Topping L30 Headphone Amplifier Review

[JohnYang1997]

Thanks. Shenzen Audio, Ali Express, etc are not fulfilling orders to India. There are issues (Covid and political) importing from bigger e-commerce companies in China. I waited for many weeks for some orders to even get fulfilled. That's the reason I enquired about US.

https://www.headphonezone.in/

 

[JohnYang1997]

Thanks, John. HZ is the best option but they don't have L30. I already inquired with them. Partly, the problem is the Topping popularity . There is no guarantee that stocks will last even a day. I don't think they are are taking pre-orders too.

Anyways, thanks for your response.

That's still your best bet, IMHO.

 

[catalogguy]

Is 6 inches the ideal length of RCA cable to connect the L30 to my D10s? Trying to minimize desktop clutter, but 6 inches seems really short!

 

[infinitesymphony]

Well, convenience for power, cable management plus 'elegance' sometimes are valuable items, especially when they are not too expensive. But hey, it was just a thought I wanted to share, not the best idea evidently.

What you want will probably be addressed with the next round of Topping DAC/amp combos.

 

[frogmeat69]

Is 6 inches the ideal length of RCA cable to connect the L30 to my D10s? Trying to minimize desktop clutter, but 6 inches seems really short!

As short as you can use, but if it's too short, that's a problem, too. So, if 6 inches is too short, try a 1ft. cable, still quite short.
I have cables that are about 6 inches, but are very flexible and thin, so no problems. They were custom made by someone I can't remember the name of.

 

[facboy]

Is 6 inches the ideal length of RCA cable to connect the L30 to my D10s? Trying to minimize desktop clutter, but 6 inches seems really short!

must...resist...

 

[raif71]

must...resist...

I must, I must, I must resist my ...

 

[fun]

Received the JDS Labs OL Switcher today. Use it to input switch between the E30 and the SACD/CD player, and output switch between L30 and PA3. Works nicely so far. Quite a bit of cables going on .

 

[raif71]

Received the JDS Labs OL Switcher today. Use it to input switch between the E30 and the SACD/CD player, and output switch between L30 and PA3. Works nicely so far. Quite a bit of cables going on .

View attachment 82578
View attachment 82579

Nice... I'm planning to use this adapter

to connect my e30 to l30 and atom. Wonder if using said rca splitter would degrade signal to the amps ?

 

[MechEngVic]

Well, convenience for power, cable management plus 'elegance' sometimes are valuable items, especially when they are not too expensive. But hey, it was just a thought I wanted to share, not the best idea evidently.

There has been much discussion about the power supply previously in this thread. John explained that a lot of time and effort went into the power supply and it is part of the reason why the L30 measures so well. It's nothing against you, he's just had to explain himself many times over.

 

[fun]

Did I see the red E30/L30 stack?

 

[kkeretic]

Nice... I'm planning to use this adapter View attachment 82581 to connect my e30 to l30 and atom. Wonder if using said rca splitter would degrade signal to the amps ?

I have tried exactly the same looking cheap adapter from my D70 to the A50+tube preamp and solid state amp+different tube preamp and the result was a big humm. Unplugged it, threw it into the trash and connected another DAC. You should connect E30 to L30 and L30 via its preamp to the atom. Well, if for any reason you want both amps to work simultaneously, I strongly suggest a separated DAC.

 

[raif71]

I have tried exactly the same looking cheap adapter from my D70 to the A50+tube preamp and solid state amp+different tube preamp and the result was a big humm. Unplugged it, threw it into the trash and connected another DAC. You should connect E30 to L30 and L30 via its preamp to the atom. Well, if for any reason you want both amps to work simultaneously, I strongly suggest a separated DAC.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[naviivan]

wish the L30 had at least 2 inputs.

made a selector switch from parts i had. Couldn’t wait for parts these days as stage 4 lockdown means every takes forever to arrive in Melbourne.


left and right ground is also switched out with 4 pole Eizz switch, Milspec 18ga. silver plated teflon wire, gaofei rhodium solderless RCAs & 1 set of neutrik RCAs.

L30 sits on top of the large chassis for the switch which is good as i think it acts like a heatsink + i no longer stack everything

 

[Vini darko]

wish the L30 had at least 2 inputs.

made a selector switch from parts i had. Couldn’t wait for parts these days as stage 4 lockdown means every takes forever to arrive in Melbourne.


left and right ground is also switched out with 4 pole Eizz switch, Milspec 18ga. silver plated teflon wire, gaofei rhodium solderless RCAs & 1 set of neutrik RCAs.

L30 sits on top of the large chassis for the switch which is good as i think it acts like a heatsink + i no longer stack everything

I love how the switch is the biggest and probably the most fancy thing there. Very nice diy sir.

 

[ImFilippo]

Hi, I currently have a Fiio K5 Pro and the Moondrop Starfields (100$ IEM well reviewed) but I have a problem; even at the lowest gain level (with windows volume at 100%) I have to keep the volume very low. Is it the same for the topping L30 (perhaps combined with an E30)? or does it have a "higher volume range" at lower gain?

 

[raif71]

Hi, I currently have a Fiio K5 Pro and the Moondrop Starfields (100$ IEM well reviewed) but I have a problem; even at the lowest gain level (with windows volume at 100%) I have to keep the volume very low. Is it the same for the topping L30 (perhaps combined with an E30)? or does it have a "higher volume range" at lower gain?

Yes, it is true. I too have the K5 Pro and volume wise, the fiio wins but sound wise, I prefer L30 (using with E30). YMMV

 

[danweast]

Hi, I currently have a Fiio K5 Pro and the Moondrop Starfields (100$ IEM well reviewed) but I have a problem; even at the lowest gain level (with windows volume at 100%) I have to keep the volume very low. Is it the same for the topping L30 (perhaps combined with an E30)? or does it have a "higher volume range" at lower gain?

I hooked up an IE80 to the L30, which is more sensitive than the Starfields, and at low gain I'm at about 9 o'clock for medium-loud listening and I feel like I've got enough volume travel up and down. So you should be fine.

 

[Markee]

Finally I got my L30+E30 on Thursday from audiophonics.fr. These replaced my Cobalt for desktop usage. I use Topping 25cm RCA cables, I have no issue with the size of the RCA connectors, the cable just fit perfectly. The L30 adapter is heavy and big, you could kill people with it, but no issue it's doing the job. Yes the cable is a bit short, but just enough for me. On the heat side, after several hours of usage they are just normal warm. The sound and the volume is good for me. I have no much experience with amps and dacs, but I have used EQ on my 58X before and now I switched off and quite happy with the results. And especially with my D5200 I don't know if my brain tricks me or not, but with Topping stack I hear a little more bass which is awesome for me So I'm quite happy with L30+E30 so far.

 

[zenki]

Hi, I currently have a Fiio K5 Pro and the Moondrop Starfields (100$ IEM well reviewed) but I have a problem; even at the lowest gain level (with windows volume at 100%) I have to keep the volume very low. Is it the same for the topping L30 (perhaps combined with an E30)? or does it have a "higher volume range" at lower gain?

IEMs hardly go past 9 o'clock. The only one I've tried that can is e3k