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Topping D30Pro Review (Balanced DAC)

MacCali

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Try killing the app when problem is occurring, then playing a different app
Hmmmmm I will try, but you would find it odd out of the combination of dacs and amps I have for headphones specifically, about 8, to now this and I have never had this issue.

So it just seems kind of odd.
 

MAX232

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Hey Guys,

i use the D30Pro and connect the RCA's to my stereo AMP. However, the stereo AMP states a sensitivity of 0,55Vrms on the AUX and the D30Pro gives 2Vrms. Is this a problem? I already connected this and found if i turn down the D30Pro to -5 my AMP has to go to 0Db which is kinda ridiculous because -10 to -15Db on my AMP is enough on other sources.

Any thoughts, tips??
 

MacCali

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Hey Guys,

i use the D30Pro and connect the RCA's to my stereo AMP. However, the stereo AMP states a sensitivity of 0,55Vrms on the AUX and the D30Pro gives 2Vrms. Is this a problem? I already connected this and found if i turn down the D30Pro to -5 my AMP has to go to 0Db which is kinda ridiculous because -10 to -15Db on my AMP is enough on other sources.

Any thoughts, tips??
What amp are you using? What were you using before?
 

MacCali

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Hey MacCali,

it's an Elipson MC MK1, https://pdf.archiexpo.com/pdf/elipson/music-center/91474-284769.html using D-Class ICE by B&O for amplifying. This is my first DAC (converting my ROON ROCK NUC). Before i had similar function from Auralic Aries Mini, also 2Vrms.
Hmmmm honestly no clue, this is probably more towards someone more professional. The only thing I can think of is the attenuation; maybe spelling that wrong. But the aries mini may have greater attenuation.

When using on headphones I actually noticed I am getting more volume at lower gain settings on the amp. So I am experiencing the complete opposite of what you are, then again this is a headphone amp.

Hopefully someone gets back to you with a more precise response. That would be the only thing that comes to my mind as there are many variables when it comes to audio.
 

FireLion

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Yea I saw that, it's kind of strange how they pull shit like that in this day and age. The voltage situation and amp power..

That was an odd one alright, otherwise a good amp. It should be mentioned here as it's according to him deceptive.

What is the true power outage, anyone?
 

MacCali

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That was an odd one alright, otherwise a good amp. It should be mentioned here as it's according to him deceptive.

What is the true power outage, anyone?
He mentions it, it's less than a watt.. not sure how much
 

JoshSF

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I was looking for a Dac and found this amazing site which was invaluable in figuring out what to purchase. My goal was to build a simple system that would produce great sound without spending "too much money." I wanted it hooked up to my computer since that is where I spend a lot of time. Finally, I'm fully vaccinated against the vinyl variant so I was open to digital.

Because of this review I bought the Topping D30 Pro and have it plugged into some Genelecs. Because of the Genelecs I needed XLR out and there are not a ton of options. I will caution that the Topping (and the Genelecs) definitely reveals the quality of the source not just compression etc but also production. The sound quality and detail this unit produces is stunning. The measurements do not lie! Thank you all for making this site what it is.
 

Lupin

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No Theme Reviews didn't really like this LOL.
I watched the video.
Of course there are cheaper options available, there always are.

What is a bit shortsighted and annoying to me is that he kept pushing Schiit as the cheaper and better alternative. While that might be he seems to completely forget (or ignores) that Schiit is only decently available in America. (and even then they have serious supply issues from what I've heard)
I live in Europe and therefor Schiit is not really an option as the high shipping costs combined with import taxes and custom fees will about double the price... then Schiit is all of the sudden not that super interesting anymore.

The whole quad DAC issue.. think the measurements on ASR show that this quad setup does produce better measured numbers then a single chip would. I do agree though that at a certain point it doesn't really matter anymore as then it is way beyond of what is remotely audible.
 

vitalii427

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Unlikely to tell you anything new. Here just to report how happy I am to have this great piece of gear. D30Pro is my first Topping product. Everything I need for my family room setup is there in a small pretty box - hq dac, toslink(tv)+usb(network player), balanced out, remote, dispaly auto-off. The only concern is quite cheap remote.
 

