Topping D30Pro Review (Balanced DAC)

[Phippers]

Hello,

Paul here, long time reader, first time poster.

I am considering buying the D30Pro, to use downstream of a MiniDSP SHD Studio, but I am concerned about the TOSLINK / SPIDIF compatibility issues that people have reported when using a CD transport.

Can anyone advise if this only manifests itself when a transport is connected *directly* to the D30Pro?

Has anybody tried an "incompatible" (with D30Pro) CD transport --> SHD Studio --> D30Pro ?

Thanks in advance,

Paul.

 

[Saponetto]

Hello Paul,
the jitter issue the D30Pro seems to suffer is related on some cd players (afaik no data about issues with cd transports) directly connected to optical/coaxial inputs.
Any other device I used (TVs, media players, streamers) seems work just fine.

 

[Phippers]

Hi Saponetto,

Thanks for that.

One of the reasons that I'm interested in the D30Pro is that Amir measured such good jitter performance on its spdif and toslink inputs (page 1 of this thread).

And since I want a DAC to go with the MiniDSP Studio, (which has Spdif / Tos / AESEBU outputs - but not USB), I'm looking for a DAC with good spdif performance.


I do have a CD transport - so I would plug it into the MiniDSP SHD studio.

What I'm wondering is if my CD transport is one of those that the D30Pro was incompatible with, (and I don't know), then if I connect it to the SHD Studio (which runs at 96KHz internally), would the resampling from 44.1 to 96 in the SHD Studio provide a "work around" to keep the D30Pro happy?

 

[Mulder]

Hi Saponetto,

Thanks for that.

One of the reasons that I'm interested in the D30Pro is that Amir measured such good jitter performance on its spdif and toslink inputs (page 1 of this thread).

And since I want a DAC to go with the MiniDSP Studio, (which has Spdif / Tos / AESEBU outputs - but not USB), I'm looking for a DAC with good spdif performance.


I do have a CD transport - so I would plug it into the MiniDSP SHD studio.

What I'm wondering is if my CD transport is one of those that the D30Pro was incompatible with, (and I don't know), then if I connect it to the SHD Studio (which runs at 96KHz internally), would the resampling from 44.1 to 96 in the SHD Studio provide a "work around" to keep the D30Pro happy?

Almost all DAC:s today have a jitter well below audible. There is no reason to buy a DAC based on measured jitter-perfomance, as long as it is below the treashold of hearing. Lower jitter is mostly an academic issue nowadays, with no real consequences for percived audio quality.

 

[Phippers]

There are other reasons as well I like the display and balanced outputs are important to me, but yes I take your point.

 

[Phippers]

Hi Mulder,

Thanks for your reply. It came through to my email as a post - not sure why I don't see it in the thread. Anyway.....

> What I don't understand is why you should have a DAC downstream SHD-Studio. Can you not connect it directly to the amplifier?

No, the SHD Studio is digital ins and digital outs only. No built-in DACs.

 

[Mulder]

Hi Mulder,

Thanks for your reply. It came through to my email as a post - not sure why I don't see it in the thread. Anyway.....

> What I don't understand is why you should have a DAC downstream SHD-Studio. Can you not connect it directly to the amplifier?

No, the SHD Studio is digital ins and digital outs only. No built-in DACs.

View attachment 239890

Yes, I realized that. So therefore I ereased my post. By the way, I own the D30 Pro, and it do not work with my CD-transport. But it works with my OPPO blue ray player. So it is a hit or miss. I have had no problems with any other source. As you need balanced out, there are plenty of alternatives. I do not recommend the D30 Pro due to its spdif-problem, ie the uncertanty when it comes to accept a CD-player signal. In my view D30Pro is a substandard product that should be withdrawn from the market. Also observe there are others who have had other issues with this dac.

 

[Phippers]

Thanks, I appreciate your advice, especially since it is first hand.

Yeah the hit and miss nature of this doesn't exactly instil confidence.

 

[NiagaraPete]

n my view D30Pro is a substandard product that should be withdrawn from the market

I would say that is a stretch. How many CD players are even sold today? This is a great product and fits my needs perfectly.

 

[Mulder]

I would say that is a stretch. How many CD players are even sold today? This is a great product and fits my needs perfectly.

You make your own needs the norm. But others who are going to buy a DAC may have different needs than you. Almost all DACs with spdif input work with a CD transport. But the D30 pro often doesn't. That this should work is what you as a buyer should be able to count on, unless otherwise explicitly stated.

 

[Saponetto]

Hi Saponetto,

Thanks for that.

One of the reasons that I'm interested in the D30Pro is that Amir measured such good jitter performance on its spdif and toslink inputs (page 1 of this thread).

And since I want a DAC to go with the MiniDSP Studio, (which has Spdif / Tos / AESEBU outputs - but not USB), I'm looking for a DAC with good spdif performance.


I do have a CD transport - so I would plug it into the MiniDSP SHD studio.

What I'm wondering is if my CD transport is one of those that the D30Pro was incompatible with, (and I don't know), then if I connect it to the SHD Studio (which runs at 96KHz internally), would the resampling from 44.1 to 96 in the SHD Studio provide a "work around" to keep the D30Pro happy?

