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Topping A30pro vs A90.

max1236

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Just tested both, i find A30 pro sounds more interesting to me, A30 pro has more punch on low frequency, a little bit smaller soundstage, but from my point of view, a30 pro is more enjoyable and more emotional, just IMHO,i will stay with d90 + a30 pro.

Tested ftom single end on beyerdynamic dt1990

Its funny i've noticed similar impressions about the a90 vs a30 from zeos, hbb, and antdroid. Something like the "a30 is less analytical, less forward". I like subjective and objective impressions but something tells me that a comment like this is made once and everyone else subconsciously picks it up. Either way I love my a30 and chose it because it was cheaper but similar performance. its great with my he6se
 

Volikovvv

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[
Either way I love my a30 and chose it because it was cheaper but similar performance. its great with my he6se
A30 pro is the best amp i ever own! This small boy and d90 will stay with me:) This amp sounds crazy good!
 

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3kweave

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I mean is someone is saying that “the a30 pro is less analytic while the a90 is more clinical” that is a straight up unsub right there. Both amps deliver enough power to ruin your tympanic membrane 4 life.
 

o7_brother

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I have previously owned the A90, now I own the A30 Pro.

In terms of powering headphones, both are stronger than you could ever need, and neither has any coloration to it.

I kept the A30 Pro just because it's smaller and I don't need the pre-amp feature of the A90.
 
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Nice comparison thoughts here.
I'm in the same boat, as I'm looking to purchase a headphone amp.
Looking at these two, along with the Singzer SA-1 which is $500

I prefer to have the A90 or the Singzer.
 

f1shb0n3

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Die-hard objectivist here - did an A/B comparison with an instant switch between the headphone amp of RME ADI-2 DAC FS V2 and Topping A30 Pro. There are audible differences between them, but very small. I will hold off on sharing the specific subjective impressions to avoid offending the fellow die-hard objectivists who are more fragile :p

Seriously though, before making a claim that stuff that measures well sounds the same try it out for yourself. I'm not saying that differences do matter, but they are there. Requires focus and effort to parse out, probably won't lead to clear preference of one vs the other and you could say essentially they are the same for 99.9% of listeners. I plan to do a blind ABX comparison soon to confirm I can hear differences. Fully understand that they could come down to minor channel imbalance of A30 Pro vs perfect channel balance of RME ADI-2, but it would still be interesting to see.
 

virtua

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Die-hard objectivist here - did an A/B comparison with an instant switch between the headphone amp of RME ADI-2 DAC FS V2 and Topping A30 Pro. There are audible differences between them, but very small. I will hold off on sharing the specific subjective impressions to avoid offending the fellow die-hard objectivists who are more fragile :p

Seriously though, before making a claim that stuff that measures well sounds the same try it out for yourself. I'm not saying that differences do matter, but they are there. Requires focus and effort to parse out, probably won't lead to clear preference of one vs the other and you could say essentially they are the same for 99.9% of listeners. I plan to do a blind ABX comparison soon to confirm I can hear differences. Fully understand that they could come down to minor channel imbalance of A30 Pro vs perfect channel balance of RME ADI-2, but it would still be interesting to see.

Interested to see how your blind ABX goes. These days I'm somewhere in the middle. From my own sighted testing between amps, if the differences are there - they are very small. The main difference I usually find is devices noise floors tend to differ quite a lot, outside of hearing the differences in noise floor, I would not put any money on a blind ABX test between any of the devices I currently own. But these days amongst all the perfectly usable devices we have the choice of at every price point, unless a certain option at the same price has a function I need that the others don't, I'm just going to pick the device which I like the look and feel of more. I'm partial to the massdrop amps like the 789, I just like how they look. My brain is likely going to trick me into thinking it sounds better when differences in reality are likely minimal to none, and that's fine by me. If my brain is tricking me in ways that are positive, then let it be lol.
 

f1shb0n3

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Interested to see how your blind ABX goes. These days I'm somewhere in the middle. From my own sighted testing between amps, if the differences are there - they are very small. The main difference I usually find is devices noise floors tend to differ quite a lot, outside of hearing the differences in noise floor, I would not put any money on a blind ABX test between any of the devices I currently own. But these days amongst all the perfectly usable devices we have the choice of at every price point, unless a certain option at the same price has a function I need that the others don't, I'm just going to pick the device which I like the look and feel of more. I'm partial to the massdrop amps like the 789, I just like how they look. My brain is likely going to trick me into thinking it sounds better when differences in reality are likely minimal to none, and that's fine by me. If my brain is tricking me in ways that are positive, then let it be lol.

I have to revise my previous comment - turned out the A/B switch I was using before was distorting, now have a good one (Nobsound Little Bear 4 Way Audio Switch 3.5mm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q1W4484) and I’m back to square one with my A/B efforts. I’m also comparing DACs - D90 vs D90SE vs RME ADI-2 DAC vs miniDSP SHD. I’ll make a post about all that eventually.
At this point though, I fully agree with you that audible differences between measured transparent gear is irrelevant and features, build, etc. matter more.
 

