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

I am interested in this product as a preamp for my media center which has a Toslink signal from the TV that needs to be converted to analog and fed into my Crown XLS1502 amplifier which powered a pair of JBL Studio 530s in DAC mode it sounds good, but in preamp mode (the only mode with volume control) it completely falls apart. The sound is harsh and tiring to my ear. This is really frustrating because I need to be able to adjust the volume on this unit and as it sounds awful in preamp mode it's useless for any occasion where volume control is required. Incidentally, the remote had an uneven connection at a distance of 8 feet from my media center. It's hardly worth bringing up, though, because if you're buying this unit for a remote control, don't! Sounds terrible. IA/B compared this unit to the old Pioneer Elite 49TX and it wasn't even compared. I tried running it through a 49TX amp instead of a Crown xls1502 and it still sounded bad. I just couldn't do anything. trying to make this unit sound good in preamp mode and I just couldn't. In DAC mode it sounds pretty good. Almost as good as 49TX. I give it 1 star because it is sold as a DAC with a preamp and sounds terrible when used with a preamp. I really wanted to like this device. It would fit perfectly into my entertainment channel. Spring.