Topping E30 DAC Review

[Moosi]

2, All authorized sellers have their description material changed out long time ago.

Nope, not a long time ago, just quite recently. I bought my E30 from audiophonics in march, got serial 2102, checked the official Toppings website right before I bought and and it said "AKM-receiver". That was part of the reason I made the buy, because I was thinking of replacing my soundbar with the E30. Discarded the idea somehow, so Im not overly salty.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Nope, not a long time ago, just quite recently. I bought my E30 from audiophonics in march, got serial 2102, checked the official Toppings website right before I bought and and it said "AKM-receiver". That was part of the reason I made the buy, because I was thinking of replacing my soundbar with the E30. Discarded the idea somehow, so Im not overly salty.

Sorry for that. Just confirmed that different resellers had different stocks, so it was not practical to change out official description, although I would argue it's still a long time ago.
So what did you ended up with? Returned?

And thank you for pointing this out since audiophonics still didn't change it somehow.

 

[yodog]

Sorry for that. Just confirmed that different resellers had different stocks, so it was not practical to change out official description, although I would argue it's still a long time ago.
So what did you ended up with? Returned?

And thank you for pointing this out since audiophonics still didn't change it somehow.

Hey John, random question but do you know if there are any future plans for a successor to the D90 or an updated version perhaps called a E90 or D90S?

 

[JohnYang1997]

Hey John, random question but do you know if there are any future plans for a successor to the D90 or an updated version perhaps called a E90 or D90S?

D90se is coming this month.

 

[Robbo99999]

I have two E30s. One I bought new, serial starting 20XX, and the one I've been talking about that I bought second hand, with serial 19XX. I'm aware of the reverse polarization issue on the optical and coaxial inputs on the earlier units, but as far as I know, it has no effect on sound quality.

I tried switching in the 20XX E30 in place of the 19XX E30, and it made no difference.

Using the E30 in DAC mode defeats the purpose of why I bought it for use with my TV - remote volume control.

The difference I'm hearing must be down to:

1. Having the amp in the chain
2. The FiiO D3 vs the E30
3. It's just in my head.

I'll try the speaker volume change suggested by Pdxwayne, though I haven't altered the volume setting on the speakers since switching out the gear, and I had them set almost at max volume based on reading elsewhere that was the best approach. If that doesn't change anything, I'll try swapping in the D3 with lower volume on the speakers, and then try adding the Modi back in the chain with the E30.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Unfortunately polarity does effect sound, I tested these reverse polarity files & indeed it changed the spatial qualities of the guitar sample when I played it through my headphones:
https://www.audiocheck.net/audiotests_polaritycheck.php
I do have the E30, the old one with the polarity issue, and luckily I just use it connected via USB so with the latest firmware that was released ages ago it fixes the polarity issue re USB connection, but unfortunately does not fix the optical connection.....but I don't mind because I don't use the optical connection.

 

[megapleb]

Unfortunately polarity does effect sound, I tested these reverse polarity files & indeed it changed the spatial qualities of the guitar sample when I played it through my headphones:
https://www.audiocheck.net/audiotests_polaritycheck.php
I do have the E30, the old one with the polarity issue, and luckily I just use it connected via USB so with the latest firmware that was released ages ago it fixes the polarity issue re USB connection, but unfortunately does not fix the optical connection.....but I don't mind because I don't use the optical connection.

You tested double blind? From what I read, no one who did that could tell the difference.

My thinking was if it was an issue, I could swap the TV E30 (optical connection) with my PC E30 (USB connection) and negate the problem anyway.

 

[ALex_hha]

D90se is coming this month.

wow, could you share some specs ?

 

[megapleb]

wow, could you share some specs ?

Google is your friend

Edit - Also here.

 

[ALex_hha]

And why there is no information on off site - https://www.tpdz.net/dac ?

 

[Toku]

Unfortunately polarity does effect sound, I tested these reverse polarity files & indeed it changed the spatial qualities of the guitar sample when I played it through my headphones:
https://www.audiocheck.net/audiotests_polaritycheck.php
I do have the E30, the old one with the polarity issue, and luckily I just use it connected via USB so with the latest firmware that was released ages ago it fixes the polarity issue re USB connection, but unfortunately does not fix the optical connection.....but I don't mind because I don't use the optical connection.

You shouldn't trust such test files very much. In many cases, it is processed so that changes can be noticeably confirmed.
The most reliable method is to switch the +-of the connection such as a speaker by yourself and check the change.

 

[half_dog]

Unfortunately polarity does effect sound, I tested these reverse polarity files & indeed it changed the spatial qualities of the guitar sample when I played it through my headphones:
https://www.audiocheck.net/audiotests_polaritycheck.php
I do have the E30, the old one with the polarity issue, and luckily I just use it connected via USB so with the latest firmware that was released ages ago it fixes the polarity issue re USB connection, but unfortunately does not fix the optical connection.....but I don't mind because I don't use the optical connection.

My man, this test is about stereo polarity. That's the polarity between left and right channels and it's really noticeable - and is used to bring some cool effects on songs. The discussion about E30's reversed polarity is related to "absolute" polarity. Absolute polarity is hearable in some special condition (or someone with really "discernible" ears), but usually it is "99.99%" indistinguishable. You can try it here https://www.audiocheck.net/blindtests_abspolarity.php

Happily or sadly I can't notice it =P

 

[Robbo99999]

My man, this test is about stereo polarity. That's the polarity between left and right channels and it's really noticeable - and is used to bring some cool effects on songs. The discussion about E30's reversed polarity is related to "absolute" polarity. Absolute polarity is hearable in some special condition (or someone with really "discernible" ears), but usually it is "99.99%" indistinguishable. You can try it here https://www.audiocheck.net/blindtests_abspolarity.php

Happily or sadly I can't notice it =P

Ha, thanks, you're right!

