Topping A90 Headphone Amplifier Review

[JohnYang1997]

I am currently using a very old dac called topping d20. Is there any problem with this dac and a90 matching?

I recommend waiting for the L30 and possibly upgrade the dac the same time for an actual step up. L30 will be very cheap so it will be a save comparing to A90.

 

[jarchi]

I recommend waiting for the L30 and possibly upgrade the dac the same time for an actual step up. L30 will be very cheap so it will be a save comparing to A90.

In fact, I have already ordered the a90. The d20 is used because there is no problem in airplay wireless transmission by connecting to apple's airport. Do you think d20 has insufficient performance to match a90?

 

[mt196]

In fact, I have already ordered the a90. The d20 is used because there is no problem in airplay wireless transmission by connecting to apple's airport. Do you think d20 has insufficient performance to match a90?

Well probably he was just saying that a L30+E30 is a lot more balanced setup.

I feel the A90 to be not worth if you won't be using it in XLR, the L30 can achieve same performances in SE more or less with a fraction of the price, so you can buy it and with the money you saved buy a better DAC (the E30 is a very good performer)

 

[jarchi]

Well probably he was just saying that a L30+E30 is a lot more balanced setup.

I feel the A90 to be not worth if you won't be using it in XLR, the L30 can achieve same performances in SE more or less with a fraction of the price, so you can buy it and with the money you saved buy a better DAC (the E30 is a very good performer)

From the spec, it seems that there is no difference between balanced input or unbalanced input. The purchase of the L30 was not considered because I was wondering what performance difference my Empyrean had in the balance output. If the a90 is too high grade for the d20, I will buy a d90 or another dac in the future, but now I wanted to leave the d20 that had no any problems connecting to the airport.

 

[mt196]

From the spec, it seems that there is no difference between balanced input or unbalanced input. The purchase of the L30 was not considered because I was wondering what performance difference my Empyrean had in the balance output. If the a90 is too high grade for the d20, I will buy a d90 or another dac in the future, but now I wanted to leave the d20 that had no any problems connecting to the airport.

The true benefits of a balanced signal are seen in the interconnections between DAC HeadAmp and PowerAmp. With headphones, balanced cables just deliver more W, if your cans need them then you will see improvements, if not they will sound exactly the same as TRS 6.36mm. A90 measure better on SE, but it is more prone to ground loops for the nature of SE connectors, mine, in fact, has a bit of "ummh"on pre-amp SE, that is why I will use XLR to connect it to my AMS0100

 

[jarchi]

If I understand your words well, does it mean that receiving a balanced output with headphones without making an xlr balance connection between the DAC and amp does not differ from the 6.3mm output?

I also know that connecting to the RCA terminal requires attention to hum noise coming from the dac. I had this problem too, and I solved it using p50 like this.

 

[mt196]

Yes, for me and for a lot of other people, just connecting headphones with balanced cables does not make the signal better, it just makes it more powerful since there are more W. If your headphones needs this additional Watts, then consequently they will also sound better, but it depends.

While XLR connection between electronics has the strong advantage to solve ground loops problems

 

[hmscott]

Looks like I got my D90 A90 RCA-RCA problem solved, went to find out the problem after one day I turn on the rear on off switch of A90 and fuse is burnt..

Change it to another spare fuse supplied together, and on the second day, second fuse burnt again.

So i open the A90 and guessing if there's any contact of the switch cable loosen and causes the surge to blow the fuse, and I'm right, the Earth cable plugging to the on off switch was slightly more outwards and loose.

Tighten every cable , change another new fuse, and try again, and the RCA-RCA noise disappeared

So i suppose for my unit the Ground Noise of RCA came from the bad loose contact connection of the A90 Earth cable?

Anyways, is glad to had the problem solved.

Did you take any photo's? It would be nice to see an annotated image of the problem area pointing out specifically what you had to fix - before and after.

Perhaps water under the bridge now, but next time anyone debugs a problem like this caused by manufacturing (or shipping) it would be nice to see the problem before it's fixed, solution, and the fixed problem afterwards.

Thanks for letting us know, I may take a look inside... any more tips on what I am looking for?

 

[fendy323]

XLR to RCA make sure you get the right one or RCA to RCA no need to buy another pre amp,output to the speakers,input to the DAC.

For the z623, you can connect RCA to RCA or RCA to 3.5mm into the subwoofer, or RCA to 3.5mm into the speakers. Do whatever is more convenient.
https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/speaker-system-z623

XLR to RCA
RCA to RCA
RCA to 3.5mm
all is same sound quality for drive the speaker? or XLR to RCA is better?
how about the price? buy cheapest or buy the expensive one?

anyway basiclly xlr cables is better than rca cables for connect the d90 to a90 ?
how about the price? buy cheapest or buy the expensive one?
0,25meter rca to rca cable from topping brand vs 1meter xlr cable, which one better?

for my hd800s, which cable should i use for the best?

• Cable with 6.35 mm jack plug
• Cable with balanced 4.4 mm jack plug

or buy another type of cable ?

 

[A Surfer]

Yes, for me and for a lot of other people, just connecting headphones with balanced cables does not make the signal better, it just makes it more powerful since there are more W. If your headphones needs this additional Watts, then consequently they will also sound better, but it depends.

