AE-7 to Topping L30/E30 worth it?
- Thread starter Cask
- Start date
I went from a G6 to a DX3 PRO and noticed an improvement, not massively so, but certainly better clarity, seperation and control. Ive recently cahanged again to the L30/E30 stack and have seen simular gains again.
I mainly use HD600s
The changes wont be huge, but you will see improvements. Once you get to a certain level the small gains cost the the most £
I mainly use HD600s
The changes wont be huge, but you will see improvements. Once you get to a certain level the small gains cost the the most £
I am quite surprised by Kidlocos findings, the G6 is a pretty decent dac/amp.
I have ATH-MSr7b (36ohm) and have had AE-5, SB X3, iFi Can, L30/E30 combo.
Testing it as best I could A/B I found the L30/E30 no better or different compared to my SB X3 over my Tidal Hi-fi playlist and Master Studio tracks.
Its possible its due to my headphones being 36ohm, but I also had the same results across the board even with the balanced connection with the iFi Can.
The G6 is meant to be even better than the X3 or similar and the L30/E30 is highly regarded for its audio frequencies rivalling its bigger brother A90/D90 combo. A previous AE-9 owner on here told me to keep the X3 since you won't notice a difference.
Your AE-7 is a very high end and powerful soundcard also (some say better than AE9), my gut tells me you won't notice much if any difference but the only way to find out if to buy it and let your ears decide for yourself, maybe use rainforest pre owned units a try or return them if no difference.
I think most £80-200 headphone/dacs are going to be similar maybe the £400-600 dacs/amps a difference maybe heard, but not banking on it just yet otherwise higher end headphones are the better routes to improved sound quality.
I have ATH-MSr7b (36ohm) and have had AE-5, SB X3, iFi Can, L30/E30 combo.
Testing it as best I could A/B I found the L30/E30 no better or different compared to my SB X3 over my Tidal Hi-fi playlist and Master Studio tracks.
Its possible its due to my headphones being 36ohm, but I also had the same results across the board even with the balanced connection with the iFi Can.
The G6 is meant to be even better than the X3 or similar and the L30/E30 is highly regarded for its audio frequencies rivalling its bigger brother A90/D90 combo. A previous AE-9 owner on here told me to keep the X3 since you won't notice a difference.
Your AE-7 is a very high end and powerful soundcard also (some say better than AE9), my gut tells me you won't notice much if any difference but the only way to find out if to buy it and let your ears decide for yourself, maybe use rainforest pre owned units a try or return them if no difference.
I think most £80-200 headphone/dacs are going to be similar maybe the £400-600 dacs/amps a difference maybe heard, but not banking on it just yet otherwise higher end headphones are the better routes to improved sound quality.
Thanks for the replies.
I bit the bullet and bought the stack. Using the DT 1990 Pro, I can definitely tell a difference between the two. Most noticeably, the bass is much tighter and the highs are less grainy.
For example in BFV, the bass from explosions would almost sound distorted and I started to worry if it was my cans. Using this stack, everything sounds so much tighter and cleaner across the board. No bass roll off in to the mids either.
I've signed up for a free month with Tidal and the difference is even bigger when listening to masters and lossless tracks.
What filter are you using on the E30?
I bit the bullet and bought the stack. Using the DT 1990 Pro, I can definitely tell a difference between the two. Most noticeably, the bass is much tighter and the highs are less grainy.
For example in BFV, the bass from explosions would almost sound distorted and I started to worry if it was my cans. Using this stack, everything sounds so much tighter and cleaner across the board. No bass roll off in to the mids either.
I've signed up for a free month with Tidal and the difference is even bigger when listening to masters and lossless tracks.
What filter are you using on the E30?
Last edited:
That could have been why I only used default settings on the E30, had no idea if had filters even. Are they any different to each other ?
Sadly its returned now so cant test it.
Tidal is excellent with its master tracks and flac level files, check flebay for cheaper licences.
cheers I think the filters just change the roll off and delay slightly, should not really change the audio quality id imagine at least that is what I noticed when I use filters on my X3 amp/dac.
The audio world is quite 'expensive' and mixed with snake oil or possibly facts so will thread a bit careful when considering pricey hps, cables, amps and dacs
The audio world is quite 'expensive' and mixed with snake oil or possibly facts so will thread a bit careful when considering pricey hps, cables, amps and dacs
Yeah the biggest difference I have noticed is definitely the headphone upgrade. I would rather not think about how much money I have spent over the last 2 weeks combined on Headphones, AMP/DAC and custom pads for my headphones. No more audio upgrades for a while that's for sure. It's all about the GPU upgrade next!