Topping L30 Headphone Amplifier Review

[Jimbob54]

Just a quick question guys:

Right now I'm using E30 in preamp mode with a netbook and a power amp. I'm planning to buy L30. If I plug it between E30 and my power amp, will I still be able to use the volume control of E30 when using my power amp? YES But I would experiment and find the loudest L30 pre amp setting you would want coming through your speakers with the E30 at nearly full volume- remember that gain and dial position (or mark it on the device) then use the E30 remote to fine tune the volume during listening at your convenience.

And also does the L30 volume knob work only for headphones or for preamp mode as well? BOTH- there is a switch but the vol knob applies to both- see comments above and apply same logic to headphone listening.

see comments by each ?

 

[w1000i]

Suppose I found a dac or dac/amp that has SE output say 5V (rms), will the L30 be able to handle it. Thanks

Chord Mojo can output 4.5V, I love to hear that through L30

 

[Veri]

Chord Mojo can output 4.5V, I love to hear that through L30

Unless you need ear bleeding volume there is really no point to having such a high input voltage.

 

[raif71]

Chord Mojo can output 4.5V, I love to hear that through L30

I have the Mojo but it's with another friend now. My usual setup of Hiby R5-->e30-->l30 is now Hiby R5-->l30 and this has some good improvements in terms of volume dialing. Previous setup with e30 playing dsd64 of Beethoven 5th by Carlos Klieber at 0db, I maxed the volume but with Hiby R5, balanced 4.4mm out, high gain and line-out mode, I'm happy to say that l30 volume is around 2:30 @0db. I couldn't find the specs of Hiby R5 balanced mode voltage but it must be more than 2V. I have more volume now with classical music sources

fyi, connection from hiby r5 to l30 is using 4.4mm pentaconn to rca cable, headphone using senn hd600

 

[Billy Budapest]

I have been designing for quite a few months now. I'll let it mature first. There was even a tube hybrid design with 0.00005% best case THD.

A tube design with good measurements is something I would like to see. Why? Not because of any sort of claimed sonic superiority of tubes, but because of the engineering chops it would demonstrate.

 

[endrus]

May I also have a bit of clarification on the volume schemes of E30+L30 duo?

I plan to use it in the following setup:

Pi4 => USB => E30 (DAC only) => RCA => L30 => front 6.35mm => Headphone (HPA setting)
...=> RCA => power amp (PRE setting)
...=> RCA => 3rd party pre-amp (OFF setting)
...=> RCA => 3rd party pre-amp (RCA split cable?)

So my questions are:
-when E30 is in DAC only mode, remote / E30 front panel volume control is not working? Volume adjustment is only possible on L30, which has no RC, right?
-when L30 is in OFF mode, is there a pass-through of the 0dB RCA signal from the DAC? Should I not like the SQ of the L30 can I connect L30 RCA out to my existing pre-amp?
-Would it be better to connect my existing tube pre-amp to DAC RCA out with an RCA slip cable? (shorter signal path)

 

[Jimbob54]

May I also have a bit of clarification on the volume schemes of E30+L30 duo?

I plan to use it in the following setup:

Pi4 => USB => E30 (DAC only) => RCA => L30 => front 6.35mm => Headphone (HPA setting)
...=> RCA => power amp (PRE setting)
...=> RCA => 3rd party pre-amp (OFF setting)
...=> RCA => 3rd party pre-amp (RCA split cable?)

So my questions are:
-when E30 is in DAC only mode, remote / E30 front panel volume control is not working? Volume adjustment is only possible on L30, which has no RC, right?yes and yes
-when L30 is in OFF mode, is there a pass-through of the 0dB RCA signal from the DAC? Should I not like the SQ of the L30 can I connect L30 RCA out to my existing pre-amp? Don't know, don't think so. The RCA out would need amp on and switched to pre amp to get sound out
-Would it be better to connect my existing tube pre-amp to DAC RCA out with an RCA slip cable? (shorter signal path)no idea

See above

 

[half_dog]

-when L30 is in OFF mode, is there a pass-through of the 0dB RCA signal from the DAC? Should I not like the SQ of the L30 can I connect L30 RCA out to my existing pre-amp?

I'm not sure but i think there is no pass-through when L30 is off. You have to toggle it to PRE to get signal from RCA output. Technically L30 is clean enough to not to "spoil" the signal any how.

 

[fun]

I'm not sure but i think there is no pass-through when L30 is off. You have to toggle it to PRE to get signal from RCA output. Technically L30 is clean enough to not to "spoil" the signal any how.

I just confirmed this. No sound pass-thru from the pre-out when L30 is off. Since I don't need the volume control when using the pre-out (power amp has volume control), for me, the downside of using L30 pre-out is consuming power and heat generation. I am getting an RCA switch to bypass L30 if I want to listen through speakers.

