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Topping D30Pro Review (Balanced DAC)

cenix

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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

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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.
 
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cenix

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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.
 
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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
 
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Ahmonge

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Have you tested the TV’s optical output with another device?
 
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Have you tested the TV’s optical output with another device?

Yes, I tried to explain in my original post: I've used the TV's optical output with a Beresford TC-7520 DAC for many years without issue. The Beresford is quite happy with the TV's output, the D30 Pro is not.
 

Ahmonge

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Yes, I tried to explain in my original post: I've used the TV's optical output with a Beresford TC-7520 DAC for many years without issue. The Beresford is quite happy with the TV's output, the D30 Pro is not.
I see, so the D30 Pro is unable to synchronize with the TV’s optical output.
 

NiagaraPete

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My D30p works fine with my LG. Granted my TV is only a couple years old.
 

Ahmonge

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My D30p works fine with my LG. Granted my TV is only a couple years old.
This is my case with a 3 years old Samsung TV, but the d30 pro is notorious for being intolerant of optical input mismatches.
 

NiagaraPete

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This is my case with a 3 years old Samsung TV, but the d30 pro is notorious for being intolerant of optical input mismatches.
True. Funny though my 35 year old Linn CD worked fine but many newer types fail.
 

Rottmannash

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Is the TV set to output Bitstream or PCM?
 
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Phippers

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Almost all DACs with spdif input work with a CD transport. But the D30 pro often doesn't.

Do you know if this issue with the D30Pro is *the same* issue as with the E30? do they use similar SPDIF/TOS input circuits ?

Reason I ask is that I have an E30 and was wondering if this would be a leading indicator of likely success or failure with a D30Pro....

(My E30 exhibits the stutter problem on both SPDIF and TOS with my CD transport).
 

NiagaraPete

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Do you know if this issue with the D30Pro is *the same* issue as with the E30? do they use similar SPDIF/TOS input circuits ?

Reason I ask is that I have an E30 and was wondering if this would be a leading indicator of likely success or failure with a D30Pro....

(My E30 exhibits the stutter problem on both SPDIF and TOS with my CD transport).
Yes I believe it is.
 
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This is a brilliant idea! I've ordered a cheap ARC extractor. I shall report back! THANK YOU!

I tested with an ARC extractor. So I took the HDMI (ARC) output of my TV into the ARC extractor, then the optical output from the ARC extractor into the D30 Pro optical input. It behaves exactly the same as when connected to the optical output of the TV -- the D30 Pro displays the sample rate when connected ("48" on the screen) but does not play any audio. I also tested co-ax from the ARC extractor to the D30 Pro with the same result.

This is the result I expected. I expect inside the TV the same audio stream is fed to the optical output and the ARC. So I expect any timing/jitter problems that affect one to affect the other equally. If the D30 Pro cannot "lock on" to the timing of one it will not be able to lock on to the other either.

Sadly this means the D30 Pro is being returned. I'm going to order a Topping EX5 Topping E70 instead.
 
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