TOPPING E30 II Lite AK4493S DAC (Digital-to-Analog-Converter)

Excellent DAC with great AKM chip

I tried another comparable priced DAC and I found that I did not care for the fact that it did not have a screen or any sort of information that showed me it was doing its job. As an older guy (72) I am just wired that way. So I got a topping E30 II and I really love that it had a remote in a screen and did a fabulous job. So I when I needed another DAC it was clearly a good choice to get the lite version. Very happy with my decision and it all sounds very musical and wonderful.

Great Value and Performance

While most DAC chips have very similar performance, it's the assembly that's important. Managing the input stage along with the analog output stage makes a difference in the sound quality of any DAC unit. Topping has done an excellent job on both. There is nothing about the sound of this DAC that needs improvement and that fact that nothing stood out is what I like about this unit. It's not bright and sterile nor is too warm and analogy. It does an excellent job of defining each instrument with solid edges rather than allow multiple instruments to blend together leaving a very lifelike tone to each instrument and places each in a clear and definable space in the sound stage. No bloated bass or shrill treble to make any frequency range stand out among the rest. For features, I like the auto standby feature so no need to power on/off. It also features switching to the last input used which would be better for some users but I would prefer auto switching to the active input instead. It also features six filters for PCM playback and while they sound similar, there are subtle differences that are worth playing around with to help match a particular speaker and bring out its best. I have a lot of revealing gear and find it helpful. Lastly the pricing makes it an easy choice. I think the point of diminishing returns come into play very rapidly in DACs and would hesitate to spend any more after using this great Topping unit and I strongly recommend it.