Topping L30 Headphone Amplifier Review

[JohnYang1997]

In the area where I live, the temperature rises above 38 degrees Celsius in the summer. Therefore, the room temperature often reaches 30 degrees.
At that time the E30 gets really hot. I didn't measure it directly with a thermometer, but since I was involved in the design of professional broadcasting equipment for a long time at a Japanese company, I can imagine the temperature rise of the device with the feeling of my hand.
However, it is not possible to reproduce it now because the season is autumn and the temperature has dropped significantly.
However, I don't think that such a temperature rise will be a big problem for the internal parts. However, I am a little worried about the deterioration of the chemical capacitors.
I think Topping uses a capacitor with a temperature resistance of 105 degrees Celsius.

So room temperature was 38c instead of 28c. Then it's expected temperature. It's probably the highest recommended operating temperature for L30.

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

Aside from measurements we are here to enjoy the glory of music. Recently I found a fantastic musician on You Tube who plays on the ancient Chinese instrument Erhu and is performing covers by himself or with a very talented female singer from France. Two of these songs really show the technical capability of Topping L30.

Nice songs, too bad we can't find them above 320 Kbps.
I especially enjoyed the second one as I like medieval / heroic fantasy type music.
I guess y'all know this one then, right ? I mean, if you liked the second one, then you must like this one :

(sorry for the off-topic, I just had to - don't get me started on music )

 

[Viper Necklampy]

Is it recommended to put L30 on top of the stack above the E30? For the temperature part also..

 

[Vini darko]

Is it recommended to put L30 on top of the stack above the E30? For the temperature part also..

Yes , also looks neater imo as the l30 is shorter

 

[facboy]

Yes , also looks neater imo as the l30 is shorter

mine are the same size? well within a mm or so

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

Both bodies are exactly the same depth (12.5 cm), BUT the L30 has a volume knob that gives it 9mm more for a total of 13.4 cm.

 

[Vini darko]

Both bodies are exactly the same depth (12.5 cm), BUT the L30 has a volume knob that gives it 9mm more for a total of 13.4 cm.

View attachment 86643View attachment 86644

Oh my mistake thanks for the correction.

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

You're welcome Also, weirdly, they don't seem to have the same feet, although you can hardly see it in the real world pictures. Really Topping ?

 

[Veri]

You're welcome Also, weirdly, they don't seem to have the same feet, although you can hardly see it in the real world pictures. Really Topping ?

send feet pics

 

[facboy]

You're welcome Also, weirdly, they don't seem to have the same feet, although you can hardly see it in the real world pictures. Really Topping ?

the feet change from batch to batch anyway. my early batch E30 had different feet to my later one.

 

[Vini darko]

 

[raif71]

The L30 really heats up when the room temperature exceeds 28 degrees Celsius. It's not that I can't hold it in my hand, but it's the hottest semiconductor device I've ever experienced. I think it's well above 50 degrees Celsius.
Recently, the outside temperature has dropped and the temperature rise of L30 is less than 40 degrees. At this time, the A50s next to the L30 feels warm.
I see a picture of using E30 and L30 in layers, but it is not possible in my environment.

I basically don't turn off the power. It remains energized.

You don't turn off power so that your device is energized and perhaps last longer?

Quite a feat there by Tarantino, maybe Topping could make an effort so that all the feet fit

 

[ninetylol]

Would a device with 320 Ohms output impedance be a problem with the 2500 Ohm input impedance of the L30?

Edit:

2.5k for mid and high gain setting. 7.5k for low gain setting.

@JohnYang1997 If i put the L30 in Low Gain (-9db) the input impedance changes to 7500? If so the 320 Ohm Device would be fine ofcourse but would it be a problem at medium and high gain?

Edit2: Why is the distortion higher in low gain than in unity gain and high gain? Is it because of the different impedance? Not that its bad, i just want to know the technical background for this.

 

[Veri]

Why is the distortion higher in low gain than in unity gain and high gain? Is it because of the different impedance? Not that its bad, i just want to know the technical background for this.

From JohnYang:
There's a resistor in series. The equivalent resistance is 5k and 2.5k in parallel. In mid gain, there's no resistor in the signal forward path, hence lowest noise.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Would a device with 320 Ohms output impedance be a problem with the 2500 Ohm input impedance of the L30?

Edit:

@JohnYang1997 If i put the L30 in Low Gain (-9db) the input impedance changes to 7500? If so the 320 Ohm Device would be fine ofcourse but would it be a problem at medium and high gain?

Edit2: Why is the distortion higher in low gain than in unity gain and high gain? Is it because of the different impedance? Not that its bad, i just want to know the technical background for this.

It wouldn't be a problem. What you need in the end is the loudness. If not loud enough in mid gain, put it in high gain. Think out of the box.

 

[JohnYang1997]

You're welcome Also, weirdly, they don't seem to have the same feet, although you can hardly see it in the real world pictures. Really Topping ?

New E30 all use round feet like L30.

 

[ninetylol]

It wouldn't be a problem. What you need in the end is the loudness. If not loud enough in mid gain, put it in high gain. Think out of the box.

Just checking back in case of missunderstanding. You know im talking about DAC to amp impedance right? Will i just lose some voltage when DAC to Amp impedance ratio is not 1:10? Or will worse things happen?

 

[solderdude]

You will loose some output voltage.
When your source is AC coupled there might be some subbass roll-off
It could be the source has slightly higher THD but most opamps have little problem driving a 2k load.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Just checking back in case of missunderstanding. You know im talking about DAC to amp impedance right? Will i just lose some voltage when DAC to Amp impedance ratio is not 1:10? Or will worse things happen?

You will be only losing some loudness. But it also depends on the device. The specification of 320ohm is not very informative. As is, I'll take it as resistive output impedance with 320 across frequency range. If it's not, eg has output coupling cap, impedance will rise dramatically at low frequency causing more roll off.

 

[ninetylol]

Thanks i just ordered a L30

I will test if theres a subbass rolloff in mid gain vs low gain. My headphones are very easy to drive so low gain should be my best case anyway.