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Topping L30 - The new budget benchmark?
Sep 2, 2020 at 12:53 PM Post #181 of 506
Tested the L30 against an S.M.S.L SP200 with a difficult to drive headphone (Hifiman Arya, 35ohm, 90db @ 1mW). The sound difference between the L30 & SP200 to me is:
  • SP200 pushes the main sound stage forward, as if you are observing it in front of you. The L30 stage is all around you, as if you are in the middle of the music.
  • SP200 has a wider and deeper sound stage, but somehow it doesn't seem correct. Almost as if sounds are being split too far apart. You lose some ambience compared to the L30. The L30 stage seems correct as-is.
  • SP200 sounds slightly thinner/less full compared to the L30. Due to this the SP200 has a little less detail, and again less ambience
Both are excellent amps, but for my tastes the L30 sounds better. Well.. not only better but the L30 doesn't have any downsides at all that I can find. At "only" 1 watt to the Arya's, I can't find anything missing compared to the higher powered SP200.
 
Sep 2, 2020 at 1:08 PM Post #182 of 506
Dramlin said:
Tested the L30 against an S.M.S.L SP200 with a difficult to drive headphone (Hifiman Arya, 35ohm, 90db @ 1mW). The sound difference between the L30 & SP200 to me is:
  • SP200 pushes the main sound stage forward, as if you are observing it in front of you. The L30 stage is all around you, as if you are in the middle of the music.
  • SP200 has a wider and deeper sound stage, but somehow it doesn't seem correct. Almost as if sounds are being split too far apart. You lose some ambience compared to the L30. The L30 stage seems correct as-is.
  • SP200 sounds slightly thinner/less full compared to the L30. Due to this the SP200 has a little less detail, and again less ambience
Both are excellent amps, but for my tastes the L30 sounds better. Well.. not only better but the L30 doesn't have any downsides at all that I can find. At "only" 1 watt to the Arya's, I can't find anything missing compared to the higher powered SP200.
Click to expand...
I've used the SMSL SP200 & the E30 dac. Never had a single issue with the sound stage, nor did it sound thinner or like it had less detail even when compared to the A90. I'm starting to wonder if it's the headphones or the amp just isn't a good pair with planars.
 
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Sep 2, 2020 at 1:50 PM Post #183 of 506
Dramlin said:
Tested the L30 against an S.M.S.L SP200 with a difficult to drive headphone (Hifiman Arya, 35ohm, 90db @ 1mW). The sound difference between the L30 & SP200 to me is:
  • SP200 pushes the main sound stage forward, as if you are observing it in front of you. The L30 stage is all around you, as if you are in the middle of the music.
  • SP200 has a wider and deeper sound stage, but somehow it doesn't seem correct. Almost as if sounds are being split too far apart. You lose some ambience compared to the L30. The L30 stage seems correct as-is.
  • SP200 sounds slightly thinner/less full compared to the L30. Due to this the SP200 has a little less detail, and again less ambience
Both are excellent amps, but for my tastes the L30 sounds better. Well.. not only better but the L30 doesn't have any downsides at all that I can find. At "only" 1 watt to the Arya's, I can't find anything missing compared to the higher powered SP200.
Click to expand...
and with which Dac were you pairing both amps?
 
Sep 2, 2020 at 2:27 PM Post #184 of 506
MCCare said:
I've used the SMSL SP200 & the E30 dac. Never had a single issue with the sound stage, nor did it sound thinner or like it had less detail even when compared to the A90. I'm starting to wonder if it's the headphones or the amp just isn't a good pair with planars.
Click to expand...

To clarify my generic wording on less detail and a bit thinner, it's a very subtle difference. The SP200 & L30 are very close to each other in terms of the sound they produce-- both great. The L30, to me, is able to pick up more nuances in the pluck of a guitar string, or someones breath hitting the top side of a flute. The sound is fully fleshed out, giving it a closer to natural sound. The SP200 still has those same sounds, but they are a little flatter with less fullness, blending more into the overall sound. Overall the L30 just sounds a little bit closer to reality, at least with my specific setup.

As for differences in our impressions, there's way too many variables at play. Could easily be that something in my chain is thinning out the sound upstream and that the L30 is warmer than the SP200. Could also be that my mind is tricking me in some way. I can typically trust my ears, but you never know.

Cat Music said:
and with which Dac were you pairing both amps?
Click to expand...

E30. Full chain is..

iBasso DX120 (Transport) via coax > E30 > L30/SP200 connected to the E30 by 'Worlds Best Cables Mogami 2497' > Hifiman Arya
 
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Sep 15, 2020 at 2:20 AM Post #185 of 506
Couldn't resist the temptation of this amp and I've just ordered one with D10s DAC (due to that I don't need E30's extra features). :)

Impressions whenever I receive it considering these strange times.
 
Sep 29, 2020 at 1:10 AM Post #188 of 506
Hi friends, anybody here tried a Khadas Tone Board DAC with the Topping L30? How's the synergy?
 
Sep 30, 2020 at 2:25 AM Post #189 of 506
baskingshark said:
Hi friends, anybody here tried a Khadas Tone Board DAC with the Topping L30? How's the synergy?
Click to expand...
No, but I'm sure it's perfectly transparent.
 
Oct 4, 2020 at 7:04 PM Post #190 of 506
According to DMS's review of L30, he had reservation on L30's capability to drive Hifiman Sundara fully. Anyone has first-hand experience?
 
Oct 4, 2020 at 7:52 PM Post #191 of 506
wolfstar76 said:
According to DMS's review of L30, he had reservation on L30's capability to drive Hifiman Sundara fully. Anyone has first-hand experience?
Click to expand...

It has as much output for low impedance headphones as the Atom does. Plenty of people use the Atom with Sundaras. I have no problem driving them with my Atom.

Unless you're going to add a lot of bass EQ boost, doesn't seem like it should be a problem.
 
Oct 4, 2020 at 8:18 PM Post #192 of 506
Thank you for the info!
 
Oct 4, 2020 at 8:22 PM Post #193 of 506
wolfstar76 said:
According to DMS's review of L30, he had reservation on L30's capability to drive Hifiman Sundara fully. Anyone has first-hand experience?
Click to expand...
My L30 can definitely drive my Sundara to ear splitting level at highest gain on the amp. If that's still not loud enough then I think DMG must be having a serious hearing problem.
 
Oct 4, 2020 at 8:41 PM Post #194 of 506
The L30 drives my Arya's fully, which are harder to drive than the Sundaras. Wonderful little amp.
 
Oct 5, 2020 at 6:55 AM Post #195 of 506
With planars it is mostly not only about max. volume level, but also about quality of bass reproduction. Try with recordings which really contain big bass, because it transfers the most of energy and needs also be reproduced without distortion. L30 is able to drive my HiFiMan HE-500 well, but it helped a bit when I shorted the green DC coupling caps near RCA input connectors.
 
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