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Topping D30Pro Review (Balanced DAC)

Lupin

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You may wonder all you want. Not going to bite. shared my subjective opinion. You can set up a blind test for yourself and buy the devices and have a try for yourself, then you can stop wondering :)

My Soncoz LA-QXD1 and Topping D50s practically sound the same. I can barely hear any difference between them. So I refer to them as THE ES9038 DACs compared to my only AK4493 DAC model (several DX3 Pros). Also got a ES9018 DIY and several low-end dacs.

DACs do have output stages... with amplification....

I don't think they sound the same. Especially on my ADAM T5V monitors. You may draw your own conclusions. Or hey, test some stuff yourself. I've seen you go by all the topics to post your opinion that all are the same because measurements said so. I wonder how many you have A/B tested yourself to be qualified to post your opinion everywhere that all are the same and we can't hear a difference.... That's fine and all. haha.
This is Audio Science Review.
What data and measurements do you have to back up your claim that all DACs sound different?

I did A/B testing with the hand full of DACs that I have/owned. Even with the sighted bias of that A/B testing I'm not afraid to admit I didn't hear any difference whatsoever between any DAC while one could think that there should be a difference.

I voice my opinion that all well designed and properly working DACs are audibly transparent and so sound the same. How do I backup that claim.. what about that the founder of this site you're posting on right now comes to the same conclusion.
Amir measured 350+ DACs and the vast majority he calls "transparent to the source" It can't be transparent to the source if one DAC is more "aggressive", "has better soundstage", "more natural" or what ever audiophile lingo you want to throw at it then the other.

You're saying that Amir is wrong, DACs are not transparent, all his 350+ reviews are wrong.
Amir measured and shared those measurements of 350+ DACs to come to that conclusion and I agree with that conclusion. So I ask again what data and measurements do you have to prove otherwise? What is Amir not measuring that would show the "soundstage" or "aggressiveness" of a DAC? So far all the measurements indicate that there is no audible difference.

All you have is what your brain thinks to hear fueled by sighted bias packed into a subjective post rambling on about all kind off differences.

Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion but we might as well call this site Head-Fi version 2 if subjective opinion posts like yours are the "be all end all" without the need to actually supply scientific data/measurements to backup your bolt claims.
 

R.Vic

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Why buy then expensive DACs if all modern ones sound the same? Use the built-in motherboard, or buy cheap behringers for example.
 

Veri

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Use the built-in motherboard, or buy cheap behringers for example.
You at least want something with a decent nominal voltage output, to get the amplification you need. A super transparent DAC in the form of a D10s/Atom DAC/tone board or whatever also hardly breaks the bank nowadays.
 

Cidious

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This is Audio Science Review.
What data and measurements do you have to back up your claim that all DACs sound different?

I did A/B testing with the hand full of DACs that I have/owned. Even with the sighted bias of that A/B testing I'm not afraid to admit I didn't hear any difference whatsoever between any DAC while one could think that there should be a difference.

I voice my opinion that all well designed and properly working DACs are audibly transparent and so sound the same. How do I backup that claim.. what about that the founder of this site you're posting on right now comes to the same conclusion.
Amir measured 350+ DACs and the vast majority he calls "transparent to the source" It can't be transparent to the source if one DAC is more "aggressive", "has better soundstage", "more natural" or what ever audiophile lingo you want to throw at it then the other.

You're saying that Amir is wrong, DACs are not transparent, all his 350+ reviews are wrong.
Amir measured and shared those measurements of 350+ DACs to come to that conclusion and I agree with that conclusion. So I ask again what data and measurements do you have to prove otherwise? What is Amir not measuring that would show the "soundstage" or "aggressiveness" of a DAC? So far all the measurements indicate that there is no audible difference.

All you have is what your brain thinks to hear fueled by sighted bias packed into a subjective post rambling on about all kind off differences.

Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion but we might as well call this site Head-Fi version 2 if subjective opinion posts like yours are the "be all end all" without the need to actually supply scientific data/measurements to backup your bolt claims.

You think too much. I'm not even going to bother to read your whole post. That's how much I think of it. You try to replicate popular opinion to get in favor with the measurement police. I am all for measurements. And if a DAC has not faults in measurements it should sound ok and replicate the digital source format well into an analog signal. But that doesnt mean they all sound the same. If you can't hear the difference between devices then I pity your poor ears and lack of experience with actually listening to gear.

