How do you like your Topping D30 DAC?

drabina

AK Subscriber
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I have the Topping D30 DAC for a few weeks now. It has replaced a very inexpensive ELE DAC D01. Both were connected thru the USB from my Raspberry Pi running Kodi. When I switched the ELE for Topping, my immediate reaction was that I like the ELE much better. It is possible that I just got used to the sound but the Topping is a lot darker, highs are somewhat subdued and songs that I know by heart did not sound as I have expected them to do. Right now the Topping has good number of hours of "burn in" time and it has stayed on for days. I haven't switch it back to ELE to compare them again because I am afraid that the $10 DAC will still sound better than the $130 one.

What's your opinion about the D30 compared to what you had before?
 
Measurements can only go so far in describing how music sounds though a device. Signal to noise and frequency response flatness is not what music is.

One of the ways to see how a companies products sound is to watch the for sale listings over time. That can be a pretty good "measure" of the sonic abilities.

EV3
 
I'm not disputing your observations, but in my system the Topping D30 does not sound dark at all. I found it to be neutral in terms of its sonic signature. Both my Schiit Bifrost Multibit and Eastern Electric Minimax Dacs are slightly darker sounding. I use SPDIF interface and not the USB interface so this could be the difference.

-Dave
 
Measurements can only go so far in describing how music sounds though a device. Signal to noise and frequency response flatness is not what music is.

One of the ways to see how a companies products sound is to watch the for sale listings over time. That can be a pretty good "measure" of the sonic abilities.

EV3

Objective information is useful for interpretation of subjective listening experiences. It's not an either-or situation.
 
I'm not disputing your observations, but in my system the Topping D30 does not sound dark at all. I found it to be neutral in terms of its sonic signature. Both my Schiit Bifrost Multibit and Eastern Electric Minimax Dacs are slightly darker sounding. I use SPDIF interface and not the USB interface so this could be the difference.

-Dave

Mine is neutral as well. USB. No darkness to my ears on my system.

Measurements can only go so far in describing how music sounds though a device. Signal to noise and frequency response flatness is not what music is.

One of the ways to see how a companies products sound is to watch the for sale listings over time. That can be a pretty good "measure" of the sonic abilities.

EV3

Nate was talking about a frequency graph. It's pretty exact as far as how music sounds.

Eric
 
Thanks guys. I will give it another critical listening. I may even compare with some of the built-in DACs of my CD players to make sure the cheap ELE DAC was not blowing highs out of proportions. It is possible like I said before that I just got used to the sound.
 
I have RPi3 + Kali reclocker + Piano 2.1 DAC. This combo sounding so nicely, but I realy want to try Topping D30. According to reviews this dac is truely a best buy. The Cirus chip is a little dated, but it seems they made a good product.
 
So far so good, I have had it for a day and played about 10 songs through it. More later...
 
I had the Topping for some time, certainly not bad, but really I don't get the hype..
It was no match for my cd players, especially the usb input was poor.
I've seen the measurements on the AS forum, but I think these dacs have poor reclocking circuits, you feed them a good signal they're good or vice versa.
Many describe the Topping sound as flat, and I like that sound never been a fan of vinyl or tube gear, but honestly you can't follow the instruments, there's no space between them, the bass is there but no punchy, the highs are not harsh but not pleasant..
Just my 2 cents,
 
I had the Topping for some time, certainly not bad, but really I don't get the hype..
It was no match for my cd players, especially the usb input was poor.
I've seen the measurements on the AS forum, but I think these dacs have poor reclocking circuits, you feed them a good signal they're good or vice versa.
Many describe the Topping sound as flat, and I like that sound never been a fan of vinyl or tube gear, but honestly you can't follow the instruments, there's no space between them, the bass is there but no punchy, the highs are not harsh but not pleasant..
Just my 2 cents,

I came real close to purchasing this dac for my current cd player, but decided to go with the Onkyo 7030 after all the rave reviews I read on it. Glad I made the right decision.
 
