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Topping A30, Burson Audio V5i Opamp Upgrade

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Update 3/20/19 Listening to the A30 and comparing it some more with the other great amps I have I will say that the A30's shortcomings do come out at times. I was just listening to Vilvadi's Four Seasons and comparing back and forth with the THX and the THX is much cleaner during busy crescendos and/or when there are dynamic demands placed on the amp. The A30 still does admirably with the Bursons but it definitely compresses a little and the articulation and separation that the THX has is lacking. It's hardly a fair comparison but I thought I would update because my first impressions of the A30 with the mod were so glowing. I still think it's an excellent bargain setup and I'm keeping it in the stable. Original Post: I was pretty impressed by the Topping A30/D30 combo. For the price point it sounded pretty good. Very neutral and accurate. It has plenty of power. But it can sound a little veiled in the highs. After reading a lot of other reviews I thought I'd take a stab at swapping out the opamps. The TI OPA 2134's by all accounts are very competent opamps so I wasn't sure if switching them out would make a difference and a lot of people seem to frown on the idea and seem to be of the opinion that they all do the same thing. That may be the case. On a scope perhaps they all just amplify voltage and the 2134's do this very well with very little distortion. All I can say with absolute certainty is that swapping them out in my Topping A30 made a huge improvement in the sound quality. It pulled away the veil. It sounds cleaner and clearer than previously. Sonically, pushing my HD6xx's and HD58x Jubilees, it's now very very similar to my Emotiva BasX A100 (resistor bypass jumpers installed). Side by side you can tell the Emotiva has more to give. It has more headroom and is trying so much less hard. But, it's close. The Emotiva has more immediacy and is a little cleaner in its delivery (to the point of almost sounding clinical/sterile) but the Topping really gives it a run for its money now. I suppose it should considering that with the Burson opamps the A30 is now about $180. So if anyone wants a very very nice sounding stack and doesn't have the desktop real estate to dedicate to the Emotiva I highly recommend the Topping A30/D30 combo. Fit and finish of both the A30 and D30 is excellent. I can't compare the Topping to other similar offerings by Schiit, SMSL, JS Audio etc because I have no personal experience with them. What I can say is that, particularly with the Burson opamps installed I am back to listening to the music instead of trying to figure out where the weak link is in my audio chain. I didn't intend to be a headphone hobbyist. I just wanted a pair of headphones that gave me similar enjoyment to my main stereo without breaking the bank. Little did I know how difficult that was going to be. Caveat: The A30 is perhaps not the best candidate if you need a low output impedance amp. My current collection consists of HD6xx's, HD58x Jubilees, Monolith M560's, and M&O Beryllium driver bluetooth headphones (used wired at 32ohms). Here's what's interesting, the only pair that didn't play nice with the A30, or the Emotiva for that matter, was the M560's. I kind of expected this with the Topping but not the Emotiva. As a side note, the only amp I have that sounded good with the M560's was the headphone out of my Parasound Zamp v.2. I was so relieved that I got that figured out. I was starting to think that everyone saying how great the M560's sounded were lying or that I got a defective pair.
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(Edited)
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pyrobunny
284
Oct 29, 2019
Are the op amps on the A30 soldered in? I'm definitely considering this upgrade for mine.
CaseyOD
191
Oct 31, 2019
pyrobunnyThe A30 is not soldered in but apparently some D30’s are. Definitely worth the upgrade in the A30!
greeny187
16
Sep 30, 2019
Which version should I buy? The Dual or Single? Any different between this two? Need info before I go and buy.
CaseyOD
191
Oct 5, 2019
I took apart my D30 and found the opamp was soldered in so I left it alone. I will say that I’ve compared it for months now against my smsl su8 and I can’t hear a difference which doesn’t give me much incentive to upgrade the D30. I don’t know maybe it makes improvements in soundstage or something but the stock D30 does really well. The Topping stack (with the Burson upgrade in the A30) is a super little stack for the price.
greeny187
16
Oct 5, 2019
CaseyODI've already ordered 2 V5i Dual and is waiting delivery. Hope can experience some good music.
Burson_Support
4
Mar 22, 2019
Thanks for this great review, CaseyOD! MassDrop is now doing an exclusive drop on the Burson V5i. 
Thanks for the post, very nice!
Ajs308
59
Dec 17, 2018
Do you have a link to the instructions on how to do the Topping A30 mod?
CaseyOD
191
Dec 19, 2018
No problem. You'll definitely notice the improvement with the A30. I really, really like that amp now. I had been thinking of getting rid of it and just running the D30 with the Emotiva. Before I couldn't figure out if it was the amp or my headphones that were underperforming. I got the BasX A100 to try and figure that out. They both sounded good but the A100 was definitely better and a very good deal at $220 bucks. If I'd known how much of a difference the opamp upgrade would've had I "probably" wouldn't have gotten the Emotiva. Actually I probably would've just because it's kind of neat having a desktop amp that can pump out 8W at 32ohms or whatever that is. But the A30 with the Burson's really does get you probably 95% there, if not more. Now I'm really curious to see what upgrading the opamp in the D30 will do. The D30 measures so well already that I'm sceptical. But I was sceptical about the A30 upgrade as well and that was like getting a completely new amp. We'll see. If it doesn't make a positive difference I can always switch it back and stick it in my FX Audio DAC X6.
CaseyOD
191
Dec 30, 2018
CaseyODBTW, per this the opamp in the D30 is soldered in. So I guess I'll be putting the Burson I just bought into my FX Audio DAC X6. https://www.massdrop.com/buy/topping-d30-dac/talk/1767769
kimdeug
430
Dec 6, 2018
It is interesting. I have M650 and like it so much, so bought another one. Never had issue with sound from different amps. Have Emotiva basX100, Oppo HA1, Burson Conductor V2, Topping DX7, Schiit Jountenheim, Pioneer 5U, Denon PM50, Linnenberg Maestro.
kimdeug
430
Dec 7, 2018
Typo M1060C
kimdeug
430
Dec 7, 2018
kimdeugI remember you. You with 14 headphones:))
OsideT
7
Dec 6, 2018
I really like my Topping D30. I'm not even a headphone user - I needed a cheap DAC for a cheap tube amp I have in a 2.1 stereo system and I went with the D30 (alone - didn't get the A30). Big improvement over my sources' DACs. I doubt you can beat that DAC for the $120 I paid on Amazon. Very happy with the purchase.
ghostie
31
Dec 4, 2018
Instead of v5i, I am using V6 vivid. Also, I am pairing my A30 with D50 and to me, that's a killer combination.
ghostie
31
Feb 7, 2019
I don't own a D30 but like you, i went with D50 because it is one of the most accurate and value for money desktop DAC available. My philosophy is you get the most linear and accurate DAC and let your amp/ headphone be tuned to your liking.
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Miah
0
Feb 9, 2019
Thank you for the info!
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