The D30 Pro unfortunately does not come with Bluetooth capability. You have USB, Optical and Coaxial inputs. As for the outputs, you have balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA. Everything feels solid, including the pressable volume knob. Topping once again nailed this category. Well done. Technology Inside A30Pro is designed with ample quiescent current. It will fully work in Class A operation when the headphone impedance is greater than 250 Ohms. Now some are going to ask "how does it sound", well it sounds like nothing. I can't hear any "modification" to any of my music. NOTE: there is no pre-amp functionality here. The rear connectors are pass through for convenience. Also, the output is only unbalanced and connectors are there for convenience, not more power. When shutting down, the input signal is directly output to RCA or TRS without amplification, which will be more suitable for active speakers/monitor speakers when the DAC has pre-amplifier functions. Even better is when used with D30Pro, the excellent noise performance of D30Pro is not wasted.

Topping Audio A30 Pro Headphone Amplifier Review

The HO200 is unmistakably an SMSL product, where some design elements can easily be found in other SMSL products. But simply improving and customizing an already proven formula isn’t such a bad thing. While it takes a lot of previous design elements, the HO200 has been customized to ensure that the features available with the HO200 can be used easily. The Topping A30Pro is a satisfactory mid-range headphone amplifier with top specification, better sound, and a refined build. 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). Ah, it is not distortion. It is a technique for reducing noise in audible band called "noise shaping." You take out noise in audible band and park it in ultrasonic range that we don't hear. This is a very mild version and starts well above audible range ag 45 kHz. So no consequence as far as audibility.

Final Thoughts

This is my first "new thread' here. I realized there is no thread currently for the Topping A30 (only one for the D30). Listening to this pair, there is an obvious improvement in layer separation within the soundstage. Even with naturally more intimate headphones such as the HD600, or the LCD-X. There is a touch more layering and a more natural sense of space between instruments. On the specs sheet, there is a difference in the dynamic range capability of the amplifiers, and I believe that it manifested itself in how the layering and depth are presented. This makes the SH-8s’ soundstage presentation comparatively more compressed and blurred together. I think its more than a relevant offering today where more and more cans are being designed to run off of phones and as such they need less and less power, yet most amps on the market are providing tons of power for big cans, and honestly you can't plug headphones into DAC's and actually get quality output, leaving you with no real offerings.

Topping A30 Pro | Audiofool Reviews Topping A30 Pro | Audiofool Reviews

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. Its honesty and its transparent nature fully preserves the voicing of your digital or analog front end. When it was connected to the HydraVox, suddenly music started flowing like a river bringing natural textures, highlighting inner-details and less so sharp overtones. When Matrix Element X came to play, music became extra crispy, but clean and defined and when Gustard X26 PRO appeared on my desk, the sensation of power overwhelmed my body, it punched and slammed the hardest out of them all. Its honesty can work as a double-edged sword too, for example it made wonders with warm sounding headphones like LCD-4 or Wodan, but it could be a little too much with headphones like Hifiman HE1000SE or Susvara. I like some warmth added into the mix with such headphones and A30 PRO isn’t about being warm, bright, or smooth. 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.

Gallery

MSB ADD-1 (ADC with AES out into Okto) for various analog sources and Technics SL-D2 for vinyl via Schiit Mani 2 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). 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.

Topping A30Pro | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org Topping A30Pro | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

The A30 Pro solves this issue with a GND/LIFT switch. When in normal use, set the switch to GND. If you encounter ground loop noise, set the switch to LIFT, which will change the ground point of the A30 Pro from its chassis to the equipment it’s connected to, eliminating the noise. Oh wow! 0.73 watts using such a high impedance? This is wonderful as it means you don't need to use balanced connections to get enough power to drive high impedance and inefficient headphones. Low and medium gains have identical performance and incredibly low noise floor with no clipping. So if you hear distortion there, it is in your music. The rear of the XA-10 is more cramped, considering that it only has space for a rounded DC adaptor plug instead of a standard IEC power cable. It should be noted though that the XA-10 is limited to just single-ended input with the rest of the inputs being a slew of digital inputs. Performance Unfortunately, I then listened to recordings of classical music using the HO200 that are among my favorites and decided that I could not enjoy listening to most classical recordings on the HO200.I had to wait on another pair of XLR to XLR cables, since my primary pair were running off my iFi Pro set up. While I waited, I used the excellent DDHiFi RC20A cables instead. These are fabulously built and sounding cables, and to me amongst the best RCA cable I have used. Through this format, and the RCA switch on the front of the A30P. I found I could manipulate the gain with either medium, or high gain. If I was listening to my UE Live, I used medium, and turned the D30P down a bit as well. Easy to drive, the sound was very, very good; with a succinctness to the sound, which allowed me to differentiate where the players were in the music. Second, read the following review of the A30 Pro if you have not already done so or watch the video:

Topping A30Pro | Page 2 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion Topping A30Pro | Page 2 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion

A30Pro provides 3 step gain settings, which can easily adapt to the huge sensitivity span from IEMs to high impedance and full size over-ears. Just connect the earphones and leave the rest to the A30Pro. Well hifiman 400i for me is pushing the Aune a bit I think... On its 0 gain setting, for non-compressed to **** albums, at max volume you're getting just about good listening volume. The beyers 990 600 ohms aren't even getting as loud as I typically listen, which isn't very loud imho... I guess that's why the gain setting is there, and with the 10dB gain you're getting plenty of volume for both phones. And it doesn't sound bad, but I'm under the impression (although I never directly A/B'd) that the Magni did better driving the 400i.. Magni might have been more detailed, although some in the Aune T1 thread have mentioned this could also be caused by the base tube... Desktop: Apple iMac 5K, Denafrips ARES 2, Singxer SA-1, LCD-2C, HD6XX, Fiio BTR5, 2x Adam Audio A7X, 1x Adam Audio T10S Subwoofer Something I found to be very positive is the presence of the switches on the front, so they are very convenient to flip. There are both the power switch (which also acts as an impedance selector) and a gain selector, which allows to choose between three presets: 0 dB, 9 dB, 18 dB.

Design & Build

The real difference here and what makes the topping a much better option in my eyes is that it has a high-power side and a low-power side and a high-power mode and the low-power mode. It also has three different game options so it is actually a perfect amp to use with sensitive headphones and iems. Most everything else has far too much power as you will surely not need 1.5 watts per Channel unless you have some sort of very crazy high demand planar magnetic headphones. Most headphones these days are actually made to work with cell phones and other portable music devices so most things have a power requirement of 100 mw or less. Even the Oppo pm-3 has a power requirement of 250 Mw. With a net weight of 0.87 kg or almost 2 pounds, I find it lightweight and small enough. All in all, it looks modern and cool and it has the same dimensions with its soul mate D30 PRO. With power on the A30 Pro listed as 6W into 16Ω and 840mW into 300Ω, it can easily power most of my full-sized headphones, including the Audio Technica ADX5000, Hifiman Ananda, and the Audeze LCD-X. Aside from noise mitigation, the NFCA circuit is optimized for use in a single-ended operation. Using the UHGF topology, the A30 Pro can produce a wide dynamic range, up to 145dB, which is beyond the thresholds of the dynamic range of human hearing. Other than that, the channel crosstalk seems to be the same on all headphone outputs, strengthening the fact that it is a single ended amplifier with balanced input and outputs. Having a SNR of around 140 dB, I’m sure that A30 PRO will sound crystal clear and extremely detailed as its NFCA brothers did. Output impedance is negligible at just 0.1 Ω on SE and BAL, so you can be sure that it will preserve all the damping factor for an immaculate transient response and diaphragm control.