[zek]

andd this one?

Which one?

[bixby]

psst, best dac I have had in my headphone system in years!  No noted faults so far.  Topping D30

[wushuliu]

psst, best dac I have had in my headphone system in years!  No noted faults so far.  Topping D30

The Topping uses the CS4398, which I agree is a great sounding chip and deserves more love. It's got a 'lively' presence to it and an engaging midrange.

Not a fan of the OPA2134 opamps the Topping uses though. Are you able to swap them?

[wushuliu]

i started looking atthese because i am hoping to get Xmox 208 and RCA outputs and also headphone output and also stay away from ESS

For greatest flexibility my thought is get one of the many XMOS 208 cards available and then you can use whatever dac you want.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Assembled-XU208-XMOS-USB-Audio-Digital-Interface-XLR-AES-fiber-coaxial/112402255126?hash=item1a2bb24d16:g:sugAAOSwR29ZEqA5

(just one of many at different price points).

[wushuliu]

Current update: still loving my DA3. Will try to make a balanced output cable for my amp and try that out. My setup sounds gorgeous, but it's really the emphasis on power supplies that took it over the top (lot of LT3045s in this case). If it's a choice between a cheap dac and a great PS vs a pricey DAC w/ stock, I'll take the former every time.

[maty]

Master Index for Audio Hardware Reviews

https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/master-index-for-audio-hardware-reviews.2079/

-> Topping D30 DAC Measurement and Review

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-d30-dac-measurement-and-review.2016/

[jmc207]

The Topping uses the CS4398, which I agree is a great sounding chip and deserves more love. It's got a 'lively' presence to it and an engaging midrange.

Not a fan of the OPA2134 opamps the Topping uses though. Are you able to swap them?

The pictures I've seen of the D30 circuit board show a soldered OPA2134, though there is someone who unsoldered it and replaced it with a socket.

[maty]

[wushuliu]

Master Index for Audio Hardware Reviews

https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/master-index-for-audio-hardware-reviews.2079/

-> Topping D30 DAC Measurement and Review

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-d30-dac-measurement-and-review.2016/

Mmm, yeah, Amir. Whatever.

He does like the Topping though. Sounds like its headamp is the key here based on bixby's statement above.

[wushuliu]

m'kay.

[restrav]

Which one?

this one.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/263051265833?var=562053792431

im checkling out Topping d30 right now. i dont know anythiong about that DAC chip. so far between the ones that i have heard i prefer AK4490 to any ESS but really the only sound that i really like has only been from philips good old NOS DACS. the only  reason that i am not going for another one of those is only that i want a good headphone amp and cutting edge USB right now.

[maty]

More:

Attached measures the buffer designed by us using different operational amplifiers:

http://www.atmstore.es/en/buffer-nc500-3/

My conclusion: do not buy Burson Audio V5

[restrav]

D30 does not have a head amp it seems. i 1st prioraity is a decent headamp with (ideally) half watt or something like that . i want to drive some planars with it. i think im done with dynamic headphones.

[restrav]

i dont care about DSD much at the moment, i want the XMOS usb for the fidelity it supposedly provides. i have like 5 DSD albums but i dont really care about any of them. i want something that makes my radiohead, portishead, pink floyd and leonard cohen sound good.

[wushuliu]

D30 does not have a head amp it seems. i 1st prioraity is a decent headamp with (ideally) half watt or something like that . i want to drive some planars with it. i think im done with dynamic headphones.

Ah, I misunderstood bixby's post. Thought it did. If a headamp is important, you should just buy a separate headamp. Can start with a good old CMOY mint tin on ebay if you're cash strapped.

[restrav]

More:

Attached measures the buffer designed by us using different operational amplifiers:

http://www.atmstore.es/en/buffer-nc500-3/

My conclusion: do not buy Burson Audio V5

edited: I also returned the LKS which proved that specs mean zero.

[wushuliu]

i bought V5i last year i tried it in my LKS DA003 and i sent it back for refund. i was one of the early adopters.
I also sent the returned the LKS which proved that specs mean zero.

I think opamps are best avoided in general. Kind of like tubes, you just ended up spending a lot of money trying out one after the other, chasing your own tail. At least tubes are cool. I just a built a tangensoft MINT headamp, so I shouldn't talk, but I also had a lot of opamps sitting around for years so I put them to use.

[bixby]

As mentioned no headamp in the Topping D30.  I run it into a Magni3.  This Aprox $200 combo gives me more satisfaction than a Schiit Modi 4490 and Lake People GS-109 at about
3 times the price.

As for chips, my experience is they can sound similar in lower cost implementations but they are not the biggest factor in some higher priced dacs ultimate sound, but do have a role.  My main speaker dac (Prism Lyra 1) also has 4398 chips but should not be lumped in the same league as the Topping.

[maty]

Opamp, better a discrete opamp like Sonic Imagery SIL 994 Enh Ticha

http://www.sonicimagerylabs.com/products/Model994DiscreteOpAmp-Ticha.html

or someone of the new opamps.

It is very important how they have been implemented in the circuit.

[maty]

A very clean system can sound "anechoic".

That is I am interested in preamps with second harmonic preminence + clean power amp + clean DAC.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=153645.msg1646998#msg1646998

I am not Mike but my idea was a preamp with second harmonic preminence, very low third harmonic and nothing else. With clean DAC (maybe the RME ADI-2 Pro - I love RME AD hard used to make vinyl rips). The sound profile would be given by the preamp.

Look at the graphs of this new DIY preamp by xrk971 + AKSA.

AKSA's Lender Preamp with 40Vpp Output

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/314563-aksas-lender-preamp-40vpp-output.html

Well it is not balanced but... the measures are so beautiful aka very clean.

Oh, you need to be logged to see the pictures. Maybe I can upload one:

[IMG] http://maty.galeon.com/WP-imagenes/hum/AKSA-Lender-Preamp-SMT-Preamp-20vpp-7kohm-47R-degen-yes-matched-6k8carbon-FB.png