Topping D30Pro Review (Balanced DAC)

[C0B-1D3-9]

The better the number, the more transparent it is. However, past a certain point, the difference is inaudible.

Totally agree, although it would be fun to see some engineering marvels that push it beyond 130, make it 200, 300, 500, or something like that.

 

[Atanasi]

Totally agree, although it would be fun to see some engineering marvels that push it beyond 130, make it 200, 300, 500, or something like that.

Much over 120 is physically impossible in room temperatures. A simple resistor would produce that amount of noise.

 

[curiouspeter]

Much over 120 is physically impossible in room temperatures. A simple resistor would produce that amount of noise.

Besides, can instruments even measure that high?

I rather pay for better Roon integration, like Roon-controlled analog volume. Also, I would welcome buttons with good tactile feel and a heavy case so it will not move when I press the buttons. Oh, and I want real playback control buttons for Roon.

 

[Rottmannash]

It's not just the MQA support and bluetooth, the X16 measures slightly better (granted Im sure none of it is audible) and has more inputs (IES-H & AES).

I always try to future proof my devices to subside that itch lol.

How wonder how many people actually use IES-H input?

 

[jumos]

Right. And I prefer a minimalist DAC. USB only, no display, don't care about BT or MQA, balanced outputs. Unfortunately, I don't think my DAC exists, at any price. Different strokes. . . Again, the point is that the D30Pro seems pretty well priced for where it sits, feature and performance wise.

Which measurements of the Gustard are compelling in comparison to the D30Pro? They're within 1 SINAD point of one another?

Yes, minimalist is good for me also. USB-only, but IMO balanced out is 100% necessary for USB DAC especially, it is the only way to reliably mitigate ground loop issues, something I've dealt with on several DACs before, and is no fun.

Shciitt modius is a nice minimal unit at a good price point and mine has been doing just fine, or at least as minimal as one can get with XLR out. The selection of finished DACs with XLR out and USB-only is very limited to nonexsistent. Balanced is considered a "high end" feature and as such it seems like every DAC with balanced out is loaded with coax, toslink, IIS, BT, AES-EBU inputs which all come with their associated chips and circuits which add to the cost and serve me no purpose, and possibly degrade performance. I was hoping for something like the Topping D90 and all the performance it brings to the table, but USB-only, and it looks like D30pro will be as close as we are going to get for this. I am at least happy Topping brought this out as I do consider them a step above some other mfgs. I would even consider something like an RME despite the price, just from the engineering talent it brings to the table, but they have not brought the higher end DAC chipsets on board for their more affordable units such as ADI-2. I think anyone with need of stuff like AES-EBU professional connectivity will be more than happy to pay the prices of more pro-oriented DACs like RME's offerings, but I just want top of the range sound q and state of the art measurements at a reasonable price.

Now a question: why do you think it is we have not seen these Cirrus Logic chipsets in more tabletop DACs? They are pretty common in the portable DAP space actually, I've seen them in even higher end units like Astell&Kern and even my Cowon Plenue D2 has it (a worthy successor for my venerable original cowon D2 with its bulging battery!). I am very curious to hear how it performs in Topping's implementation with a 4x full balanced layout.

 

[Rottmannash]

Yes, minimalist is good for me also. USB-only, but IMO balanced out is 100% necessary for USB DAC especially, it is the only way to reliably mitigate ground loop issues, something I've dealt with on several DACs before, and is no fun.

Shciitt modius is a nice minimal unit at a good price point and mine has been doing just fine, or at least as minimal as one can get with XLR out. The selection of finished DACs with XLR out and USB-only is very limited to nonexsistent. Balanced is considered a "high end" feature and as such it seems like every DAC with balanced out is loaded with coax, toslink, IIS, BT inputs which all come with their associated chips and circuits which add to the cost and serve me no purpose, and possibly degrade performance. I was hoping for something like the Topping D90 and all the performance it brings to the table, but USB-only, and it looks like D30pro will be as close as we are going to get for this. I am at least happy Topping brought this out as I do consider them a step above some other mfgs. I would even consider something like an RME despite the price, just from the engineering talent it brings to the table, but they have not brought the higher end DAC chipsets on board for their more affordable units such as ADI-2.

Now a question: why do you think it is we have not seen these Cirrus Logic chipsets in more tabletop DACs? They are pretty common in the portable DAP space actually, I've seen them in even higher end units like Astell&Kern and even my Cowon Plenue D2 has it (a worthy successor for my venerable original cowon D2 with its bulging battery!). I am very curious to hear how it performs in Topping's implementation with a 4x full balanced layout.

My Hiby R5 has 2 of them and it sounds great. I can't fault with its sound signature. Clean, clear, detailed, accurate, etc... nothing to see here in terms of drawbacks as far as I can tell.

 

[HiFidFan]

Yes, minimalist is good for me also. USB-only, but IMO balanced out is 100% necessary for USB DAC especially, it is the only way to reliably mitigate ground loop issues, something I've dealt with on several DACs before, and is no fun.

Shciitt modius is a nice minimal unit . . .

*snipped*

RE; Balanced, I agree & that's what I meant in my post.

I own the Modius I wouldn't mind an array of small LEDs on the front panel so that each would denote sample rate. But that's just me.

 

[ArturoKiwi]

Yes, minimalist is good for me also. USB-only, but IMO balanced out is 100% necessary for USB DAC especially, it is the only way to reliably mitigate ground loop issues, something I've dealt with on several DACs before, and is no fun.

