Topping D30 + Crack

[fromnowon]

Hello,

I just felt like sharing my experience with a new DAC.  This weekend I'm trying out a Topping D30 with my non-speedball Crack.  It was $109 which relatively speaking is pretty reasonable for a nice DAC.  There are many good reviews of this DAC.  It did take a little messing around to get the Windows drivers installed but I managed to.  I've only tried the USB input so far.

Wow, after several hours of listening, it really is making a very significant improvement in my opinion.  I find myself mostly streaming Spotify on the "high quality" setting.  Previously I was using an external DAC, a Fiio X5ii in USB mode.  I am finding that the D30 provides the Crack with a much stronger and fuller signal. 

There is a lot of discussion about tubes and headphone combinations with Crack, but maybe the quality of the input signal is almost as big of a factor . . . that's what I'm finding.  I'm still using the stock tubes BTW; they sound awesome.

Anyway I'm curious if others like the D30 / Crack combination, speedball or no speedball. 

[Blue]

I also have a Topping D30 for my desktop. When I was using it with the Crack + Speedball (HD 6xx) I noticed that the combination had some harsh highs for my ears.
However, after switching to different sources and listening to the same songs, I noticed that the harshness went away. I had some problems with my speedball, so i had to take it out for a while.
The Topping D30 used with the crack and without the speedball had much more manageable highs for my ears. However, the speedball matches so well with my other equipment, so it would be disappointing to not have it in.

Everyone's ears are different, so what I like may not be for you, and the other way around.
A side note for the D30, sometimes mine stops producing audio form time to time. Power stays on, but nothing is coming out. This seems to be documented by many people.
So while it may be a good cheap DAC, there are some known problems out there.

[fromnowon]

Interesting; thanks for the reply!

I have a speedball kit but find that I like the "regular" crack so much as is that I'm sort of afraid (or at least not motivated) to take it apart and try the speedball.  From what I"ve read the D30 has a reputation for being transparent. 

Sorry to hear your D30 isn't reliable!  Mine has been flawless so far.  Makes me wonder if it could be a driver issue, if you are using windows.  I'll attach my driver version/info in case it's useful.  (it was not that easy to find it on the Topping site)

I guess Macs don't require a driver with the D30.

[Manbear]

I also use the D30 with both Crack w/ Speedball and S.E.X. 3.0 w/ C4S paired with HD6XX and Focal Elex, respectively. I absolutely love it! I have only tried a few different DACs and noticed some unexpected differences between them. I don't believe that there should be much influence or coloration of any DAC when paired with different amps. I did notice that a Modi Multibit (R2R ladder), for instance, seemed to add to the preamplified gain (or something) which caused the highs to sound harsh and generally louder than other non-external DAC'd sources. The D30 simply seems to stay out of the way while delivering a pure, clean signal to the amp vs something like an iPhone. I don't care to buy another DAC anytime soon. The D30 measures well for such an inexpensive DAC, so I think you've made a good purchase.