Do you need a headphone amp for mixing on headphones in 2022? (Inc my new Topping L30)

BEST BUDGET HEADPHONE AMP FOR MIXING ON HEADPHONES 2021?? || Topping L30 headphone amplifier review

Mixing on headphones has become so popular these days to the point where mixing engineers and audio engineers alike are investing in expensive studio headphones and even high fidelity hi-res audio headphone amps to drive their budget headphones for more clarity, transients and depth.

I purchased the topping L30 headphone amplifier on ebay for under £100 and i was advised the topping over spl phonitor and rupert neve. For the price the topping offers high resolution audio and also more power for driving planar headphones.

All you require is 240V AC adapter power and 2 RCA to 1/4 TS audio cables (mines are neo oyaide d+ RTS class B)

I connect the topping via the audient id14 audio interface line outs. I also use the audient mixer software to control my input levels from the computer into the DAC. In comparison to the audient headphone outs the topping has less THD+N and has a lot more dynamic range.

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HEADPHONES & AUDIO INTERFACES

📖 CHAPTERS
0:00 intro
1:38 topping vs audient headphone outs
2:49 why buy a headphone amplifier?
5:48 Does it matter if the listener cant hear it?
6:51 Will it automatically improve your mixes?
8:06 How to gain stage your monitoring

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[PaulThird]

FWI.. There has been some talk that there was an issue a while back with a certain run of L30's malfunctioning and blowing up. I've been told this was sorted and any faulty units were replaced by topping but they were very isolated cases apparently.

I've spoke to four L30 users and no issues. No issues with mine either. As a precaution though I would advice not switching your headphone amp on with your headphones connected. Best to be over cautious 🤓

[akagerhard]

I promise you, you will learn to hate that detail. It's distracting.. it takes (me) years to be able to judge a mix on my (very expensive) headphones. Be sure to always double-check your sanity by listening to your mixes on something else.. this is not as important with mediocre headphones, but once you have all the detail and all the width and all the clarity that comes with a price. Since there is so much "space" in these headphones everything has a spot.. nothing clashes (well it does, but it's way harder to perceive). And that's why it's paramount to check your mixes on a system that is not high-end. Even if you are 10 times as talented a mixer it will take you a lot of mixes to really understand the new problems this new potential comes with. But for now: enjoy.. I'm not trying to ruin your fun. Just a gentle heads up

[jaredlucow]

Hey Paul thanks for this vid. It popped up recently for me. Had just bought LCDX (2021) and was using with my Apollo Twin Mk 2. After seeing your vid I did some research and wound up with a Topping L30 mk 2. After A/B with the the apollo I can confirm that the topping is a noticeable difference. I've been told the Apollo is 100ohms. The Audeze and M50x's I use both sound much brighter on the apollo than even the normal macbook headphone port. With the topping it seems the highs are essentially equal but the mids and lows come up just a bit for a nice balance. I also use Neumann NDH30 which are 120ohm I believe. They don't seem to be quite as noticeable between Apollo and Topping (possibly cause they are above the apollo ohms) but still an upgrade. Long story short: The Topping for $120ish bucks is well worth it. Especially if you're coming from an even more entry level type interface than the apollo. Thanks again.

[bororitv]

Hey mate! Thanks for the video. Is it really ok to use a dual ts to TRS stereo cable to connect the line outs on an audio interface to a headphone amp? I heard it may harm the outputs since you would be linking the two outputs like this, and the impedance on the headphone amp aux input wouldn’t be enough to absorve it, so they would impact each other. Couldn’t find anything about it in the internet, so if you could help me here would be awesome. Thanks!

[peterbondmusic]

It's amazing what good monitoring can reveal. The argument that it doesn't matter because most won't hear it is silly, as some will be listening on worse, and some will be listening on... better, or a specific flavour of 'worse' that still highlights some aspect of what you're doing that a different variety of 'worse' might not. Have a listen to the Spotify world top 50 and prepare to be depressed (at least I am), by how horribly crushed most of that stuff is. And prepare to appreciate the great mixers even more, as you say here, for mixing is an art as much as it is a science. It's always good to also check on lesser systems too, but eventually you will learn to work within this 'hi res' environment most of the time and have good judgement there. Ultimate next step -- a good control room with a good monitoring situation.

[sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

If they are like my Austrian Audio Hi-X55, then WELCOME TO THE PARTY, PAL!!!!

[paullucas]

Hi Paul. I have the same ID14 as you and I was thinking about getting an external amp to run my Slate VSX headphones that have a 37 ohms impedance. I watched Julien Krause on the ID14 and his data showed it did better on higher impedance headphones than lower, stating with lower impedance headphones there was a drop off in lower frequencies. I guess I don't understand how that works?

[marksnetkov]

I thought I would upgrade audience id14mk2 and bought topping dx5 to drive my audeze lcd-x and honestly can say that there is no difference. Would topping l30 or l30 mk2 make any difference? Keeping in mind that lcd-x are 20ohm headphones they don't need much power and l30 is an amplifier.

[richertz]

I know you made this years ago but I just got this amp and I regret not getting it sooner. I own an RME Babyface pro fs and everyone says you don’t need a headphone amp with this interface - bollocks. My Audeze sines to my Austrian Audio x65s are transformed.

I think headphone amps are one of the weakest parts of modern interfaces - they should build in a Topping to all interfaces.

[mixphantom]

Feast your ears on "Happiness is Easy" by Talk Talk. You should initiate a quiz for "fave reference tracks"... I need some new ones 😁

[jamesmarks]

Wow who ever got you those headphones - what a magnificent guy (or gal)! But I totally understand where he is coming from ... if a company or manufacturer wont give you a demo at least - if they dont care about your channel - why advertise their wares? And you have worn me down ... I might get a headphone amp ... to try out at least and compare with my RME and UAD ... we shall see Paul Third ... we shall see ...

[SuperIZL]

How is the amp now compared with your id44 headphone outs?

[erkamau]

Ciao, how to calibrate the level of signal going to input headphone amp and its output volume too ? With nearfield I use a pinknoise and a phonemeter as usual. How for headphones ?

[pdm]

Noticed there was a worrying product recall on this model of headphone amp - worth check that our eBay purchase isn’t one of the affected ones - would be sad to destroy your lovely new headphones!

[AftertuneMusic]

The best advice ever i can give is... Use few instruments for a song and first of all get the bass and kick work together first than adds up, also sound choice is very important... I'm no talking about the best guitar or the best bass possible.. I've learned the hard way that what make the difference in a song it's the details... in layering there are certain sounds that (in terms of frequency response) sounds better...ultimate use the same algo/sampled effects(especially reverb) and ... don't over do things. In general don't over do mixing or especially mastering!!! That's a general formula for everyone 🙂 keep up !

[NipperLewis]

Great video... encouraging second hand minimal gear to achieve the results is the way to go! I recently upgraded to modified DT150s with mixpre 6 to drive them and was amazed at the extra detail.

[rivella]

I have a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 interface. Putting such an amp between it and my Sennheiser HD650 headphones would probably make quite some difference?

[hisroyalsucculence]

Would like to put in a request for a Slate VSX review :)

[gabrielezuffada]

Thanks for your video! May I ask what headphones do you use?

[tonytemple]

Just ordered the black Topping L30 for £70 un-used of eBay.
Kinda wondering why the seller never used it???