Topping D30 Pro Review

Topping D30 Pro

DAC Performance

In this section, I will describe the sound signature of the Topping D30 Pro to you. I will not be using any amp here and I am hooking the DAC directly to my reference monitors. 

The D30 Pro sounds accurate and flat to my ears. It has a reference signature and it is quite detailed. The imaging capability is really good, transients are clear and defined. The soundstage is wide and instruments have enough air between them. They are freely scattered across the stage. I can’t hear any mid-bass bloat, upper mid spike, or dip of any sort. Instrument tonality feels accurate and linear. The PRaT is really good as well, this proves that DACs have come a long way since the last year and manufacturers like Topping & SMSL have been designing excellent DACs. The bite is good, the attack & decay feels agile. Tracking a single instrument is easy, as no frequency band overlaps the other and manages to have a good balance across the spectrum. 

Topping D30 Pro

Low – Mid – High

I am switching to my headphone amplifier here. I originally wanted to review the Topping D30 Pro & A30 Pro together but the supply of A30 Pro is scarce so we have to wait. I will update this review once I have it. Let’s proceed with my usual test units, SMSL’s SH-9 & Geshelli’s Archel 2.5 Pro. Starting with the bass region, the D30 Pro has a very clean, tight, and round bass response. It can also get thunderous when the track calls for it. My overall impression is similar to this sentence, the D30 Pro reflects tracks as is, nothing more, nothing less. Mid-bass control is very good and I can’t hear any bleeding or congestion here. As for the midrange, the D30 Pro holds its line of being very clear but also adds articulacy to the equation. Melody Gardot’s velvety voice takes me away each time there is a good DAC on my desk. Detail retrieval is really good too. One of the key points of a good midrange in my opinion is proper note weight. Note weight being too light results in a tinny, artificial reproduction and I can not accept that, especially at this price range. Don’t worry though, the D30 Pro sounds quite balanced in this regard, as well. Instruments such as guitars, violas, cellos sound reference to my ears. As for the highs, nothing surprising, in a very good way. They follow the rest of the spectrum. Resolving highs. The extension is great, it shines with the Hifiman Deva out of the balanced XLR of the SMSL SH-9.

XLR vs RCA

Balanced vs unbalanced, basically. The XLR output is rated at 4.2Vrms current while the RCA output is rated at 2.1Vrms only. During my testing, I found out that the background is darker and the layering, staging is better in fully balanced configuration. However, the gap is not big and if you already rocking an RCA-only amp and you’re happy, I’d suggest sticking with it.

Topping D30 Pro

vs. SMSL SU-9

This is a hard comparison because both of the devices are excellent DACs. They sound similar, they both have neutral, balanced signatures and reflect the recording perfectly. The biggest difference is to my ears, the SMSL SU-9‘s transients are sharper, it’s PRaT is slightly better but the margin is really small. However, there is a price difference between the two and there are couple of things that you should know. The SMSL SU-9 offers MQA & Bluetooth support. It also offers native decoding of DSD512 whereas D30 Pro is capped at DSD256. The SU-9 has much better screen but takes more space on your desk. The build quality is similar.

vs. SMSL M300 mkII

Another great DAC here. The M300 sounds very good for its price bracket and it is a good contender. However, the D30 Pro’s technical capability is superior and there is a slight difference in the sound signature between the two DACs. M300 mkII sounds slightly warmer, especially in the midrange. The D30 Pro’s imaging feels sharper and its soundstage is wider. D30 Pro seems more durable, build-wise and I’d pick the design of the D30 Pro over the M300 any day.

Last Words

Quad flagship DAC configuration, really good build-quality, brilliant flat signature and finally, a good price tag. These are the key points of the D30 Pro. It is a very competitive DAC that got the essentials just right. I am really curious about how it will pair with its companion AMP, the A30 Pro. That combo may be a promising candidate for the king mid-tier stack of 2021. Topping company has been designing really great products lately, and of course this is a huge blessing for us audiophiles. Increasing competition in the DAC market directly enables us to use better products. We hope this competition continues so that we could see better and better devices each passing quarter. I personally am quite curious about the future of DACs!

4.2/5 - (196 votes)
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Long time Tech Enthusiast, an ambitious petrol-head, Yagiz likes his gadgets and always finds new ways into the tinkerer's world. He tries to improve anything and everything he gets his hands onto. Loves an occasional shine on the rocks.

1 Comment

  • Reply May 29, 2022

    SHAWN

    You’re right about the highs having a sharper attack than the D30Pro. So sharp in fact that I traded the SMSL SU9 in for the Topping D30Pro and was much happier. I cannot take that sharp ESS presentation. Wolfoson/Cirrus chips in the Topping were exactly what I was searching for: Smooth with class leading sound stage similar to R to R Dacs.

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