Topping D30 DAC Measurement and Review

[Stump909]

That guy is basically the head authority of SBAF and the vitriol is strong. What he says goes, despite the evidence mounting against him. Describes everything in snake-oil terms and produces one chart as objective "proof".

 

[cjfrbw]

Heh, Heh! It's the tribal clan thing blog style. Chest thumping and opinion making dominance. The audio version of the opening sequences of the movie "2001 A Space Odyssey".

Would you prefer to be beaten by a femur or a skull?

 

[Transpareo]

Is it safer to buy on amazon (seller name's Topping) or shenzhenaudio.com? Don't want to buy a counterfeit.

 

[amirm]

Is it safer to buy on amazon (seller name's Topping) or shenzhenaudio.com? Don't want to buy a counterfeit.

I trust both but the one I bought is from Amazon and includes prime shipping which is great: https://www.amazon.com/TOPPING-Decoder-Coaxial-Optical-CS4398/dp/B01L1SDKUQ

 

[Transpareo]

I trust both but the one I bought is from Amazon and includes prime shipping which is great: https://www.amazon.com/TOPPING-Decoder-Coaxial-Optical-CS4398/dp/B01L1SDKUQ

Ok, thanks. When I buy it, I think I'll be putting out photos of it's PCB in the tear-down thread, so that, hopefully, someone would make a review and assess if I bought a dupe. Besides, I bet some people would be curious if the manufacturer have changed internals further.

 

[Dialectic]

It's odd how the most vitriolic, ugly, pro-Schiit posts on SBAF garner huge numbers of likes. It's also odd how they never explain their measurement methodologies--in sharp contrast to the patient, detailed explanations provided by @amirm.

Perhaps, like @amirm, the SBAF fellows have bought huge number of Schiit products. And perhaps, unlike @amirm, they are suffering from profound buyer's remorse and are trying to persuade each other that the Schiit they bought is good when it plainly is not.

A final observation, and my apologies if this is getting too personal: It's odd how some members of that forum conspicuously link to their Instagram feeds, as though others care what they and their stuff look like. There are some audiophiles out there who think we should care what furniture they have, clothes they wear, pens they use, cars they drive, etc.

I can afford that stuff, too, and I'm not impressed by it. Audio is not a status contest. This hobby is about realistic music reproduction, not commodity fetishism. If I had both systems, I would use a Topping DAC and a pair of LSR305s over an R2R DAC, a $5K tube amp, and a $10,000 pair of Wilson Tune Tots.

 

[euparkeria]

amirm, thank you for doing these scientific dac reviews. As far as I know, you are the only one. Every other dac review I see just try to describe how the dac "sounds" and just assume more expensive DACs will always perform better. You have certainly proved them wrong. I have a question regarding the D30, and more precisely, it's driver: Will I still be able to use the Windows volume control with this dac? I've seen some conflicting information and the driver install guide says to set the volume to 100% in windows, does that mean that the dac will only produce output at volume level at 100%?

 

[amirm]

Welcome aboard euparkeria. And thanks for the kind words regarding our work here.

On your question, yes, Windows volume control continues to work. That recommendation is for "best sound," suspecting that an external analog volume control in an amplifier may do a better job than the digital volume control that is in Windows.

 

[maxxevv]

I hope it really is authentic as advertised. The TI datasheet doesn't show it available, but maybe they used to offer it and the ones on ebay are older. A lot of people claim to hear a difference between the 4562 and 49720 (and apparently 49860). Personally, I could discern between the first two. They are both great sounding pieces imo and I have both in vsirous pieces of equipment.



Unfortunately no. You'll have to socket it if you want to comapre them. If you don't mind trashing the 2134 the job is much easier when you clip the pins as close to the plastic body as possible. That way you're desoldering a single pin/hole at a time and you can just grab the pin on one side while you place the iron on the other. The pin holes are very small on this board so removing the opamp intact is more of a challenge. I managed it but was really temped to clip it since I have a few extra of thos anyway...

DIP8 versions of the LME49860NA do exist.

https://sg.rs-online.com/web/p/operational-amplifiers/0407262/

 

[Transpareo]

And another question: since d30 is a class 2.0 audio device - does that mean it will have lower latency with the proper driver (win10 now has native 2.0)? Will it be almost as fast as a mobo's built-in alc codec? I remember when I was comparing fiio e10 and ODAC with a mobo's codec, there was a perceptual difference in response time: alc was instantaneous, when starting say an audio track or a movie, while external dacs had a slight delay,

 

[amirm]

I can try to test its latency and report back.

 

[Transpareo]

If you'll be able to, please do.

 

[vert]

I'm not clear whether there would be an audible concern without the linear power supply. Asking because those things cost as much as that DAC itself.

 

[Grave]

Is that a subtle hint for me to buy and test the A30???

OK, I ordered it I am busted big time on budget....

Did you ever review and test the A30? It is not on your list of reviews.

 

[amirm]

Did you ever review and test the A30? It is not on your list of reviews.

No, it is still stuck in the backlog!

 

[Cruxiaer]

Just found out about this forum today! I own the Schiit Jot with built in gen1 DAC and is interested to get an external DAC for it as many claims the in built DAC is schiit compared to other Schiit products.

I'm inclined to give the D30 a try but worried I might eventually spend more rolling opamps

Also a reader of HF and SBAF, I found this forum to be the least toxic

 

[amirm]

Welcome to the forum! I don't recommend messing with op-amps even though I plan on testing their effect.

 

[Grave]

I find idiots who say transparent DAC/amps sound bad to be highly amusing.

Looking at Amir's original review, I think it could use more measurements, no?

 

[amirm]

Look for refreshed measurements as I compare new products to older ones like this. Here is an example with updated D30 measurements: https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...n-of-schiit-modi-2-uber-and-topping-d30.3207/

 

[Ron Texas]

Of the various Topping DAC's tested here, the D30 seems to be the one with the most consumer acceptance, judging from the number of internet posts I have found regarding it. Of course it has the SBAF seal of disapproval, which mainly is an indication of how nutty they are.