Topping LA90 Review (Integrated Amplifier)

[Slayer]

Simmer down cowpoke.
Constructive criticism vs unfounded, unarticulated, whining.

So now you have to resort to name calling of members who are expressing their opinions or genuine concerns. (Albeit sometimes sarcastically)
No one is saying this is a bad amp product. Rather, expressing some concerns, whether you think they are legit or not.
You seem to still not grasp or are refusing to grasp the concept, of different scenarios where more power on hand is warranted.

Give credit where credit is due until YOU can personally do better.

Here you go again. So. we can expect no more comments from you or anyone else on a subject or product, unless they have proven they can build it better. Come on seriously dude? Why are you so intent on turning this into a pissing contest?

 

[Ingenieur]

Sorry but most Recording engineers I know like to maintain 85 dB SPL, A-weighted for their average listening level at all time, pushing it once in a while to impress clients. Rock concert, 90-100 dB SPL. Again, I got nothing against that if 80 dB SPL (A-weighted) is what you want to listen at. I want to be able to get more.

Sorry
No one listens at 85-90 dBA all the time.
Perhaps the hearing impaired

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

Any speaker load that approaches <4 Ohm will be complex.
Can anyone find a speaker Z plot that dips to 2 Ohm?

Simmer down cowpoke.
Constructive criticism vs unfounded, unarticulated, whining.
The power is sufficient if integrated into a matched system.
The price is not out of line in this hobby.
Bear in mind Amir's numbers iirc INCLUDE the preamp section.

The mfg. has not commented on the 'criticism', so leave them out of it.
You have not given a scenario where this falls short.
Here's one. 4800 cu ft room, 83 dB speakers, avg. level 80 dB.
Even then at 3 m may be fine.
Avg P 1.4 W, DR 16+ dB
Note: this does not include room gain, perhaps + 3 dB or lowering avg. power to 0.7 and DR to 19+.
Not the 90 W when clipping

What about head room? All of a sudden this is all forgotten when it comes to trying to make a product which is not really practical, sound practical.

Even the discussion of gain is brushed off. Does anyone think that it is a bit curious that this just happens to be a tick better than the top amp previously measured here? Does anyone think that is really wasn’t tuned to do that purposely, just happen to do it coincidently?

This is meant for specific audience and hopefully they’ll buy a lot of them… and let’s see if they complain afterwards. Sometimes a measure of a product that sells well is how many end up showing up on the used market.

 

[igufi]

External power supplies by their nature are less reliable. They not only take up extra space but the connector wears down with each insertion and they typically are set someplace where little cooling is available. If the length of the cord is not sufficient to reach the floor the customer is looking for an extra spot to store it or it's left dangling from the cord adding stress. Anyone designing quality electronics knows an external power supply is a design compromise. Internal power offers the ability to design for cooling, connector free operation and less chance for accidental damage. It's simply a more professional design.

If all you owned is external power dongles to power everything then you'll be use to a 4-5 year life on electronics. External power supplies are usually the 1st point of failure in most electronics from modems to hard disk enclosures. When you troubleshoot electronics with an external power supply the manufacturer will usually want to test the external power first - with good reason.

Didn't NAIM make this their forte - every box has a separate, dedicated power supply?

 

[solderdude]

80 dBA is loud.
Freight train loud
You will not have 110 dBA in you home

View attachment 202480

You are not reading it correctly
First, 30 Hz is rare in most recorded 'music'
Second at 80 dB 30 Hz is <90, not 110
View attachment 202483

Fletcher Munson (the plot) is outdated. It has been replaced by equal loudness contours in 2003.

Typical noise levels is not the same as average music levels either.

 

[YSC]

This time I have to give it a "not terrible" rating despite itt's stellar SINAD, yes it tops the benchmark and purifi/hypex modules, but then it's power is really low looking, don't look like it will be sufficient for most passives

 

[Ingenieur]

So now you have to resort to name calling of members who are expressing their opinions or genuine concerns. (Albeit sometimes sarcastically)
No one is saying this is a bad amp product. Rather, expressing some concerns, whether you think they are legit or not.
You seem to still not grasp or are refusing to grasp the concept, of different scenarios where more power on hand is warranted.


Here you go again. So. we can expect no more comments from you or anyone else on a subject or product, unless they have proven they can build it better. Come on seriously dude? Why are you so intent on turning this into a pissing contest?

You need to take a deep breath
'Cowpoke' is name calling?
Get a sense of humor

Yes, if you can do better, prove it.
Otherwise mine, yours, anyones evaluation of the work of others is moot.
Like commentary on brain surgery from a plumber. Unless we have done it we have no idea of the complexities involved.

If you don't like it fine. The details why are not relevant technically, it is only opinion.

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

This is meant to pair with their DAC.
How do you know it has a low slew rate?
It is not a completely different proposition.
Bigger PS, a few more stages.
Even if it gives up 3 dB, still = to the AHB2.
Give credit where credit is due until YOU can personally do better.

