Add a Topping E30 USB DAC

What was used

Hardware

• Raspberry Pi 4B - 1GB.
• Raspberry Pi 15.3W USB-C Power Supply.
• SanDisk Ultra 8GB SD card—see SD card.
• Topping E30 USB DAC—see Topping E30 II.

Software

• piCorePlayer 7.0.0—see piCorePlayer Downloads.

Network Diagram

Steps

Step 1 - Download pCP

• Download piCorePlayer—see Download piCorePlayer.

Step 2 - Create SD card

• Create an SD card with piCorePlayer image—see Burn piCorePlayer onto a SD card.

Step 3 - Setup Wifi

• Create wpa_supplicant.conf on boot partition—see Setup Wifi without ethernet.
• Eject the SD card.

Step 4 - Connect Topping E30 USB DAC

• Connect the 2 USB cables (supplied) from the Raspberry Pi USB2 ports to Topping E30.
• Topping E30 was used with default settings.

Step 5 - Boot pCP

• Insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi.
• Connect power cable.
• Turn the power on.

Step 6 - Determine the IP address

• Determine the IP address—see Determine your piCorePlayer IP address.

Step 7 - Access pCP GUI

• Type http://<IP address> into web browser, or
• Type http://pcp.local into web browser.

Step 8 - Select USB audio

• Select [Squeezelite Settings] > “Audio output device settings” > “USB audio”.
• Click [Save].
• This will set “Audio output device settings” to “USB audio” and set “Change Squeezelite settings” to default values.

Step 9 - Set Output setting

• Click [Squeezelite Settings] > “Change Squeezelite settings” > “Output setting” > “more>”.
• Note the list of available CARD=E30 devices.

Available output devices (click to use):

hw: devices are normally the best choice, but try and decide for yourself:

- null
- sysdefault
- default
- plugequal
- equal
- hw:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- plughw:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- sysdefault:CARD=E30
- front:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- surround21:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- surround40:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- surround41:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- surround50:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- surround51:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- surround71:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- iec958:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- hw:CARD=Headphones,DEV=0
- plughw:CARD=Headphones,DEV=0
- sysdefault:CARD=Headphones

• Click on hw:CARD=E30,DEV=0.
• This will set “Output setting” to hw:CARD=E30,DEV=0.
• Click [Save].

Step 10 - Reboot

• Click Reboot when requested.

Step 11 - Play music

• Select track/playlist.
• Play music.

Optional

If you have more than one piCorePlayer, it is recommended that you continue to the following steps.

Step 12 - Set player name

• Access pCP using IP address in a browser (ie. http://192.168.1.xxx or http://pcp.local).
• Select [Squeezelite Settings] > “Change Squeezelite settings” > “Name of your player”.
• Type player name pCP Topping E30.
• Click [Save].

Step 13 - Set hostname

• Select [Tweaks] > “pCP System Tweaks” > “Host name”.
• Type host name pCPToppingE30.
• Click [Save].
• Click [Yes] when requested to “Reboot piCorePlayer”.

Step 14 - Reboot

• Click Reboot when requested.

Notes

• I noticed a couple of “power up” clicks. Not a problem.

Diagnostics

• Check that the Topping E30 USB DAC has been recognised in dmesg.
• Select [Main Page] > [Diagnostics] > [Logs] > “dmesg”.
• Click [Show].
• Search for Topping.

[    1.661609] usb 1-1.3: new high-speed USB device number 3 using xhci_hcd
[    1.792056] usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=152a, idProduct=8750, bcdDevice= 1.08
[    1.792063] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=3, SerialNumber=0
[    1.792070] usb 1-1.3: Product: E30
[    1.792076] usb 1-1.3: Manufacturer: Topping

• Check that the “CARD=E30” devices are available.
• Click [Squeezelite Settings] > “Change Squeezelite settings” > “Output setting” > “more>”.
• Search for CARD=E30.

Available output devices (click to use):

hw: devices are normally the best choice, but try and decide for yourself:

- null
- sysdefault
- default
- plugequal
- equal
- hw:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- plughw:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- sysdefault:CARD=E30
- front:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- surround21:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- surround40:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- surround41:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- surround50:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- surround51:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- surround71:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- iec958:CARD=E30,DEV=0
- hw:CARD=Headphones,DEV=0
- plughw:CARD=Headphones,DEV=0
- sysdefault:CARD=Headphones

More information

• Download piCorePlayer
• Burn piCorePlayer onto a SD card
• Setup Wifi without ethernet
• Determine your piCorePlayer IP address
• Topping E30 - homepage—no longer available
• Topping E30 II - homepage—never version of the Topping E30
• LMS could not re-establish any USB connection after USB Dac is disconnected
• Possible issue with Topping E30 DAC