 

[koravei]

This week i finally received the L30 + E30 stack! Last 3 days i listened to wide range of music styles with my HD600. I played with the volume and i was curious which will be the optimal power for long listening sessions and how my ears will adapt. If someone remembers before some weeks, how i asked questions about L30 and i was hungry for power ... Now i must say that THIS AMP HAS PLENTY OF POWER, much much more than my ears can handle! As soon as i turned it on, i wanted to listen loud every detail, so i tried with the highest power mode. But after a while i felt this is too much for my ears and i jumped to 0dB. Today i made more experiments, while trying to feel my ears more relaxed with minimum signs of fatigue for long time. So the final result was the lowest power mode -9dB around 12 o'clock! I plan to buy sound level meter and measure the power in my headphones, when they will reach 85 dB and i will mark the healthy power limit.

 

[half_dog]

Something that's surprise me is how clean it sounds. It gives a sensation over instrument separation that it's not exactly better or wider, but it's easier to spot "silent" among the instruments even when there is any "stretching" (e.g.: delay effect under 10ms) on it to make it wider. You can tell how wide it is, its lateral limits - reminds me high contrast painels. I can't tell that't better than Atom, this has the same sensation about separation, but intruments sounds a little bit more diffuse, overlaid. Depending how the listener may interpret it, someone could say Atom is better "because" is more natural, but I believe this is related to the recording. And the treble is sooo smooth on this, listening to cymbals when there is low compression on it sounds really "natural" - much easier to "appreciate" its envelope.

I "see" placebo everywhere

Another thing, -9dB is more than enough for most of my music library even with a HD650 but I keet it at 0dB 'cause... numbers.

 

[koravei]

Something that's surprise me is how clean it sounds. It gives a sensation over instrument separation that it's not exactly better or wider, but it's easier to spot "silent" among the instruments even when there is any "stretching" (e.g.: delay effect under 10ms) on it to make it wider. You can tell how wide it is, its lateral limits - reminds me high contrast painels. I can't tell that't better than Atom, this has the same sensation about separation, but intruments sounds a little bit more diffuse, overlaid. Depending how the listener may interpret it, someone could say Atom is better "because" is more natural, but I believe this is related to the recording. And the treble is sooo smooth on this, listening to cymbals when there is low compression on it sounds really "natural" - much easier to "appreciate" its envelope.

I "see" placebo everywhere

Another thing, -9dB is more than enough for most of my music library even with a HD650 but I keet it at 0dB 'cause... numbers.

I share the same experience, very clear and natural sound! When i turn up the volume, it's like the sun and wind blow away the fog and more details pop up. My question is which is better for hearing more details / better resolution / SNR, to use the whole range of -9dB or the half of 0dB power mode?

 

[JohnYang1997]

I share the same experience, very clear and natural sound! When i turn up the volume, it's like the sun and wind blow away the fog and more details pop up. My question is which is better for hearing more details / better resolution / SNR, to use the whole range of -9dB or the half of 0dB power mode?

Technically 0dB is the best performing setting. Normally -9dB is to provide more usable volume range for sensitive IEMs, 9dB is to provide more power for headphones that just can't get enough volume in 0dB max volume.

 

[Jerry Bruckheimer Fan]

Technically 0dB is the best performing setting. Normally -9dB is to provide more usable volume range for sensitive IEMs, 9dB is to provide more power for headphones that just can't get enough volume in 0dB max volume.

I guess that answers my questions about that! I just got my E30&L30 combo today in the mail. Definitely better than my previous method of just plugging the headphones directly into the computer headphone jack. Great job, John! I've also grabbed all my old CDs and backed them up in lossless ALAC and replaced the previous mp3 128kbps backups.

 

[facboy]

i hadn't really considered it when i ordered from audiophonics (in france), but mine has an EU power supply unsurprisingly. is there a UK power supply available? at the moment i'm just using an adapter, which isn't the end of the world but is a bit untidy.

 

[Veri]

i hadn't really considered it when i ordered from audiophonics (in france), but mine has an EU power supply unsurprisingly. is there a UK power supply available? at the moment i'm just using an adapter, which isn't the end of the world but is a bit untidy.

Unless you want to buy a UK supply from topping there's little you can do. All Audiophonics sourced amps have the EU supply.

 

[facboy]

Unless you want to buy a UK supply from topping there's little you can do. All Audiophonics sourced amps have the EU supply.

yeah, makes sense. i was wondering if topic actually have a UK supply? any idea where i can source one? @JohnYang1997

 

[Sonny]

@JohnYang1997

is there a possibility that something like the p50, but for the E30+L30, (a P30?) could make into production?

I can see it for the convenience to power both the dac and the amp with one - very clean - device. Like the P50, It could also use just a IEC cable, so no need for the external bricks, plus no problem for different version of the plugs etc.

Maybe it's just me, but I think that a E30 L30 P30 could be a super nice stack. Anyone?

 

[CtheArgie]

Ugh, my amp arrived. The cable to the power supply should be longer. Way too short.

 

[Vini darko]

Ugh, my amp arrived. The cable to the power supply should be longer. Way too short.

Yeah I'll be using a extension cord for the power too.