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Finally arrived - Gustard X16 DAC and Topping A90 headphone amp

devopsprodude

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The long wait is finally over. New Gustard X16 DAC and Topping A90 headphone amp arrived today from ShenzhenAudio in China.

Image from iOS (1).jpg


Glad to know that the balanced headphone cable from Audiophile Ninja works (had no easy way of testing it before now).

So far so good. Not much to say that hasn't already been said elsewhere, although it is worth noting that it has plenty of power in low gain for the Hifiman Sundara cans using balanced headphone cable.

Oh, and it's surprising how much heavier the X16 is vs the A90. You'd think that because the A90 is an amp that it would be heavier, but that's not the case.

Worth the almost $900? You can certainly get a stack with plenty of power, Bluetooth, and USB inputs for less, but these are both high quality units. So far I'm pretty pleased with the purchase.
 

RHO

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My dream stack!:D
Congrats and enjoy!
 
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That's still an endgame stack. In some ways the A30pro is better than the A90, especially for single ended headphones.
I see. Still a noobie audiophile person at the moment. Nice to know it's a good stack I'm thinking about.
I'm going to get HD 660S headset then the Topping stack. Purely for desktop computer use.
Separate components needed as in a few months I am going to purchase a turntable, to listen to vinyl through headphones.
 

Snoopy

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Why not h16 + X16?

Should be around $900 as well. Or the RME ADI-2 FS DAC/amp?


I'm currently thinking about getting something in this price range as well.


I'm not sure why but something always keeps telling me not to buy topping/S.M.S.L .
Maybe because they release a new Device every other week.
 

Snoopy

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A90 performed better than H16 in Amir's tests. If I was buying today though, I'd get the A30pro. RME ADI-2 was more than I wanted to spend.


Watched a couple of reviews buy another YouTuber (I think it was "Goldensound" and he mentioned how the topping measured great but sounded "compressed". After reading some more I found plenty of comments by other people that mentioned the same.
 

RHO

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Watched a couple of reviews buy another YouTuber (I think it was "Goldensound" and he mentioned how the topping measured great but sounded "compressed". After reading some more I found plenty of comments by other people that mentioned the same.
One reviewer suggests it sounds congested. Other reviewers start to hear the same thing. What a surprise!:rolleyes:
 

RHO

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A90 performed better than H16 in Amir's tests. If I was buying today though, I'd get the A30pro. RME ADI-2 was more than I wanted to spend.
I would seriously doubt you can genuinely hear a difference between the H16 and A90. Makes the X16 - H16 stack the better looking one.:cool:
 

Veri

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Watched a couple of reviews buy another YouTuber (I think it was "Goldensound" and he mentioned how the topping measured great but sounded "compressed". After reading some more I found plenty of comments by other people that mentioned the same.
Goldensound dude seems extremely biased by all of the common audiophile myths, heck his last 'measurements' are all digital converters ('DDC's) which he's gushing over. Just digital converters. Surely they'll tell you they add richness to the sound and sound amazing etc. Just ridiculous.
 

Snoopy

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Goldensound dude seems extremely biased by all of the common audiophile myths, heck his last 'measurements' are all digital converters ('DDC's) which he's gushing over. Just digital converters. Surely they'll tell you they add richness to the sound and sound amazing etc. Just ridiculous.


Yeah that other dude I'm watching is suddenly all over DDC also. (Jay Soulsik)


Darko will probably be the next one
 

Snoopy

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I would seriously doubt you can genuinely hear a difference between the H16 and A90. Makes the X16 - H16 stack the better looking one.:cool:

Yeah that's what I was thinking too.

Shouldn't matter if one combo gets 92/100 and another one 93/100. But at least it looks good together
 

War Penguin

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The long wait is finally over. New Gustard X16 DAC and Topping A90 headphone amp arrived today from ShenzhenAudio in China.

View attachment 125056

Glad to know that the balanced headphone cable from Audiophile Ninja works (had no easy way of testing it before now).

So far so good. Not much to say that hasn't already been said elsewhere, although it is worth noting that it has plenty of power in low gain for the Hifiman Sundara cans using balanced headphone cable.

Oh, and it's surprising how much heavier the X16 is vs the A90. You'd think that because the A90 is an amp that it would be heavier, but that's not the case.

Worth the almost $900? You can certainly get a stack with plenty of power, Bluetooth, and USB inputs for less, but these are both high quality units. So far I'm pretty pleased with the purchase.

WOW thanks for sharing, it looks awesome. My a30 pro looks a little dwarfed sitting on top of the x16, good to know the a90 is a more aesthetically pleasing option if I go balanced down the road.
 
OP
D

devopsprodude

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WOW thanks for sharing, it looks awesome. My a30 pro looks a little dwarfed sitting on top of the x16, good to know the a90 is a more aesthetically pleasing option if I go balanced down the road.
You really don't gain much by "upgrading" from A30 pro to A90. A30 pro has gobs of power even for balanced cans and way more power than the A90 for unbalanced headphones. Only real reason to upgrade, in my opinion, is if you need the output features of the A90 that aren't available on A30 pro.
 
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