drteming
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2015
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I was browsing eBay last week and came upon this little DAC for $120. I had never heard of it before, and a search here on Head-Fi turned up nothing. Googling also did not turn up anything either, except for some retailers. I found it on Amazon for $10 higher than eBay, but with the benefit of Prime shipping instead of a slow boat from China, and since I had about $50 worth of points, it was a no brainer. I like Topping, as I have a TP30 Mk 2 at work, and a NX3 amping my Fiio X3 for my portable rig. So $80 and 2 days later a package showed up on my doorsteps. It contained a nondescript box with minimal graphics.
Inside the plain box:
Out of the box:
There is a switching 15V 1A power supply, nice thick USB cable, an USB drive (nice touch!) containing the driver, manual, and instructions, and the DAC itself. The specs are cribbed from Topping's web site.
Here's the link to the manual I uploaded: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5IxYeSNT0kGVU9UTERqOWVoaEU/view?usp=sharing
Front view:
The interface is pretty minimal. A toggle switch for power. A toggle switch for input--optical, coax, and USB. 2 indicator lights, one for power on, and the other lights up for invalid file formats.
Back view:
RCA outputs, coaxial, optical, and USB inputs.
Compared to SMSL M8:
Gotta void the warranty:
Closeups
The XMOS chip and oscillator crystals
Cirrus Logic CS4398
The output stage with the venerable OPA2134 opamp:
Output protection relay circuit, a very nice touch:
The internal components are very nicely done. The resistors appear to be KOA Speer 1% film resistors. The electrolytic caps are Elna's for the power section and Nichicon FW's for the opamp. The film caps are WIMA's and TDK-EPCOS. No complaints there.
So the $64 questions is: How does it sound? Well, it sounds like nothing. Nothing at all. It takes the 0's and 1's from the source and convert them to analog signals without adding anything. It does not color the sound or add anything to the music. What you get is a pure, clean output, and that is the best compliment.
What are my gears? For cans, I used AKG K7xxx, Beyerdynamics DT990 600 Ohm, and Fostex TH500RP. I really like the TH500RP's. They got a bad rep for having rolled off trebles when they first came out, but I'm a bit treble sensitive and find them to be well balanced. The DT900's are only for electronic music because they are fun, and the AKG's, well, they are excellent all-around cans with the bonus factor that my wife think they look stupid and refuse to use them, so I don't have to fight her for it.
As far as amps go, I used an O2 of my own build and this:
Also of my own build. I won't say anything about it, but if you know what it is, you'll know where I'm coming from.
So how does it compare with the SMSL M8?
Well, the D30 doesn't have the OLED display showing the format, or the fancy filters (which I haven't really been able to reliably tell any difference), but the sound is comparable. I find the M8 to be transparent, just like the D30. If you already have a M8, there is no point in getting the D30. But if you are looking for a DAC to start out that will handle DSD files, the Topping D30 is the deal of the century.
What are the downfalls? Well, it doesn't support 32/382, DXD or DSD 256/512, but since I don't have any music in those formats, it's a moot point.
Interestingly, with my Windows 10 rig, I was able to plug it in, and because I had the driver for the M8 installed, the computer recognized immediately. In fact, I didn't have to do anything to Foobar2000 since I already had it configured for the M8. Makes sense since both DAC's use the XMOS interface. The driver provided by Topping on the USB drive is the 2.26.0 version. The latest driver for the SMSL M8 is the 3.20.0 version, which is what I have installed.
One final note. Just to really, really void the warranty:
Oh, yeah, sucked off the 2134 and replaced it with a DIP-8 socket. I broke one on the pins on the 2134 while desoldering it, but no big deal. I have a couple of 2132's (which are higher grades of 2134's anyway) and popped one in. Sounded exactly the same. 2227 opamp was about the same as the 2132. I popped in a 2107 I had lying around, and MAYBE it sounded a bit fuller, but I can't reliably tell the difference, but since there is no distortion, I left the 2107 in because, well, it cost more
.
