Topping L30 II Review (Headphone Amp)

[staticV3]

@amirm why is this amp not on the graphs on the newer reviews? Is this not recommended? https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...most-quiet-headphone-amp-reviewed-png.318638/

I don't know if that's why Amir no longer shows the L30II's 50mV SNR result, but his original measurement of >100dB is probably a measurement error as the AP Analyzer is incapable of measuring such low noise values.

You need to use an external LNA to faithfully measure the L30 II's noise output, as the APx555 alone is not good enough:


If you do, then >105dB SNR @50mV can be measured, as you can see here: https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/topping-l30ii/

The 50mV chart and the SINAD chart, to me at least, show how Amir's APx555 can no longer keep up with new releases and instead, he's just measuring his analyzer's inherent noise and distortion over and over again.

 

[Haydos]

I don't know if that's why Amir no longer shows the L30II's 50mV SNR result, but his original measurement of >100dB is probably a measurement error as the AP Analyzer is incapable of measuring such low noise values.

You need to use an external LNA to faithfully measure the L30 II's noise output, as the APx555 alone is not good enough.

If you do, then >105dB SNR @50mV can be measured, as you can see here: https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/topping-l30ii/

The 50mV chart and the SINAD chart, to me at least, show how Amir's APx555 can no longer keep up with new releases and instead, he's just measuring his analyzer's inherent noise and distortion over and over again.

Wow thankyou for your amazing response. If I was looking for the best amp with the lowest sinad would this be it? I don't really care about how audible it is I know it's way below audibility.

 

[staticV3]

Wow thankyou for your amazing response. If I was looking for the best amp with the lowest sinad would this be it? I don't really care about how audible it is I know it's way below audibility.

If you're looking for inaudible noise and distortion, then the L30 II is definitely a good choice.

Whether it has the most inaudible noise and distortion is kind of a pointless endeavor.

Better focus on things like output power, price, aesthetics, warranty, etc. at that point.

 

[staticV3]

I know this isn't a suggestions Forum but do you have any suggestions? I can delete later

I think the L30II is the smartest all-around choice at the moment.

But if you want to use specialty headphones like the the HE6 or Modhouse Tungsten, then you may be better served elsewhere.

 

[Haydos]

I think the L30II is the smartest all-around choice at the moment.

But if you want to use specialty headphones like the the HE6 or Modhouse Tungsten, then you may be better served elsewhere.

Thanks

 

[Miiksuli]

If you're looking for inaudible noise and distortion, then the L30 II is definitely a good choice.

Whether it has the most inaudible noise and distortion is kind of a pointless endeavor.

Better focus on things like output power, price, aesthetics, warranty, etc. at that point.

For me it's good to have easy gain control and pre-amp. I use a tube amp. I can easily choose which electrostatic hp to dynamic to adjust gain, keeping volume at 100% from the L30 II and not blowing my ears. Some reviewers don't like this amp because it's uncolored and does not have particularly functional synergy. That was actually the reason I wanted that. My tube amp can do the magic trick.

 

[goxhe]

Hello,
I started to use my active speakers (Audioengine A2+) at L30II's preamp mode, fyi E30 II is my DAC.

Which gain mode should i use the amp to avoid damaging speakers? I don't use it at high gain, because i don't need that high volume but ain't sure medium gain is too much for that tiny speakers.

Here's speakers specifications:

Power Output
60 W peak power total (15 W RMS / 30 W peak per channel), AES
Drivers
2.75” aramid fiber woofers
0.75“ Silk dome tweeters
Outputs
RCA variable line-out
Input Voltages
100-240 V 50/60 Hz auto-switching
SNR
>95 dB (typical A-weighted)
THD+N
<0.05% at all power settings
Crosstalk
<50 dB
Frequency Response
65 Hz-22 kHz ±2.0 dB
Input Impedence
10K ohms unbalanced
Protection
Output current limiting, thermal over-temperature, power on/off transient protection
Power Consumption
Idle: 10W

Thank you.

 

[staticV3]

Hello,
I started to use my active speakers (Audioengine A2+) at L30II's preamp mode, fyi E30 II is my DAC.

