Topping D30 Pro DAC and A30 Pro headphone amp, PRETTY GOOD!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 พ.ย. 2024
- Chinese Schiit? Maybe out Schiiting Schiit??
More about the Topping D30 Pro DAC and A30 Pro headphone amp here, apos.audio/blo...
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Thankfully this gear comes without MQA vaporware implemented.
Thanks for this review! I got this stack and love it! One of the reasons I choose them was D30pro doesn't have MQA. I don't have to to pay for MQA that I don't use and don't like.
Sir, you've earned yourself another subscriber.
I stopped by for the Topping review, and I left with some great music recommendations!
I love that you love The Replacements. They are the most underrated band ever. Not the band you came to see. Its The Replacements.
Just listened to them for the first time. Timeless sound can't believe I've missed them for the last 40 years
So glad you love the Replacements also. Saw them a couple of times. Original band with Bob Stinson one of the best and loudest shows I ever went to. I can still hear “Answering Machine” incredibly loud but crystal clear, almost impossibly so, that’s why I still remember it from almost 40 yrs ago. The venue was like an Elks Club with an 8ft ceiling, certainly not Carnegie Hall but it didn’t matter. They started 2 hrs late but we were so late after a two hour drive it worked out perfectly.
I just purchased the Topping D30 Pro & A30 Pro. You just made it so very exited for me. I can't wait what I am going to get from this combo. And by the way, great video with a lot of positive vibes! Thank you! Greetings from Belgium!
Great recommendation, Areni’s songs are so ethereal and atmospheric.
Listening to the 30pro stack through TOTL headphones. Can confirm this stack is great, very pure, open, and non-fatiguing, even 44.1kHz sounds great. Non-MQA is no problem, to me MQA's improvements are quite trivial, if any.
I love listening to your videos your passion for music is truly infectious and most appreciated thank you
Steve, the backdrop to today's review is simply wonderful. I love the wall behind you with the picture and sound dampening panels. Also, is that a chair back that so nicely compliments your shirt? Simply wonderful! ......the review was great as well by the way.
Thanks for the kind words.
Your videos are as informative about audiophile music as they are about gear 👍 Listening to Bloom - Areni truly has a sublime voice 👍
Ikr! I immediately search her up and man what a hidden gem 👌👌👌👌
Glad to hear love for the DT880! They’re not talked about much anymore and they’re not best for everything but throw them on a Woo tube amp and they’re very fun and enjoyable.
I agree they are great. I swapped them out for the HD 560s cause they are better in the particular areas I like, but I really liked the DT880 for what they are.
I like my DT880 Pro for dull recording. It sounds clinical and you are right being bright at times.
Beautiful quilt, I use a Pendleton wool blanket. I got the idea seen the sound panel on your TV, during your renovations. Now I even put a 3-inch rock wool panel on too. GIK Acoustics should come up with a product for the TV. Because I have to use my system as both home theater and 2 Channel. Awfully fine job on your renovation, not that you don't have it, it gives a sense of legitimacy to the production.
Thanks Gregory!
I've been watching your videos for a while now . respect for the knowledge
Tried “Bloom” on your recommendation. It was indeed a very engaging and soothing experience. Thanks for sharing that.
So glad to hear you're "feeling back."
The Topping a50s is my favourite headphone amp. I prefer it to more expensive alternatives I own. Such great value
I found out about / listened to Bloom only a couple days ago because Herb Reichert mentioned it in a recent Stereophile review. Really unique and expressive recording.
Running the D30Pro with my Jotenheim2 and I can confirm that it's quite a good match.
I have a Topping E30, it cost me €129 and oh boy does it sound good! Can't beat it for the price.
I’m satisfied with my Jotunheim + Modius combination; appreciated the reviews of the different headphones.
That's fair enough, but don't forget that outside of the USA that stuff is totally unavailable. So reviews of kit we can actually buy is greatly appreciated.
Love the quilt covering the TV. My wife makes quilts and I have been using them to quell reflections!
After a bit of a search I ended up with a Topping Pre90 in my bedroom system and I'm well satisfied with it. It compares well with my Parasound JC2 which is a much more expensive pre-amp.
The Replacements did get to play an arena tour opening for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. They hated it and it went badly. How surprising...
