PSA: Topping L30 Damaging Headphones

Yes, I absolutely understand.
Anyone who has bought it recently should just return it without hesitation.
The risk is too great.
Apart from that, the question is whether something can happen when it is in use?

And to be honest, if Topping refuses to replace headphones from customers who can prove that they were destroyed by the product, why should I have regrets if I bought one recently?
None !!!
Those who have ordered from Amazon can still return them after the return period or exchange them.

Of course, it would be a bit expensive for Topping to have to replace every second pair of headphones.
If every second customer was affected.
That would probably not be possible for financial reasons.

Nevertheless, the whole thing is annoying.
There were a few problems with the E30 in the beginning and now the L30.
And @Mazeframe has also uncovered some things where you have to ask yourself as a developer that this was not right.
With a simple fuse, this wouldn’t be a big issue. In China, they cost ridiculous amounts in cents.
But let’s take a look at Schiit, Jds Labs, who offer a 99$ amplifier. There is also no fuse installed and it works strangely enough.

As I said, at the moment we can only recommend to wait until Topping has something to say and not to use the L30 for safety reasons.

I am not sure about that.
Depending on placement, it may just protect the device enough to not go up in flames.
It it was placed after the big internal caps and before the LDOs, it should protect connected headphones under fault conditions.

I don’t know about the Atom, but the Schiit Magni amps do have a fuse (F1) near the power switch.

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If someone were using the L30 as a pre-amp and not using the headphone out what would the risk be?

Without stabbing the PCB with a multimeter, impossible for me to tell.

Best guess would be it’s probably OK because the odds are there is a capacitor on the input to the power amp.
What destroys the headphones is likely a DC voltage applied to the voice coil.
EDIT - looks like someone did have a failure in preamp mode, I can’t find the original post to determine if it damaged anything downstream.

Here what John Yang said about Headphone repair:
Sorry guys.

The short version is that there was probably an update in November and the final result is now there.
The update is explained briefly on the previous page from this link or afterwards.
A couple of pages further on, one person reports that he noticed a small electric shock at the volume pot, and another who had his headphones on and was lucky not to have put them on before it went bang.

I know that ASR tends to exaggerate.
When I personally read this, I get the impression that even though the developer isn’t even stupid about the sale.
But they also seem to have taken a bit of a risk with the update.
Currently, the device seems to be safe from nothing.
Apart from the headphones and amplifier blowing up.
You can also lose your hearing or suffer electric shocks, which is very bad if you have a pacemaker in you.
I find this very negligent on the part of Topping and not okay. At least there must be an official confirmation of this somewhere.
Even if my reaction may seem exaggerated.

Obviously, it seems to be a bit immature even after 6 months.From a purely rational point of view, it should be taken off the market until this is clarified.And a clean revision should be worked out that has been extensively tested.And learn from this for the future.


Any recommendations for a replacement amp that would pair well with the E30 (I like it for the remote control volume for when I’m not next to the amp to adjust). I’ve enjoyed the L30 so far but I’m definitely open to getting more audio equipment.

Thanks for your time, I hope you have a nice day :slight_smile:

So you are saying i should use my L30 with no fear of it blowing up and damaging my ears or headphones?

As I see it. Just to be safe. If you experience ESD multiple times during a day, i would be cautious. If not, don’t worry about it.

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Reports in Z’s telegram chat of HD600’s Focal utpoia’s, w5000, LCD-i4, and many other headphones damaged.
Quoting this. This is very inaccurate and inconsiderate. Nor the damaged headphones are from members from the chat nor there are many more headphones damaged other than the ones mentioned (only one old sony).

Let me be very blunt here:
Somewhere in the design, testing and making, someone overlooked something and that enables voice coils to melt.
In other words, someone who should know better fucked up bad.

I am fully aware even a super fast fuse in the right place may not prevent this.

I am also aware of the measures outlined in consumer electronics regulation for the EU and Germany in particular. You know yourself how many of those the L30 and its supplied walladapter fulfil.

Yes, people are out to get you.
Rightfully so!

When EVGA had video cards blowing up in their customers PCs, they manned up. EVGA admitted they saved a couple of dollars on thermal pads.
Option 2 is to do like MSi, Nvidia and some others do: Try to strong arm reviewers and customers.
I don’t have to tell you how well that worked for neither of them.


Just go through my posts on ASR, and see what really happened.

Trust me, I have followed this very closely.

Do you want me to see your side of the story or the complete picture?


It’s not just the Topping

JDS Labs and Schiit use A/C power bricks in some of their products.

It would be an easy mistake to make.

so I was checking out another thread about L30’s going up. and I guess scrubbing off the identifier info on op amps is fairly common. either due to the company using counterfeit components or they are paranoid about someone stealing a design.

@John_Yang it would be an advantage for you and the company if you would first and foremost make recommendations on how Topping L30 owners should handle the device, and above all what they should pay attention to when using it, or use it at all.

We already know that you are currently working on a solution and trying to clarify exactly where the problem lies.
It would not be necessary to start a mob because of this. The reason why this happens is because people and owners are insecure.

And a statement on current use would also mean less trouble for people and headphones as well as the device itself and bring calm to this issue.

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wait is this @John_Yang guy involved in the company? WOW, this is how topping responds to its customers directly on an audiophile forum? imagine how they would treat regular customers who probably know nothing. i had an l30 in my shopping cart online and have now removed it due to Johns responses. An american company will be getting my money. @Deleeh you are being very nice to someone from a company being rude, however if this is a recent update which it looks like it definitely is more than just a fluke, this is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable and everyone who sees how they treat their customers should return it out of principle. How they cant have an official statement or warning is beyond me.


I have my suspicions on China made audio, just from post’s what people write.
There just is something why i don’t warm to China audio. They tend to “warm up” by themselves. :slight_smile:


It’s not about being nice.
It’s about approaching the matter diplomatically.
There is no point in starting a hate campaign if someone from the manufacturer is already on the forums.

Personally, I think an official statement about the L30 is necessary for the consumer, because it can cause damage. The proof is there.
And if the manufacturer does not react to this, he will have a hard time later on to continue to assert himself, but that is his business if he cannot sell any products to the man.

I won’t recommend a topping product to anyone who asks me about it just because of this.
You are only a good manufacturer if you can admit to mistakes.
False pride is the wrong thing to do.

In the end, if nothing official is announced and it continues like this, most people will not buy anything from Topping.
Even with the better Topping appliances.
As a consumer I would then think why should I buy from him for 500$ when he is making such a fuss about a device for 100$.
Especially Audeze, Focal, Sennheiser headphones are burnt out. No one forgets that quickly.
It remains to be seen to what extent Topping will be fair, as John Yang has explained why he won’t replace the headphones.
If I send in the device with the headphones, it might look good.