Which gain mode should i use the amp to avoid damaging speakers?

Start in Low gain. If that does not get loud enough, then switch to medium gain.

 

[adrianlimkb]

Hi to all,i am new here and nice to meet you all...
Currently looking for dis L30ii as i understand it is single end output,btw should i get e30ii to pair? Or get d lite version,or other single dac sabre dac to pair...
*As what i understand that usually dual dac is for balance output
**Can correct me if wrong

Btw,i might set to go for budget balance setup in near future,should i ignore dis and go for balance amp straight?
Would prefer to go for budget setup like L50 or SH-8s,or any other good budget option is welcome as well...

 

[staticV3]

*As what i understand that usually dual dac is for balance output

Hi @adrianlimkb! Welcome to ASR.

Dual DAC chips are usually used to increase the SNR by averaging the output of both.

You can have balanced output with just one DAC chip and also single-ended output from multiple DAC chips.

A Topping E30 II or E30 II Lite would do just fine.

If you want more features like BT input or XLR output at a similar price, then take a look at SMSL's products (C100, SU-1, M300 SE)

 

[adrianlimkb]

Hi @adrianlimkb! Welcome to ASR.

Dual DAC chips are usually used to increase the SNR by averaging the output of both.

You can have balanced output with just one DAC chip and also single-ended output from multiple DAC chips.

A Topping E30 II or E30 II Lite would do just fine.

If you want more features like BT input or XLR output at a similar price, then take a look at SMSL's products (C100, SU-1, M300 SE)

Thanks for clarify,now i have to reconsider again for my audiophile journey...

Btw,is L30ii consider one of d best single end output amp for its price? Comparing to like amp with a price tag of double or triple for d price...
(and worth keeping maybe)

As i am not sure whether to go for balance setup,if a headphone is proper powered with a single end output,would it sound like 90% and above as good as a balance setup?

 

[staticV3]

Btw,is L30ii consider one of d best single end output amp for its price?

I'd say so.
We're really spoilt for choice though in that segment. There are so many great options.

As i am not sure whether to go for balance setup,if a headphone is proper powered with a single end output,would it sound like 90% and above as good as a balance setup?

Balanced output doesn't increase sound quality at all for headphones.

 

[computer-audiophile]

Hello, I have just seen this thread again. I am very satisfied with this amplifier on the DT 880 Edition headphones. I had some other headphone amps before, but it really plays the best according to my listening. I don't need an EQ for a full and rich sound. So much for that and also a picture that I have already shown elsewhere:

 

[adrianlimkb]

I'd say so.
We're really spoilt for choice though in that segment. There are so many great options.


Balanced output doesn't increase sound quality at all for headphones.

Ic,alrite,nice.
Lets say i will set my final budget for 1000 usd to upgrade slowly.

400usd for dac and amp.
600 for headphone.

Should i get L30ii and pair with a better dac around 200usd? Like E50 or other option...
Or like getting an amp dac combo like Fiio K9 or DX5 which cost around 400 or plus.

*Currently using Fiio K5 Pro ESS with HD600...
Sounds good,but no wow factor to me as previous i was using portables,mojo mark 1 and ifi idsi black lable

 

[solderdude]

E30-II DAC + L30-II amp is already enough.
It can only just go a little louder than K5 Pro.
It won't bring the wow factor you seem to be longing for.

For wow factor you may need other headphones.

 

[staticV3]

Ic,alrite,nice.
Lets say i will set my final budget for 1000 usd to upgrade slowly.

400usd for dac and amp.
600 for headphone.

Should i get L30ii and pair with a better dac around 200usd? Like E50 or other option...
Or like getting an amp dac combo like Fiio K9 or DX5 which cost around 400 or plus.

*Currently using Fiio K5 Pro ESS with HD600...
Sounds good,but no wow factor to me as previous i was using portables,mojo mark 1 and ifi idsi black lable

I'd keep the K5 Pro ESS as its DAC is likely fully transparent already and so you won't get better sound by upgrading that aspect.

$130 for an L30II and you have an Amp that can drive most every headphone and $870 left to spend where it really matters.

