Topping LA90 Review (Integrated Amplifier)

[manisandher]

I just noticed this in Amir's original review:

Volume control can be bypassed although I did not do so for my testing.

I'm assuming he had it set to max. My own listening tests were with it set to the 12 o'clock position.

 

[DSJR]

OK, OK. But don't say I didn't voice my concerns at the outset.

Describing what you hear in language is always difficult. But here goes... The LA90's vol pot seems to 'dullen'/'flatten' the sound. It becomes 'matt' as opposed to 'gloss'.

Once I've figured out how to capture the LA90's output with an ADC, I strongly suspect that I will find that the vol pot affects the channel separation, but that it does NOT affect the frequency response at all.

In any event, my LA90's vol bypass remains ON at all times (unless I'm physically switching inputs).

Mani.

Possibly tangential to the conversation, but I recently heard a pair of wireless active speakers that floored me with the way they reproduced the venue and 'room' acoustics in a recording, making the perceived soundfield between the speakers so deep and realistic on a good recording it was like a portal into the venue. I heard other speaker systems in this same room that give a flattened bland 2-D with reverb kind of portrayal on similar music, but obviously the variables in this scenario are so huge it may not be a fair comparison and maybe impossible to properly correlate. Some amps I've 'heard' in my career seemed to totally destroy the air and perceived 'space' in recordings while others often exaggerated it, often with a warmer less defined kind of bass, which was always 'tuneful' to the ear. the better amps for example, one just listened through for hours without really being aware of it.

The core of the waffle above is that I'm not sure how this wonderful sense of 'hearing into' the recording can be measured - maybe it's an artful combination of parameters. No idea of the A-D unit in thre speakers (Dynaudio Focus 50's), but the amp packs are Paschal based I gather (Danish made so local to Dynaudio) and the demonstrator swore there was no other jiggery-pokery going on in the playback settings (music was accessed via an iPad, Qubuz was used and I think a local NAS stored a lot of the music too).

I'm certain that SINAD alone can't tell us everything on its own, although I thankfully agree it helps a lot and this is why a suite of tests is carried out and interpretations gleaned from all the info combined and sorted.

 

[thdny]

I just received my LA90 yesterday and I love it. My previous amp was NAD 356. I tried to run a small A/B test with NAD and the Topping is much cleaner in sound. One thing I was annoyed about NAD was the listening fatigue. NAD sounds good but I can not listen all day long for some reason. For the test, I connected the left speaker outputs from NAD and LA90 to each speaker. NAD was connected to DX7Pro+ with RCA and LA90 with a XLR cable.

My setup is as follows:

Sony budget Bluray player (keeping it to play cds but planning to upgrade it)
LG C1 OLED TV + Chromecast with Google TV (optical output is problematic but it works fine with dx7pro+ in SYNC mode)
Topping dx7pro+ dac
Topping la90 amp
Triangle gaia peakers

Pros:
Toppings support 12v trigger so they automatically turn on/off with the tv.
I can control the volume with googleTv's remote.

In regards to the power of this amp yes it is a little on the lower end. I use it in low gain and my normal listening range in DAC is btw -10 to -20dB for music. In movies I sometimes need to push to the max to hear the conversations clearly. But overall I think this wattage is enough for my daily use case.

 

[d3l]

I purchased and have been running 2 x LA90's in Bridged mode for the last few days. They are powering Focal 948's, connected via XLR to Pre90, XLR again to D90SE (5v). Fed music through USB to an Rpi4 running Ropieee XL which is connected via ethernet to the network. (Any advice on running 5v vs 4v XLR with the D90SE?)

No issues so far, crystal clear sound, no audible hiss, very happy with the purchase so far!

I was initially worried as the speakers had a minimum impedance of 2.5ohm (nominal 8ohm), but no issues as of yet and it gets as loud as I need.

How do you like them after a while? Still happy with them? Considering a pair as monoblocks for my BW 804 but quite sceptical if they have enough grunt for the low end.

 

[DualTriode]

Hello All,

So much worry about power output.

No complaints from me driving a pair of JBL 4311B monitors.

My wife and I have been enjoying Vinyl Night one night a week for months. No clipping, never a need to crank it to eleven. The LA90 never even gets warm/hot to the touch.

Cranked up to 5 Watts into a 4 Ohm test resistor the amplifier gets hot to the touch. At 5 Watts driving JBL 4311B monitors it is too loud to stay in the room.

The LA90 is a keeper.

Thanks DT

 

[thdny]

I am using a single LA 90 with triangle gaia tower speakers. In low-gain setting, there are times I need to increase the volume all the way up to hear conversations while watching movies but I have no issues while listening to music. In high-gain setting, it is more than enough for me.