While XLR connection between electronics has the strong advantage to solve ground loops problems

This isn't always true. Sometimes headphone amplifiers provide an XLR input for convenience but it receives no more power than the typically included 1/4" input. My well enjoyed Yulong A28 Sabre headphone amp was one such example. And providing more power does not mean better sound, unless you mean more power when compared to a headphone being underdriven by say the single ended connection, and I mean underdriven, while the balanced connection allows for the headphone to now be driven properly.

There is an audio myth out there that you need plenty of extra power on tap as if all of the unused power potential can somehow influence the sound. If the power is unused, how can it have any impact on what we hear? So an amp that can provide just enough clean power to handle dynamic peaks will sound just as good as an amp that has 2 watts to spare. The spare watts are not used, they are just potential.

 

[burma]

The true benefits of a balanced signal are seen in the interconnections between DAC HeadAmp and PowerAmp. With headphones, balanced cables just deliver more W, if your cans need them then you will see improvements, if not they will sound exactly the same as TRS 6.36mm. A90 measure better on SE, but it is more prone to ground loops for the nature of SE connectors, mine, in fact, has a bit of "ummh"on pre-amp SE, that is why I will use XLR to connect it to my AMS0100

I got the A90 / D90 MQA combo coming today, so am excited to finally get to hear them. For now, I'm using the HiFiMAN Sundara with the stock cable. I may change/add the Arya in the near future, so am wondering if I should get an XLR cable (it will work for both Sundara and Arya) for the A90 connection. Seems it outputs a lot of power, but can it hurt to use XLR in any way? It may not buy me too much for the Sundaras with stock cable, but how can it hurt? $68 for a nice Periapt XLR!

 

[Ben Tuinstra]

I got the A90 / D90 MQA combo coming today, so am excited to finally get to hear them. For now, I'm using the HiFiMAN Sundara with the stock cable. I may change/add the Arya in the near future, so am wondering if I should get an XLR cable (it will work for both Sundara and Arya) for the A90 connection. Seems it outputs a lot of power, but can it hurt to use XLR in any way? It may not buy me too much for the Sundaras with stock cable, but how can it hurt? $68 for a nice Periapt XLR!

Hi, I'm using this same combination (minus mqa, since I was to early ;-) and am very happy with it. It is the most revealing combo I've ever listened to. My D90 is conected by short Xlrs to the A90.
My Sundara was first connected by the origional cable. But for me, a self made (nothing special) xlr 4pin did ad some extra space (I know, not the right place to use subjectives ;-)

The combo needed some playing time (while i did not listen to it) to come to peace.
Enjoy!

 

[burma]

Hi, I'm using this same combination (minus mqa, since I was to early ;-) and am very happy with it. It is the most revealing combo I've ever listened to. My D90 is conected by short Xlrs to the A90.
My Sundara was first connected by the origional cable. But for me, a self made (nothing special) xlr 4pin did ad some extra space (I know, not the right place to use subjectives ;-)

The combo needed some playing time (while i did not listen to it) to come to peace.
Enjoy!

Did you get substantial volume boost from the XLR output over the stock SE cable?

 

[ReaderZ]

Did you get substantial volume boost from the XLR output over the stock SE cable?

XLR or 4.4 will have much higher volume compare to the 6.3. I would say unity gain with SE is about the same as low gain with balanced.

 

[Ben Tuinstra]

Did you get substantial volume boost from the XLR output over the stock SE cable?

Yes I did get significant volume boost. Did not measure but it seems to be something like factor two.

 

[burma]

XLR or 4.4 will have much higher volume compare to the 6.3. I would say unity gain with SE is about the same as low gain with balanced.

I see. And I would think running the A90 (or any amp) on the lowest gain is probably more ideal no?

 

[Veri]

Yes I did get significant volume boost. Did not measure but it seems to be something like factor two.

It is a factor two

 

[burma]

So I got the gear, plugged everything in, and with the D90 at 0db (I assume to leave it at it max/0db going XLR into the A90, right?), and my Sundaras plugged into the 6.3 SE with stock cable, on medium gain, i'm around 1:30pm or so, sometimes a bit more. I'll get an XLR cable to compare.

 

[Ben Tuinstra]

So I got the gear, plugged everything in, and with the D90 at 0db (I assume to leave it at it max/0db going XLR into the A90, right?), and my Sundaras plugged into the 6.3 SE with stock cable, on medium gain, i'm around 1:30pm or so, sometimes a bit more. I'll get an XLR cable to compare.

I assume You know that you can put the D90 in DAC mode. You can do this by pushing the left select mode button while powering on. You then enter a hidden menu where you can do some settings. Choosing between DAC and Pre is one of them.
In DAC mode you are not able to change volume on the dac.

 

[burma]

I assume You know that you can put the D90 in DAC mode. You can do this by pushing the left select mode button while powering on. You then enter a hidden menu where you can do some settings. Choosing between DAC and Pre is one of them.
In DAC mode you are not able to change volume on the dac.

I didn’t know. I wonder what is different about that mode than being in Pre at 0dB.