Topping A30 Pro Headphone Amplifier Discussions | Drop

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Showing 1 of 18 conversations about:

Topping A30 Pro Headphone Amplifier

Audiophile

FULL DISCUSSION

toyer889

Apr 5, 2021

Anyone knows if this is better value than a90?

Apr 5, 2021

Vote

Raths

168

Apr 5, 2021

toyer889Anything is

Apr 5, 2021

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nlwouter

Apr 7, 2021

Rathshow so?

Apr 7, 2021

Vote

Raths

168

Apr 8, 2021

nlwouterA90 is super linear, its like clinical, makes music lifeless. Its called a measurement box.

Apr 8, 2021

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Reficule

Apr 8, 2021

RathsWhat you are meaning is that the music itself is lifeless. Go get some better music then.

(Edited)

Apr 8, 2021

Raths

168

Apr 8, 2021

ReficuleLOL, go to hifiguides, ASR, reviews its like THX but slightly better. If you knew anything about audio you WOULD KNOW that topping just makes measurement boxes just like thx amps.

Apr 8, 2021

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Reficule

Apr 9, 2021

RathsIn my opinion, good measurement is an essential way to ensure the quality of audio equipment (,in this case, Amplifier). They will, for most of the time, honestly reflect the overall performance of the instrument. I know you might disagree. But I think you were not reasoning on anything but only bringing up your statement. (hmm I hate to see "WOULD KNOW" without any reasoning). So let me make my point clear by bringing up some arguments. If you find my conclusion unreasonable, you should argue against these statements or the logics. Let's first find some consensus:

Audio equipment is about preserving information of sound, that is, recording and reproducing it.
The job of amps are to amplify analog signals, which is in the form of electric current, both input and output.
An ideal amplification means ONLY increasing the magnitude of electric signal and NOT disturbing the characteristics of the signal:

That means firstly the amplification is a BIJECTIVE function (both injective and surjective), so it is not losing information.
Secondly it is a LINEAR function, so it is not distorting information.

4. Almost all measurement tests are done on the basic jobs of the amplifiers. They are measured to ensure the bijection and linearity mentioned above. So it will honestly reflect on how the same job will be handled by the same unit. 5. By setting an ideal measurement on the LARGE VARIETY of tests, we are making sure the amplification performance in reality will not defer too much from the measurement. In its feature space (or say dimensions), different tests set will restrict on problems that could go wrong in real world. Thus the least we can say is that a good amplifier MUST be a great performer in the tests. A bad amplifier might be a great performer in the tests since we only covered specific dimensions of the amplification jobs. But it is very unlikely since the tests are carefully selected to cover the most important aspects of the equipment performance. Also need to mention that a lot of test statistics are already generalizations of high dimensional data. So we can conclude a "measurement box" is not merely a measurement box, it is a reliable audio reproduction equipment.

(Edited)

Apr 9, 2021

Victorfabius

105

Apr 11, 2021

ReficuleWow, I think I had to apply some ointment for that burn. Also had to look up bijective and surjective, which also means I learned a new use of injective.

Apr 11, 2021

ortonmak

May 3, 2021

ReficuleSome designers and many Youtube reviewers, especially Currawong, have exactly pointed out that the tests selected do not adequately portray all aspects of amplifier performance. An amplifier that does well on the tests is likely a decent amplifier, but not necessarily a good or great one.

May 3, 2021

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Reficule

May 4, 2021

ortonmakThe selected tests will probably never portray ALL aspects of an amplifier. That is exactly what I mentioned above. Well tested amp will most likely be a good amp, but some flaws might not be reflected (for example some reported L30 damaged their headphone). However, a great amplifier MUST have decent test result. In my opinion the current tests set are good enough to cover most usage scenarios.

May 4, 2021

jsmiller58

804

Jun 3, 2021

VictorfabiusWell, as long as we all stay away from an invective...

Jun 3, 2021

Vote

jsmiller58

804

Jun 3, 2021

ReficuleWhile I understand where you are coming from, please keep in mind that it’s all in the eye - or in this case ear - of the beholder. There are those who would rather listen to a tube amp much more than any solid state amp, even if (or maybe precisely because) tube amps can measure atrociously...

Jun 3, 2021

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