Topping E30 DAC Review

[infinitesymphony]

Of course not.

The DX3 Pro is 40% more expensive than the E30 and uses the same AK4493 DAC chip, so not sure that goes without saying:

What makes the [DX3 Pro] click? Is it a defect unit?
AK4493 will output a pop noise when the sampling rate changes, especially in DSD. To void this noise, we test many method including semiconductor switch and relay, at last we decide to add a relay because it did better in avoiding the pop noise. But the relay also bring the click noise. You can hear the click from the DX3 Pro itself, and also a little from the headphone(If the sensitivity of headphone is high). Because this is our setting, so every DX3 Pro has click sound, the unit with click sound is not a defect unit.

 

[JohnYang1997]

The DX3 Pro is 40% more expensive than the E30 and uses the same AK4493 DAC chip, so not sure that goes without saying:

It's already a solved issue in dx3 v2 as far as I know. So E30 won't recreate a issue that's been solved. So no relay clicking.

 

[sejarzo]

I sent an email to Apos Audio about availability of the E30, and the first reply was...

I replied back with a link to this thread and the reply was they'd get info ASAP.

 

[hangcheng]

always confused by the production lines from smsl, now from topping too.... why they cant make a production compare chart or tree graph to explain this? or they think confusion will make me buy more .....

 

[Jarrett]

Solved-

 

[sejarzo]

Good news, an update from Apos Audio...look for it on their site Monday, March 23.

 

[sejarzo]

CJ at Apos just dropped me a note to say the E30 was going live on their site shortly. The page includes a few more pictures.

https://apos.audio/collections/dac-digital-to-analog-converter/products/topping-e30-dac

 

[Labjr]

Is the enclosure metal or plastic?

 

[amirm]

Metal.

 

[kouki_monster]

Saw on the Apos Audio site that E30 has auto on/off.. Nice! So what makes the D50s better than this other than the bluetooth? I know it has two DAC chips but what does that really translate to practically?

D50s almost looks out of place in the D series to me now.. wonder what the next E Series model will be!

 

[Piotr]

They've really nailed AK4493 implementation. Look at Dx3Pro DAC performance, same chip but performance behind.

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the new Topping E30 USB DAC. It was kindly sent to me by the company for testing. Unfortunately I did not get pricing information. As soon as I get it, I will post it.

EDIT: just heard back. US cost is just $129.99!

This is a bit of a new look for Topping DAC, borrowing from DX3 Pro but with dual color display:

View attachment 54917​

It looks better in person than my low-contrast image above. A touch button turns on the unit (takes it out of standby) and also lets you select inputs.

Note that it will be available in black and silver.

Here is the back:

View attachment 54918​

It is a similar setup as Topping D50 with external USB power (mandatory for all inputs). For my testing, I hooked up the power input using the supplied cable from my USB display hub (next to its data port).

A remote control is provided which works identically as previous Topping products. Indeed I used the one from my Topping DX3 Pro to control it.

Internally this shows progression of Topping toward AKM DAC chips in the form of AK4493.

DAC Audio Measurements
Let's start with our usual dashboard:
View attachment 54919

Distortion levels are incredibly low at -120 dB and lower. The addition of noise takes SINAD down to 112 dB which is most competent for a small little DAC like this:
View attachment 54920

Dynamic range follows suit:
View attachment 54922

When I run my IMD test, I usually expect DACs to struggle to match the Topping DX3 Pro. The E30 nicely matches it in noise and then bests it in final distortion amount:

View attachment 54923

Multitone test shows low enough distortion product as to be fit for the best you can do in any high resolution audio format:
View attachment 54924

Due to low level of noise, some spurious tones are visible but they are utterly inaudible:

View attachment 54925

THD+N versus Frequency is a bit less staller:

View attachment 54926

As is typical, this test includes components well above audible band and there, there is some extra energy which causes the graph to lift up independent of frequency. We can see the reason in the filter settings available:

View attachment 54927

What chip companies call "sharp" is still soft in that instead of roll off at 22.05 kHz, it goes on to 24 kHz. That allows some energy to escape into ultrasonic frequencies as noted.

Linearity is absolutely nailed:

View attachment 54928

Conclusions
The Topping E30 targets a (small) step from state of the art in DAC performance and it delivers. It has attractive look and design element. I have a soft spot for orange LED displays so excuse me for that. Note that there is no Bluetooth input so if you care about that, you need to look at other Topping offerings.

With my assumption that this is a mid-priced DAC, I am happy to add Topping E30 to my recommended desktop DACs.

------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Packed and shipped three boxes, one of which almost clocked 70 pounds! I feel like calling UPS and getting an honorary delivery man badge given how much I am shipping things back and forth. I sure hope this makes you feel guilty enough to donate a few dollars using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

You mentioned the remote control but just to clarify, is there remote volume control? If so how many steps? TIA

 

[QMuse]

This is the decision for future product diversification.
We hope that the E series will pay more attention to compactness and cost performance. Future D series will pay more attention to specialization.
This will be a relatively long process. After the E series has more models and some existing models of the D series are updated, the differences between the two product lines can be clearly seen.

Have you considered making 4 channel stereo DAC that would allow for easy integration of 2 subs?

There is no such product on the market with reasonable pricing and decent quality, so IMO making suxh product would make more sense than producing yet another 2 channel DAC.

What I'm proposing is a product identical in functionality to MiniDSP U-DAC8 but with 4 channels and better specs.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Have you considered making 4 channel stereo DAC that would allow for easy integration of 2 subs?

There is no such product on the market with reasonable pricing and decent quality, so IMO making suxh product would make more sense than producing yet another 2 channel DAC.

What I'm proposing is a product identical in functionality to MiniDSP U-DAC8 but with 4 channels and better specs.

splitters?

 

[QMuse]

splitters?

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean? Are you reffering to RCA analog splitters?

 

[JohnYang1997]

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean? Are you reffering to RCA analog splitters?

Is there any particular reason that you can't use a splitter for that? Or you need to process the two channels for subs in some ways?

 

[Matias]

That's rather strange. Does it change with different digital filters?

John, could you please post your dashboard view of Toslink input for us to compare?
Thanks.

 

[QMuse]

Is there any particular reason that you can't use a splitter for that? Or you need to process the two channels for subs in some ways?

If you want to do it the right way you need a 4 channel DAC so you can apply low-pass filtering and FR and phase EQ for subs and high-pass filtering and FR and phase EQ for mains.

 

[Toku]

The E30 was also posted on Topping's website and launched on AliExpress and Amazon, but I contacted SHENZHENAUDIO for concerns about delayed delivery. E30 is shipped by Singapore Post and needs 10-20 business days to arrive in Japan.

http://www.tpdz.net/productinfo/434825.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/af/topping-e30.html?d=y&origin=n&SearchText=topping e30&catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20200322233943

 

[AudioScienceRequired]

Looking to pair this with my Chromecast Audio to stream Foobar2000 from PC through BubbleUPnP. Would it be reasonable to assume the E30 will have D50 level Jitter rejection? Any insight is appreciated.