 

[Cyfrox]

For those who’re interested. Apple lossless launched today and works fine on E30. Now there’s a cheaper source for Hi-Res files.

 

[hellshinoda]

For those who’re interested. Apple lossless launched today and works fine on E30. Now there’s a cheaper source for Hi-Res files.

View attachment 134509View attachment 134510View attachment 134511

On this topic, have you by chance tried this on a Mac? I'm having trouble playing Hi-Res Lossless file from Apple Music to Topping E30. I think on MAC there is no way to send signal directly to Topping E30 without downsampling or upsampling depends on the music sample rate (via the MIDI Audio Setup)

 

[Daverz]

hello again E30 users! any of you encountering popping noise between tracks during track changes on DSD material playback? i have this issue which oddly enough manifests itself on select DSD files only, while most of my other DSD and FLAC files do not have such popping noise.

I get the DSD popping on my Auralic Vega (ESS chip) and the E30. I even get the popping with PCM files converted from DSF files. It's a DSD issue, not a DAC specific issue.

 

[Daverz]

Has anyone tried to control several E30 units with the same remote / at the same time?

I just tried it with an E30 and a D3Pro, and it does work! Too bad the E30 has gone up to $150. Still, I can't think of another cost effective DAC with volume control, remote, and a nice bright volume display that can be read from several meters away.

However, I don't think you should worry about the nanoDigi volume "weakening" the signal. At the DSP precision it's using, I don't think it would matter whether the attenuation comes before or after the other DSP processes. Still, it's difficult to use a volume control if you can't see the last level it was left at.

 

[dpippel]

On this topic, have you by chance tried this on a Mac? I'm having trouble playing Hi-Res Lossless file from Apple Music to Topping E30. I think on MAC there is no way to send signal directly to Topping E30 without downsampling or upsampling depends on the music sample rate (via the MIDI Audio Setup)

This is my experience as well. There's no way to send the unmolested source data directly to an external DAC under macOS unless you're using an app that provides that functionality (Tidal, Qobuz, Audirvana, etc.). Apple Music via the macOS Music app does NOT allow this - you have to pipe the output through the OS and it will send everything at the fixed sampling/bitrate you have selected in the Audio Midi Setup utility.

Come on, Apple. Really?

 

[NoumenalGirl]

I noticed in this forum, and a few others, that the E30 - while incredibly capable as a DAC - seems to introduce distortion while in pre-amp mode.

I know this is not just happening in my head.

This is my budget audio home office setup:

Speakers: Triangle BRO3
Amp: IOM Ncore 122MP Pro ( purchased second hand )
DAC: Topping E30 ( in pre-amp mode )
Streamer: Raspberry Pi4 ( running Volumio )
DAC & Streamer: connected via USB

I originally had a Schiit Modi 3 paired with an Emotiva A-100 amp.

The Emotiva introduced audible distortion for the first 15-20 minutes of listening. So I replaced it with the IOM Ncore.

Sidenote: I actually reached out to Emotiva's customer service about this pre-warm up distortion. They effectively told me this should not (read: was not) happening! Luckily, Google brought me to Amir's tests of this amp. He confirmed it was not in my head

The Schiit DAC sounded just fine to my ears, but I really wanted the functionality of a pre-amp, so that volume can be controlled via remote.

Hence switching up to the Topping E30. Which sounds great, btw - in DAC mode.

But in pre-amp mode, this cute little Topping is adding distortion. Has anyone figured out a solution for this?

Any combination of amp / pre-amp volume levels has not fixed it.

So to be clear,

Schiit + IOM Ncore = no distortion.
Topping (in dac mode) + IOM Ncore = no distortion.
Topping (in preamp mode) + IOM Ncore = audible distortion

I can of course, just use the Topping in DAC mode. But that renders the remote's volume controls unusable.

I really want this to work. In my research, I could not find another well tested dac/preamp combo at this price point.

Please help!!

 

[hawk01]

I noticed in this forum, and a few others, that the E30 - while incredibly capable as a DAC - seems to introduce distortion while in pre-amp mode.

I know this is not just happening in my head.

This is my budget audio home office setup:


I originally had a Schiit Modi 3 paired with an Emotiva A-100 amp.

The Emotiva introduced audible distortion for the first 15-20 minutes of listening. So I replaced it with the IOM Ncore.

Sidenote: I actually reached out to Emotiva's customer service about this pre-warm up distortion. They effectively told me this should not (read: was not) happening! Luckily, Google brought me to Amir's tests of this amp. He confirmed it was not in my head

The Schiit DAC sounded just fine to my ears, but I really wanted the functionality of a pre-amp, so that volume can be controlled via remote.

Hence switching up to the Topping E30. Which sounds great, btw - in DAC mode.

But in pre-amp mode, this cute little Topping is adding distortion. Has anyone figured out a solution for this?

Any combination of amp / pre-amp volume levels has not fixed it.

So to be clear,


I can of course, just use the Topping in DAC mode. But that renders the remote's volume controls unusable.

I really want this to work. In my research, I could not find another well tested dac/preamp combo at this price point.

Please help!!

hello sir! my topping E30 just arrived, intended for preamp use directly connected to my NAD C326BEE integrated amplifier’s power amp. so far so good as i anticipated nothing adversely discernible in SQ at any selected volume level with good resolution in its entire 99-0dB range. sadly though just like its D10S sibling, this one also has the dreadful popping noise between tracks during DSD playback. to make things even worse, i just plugged its power supply cable into a vacant usb port on my minipc music source, again all clean! what distortion are you hearing?

 

[ReaderZ]

Any reason to get E30 over D10s if I only need usb in? I wonder how does digital volume of the E30 vs windows volume and would that be a factor?