Introduction

The beginning of this year saw our first TOPPING product review in the form of a two-in-one stack consisting of the E50 digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and and the L50 linear headphone amplifier. Priced under $500, and offering free RCA interconnects if purchased as a combo from the likes of SHENZHENAUDIO, this set quickly became a commercial success by simply providing lots of clean power, and a feature-rich transparent DAC. At the same time, TOPPING is known for it's value-oriented products at different price ranges, and I wanted to see what the budget-oriented offerings are like.


The E50/L50 stack is newer, meant to be an upgrade to the original E30 DAC and L30 amplifier that came out to a bang, in more ways than one. Unfortunately there was a design flaw in the amplifier, whereby some units not only suffered from electrostatic discharge and stopped working with fireworks, but said fireworks could also short out the headphone output, taking plugged in headphones with it. TOPPING was quick in rectifying the issue, but needless to say, I figured an updated version was coming out sooner rather than later. What I did not expect was a whole new model, with a different DAC too! Such is the relentless march of progress in the audio source world emerging out of China, and thanks to SHENZHENAUDIO again for providing review samples of the all-new TOPPING E30 II DAC and L30 II amp to TechPowerUp! We begin with a look at the product specifications, which I have taken directly from the respective TOPPING product pages, since there is much to report. Click on the respective thumbnail twice for the full-size image.

Specifications

TOPPING E30 II DAC:


TOPPING L30 II Amplifier:

TOPPING E30 II DAC: Packaging and Accessories

I was expecting to see two similarly sized white boxes as before but TOPPING surprised by going with two very different sized black product boxes here. The E30 II box in particular is quite small and has a textured finish over it. It's a two-piece box with the company logo on the front of the lid, on the side is a sticker confirming the exact product inside along with contact info for TOPPING. Lift up the lid to reveal the contents inside snugly packed in individual compartments, with cardboard all around for further protection.


TOPPING includes a warranty card with the E50, as well as a multi-language user manual (online copy found here) that walks you through initial setup and use of the DAC. This is all the more handy given the TOPPING E30 II has more functionality than, say, the JDS Labs Atom DAC+ or evenElement II we saw before, let alone the more portable sources examined to date. Take the remote control for example, which is pretty much a necessity here to make the most of the DAC. It has dedicated buttons for a lot of things, including shortcuts and navigation between inputs and outputs, changing the display brightness, and so on. It is predominantly plastic and won't win any build quality awards, taking two AAA batteries that TOPPING does not provide in the box.


As with most standalone DAC units, the TOPPING E30 II takes external power. However, TOPPING does not go with an AC mains power adapter and instead relies on a 5 V plug heading to a USB Type-A port, which is then directed to a spare USB port on your PC or a USB wall adapter as long as it feeds in 5 VDC. I would have liked a good quality power supply used here, since USB power can be "dirtier" in terms of the phase irregularities hardcore audiophiles will protest against, though I have yet to really come across any tangible differences. The pricing of the E30 II also somewhat makes it hard to go with anything else admittedly. The digital input comes in the form of a Type-B to Type-A male/male cable, which in turn indicates the adoption of Type-B connectivity on the DAC.