Topping A90 Headphone Amplifier Review

[reiserfs]

I'm in the same boat as you. If you go to the product page it now says we have to wait a few weeks.

Good to know. Seems like stock hasn't arrived yet.

 

[Dealux]

Just curious - why wouldn't you pair it with the D90? There is a MQA version at the same price point as the M400, and you would have the D90/A90 matching stack.

They probably measure about the same. I guess the M400 has the nicer box lol.

 

[Paolosnz]

also arrived in Italy

 

[mt196]

also arrived in Italy

Bought from?

 

[Paolosnz]

amazon.it

 

[Paolosnz]

waiting for the D90 to arrive i am using the khadas tone board with cable rca> xlr and hd800s with pentaconn jack, am i using the balanced circuit like this? or to be balanced the signal must enter with pure xlr?

 

[Tachyon88]

No need to verify. The preamp is wired from the headphon out with a resistor.

Hi, currently the only way I can control my speaker volume is through my smsl su8 through it's remote.

I would like to have a volume knob when I am at my desk, but still want to control the volume remotely when not at the desk.

If I was using the pre-amp option, but wanted to use the remote, would I turn down the volume of the DAC and turn the volume knob all the way up and just control the volume with the DAC remote like I have been ? Would this be ok or is there something I'm overlooking ?

 

[basshead]

Wait for the preamp and make it a dedicated volume control.

In this case it would be nice to have a switch that would short the volume pot. But turning the volume pot all the way right would do the same, correct?

 

[basshead]

Depends. As much as I appreciate what Topping has done here, I would never pick this stack over RME ADI-2 DAC FS. While Topping stack will easily win in performance, it lacks functionality of RME and any performance gains you get are way outside of realm of audibility. Only benefit I see is ridiculous amount of power for people who need it.
That said - both of those are outside of price range I'm willing to spend on audio at the moment. Hence why I'm waiting for L30.

The same applies to me. I chose RME ADI-2 DAC for its DSP with EQ. However, A90 is quite appealing to me as a possible great pairing to ADI-2 DAC for its 4-pin XLR output. In black, of course.
Would be nice to hear other owners who stacked RME ADI-2 DAC + Topping A90.

 

[EchoChamber]

The same applies to me. I chose RME ADI-2 DAC for its DSP with EQ. However, A90 is quite appealing to me as a possible great pairing to ADI-2 DAC for its 4-pin XLR output. In black, of course.
Would be nice to hear other owners who stacked RME ADI-2 DAC + Topping A90.

That’s what I plan to do for my dedicated headphone/small speaker system. I’ll report when I get the A90 delivered and have a chance to play with it. I’m now appreciating my recently acquired ADI-2 - an impressive piece of gear. Sonics are excellent.

 

[Veri]

waiting for the D90 to arrive i am using the khadas tone board with cable rca> xlr and hd800s with pentaconn jack, am i using the balanced circuit like this? or to be balanced the signal must enter with pure xlr?

Hey Paolo that will work no problem. SE>SE, SE>BAL, BAL>SE, BAL>BAL. All is supported.

 

[Yuno]

The same applies to me. I chose RME ADI-2 DAC for its DSP with EQ. However, A90 is quite appealing to me as a possible great pairing to ADI-2 DAC for its 4-pin XLR output. In black, of course.
Would be nice to hear other owners who stacked RME ADI-2 DAC + Topping A90.

Balanced headphone output is only useful if you need a lot of power that single ended output can't provide. It doesn't really do anything else. Balanced outputs are essential for powered speakers (to reduce amount of noise), and only for that.

 

[Paolosnz]

Hey Paolo that will work no problem. SE>SE, SE>BAL, BAL>SE, BAL>BAL. All is supported.

I know it's working but I would like to understand if it works like a real balanced circuit in this way

 

[JohnYang1997]

I know it's working but I would like to understand if it works like a real balanced circuit in this way

yes

 

[zskyper]

Hello, thank you for this valuable review and for all others, this really helps. I really enjoy everyday my DAC D90 connected directly to my power amp. Was interested by the A90 as a pre-amp but will wait now until they release a dedicated pre-amp... However the topping DAC will be perfect with a trigger 12v OUT to power on/off the amp automatically, hopefully they will add it to the upcoming pre-amp...
thanks again
(maybe we can mod the D90 to output 12v when it's power on....? )

 

[gerald]

I'd appreciate some advice with regard to the following decision: I need a DAC and headphone amp, am in no hurry, and need to decide between
1. Topping D90 DAC + A90 headphone amp
2. Topping DX9 all-in-one DAC and headphone amp, which is surely coming at some point, akin to the DX7
Question: Can it be assumed that the individual components perform measurably better than the all-in-one DX9?
(I'll also ask in the D90 forum.)

 

[omgezkoren]

help me. where can i order currently from Europe Topping A90 amp? where it is in stock.

 

[Jimbob54]

I'd appreciate some advice with regard to the following decision: I need a DAC and headphone amp, am in no hurry, and need to decide between
1. Topping D90 DAC + A90 headphone amp
2. Topping DX9 all-in-one DAC and headphone amp, which is surely coming at some point, akin to the DX7
Question: Can it be assumed that the individual components perform measurably better than the all-in-one DX9?
(I'll also ask in the D90 forum.)

How on earth do you expect anyone to answer that? 1) Exists and have been measured. 2) Doesn't exist

@JohnYang1997 might have a clue as to what the intention is for DX9 but he isnt going to state the company will intentionally make the combo worse that the separates, is he?

I would wait for @WolfX-700 to likely measure the prototype , if this is on his or Topping's roadmap.

 

[Veri]

help me. where can i order currently from Europe Topping A90 amp? where it is in stock.

Nowhere. audiophonics has pre-orders running slated to arrive 05/30, so by end of the month, but even if you pre-order you might not get one of the first batch which is probably sold out already... There is no EU stock anywhere, this product is a brand new release! pre-order = first order since launch.
Some people in EU have one already because they ordered from Chinese vendor early.

 

[gerald]

How on earth do you expect anyone to answer that?

I would expect an answer to be based on technical insight and experience, ideally with similar all-in-one products like the DX7 Pro - plus a willingness to engage with the question.