Topping D-30
After Mr. Janečka modified both my universal player and my CD player to my complete satisfaction, I decided to try listening to music the “modern way”—that is, via internet streaming.
I hold the view that listening to MP3s via a streaming service on a high-quality hi-fi system makes no sense, so I didn’t want to invest in an expensive network player.
I already own a high-quality multimedia player, though it wasn’t designed for music at all, but rather for gaming and watching movies. It is a tiny little box that bears no resemblance whatsoever to dedicated streaming players.
However, I knew that pairing it with an external DAC would likely improve the sound to at least a listenable level.
Not wanting to spend a fortune, I found the Topping D30—a small converter priced at €100—online; it was highly praised (as everything on the internet tends to be).
When the converter arrived, I listened to it for a while and was genuinely surprised by how the internet-streamed MP3s sounded. I then took the unit to Mr. Janečka for modification—specifically, to have a new power supply built for it.
The result was a huge surprise. I began happily listening to music—mostly tracks I didn’t own on CD, but also material I knew well from my CD collection for comparison. I can honestly say that this combination sounds better (even with MP3s) than my CD player did before its own modification—which I think is amazing. To my surprise, I found myself “hooked” on listening to music via the internet and began wondering where I could take things if I owned a high-end network player from a major brand. A friend of mine recently bought a multimedia network player/DAC/digital preamplifier from a well-known manufacturer for €1,400, so I immediately reached out to see if he wanted to do some testing (a favorite obsession of all audiophiles :-).
Although we didn’t hook up my small multimedia player, we did compare the network player’s internal DAC (priced at €1,400) with a modified external DAC costing €100.
Once the modified Topping D30 external DAC was connected, the sound was clearly less aggressive, more pleasant to listen to, and more natural. Soundstage, detail, bass, and other parameters remained the same. In other words, the modified €100 Topping D30 DAC outperformed the internal converter of the €1,400 network player. I decided there was no reason for me to invest in a branded network player—Mr. Janečka had once again saved me a lot of money with his advice and modifications. Meanwhile, my friend is already considering which component in his own system to have modified first…