Lupin

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Unlikely to tell you anything new. Here just to report how happy I am to have this great piece of gear. D30Pro is my first Topping product. Everything I need for my family room setup is there in a small pretty box - hq dac, toslink(tv)+usb(network player), balanced out, remote, dispaly auto-off. The only concern is quite cheap remote.
I have the D30pro right in front of me on the desk so I never even bothered getting the remote out of the plastic bag... so if you ever need another remote I will sell you mine for a nice premium :D;)
 

MacCali

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I watched the video.
Of course there are cheaper options available, there always are.

What is a bit shortsighted and annoying to me is that he kept pushing Schiit as the cheaper and better alternative. While that might be he seems to completely forget (or ignores) that Schiit is only decently available in America. (and even then they have serious supply issues from what I've heard)
I live in Europe and therefor Schiit is not really an option as the high shipping costs combined with import taxes and custom fees will about double the price... then Schiit is all of the sudden not that super interesting anymore.

The whole quad DAC issue.. think the measurements on ASR show that this quad setup does produce better measured numbers then a single chip would. I do agree though that at a certain point it doesn't really matter anymore as then it is way beyond of what is remotely audible.
Yea, but you can’t knock the facts. These Chinese companies, just like with vaping products, drop something new all the time.

Basically China is the Walmart of the audio industry. They make money on volume, so they keep making things to keep the purchases going.

With that in mind they are obviously going put a bunch of jargon into there sales. Some truthful like measurements or enticing just to get the sale. When not everything they say is something you can actually experience.

It’s kind of like AVR’s, 210 watts @ 4 ohms 1 channel driven.

Also, with this mass production sometimes bad units occur. So far I’ve experienced this with ifi and the d30pro itself with my comments above.

Loaded up all those chips and after long sessions of listening something is going wrong. This dac sounds like it has a tube after 4-5 hours of use. Guessing it’s my unit or a few units, and limited error. We realize no manufacturer is perfect. But the coaxial issue with the D50s.

I appreciate two things from these Chinese companies the RnD and the use of the audio analysis to make good measuring products. Yet a company with this much experience shouldn’t be making these types of mistakes, by selecting poor manufacturing practices to save money. But that’s probably why the prices are so low.
 

JoshSF

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I watched the video.
Of course there are cheaper options available, there always are.

What is a bit shortsighted and annoying to me is that he kept pushing Schiit as the cheaper and better alternative. While that might be he seems to completely forget (or ignores) that Schiit is only decently available in America. (and even then they have serious supply issues from what I've heard)
I live in Europe and therefor Schiit is not really an option as the high shipping costs combined with import taxes and custom fees will about double the price... then Schiit is all of the sudden not that super interesting anymore.

The whole quad DAC issue.. think the measurements on ASR show that this quad setup does produce better measured numbers then a single chip would. I do agree though that at a certain point it doesn't really matter anymore as then it is way beyond of what is remotely audible.

Ironically I bought the Topping because of Schiit supply issues. I bought the Modius but my computer could not control the volume (PCs seem fine btw). So then I went to order the Magnius to control volume but the wait was 10 weeks so I bought the Topping to tide me over thinking I would just sell it when the Schiit was ready. When the amp arrived I did some A/B testing. In my opinion the two are almost equivalent though I believe I can hear a tiny bit more detail in the Topping but this admittedly was not blind. I do not, however, hear any tonal differences between the Dacs and the data in the ASR review also doesn't show the "bass rolloff" claimed to be heard in the No Theme review.

The reason I purchased both of these Dacs is because I needed XLR which is something the No Theme review curiously leaves out. If you need XLR you need to spend more money. If you want a preamp volume control as well this is actually one of the cheaper units available. I will be selling the Schiit equipment instead of the Topping since I like the sound a bit better and the footprint is so much smaller.
 

Toku

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When will the problem of PCM 384kHz noise reproduction of D30Pro be improved?
I've been waiting for a message from Topping.
 

Lupin

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Yea, but you can’t knock the facts. These Chinese companies, just like with vaping products, drop something new all the time.

