Topping L30 Headphone Amplifier Review

[Rock Rabbit]

What kind of answer is this? I'm sure those guys that saw their headphones frying were enjoying the L30 a lot. Safety is not related to enjoyment, as I could enjoy my L30 even if it was defective (if I didn't know).
The issue here is that there are some cases of this, and so I'm not 100% sure when using it.
I don't know what do you do in your life, and I'm nobody to judge, but I'm a student and there are very rare cases in which I have something left after university bills, and other stuff, so every penny has to be super well spent. If I fry one of my headphones, I cannot buy another one the next day and nobody else is gonna buy a new pair for me, so yes, I have all the rights to be worried.


No, I'm in Europe.
Fortunately, I have ordered from Amazon, so my purchase is "super safe". I will wait some days in order to figure out if Topping tells us more specific infos for users that have old batches. I don't feel comfortable using this, and for now I won't use it.
If there will be no further info, I will just send it back and buy something else. I wanna be 100% sure I won't damage anything connected to it.

To take in consideration:
- too few cases to make some statistics of "security" of use.
- the supossed failure (ESD) has not been replicated by Topping.
- the burned op amp failure happened at turn on (user don't say it was ESD)
- failure suggest a "possible" batch of op amps with problems.
And there's no 100% security or no problems in anything...your computer could fail, hdd could fail and lost everything etc. Everything has some failure rate. Is sad to hear some "probable" (for now) problems in the gear that make unusable DC protection and fry hp, but what company can assure you 100% reliability? and no external damage?...at reasonable price.

 

[filo97s]

Just a thought.
@JohnYang1997 you said that the device was never tested for ESD compatibility, and you said that only now you've bought the insulation resistance tester to perform an analysis on this fault, but per IEC 61000-4-2 required to obtain the CE certification and the subsequent marketing of a product on the European territory, the ESD test is mandatory alongside a bunch of other EMC tests... Every company invests money doing that.
Even HiFiman, of which I have an headphone, and a brand that certainly doesn't shine for its QC on build quality has the ESD test on their headphones. And those are "passive" components. An amp should be tested better before putting it on the market.

 

[nxnje]

To take in consideration:
- too few cases to make some statistics of "security" of use.
- the supossed failure (ESD) has not been replicated by Topping.
- the burned op amp failure happened at turn on (user don't say it was ESD)
- failure suggest a "possible" batch of op amps with problems.
And there's no 100% security or no problems in anything...your computer could fail, hdd could fail and lost everything etc. Everything has some failure rate. Is sad to hear some "probable" (for now) problems in the gear that make unusable DC protection and fry hp, but what company can assure you 100% reliability? and no external damage?...at reasonable price.

The situation is pretty different.
Other than the unit itself, some other things can happen in this case.
One of the guys that posted earlier had a pair of IEMs that fried while connected to the L30, resulting in an deafening noise coming from the IEM itself.
This is a safety problem as well.
If one of my IEMs fries in my ears and produce a violent noise, it's not just about losing a $200 IEM (and this could even be one of the major reasons why I'm sending this product back, I cannot risk damage my own things because a product is not 100% safe), but also a safety reason.

You can say your L30 works like charm and so can I considering I can power it on and plug my earphones with no problems, but what if it fails destroying a pair of headphones I bought saving my hard earned money?
This is the same thing that always happened with PCs: people usually used crap PSU to power their PC, knowing they were 100% safe, and they always went around saying "it works like charm".
If something happens and it fails, you put in the garbage all the stuff you power with that PSU.

So yes, everything has a failure rate, but if I lose my HDD at least it won't fry my other PC components nor it will be able to damage me (and in case of the amplifier, people who reported this also say they heard a deafening sound which is everything except healty).

Keep your L30 if you feel safe, I don't actually, and I really hope Topping will look into this as soon as possible. Their "brand image" will definitely get a strong impact if they don't handle this carefully.
This thread is getting shared everywhere and so are the many other posts elsewhere, so many people know about this problem and they're interested in how this will be handled.

Just a thought.
@JohnYang1997 you said that the device was never tested for ESD compatibility, and you said that only now you've bought the insulation resistance tester to perform an analysis on this fault, but per IEC 61000-4-2 required to obtain the CE certification and the subsequent marketing of a product on the European territory, the ESD test is mandatory alongside a bunch of other EMC tests... Every company invests money doing that.
Even HiFiman, of which I have an headphone, and a brand that certainly doesn't shine for its QC on build quality has the ESD test on their headphones. And those are "passive" components. An amp should be tested better before putting it on the market.

