Topping L70 Headphone Amp Review

[Lttlwing16]

Does anyone know if the L70 has L/R channel balance in the settings/setup menu. I don't see it in the owners manual. I know the A70 Pro does feature channel balance in the advanced menu, but the L70 meets my needs apart from the channel balance at half the cost.

 

[Roland68]

Does anyone know if the L70 has L/R channel balance in the settings/setup menu. I don't see it in the owners manual. I know the A70 Pro does feature channel balance in the advanced menu, but the L70 meets my needs apart from the channel balance at half the cost.

The L70 doesn't have an option to adjust the channel balance.

Are you sure the A70 Pro has an adjustable channel balance?
I haven't seen it in the menu yet, and as far as I know, it doesn't have any components that allow it.

 

[Lttlwing16]

The L70 doesn't have an option to adjust the channel balance.

Are you sure the A70 Pro has an adjustable channel balance?
I haven't seen it in the menu yet, and as far as I know, it doesn't have any components that allow it.

Ah okay.

Based on the GIF from the review by techpowerup a channel balance setting can be found under the Advanced Setup Menu of the A70 pro.

From the review:

"The advanced settings are neat in offering some things I haven't seen before on TOPPING DACs, including an adjustable sound mode—off, valve, or transistor—which seemingly affects the overall timbre. It's subtle though, and I found it funny that TOPPING is deliberately trying to add some color to its otherwise transparent sound. You can also change the max output level from 4 to 5 V for XLR and 2 to 2.5 V for RCA which apparently people requested, I am not sure why given the platform is super powerful and compatible as it is. You can account for any channel imbalance here too as well as turn on/off Bluetooth and remote control, choose between using the DAC as a preamp or not, provide a custom function to the knob button, and fiddle around with the bandwidth setting in case you somehow notice jitter without an actual audio analyzer."

 

[Roland68]

Ah okay.

Based on the GIF from the review by techpowerup a channel balance setting can be found under the Advanced Setup Menu of the A70 pro.

From the review:

"The advanced settings are neat in offering some things I haven't seen before on TOPPING DACs, including an adjustable sound mode—off, valve, or transistor—which seemingly affects the overall timbre. It's subtle though, and I found it funny that TOPPING is deliberately trying to add some color to its otherwise transparent sound. You can also change the max output level from 4 to 5 V for XLR and 2 to 2.5 V for RCA which apparently people requested, I am not sure why given the platform is super powerful and compatible as it is. You can account for any channel imbalance here too as well as turn on/off Bluetooth and remote control, choose between using the DAC as a preamp or not, provide a custom function to the knob button, and fiddle around with the bandwidth setting in case you somehow notice jitter without an actual audio analyzer."

Yes, as he writes, both D70 DACs have it, but not the A70 Pro.
Personally, I haven't needed anything like that in 35 years, except in my car.

 

[Earwax]

Google topping A70 user manual download load it.

I have the A70 at home I would never use that function that said I don't recall seeing it the display menu under advanced.

User manual seems to show no option for this kind of feature.

 

[Lttlwing16]

Yes, as he writes, both D70 DACs have it, but not the A70 Pro.
Personally, I haven't needed anything like that in 35 years, except in my car.

Google topping A70 user manual download load it.

I have the A70 at home I would never use that function that said I don't recall seeing it the display menu under advanced.

User manual seems to show no option for this kind of feature.

Ope - my mistake. Guess I'm back looking for a headphone amp with L/R balance control again. Too bad as the A70 pro looked perfect.

 

[Earwax]

Ope - my mistake. Guess I'm back looking for a headphone amp with L/R balance control again. Too bad as the A70 pro looked perfect.

Curious why you want tobe abel to balance the left and right speaker at different volumes ?

 

[Lttlwing16]

Curious why you want tobe abel to balance the left and right speaker at different volumes ?

I have unbalanced hearing. My right ear has a slight deficit so a mono signal played equally in both ears ends up biased to the left.

