[hottyson]

Why recommend Schiit when they have a track record for frying headphones too?

You are referring to eleven years ago with NwAvGuy leading the way. Do you know about Schiit amplifiers frying headphones since then? Please share.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...robable-start-up.701900/page-52#post-10463052

To answer your question, I will give you three reasons.

1. Schiit has improved on their amplifiers.
The quality is pretty good for what you pay. If you change the knob on your Topping amplifier it removes the potentiometer from the board and breaks your amplifier.

2. Schiit has someone that you can communicate with if you have a problem.
Topping does not have anyone to speak with. Instead Topping only has someone on another forum that claims that he is only an intern when things go bad. And, then when they don't like what you say on said forum, they delete and censor your posts.
Here is Jude's take on censorship: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...preciation-thread.584763/page-11#post-8144761

3. Schiit also has a track record of taking care of the customers that had headphones fried.
I tried to get compensation for my headphones when Topping fried them with their poorly designed and poorly made ampliFire. It was a nightmare and the worst experience I have ever had with any product period. Topping is my least favorite brand.

As you can see, Topping is nowhere near what you get from Schiit. I have around forty or fifty headphone amplifiers right now and six of them are Schiit. They are of decent quality and were well worth every cent that I paid for them. I will never purchase anything Topping now that I have had to live the nightmare of dealing with them. I would instead recommend other brands such as Schiit, Ray Samuels, Headamp, Beyerdynamic, JDS Labs, Monoprice, Singxer, Little Dot, DarkVoice or pretty much anything else over Topping.

 

[chongky]

Fair enough.

I can recommend JDS Atom though, it has really good customer service, in fact I'm listening to it right now. But Schiit products... are not something I would recommend. Heard too many reports of headphones being fried, but to Schiit's credit they do reimburse the headphones if you can prove that.

 

[hottyson]

Fair enough.

I can recommend JDS Atom though, it has really good customer service, in fact I'm listening to it right now. But Schiit products... not something I would recommend.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT LINK! I had no idea that had transpired as I have been staying away from that forum after they censored all of my posts criticizing Topping.
.
I too had a problem with Schiit Heresy burning up a pair of cheap headphones early when the amplifier first came out but I wrote it off as a freak accident. I did not hear of anyone else having a problem with the Schiit Heresy. I contacted Schiit and Schiit said that they would look at it but I that I would have to pay for shipping. It did not seem worthwhile on a cheap $100 amplifier to pay $20 shipping. And, I bought it B-stock so they would not let me upgrade anyway. Plus, why would anyone send in an amplifier to get the same amp if it has a problem burning up headphones? So in the end I just forgot about the whole thing. I do appreciate that they at least offered to look at it.

Update: Schiit HAS paid for my shipping the amplifier back to them and a refund IS on it’s way back to me. I take back all that I said about their customer service.

When I shared a link from that same forum that criticized Topping here on Head-fi, it was deleted/censored. The reason given was that I am not allowed to post things about what happens in other forums. This is very convenient for Topping as they don't have to address issues with their customers by hiding behind this as they use that forum for dealing with their customers. This is a very shady underhanded way of dealing with customers. I am shocked by the way they get away with this.

 

[sajunky]

When I shared a link from that same forum that criticized Topping here on Head-fi, it was deleted/censored. The reason given was that I am not allowed to post things about what happens in other forums. This is very convenient for Topping as they don't have to address issues with their customers by hiding behind this as they use that forum for dealing with their customers. This is a very shady underhanded way of dealing with customers. I am shocked by the way they get away with this.

It was your mistake, so mods took it as an excuse. I didn't made such mistake, so my posts with technical details about A90 being defective were censored with explanation "no one else makes such claim".

Toping is a sponsor and mods are frequently in difficult situation, I do understand. Moderation is there, but civilised. On the other (strictly technical) forum, my arguments were understood clearly, so in result the entire thread titled like this: "Topping dual sealed SMPS for symmetric power good or wrong?" had been deleted without any notification. It is just a digression.

Coming back to a topic. You should understand what makes Topping amps fail. With such knowledge you can find out whether they are working on fixing a problem, or just trying to surpress a criticism. In this case, safety check up points are:

1. ESD protection of all inputs. Present or missing? If missing, then it is sensitive to a failure. The internal IC protection is insufficient, it must be supplemented with external devices. A failure can trigger what is described in #2.

2. DC protection of outputs. Present or missing? If missing, then a failure of one IC can damage your headphones. Some might argue: "nope, these opamps have individual output protection". This is true somehow, but in the case of individual opamps. In these designs (A90/L30) multiple amp chips are coupled together, individual chip protection do not work anymore. If you don't see external DC protection devices on the PCB, stay away, stay safe.

 

[banda]

Can anyone advise me on what I can do to reduce the risk of my L30 killing my headphones?

 

[sajunky]

Can anyone advise me on what I can do to reduce the risk of my L30 killing my headphones?

Never hot plug RCA cables. Power off your source device and your amp (L30/A90) before connecting or disconnecting cables, reducing volume is not enough. If you have lightning in your area, power it off (it is also valid for any audio equipment). If you have power outages in your area, Topping is a risk.

 

[banda]

Never hot plug RCA cables. Power off your source device and your amp (L30/A90) before connecting or disconnecting cables, reducing volume is not enough. If you have lightning in your area, power it off (it is also valid for any audio equipment). If you have power outages in your area, Topping is a risk.

Thanks! No other measures to be taken/anything else to be aware of?

 

[cel4145]

Can anyone advise me on what I can do to reduce the risk of my L30 killing my headphones?

What serial number is yours? If 2012 or higher, you have nothing to worry about.

If your serial number is lower and you bought from an authorized reseller, they can exchange for you. Contact them.

 

[banda]

What serial number is yours? If 2012 or higher, you have nothing to worry about.

If your serial number is lower and you bought from an authorized reseller, they can exchange for you. Contact them.

Mine is secondhand. That's why I'm here to ask for help.

 

[FYFL]

Can anyone advise me on what I can do to reduce the risk of my L30 killing my headphones?

Older L30’s (including my own) could be a problem and concern. Basically, something as silly as static build-up/discharge could cause damage. In my case, I grounded L30’s enclosure to outlet’s ground terminal for some peace of mind. I could return it…… but it will stay here to remind me why I should stay clear from these “measurements overachievers”. Lol

 

[sajunky]

What serial number is yours? If 2012 or higher, you have nothing to worry about.

I don't know what they told you, but there is still no ESD /DC-out protection.
Lets say, it was very bad, but it is no good.

 

[PowerCycles]

Do you guys think Topping will be releasing a new reiteration of L30 anytime soon? Probably an L30s?

 

[Mightygrey]

Do you guys think Topping will be releasing a new reiteration of L30 anytime soon? Probably an L30s?

Probably not. The L30 does everything a budget, simple device needs to do (aside from the whole headphone-frying thing on early units).

 

[cel4145]

Do you guys think Topping will be releasing a new reiteration of L30 anytime soon? Probably an L30s?

What's there to improve? It is easily arguable to be noise and distortion-free within the range of human hearing. And it will drive 99% of headphones. And people looking to drive one of those few rare headphones it won't are probably not looking for a device in this budget range.

 

[estreeter]

I doubt that there will be a refresh, but I'm sure ShenzhenAudio will keep us in the loop. Mine is still working perfectly, and that's all I ask of it - I've been down the rabbit hole too many times with incremental upgrades that have been hyped to death on HF and elsewhere.