Topping D30 DAC Measurement and Review

[Ron Texas]

My d30 has a high pitched frequency noise from its physical charger. CAn someone check if this is normal or a malfunction? I think some degree of noise from a charger isn’t rare but wanted to double check.

Not normal.

 

[El_Konrado]

Mine is dead silent

 

[aoaaron]

Not normal.

Crap... so I'm guessing I need to go through my retailer to get it swapped?

 

[aoaaron]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B072F1X1WD/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A9MPLHP3DSMPY&psc=1

Would this charger work as a replacement or could someone link me one from a UK based site?

 

[Jimmy]

The power supply from your link is adjustable up to 12V, the original adapter supplies 15V DC. This one for example should work :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Switching-...419157031&rps=1&s=gateway&sr=8-64-spons&psc=1

 

[Ecaroh]

Just got in a D30 picked up second-hand. Has the CapXon caps. Sounds fabulous. Anyone care to offer pros and cons of leaving the DAC turned on, vs. switching off when possible? My computer (Mac; I'm connecting via USB) seems to remember it, even after the DAC's been turned off, and not require manual selection in Sound Preferences... Still, I'm sure there will be times when I forget to turn it off, especially as I may have it facing away at right angles from me. Seems to run fairly cool. Thanks!

 

[Ron Texas]

Just got in a D30 picked up second-hand. Has the CapXon caps. Sounds fabulous. Anyone care to offer pros and cons of leaving the DAC turned on, vs. switching off when possible? My computer (Mac; I'm connecting via USB) seems to remember it, even after the DAC's been turned off, and not require manual selection in Sound Preferences... Still, I'm sure there will be times when I forget to turn it off, especially as I may have it facing away at right angles from me. Seems to run fairly cool. Thanks!

I don't think it makes much difference unless you are extreme about saving the earth and will do anything to keep your electric bill down. I usually leave mine on with a Win 10 box.

 

[El_Konrado]

Just got in a D30 picked up second-hand. Has the CapXon caps. Sounds fabulous. Anyone care to offer pros and cons of leaving the DAC turned on, vs. switching off when possible? My computer (Mac; I'm connecting via USB) seems to remember it, even after the DAC's been turned off, and not require manual selection in Sound Preferences... Still, I'm sure there will be times when I forget to turn it off, especially as I may have it facing away at right angles from me. Seems to run fairly cool. Thanks!

I have bought mine approx a year ago and to be honest I never switch it off. It is consuming something silly like a few Watts per hour so really it doesnt matter. D30 is superb indeed, for the price you pay for brand new unit it cannot be beaten. I have upgaded it this week to NuForce UDH-100 and while it is a significant upgrade its not like night and day performance difference and UDH-100 was like 5 times more expensive when new. Enjoy your D30 mate!!!

 

[daftcombo]

I don't think it makes much difference unless you are extreme about saving the earth and will do anything to keep your electric bill down. I usually leave mine on with a Win 10 box.

Off-topic but your post reminded me of this article:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technol...hes-produce-same-CO2-as-boiling-a-kettle.html
Two Google searches 'produce same CO2 as boiling a kettle'

 

[Ruskia]

My D30 died after less than half a year of use. Whenever I turn it on, the Unlock LED stays red and never unlocks. Only on USB though, optical input still works. Quite annoyed, anyone have this issue?

 

[SEKLEM]

My D30 died after less than half a year of use. Whenever I turn it on, the Unlock LED stays red and never unlocks. Only on USB though, optical input still works. Quite annoyed, anyone have this issue?

Have you tried replacing the USB cable or refreshing the drivers?

 

[Ruskia]

Have you tried replacing the USB cable or refreshing the drivers?

Thanks, I've tried both, not seeing any changes. I've tried plugging it into a completely different computer as well. It's not showing up in Device Manager either.

 

[Jimmy]

If you had the unit stationary without unplugging and plugging the usb cable frequently it's unlikely, but the connector or the soldering may be defective, if you have some experience with electronics you may try to inspect it visually and resolder it or even replace the connector (it's a usb b through hole pcb connector, that only costs a few cents).

