AMP or DAC. Or use good performance low distortion headphone and experiment with equalizer and / or VST plugins with Equalizer APO.

Sorry, very new to headphones, so apologies that this is slightly off topic.

This may be very obvious, or very off the mark.
From what I'm understanding, once you reach a certain SINAD, high enough Signal to Noise, and have enough power to drive a headphone, there isn't any reason to go for a more expensive amp, as it won't change sound quality. Only go higher if you value screens, build quality, or additional features.

Does that about sum it up? Or have I dropped the ball?

I have a pair of Focal Utopia, and now looking for a suitable DAC and amp that won't leave a lot of performance on the table.

 

[usern]

From what I'm understanding, once you reach a certain SINAD, high enough Signal to Noise, and have enough power to drive a headphone, there isn't any reason to go for a more expensive amp, as it won't change sound quality. Only go higher if you value screens, build quality, or additional features.

Does that about sum it up?

Yes, you got it. You can get away cheaper with Topping DX3 Pro+ if you can use the headphone connector it has. D10s + L50 is another good value system with very high power output for more demanding headphones. Or E30 + L30 II (not first version of L30).

 

[Mr:River]

Anyone have experience with faulty A30Pro, my unit suddenly stopped working and instead generates a clicking noise when powered on. I was hoping Topping products were durable but it turns out they're not, not sure what to do with this brick now, any suggestions will be appreciated.

Has anyone had a definitive solution for the A30pro that stopped working out of nowhere?
I looked for internal photos of this device and there is nothing of its internals like other dac amps.

 

[Jimster480]

Has anyone had a definitive solution for the A30pro that stopped working out of nowhere?
I looked for internal photos of this device and there is nothing of its internals like other dac amps.

Afaik nobody ever finished looking into it. Some people were worried about heat.

 

[Mr:River]

The bass distortion is 100% audible. It adds this warbling effect to female vocals when there is a lot of bass in the track or when there are a lot of high and low spectrum sounds. The drivers also clip when playing 2049 from the blade runner soundtrack comfortably loud. I recommend the 560S for a bright-neutral open back in 2021.

I didn't find your impressions about the balanced D10 + A30pro.

I'm thinking about adding the D10 B to an L70, will it feel like a good gain from a Fiio k7?

 

[zonk]

I had an D10 B and it's a great device, sound is very good. The only thing I didn't like is the way how it receives the power.

I used an Iphone for streaming, an Apple Camera Kit to connect the lighting port of the Iphone with the DAC, in this case the D10 B.

The USB port of the D10 B is used for providing power to the D10 B and for data transmission from the phone to the DAC at the same time. All I can say is that I had a lot of problems to make it work. It sounds maybe funny but the sequence and the speed of connecting the three components together were essential to make the DAC D10 B work.

Therefore I would always recommend a DAC that has a seperate power connection like a Topping E50.

 

[Mr:River]

I had an D10 B and it's a great device, sound is very good. The only thing I didn't like is the way how it receives the power.

I used an Iphone for streaming, an Apple Camera Kit to connect the lighting port of the Iphone with the DAC, in this case the D10 B.

The USB port of the D10 B is used for providing power to the D10 B and for data transmission from the phone to the DAC at the same time. All I can say is that I had a lot of problems to make it work. It sounds maybe funny but the sequence and the speed of connecting the three components together were essential to make the DAC D10 B work.

Therefore I would always recommend a DAC that has a seperate power connection like a Topping E50.

But in this case it wouldn't be exclusively the D10-B's fault, it's well known that iPhone and Apple products always have some kind of incompatibility with various devices, Apple never made an effort to make its products 100% compatible with others, it is famous for forcing the consumer to always buy something from the brand so that everything works well, so I wouldn't totally blame the D10B for any failure etc. in its past use, no, I would look at it with a grain of salt or do new tests but with Samsung etc.

