Topping • Amplifiers
Topping A30 Pro
Open pageThe A30 Pro is Topping's NFCA desktop headphone amplifier with an internal mains supply, and its reputation rests on bench behavior rather than voicing. Independent measurement put SINAD essentially as good as the test setup can resolve, called the signal-to-noise ratio at 50 mV output class leading, and recorded about 5.5W per channel into 32 ohms and 0.73W into 300 ohms single-ended, with balanced operation adding no meaningful power. Subjective coverage does not converge on a character. One listening account hears a mild euphony, romantic richness through female vocals and an overall warmer tilt, while others hear a sterile and neutral presentation, or a clean, linear one with note weight that is neither heavy nor light. Sensitive in-ear monitors come off well: separate listening tests with multi-driver customs and with an 8.5 ohm, 94 dB in-ear found the headphone outputs dead silent on low and medium gain, helped by three gain steps rated at -14, 0 and +14 dB. Staging is described as airy, with an expansive sense of recording space but elements inside it pulled relatively close, and imaging is called sharp and precisely localized. The complaints are practical rather than sonic: the case gets warm, there is no preamp mode and no remote, the rear pass-through outputs only go live when the amplifier is switched off, and the balanced jacks share the single-ended circuitry rather than doubling power.
Strengths
- Bench measurement puts SINAD essentially at the limit of the test setup, with signal-to-noise at 50 mV output rated class leading.
- About 5.5W per channel into 32 ohms and 0.73W into 300 ohms measured single-ended, enough that even a Hifiman Susvara reached loud volumes.
- Dead silent on low and medium gain with multi-driver customs and an 8.5 ohm, 94 dB in-ear, aided by three gain steps at -14, 0 and +14 dB.
- Front panel carries 6.35mm, 4.4mm and 4-pin XLR outputs, with RCA and XLR inputs and an internal mains supply instead of a wall wart.
- Aluminum chassis with a satin finish, rubber feet and three-way toggles for power, input and gain, described as a solid, serious enclosure.
Weaknesses
- The case gets noticeably warm in use, with side and top exhaust venting needed to shed heat from the ten op-amp output stage.
- The balanced jacks run off the same circuitry and the same power as the single-ended output, so they buy convenience rather than extra power.
- No preamp mode and no remote, and the rear pass-through outputs only become active once the amplifier is switched off.
- On explosive sub-bass heavy passages it loses some tactility, where the larger, externally powered Drop THX AAA 789 kept pace noticeably better.
- Reviewers split on its character, and one listening account found the otherwise solid, polite sound a little edgy at times.
- There is no 3.5mm output, and channel imbalance appears at the very bottom of the volume pot travel.