So I have had the Topping DAC for some time now and I am still undecided. I guess I got used to the sound a little but every time I listen to it, I get the impression that there is something missing. It is probably doing its work but I get the feeling that nothing really shines with this DAC. I have acquired some CD players (not a high end but with a different built-in DACs) so I will have to try them and compare to the Topping.
 
I switched from a Schiit Modi Multibit who needed a mobo transplant to a D30 and am pleasantly surprised. So far no complaints. As I currently don't have the Modi present for comparison, it's hard to comment but I certainly have no reason to complain, if at all I prefer the D30 as it seems to be produce a slightly better soundstage.
 
I switched from a Schiit Modi Multibit who needed a mobo transplant to a D30 and am pleasantly surprised. So far no complaints. As I currently don't have the Modi present for comparison, it's hard to comment but I certainly have no reason to complain, if at all I prefer the D30 as it seems to be produce a slightly better soundstage.

I also prefer the D30 over my Modi MB. The new DX3 Pro is even better.
 
I have got the Topping D30 for over a year now. I really like it a lot and do not feel the need to upgrade.
I prefer it over my heavily modified Teradak DAC, Yamaha CD700 stock analog out, and various other cheap DACs I have fooled with.
Money well spent I say. I guess I am gonna have to try the D50 or the DX3 Pro.
 
I have got the Topping D30 for over a year now. I really like it a lot and do not feel the need to upgrade.
I prefer it over my heavily modified Teradak DAC, Yamaha CD700 stock analog out, and various other cheap DACs I have fooled with.
Money well spent I say. I guess I am gonna have to try the D50 or the DX3 Pro.

Well I had the Onkyo C7030 in my cart at AC4Less but haven't pulled the trigger. I might just go with the D30, D50 orDX3. How MUCH better are the 50 and X3 over the 30? Is it worth the price or do you think I will be happy with the D30?
 
My understanding is the D50 is basically the same as the D30 sound-wise except it can decode MQA, or so I've been told? Honestly can't remember where I read that, somewhere on the boards here. No direct experience with the D30. Don't know / haven't heard how the D30/D50 compare with the DX3 (doesn't the DX3 have a built in headphone amp?).
 
Timely thread. Was just doing a a/b comparison between a Hifiberry DAC+ Pro and a Hifiberry Digi+ Pro going to a brand new Topping D30. I don't use the USB, my digital path is NAS (FLAC, 44/16)->LMS->PicorePlayer.

I had an initial problem with the Topping D30. I could touch the case, and it would power off/on, solved by reseating the power cable on the Topping side a couple times until it felt tight.

The Topping D30 just sounds a tad better. A little more soundstage/imaging, and definitely brighter than the Hifiberry DAC+ Pro. I've only had it for a week now, but I like it. Great value I think.

Obviously, the next step is to compare to a CD player, sadly I don't have one worthy of comparison. I have an old crappy LG bluray player that plays CDs but cost $15 bucks at a yard sale. :)

Some pics for posterity:
0208192016a_2.jpg 0208192004c_2.jpg 0208192004a_2.jpg 0208192004_2.jpg
 
Timely thread. Was just doing a a/b comparison between a Hifiberry DAC+ Pro and a Hifiberry Digi+ Pro going to a brand new Topping D30. I don't use the USB, my digital path is NAS (FLAC, 44/16)->LMS->PicorePlayer.

I had an initial problem with the Topping D30. I could touch the case, and it would power off/on, solved by reseating the power cable on the Topping side a couple times until it felt tight.

The Topping D30 just sounds a tad better. A little more soundstage/imaging, and definitely brighter than the Hifiberry DAC+ Pro. I've only had it for a week now, but I like it. Great value I think.

Obviously, the next step is to compare to a CD player, sadly I don't have one worthy of comparison. I have an old crappy LG bluray player that plays CDs but cost $15 bucks at a yard sale. :)

Some pics for posterity:
View attachment 1413805 View attachment 1413806 View attachment 1413807 View attachment 1413808

Interested in your opinion. Really trying to decide between a new cd player or dac right now. I don
t like how my current cd player sounds. Something just isn't right with it.
 
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