Shciitt modius is a nice minimal unit at a good price point and mine has been doing just fine, or at least as minimal as one can get with XLR out. The selection of finished DACs with XLR out and USB-only is very limited to nonexsistent. Balanced is considered a "high end" feature and as such it seems like every DAC with balanced out is loaded with coax, toslink, IIS, BT, AES-EBU inputs which all come with their associated chips and circuits which add to the cost and serve me no purpose, and possibly degrade performance. I was hoping for something like the Topping D90 and all the performance it brings to the table, but USB-only, and it looks like D30pro will be as close as we are going to get for this. I am at least happy Topping brought this out as I do consider them a step above some other mfgs. I would even consider something like an RME despite the price, just from the engineering talent it brings to the table, but they have not brought the higher end DAC chipsets on board for their more affordable units such as ADI-2. I think anyone with need of stuff like AES-EBU professional connectivity will be more than happy to pay the prices of more pro-oriented DACs like RME's offerings, but I just want top of the range sound q and state of the art measurements at a reasonable price.

Now a question: why do you think it is we have not seen these Cirrus Logic chipsets in more tabletop DACs? They are pretty common in the portable DAP space actually, I've seen them in even higher end units like Astell&Kern and even my Cowon Plenue D2 has it (a worthy successor for my venerable original cowon D2 with its bulging battery!). I am very curious to hear how it performs in Topping's implementation with a 4x full balanced layout.

We live in strange times. You could notice how many enthusiastic people of the Gustard X16 with a cheap but very good ES9068AS. But many months are passed and nor SMSL or Topping with the same chip is out.

 

[curiouspeter]

RE; Balanced, I agree & that's what I meant in my post.

I own the Modius I wouldn't mind an array of small LEDs on the front panel so that each would denote sample rate. But that's just me.

The Modius looks reasonable but I don't love micro USB.

 

[HiFidFan]

The Modius looks reasonable but I don't love micro USB.

Me either. My reasoning for not dismissing it completely was, I'm not plugging/unplugging the USB. Ever. Plug it in and leaving it.

 

[curiouspeter]

Me either. My reasoning for not dismissing it completely was, I'm not plugging/unplugging the USB. Ever. Plug it in and leaving it.

Micro USB is not that bad for insertion reliability. It was used in many phones.

However, it is not very robust. USB Type B was not designed to be plugged/unplugged all the time but it can withstand bring bumped around.

That said, micro USB is not a deal breaker.

 

[HiFidFan]

Micro USB is not that bad for insertion reliability. It was used in many phones.

However, it is not very robust. USB Type B was not designed to be plugged/unplugged all the time but it can withstand bring bumped around.

That said, micro USB is not a deal breaker.

So the concern is that it might fail just sitting in there?? Lol, I had no idea.

 

[curiouspeter]

So the concern is that it might fail just sitting in there?? Lol, I had no idea.

It won't fail just sitting there. But clumsy me will move the DAC around and inadvertently break the jack. I broke a few cables that way. Probably harmed some jacks too.

 

[HiFidFan]

It won't fail just sitting there. But clumsy me will move the DAC around and inadvertently break the jack. I broke a few cables that way. Probably harmed some jacks too.

Ah, got ya. Good to know. I'll be careful if I ever move it. Thanks.

 

[Slayer]

So after doing some research on the chip cs43198, low and behold i come across amirm's review of the Earmen Donald, which also uses this chip. Got kind of excited at first, hoping to get more details regarding the chips performance. Plus i know someone who has the Earmen. So looking at the bench test's one thing jumped out at me, it may not be audible, but still leaves me wondering, the dreaded THD+N measurements.
Whether it's true distortion or ultra sonic noise, seems to be a fault of this chip itself and not implementation. Time to make a phone call.

So i called my buddy up at Noon to see if he still had the Earmen, he did. Said it was just sitting in a drawer at home. Cool, i thought, and asked if i could come listen to it or borrow it. He told me come on over and he would dig it out. So i went and spent a few hours at his house.
While I was there listening, the dac sounded ok run through his Hegel. However, there was something that immediately jumped out at me. Where's the bass? It was as if someone had intentionally removed a lot of the bass frequencies. I said " what the hell? Did you do something or what? " He then said, why do you think it's sitting here in a drawer and no plans to use it for any system. He didn't even want to use it for his basic garage system.
So to say i was a little shocked would be putting it lightly. So now i am feeling as if i hadn't gained any insight on this chip, or had I ?

Hopefully Johnny, or someone else can chime in, regarding this dac chip and the possibilities of the bass issue i spoke of. Could this actually just be inherent to the chip itself, or was it just likely due to that Earmen Dac.
I know some will say this should not have happened, but it did. Once he switched back to his onboard dac in the Hegel 190, music sounded normal again. So i am left with a headache and feeling a little uneasy on this dac. Hopefully my fears are not justified. Cheers all, good night.

 

[Veri]

We live in strange times. You could notice how many enthusiastic people of the Gustard X16 with a cheap but very good ES9068AS. But many months are passed and nor SMSL or Topping with the same chip is out.

Topping is definitely working on it.

 

[DeepSpace57]

Right. And I prefer a minimalist DAC. USB only, no display, don't care about BT or MQA, balanced outputs. Unfortunately, I don't think my DAC exists, at any price. Different strokes. . . Again, the point is that the D30Pro seems pretty well priced for where it sits, feature and performance wise.

Which measurements of the Gustard are compelling in comparison to the D30Pro? They're within 1 SINAD point of one another?

Multitone!!!!

 

[curiouspeter]

Multitone!!!!

The Schiit Modius has no display. The USB is the preferred input. Very cheap too.

 

[ArturoKiwi]

Topping is definitely working on it.

It is a firmware problem or they need to change the implementation of the chip?

 

[Veri]

It is a firmware problem or they need to change the implementation of the chip?

Just a matter of R&D I would think, and product timing. You can't release a quickly designed DAC every few months right Topping D70s is a recent release, as is D30 Pro. Anyway Gustard is the first/quickest with ESS9068AS but I'm sure other companies will follow.