Topping E30/L30 stack durable / reliable?

[manoflegend12]

Hello

I heard the E30/L30 ranks near the top in terms of objective testing (as seen in reviews by Amir)... I also see some threads that spawns some concern about their possible defectiveness... can someone comment on this stack vs a Schiit stack?

I'm looking to own it for at least 5 years... but the Topping is Chinese made (2 yrs warranty) vs. the Schiit which is America made (5 years warranty).

Truly,
Ray

 

[keebz28]

Ray,

I own the topping stack currently and I can say that the build quality is very Good for dac amp combo that is below $500. As for reliability concern that you may have noticed on the forums, affects few units and is being actively investigated by the manufacturer. It comes down to your own comfort level of wether you want to own a product made within US that can be returned and supported locally or a manufacturer from China.

 

[frogmeat69]

Hello

I heard the E30/L30 ranks near the top in terms of objective testing (as seen in reviews by Amir)... I also see some threads that spawns some concern about their possible defectiveness... can someone comment on this stack vs a Schiit stack?

I'm looking to own it for at least 5 years... but the Topping is Chinese made (2 yrs warranty) vs. the Schiit which is America made (5 years warranty).

Truly,
Ray

If you already purchased and are that worried, and have a available return window, then return it and get something else, and save yourself the worry. Plenty of amps and DACs out there that are just as good, read the reviews.

 

[NgtFlyer]

I have the E30/L30 stack. They are used almost daily. No issues or complaints here.

 

[threni]

I have the E30/L30 stack. They are used almost daily. No issues or complaints here.

I'm pretty sure the small percentage of Topping L30 owners who've had their amp blow up and their headphones destroyed by it were pretty happy only moments earlier too! (There's been some suggestion that static is involved, so perhaps avoid rubbing balloons on your clothing or whatever before touching the amp).

I can recommend the Topping E30 DAC and the Schiit Asgard 3 amp as a great combo. I don't think the E30 is doing too badly in these forums for being unreliable, and no suggestion the ones which have failed have caused any damage to equipment downstream.

 

[NgtFlyer]

I'm pretty sure the small percentage of Topping L30 owners who've had their amp blow up and their headphones destroyed by it were pretty happy only moments earlier too! (There's been some suggestion that static is involved, so perhaps avoid rubbing balloons on your clothing or whatever before touching the amp).

I can recommend the Topping E30 DAC and the Schiit Asgard 3 amp as a great combo. I don't think the E30 is doing too badly in these forums for being unreliable, and no suggestion the ones which have failed have caused any damage to equipment downstream.

@JohnYang1997 stated in another thread that this problem can surface if the unit is somehow earthed (grounded). My E30/L30 are plugged in using their included power supplies into the same power strip, and the only audio feed from my computer is via TOSlink cable. So with this setup, I think I am pretty safe, and will wait for the ESD fixed version to be released. I also don't have a habit of shuffling my feet or rubbing balloons, so there's that, too.

 

[threni]

@JohnYang1997 stated in another thread that this problem can surface if the unit is somehow earthed (grounded). My E30/L30 are plugged in using their included power supplies into the same power strip, and the only audio feed from my computer is via TOSlink cable. So with this setup, I think I am pretty safe, and will wait for the ESD fixed version to be released. I also don't have a habit of shuffling my feet or rubbing balloons, so there's that, too.

I'm not sure the ESD aspect of the problem is well understood (by Topping). And...it's a long thread but I'm sure I read that this amp uses a "floating ground"; the chassis isn't earthed. Perhaps this makes the problem worse as it encourages static to flow through the amp and out the headphones instead of to ground. So 1) no idea if your setup is any more/less safe than any other setup, and 2) the fix may protect headphones but the amp could still die until the ESD gets another path.