I got an open-box but new L30 off eBay for a good price, so I decided to try it out as a preamp and spare headphone amp. My main headphone amp is an Asgard 3.
I didn’t test it for long but my Asgard 3 was noticeably better sounding to my ears. It had a smoother sound and more pleasing tonality. Comparatively, the L30 sounded relatively harsh in the way it reproduced electric guitars and drum high-hats. I also perceived better separation on the Asgard. Otherwise, the L30 seemed good. The sound is probably not for me though (at least compared to the Asgard’s sound).
I’ll be returning the L30 because it doesn’t work as I had thought it would as a preamp (the preamp gain is too high for my set up - even at low gain things get quite loud at around 10 o’clock). I’ll be going back to using my E30 as a pre, despite me wanting a volume knob very badly.
Also, I really hate the L30’s pot. There is that “wiggle” people have complained about. I wiggle the knob clockwise and anti-clockwise a little and not have any changes to the volume. After being used to how smooth the Asgard knob is, I don’t think I could live with that.