$99 Topping D30 ( DSD ) DAC + A30

Decided to go in another direction:

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Bravo Audio V2, with the upgraded Gold Lion tube. (I guess I'm a sucker for the cheap but highly rated Chinese components... although come to think of it, my Line Magnetic amp isn't cheap.)

The plan is to use the Bravo almost exclusively with Spotify and CCA. My cans are OK, but by no means high-end: Sennheiser HD 558 and Audio-Technica ATH-M50X. I'm thinking with 320 kbps and mid-range headphones, maybe the CCA's DAC will be sufficient. Anyhow, I can try it with the el cheapo -- but really decent -- SMSL Sanskrit 6 DAC DAC once the tube has had a chance to blossom.
Those Bravo headphone amps are supposed to sound pretty good from what I've read about them... tube preamp stage with a class A power amp to drive the cans

Looking forward to your review!
 
The CCA's internal DAC is not all that great. Bypassing it to my $20 FiiO D3 sounds noticeably better.
 
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Had my D30 for a bit now and I like it a lot. Tried it with both USB from a laptop and optical from a CCA.

Really works well with a great sound stage and very detailed.
I don't need it to add "warmth" or anything else to my gear, just a as natural a presentation as possible.
I feel it delivers, at least for me.

A lot of DAC for the money.

I listen to Blues and Jazz mostly. Dig it.

Eric
 
I want to buy one of these but the MassDrop deal is not active right now. There are 82 requests for it including mine.

Does anyone know if MassDrop brings these offers back frequently or should I pay the $119 that Amazon wants for the D30. Thanks.
 
I want to buy one of these but the MassDrop deal is not active right now. There are 82 requests for it including mine.

Does anyone know if MassDrop brings these offers back frequently or should I pay the $119 that Amazon wants for the D30. Thanks.

I bought mine from Ebay for under $100 shipped from China.

Arrived in about 2 weeks no issues.

Eric
 
I want to buy one of these but the MassDrop deal is not active right now. There are 82 requests for it including mine.

Does anyone know if MassDrop brings these offers back frequently or should I pay the $119 that Amazon wants for the D30. Thanks.

With that many requests they'll bring it back but I wouldn't hesitate to buy from a highly rated eBay vendor.
 
Those Bravo headphone amps are supposed to sound pretty good from what I've read about them... tube preamp stage with a class A power amp to drive the cans

Looking forward to your review!
Already on its way back to Massdrop. The return process is pretty painless...so far.
Update on Massdrop: The return process was very smooth and prompt. I was impressed. Although the D30 didn't work out for me, I'll definitely do Massdrop again.
 
This is the first I've heard of this thing...but I've done a little research.

It feels like something I need to acquire and test drive.
 
This is the first I've heard of this thing...but I've done a little research.

It feels like something I need to acquire and test drive.
They have cool stuff. Most of the audio-related products seem to gravitate toward headphones and headphone amps. Membership is free.
 
The D30 is affordable enough to try out, not sure how it stacks up to the M8 in your sig tho.

As I said before, I like mine a lot.

Eric

Well both the M8 and D30 use the XMOS controller...so there may be minor differences there as far as format/sample rate support goes. It would largely boil down to the differences between the ES9018MK2 in the M8 (I assume, I've yet to pull it apart) and the CS4398 in the D30. Then it would further matter if the D30 goes in to Direct DSD or configures the device to use the non-decimation filter. I'm not 100% how the ES9018 works...I know it runs everything through an "oversample filter"...which I assume may be multi-bit delta-sigma since that's been the rage for a couple years.

If I get it...and I don't like it...I can always pass it on. It'd be worth "the price of admission" to find out.
 
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I want to buy one of these but the MassDrop deal is not active right now. There are 82 requests for it including mine.

Does anyone know if MassDrop brings these offers back frequently or should I pay the $119 that Amazon wants for the D30. Thanks.

The drop is active again.
 
Ordered mine last night with a couple of hours left on the drop. If I can find one cheap I may go with a better PSU as that's generally a way to improve the sound.
 
Today I'm listening to a bunch of Coltrane from Spotify Premium.

CCA > Topping D30 > Nikko NR-715 > Polk Monitor 5A.

Lovely, Really. Glad I got this "Cheap" DAC.

Eric
 
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