The reason why those high sampling rates exist is because that's the sampling rate the internal filters run at (almost all consumer DACs will convert the PCM signal to some variant of delta sigma modulation. The reason why is complicated but this oversampling design makes the hardware much easier to and cheaper to make compared to a non-oversampling R2R DAC design). You feed it a 48 kHz signal, it has to oversample it to at least 192 kHz by design. Exposing those high res option to software is pretty useful for bypassing the internal filters. I can go to foobar2k, use a resampling plugin to 192 or 384 kHz and effectively bypass Topping's resampling if I want to do so.
I'm considering this combo with my hypothetical Hifiman Arya Stealth in a few months
Thanks again steve - i have the fiio dac's and now today looked for a small dac to pair my marantz amp with a Samsung j-7500 DVD - I saw the specs and the 32 number but I got the small 24 bit from Crutchfield. You confirmed my thoughts as I have a low-end system in my bedroom - not concert stage sound. but as usual, I look for Steve G for his thoughts. Why I put my klipsch 51m's in the closet and got the B&W 607-2 when you reviewed them. Not disappointed at all.
Steve Swallow-Carla on ECM vinyl...one of my reference albums.
The most musical couple in jazz
I like the modern art on your wall Steve! Oh, wait, those are probably room treatment panels :P.
Update I have installed version 5.27 driver (better than newer 5.30) and it is great (D30 Pro).
Also, it is much better without pre-amp. With the new, enhanced Tidal sounds great. The newer drivers 5.30, 5.45 and 5.50 are not so good comparing with 5.27.
For me the best combination for D30 pro is firmware 2.44 and driver 5.27 - natural sound.
Sounds like you were noticing everything that wasn't the Topping stack - which is a pretty good review, really.
Yup. Can't go wrong with state of the art transparency with such an insane amount of single ended power.
Steve, my understanding of 32-bit / 384kHz DACs is that it's there to take advantage of upsampling software on the source computer - esp people who are upsampling their existing music to insanely high DSD frequencies. I believe that Audirvana, HQPlayer, Roon and JRiver all offer this functionality if you have a sufficiently powerful computer. NAD upsampled everything to 32/384 in their M51 DAC and that's fairly long in the tooth now, so I assume that upsampling PCM isn't particularly tough in computational terms.
Thanks Arthur, good points.
They look really gorgeous.
They are!
Another great video Steve. Did you get a chance to compare the Topping DAC to the DAC in the Bluesound Node 2i which I think you use as your casual streamer/DAC combination?
Still using the original Topping D30 as my main DAC.
I have that too it is a very good DAC
Nice to see the music front and centre in your review Steve. Got an A30 Pro and really like it and like you appreciate the headphone compatibility. The only thing I think it really misses over the A90/Jotunheim is variable out for monitors but soundwise it's on a par and the form factor is great for the desktop. Much better value for money all things considered.
Steve! You need to get some Shonen Knife on your playlist!
Good to hear it doesn't have that MQA c4@p.
Topping and SMSL have been putting out quality affordable gear for years - largely ignored by American snobs - I've had 15 piecse (amps, dacs, power supplies) and No problems with any of it
Not really affordable. The American stuff is cheaper. Schiit does have some QC issues, but JDS has been awesome. Right around the same price or cheaper than Topping and SMSL.
I read about a male escort who used to do some topping.
Nice review, but FYI, the photo of the Schiit "Jotunheim 2" you posted is actually an image of their Jotunheim R, made for the Raal SR1 headphones
Sorry
What's the black/red USB cable?
Dear Steve: With the McIntosh MA 352 integrated amplifier can I use the A 30 Pro headphone amp so I can I have a more and powerful bluetooth reception. Thanks.
Hi Steve, Suggestion/Request. It would be helpful for your followers, at least for me, if you would list the music and gear referenced somewhere in the description section. Saves a lot of shuttling back and forth when trying to remember things.
Hi Steve. Your reviews are really wonderful and very informative. Btw, may I know where I could buy those acoustic panels you have on your wall? Thanks.
If the D30 is so good...Why was it discontinued within a few months? I was suckered into it by all the great reviews, and now I'm skeptical.