 

[adrianlimkb]

E30-II DAC + L30-II amp is already enough.
It can only just go a little louder than K5 Pro.
It won't bring the wow factor you seem to be longing for.

For wow factor you may need other headphones.

Alrite,noted,for d headphone change.
*as i thought mid end dac like es9068as or high-end es9038pro will improve d audio quality by quite a step up

I'd keep the K5 Pro ESS as its DAC is likely fully transparent already and so you won't get better sound by upgrading that aspect.

$130 for an L30II and you have an Amp that can drive most every headphone and $870 left to spend where it really matters.

Alrite,will go it as ur way then,thanks for d advice...
Might be able to L30ii jz slightly under 100usd in my currency,or 120usd with d RCA cable 25cm one...
Should i jz get d topping RCA cable?
*Or get something like 10usd will be good,i see quite a lot material plated like crystal copper ,silver,gold and etc...

 

[staticV3]

Should i jz get d topping RCA cable?
*Or get something like 10usd will be good,i see quite a lot material plated like crystal copper ,silver,gold and etc...

Fancy materials do not affect sound quality.

 

[IAtaman]

Fancy materials do not affect sound quality.

How about uranium? Uranium is fancy. I bet uranium cables would affect quality of sound you can hear in the long run.

 

[nanook]

I'm pretty sure it's an outlier. We guarantee less than 0.5db deviation down to -40db attenuation. You can swap for a new one if you find yours outside the spec.

I can confirm this number.
The two wipers seem to have some mechanical play on the shaft on my unit, so numbers are slightly different each time you adjust the target attenuation when measuring.

This is about what I got from my unit when feeding 1Vrms:

Att L[mVrms] R[mVrms] delta[dB]
0dB 999 999 0.00
-10dB 318.9 311.9 -0.19
-20dB 101.1 98.61 -0.22
-30dB 31.59 31.06 -0.15
-40dB 10.04 10.07 0.03
-50dB 3.14 3.7 1.43
-60dB not reproducible enough to state numbers

Since -14dB and +16.5dB can be covered by the gain switch, shooting for 40dB attenuation with good matching is a very good compromise to my opinion.

If you compare this to the really good (and really expensive) potentiometer CP2500 from TKD, you can see that promising 0.5dB down to 40dB attenuation is indeed really good. (https://www.tkd-corp.com/en/products/att/cp2500-spec.html)
Matching accuracy
0 - 10dB: 1.0dB
- 30dB: 1.5dB
- 42dB: 2.5dB
I expect that their specification is quite conservative and probably most units are far better since trimming of the ladder circuit is involved; this is just speculation however.

There is a German online shop that offers selected units of the CP2500 with a tighter specification:
Gleichlauf bis -40dB: max +/- 0.3dB; typ < +/- 0.1dB
BUT: The CP2500 is a lot bigger compared to the one in the L30II (so surely no direct replacement) and this selected CP2500 is offered for almost 90 Euro (!).

There is a smaller companion from TKD, the CP601 (https://www.tkd-corp.com/en/products/att/cp600-spec.html).
Matching accuracy [Load: high]:
0 - 10dB: 0.6dB
- 30dB: 1.0dB

Both are constructed a bit different compared to a normal potentiometer, so they cannot be used as a variable resistor. They can only be operated as a voltage divider, which is the usual implementation for a volume control.
This web-page is explaining this somewhat special potentiometer (see section "Attenuator Information"): https://www.tkd-corp.com/en/technology.html

For comparison, the well known ALPS RK27112 (not really cheap either):

RK27112A0A16 Product information | RK271 Series | Rotary Potentiometer (Metal shaft type) | Potentiometers | Products Search | Products & Technologies | Alps Alpine

RK271 Series RK27112A0A16 Type : Metal shaft type ･ Size : 27mm Size ･ Number of resistor elements : Single-unit, Dual-unit ･ Attached switch : Without

tech.alpsalpine.com

Gang error
-70dB to 60dB 3dB max.
-60dB to 0dB 2dB max.

The long story short: Keeping the target of 0.5dB matching down to 40dB attenuation should be considered as excellent from my point of view - especially considering the price point. If you want excellent matching at even higher attenuation, the stepped attenuator is the right choice.