Topping E30 DAC Review

[yodog]

As a purist, I go for linear phase and as little ultrasonic leakage as possible (i.e. #1). Many prefer minimum phase ("short delay" is AKM's euphemism) and/or more ultrasonics ("slow rollof")

Thanks, I’ll stick to #1 I guess. It’s definitely overall louder than #4, and since my system isn’t the most powerful, it could use that extra help in overall increased perception of output.

 

[cyberzigot]

Hello community. This is my first post. I ordered the E30 just as it was first announced the firmware 1.08. And yeterday i received my unit and it is already 1.08. Amazed at the speed Topping rolled this new fix out.

Anyway I have a question. After installing the drivers on windows 10, when opening up the topping app, it still states ASIO not active. Did I miss a step here ?

 

[Robbo99999]

As a purist, I go for linear phase and as little ultrasonic leakage as possible (i.e. #1). Many prefer minimum phase ("short delay" is AKM's euphemism) and/or more ultrasonics ("slow rollof")

Ah, cool, so #1 is the same as "Fast Roll Off, Linear Phase" which is the one I chose for use with my SoundblasterX G6? In that case I'll use #1 with the E30 DAC when it arrives...."Fast Roll Off, Linear Phase" sounded the best to me when I was testing it with my G6 months ago.

 

[Robbo99999]

Hello community. This is my first post. I ordered the E30 just as it was first announced the firmware 1.08. And yeterday i received my unit and it is already 1.08. Amazed at the speed Topping rolled this new fix out.

Anyway I have a question. After installing the drivers on windows 10, when opening up the topping app, it still states ASIO not active. Did I miss a step here ?

Can you see if you can clarify with Topping if your unit also has the fix for the polarity on the Optical Inputs?

(I don't use ASIO so don't know much about it, so I can't help you on that one, but I'm sure someone else can).

 

[Standing in the rain]

 

[Robbo99999]

That was quite an entertaining review all-in-all and some informative parts...I'm not convinced by his subjective listening tests and his descriptions of the sonic effect of the different filters in terms of his listening experience, but that's the nature of subjective tests....I do think he was over-egging the significance of the filter . Having said that I have done something similar by going through the different filters in my G6 DAC and I did notice only a very subtle change, and I chose the one I liked best "Fast Roll Off, Linear Phase", so I can't discount his listening tests, but at the same time I can't put any weight on them....as he said though test them yourself and see which one you like best. I'm sure some people think that the filters don't have any discernible effect on the audible music.

 

[Toku]

Hello community. This is my first post. I ordered the E30 just as it was first announced the firmware 1.08. And yeterday i received my unit and it is already 1.08. Amazed at the speed Topping rolled this new fix out.

Anyway I have a question. After installing the drivers on windows 10, when opening up the topping app, it still states ASIO not active. Did I miss a step here ?

I can't quite understand your steps from your description.
What are you using for your PC audio player?
What is a topping app?

 

[cyberzigot]

I can't quite understand your steps from your description.
What are you using for your PC audio player?
What is a topping app?

Yes I am using a Windows 10 pc. Installing the drivers will put a shortcut in the start menu to this. It says ASIO not active. What else do I need to do to get ASIO enabled?

 

[AndyLu]

Yes I am using a Windows 10 pc. Installing the drivers will put a shortcut in the start menu to this. It says ASIO not active. What else do I need to do to get ASIO enabled?

View attachment 66353

It looks like it is installed properly. So everything is fine.
The ASIO driver only will get active if you play music through it. Start your Audio program (Audirvana, Foobar2000, JRiver etc. etc.) and choose Topping ASIO as output. If you play a song then you will see it is active. When you don't play music through it is won't be active.

In short: It looks like wverything works correctly in your system.

 

[BDWoody]

I'm sure some people think that the filters don't have any discernible effect on the audible music.

I think that's going to be pretty closely correlated with age...

Most filter effects aren't going to impact what I can hear, since I'm not getting a whole lot over 16khz or so.

Younger ears may pick that up, but after I wasted an afternoon trying to hear differences in filters, I figured I can cross that off my list of things to care about.

 

[Toku]

Yes I am using a Windows 10 pc. Installing the drivers will put a shortcut in the start menu to this. It says ASIO not active. What else do I need to do to get ASIO enabled?

View attachment 66353

Is your question the reason why "No Devices Connected" is displayed when you open "Topping USB Audio Device Control Panel"?
This message is displayed when the E30 is connected to the PC via USB and the power is not turned on.