Dunring

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I've had both at the same time to test side by side. What could measure is the room temp goes up 1-2 degrees with the A30pro if you leave it in standby. The A90 is cool by comparison.
Single ended the A90 will run out of gas if you equalize the dt880 600ohm with a -6 preamp reduction. The A30pro wins in the department of flexible for picking headphones. Also for saving money not buying balanced cables which can add up.
The A90 balanced is just immense power. I have the He5xx Hifiman in low gain all the time and only need medium gain if equalizing. The he560 is no problem in medium gain, and only the he6se needed high and sounded amazing.
The soundstage on the A30pro is smaller and it's obvious if you switch them over and volume match to test the same game location or song.
They both sound amazing, but it might boil down to your room temperature. If it's chilly and you leave your stuff on all the time it may be a huge plus. If you have a cat, the large vent holes letting dust or cat fuzz in might be a real downside. We foster kittens for the Humane society so I know how they gravitate to anything warm. A30pro is a cat warmer upper.
As long as your not fixed on equalizing 600 ohm Beyers, the SE on the A90 is plenty.
 

NiagaraPete

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Hope this is the right place for this question and also I have not found a thread about it.

I'm thinking about buying a headphone amp, so i'm looking at these two contenders.

Question: Is there a reason to buy the A90 over the A30pro, from Amirs review I can't think of any except for maybe reliability? The a90 is about 100dollars more expensive for me in Sweden with shipping. Not a dealbreaker if the amp is better i any way.

I like the pre out funktion of the a90, but no remote control will yield it unsusable for me. Is it possible to use an existing Topping remote for it?

Thanks!
The A30 doesn’t have a remote either.
 

guisess93

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I've had both at the same time to test side by side. What could measure is the room temp goes up 1-2 degrees with the A30pro if you leave it in standby. The A90 is cool by comparison.
Single ended the A90 will run out of gas if you equalize the dt880 600ohm with a -6 preamp reduction. The A30pro wins in the department of flexible for picking headphones. Also for saving money not buying balanced cables which can add up.
The A90 balanced is just immense power. I have the He5xx Hifiman in low gain all the time and only need medium gain if equalizing. The he560 is no problem in medium gain, and only the he6se needed high and sounded amazing.
The soundstage on the A30pro is smaller and it's obvious if you switch them over and volume match to test the same game location or song.
They both sound amazing, but it might boil down to your room temperature. If it's chilly and you leave your stuff on all the time it may be a huge plus. If you have a cat, the large vent holes letting dust or cat fuzz in might be a real downside. We foster kittens for the Humane society so I know how they gravitate to anything warm. A30pro is a cat warmer upper.
As long as your not fixed on equalizing 600 ohm Beyers, the SE on the A90 is plenty.
Hi there. I'm deciding between an used a90 and a new a30 pro. Both are around £250.

The amp will be used to drive Akg k702 (SE only since it has to be modded for balance) and potentially Audeze lcd-2c (stock cable is also SE). With no option to use balanced out currently, I wasn't sure if SE output of a90 is enough to comfortably power the above headphones. But I guess your comment suggested that it will be enough. I do want to eventually buy a HD800s down the road though.

What would you choose between the 2 options? Thanks in advance.
 

o7_brother

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Hi there. I'm deciding between an used a90 and a new a30 pro. Both are around £250.

The amp will be used to drive Akg k702 (SE only since it has to be modded for balance) and potentially Audeze lcd-2c (stock cable is also SE). With no option to use balanced out currently, I wasn't sure if SE output of a90 is enough to comfortably power the above headphones. But I guess your comment suggested that it will be enough. I do want to eventually buy a HD800s down the road though.

What would you choose between the 2 options? Thanks in advance.
Both are fine. K702 and LCD-2 are not hard to drive, A90 SE outout is fine.

A90 will have better re-sale value, so go for that. A30 Pro has so much power that you will not even need high gain at all.

A90 has pre-amp function, idk if that matters to you.
 

Dunring

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Hi there. I'm deciding between an used a90 and a new a30 pro. Both are around £250.

The amp will be used to drive Akg k702 (SE only since it has to be modded for balance) and potentially Audeze lcd-2c (stock cable is also SE). With no option to use balanced out currently, I wasn't sure if SE output of a90 is enough to comfortably power the above headphones. But I guess your comment suggested that it will be enough. I do want to eventually buy a HD800s down the road though.

What would you choose between the 2 options? Thanks in advance.
 

Dunring

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Hey,
I have both, an A30Pro/D30Pro stack and an A90/D10b stack. I'd pick the A90 with the D10b DAC combo anytime for the bigger soundstage. When you have both hooked up next to each other and volume level with the same settings/headphones it's really obvious. My first thought was "so this is how they kept the A90 as top dog, or everyone would only buy the A30Pro". The D90SE DAC is nice, but it doesn't sound any better, just the swiss army knife of connectivity and filters. Just go with a D10b unless you need more than USB to connect with.
 

guisess93

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Hey,
I have both, an A30Pro/D30Pro stack and an A90/D10b stack. I'd pick the A90 with the D10b DAC combo anytime for the bigger soundstage. When you have both hooked up next to each other and volume level with the same settings/headphones it's really obvious. My first thought was "so this is how they kept the A90 as top dog, or everyone would only buy the A30Pro". The D90SE DAC is nice, but it doesn't sound any better, just the swiss army knife of connectivity and filters. Just go with a D10b unless you need more than USB to connect with.
Thanks a lot! Have your experience with A90 been of SE or bal? I can only make use of SE currently though.
 
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