Topping E30 DAC - The $130 DAC to beat

Topping E30 DAC and preamp with remote control. The $130 DAC to beat
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⌚ Timestamps ⌚
00:00 Intro
00:50 Whats in the box?
01:33 Physical overview and IO
02:52 Specifications
04:04 Featureset and Preamp mode
09:02 Featureset and DAC mode
11:31 Sound?
15:24 Competition and conclusion

#topping #e30 #toppinge30

[WheezyTech]

I came up with a way to A/B switch between DAC's since I did this video. Confirmed there is no audible difference between the Topping E30, JDS Atom DAC, Grace SDAC and Motu M4 listening with Hifiman Ananda or Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro through a JDS Atom Amp.

[less]

I got one of these today, my first dac. Pretty happy with it! Thanks for mentioning how to switch from pre-amp to dac, the manual is not good at all. I didn't even know how to connect to my computer, no help with manual/leaflet or their website. Had to search the internet to find out.

[Bob.martens]

Audio Product of the Year. Many years to come. Connect almost any digital source to any amp or speaker with confidence.

[_han.soso_]

very solid and dense content, nothing useless youtube blabla bloating the content, love it!

[kennb.]

Thanks for the operational details and your rant was insightful.

[linguadepeixe]

I think most DAC devices have managed to reach a very similar level in terms of sound quality in the function in which they perform. I bought a not-so-sophisticated $40 usb DAC, and it seams to sound almost the same as my phone and my laptop, in terms of quality. The main diference that I notice, is that the common background noise on very sensitive IEMs ware gone, what is good mainly for listening to podcasts and movies.

[JSym]

You can use Roon to group 2 USB DACs into a single "Group Zone", essentially meaning syncronized playback through 2 DACs at once. That's how I do my DAC comparisons with gapless switching.

[laika]

Ok, got it, thanks.... (the SUPERtricky from preamp to dac, THANKS!!!

[shadowroxas]

Could you have a look at the 2020 revision of the Hifiman HE-400i, I'm curious about the differences between this and the HE4XX.

[IonShard]

the A/B test described wouldn't be reliable, it assumes that both DACs are outputting exactly the same volume so that connecting them to the same source and same amp would eliminate factors outside the DAC itself, but this does not ensure volume matching, which is critical in A/B testing. If the DACs have even slightly different output voltage (which they will) then the A/B test is invalid. you have to volume match the output from the AMP for each DAC to get a true A/B test, and you need to do that by measuring voltages. note this means you can't do a switching test with a single amp as you'd have to adjust the volume each time you switch, so you need two identical amps, one hooked up to each DAC, with the output from each amp volume matched, then you need a switcher device to switch your headphones between each amp. - why do you need to go to these lengths? because humans are exceptionally good at detecting even 0.1db volume differences (when A/B switching), and we then interpret the volume difference as a quality difference. So if you truly want to compare the 'sound quality' of each DAC you absolutely have to have near perfect volume matching.

[TimpTim]

I opted for the e30 too; can then use optical for tv audio sometimes. Also have it paired with the Atom and love it. The main difference is Without vs With this external dac. It gives more depth to the soundstage and reduces the occasional harsh peaks in some music compared to the Atom alone. Glad I have it! PS it's $130.

[laika]

One last pd. With so many "dumb" buttons on the remote one could argue why not use one of 'm buttons to swith from preamp to just dac (instead of all that 2sec 3sec fidgeting), right?

[ExSkyCyclePilot]

I'm currently using the Realtek ALC1220 DAC built into my ASRock motherboard, along with an Atom headphones amp, and have been considering getting the E30. However, even with all the volumes turned wide open, using sensitive headphones, there is no noise. It's pitch black, even when using the PC. So, I ran RMAA, using Line In/Line Out loopback, and got excellent results across the board: noise at -103 dB, with dynamic range at 103 dB, flat frequency response from 20 Hz to 20, 000 Hz, distortion figures below 0.005%, etc. These are all audibly transparent numbers, which is really unusual for a motherboard DAC. I wouldn't mind have the E30, just to play around with, but I'm having a hard time justifying the expense.

[benegesserit]

i bought this Topping E30 + amp emotiva 75 w and diamond 225 speakers...very nice match.

[gullibleskeptic]

comparing dacs is difficult. i do notice differences between them but its sometimes hard to put my finger on what makes the difference or which one would be the better one so what i try to do is really try to enjoy a song that i like on one and then see if i can enjoy it as much on the other. while doing that i also try to pretend(visualize) in my head im listening to the other dac. if i really cant do that it means there must be a difference. the biggest and most obvious difference i heard was when comparing the dragonfly cobalt to the chord mojo. the mojo was obviously warmer and liquid sounding but also a litle too claustrofobic for me. it was different to anything else i tried. between others the differences may be smaller but they are often there. sometimes you just have to focus on another aspect of sound that you didnt think of before.

[drakegostream]

Thank you for the video. Does this thing reset to “amp” mode every time I power it off/on? Do I need to switch to “dac” mode manually every time? This would be annoying cause I just want to use it as a Toslink DAC but also power it completely off every time I turn my PC off.

[josepedro]

Many thanks for another phenomenal review!. I just ordered this DAC however watching your review I realise that I don´t fully get the difference between pre-amp and DAC mode. I intend to use it paired with my JDS Labs Atom amplifier with the headphones plugged into the Atom, and be able to control the volume when not being at the desk (I sometimes listen to music in another room with an extended cable). So If I got you right you can only use the remote when the E30 is used in pre-amp mode?. It will not work to control the volume when used as a DAC connected to the Atom?. Many thanks in advance for your reply.

[hernanaqp]

hi, nice video, one question, is good for me start with the topping mx3?

[PK-qsxw]

I was thinking about e30 and here you come thanks man. The production quality on this channel is amazing and for it having less than 5k subs is truly amazing. BTW i was thinking about buying the dx3 pro does that have the same quality dac as this and can I use that as a standalone dac if I want to change the amplifier. I'm gonna buy a dt 1990 do you have any suggestions, I live in india so options are a bit limited but I do get topping products, aune products, ifi zen dac and the ifi zen can. And what do you think about the e30 and the ifi zen can is that a good pairing.

[suryapramoddev]

Just a Quick Help:
Is the Topping (E30 + L30) stack better than iFi (Zen DAC + Zen CAN) stach?

Please let me know your impression.