I have to quote this as well.
This kind of observation deserves attention and answers, I'll be waiting for it.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Just a thought.
@JohnYang1997 you said that the device was never tested for ESD compatibility, and you said that only now you've bought the insulation resistance tester to perform an analysis on this fault, but per IEC 61000-4-2 required to obtain the CE certification and the subsequent marketing of a product on the European territory, the ESD test is mandatory alongside a bunch of other EMC tests... Every company invests money doing that.
Even HiFiman, of which I have an headphone, and a brand that certainly doesn't shine for its QC on build quality has the ESD test on their headphones. And those are "passive" components. An amp should be tested better before putting it on the market.

In house testing and out sourced testing are different. We got ESD and all other parameters tested just as regular electronics. However this is special case. Hence needs different test. Nothing is even confirmed. In real world 20kV-50kV is possible. But in the standard it's 4kV. And the components are rated ar 5kV. Everything upon now is just guess. It's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Sombreuil]

The situation is pretty different.
Other than the unit itself, some other things can happen in this case.
One of the guys that posted earlier had a pair of IEMs that fried while connected to the L30, resulting in an deafening noise coming from the IEM itself.
This is a safety problem as well.
If one of my IEMs fries in my ears and produce a violent noise, it's not just about losing a $200 IEM (and this could even be one of the major reasons why I'm sending this product back, I cannot risk damage my own things because a product is not 100% safe), but also a safety reason.

You can say your L30 works like charm and so can I considering I can power it on and plug my earphones with no problems, but what if it fails destroying a pair of headphones I bought saving my hard earned money?
This is the same thing that always happened with PCs: people usually used crap PSU to power their PC, knowing they were 100% safe, and they always went around saying "it works like charm".
If something happens and it fails, you put in the garbage all the stuff you power with that PSU.

So yes, everything has a failure rate, but if I lose my HDD at least it won't fry my other PC components nor it will be able to damage me (and in case of the amplifier, people who reported this also say they heard a deafening sound which is everything except healty).

Keep your L30 if you feel safe, I don't actually, and I really hope Topping will look into this as soon as possible. Their "brand image" will definitely get a strong impact if they don't handle this carefully.
This thread is getting shared everywhere and so are the many other posts elsewhere, so many people know about this problem and they're interested in how this will be handled.


I have to quote this as well.
This kind of observation deserves attention and answers, I'll be waiting for it.

You'd be surprised how many people have problems with Schiit, JDS, etc. I've read/watched reviews of all the amps at this price range and they all have "problems" according to the loud minority. I'm not saying the L30 is perfect and we'll see what's Topping's answer, but thinking it'll be safer to buy from Schiit or any company isn't true at all.

 

[ngs428]

Thanks for your continued work and thoughts on this issue @JohnYang1997.

I plan to make sure to discharge on my metal PC case before touching my serial number 2009 L30. My headphones aren't too expensive, 6XX being the most. Also, living in WI it can get quite dry and ESD is a real issue. Last year I installed a whole home humidifier, so static has been basically nonexistent. Staying around 35% seems to work good in the winter. Too high and you can have other issues when it is brutally cold out.

Hopefully the cause can be determined and fix implemented if needed so we can all proceed on without issue.

 

[_thelaughingman]

You'd be surprised how many people have problems with Schiit, JDS, etc. I've read/watched reviews of all the amps at this price range and they all have "problems" according to the loud minority. I'm not saying the L30 is perfect and we'll see what's Topping's answer, but thinking it'll be safer to buy from Schiit or any company isn't true at all.

I second your opinion on this, just because its not evident or visible to many doesn't mean there aren't other manufacturers that have similar issues.
Being a budget audiophile is difficult. There is a trade off on quality and functionality that most of us give up for buying something that suits our budget. Not everyone can afford expensive amp/dac's that have pedigree or history and reliability that comes with being an established brand. But that also does not mean that quality can be sacrificed to have something cheap. As any new or up and coming company Topping will have to work through their Quality Assurance and Control process to regain some trust and be the champion of budget audiophiles. I personally think that @JohnYang1997 has been transparent in addressing the issue and kudos to him for being forthcoming with details that are available to him. Hopefully all of this gets rectified in a positive manner for all that are affected.

 

[highpurityusbcable]

People who can return their units and get the money back are overreacting more than anyone else. I live in a shithole and aliexpress is my only source of this type of electronics. To send a parcel back to China is a big hassle, unreliable and costly. If it will reach the destination at all.
Just return your amp to amazon buy something else and stop worrying.

 

[Giangi71]

Excuse me. I've just received an L30 and it's 2011 series... I have to worry? I use the L30 only in HPA mode (not PRE), could I have some problems? Thanks

 

[sp3ctrum]

As long as an amplifier breaks under warranty, that's not a big deal, but if it kills you $ 500 headphones, the matter changes.
This is not about a broken amp, but a product that creates financial damage and potential ear problems if your headphones explode.

