Topping TP30 amp with dac

Any one have info on this T-amp with DAC :Topping TP30. How is the quality?

Well laid components it might be very good for mini stereo setup .Approx 5k via ebay.



The DAC is USB PCM 2704 based.

It uses the TA2024 chip, so it'll be slightly inferior (as an amplifier) to the TA2020 based Topping TP20, which I will be getting my hands on shortly (as a birthday present). And the PCM 270X based DACs are not supposed to be terribly great are they? Or is the 2704 an exception?

This is something Kaushik had suggested to me to put an end to my stereo woes!
I am seriously considering this along with a used Arcam alpha 5 plus and Marantz pm40. I would very much like to know the sound quality of this dac+amp and its ability to drive a pair of floorstanders( I have mission m33i in 180 sq ft room.)

The Tp amp would also solve my source problem as i could feed usb from my laptop to the usb dac.

hmm the rated sensitivity of the missions M33i is 90 db, but 180 s. f.t is a moderately large room and the 2024 is even less powerful than the 2020. It might be a marginal solution for your needs. Why don't you invest in a good USB DAC like the Musiland DAC and a TA2020 based t-amp. The combined cost would be about 200 dollars if you went for a Lepai or under 250 USD if you went for a Topping TP20. None of these things (except the Lepai) I have heard of course, so I am slightly talking through my hat.

Where are you based iaudio? Bangalore? Let's see if I can arrange for you to audition the TP20 that I am going to get (it is going to come to bangalore first).

Psychotropic - how did you come up with the Topping T20? Did you have an audition of the component? Curious to know..

Waiting for Topping TP20 reviews , why i suggested because
the Topping amps have good quality components, the DAC is very basic but combo is value for money.

In 5 k you are getting goldplated pcb, good capacitors all over, Goldplated connectors ,common mode choke filtered power section,high quality volume control ,a minimal DAC too,i can see speaker protection relays inside(blue colored)....the list continues .. as well as a audiophile grade outer casing.

The Lepai amps come with pretty cheap components ,carbon resistors,poor capacitors,poor connectors and a very cheap pcb .More over they have bass and treble section ..modding these is a uneasy affair for newbie.
people change all parts in Lepai except the chip(I feel it will be better if they take the chip and do a new amp build
even point to point is a better idea )

UPDATE :
Filter caps are 3000ufd ELNA Pioneer (!)...some nichicon muse capacitors are there too, smaller film caps looks like made by murata,resistor etc DALE ,regulated supply the dac is feeding is via LM117xxx regulators (basic LDO), preferred are TPS series ...

DAC buffer is is OPA2134 based on pics at http://cgi.ebay.com.hk/ws/eBayISAPI....m=130356518453
See the truth inside a Lepai

hehe nope! I've only heard the Lepai (with the TA2020 chip) and this Topping also has the same chip but better other components....claims to have nichicon caps and dale resistors and all that....gold plated binding posts, gold plated RCAs.....and comes with a 12V, 5A power supply.

Basically my friend said "how about i buy you one of these tripath amps for your birthday"....i said okay and i read up a fair bit about the cheaper ones and the choice was between a brand called HLLY and Topping......Both seemed to have the same level of quality, but Topping was slightly cheaper and had also gone through some modifications based on feedback. And I read many many user reviews where the Topping TP20's sound has been rated quite high, so I thought I might as well go for it.

Once I get my hands on it i'll know how much all this counts for ....but it's a gift anyway....so even if it sounds like crap, it's not a big loss

Psycho, I am in Cochin.
Whats ur take on the 2 used amps I have mentioned, the pm40 will be 5k while the arcam 5 plus is 8k.

I know I can google this but still being the lazybones I am - can I trouble you by asking what exactly are tri-path amps and how are they different from normal integrated amps?

tripath amps are chip-amps (or digital amps, or class D amps, although they've spawned a new term called CLass T, which is not really a class) using chips made by this now defunct company called Tripath. These chips were invented by this Indian dude called Adya Tripathi and were revolutionary in how efficient they are and the quality of amplification they provide for the price. Unfortunately, unlike his fellow Indian AMar Bose, mr. tripathi didn't have the marketing chops and his company went under and all their IP now belongs to Cirrus LOgic. Fortunately there was a massive inventory of tripath chips that survived the bankrupty and have been bought up by various people and used in amps costing as little as 20 dollars and as much as several hundreds (or more?). From hong kong based vendors like Lepai, Topping and HLLY to brands like NuForce, and high end brands like Mark Levinson and Red Wine Audio, tripath chips have found homes in amplifiers at various price levels. One of the best regarded exponents of tripath chip based amplification is a company called Virtue Audio. I am considering buying a Virtue Audio amplifier some time. Tripath chips are supposed to have a warm, almost tubey sound without the attenuation at the frequency extremes. They are compact, don't get hot at all, and are very clean and silent amps.

I've heard a 20 dollar Lepai tripath amp, soundly kick the ass of an Onkyo 304 AVR driving Jamo 406 floorstanders in a large room. Better detailing, much better soundstage, better handling of transients...the works...the Topping TP20 costs about 4000 bucks shipped, with a 12v, 5A power supply (no customs), and uses the same TA2020 chip (one of many tripath chips, and one of the better but less powerful ones).

One of the chief weaknesses of tripath amps (somewhat like SETs) is their low power, but Virtue Audio has solved this by using two chips in one amp (or something like that), and Virtue Audio and reviewers claim that their amps can duke it out with some many-thousand dollar solid state and tube amplifiers.

Once my Topping lands in my hands, I'll compare it to my NAD and see how it fares.