 

[zonk]

But in this case it wouldn't be exclusively the D10-B's fault, it's well known that iPhone and Apple products always have some kind of incompatibility with various devices, Apple never made an effort to make its products 100% compatible with others, it is famous for forcing the consumer to always buy something from the brand so that everything works well, so I wouldn't totally blame the D10B for any failure etc. in its past use, no, I would look at it with a grain of salt or do new tests but with Samsung etc.

I have more than 5 other DACs that work flawless with the Apple Iphone and Apple Camera Kit. Only D10 B make problems. I returned it to the seller. End of story.

 

[Jimster480]

I didn't find your impressions about the balanced D10 + A30pro.

I'm thinking about adding the D10 B to an L70, will it feel like a good gain from a Fiio k7?

That depends entirely on your headphones and if you need more power.

Measurements of FiiO K7 USBDAC/HeadphoneAmp - L7Audiolab

台式设备 作为国内在HiFi电子产品领域规模几乎是最大的厂商，FiiO的产品线横跨了从数播到小尾巴、台式机乃至于耳塞和线材。前阵子他们联系到我，给我寄来了当时即将上市的 FiiO K7 台式解码耳放，随着飞傲发布了这款产品，测量应该也到了解禁的时候

www-l7audiolab-com.translate.goog

Just based on this; there will be no sonic upgrade unless the issue is as mentioned above where the headphones need more power.

I have more than 5 other DACs that work flawless with the Apple Iphone and Apple Camera Kit. Only D10 B make problems. I returned it to the seller. End of story.

Sure, but the moral of the story is that nobody should ever use apple products. They are all trash.

 

[zonk]

Sure, but the moral of the story is that nobody should ever use apple products. They are all trash.

There are some complaints about D10. You can find them everywhere just google it.

Not all issues with this DAC are Apple related. I suppose in most cases the problem is that the DAC is not getting enough power from the connected usb port and USB protocol related issues. Typical issues are:
- no sound output
- not working on mini pc
- continually disconnects and clicks
- display shows 192kHz but no sound output

I would never recommend this DAC to anyone that I like LOL. For example a Topping E50 is miles ahead.

That's my personal opinion, if you disagree it's ok for me.

 

[Jimster480]

There are some complaints about D10. You can find them everywhere just google it.

Not all issues with this DAC are Apple related. I suppose in most cases the problem is that the DAC is not getting enough power from the connected usb port and USB protocol related issues. Typical issues are:
- no sound output
- not working on mini pc
- continually disconnects and clicks
- display shows 192kHz but no sound output

I would never recommend this DAC to anyone that I like LOL. For example a Topping E50 is miles ahead.

Well in the case of the D10 and the iPhone I would expect that the issue is related to the DAC not getting enough power. I don't like DAC's that are powered by USB only. Considering the price of the new DX1; I would recommend that over the D10.

 

[zonk]

Well in the case of the D10 and the iPhone I would expect that the issue is related to the DAC not getting enough power. I don't like DAC's that are powered by USB only. Considering the price of the new DX1; I would recommend that over the D10.

I suppose it's not a pure power issue in my case with my Apple stuff. I suppose it's a protocol issue, because if you plug the three components (Iphone, Adapter Kit, DAC) together in a certain order and wait a few seconds after each step, then it worked. But other configuration suffer by power problem.

The DX1 is an all in one box that cannot cause this kind of problems.

 

[Jimster480]

I suppose it's not a pure power issue in my case with my Apple stuff. I suppose it's a protocol issue, because if you plug the three components (Iphone, Adapter Kit, DAC) together in a certain order and wait a few seconds after each step, then it worked. But other configuration suffer by power problem.

The DX1 is an all in one box that cannot cause this kind of problems.

Exactly what I mean. There is no reason to mess around with it when a product like the DX1 exists that has all the features and external power and the price is around the same as a D10.

 

[cenix]

Hey guys, is it crazy that the 6.35 output sounds "better" than the 4.4? I have tested the following:

2.5mm (1 cable) to 4.4 and 6.35 adapters, and the latter sounds a bit more "dynamic" / lively.

Does anyone know whether there are any differences in measurement between these 2 outputs?