 

[starence]

Ope - my mistake. Guess I'm back looking for a headphone amp with L/R balance control again. Too bad as the A70 pro looked perfect.

I believe some of the Lake People amps have that feature.

 

[Roland68]

I have unbalanced hearing. My right ear has a slight deficit so a mono signal played equally in both ears ends up biased to the left.

I believe some of the Lake People amps have that feature.

Yes, the G108 and the G105 MKII have a balance control, as do some of the more expensive Violectric units.

You can also look for used units. These units are very durable, robust, and easy to repair.

 

[Earwax]

Finished Critical listening comparisons of the L70 vs A70 pro.

Keeping the L70 I found it to have more purity.

 

[IgorD]

Finished Critical listening comparisons of the L70 vs A70 pro.

What kind of test was it? A blind one, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A/B_testing?

 

[robbiekhan]

Looking to get the L70 as am receiving the new FiiO Warmer R2R DAC shortly and need a headphones amp that has balanced in at the back as well as out to serve my PA7 power amp. Effectively being a mostly transparent pre-amp and headphones amp. From everything that I have watched and read so far it seems the L70 will satisfy that need as it is as wide staging as the source music recording is,and still retains excellent detail and inaudible noise levels. I want to be able to hear the Warmer R2R sound signature through both headphones and speakers.

Other than Singxer SA-2 and the Topping A90D, I'm not seeing any other compact units that have the same hardware features (inc ground loop lift switch at the back as I am in the UK and our 50Hz can have hum issues).

Thoughts welcome, the L70 matches my PA7's styling so would stack nicely next to the Warmer R2R on my desk.

 

[Roland68]

Looking to get the L70 as am receiving the new FiiO Warmer R2R DAC shortly and need a headphones amp that has balanced in at the back as well as out to serve my PA7 power amp. Effectively being a mostly transparent pre-amp and headphones amp. From everything that I have watched and read so far it seems the L70 will satisfy that need as it is as wide staging as the source music recording is,and still retains excellent detail and inaudible noise levels. I want to be able to hear the Warmer R2R sound signature through both headphones and speakers.

Other than Singxer SA-2 and the Topping A90D, I'm not seeing any other compact units that have the same hardware features (inc ground loop lift switch at the back as I am in the UK and our 50Hz can have hum issues).

Thoughts welcome, the L70 matches my PA7's styling so would stack nicely next to the Warmer R2R on my desk.

The L70 offers unbeatable value for money.
You'll either have to compromise on performance or features, or pay more.
Alternatively, a (perhaps used) Singxer SA-1/2 isn't a bad choice either.
I own both the L70 and the SA-1 and I can live well with both.

 

[robbiekhan]

Thanks, the only downside to the SIngxer is non display or remote, and I kind of like the relay volume control on the Toppings as interacting with the dial and the noise is nice, though Singxers have toggle switches which I also like.

I think the L70 makes most sense as it matches my PA7 so will just go for that I think once the Warmer R2R arrives.

 

[Roland68]

Thanks, the only downside to the SIngxer is non display or remote, and I kind of like the relay volume control on the Toppings as interacting with the dial and the noise is nice, though Singxers have toggle switches which I also like.

I think the L70 makes most sense as it matches my PA7 so will just go for that I think once the Warmer R2R arrives.

The L70 remote control has 2 memory buttons, C1 and C2, which you can assign to presets such as volume, input, output, etc., for example to switch between headphones and speakers without having to change anything else.

 

[robbiekhan]

Yeah that's similar to the DX5 II I had previously and I liked that feature on the remote has to be said.

 

[Nordling]

I have the Topping L70 for three years now and it's proven to be a reliable device to me. I only use it as a preamplifier and I use balanced cables only, which is a good way to prevent hum.

 

[robbiekhan]

I ended up buying th A90 D as I pooed th aesthetics and build quality, really impressed with it!

 

[sambol]

L70 V1.16 firmware update - TOPPING AUDIO

www.toppingaudio.com

No changelog.