Well the amp could actually play well, but what is somewhat telling is the power supply doesn’t seem to really have that much reserve. If it really had excellent dynamic power when playing music and good recovery it could play louder than its measurements. But it doesn’t look like it from what we can see of the design so far. Looks like not allot of power reserve for music. Also how does a clips nobody’s listen to the thing. Hopefully Amir can fill in the blanks eventually.

 

[Ingenieur]

Fletcher Munson (the plot) is outdated. It has been replaced by equal loudness contours in 2003.

Typical noise levels is not the same as average music levels either.

That is not Fletcher-Munson, ISO iirc
That is for industrial work place noise exposure.
Levels at which damage occurs, not music listening levels.

 

[AdamG]

OK guys dial back the personal comments. This thread is running fast and furious and emotions are high. Consider this a Warning to take a few moments to calm down before replying. Any further personal insults issued, even in reply to one that got under the wire, will result in a Thread Ban and a possible Warning. Respect and dignity.

Thank you for your understanding and assistance.

 

[PeteL]

80 dBA is loud.
Freight train loud
You will not have 110 dBA in you home

View attachment 202480

You are not reading it correctly
First, 30 Hz is rare in most recorded 'music'
Second at 80 dB 30 Hz is <90, not 110
View attachment 202483

Strange..,. I use this one, not sure where you got this picture... Yeah I was a little off. 105, not 110. 30 Hz is rare, sure, but that's what differentiate good amp ot OK amp. Most amp will work well at average level, with efficient speakers, with not to much subs content, with not extremely dynamic music, under condition X, y, z... But great amps needs not worry about all these compromise...

 

[Hiten]

That's the best we have for now..

Curiosity got better of me. Hope no one objects. If so kindly delete this post.
I think I see ICs and some hidden modules.

 

[Ingenieur]

Well the amp could actually play well, but what is somewhat telling is the power supply doesn’t seem to really have that much reserve. If it really had excellent dynamic power when playing music and good recovery it could play louder than its measurements. But it doesn’t look like it from what we can see of the design so far. Looks like not allot of power reserve for music. Also how does a clips nobody’s listen to the thing. Hopefully Amir can fill in the blanks eventually.

The PS has no reserve, it is SMPS.
~ 250 W
The amp at clipping ~180 W, the rest inefficiencies.
But again, 90 W is sufficient for Z>90% of all users.
As I said, I doubt I exceed 50 W

 

[pma]

Didn't NAIM make this their forte - every box has a separate, dedicated power supply?

External power supplies with toy connectors like here are less reliable than a properly designed amp with internal PSU. Period. This thing again resembles a toy rather than a real amplifier. Let’s see, we all know the PA5 story. Young designers usually need to get matured.

 

[PeteL]

You need to take a deep breath
'Cowpoke' is name calling?
Get a sense of humor

Yes, if you can do better, prove it.
Otherwise mine, yours, anyones evaluation of the work of others is moot.
Like commentary on brain surgery from a plumber. Unless we have done it we have no idea of the complexities involved.

If you don't like it fine. The details why are not relevant technically, it is only opinion.

How many audio products did you design Ingenieur?

 

[Gregss]

Hello All,

IMHO This unit power is not really much, if any of a problem. Used with efficient speakers, it should have plenty for most users. Those with inefficient speakers or who want to really rock the room, should look at more powerful amps. Just saying, you need to look at your "system" to get compatible components that will meet your needs.

Regards,
Greg

 

[juliangst]

Not enough power and has a volume knob. I’d take Purifi over this one

 

[DesertHawk]

Any concerns about reliability or build quality? Did the pa5 issues get worked out?

 

[Enkay25]

Impressed with the design.

Disappointed with power
Disappointed with price.

The VFM which attracted me to topping products is slowly being eroded away. What had changed Topping @JohnYang1997 ? You could have marketed this at $499 to blow away the competition and bring a milestone to the industry performance/price wise.

PA5 was a disappointment
LA90 is again a continuation of that disappointment.

And no I won't support you with my wallet. even though I enjoy D90SE and A90.


Pass`. Let me see what you can entice me. PA9 should be what Topping is famous as the disrupter : performance/price.

 

[Ingenieur]

Strange..,. I use this one, not sure where you got this picture... Yeah I was a little off. 105, not 110. 30 Hz is rare, sure, but that's what differentiate good amp ot OK amp. Most amp will work well at average level, with efficient speakers, with not to much subs content, with not extremely dynamic music, under condition X, y, z... But great amps needs not worry about all these compromise...
View attachment 202489

That is sound pressure used by ISO for industrial noise exposure limits.
It implies you can absorb a lot more low freq before damage than hi freq.
Music is equalized.
A speaker freq plot is at a constant power level. And is flat.

What is a Frequency Response Chart? | Jensen Loudspeakers

www.jensentone.com