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The pass-through outputs are connected to its corresponding input, meaning RCA to RCA, and the ¼” balanced to the 3-pin XLR inputs. The materials of the chassis are also practically the same, with the front fascia being made of hard plastic that perfectly matches the color of the powder-coated aluminum chassis. Going into the bassline, the A30 Pro goes deep into the sub-bass region. There is a sense of environmental sub-bass presence that encompasses the entire soundscape. With drum hits though, each hit has a good amount of impact, but the presentation of the drum hits is not as taut as I expected them to be. 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. Let’s be honest though, the combination of dedicated Roon hardware and its DSP and the E30 is likely to remain a rare one. To judge the E30 fairly, you need to turn all the wizardry off and send it files ‘as is’ and judge what comes out the other end. And what comes out the other end is exceptionally good. Returning to Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm for a spot of nostalgia, the E30 delivers the staccato energy of Like Eating Glass with genuine conviction. Kele sounds like Kele, that fabulous drum routine fizzles with energy and the tonal balance of the whole performance is never anything other than convincing.
While they are pass-through outputs, they are cut off when the headphone amp section is active, and only activated once the A30 Pro is switched to the off position. So this would work great with a setup that has both a headphone setup and active speakers since the headphones won’t be playing at the same time as the active speakers.
The full-range sound produced by the PA7 Plus is remarkable when you consider its size, as there's nothing small-scale about it. Most impressive is how it reacts to shifts in dynamic range, both in terms of intensity and level. Blur's Song 2 was a case in point as the deceptively low-key guitar intro erupted into the mayhem of the 'woo-hoo' chorus. The explosively impressive dynamic peaks sounded as furiously filthy as I've ever heard them. 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.
This particular feature makes the L70 an excellent test bed because each port has a memory feature that independently retains its last volume setting. The L70 could also be used as a preamp section due to the ability to select inputs and outputs separately to then be able to control these analog outputs with the volume control. But for now and to recap, Topping offers three distinct models which consist of two E70 DACs, one with an ES9028PRO DAC section, one with an AK4499EX Velvet Sound DAC, and then there’s the L70 matching amplifier. Bringing out the bass for a fully relaxing listen, the HarmonicDyne G200 adds boldness to strings further emphasizing the L30 II. The profile of drums though suffers a bit in refinement losing definition as it prioritizes scale.Likewise, with female vocals, the A30 Pro renders the female vocals with accuracy and texture, while still having a romantic richness to the vocals. Acoustic instruments with the A30 Pro have a full sense of body, giving it an overall warmer tilt while staying away from being too colored. You can control the volume on LA90, or set to bypass the volume control of LA90, then you can use a better pre-amplifier for volume control. This is especially useful when synchronizing the volume of two LA90 in mono mode. Adding a preamplifier functionality to the L30 II is a welcome feature. However, since it uses analog volume, the only way to add a remote if needed is by pairing a DAC like the E30 II. That means the D10s will be able to pair well with a wider range of amplifiers, even when some amplifiers might sip a little bit more power through the RCA terminals. My Rig The key difference between the PA7 and the PA7 Plus can be answered by how much power your equipment requires. The PA7 we reviewed here is the less commanding of the two but you’ll see in a minute how easily it can already handle most speakers out there.
While the unit appears to be an integrated design, it's actually a stereo power amplifier with a volume control. This pot can be bypassed for use with a separate preamplifier, such as Topping's own E70 and E70 Velvet preamps, to create a more comprehensive amplification combo. Used on its own, it features two sets of inputs, one for XLR or balanced TRS cables, the other for standard RCA interconnects. A switch on the front panel selects balanced or unbalanced operation and sits beside a similar switch for power on/off plus 12v trigger control. The trigger enables simplified switching when an external device is connected to the trigger input on the rear panel. Here, there are also chunky, staggered speaker terminals. I love how Topping chose to present the sampling rate numerically, instead of using some confusing lights as Chord and Audioquest did. It’s just hard for me to memorize which color corresponds to which sampling rate/resolution. Even the brightness of the 7-segment LED display is clear enough without ending up being too bright in a darkened room. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. Starting with the E50 DAC/preamp, I partnered it with a well respected mid-price CD player to get an idea of its worth and was impressed by what I heard. The Topping DAC delivered results that sounded comparable to the player's own DAC using the unbalanced RCA outputs. Not bad! Using the balanced XLR outputs improved the sound still further, giving a noticeably increased sense of depth and richness, plus greater dynamic impact and clarity.
Topping A90
It seems although the frequencies ride a smooth rail they do not lose any of the dynamics of the source. The L70 seems very linear in frequency response and flatline from top to bottom. It seems to not present any edginess of any kind either. This alongside the use of the low gain control, accommodates the most sensitive IEMs alike and keeps the amp from having a hissy fit. The four gain settings accommodate a wide range of efficiency levels and power ranges and that’s alongside a low resistive output stage. The immediate headline as always with Topping’s amplifiers is the continuously evolving NFCA module, which, you guessed it, has also been fitted to the L30 II. They have a dedicated R&D team of skilled engineers and audiophiles. In addition to that, they are heavily invested in the latest audio testing machinery such as the APx555 from Audio Precision. To conclude, all four amplifiers within this comparison are high-quality pieces of gear that can be recommended wholeheartedly. It’s just a matter of which features are more important to you and what best fits your particular scenario and needs because they all exceed my expectations as far as headphone amplifiers and quality sound.
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