Anyway if the unit is under warranty making use of it is the best option.

 

[El_Konrado]

My D30 died after less than half a year of use. Whenever I turn it on, the Unlock LED stays red and never unlocks. Only on USB though, optical input still works. Quite annoyed, anyone have this issue?

Never had any problems with D30, had it constantly on for approx 9-10 months. Its sold now though as I replaced it with NuForce UDH-100 and this has only showed that D30 isnt as fantastic as we all seemed to think.

 

[Ruskia]

Never had any problems with D30, had it constantly on for approx 9-10 months. Its sold now though as I replaced it with NuForce UDH-100 and this has only showed that D30 isnt as fantastic as we all seemed to think.

I think an ESD shock from my finger is what possibly killed it. I have no other complaints with it otherwise, but it's the second Topping product to die on me (DX3 Pro also died, within a week or two it simply refused to turn on), so I won't be buying from them again unfortunately.

 

[El_Konrado]

I think an ESD shock from my finger is what possibly killed it. I have no other complaints with it otherwise, but it's the second Topping product to die on me (DX3 Pro also died, within a week or two it simply refused to turn on), so I won't be buying from them again unfortunately.

Sad to hear this bro, but to be honest there are so many decent DACs these days you can buy elsewhere, these from China have one massive disadvantage - if something goes wrong with them you have a huge problem. Also measurements dont tell the whole truth either, something I learned after using NuForce DAC. NuForce got some really bad measurements on here but actual music reproduction quality is phenomenal, at least from UDH-100 via USB port, so you may as well try something new, maybe something you can buy locally and return if you dont like it. Thats what I am going to do from now on, get a couple of units to test in my system and what I will not like I will simply return for a refund.

 

[Ron Texas]

While EQ'ing my system with REW I discovered the internal hardware volume control in the D30 has loudness compensation enabled by default. I don't know if it can be turned off. This feature might be useful for some, but if making measurements you want the windows volume control set to its maximum.

 

[Ron Texas]

Sad to hear this bro, but to be honest there are so many decent DACs these days you can buy elsewhere, these from China have one massive disadvantage - if something goes wrong with them you have a huge problem. Also measurements dont tell the whole truth either, something I learned after using NuForce DAC. NuForce got some really bad measurements on here but actual music reproduction quality is phenomenal, at least from UDH-100 via USB port, so you may as well try something new, maybe something you can buy locally and return if you dont like it. Thats what I am going to do from now on, get a couple of units to test in my system and what I will not like I will simply return for a refund.

If something goes wrong with a D30 it's no big deal to throw it out since it only cost about $120 in the first place. The UDH-100 costs five times as much, is minimal on features except for the headphone amp. User comments on the D30 are uniformly good.

 

[Deleted member 2944]

While EQ'ing my system with REW I discovered the internal hardware volume control in the D30 has loudness compensation enabled by default. I don't know if it can be turned off. This feature might be useful for some, but if making measurements you want the windows volume control set to its maximum.

I suspect your testing methodology is incorrect. On my D30 I've looked at frequency response plots with various (hardware) volume control settings and I see no change.
I'm not sure the 4398 chip even has this facility.

Can you elaborate please?

Dave.

 

[Ron Texas]

I suspect your testing methodology is incorrect. On my D30 I've looked at frequency response plots with various (hardware) volume control settings and I see no change.
I'm not sure the 4398 chip even has this facility.

Can you elaborate please?

Dave.

The volume control is in the Xmos chip to start wth. With Windows volume control set at 50, I need an 8 db cut in the 25-36 hz area. With it at 100, no cut is needed in that frequency range. Everything else is. the same.

The problem may be the result of using an Xmos driver (since removed) other than the one supplied with the D30. I recall the first time I used the supplied driver there was a volume tab on the control panel. When the factory supplied driver was reinstalled (also since removed) the volume tab was no longer visible. Whether there was an option to enable or disable loudness compensation, I don't remember. Please don't attribute this problem to my methodology when there is a likely software cause. Your results are what one should be getting.

I am going to see if I can clear whatever is left of the old drivers.