Basically China is the Walmart of the audio industry. They make money on volume, so they keep making things to keep the purchases going..
Sure there's a truth in that but then again name me a brand that doesn't push out products on a regular basis. I don't really have that much problems with that. I just look what they release and most likely wait at least 6+ "generations" or so before considering buying something new.
That is the advantage of DACs and AMPs imho, they don't age as fast as graphics cards for example.

With that in mind they are obviously going put a bunch of jargon into there sales. Some truthful like measurements or enticing just to get the sale. When not everything they say is something you can actually experience.
Again there a truth in that but again which company doesn't present their product and numbers in the best way possible? I don't see that limited to Chinese companies only.

What did strike me as interesting though and might be worth looking into is that No Theme Reviews mentioned that the power output which SMSL/Topping put in their spec sheets and product pages doesn't match with what Amir is measuring and ASR isn't calling SMSL/Topping out on that in the review.
To be clear I have not dug into this so I don't know how much truth there is in this but to me it's kinda interesting to find out.

Personally I do think (the rather unpopular opinion here it seems) that the SINAD race has come to a point that I lost intrest in it. D30Pro has a SINAD of 120 and the D90se has a SINAD of 123, that 3dB SINAD is not going to make any meaningful difference in daily use and therefor I find the price premium of the D90se not worth it over the other "cheaper" Topping offerings.

I will not be interested in a new Topping DAC if it's just the same box with the same features but now a SINAD of 126.
To really differentiate I think Topping (or any other manufacturer) should look in other places than just SINAD scores. Spend some attention to a design without coil whine, sturdy non slipping feet, high resolution and customizable display, high quality ALPS pot, nice solid aluminium knob, just to name something. To me those things are worth more and are more meaningful then trying to squeeze out an extra dB of SINAD.
 

MacCali

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Sure there's a truth in that but then again name me a brand that doesn't push out products on a regular basis. I don't really have that much problems with that. I just look what they release and most likely wait at least 6+ "generations" or so before considering buying something new.
That is the advantage of DACs and AMPs imho, they don't age as fast as graphics cards for example.


Again there a truth in that but again which company doesn't present their product and numbers in the best way possible? I don't see that limited to Chinese companies only.

What did strike me as interesting though and might be worth looking into is that No Theme Reviews mentioned that the power output which SMSL/Topping put in their spec sheets and product pages doesn't match with what Amir is measuring and ASR isn't calling SMSL/Topping out on that in the review.
To be clear I have not dug into this so I don't know how much truth there is in this but to me it's kinda interesting to find out.

Personally I do think (the rather unpopular opinion here it seems) that the SINAD race has come to a point that I lost intrest in it. D30Pro has a SINAD of 120 and the D90se has a SINAD of 123, that 3dB SINAD is not going to make any meaningful difference in daily use and therefor I find the price premium of the D90se not worth it over the other "cheaper" Topping offerings.

I will not be interested in a new Topping DAC if it's just the same box with the same features but now a SINAD of 126.
To really differentiate I think Topping (or any other manufacturer) should look in other places than just SINAD scores. Spend some attention to a design without coil whine, sturdy non slipping feet, high resolution and customizable display, high quality ALPS pot, nice solid aluminium knob, just to name something. To me those things are worth more and are more meaningful then trying to squeeze out an extra dB of SINAD.
Oh I totally agree, but you would assume a company like topping is trying to target the newer audiophiles unaware of these things.

But on the opposite perspective, to gain more respect I think providing authentic measurements when your company is all about measurements would actually be a boost from sales from everyone across the board. Think about that review and imagine if those things were not included.. the only that could be mentioned is that is basically what you are saying.. is it worth it to purchase this unit vs the older unit when it's only a couple db better and however much less distortion.

I am not knocking them at all, as you said and I did as well everyone does do this. Even the biggest company's, but you want to step ahead of those people and provide something that no one can say anything about besides it's a little better.
 

MacCali

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When will the problem of PCM 384kHz noise reproduction of D30Pro be improved?
I've been waiting for a message from Topping.
what does that mean? are you experiencing some type of issue?
 
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