 

[Veri]

Excuse me. I've just received an L30 and it's 2011 series... I have to worry? I use the L30 only in HPA mode (not PRE), could I have some problems? Thanks

Given the concerns, especially in winter and dry weather, try to make sure you have discharged/earthed yourself before touching the L30 knob or chassis. That's what I do. Never had even the slightest issue.
My L30 is sitting on top of a DAC with a chassis that is fully earthed, then L30 should be too... So in fact there is next to no chance of disaster happening. But better safe than sorry...

 

[sp3ctrum]

Given the concerns, especially in winter and dry weather, try to make sure you have discharged/earthed yourself before touching the L30 knob or chassis. That's what I do. Never had even the slightest issue.
My L30 is sitting on top of a DAC with a chassis that is fully earthed, then L30 should be too... So in fact there is next to no chance of disaster happening. But better safe than sorry...

What you say is not normal, I don't have to play my luck every time I want to listen to a song.
And then where do you have the gnd? The power supply has two poles, the gnd discharges on the RCA, headphones or other.

 

[gegebinazzi]

I think that most of the users commenting ''you are just overreacting, the seller is gonna refund your broken amp so stfu'' are missing the real concern of many people inside and outside this forum: the failure that this amp is capable of is potentially dangerous not only for you expensive headphones, but for your ears too. The pop that killed my headphones was really really loud, and I was just lucky that I was not wearing them.

This is the driver that exploded on my headphones, tell me if you would be comfortable knowing that this may happen while you are listening to music.

All of this situation would not be this big of a deal if the problem was that amps under warranty are dying, nobody cares about that, but losing gear and potentially risking your earing is something people (mostly outside this forum, where eveyone seems fine with that) are simply not accepting, ask most resellers how many requests of refund they already got.

 

[Blizz]

Excuse me. I've just received an L30 and it's 2011 series... I have to worry? I use the L30 only in HPA mode (not PRE), could I have some problems? Thanks

Same I ordered mine from Apos on 12/31 and shipped on 1/4 and also have 2011 series however my E30 is 2012 series. Maybe John mixed up the numbers(hopefully)? @JohnYang1997 Can you please confirm this

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

You'd be surprised how many people have problems with Schiit, JDS, etc. I've read/watched reviews of all the amps at this price range and they all have "problems" according to the loud minority. I'm not saying the L30 is perfect and we'll see what's Topping's answer, but thinking it'll be safer to buy from Schiit or any company isn't true at all.

There’s a big difference between buying from a domestic company that’s committed to replacing both the amp and the damaged headphones and one that requires you to ship the amp halfway across the world and won’t reimburse consumers for damaged headphones.

 

[Dr Schweinsgruber]

I main issue for most is that they feel defrauded by the manufacturer...who were aware of the flaw and still shipped the faulty units. This created a huge distrust. Topping will have to be transparent and generous from now on to limit their own future financial damage.

First, they will have to re-establish trust. Telling people their fried headphones are their own problem does not help them. They may have to rethink their strategy.

And now back to the Volkswagen Diesel scandal...

 

[frogmeat69]

I think that most of the users commenting ''you are just overreacting, the seller is gonna refund your broken amp so stfu'' are missing the real concern of many people inside and outside this forum: the failure that this amp is capable of is potentially dangerous not only for you expensive headphones, but for your ears too. The pop that killed my headphones was really really loud, and I was just lucky that I was not wearing them.

This is the driver that exploded on my headphones, tell me if you would be comfortable knowing that this may happen while you are listening to music.

All of this situation would not be this big of a deal if the problem was that amps under warranty are dying, nobody cares about that, but losing gear and potentially risking your earing is something people (mostly outside this forum, where eveyone seems fine with that) are simply not accepting, ask most resellers how many requests of refund they already got.




View attachment 105175

Nice blanket statement condemning everyone on this forum, you could have a great future as a slimy politician.

 

[Veri]

What you say is not normal, I don't have to play my luck every time I want to listen to a song.

I do agree with this of course. I'd have preferred for there to be no possible flaw or chance of disaster however small it may be
I only meant that for the time being, I'm continuing using mine and have relative trust in its functioning.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Do you own L30?

Nope. I've had issues with with three out of four Topping/SMSL products I've purchased. Not making any more mistakes.

 

[gegebinazzi]

Nice blanket statement condemning everyone on this forum, you could have a great future as a slimy politician.

I specifically said "the users that comments x", I don't understand how this can be a blanket statement.

This forum is full of helping and understanding people, and I replied only to the "you are overreacting" crowd, there's no need to feel personally attacked ¯\_(ツ)_/¯