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Topping E30 DAC Review

SuicideSquid

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E30 arrived yesterday via shenzhenaudio, listening now.

Does the E30 need break in time in others' experience?
I'm using it via the toslink input.
The filters change the sound a bit, but all seem to have the same "edgy" quality.
I had been using a JDS atom+, which to me sounded fine right out of the box. No thinking, just plug and play, sounds great. I just needed volume control.
I'm switching them back and forth, and i'm hearing a subtle difference in subjective high frequency quality; i'm not sure if it's level, distortion, or both.
I would need a toslink switcher(...?) to do a blind test. Or get a friend to swap wires for me... Units outputting the same level. All other settings are the same.

Is it possible I got a bad unit? i know there's no way people could know of this on a forum, but is the unit not being sold anymore? did i get a knock-off unit? Have there been any reports of this?

The only thing that can ever require break-in time is something with moving parts (such as a speaker cone), and in most cases, break in time is about 1/10th what audiophile publications like Stereophile and WhatHiFi claim it is (nothing takes 150 hours to "break-in").
 

as labs

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I would be interested to see a 10kHz performance comparison in addition to 1kHz...

Filter #1 is the most comparable filter to the built-in on the JDS atom +. using that for comparison
 

Atanasi

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My unit just died today. Getting E-d code error. Looks like, they aren't build to last at all.
What was the revision of your unit, the first four numbers of the serial number?
 

as labs

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I did a blind test over the weekend between a JDS atom + and the E30.

Level matched via sound level meter.

Inconclusive... I did 20 tests with the same song, and I went into the test looking for the difference that I thought I was hearing. Maybe I hyper focused on that sound... which is a subjective "tizz" with the topping that I don't hear with the JDS.

What's funny is the person switching the units, without discussing first with me, also heard a subjective "tizz" with the topping. but it wasn't enough to register a clean difference in a blind test. Maybe the test was bad... we only did about 15 seconds with each test section, and then about 30 seconds of swapping wires manually.

next I'll try measuring from each unit through the same processing chain. I'll post results if there's any difference...
 

conqueeftador

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Does anyone know if these can be set to automatically come on with power so I don't have to find the remote every time?
 

Robin L

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Does anyone know if these can be set to automatically come on with power so I don't have to find the remote every time?
Mine does. It's attached to a laptop with sound files, also a Blu-Ray player I never use. When I shut down the computer, or disconnect the USB link, the E30 goes to idle. Start up the computer, the E30 turns on again.
 

Gradius

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@as labs To be fair, you'll hear absolutely *NO* differences in 99% of cases.

I *HAD* that setup before (my E30 died), and now I'm back to my very old Realtek ALC898 from Gigabyte's MB made in 2012 (plus the JDS Atom).

Specs here:

The differences? I can't tell, on at least 98% of cases, if I'm really picky, I could say over 90%, but that's not how it works while you listen to music... you just relax, NOT analyzed it.

Plus, I like to use Dolby Atmos, and it does boost SQ (at least perception of it).

Btw, 48kHz @ 24-bit is all we need for any type of music, and 96kHz @ 24-bit is called Studio quality now.

CD is pretty much dead now, and the new norm is indeed 48kHz/24.

If I really want to hear some differences, that means US$ 1500 (X26 for example), and I'm not willing to spend that much.
 

as labs

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@as labs To be fair, you'll hear absolutely *NO* differences in 99% of cases.

I *HAD* that setup before (my E30 died), and now I'm back to my very old Realtek ALC898 from Gigabyte's MB made in 2012 (plus the JDS Atom).

Specs here:

The differences? I can't tell, on at least 98% of cases, if I'm really picky, I could say over 90%, but that's not how it works while you listen to music... you just relax, NOT analyzed it.

Plus, I like to use Dolby Atmos, and it does boost SQ (at least perception of it).

Btw, 48kHz @ 24-bit is all we need for any type of music, and 96kHz @ 24-bit is called Studio quality now.

CD is pretty much dead now, and the new norm is indeed 48kHz/24.

If I really want to hear some differences, that means US$ 1500 (X26 for example), and I'm not willing to spend that much.

did you hear any difference between the atom and the e30?

We did 7 pairs of tests. i guessed which dac i was hearing. random order chosen by my pop

1. wrong, wrong
2. wrong, right
3. right, right
4. right, right
5. right, right

-break testing to look at results. decided to run two more tests. my dad was getting impatient fumbling with the a little too short cables. maybe i got a little cocky after getting the last three right

6. wrong, right
7. wrong, wrong

overall:
wrong: 6/14 - 43%
right: 8/14 - 57%

middle test results were positive; the beginning and end i was dead wrong.

while i wouldn't call these results conclusive, i do think i hear a subtle difference.
 
Last edited:

Gradius

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did you hear any difference between the atom and the e30?

Atom amp is just for the headphone amp, and is totally transparent as you can see here:

The RCA output is just a bypass.
 

fritobugger

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Does anyone know if these can be set to automatically come on with power so I don't have to find the remote every time?

I bought it because of the auto power on/off feature but it doesn't work for me.
 

fritobugger

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It will only turn off after N minutes of no activity from USB, or after you turn off the PC.

Also, do not use USB power from PC, to power the unit.

It fails to turn off as long as the PC is on even if I close the audio player. I have no interest in turning off the PC.
 

Rottmannash

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Well the filters are something real and absolutely needed. Giving you the ability to choose between them is pure marketing. They could have chosen one and call it a day...
Like in the D10B!
 
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