Hi Steve! I have a pair of Tekton Enzo XL speakers, an Anthem MCA 225 and my only listening source will be from via whichever I choose from numerous CD players I have from the 90's. I'm assuming a stand alone DAC will have better and newer sound quality of that of a 90's CD player. Also, I need a DAC to provide me with a volume control, as the Anthem is just an amp. For my scenario, in your opinion, for strictly cd playing, which DAC would be better between the same priced Topping D30 PRO or the SMSL SU-9? Thanks.
Steve, why, why you didn't tell nothing about D30pro in a speaker environment??? Man you are my favorite reviewer, how can you do that, not to make bigger picture?!
Please, do something about it.
BTW, good energy in the video.
Steve , have you any spare decent headfones you don't use I have never experienced a good set of headfones , thanks 😉
Hey! What pads do you prefer with the Grado Hemp?
Should I get the Topping A30 or the Schiit Asgard 3?
I was looking at this duo for my home office, think I will take the plunge. Thanks Steve.
I got the Topping A90 to drive some Abyss 1266. really like Topping
Got it either with my HD600 drived with balanced cable....previously i got an SMSL SAP 2 paired with HD600, soo much stage now and instruments separation...soo god AMP
Hey Steve! ciao from Italy. Can I ask you the name of your glasses brand?! i love them!
Thanks, I don’t know the brand of the glasses frame. But the store is Italian owned, it’s Punto Ottico
Are these going to be better than a Yamaha ATMOS AV 7.2 channel receiver that I am currently using for stereo also? I have a Klipsch RP speakers that don't need a whole lot of power.
Power Switch is on Front?
Now a Quilt over the TV ?
Hi! Great review. What you think that I add D30 pro dac to my bluesound 2i in combination whit rega amp and pmc twenty5.23i speakers?
Good move!
Are you still planning on reviewing the Moon River integrated or maybe not so much?
Sorry no
Hey review the Macintosh 7200 receiver if you can.
You should try Tigran Hamasyan
I never new it was possible lol 32 bit music
It's best where the equipment gets out of the way so you focus on the music. I'm checking out the Herb recommended "Agbabian" album... beautiful!
How does the Topping compare to the Ares2, please?
Should I trade in one of my Musical Fidelity X-DAC/X-PSU/X-10v3 setups for an Ares2, anyone?
Is that a Quad sitting there, covered with a quilt ?
No, it’s a TV covered by quilt
I’m not questioning your integrity, Steve but when did you have your most recent hearing exam? Most of us your age (I’m a bit younger) have some hearing loss. You must be truly blessed to be able to hear such detail and nuance at your age. Informative as usual.
I wonder about this. For guys like Herb and Steve and for myself. Hearing loss is tricky but typically it begins above 8k. Which may effect the perception of some harmonic information but is above the scale of music sung or played on real instruments.
E.g. the highest note on the piano is C8 at 4186 Hz. It’s pretty rare that players even use the 8th octave.
I know there is an effect on perception and maybe even musical preferences as we age but it doesn’t necessarily detract from either discernment (your point) or enjoyment. In fact I can perhaps enjoy a violin concerto more in my older age and interestingly, my Baerdynamic headphones with their measured 11k peak of “artificial treble” sound fantastic to me.
I wonder if Steve (and me) learning to appreciate horn speakers later in life might be partially related to changes in hearing. Some people claim horns are shouty - I don’t feel that way at all and can listen to my Khorns all day for two or three day straight without listening fatigue.
I will record lp’s where I want to capture the music but don’t want to hold onto the record itself, so I’ll use Audacity to record a 384 kHz copy and make a 192 kHz flac file, but no, don’t listen to 384 files normally. More of a future-proofing operation, really. Made a bunch of mp3 files quite a while ago because I thought, why would I need anything better? Well….
Thanks Steve, I really like those reviews on budget HiFi gear.
Can you do a canton reference series review ?
My D30 dac has 6 filters which one did you use?
You always get a thumbs up from me.
Cool.
I own the A30 pro and I love it. I'm now considering the D30 pro, but I have a question: If I connect the D30 pro to my PC via USB and then the D30 pro to my integrated amplifier and speakers via Coax, will the sound come from the speakers? Or do I need RCA in order to achieve that?