As per @Mulder reply, it's a hit & miss matter if you need to directly connect a CD transport or a CD player.
Based on simple tests I did some months ago, a simple spdif/toslink digital interface between these CD sources and the D30Pro seems to clear the stuttering problem.
Any other device (TVs, streamers, media players) I connected to both my D30 Pro seems to work flawlessly, so I am moderately optimist about your configuration.

 

[NiagaraPete]

You make your own needs the norm. But others who are going to buy a DAC may have different needs than you. Almost all DACs with spdif input work with a CD transport. But the D30 pro often doesn't. That this should work is what you as a buyer should be able to count on, unless otherwise explicitly stated.

Fair point but I would argue that not using a CD player is probably the norm.

Stating a product should be removed from sale when it’s not the only one with this issue is the stretch.

Though I agree, Topping should have a disclaimer noting this could be a user issue.

 

[Saponetto]

@NiagaraPete
Afaik, they already do this on their Amazon reseller, and some local hifi dealers also started to inform the potential buyers about this limitation.
At the end of the day, for my needs also this limitation is meaningless.

 

[cenix]

Bought the A+D 30 pro stack about a week ago. I used the E+L 30 before, but I found it a bit "thin-souding" with my Sundara. This stack definitely made it sound better - for my ears at least.

I was wondering, does anyone have the new E+L 70? If so, how does it compare to the A+D 30 pro stack?

I'm debating whether I should return this for the new E+L 70 stack.

 

[alekksander]

for my ears at least

how does it compare

how could we know that?

 

[NiagaraPete]

Bought the A+D 30 pro stack about a week ago. I used the E+L 30 before, but I found it a bit "thin-souding" with my Sundara. This stack definitely made it sound better - for my ears at least.

I was wondering, does anyone have the new E+L 70? If so, how does it compare to the A+D 30 pro stack?

I'm debating whether I should return this for the new E+L 70 stack.

If you're expecting it to sound different, it won't. The E+L30 wouldn't either. One might drive your phones better than another but they are all transparent.

 

[cenix]

how could we know that?

True, you wouldn't. I guess I would be the judge of that. The slams sound more impactful to me.

Also, I'm driving the L30 with the E30, which as we know, won't reach its full potential (something I regrettably found out about after I bought the E+L 30).

I don't expect there to be differences between the D30 Pro and E70, let alone anything substantial. But, if they can be had around the same price, then I guess it makes more sense to get the E70 instead.

 

[Ahmonge]

I don't expect there to be differences between the D30 Pro and E70, let alone anything substantial. But, if they can be had around the same price, then I guess it makes more sense to get the E70 instead.

You'll get BT input and a selectable max output level (2/4V or 2.5/5V) with the E70.

 

[cenix]

You'll ger BT input and a selectable max output level (2/4V or 2.5/5V) with the E70.

True, and I can just keep using the XLR cables I just paid for.

Alright, thank you for your guy's help. I think I'm returning it for the E+L 70 combo. Just feels a bit odd/bad for returning something when it works perfectly fine, but something newer can be had for close to the same amount.

 

[WillSowerbutts]

I've bought a Topping D30 Pro to use as a DAC and pre-amplifier between my television and my self-built Hypex UCD400HG power amplifier. The TV is a Panasonic TXP50V20B (12 year old Plasma display). Digital audio and video arrives at the TV from various sources over HDMI, the audio is then sent from the TV to the DAC/Pre-amp over an optical SPDIF cable. I'm driving ProAc Response D Two speakers.

I previously used a Beresford TC-7520 and a separate Cyrus aCA7.5 pre-amplifier in this setup. Sadly the Cyrus is now nearly 25 years old and has died (it blows the internal fuse when powered up). The D30 Pro looked ideal as it would be a straight swap for the Beresford + Cyrus combination.

Unfortunately the D30 Pro's optical input does not want to work with the TV's output.

When the TV powers up the D30 Pro wakes up and reports the sample rate ("48" appears on the display), however no sound can be heard. I've tried each of the HDMI sources connected to the TV (including a Chromecast 4K Ultra, Amazon Fire TV stick, and a raspberry pi 3 running Kodi) with the same result (silence) from all of them. I tried a cheap SPDIF optical to co-ax converter and got exactly the same result with the D30 Pro's co-ax input. Weird that it recognises the sample rate, and can tell when the source connects and disconnects, but then fails to play the actual audio.

I tried using the optical output of a Chromecast Audio into the D30 Pro it works well, so the port isn't dead. It also works well with audio sent over USB. Unfortunately I need to use the optical output from the TV.

Does anyone know of any (affordable!) gadget I can put in between the TV and the D30 Pro to fix this issue?

Alternatively can anyone suggest a (reasonably affordable) alternative to the D30 Pro for my situation? It would be nice to have a headphone output as well, for watching TV without using the speakers, but I can live without this. The Topping E70 or EX5 both look like a sensible choice, and I think it can work in pre-amp mode like the D30 Pro, but I am worried that it will have the same problem with the optical input -- is this the case?

PS I am a new user of AudioScienceReview, your forum came highly recommended my an old friend. I have one suggestion: it would be great if the original review could be updated periodically with a bullet pointed list of issues discovered (and maybe resolved) post review. It would save people choosing equipment from wading through 90+ pages of chat to find these details. Although ... maybe I'm missing the point and that's half the fun of the hobby!

Many thanks

Will