If you’re a DSD enthusiast, you will be happy to hear that E30 can decode anything, up to DSD 512 natively, and it will decode DSD256 via DoP, thanks to the excellent AK4493 DAC inside.
For me, it worked alright using a free USB port from my PC, but things were better when using iFi’s iPower.
You can always use something like an iFi iPower accessory, but you could get away with something like an iFi iDefender+ or an iFi iPurifier+, depending on how clean your computer’s USB outputs are. There’s also a power input, at the right side, since E30 needs to take power from an AC transformer, but you get a USB cable in the package. There’s also a SPDIF Coaxial input, an Optical input, and a USB input, which is controlled by the latest XMOS XU208 Gen 2 Controller.
In the back, there’s an Analogue output, in the form of two RCA cables. There’s also the Topping logo, along with the E30 name, and the high resolution data rates around the display, and there is a touch on / off button on the right side of the display. Most of those feelings remain, and it is a beautiful little device, with a great build quality, there’s a little display at the front, which has the orange color as the main font color. Optical / coaxial sampling rate: 44.1kHz – 768kHz / 16bit – 24bit Inputs: USB, S/PDIF (optical), S/PDIF (coaxial) Product type: DAC (digital to analogue converter) Investing in a good RCA cable that doesn’t have noise (which can run to be almost half the price of the E30), will yield better sonic improvements than changing the USB cable.
The USB Cable is great, and for the quality of e30 I don’t feel you’ll feel compelled to upgrade that cable first. I don’t mean to be this excited usually, but getting a remote with a 130 USD DAC is big news, and a big deal, many people even go as far as to purchase a separate volume control because their DAC doesn’t have a remote, and there are DACs that cost over 2000 USD out there, but which don’t come with a remote, or a USB Cable, so I’m going to consider that the package for E30, for 130 USD is excellent. Topping did not skip on anything, and managed to not only add some interesting extras, but besides the E30, which is a great tiny unit, you also get all the paperwork you could need, a power cable, a USB Cable, and even a Remote! This being said, we are talking about a 130 USD product, but the package is so great, it makes it feel like 500 USD at least. Topping E30 is priced at 130 USD globally, although when you factor in the tax and shipping, it may cost a bit more in your country. You can always purchase Topping E30 from : įirst things first, let’s get the packaging out of the way: Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it, the purpose of this review is to help those interested in Topping E30 find their next music companion. This review reflects my personal experience with Topping E30. I’d like to thank Topping for providing the sample for this review. It should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with Topping. Overall, you can rely on Topping, and they are some of the better companies for warranty out there. You can always order their products from online stores like Aoshida, where you have some of the best warranty out there, and they reply to your mails within minutes, so you know you’ll have excellent support, but there are also many local sellers for Topping products, making them easy to explore and easy to get a listen to, if something from their offering catches your eye. This being said, they are growing quickly, and not just because I tell you so, but because they’ve made some amazing improvements lately, as we will explore in today’s review. Topping is a magical company, not new, but not quite as known as FiiO yet. Since it is a DAC, pairings will be slightly more complicated, so I introduced it in a few systems, including in a Wells Milo Amplifier, driving an Ultrasone Signature DXP Headphone, a JDS Labs Atom driving a pair of HIFIMAN Sundara Headphones, and a Periodic Audio Nickel AMP driving a pair of FiiO FH7 IEMs. This makes it a direct competitor, and it will be compared to Burson Play, Pro-Ject Pre Box S2, Cyrus Soundkey. Topping is a large and growing company from China, and their E30 is priced at only 130 USD at the moment of making this review.