 

[Robbo99999]

I think that's going to be pretty closely correlated with age...

Most filter effects aren't going to impact what I can hear, since I'm not getting a whole lot over 16khz or so.

Younger ears may pick that up, but after I wasted an afternoon trying to hear differences in filters, I figured I can cross that off my list of things to care about.

Yep, I tested my hearing recently and I think my limit is 15,500Hz, 10yrs ago it was 16 thousand & something Hz. I still marginally preferred the Fast Roll Off Linear Phase Filter on my G6 though.

 

[Robbo99999]

A quick question to any Topping reps here, or people in the know....if you're flashing a new firmware on the E30 do you really have to install the Thescyon drivers first? I'm looking to use the E30 with standard windows drivers, so don't really want to install the 'custom' drivers. (@JohnYang1997 , I think you're the topping rep?)

 

[cyberzigot]

It looks like it is installed properly. So everything is fine.
The ASIO driver only will get active if you play music through it. Start your Audio program (Audirvana, Foobar2000, JRiver etc. etc.) and choose Topping ASIO as output. If you play a song then you will see it is active. When you don't play music through it is won't be active.

In short: It looks like wverything works correctly in your system.

OK I get what you mean and it makes perfect sense.
@Toku , thanks I think @AndyLu answered what was bugging me.
@Robbo99999 I think there is a Topping rep here in the forums. Maybe asking him would be faster.

This DAC is really noticeable step up from my previous one. The mids are really lush and has great presence. Highs are lively too which bring out details but whether they are fatiguing or not depends on your speaker pairing.

 

[AndyLu]

A quick question to any Topping reps here, or people in the know....if you're flashing a new firmware on the E30 do you really have to install the Thescyon drivers first? I'm looking to use the E30 with standard windows drivers, so don't really want to install the 'custom' drivers. (@JohnYang1997 , I think you're the topping rep?)

I am not a Topping rep, but I know (from experience and from threads on this forum) that the Thescyon ASIO driver has to be installed first. This is no problem because you only use the Thescyon ASIO driver if you specifically choose the ASIO output in your audio program (Audirvana, Foobar, JRiver stc.). If you don't choose ASIO you will automatically use the standard Windows USB 2 drivers (WASAPI etc.).
Also, if it still bothers you, you can always uninstall the Thescyon ASIO driver after you have updated the firmware. This will not harm the firmware.

 

[odyo]

That was quite an entertaining review all-in-all and some informative parts...I'm not convinced by his subjective listening tests and his descriptions of the sonic effect of the different filters in terms of his listening experience, but that's the nature of subjective tests....I do think he was over-egging the significance of the filter . Having said that I have done something similar by going through the different filters in my G6 DAC and I did notice only a very subtle change, and I chose the one I liked best "Fast Roll Off, Linear Phase", so I can't discount his listening tests, but at the same time I can't put any weight on them....as he said though test them yourself and see which one you like best. I'm sure some people think that the filters don't have any discernible effect on the audible music.

G6 is not a good referance. I don't hear any difference at all. I heard AKM filters are noticeably different and there @JohnYang1997 post in this topic with his tests and sound demos quite informative. Find it. F4 is generally the favoured one.

 

[odyo]

I think that's going to be pretty closely correlated with age...

Most filter effects aren't going to impact what I can hear, since I'm not getting a whole lot over 16khz or so.

Younger ears may pick that up, but after I wasted an afternoon trying to hear differences in filters, I figured I can cross that off my list of things to care about.

I'm not sure if it's related to age. Filters start cutting out 22k which no human can hear anyway. The difference is aliasing, timing, ringing etc... Maybe if your headphone capable of doing ultrasonic sound filters may affect the sound more.

 

[JohnYang1997]

The differences are really small. I generally recommend the stock setting.

 

[Robbo99999]

G6 is not a good referance. I don't hear any difference at all. I heard AKM filters are noticeably different and there @JohnYang1997 post in this topic with his tests and sound demos quite informative. Find it. F4 is generally the favoured one.

lol, ok.

 

[TheSacredSoul]

Hello community. This is my first post. I ordered the E30 just as it was first announced the firmware 1.08. And yeterday i received my unit and it is already 1.08. Amazed at the speed Topping rolled this new fix out.

Anyway I have a question. After installing the drivers on windows 10, when opening up the topping app, it still states ASIO not active. Did I miss a step here ?

Hey how do you check what firmware a new E30 is in?