Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
I just received my Loxjie D30 DAC and cannot be more pleased. I was initially concerned that the ESS Sabre chip wouldn’t have as good as sound as my SMSL M200 with AKM-4497 chip. Boy was I wrong! The ES9068AS is Sabre’s only “Current” output chip. AKM 4499 implemented Current output in their chips, be we all know about the AKM shortage. To suit your listening style and your audio system, the A30 offers no less than 7 preset equalizers as well as a customizable equalizer. The bass and treble levels can be adjusted in 1dB steps from -10dB to +10dB. Complete connection system
Despite having much higher rated power outputs, the L30 is in a much smaller aluminum chassis. It does require an external power transformer which is a lot heavier than a switch-mode power supply. On top of that, the unit seems to have a rather significant level of hiss when not playing anything. I'm using the optical input and the noise is the same regardless of whether or not the cable is even plugged in. I'm surprised they don't just stop the output amp when no data is coming in, since this is a class D amp and could theoretically not output any noise in that case. Although the A30 is a fully capable integrated amplifier, the most striking feature of the A30 is the amplifier section for both speakers and headphones. With speakers, the A30 may be a bit warmer than most class-D amplifiers, but creates a truly engaging experience with more neutral speakers. These will generally get you up and going for the most part, except for when you’d want to connect the D30 to an off-board amplifier or active speakers. Sound Impressions As expected, the instruction manual (English/Chinese) can only be called "basic". Very basic. Inadequate, really.The volume goes up to 70, which starts to hiss at 61+ or so, but even running it at "37" on 4 ohms speakers at a distance of ~3 meters already filled the living room with unconfortably loud sound (while hissing already disappearing between a distance of 20-25 cm - so no problem just controlling the volume on the computer) Having similar internals, I figured that these 2 amplifiers should sound similar, however, the other components like the internal DAC, and the power supply still play a role. I'm building up a budget HiFi setup and I've spent a fair bit of effort trying to find the best budget integrated amps on the market right now. I was a complete noob one week ago and while this subreddit has been amazing, I'm still a bit lost in all the info. As far as I can tell, the main budget Chinese amps with competitive audiophile sound quality (for the price) are: Loxjie A30, Topping MX3, SMSL AD18, and SMSL SA300.
The IR remote included is nicely laid-out and feels decent. I don't think the "Level"-buttons on the bottom right have any function at all though. The range of the IR is vedry good indeed, and its frequency doesn't overlap with my other devices, including my Samsung TV. Teardown of Loxjie A30 stereo desktop stereo HiFi audio power amplifier - disassembly and... 2021-07-22 MORE the loxjie seems to have a bit more "warmth?" by which i mean higher output volume in the lower mids.When it comes to speaker pairings, the more energetic nature of the A30 has to be taken into account. My go-to pairing for class D amplifiers is my Wharfedale Diamond 9.4, but surprisingly it didn’t pan out the way I hoped it would. The warmer character of the 9.4 doubled down on the warmer bass character on the A30, which resulted in having an overpowering bass response. Based on my experience with class D amplifiers, they tend to be colder, drier, and more controlled sounding. There is also a slight compression to the presentation. To some extent, the A30 doesn’t stray away from those characteristics. Where the A30 tends to have a drier presentation while maintaining good control over the drivers of both speakers and headphones. To ensure that the A30 will have enough power to run all these features, it comes bundled with an external 24V/2.1A switch mode power supply. This also saves some space both internally and at the rear of the device. I/O Despite having a larger footprint while having fewer input options, the DA-9 still ends having an equally crowded speaker terminal section.
I guess you could say that this old (class ab i guess?) amp sounds "warm", but seriously... it's just muddy (!) compared to the DA-9... Despite having an amplification stage the D30 is primarily marketed as a DAC. Inside, Loxjie has gone with the ESS 9068AS DAC implementation with a second-generation XMOS USB controller with a decoding capability of up to 32BIT/768kHz PCM, DSD 512, and MQA. The sound impressions done with the A30 were completed using the analog inputs and output combined with the D30 DAC using either speakers or headphones. All impressions are with the A30 set in direct EQ mode. SummaryThe D30 is a relatively small and compact DAC, measuring just 151mm x 170mm and taking up very little desk space. Whilst it is not the biggest component there is substantial heft in the chassis, since it’s made of a high-quality aluminum construction that will not only look good but is also designed to mitigate vibrations that may creep in as noise. Being stripped down also continues when it comes to the design on the L30 since it doesn’t have any screen or any menu system. Instead, it relies on classic toggle switches to access the different functions that are available to it. What both amplifiers share in common though is that both of them have a ¼” headphone output in front. Having a standard IEC power cord also makes it more convenient for use with some audiophile-grade power cables. However, having an external power supply on the A30 also allows for the option of upgrading the entire power supply down the road. From what I hear, the SA300 is basically a A30 without an optical input. Does anyone know if it has the same issue with noise when not playing? My Q5 Pro was basically silent when not playing so I got in the habit of leaving it on all the time. The A30 has so much noise I have to power it down when music isn't playing. As a speaker amplifier, the A30 plays substantially loud, with the 2 speakers that I tested, the A30 easily drove them to ear-splitting levels. Connected to my Wharfedale Diamond 9.4, the D30 only needed to be cranked up to 25 to reach my comfortable listening levels. With my Monitor Audio Monitor 100 speaker, I needed around 30 to reach my comfortable listening levels.
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