Khadas Tone Board vs Topping E30

[Black_Hawk]

Hello folks,

I wanted to ask if anyone here has heard the Khadas Tone Board 1 and the Topping E30, how different do these DACs sound and also which is a better sounding DAC between the two?

 

[raghupb]

Topping E30
Uses newer ESS chip. The digital glare is contained to a great extant.
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Bloom@83]

Hello folks,

I wanted to ask if anyone here has heard the Khadas Tone Board 1 and the Topping E30, how different do these DACs sound and also which is a better sounding DAC between the two?

Hi @Black_Hawk - wow you haven’t still committed to a DAC ?

 

[Kannan]

I have the Khadas though dont use it. Isolating power supply to the i2s socket reduces sibilance to a good extent.

 

[rajafan]

Topping E30
Uses newer ESS chip. The digital glare is contained to a great extant.
Cheers,
Raghu

Topping E30 uses AKM (AK4493). Is it changed to ESS recently?

 

[spirovious]

Topping E30 uses AKM (AK4493). Is it changed to ESS recently?

Its AKM for E30.
D50s uses ESS chip.

 

[aeroash]

Topping E30 uses AKM (AK4493). Is it changed to ESS recently?

Because of the fire that destroyed their factory, devices that utilised AKM chips have switched to other manufacturers.

https://evertiq.com/design/51031

 

[spirovious]

Technically its not easy to switch to another chip as PCB layout need to be changed also. Interesting to check what Toppings say.

 

[raghupb]

Topping E30 uses AKM (AK4493). Is it changed to ESS recently?

My bad. I got confused and thought it was ESS9068 based.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Anurag]

I can tell about the Khadas tone 2 pro, it's among the top dacs around in terms of cleanness of sound and details but the bass is lean

 

[DB1989]

Technically its not easy to switch to another chip as PCB layout need to be changed also. Interesting to check what Toppings say.

Even the RME ADI-2 DAC FS changed from an AKM to an ESS chip after the fire.

 

[Anurag]

Technically its not easy to switch to another chip as PCB layout need to be changed also. Interesting to check what Toppings say.

All manufacturers are changing to ESS after the AKM fire and stock unavailability. Is not a big deal for them these days to redesign and change components. They generally use the warm opa 1612 opamps with ess to smooth out the sound

 

[system123]

D30 is better or if you can increase your budget a bit then go for D50....

 

[preth30]

Does the Topping E30 sound significantly better than the old Topping D30 (Not D30 Pro)? Has anyone compared the two. What are your thoughts?

 

[Bloom@83]

Does the Topping E30 sound significantly better than the old Topping D30 (Not D30 Pro)? Has anyone compared the two. What are your thoughts?

I don’t know how E30 sounds , but Ive had the E50 (which has been reported to be significantly better than the E30 ) for 6 months and now I’ve sold it after getting the Zen One Signature v2.

E50 is a very good DAC , the top end extension is very sharp, but this is at the cost of a bit of punch or kick in the bass.
The Zen One OTOH has a darker sonic signature , not as sharp as the E50 , but smoother midrange and the punch in the lower ends that’s delightful. I feel it’s more balanced and synergises much better with my hybrid amplification chain.

 

[magma]

The khadas will top the e30


If it's akm you want
Then the Sanskrit mk2 should do it for you

Yes I've had all 3

The dx3 pro
And e50
Would be the ones to top the khadas
But again both use the 9038

The akm is used only by the Sanskrit
In that price range

 

[DB1989]

I don’t know how E30 sounds , but Ive had the E50 (which has been reported to be significantly better than the E30 ) for 6 months and now I’ve sold it after getting the Zen One Signature v2.

You do know what the E30 sounds, you just don't know that you've heard it

To refresh, you'd heard it with the Quad S5s and then the Boston Acoustics A26 while they were being driven by the SMSL DA9.

Of course, the audition was entirely inadequate to judge it's Sonic prowess since all the components in the chain were being experienced for the first time

Having said that, i do have the Zen DAC (v1) and the E30 and my experience with the two products resonates with yours vis-a-vis the E50 vs Zen Signature.

The Zen series has a very well balanced and wholesome presentation which may not stand out in any particular regard but that is in fact it's USP. It sounds just right and never fails to please no matter what music or gear you throw at it (and i have indeed tried it with a variety of gear).

 

[Bloom@83]

You do know what the E30 sounds, you just don't know that you've heard it

To refresh, you'd heard it with the Quad S5s and then the Boston Acoustics A26 while they were being driven by the SMSL DA9.

Of course, the audition was entirely inadequate to judge it's Sonic prowess since all the components in the chain were being experienced for the first time

Having said that, i do have the Zen DAC (v1) and the E30 and my experience with the two products resonates with yours vis-a-vis the E50 vs Zen Signature.

The Zen series has a very well balanced and wholesome presentation which may not stand out in any particular regard but that is in fact it's USP. It sounds just right and never fails to please no matter what music or gear you throw at it (and i have indeed tried it with a variety of gear).

I did , did I ? Completely escaped me , what with the mountain of gear I was subjected to in one day