There’s another Chinese (?) reviewer named Wolf who has the equipment to measure this stuff. Someone on ASR linked to their measurements:
https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/measurements-of-topping-d30pro-dac/
https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/measurements-of-topping-a30pro-headphoneamp
I think the difficult thing with measurements is you or I obviously don’t have the equipment to verify them so we either trust ASR/Wolf or you get the other argument of “they’re just shills for topping.” Also they did receive pre-production units so there’s the doubt of “they’re just golden samples.”
With something like this, which is measuring at TOTL level, it’s worth taking a step back and realising that there’s plenty of other options out there that perform better than what we can audibly hear so if you don’t like Topping because of their past issues, or you want different inputs, etc then don’t think you’re missing out on anything for picking another option.
On a personal note, this has the inputs I want at about the price range I am willing to spend so it’s definitely a consideration for an upgrade soon. The only weird thing is those filters on the D30pro, yeah John Yang on ASR said they can update them in the future but will they? Again, will I be able to tell a difference even if they do? Probably not
Just to clarify, my questions were rhetorical, but glad to see there is at least 1 other.
I agree with you that yes, there are plenty of other options and taking a step back is the right way to go (not just with this, but any audio gear). And of course, listening if possible - ultimately, we buy the stuff to listen with, not to measure.
And yes, there is a chance of golden samples happening - I should clarify the original question - for all the Topping / SMSL stuff pushed on ASR with "Great measurements" -
Have random unknown buyers who buy on whatever general mass market channels been able to obtain similar measurements? Especially when purchased 1,2, or more years after an initial release (when BOMs may have been revised, parts substituted, etc) and/or after say some amount of use (i.e. - do the components hold up)? It's one thing if one guy can get good measurements 1x on possible golden samples - it's another thing when the public at large can do it. Granted, it's "just audio equipment" and this is probably not actually necessary - I'm just a little surprised that there aren't more measurements out there. Of course, they're still selling product, so maybe the public has already decided that it's not needed.
However, I disagree that you need an APX555 just to make proper measurements, just a "competent enough" setup and knowledge of how to actually measure (i.e. - it's not always as simple as just grounding the ground and sticking the probe against whatever other lead). A good lab technician, electrical engineer, service tech, etc. who regularly works with or measures similar or more complicated equipment can confirm this. Of course, there may be minor differences due to equipment, but a good tech or engineer also knows how to account for said differences, explain why they are there, when to ignore said minor differences or artifacts, use more than 1 sample, etc.
Regarding numbers of failures, no, I don't have hard stats. I don't think anyone has a full picture, maybe not even the people at Topping/SMSL. But just from reading the ASR thread by clicking between random page numbers about a week after it started, I saw what appeared to be 4 reported incidents on about 5 randomly selected pages (out of I think 20 pages at the time?). I would assume that this means there are many more out there. You do not see similar incidents for pretty much any other company or even other Topping / SMSL products. Additionally, in this case, it was due to what appears to be at best a design flaw and at worst something that was deliberately omitted (as DC + static protection is nothing new or unknown with electronic amps) for whatever reason/s.
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