Transparency is just a small part of the equation. If you can't think further than that. Then I'm sorry for you again. You live in a very small world. And that's ok.

Now let's get back on topic. I own the D30 Pro. I love it for the above-mentioned reasons. Do you have a D30 Pro? Do you have something to share about it from first-hand experience? or are you just in every topic because you have the desire to make people read your copy paste opinion other than having actual info to share that might be helpful to people making purchase decisions like these?
 

Veri

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If you can't hear the difference between devices then I pity your poor ears and lack of experience with actually listening to gear.

Transparency is just a small part of the equation. If you can't think further than that. Then I'm sorry for you again. You live in a very small world. And that's ok.
No need to take things so personally. It's not like there's 140 pages on this topic already....
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...e-as-transparent-are-that-many-confused.9245/

"Transparency is just a small part of the equation" really needs some explanation though, feel free to make a new thread and convince us of your vision :p
 

Cidious

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No need to take things so personally. It's not like there's 140 pages on this topic already....
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...e-as-transparent-are-that-many-confused.9245/

"Transparency is just a small part of the equation" really needs some explanation though, feel free to make a new thread and convince us of your vision :p
That's very cool. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.

ASR doesn't need to be so toxic. Shared an honest opinion. Then the measurement police cool guys need to hunt for posts to shuv down their opinion as facts.

Measurements are super important. I just don't see the measurements covering every aspect of sound (yet). Thus the current state of measurements as posted still have a hard time to translate to sound tonality etc. And thats fine. The measurements show the devices are flawed in their design or not. Then there is a small subjective part on do you like how it sounds or not. They do not sound the same. Might be different opamps, different output stage. could be anything.

We come here to make informed purchase decisions right? Amir tests. Flawed or not. If not flawed. I love to read some personal opinions in the rest of the topic if people like it or not and why. Thats what I added to the topic. Mr above here only adds his wonders and wants to start the endless debate.
 

Cidious

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No need to take things so personally. It's not like there's 140 pages on this topic already....
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...e-as-transparent-are-that-many-confused.9245/

"Transparency is just a small part of the equation" really needs some explanation though, feel free to make a new thread and convince us of your vision :p

Because if a device is 100% transparent it doesn't need to sound pleasing... pleasing sound and technical capabilities can be two different things. I'm not an analog vinyl fan.. but thousands of people swear by it. They prefer how it sounds over the digital new stuff... I personally don't think so. But they do. My post was just about that part. Do I like what I hear. Yes I do. And disclaimer states clearly it's a subjective point of view and can be used as wished. Not to state that it IS like that. It's how I experienced it. I really don't see why someone should come in and start the endless debate about that once more...

Unless you say that people can't have different preferences anymore... That would sound like this forum is more of a dictatorship than anything else? I think that's not what Amir means also.
 

Veri

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Because if a device is 100% transparent it doesn't need to sound pleasing... pleasing sound and technical capabilities can be two different things. I'm not an analog vinyl fan.. but thousands of people swear by it. They prefer how it sounds over the digital new stuff... I personally don't think so. But they do. My post was just about that part. Do I like what I hear. Yes I do. And disclaimer states clearly it's a subjective point of view and can be used as wished. Not to state that it IS like that. It's how I experienced it. I really don't see why someone should come in and start the endless debate about that once more...

Unless you say that people can't have different preferences anymore... That would sound like this forum is more of a dictatorship than anything else? I think that's not what Amir means also.
No I saw your disclaimer and it's fair game if you say it's just your subjective opinion. Some could argue it gets off topic when it starts to challenge beliefs; IMO technicalities and pleasing sound should overlap. I'm aware of vinyl and its myths, same thing for tubes, but we are talking DACs. Technology in D/A conversion really is a solved thing. I'm not aware of anything that is missing in current measurements that does not show underlying sound properties. Take for example "warm" vs "bright", simple FR measurement showing none such thing means it is really just conviction or imagination. You can't claim brightness (for example) if no frequency shows up to be elevated...

