Topping E30 DAC Review

[samsa]

Using the E30 as a pure DAC must surely sound better, no?

No.

 

[NgxHS7]

No.

Seriously! Now I want the E30 to arrive more than ever!

 

[hyperplanar]

Thanks for the Interesting blind test here is what i got. Curious to know about the result
1 +
2 -

3 +
4 +
5 +
6 +
7 -
8 -
9 -
10 +
11 +
12 +

Thanks for taking the test! I’ll post the answers when I get home later tonight.

 

[NgxHS7]

Thanks for taking the test! I’ll post the answers when I get home later tonight.

What's the verdict?

 

[hyperplanar]

What's the verdict?

Here it is:

So it seems @mykeldg got 3/10 right, which indicates no discernable audible difference.

Interestingly enough @samsa PMed me his answers and he got 9/10 right! He said he heard a difference in the attack of the snare drums.

I think I have pretty well-trained ears, been mixing and producing music for 10 years, can ABX 320 OGG vs lossless, etc. but personally couldn't hear any difference in my setup.

 

[NgxHS7]

Here it is:
View attachment 65295

Very very interesting!!!

 

[Robbo99999]

I see. I had heard about bit stripping with digital volume control.

So which would be better. Volume pot at 50% on the active speakers with a higher volume level on the DAC, or the other way around?

Theoretically you'd get the best sound by running the highest signal possible that your speakers will accept, which I guess would be running the DAC at 100% volume level. In reality there wouldn't be perceptible difference in sound quality by running the DAC below 100% volume level, and I am planning to use the volume control on the E30 when it arrives for my TV/Movie viewing. So, like @samsa said, I'll have the volume pot on the back of the speakers at the maximum volume I'd ever want for watching a movie, and then I'd use the volume control on the E30 to lower it for different programs/movies based on how loud they are or how loud I want it at the time. I'd just make sure that you do actually use the DAC sometimes at 100% volume otherwise you may as well turn down the volume pot on the back of the speakers some more....so you're getting the best out of the system.

 

[mykeldg]

Here it is:
View attachment 65295

So it seems @mykeldg got 3/10 right, which indicates no discernable audible difference.

Interestingly enough @samsa PMed me his answers and he got 9/10 right! He said he heard a difference in the attack of the snare drums.

I think I have pretty well-trained ears, been mixing and producing music for 10 years, can ABX 320 OGG vs lossless, etc. but personally couldn't hear any difference in my setup.

Thanks this is enlightening and Appreciated.

 

[conuss]

So why is this a "bad plan"? My technical wording was probably not correct. Are you saying feeding the active speakers' amps direct from the DAC in preamp mode via rca/XLR is a bad idea? Can you explain?

Your plan is to adjust the volume with E30. It doesn't matter what volume the active speakers are at. Again, there is no direct input to their power amplifier, so the signal will pass through two preamplifiers. Use DAC mode at maximum volume, then there will be only one conversion by the active speaker preamplifier.

 

[NgxHS7]

Your plan is to adjust the volume with E30. It doesn't matter what volume the active speakers are at. Again, there is no direct input to their power amplifier, so the signal will pass through two preamplifiers. Use DAC mode at maximum volume, then there will be only one conversion by the active speaker preamplifier.

How would I then control the volume? I'm not going to get up and change the volume of the speakers each time I want to.

 

[NgxHS7]

Your plan is to adjust the volume with E30. It doesn't matter what volume the active speakers are at. Again, there is no direct input to their power amplifier, so the signal will pass through two preamplifiers. Use DAC mode at maximum volume, then there will be only one conversion by the active speaker preamplifier.

In "DAC" mode, can the system volume be controlled via remote?

 

[NgxHS7]

As we can see from the manual, using DAC mode does not allow for volume adjustment. This would need to be done via another device, such as a PC or the active monitors analogue dial. I don't think my TV attentuates it's optical output signal, so I can't use DAC mode if I want to use the remote from my seat to change volume.

 

[JohnYang1997]

As we can see from the manual, using DAC mode does not allow for volume adjustment. This would need to be done via another device, such as a PC or the active monitors analogue dial. I don't think my TV attentuates it's optical output signal, so I can't use DAC mode if I want to use the remote from my seat to change volume.

Just don't use the DAC only mode....

 

[NgxHS7]

Just don't use the DAC only mode....

That's what I thought, so I don't understand the other replies.

 

[Robbo99999]

As we can see from the manual, using DAC mode does not allow for volume adjustment. This would need to be done via another device, such as a PC or the active monitors analogue dial. I don't think my TV attentuates it's optical output signal, so I can't use DAC mode if I want to use the remote from my seat to change volume.

Just use the digital volume control and be happy. You won't lose any noticeable bit depth, although signal to noise ratio decreases as you lower the volume, so just do what was suggested earlier, put volume control on back of speakers at the level which is the max listening level you'd ever want to hear when DAC is at 100% volume, then just control the volume of the music & movies by using the DAC remote control volume. That's what I'm gonna do. (I edited one of my earlier posts to explain a bit more about any bit depth loss, along with an external web link).

 

[NgxHS7]

Just use the digital volume control and be happy. You won't lose any noticeable bit depth, although signal to noise ratio decreases as you lower the volume, so just do what was suggested earlier, put volume control on back of speakers at the level which is the max listening level you'd ever want to hear when DAC is at 100% volume, then just control the volume of the music & movies by using the DAC remote control volume. That's what I'm gonna do. (I edited one of my earlier posts to explain a bit more about any bit depth loss, along with an external web link).

I'm happy with that setup. That's what I am going to do, unless my LG can adjust the output level (I'm pretty sure it can't). I just didn't understand the other reply, unless the poster thought I was going to use a PC with the E30.

 

[Robbo99999]

I'm happy with that setup. That's what I am going to do, unless my LG can adjust the output level (I'm pretty sure it can't). I just didn't understand the other reply, unless the poster thought I was going to use a PC with the E30.

Optical Outs never have volume control, is my understanding, because it's just sending bit for bit what's on the CD or other digital bit stream source.

 

[conuss]

How would I then control the volume? I'm not going to get up and change the volume of the speakers each time I want to.

In "DAC" mode, can the system volume be controlled via remote?

You are missing the meaning of the power amplifier in your reasoning, hence the misunderstanding. It is quite clear that your active acoustics do not have an input to the power amplifier. You were just worried about the sound quality with the E30 in pre amp mode, so this input was mentioned as the highest quality. Control the volume calmly with the E30 remote, while passing an extra preamp of active acoustics at its comfortable volume will be difficult to notice.

 

[NgxHS7]

You are missing the meaning of the power amplifier in your reasoning, hence the misunderstanding. It is quite clear that your active acoustics do not have an input to the power amplifier. You were just worried about the sound quality with the E30 in pre amp mode, so this input was mentioned as the highest quality. Control the volume calmly with the E30 remote, while passing an extra preamp of active acoustics at its comfortable volume will be difficult to notice.

My apologies. If I were to add another preamp to the mix with volume control(with the E30 in DAC mode), I assume this would be just the same. I would have to "calmly control the volume" just the same, no? My speakers are the Yamaha HS7s. I have never used active monitors, so excuse the ignorance.

BTW, thank you for the volume control tip.

 

[conuss]

If I were to add another preamp to the mix with volume control(with the E30 in DAC mode), I assume this would be just the same. I would have to "calmly control the volume" just the same, no? My speakers are the Yamaha HS7s. I have never used active monitors, so excuse the ignorance.

You don’t need anything else, everything is there, forget about the additional preamplifier, unless you need analog inputs.