 

[Hckd]

In the end of the day it all depends on the speakers used and the listening levels you need…

In my case with the Speakers I have (DIY) the LA90 just makes them sing beautifully in low gain and to a level that is already too much to upset the neighbors (or my ears as a matter of fact) and with no audible faults in the sound for my lazy ears.

For me it’s not only a keeper, it’s just perfect.

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

With the low watts will you ever drive you speakers to 140 db?

 

[mike70]

With the low watts will you ever drive you speakers to 140 db?

Well, you won't know it ... at 140dB you'll be deaf.

 

[DrDen]

Well, you won't know it ... at 140dB you'll be deaf.

Not so bad. Going deaf = saving a lot of money (on audio gear)

 

[mike70]

Not so bad. Going deaf = saving a lot of money (on audio gear)

... good humor is the best we can do for us and for people around us.

To not spend insane money on audio only for jewelry, I think forums like ASR is part of the solution. Real listening (blinded, measurements) and experience shows that differences after certain "level" are only "equalizations".

Really better sound quality is another stuff, like going from 320p video resolution to 1080p. That's "better". After that, more or less bright, contrast or color tonality are only equalizations over the same source.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Anyone tried LA90 with DCA Stealth, or other headphones?

 

[SiamXIII]

Anyone tried LA90 with DCA Stealth, or other headphones?

Zeos

 

[Dual]

Hi Amir! Thanks for the great review. This really caught my attention.

I was wondering about gain-staging the LA90. I have a RME UFX that delivers +19dBu. Is that too hot for the high gain setting of the LA90?

Perhaps you could say a few words about power and speaker SPL, there is so much discussion about the LA90 being not powerfull enough?

Thanks in advance, D

 

[manisandher]

Anyone tried LA90 with DCA Stealth, or other headphones?

Only with the AKG K1000. I've tried these 'ear speakers' with many amps over the years, and I can't imagine I'll ever try another amp with them again - it/they sound superb.

Mani.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Only with the AKG K1000. I've tried these 'ear speakers' with many amps over the years, and I can't imagine I'll ever try another amp with them again - it/they sound superb.

Mani.

For how long have you been using LA90 with headphones? Any problems like clicks/pops on turning on/off or other issues?

 

[manisandher]

For how long have you been using LA90 with headphones? Any problems like clicks/pops on turning on/off or other issues?

The K1000s aren't really 'headphones' in the normal sense. They have an impedance of 120 Ohms and require around 10W to be driven properly.

In any event, the LA90 has worked flawlessly with them for well over 6 months now. No clicks/pops or anything. Zero noise (even into my 109dB/W@1m horn speakers).

Mani.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

The K1000s aren't really 'headphones' in the normal sense. They have an impedance of 120 Ohms and require around 10W to be driven properly.

In any event, the LA90 has worked flawlessly with them for well over 6 months now. No clicks/pops or anything. Zero noise (even into my 109dB/W@1m horn speakers).

Mani.

Thanks, I'm thinking about getting one for DCA Stealth.
One more question are you using any preamp with it or direct connection from dac?
Also if you don't use preamp is volume controlled with dac (LA90 in direct mode) or pot on LA90?

 

[manisandher]

... are you using any preamp with it or direct connection from dac?

A direct connection from DAC.

... if you don't use preamp is volume controlled with dac (LA90 in direct mode) or pot on LA90?

I personally think the LA90's volume control is its weak link (based purely on subjective listening). For practical reasons, I use Roon's digital volume control, with the LA90 in direct mode; otherwise I'd be happy to use the DAC's vol control. I've also tried the LA90 (in direct mode) with my Pass Labs X1 preamp, and it sounded great.

I haven't kept an eye on things closely, but to date, I've not heard of a single LA90 failure/issue. FWIW, a couple of months ago, I actually bought a further two LA90s to use as monos in my second system. I haven't gotten around to setting them up yet, but am hoping to do so by the end of this week. Just an indication of how pleased I am with the LA90 .

Mani.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

A direct connection from DAC.



I personally think the LA90's volume control is its weak link (based purely on subjective listening). For practical reasons, I use Roon's digital volume control, with the LA90 in direct mode; otherwise I'd be happy to use the DAC's vol control. I've also tried the LA90 (in direct mode) with my Pass Labs X1 preamp, and it sounded great.

I haven't kept an eye on things closely, but to date, I've not heard of a single LA90 failure/issue. FWIW, a couple of months ago, I actually bought a further two LA90s to use as monos in my second system. I haven't gotten around to setting them up yet, but am hoping to do so by the end of this week. Just an indication of how pleased I am with the LA90 .

Mani.

Thank you sir for the answer.
Actually I've just put an order to LA90. Will see how it goes with Stealths.