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Topping E30 II Lite DAC review and measurements
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king0188
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smsl su1 and topping e30 II Lite is about the same price.
I wan to buy one of them.
staticV3
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True. What the PS100 has going for it is price, ARC input, and 2V output.@staticV3 has recommended smsl ps100, but it seems not so good as su1 or e30
Performance OTOH, not so much
staticV3
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Measurably - yes.
Audibly - no.
Thank you, I just want a better alternative for my Behringer UCA202 USB to use ar my desktop PC around 100 Euro.
I received the E30 II Lite about 2-3 weeks ago. I must admit it doesn't sound as good as i was hoping. It's fine, but running through my interface sounds better (Antelope Discrete 4 Synergy Core DAC + through L30 II amp).
Compared to the Antelope, it sounds a tiny bit more "murky". The Antelope DAC sounds more dynamic and clean, a bit more pristine and punchy. We're talking very small differences here, but there you go
I spose i shouldn't have expected much for the price, but i've learned now that measurements don't tell the whole story
Compared to the Antelope, it sounds a tiny bit more "murky". The Antelope DAC sounds more dynamic and clean, a bit more pristine and punchy. We're talking very small differences here, but there you go
I spose i shouldn't have expected much for the price, but i've learned now that measurements don't tell the whole story
staticV3
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Unless you did a controlled A/B test with properly matched levels, you have not in fact learned that measurements don't tell the whole story.
Bias is a powerful phenomenon and will skew your results if given the chance.
Zek
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You are comparing a $100 DAC to a $1,100 DAC...
Including blind and statistically relevant.
I think it depends what "the whole story" is.
True high fidelity?
Or the most enjoyment you can get from your music playback?
They could be two different things. True accuracy in high fidelity may not automatically make the most enjoyable sound playback for some people. (Has that been tested, à la Harman curve for headphones?)
What's the goal here? I know here at ASR the goal is measurable accuracy above all else. Having a well defined goal is a very good thing!
BTW, I just got an E30II lite DAC here, too. I'm just starting out deciding what I think of it. It seems OK, very competent I'm sure, but I'm not sure I actually like it very much. Then again, I'm one of those cranks who still spins my 40 year old records on a 60 year old (but very expensive in its day) record player with an RIAA EQ preamp that has TUBES in it. I know that's not 'accurate' at all. But it's a lot of fun to listen to, and it doesn't get fatiguing. I guess I'm looking for a DAC that will be equally fun to listen to. So ban me from ASR if you like. Or single me out as an old crank who can't hear anymore. But I'm trying to make what I believe to be a valid point. What exactly is the goal? What goals are valid, and which are not?
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I would try to connect the DAC to a tube preamp to get the fun factor you like
My amp is sensitive enough that it won't benefit from a preamp with gain, so I don't need/want anything that adds gain.
Maybe a cathode follower ('tube buffer') would be worth experimenting with.
BTW, I have built a few opamp based RIAA EQ preamps to test the assumption that I only like the sound from tube circuits.
- About 20 years ago I built a Hagerman Bugle preamp using OPA2134 opamps. I found that it wasn't much fun. I thought that proved that I like tubes and I don't like the sound from opamps. BUT...
- A couple of years ago, I built an ESP Project 06 preamp with generic parts (metalized polypropylene EQ capacitors), and LM4562 opamps. To my very pleasant surprise, I like it a lot. Definitely fun to listen through. Rod Elliott knows his stuff.
- I then designed my own RIAA preamp based on the datasheet design from the LM4562 datasheet, but incorporating some of Rod Elliott's PSU refinements. I changed the RIAA EQ circuit (it's been measured and is reasonably accurate) and upgraded the capacitors to some now-hard-to-find polystyrene types. I had to lay out a PCB for it because the capacitors are physically large. That preamp sounds really good, and it's so simple. (It will not tolerate super-fast, expensive opamps, though. I have to stick to slower types like LM4562, OPA2134, NE5532, etc.)
So from my experiences above, I've decided that opamps are fine.
Maybe all this means I like records. I've spent many a rainy Sunday spinning records. Records are fun, given a sufficiently good turntable/tonearm/cartridge setup -- which need not be super-expensive, but does require a LOT of work to set up properly.
What's funny is, my system is left bereft of tubes with either the ESP or my homemade opamp RIAA preamps in. (My amp is a Behringer A800 w/ 'passive preamp'.) Yet playing records is still fun. So it's not just the presence or absence of tubes in the signal path.
Maybe a cathode follower ('tube buffer') would be worth experimenting with.
BTW, I have built a few opamp based RIAA EQ preamps to test the assumption that I only like the sound from tube circuits.
- About 20 years ago I built a Hagerman Bugle preamp using OPA2134 opamps. I found that it wasn't much fun. I thought that proved that I like tubes and I don't like the sound from opamps. BUT...
- A couple of years ago, I built an ESP Project 06 preamp with generic parts (metalized polypropylene EQ capacitors), and LM4562 opamps. To my very pleasant surprise, I like it a lot. Definitely fun to listen through. Rod Elliott knows his stuff.
- I then designed my own RIAA preamp based on the datasheet design from the LM4562 datasheet, but incorporating some of Rod Elliott's PSU refinements. I changed the RIAA EQ circuit (it's been measured and is reasonably accurate) and upgraded the capacitors to some now-hard-to-find polystyrene types. I had to lay out a PCB for it because the capacitors are physically large. That preamp sounds really good, and it's so simple. (It will not tolerate super-fast, expensive opamps, though. I have to stick to slower types like LM4562, OPA2134, NE5532, etc.)
So from my experiences above, I've decided that opamps are fine.
Maybe all this means I like records. I've spent many a rainy Sunday spinning records. Records are fun, given a sufficiently good turntable/tonearm/cartridge setup -- which need not be super-expensive, but does require a LOT of work to set up properly.
What's funny is, my system is left bereft of tubes with either the ESP or my homemade opamp RIAA preamps in. (My amp is a Behringer A800 w/ 'passive preamp'.) Yet playing records is still fun. So it's not just the presence or absence of tubes in the signal path.
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Dumb question perhaps, but... E30 II lite users, is an external power supply such as a phone charger required for operation of this DAC?
Or is it expected that you can connect the DAC's USB input into a PC or Mac USB port and the USB port will power on the E30 II lite?
Or is it expected that you can connect the DAC's USB input into a PC or Mac USB port and the USB port will power on the E30 II lite?
Zek
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