You connect the D 30 to the amplifier with RCA cables, and speaker cables to your speakers.
Hey Steve got a project perfect for these. Do a rasberry pi 400 steaming player.
I have a Bifrost 2 on backorder. It sounds like I may want to cancel that and opt for a D30 Pro instead. Thoughts?
I’m sure the D30 is a great DAC but I’d stick with your Bifrost 2 order. I have that DAC and it’s fantastic. It’s a flavor/slightly warm DAC but it’s got a very natural sound. You just forget it’s there and that is what I think a DAC should do. I’ve had some of the Topping stuff and it’s great but the Bifrost 2 is a keeper. It’s upgradable as well.
Just my 2 cents
I don't know, I haven't heard the Bifrost 2
D30 PRO every time.
the Bifrost 2 is fantastic, more like a mini Gungnir than the Bifrost 1 imo.
I hear the built in dacs on the Asgard 3, Jotunheim 2, and Lyr 3, are significantly less good, comparable to the Bifrost 2, in truth. The order of per ppl I talk to and trust, in sound quality, goes:
Bifrost 2>Modi Multibit (vs 2)>Built in Multibit Dac Cards. Bifrost 2 is talked about as a complete steal at it's price tbh (and these are guys who've experienced the higher end, to be clear), from all the ppl I know, there's a reason it's backed up 😉.. But it's your call, I'm sure the topping is an okay option, but Bifrost 2 I'd stick with, if it's me..But also depends what you like and are shooting for, and your setup/system..
I got my Toy - AR-XA Turntable.... I still think they are great! - I think it's Audiophile too ;)
Merry Christmas Shirt Steve super
💯
Those planar IEMs.... killer work.
Do toppint pre90
Just to note it doesn't have pre amp it's just a pass through
The Jot 2's built in dac measures really, really poorly. Guess it's bad enough that its distortions are audible to your ear.
Can I plug a cd player (via optical or coaxial) directly into dac (plus headphone amp) and listen that way?
why not?
Yes u can, not sure if you'll get better sound but it's a nice use of this stack
Yes you can for sure. Run a digital cable/optical from your CD player into the DAC and you’ll essentially be using the CD player as a transport. Then you go can go out to your amp from the DAC.
The Topping will sound superior to your CD players on-board DAC.
@@darthdurkelthewise320 Thanks. Just one question... A headphone amp WILL NOT drive speakers, right?
@@laika25 no it would likely kill the amp from thermal overload very quickly. However high impedance and efficiency compresion drivers can be run off headphone amps. Just need to be careful about thermal loading.
side note: I once went to see M. Ward live. His guitar was way out of tune, he knew it was and said so, he didn't care. I had to leave it sounded so bad.
HI, Steve, good work, can we cooperate???
a good dac with a good OTL and headphone can play very very very well 44/16, most of the time they sound much better then all those fake high-res very bad mastered contents (I'm not talking about MQA... that's just horrible)...
I've had for test A90 + D90, it was a waste of time and potential waste of money... Topping? good for an entry level easy listening system but if you want to listen music you have to buy something different (and I'm not and audio-maniac)
So what would you recommend??
Comment for the algorithm: I have upvoted this review, Steve.
Not my cup of tea but you notice I watch anyways, love your music suggestions!
Thanks for watching!
1.9 views and 283 thumbs up yea I’d be asking for thumbs up also
My experience is that although Chinese components look like good, they aging really fast. It means that do not expect that DAC or amplifier will last for a decade and be prepare that after 2-5 years it will be broken and you need to buy another one.
From the reviews I've seen where they actually open up and have a look at the components inside it seems they are solidly built
@@JustBrowsing777 Right.
@Kamerton Audiophile player….all my main gear is made in USA or Japan. But I purchased this combo and it looks solidly built from inside-out. Chinese mfgs are competitive nowadays.
@@kamertonaudiophileplayer847 Many times manufacturing quality is better in China than in the US these days. All the leading factories are there, and much more skillful labor. Americans can't do manufacturing jobs anymore.
@@Dex4Sure Right, I even has a feeling that good manufactured items never leave China. But things of bad quality dumped to US and other countries.
I didnt like the a30, sent it back.
Its an awful company, which does not respond of their errors and damages.
First to like!!!
😊