On this page, we’re checking out the Topping E30 II & Topping L30 II stack performance.
Topping E30 II & L30 II DAC & AMP Stack Performance
Testing Gear: Hifiman Edition XS, Vision Ears VE7, Audioquest Golden Gate RCA Interconnect, Audioquest Pearl USB A-to-B, MacOS 12.6
Topping’s E30 II & L30 II units naturally have a good synergy with each other. Both units are technically capable and have a clean, neutral, and resolving sound signature. They have a very good resolution and a clean sound signature that impressed me from the first listen. No matter what headphones I paired it with in my inventory, I was satisfied with the performance. Extended highs, clean mids without saturation, and a really satisfying bass reproduction are just a few of the things I experienced with the Hifiman Edition XS.
Pairing it with the Vision Ears VE7 is just dreamy. The VE7’s revealing nature and resolution is hands-down one of the best I’ve ever experienced. It does a great job of conveying the nature of the IEMs to the listener, improving on the technical details while keeping the signature intact.
Paired with both full-size headphones and sensitive monitors, this combo managed to impress me, offering a dark and quiet background. Stack does a very good job of conveying the sound signature of the equipment you’re paired to. The Stack doesn’t add color to the mix and doesn’t saturate the sound signature of your IEMs or HPs.
The stack easily outperforms its price point. I can easily recommend this combo to all headphone/IEM owners, forget the price tags and just pair it with your favorite equipment and you will be satisfied with the result.
Comparison
vs. Yulong DA-ART Aurora ($520 USD)
Aurora is a mid-tier all-in-one made by Yulong. Aurora’s most important and impressive feature is that it is equipped with a class A amplifier stage. ESS Technology’s ES9068AS premium chipset is used as the DAC. In addition, the device has 7 OPA1612 operational amplifier chips and is powered by an adapter like the E30 II. I found it fair to compare the DAC with a fully balanced audio circuitry to the E30 II + L30 II combo. Note that the Topping stack is 220 dollars cheaper.
Firstly, there is a significant signature difference between the two units. The Aurora has a warmer tonality compared to the Topping and features a more cubic-style stage projection. The depth is good, but the width is somewhat limited. The Aurora puts the vocal in front of the stage and highlights it, whereas Topping presents them orderly and linearly. Moreover, from the technical performance aspect, Topping’s stack is impressive and outperforms the Aurora. The E30 II + L30 II stack offers superior resolution, clarity, accurate imaging, and layering.
Last Words
Topping has done an incredible job yet again and we are faced with a pair of products that perform well above their price tags. The sonic performance and technical capabilities of the products are truly impressive. From 8 ohms to 600 ohms, I got excellent results with all the headphones and headphones I tried.
The build quality of the device is also very good and feels solid, as we are used to from Topping. The optical and coaxial inputs and the RCA output support are also nice little details.
If you need a DAC and an amplifier, I definitely recommend that you give the Topping II and Topping L30 II a chance. Moreover, we thought it is only fair to award the E30 and L30 II stack with the HFN recommended award. So these units are now featured on both the best amplifier and best DAC lists!
Page 1: Topping E30 II Desktop DAC, Packaging & Accessories, Design & Build Quality, Controls & UI, DAC Performance
Page 2: Topping L30 II Desktop Amp, Packaging & Accessories, Design & Build Quality, Technology & Power, AMP Performance
Page 3: Topping E30 II & L30 II DAC & AMP Stack Performance, Comparison, Last Words
Tony Yan
Hi, May I know your thoughts on edition xs performance on k7 comparing with on l30ii and e30ii stack? I’ve heard that although topping has very high performance on technical aspect, they don’t sound pleasant and rather more lifeless and analytical. Since e30ii uses the same dac chip as k7, I would really like to know which one should I choose for edition xs. Thank u for response.
Yagiz
Hello Tony,
If you have a balanced cable, go for the K7.
If you don’t, you’re better off with the E stack. Topping doesn’t sound lifeless, people’s poor choice of headphones do.
Balakrishna Narasimhan
Hi Tony, how does this stack compare to the iFi Zen v2? I use it with the Sundaras and am quite happy with the sound but would like more air and spaciousness.
Anderson
Excellent review. The E30-II is a really linear, true-to-reproduction DAC. I was comparing it to another DAC I have and it was making music uninteresting because it was overly crisp, revealing or something like that. Then I realized that this was happening with high resolution files in Qobuz above 24bit-96kHz. When I switched to the normal 16bit-44kHz, the musicality came back, detailed but pleasant sound. Very clear with “Tommy” by The Who.