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Topping L30 & Fiio E10k/ HD58X - New headphones or Topping E30?

cheapzzi

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Hi,

I really dont know what should i buy next. Last week i bought L30 from aliexpress and it is really good amp, so i am wondering if I should upgrade my DAC or buy new Headphones. I would probably buy something like DT880 600 Ohm or Hifiman HE400i. But still i cant decide what i really want.
 

3125b

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While the E10K is not technically transparent, it does ok as a DAC subjectively, for me at least.
You might get some improvement from a better DAC like E30, but don't expect huge differences.
Ultimately, nobody can decide for you.
I would say that, if the headphones you are looking at would just add to your already large collection, a DAC would be the better choice. If however the headphones would be an improvement over your current ones, go for those.
 

highpurityusbcable

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Hello, OP. So, what was your decision? I also have E10K for quite some time now and was one step away from buying 9038S G3, but in this case I'd have to buy 3 new balanced cables (2 for iems and one for HE400i) which would cost almost $100. Then L30 was announced and released and I still can't decide. Thought about using e10k as a dac only but I already see that it would be underwhelming to use a nice new amp with it. 9038S is also too good and I absolutely see myself enjoying it very much but for the price of these balanced cables I can buy something more useful. Have to admit that I can't afford too much.
 
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cheapzzi

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Hello, OP. So, what was your decision? I also have E10K for quite some time now and was one step from buying 9038S G3, but in this case I'd have to buy 3 new balanced cables (2 for iems and one for HE400i) which would cost almost $100. Then L30 was announced and released and I still can't decide. Thought about using e10k as a dac only but I already see that it would be underwhelming to use a nice new amp with it. 9038S is also too good and I absolutely see myself enjoying it very much but for the price of these balanced cables I can buy something more useful. Have to admit that I can't afford too much.

I ordered E30 yesterday. It's not like E10k isn't enough for me but i want something more. I dont want to buy new things in the near future so I just ordered what i thing is enough for me. Well shame that i dont have money for new headphone so i am stucked with HD58X with felt mod, but they are amazing.
 

highpurityusbcable

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I ordered E30 yesterday. It's not like E10k isn't enough for me but i want something more. I dont want to buy new things in the near future so I just ordered what i thing is enough for me. Well shame that i dont have money for new headphone so i am stucked with HD58X with felt mod, but they are amazing.
Alright, I understand. Enjoy.
If only something like L30 with a more or less decent dac chip inside would appear then I wouldn't even think twice.
 
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cheapzzi

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Alright, I understand. Enjoy.
If only something like L30 with a more or less decent dac chip inside would appear then I wouldn't even think twice.
Believe me, everybody wil bought it. I was thinking about DX3 Pro and I am still little sad about not picking it up, but i will see how the Topping stack is. I will be buying Hifiman in the near the end of the year. I am really excited about it
 

highpurityusbcable

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Believe me, everybody wil bought it. I was thinking about DX3 Pro and I am still little sad about not picking it up, but i will see how the Topping stack is. I will be buying Hifiman in the near the end of the year. I am really excited about it
DX3 Pro won't work for me because of high output impedance, IEMs will suffer. Maybe they will fix it with DX3 Ultra Pro but who knows when it will happen.
If you will buy HE400i I recommend searching this forum for the equalization thread. There will be a nice preset for Foobar2000 that make these headphones really smooth without any sacrifices.
 
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