Topping L30 xploding and taking headphones out

Discussion in 'All Points Bulletin / Be on the Look Out' started by M3NTAL, Dec 17, 2020.

  1. Baten

    Baten Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,134
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    EU
    I had one as a cheap SE pre-amp. I had to make a bunch of nasty deep scratches in the casing as 'proof of destruction' and got shipped a new one via DHL express (which is, honestly, at least a nice gesture). I'm bringing the scratched one to the recycling center and selling the new one off on eBay, since it can no longer break any headphones... but don't really feel like giving it any use. All in all this was a proper waste of time~
     
  2. Yethal

    Yethal Facebook Friend

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2018
    Likes Received:
    247
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Poland
    Shit I use their small speaker amp to drive bookshelves on my desk. Should I look for an alternative just in case?
     
  3. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,370
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    you might be able to convince Doug to build what he was referring to here:

    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/desktop-iem-amp.1094/#post-28063
     
  4. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,767
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Arizona
  5. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

    Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2016
    Likes Received:
    11,078
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    East Coast
    Buying experience may be unstable (seller-dependent) but this could be more than enough for such uses. Haven't heard any damaging reports yet.

    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...liexpress-ebay-jl-hood-1969-class-a-amp.4308/

    Emotiva also creates pretty solid value products if you want something well supported in USA.
     
  6. Yethal

    Yethal Facebook Friend

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2018
    Likes Received:
    247
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Poland
    Emotiva is too big, what I need is something that can sit on top of the jot with no issues (or next to it). I tried their BasX A100 and while it's pretty great for the money the fact that the controls are on the shorter sides of the box really limit it's usefulness as a desk unit. I was looking at the Vista Spark amp but they dont have any dealers nearby.
     
  7. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2017
    Likes Received:
    8,004
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Canada
    Clones audio? Probably still too big.

    https://www.clonesaudio.com/amplifier

    Btw, the only way you’re likely to get something as small as you’re looking for is class D or another high efficiency topology - otherwise, too much heat. Jason indicated before that he was looking at class D but has abandoned it and looking at other options. Who knows, maybe we’ll see one of those this year.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2021
  8. Yethal

    Yethal Facebook Friend

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2018
    Likes Received:
    247
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Poland
    Vista Spark is class AB and perfect size for my needs. If only they had a distributor in Europe
     
  9. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2017
    Likes Received:
    8,004
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Canada
    Dayens Menuetto or Ampino?

    They seem to be available in Poland:
    https://www.gfmod.pl/wzmacniacz-audio.html

    Review:
     
  10. Pancakes

    Pancakes Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2020
    Likes Received:
    1,507
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Atl
    They’re in Europe (Polish I believe) so there must be dealers there.
     
  11. Yethal

    Yethal Facebook Friend

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2018
    Likes Received:
    247
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Poland
    Their website states the're based in New York so you might have confused them with some other company, if that's the case I'd love to know about them. Desktop speaker amps is a seriously underserved market.
     
  12. wormcycle

    wormcycle Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,565
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Toronto, ON, Canada
    Why? This is more about Topping QC, or complete lack of it, their asinine response to the problem, and Amir's dishonesty.
    I have had TP60 for the last seven years used almost daily with cheap Celestion speakers and NOS DAC. Never had any problems. I would not buy Topping now or use it with any expensive gear but assuming that every Topping item ever manufactured is going to burn your house seems to me a bit excessive.
     
  13. Pancakes

    Pancakes Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2020
    Likes Received:
    1,507
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Atl
    Doh! You're right. I could have sworn they're Polish.

    They do have a European distributor though in Portugal which may work for you? https://myhifihouse.com/
     
  14. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,738
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    India
    Just say integrated amplifier and discover that it has been the mainstay of stereo (2-channel, in American) hifi since... well, forever, almost. I have a Cyrus on my desk. I'm even using its headphone socket, although that might not suit someone with better hearing than mine, although I doubt that they think it was bad.
     
  15. Pancakes

    Pancakes Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2020
    Likes Received:
    1,507
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Atl
    I could be wrong but I think the OP meant size-wise. A standard size integrated is not really suited for a desk. Mine is taking up foot space on the floor under the desk.
     
  16. Yethal

    Yethal Facebook Friend

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2018
    Likes Received:
    247
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Poland
    I did. Most speaker amps that are non-class D are too big and too heavy to sit comfortably on a regular sized desk. With that said let's end this offtop and go back to L30 and Topping's response.
     
  17. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,738
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    India
    Oh! I'm stupid! And I am also used to the shoe-box format of my Cyrus amp, which is just over eight inches wide.

    Missed-point error. Apologies!
     
  18. mk801

    mk801 Almost "Made"

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2019
    Likes Received:
    303
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    San Diego, CA
  19. hottyson

    hottyson New

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2021
    Likes Received:
    22
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    Las Vegas, USA
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    91,568
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    What's strange is that John Yang has said he was just a intern, an amplifier designer, under contract for Topping. And now he's making assertions (destroyed headphone compensation on a individual basis, attacking competitors, difficulty of getting defective product off the used markets, etc.) as if he had had a much more senior role at Topping then we were lead to believe. I'm not sure what to believe.

    P.S. I bet a lot of the bad s/n L30s got dumped by middlemen and retailers, and are now popping up on eBay. I can't see Topping as an outfit willing to take back bad units en masse.
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2021

Share This Page