Topping A30 Pro NFCA Headphone Amplifier OPA1656 4PIN XLR 4.4MM 6.35MM Output Balanced Input Amplifier (Black)

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It has a proprietary end on it so its not like there will be a universal adapter for it (I think its part of how it has its dual mode setup). There is a reason why High end amps are balanced and why they measure better in certain cases like Singxer for example.

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The front panel also has two 3-way toggle switches. The leftmost is a power switch that doubles as an input selector, so there’s off, XLR and RCA. Next to it is the gain switch, which allows for switching between 3 gain levels. Inputs include both a single-ended RCA and a pair of 3-pin balanced XLRs. In the rear panel, there are 2 other pairs of outputs, which are pass-through outputs, not to be mistaken for pre-amp outputs. Thank you for review, you describe a lot about the amp, but not much about the dac? Could you share some comparisons to other DACs.

Moving to the UE Live, my first custom, I lowered the gain to medium. Playing at a much lower volume as well, the detail was still present. I appreciated the transparency of sound emitting from the songs and kept that volume lower by choice. The trio came across as completely compelling to me, and the “mid-fi” Topping duo could certainly hold their own with the Live attached. I do wish for more bass from the Live, but due to its excellent clarity I appreciated the tuning and the pairing with the Topping duo. Treble is highly detailed, very textured, sometimes highlighted, but it wasn’t harsh or bright with my digital sources. It went sky high, it fully preserved the top octave, I’ve felt driver movements past 16 kHz, especially with Hifiman headphones. It was going for a clean, undistorted performance, with a defined leading edge and outlined contours. If you like your trebles clean and extremely detailed, then this amplifier is definitely for you. A30 PRO rendered bells, cymbals and tambourines in a clean manner, I felt their metallic shimmering, there were playful and impactful but never bright in long listening sessions. I’m reminding you that it is extended in here, so it might pose a problem with bright sounding DACs or headphones, for a perfect match you’ll need a warmer and a calmer digital or analog source (D30 PRO will fit like a glove). At the rear, there is the same number of inputs and outputs also, but the balanced outputs on the A30 Pro are ¼” TRS outputs instead of the more traditional 3-pin XLR. Also, it’s worth noting that the A30 Pro’s rear is much more crowded, so it might be a bit more difficult to organize the wiring if all ports are used at the same time. Performance

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While both amplifiers have similar input/output ports, the A30 Pro’s output ports are just bypass ports. Meaning the outputs are just shorted to the input signal if the amplifier is turned off, so the A30 Pro doesn’t have any pre-amp output capabilities.

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I did my listening with a combination of the D30pro that was shipped as part of the Apos Ensemble and with my RME ADI-2 as DAC. Some will find the pairing of the ADI-2 as overkill since it retails for more than 4 times the cost of the A30Pro but I wasnted to really wring out everything the A30pro was capable of so using a DAC that provide crazy detail levels makes sure the Amp isn’t restricting it. One thing is evident regardless of the DAC paired to the A30Pro. It has some power and authority. Bass hits are potent but control is very good as well so the punch is exactly where it should be and doesn’t spread out. Likewise, repeated strikes don’t lose impact as they can with some lesser designs. The A30Pro delivers solid mids as well with good note weight and clarity throughout the range. Treble is well extended as well with no notable roll-off being attributable to the amplifier. Your statement is true. When everything is equal then balance would provide better sound (in general). However, when everything is equal balance amp also much more expensive than single ended, because use four times more component on amplification board. The internal of V281 basically is V200 x 4 pcs. The Topping A30 Pro is a high quality headphone amplifier that will delight lovers of headphone listening. With two headphone outputs at different impedances and a three-level adjustable gain, it will work with all types of headphones. Its symmetrical amplification circuit allows it to offer excellent performance, ensuring great precision and richness of sound. The most obvious DAC pairing with the A30 Pro is its complementing DAC, the D30 Pro. With this pairing, I made sure to use a pair of balanced outputs, since the D30 Pro sounds optimal through its balanced outputs. I think this is fine for dongles.. but for a desktop DAC I feel more confident in ESS Sabre/AKM implementations, to be perfectly honest.

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When i had Violectric v280 it sounded nothing spectacular single ended, but going balanced improved soundstage width, depth dramatically as well as resolution. The Magni has around the same peak power but it doesn't have the level of control that the A30 offers. In recent years, the choice of affordable yet quality headphone amplifiers has increased dramatically, to great benefit for the consumers. Much of this has been due to offerings from Chinese firms, which Topping represents in an exemplary way. The Topping A30, their only desktop headphone amplifier, embodies the concept very well: it is a well-built device that offers good sound at a reasonable price. Since then, buying headphones does not have to consider whether the plug matches the headphone amplifier, because the A30Pro already provides you all in a compact body, including 4-PIN-XLR, 4.4mm, 6.35mm. In use the unit got a bit warm but nothing remotely serious. Sitting there by itself, it warms up to a bit above ambient temperature.As the 2nd amplifier that utilities SMSL’s proprietary PLFC amplifier topology, the HO200 isn’t just a larger version of their original PLFC amplifier the SH-8s. Its sound is neutral, detailed and clean and, on top of that, the A30 is very convenient to use. It has its flaws, too, such as the high output impedance, but they look minor in comparison to the pros. I got this in a few weeks ago but just opened it up on saturday. Unfortunately it came with a USA plug attached to a 230/240V adapter (its not a wall wart, its a floor wart with non removable plugs). With both amplifiers employing technologies with a similar goal, they have the same distortion numbers as low as 0.00006%.