Anyway enough from me. If you have concrete questions I do encourage you to make a topic rather than discuss here. Yes, some "measurement police" critics will surely show up but I don't see why one can't have a polite discussion. Like I said just try and not take things too personal, this is ASR people have a habit to challenge statements like "measurements don't show/explain everything". If you could prove that, now that would be game changing.. ;)
 
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vwru

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Just received mine. Sounds really neutral, I'd say it struck me as "dark" sounding at first, but considering that I'm coming from an Audient id22, I'd wager the difference is probably just due to lower distortion in the highs. Not a night and day difference (as modern DACs generally don't sound worlds apart nowadays), but I feel that transients are slightly more discernible and there's a sense of effortlessness to the sound of the D30 Pro. The Audient feels a little bit rounded out for lack of a better description.

All in all, the differences are rather small, but it definitely feels more neutral than my old trusty interface as far as DA goes. Then again, the id22 is like an 8-year-old design, so comparing the D30 Pro sonically to a more modern, high-performance DAC must be an exercise in futility. I kinda bought it for the peace-of-mind factor, though, so I'm happy. DAC obsession done and over with as far as I'm concerned.
 

Lupin

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DAC obsession done and over with as far as I'm concerned.
Until the next newest, latest and best mid priced DAC rolls out of the Topping factory ;):p
 

D700

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I confess, I'm a sucker for the Orange display and cockpit quality toggle switches. They've landed on good sounding stuff with a classic industrial design that just looks good on my desk. The only thing that might make me want to upgrade is a new model with orange backlit VU meters:)
 

MacCali

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I just got mine two days ago, and so far so good with everything, however I’m having an issue. I’m not sure why but after like 6 hours of being on I hear static or crackling when the unit isn’t playing music. So far it’s been via headphones by the time so much time has elapsed. I have yet to try what it sounds like on speakers.

I do most my listening at night.

Any idea why this is happening? It actually kind of sounds worse than my hybrid tube amp. Obviously that is a direct result from the tube.

The unit isn’t getting hot either. I just tried again today with a different amp to see if it’s an amp factor. Never heard this before out of either amp.

Bad unit maybe?
 

half_dog

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I just got mine two days ago, and so far so good with everything, however I’m having an issue. I’m not sure why but after like 6 hours of being on I hear static or crackling when the unit isn’t playing music. So far it’s been via headphones by the time so much time has elapsed. I have yet to try what it sounds like on speakers.

I do most my listening at night.

Any idea why this is happening? It actually kind of sounds worse than my hybrid tube amp. Obviously that is a direct result from the tube.

The unit isn’t getting hot either. I just tried again today with a different amp to see if it’s an amp factor. Never heard this before out of either amp.

Bad unit maybe?
I had a similar problem some years ago and in this case was the tube amp. The tubes were pretty sensitive to EMI/RFI. If my mobile received a sms the amplifier would do some weird noises or I put my notebook close to it and among other things...
 

MacCali

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I had a similar problem some years ago and in this case was the tube amp. The tubes were pretty sensitive to EMI/RFI. If my mobile received a sms the amplifier would do some weird noises or I put my notebook close to it and among other things...
Yes, tubes I believe there are two things that cause sound. But there are no tubes in this so I’m not sure what’s going on.
 

D700

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leave the dac/amp on and reboot your computer or unplug/plug back in your device feeding the dac, see if it goes away. I've had some signal related issues, software related.
 

MacCali

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leave the dac/amp on and reboot your computer or unplug/plug back in your device feeding the dac, see if it goes away. I've had some signal related issues, software related.
Yes, I will try that, but at the beginning there’s no sound at all. It’s completely silent. Just seems like after it heats up internally something is going on and the unit isn’t really getting hot. I will try with my streamer today as the source. See if the samd issue will persist
 

D700

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Yes, I will try that, but at the beginning there’s no sound at all. It’s completely silent. Just seems like after it heats up internally something is going on and the unit isn’t really getting hot. I will try with my streamer today as the source. See if the samd issue will persist
for me its happened twice after pausing a stream for long period of time with everything left on
 

MacCali

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for me its happened twice after pausing a stream for long period of time with everything left on
Yea that’s probably causing the unit to heat up and mine is excessive use cause I’m not leaving it idle.
 

D700

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Yea that’s probably causing the unit to heat up and mine is excessive use cause I’m not leaving it idle.
No, it was software. I just closed the browser and restarted the stream and everything was good. Had nothing to do with the headphone.
 

MacCali

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No, it was software. I just closed the browser and restarted the stream and everything was good. Had nothing to do with the headphone.
I don’t use my web browser, I use the Quboz app
 
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