Review on Topping E30 USB DAC AK4493 Chip Optical Coaxial HiFi DAC DSD512 768KHz Mini Desktop Decoder DAC With Remote Control (Red) by Alex Jones

So I used an old DAC from 2010, believe it or not, USB dongle Old "Micro II" from Turtle Beach. was excited to "upgrade" to a modern DAC. The system consists of a base PC, a DAC, an Alesis RA100 studio-grade power amplifier, and Alesis Monitor One's studio-grade reference monitors. This setup was damn good. When I set up my New Topping E30, the first question was how unfriendly it is to Linux. You can get it to show the right file dates (192) IF you use the right options in your software/player and some players won't let you change it with the ALSA option. This requires the e30 to be in "PRE" mode, or after changing ALSA you will not have volume control, only full volume. sound quality. the biggest disappointment. The sound quality is around $50 and below the DAC in my opinion. The old Micro II crushed it with soundstage, dynamics, detail, bass punch and treble tingle. The Micro II delivered incredible detail, while the e30 was just a step above laptop quality. for $149 e30 is not a good price. it will still come back looking. I've worked in the recording industry so I believe my personal thoughts are an accurate estimate of the price.