One final, final note, I ordered the parts to build a 15V linear power supply and will post the results.
(Briefly about me: I'm in my mid 40's and consider myself a music enthusiast and a electronic hobbyist rather than an audiophile. In fact, I'm anything but an audiophile. My hearings are shot from years in a rock band, and I can't hear anything above 14 KHz.)
Inside the plain box:
Out of the box:
There is a switching 15V 1A power supply, nice thick USB cable, an USB drive (nice touch!) containing the driver, manual, and instructions, and the DAC itself. The specs are cribbed from Topping's web site.
|
Here's the link to the manual I uploaded: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5IxYeSNT0kGVU9UTERqOWVoaEU/view?usp=sharing
Front view:
The interface is pretty minimal. A toggle switch for power. A toggle switch for input--optical, coax, and USB. 2 indicator lights, one for power on, and the other lights up for invalid file formats.
Back view:
RCA outputs, coaxial, optical, and USB inputs.
Compared to SMSL M8:
Gotta void the warranty:
Closeups
The XMOS chip and oscillator crystals
Cirrus Logic CS4398
The output stage with the venerable OPA2134 opamp:
Output protection relay circuit, a very nice touch:
The internal components are very nicely done. The resistors appear to be KOA Speer 1% film resistors. The electrolytic caps are Elna's for the power section and Nichicon FW's for the opamp. The film caps are WIMA's and TDK-EPCOS. No complaints there.
So the $64 questions is: How does it sound? Well, it sounds like nothing. Nothing at all. It takes the 0's and 1's from the source and convert them to analog signals without adding anything. It does not color the sound or add anything to the music. What you get is a pure, clean output, and that is the best compliment.
What are my gears? For cans, I used AKG K7xxx, Beyerdynamics DT990 600 Ohm, and Fostex TH500RP. I really like the TH500RP's. They got a bad rep for having rolled off trebles when they first came out, but I'm a bit treble sensitive and find them to be well balanced. The DT900's are only for electronic music because they are fun, and the AKG's, well, they are excellent all-around cans with the bonus factor that my wife think they look stupid and refuse to use them, so I don't have to fight her for it.
As far as amps go, I used an O2 of my own build and this:
Also of my own build. I won't say anything about it, but if you know what it is, you'll know where I'm coming from.
So how does it compare with the SMSL M8?
Well, the D30 doesn't have the OLED display showing the format, or the fancy filters (which I haven't really been able to reliably tell any difference), but the sound is comparable. I find the M8 to be transparent, just like the D30. If you already have a M8, there is no point in getting the D30. But if you are looking for a DAC to start out that will handle DSD files, the Topping D30 is the deal of the century.
What are the downfalls? Well, it doesn't support 32/382, DXD or DSD 256/512, but since I don't have any music in those formats, it's a moot point.
Interestingly, with my Windows 10 rig, I was able to plug it in, and because I had the driver for the M8 installed, the computer recognized immediately. In fact, I didn't have to do anything to Foobar2000 since I already had it configured for the M8. Makes sense since both DAC's use the XMOS interface. The driver provided by Topping on the USB drive is the 2.26.0 version. The latest driver for the SMSL M8 is the 3.20.0 version, which is what I have installed.
One final note. Just to really, really void the warranty:
Oh, yeah, sucked off the 2134 and replaced it with a DIP-8 socket. I broke one on the pins on the 2134 while desoldering it, but no big deal. I have a couple of 2132's (which are higher grades of 2134's anyway) and popped one in. Sounded exactly the same. 2227 opamp was about the same as the 2132. I popped in a 2107 I had lying around, and MAYBE it sounded a bit fuller, but I can't reliably tell the difference, but since there is no distortion, I left the 2107 in because, well, it cost more
One final, final note, I ordered the parts to build a 15V linear power supply and will post the results.
(Briefly about me: I'm in my mid 40's and consider myself a music enthusiast and a electronic hobbyist rather than an audiophile. In fact, I'm anything but an audiophile. My hearings are shot from years in a rock band, and I can't hear anything above 14 KHz.)
