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Topping A90 Headphone Amplifier Review

Beppe

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Ok, I finally got my A90. Will write up some details later but I have 1 big question for now.
I have it connected via xlr to adi2dac and I just have NO soundstage out of A90, not via Bal or SE.
From adi2dac I hear all the instruments separated, wide and every one in its place but when I switch to A90 they are all just a soup in the middle of my head. Much more so on Sundara being open back than on Z1R.
Not saying it is necessarily something to do with the A90, could be anything through to wall socket wiring. I don't know but maybe someone had similar experience with a dedicated headphone amp. :confused: What could be the reason?

Hi Audimon,
very strange, have you tried connecting through RCA, instead of XLR, to see if it has the same problem?
Or even connect another Dac if you have it to see if the A90 has the same problem
 
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eurokage

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Ok, I finally got my A90. Will write up some details later but I have 1 big question for now.
I have it connected via xlr to adi2dac and I just have NO soundstage out of A90, not via Bal or SE.
From adi2dac I hear all the instruments separated, wide and every one in its place but when I switch to A90 they are all just a soup in the middle of my head. Much more so on Sundara being open back than on Z1R.
Not saying it is necessarily something to do with the A90, could be anything through to wall socket wiring. I don't know but maybe someone had similar experience with a dedicated headphone amp. :confused: What could be the reason?

HeadPhones, IEM and LineOut (XLR) all have separate EQ/Bass/Treble, maybe your settings are different on LineOut vs HeadPhones?
 
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Audimon

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On Phones IEM you have EQ/Bass/Treble, on Lineout you do not have this set? On the ADI-2 each output can have its own setup...

Uff :facepalm: you pointed me in the right direction! Thank you!

Set up everything so quickly and although I did check the output settings I missed the width setting, which I usually don't touch.
It was indeed set differently on the two outputs.

Now I can enjoy :)

Just a quick photo of the complete stack

IMG_9167.JPG
 

Audimon

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Hi Audimon,
very strange, have you tried connecting through RCA, instead of XLR, to see if it has the same problem?
Or even connect another Dac if you have it to see if the A90 has the same problem

Thank you!
I was thinking of the absence of ground at my place, etc.
As it happens the solution was way simpler. :facepalm::)
It is good to have a collective mind like this forum :)
 
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Veri

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Uff :facepalm: you pointed me in the right direction! Thank you!

Set up everything so quickly and although I did check the output settings I missed the width setting, which I usually don't touch.
It was indeed set differently on the two outputs.

Now I can enjoy :)

Just a quick photo of the complete stack

View attachment 75735
That bass/treble thing looks so out of place on the top of the line RME/A90 lol
 

Audimon

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That bass/treble thing looks so out of place on the top of the line RME/A90 lol

but it does what I need it to and does it quite well actually :)

bluetooth transmitter next to it does not exactly fit there either :D

but each of them serves it's purpose and the whole setup together seems to be perfect for me at this point in time.

so I am quite happy with the A90 completing the picture.

a personal Thank you to @JohnYang1997
 
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bahamot

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And then you have those youtube videos claiming you need a vintage receiver or a speaker amp for optimal sound.
His source or ears might have some problems. Even with medium gain, the volume pot never passed 11.
 

hmscott

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Finally got my A90 after months of waiting it to arrive at local distributor. Mine has butter smooth volume pot, no play on it.
Medium gain is all I need for beyer dt880 600Ohm.
Thanks for that info, I was wondering - as that's about what my A90 needs to drive a 250 ohm DT880 Chrome - although I usually run it on H Gain 9-10 - what volume position on the dial does the DT800 600 ohm need on your A90 at H Gain?
And then you have those youtube videos claiming you need a vintage receiver or a speaker amp for optimal sound.
It's weird actually, as I didn't think the DT880 250 ohm would work on a vanilla PC headphone output, but sure enough it works find on a Gigabyte motherboard back panel 3.5mm (green) audio output. As does a DT770 16 ohm... makes you wonder, right? The impedance matters, but each amplifier device interface interacts differently.

The best idea is to try it and see how it works before giving up. :)
 
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bahamot

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Thanks for that info, I was wondering - as that's about what my A90 needs to drive a 250 ohm DT880 Chrome - although I usually run it on H Gain 9-10 - what volume position on the dial does the DT800 600 ohm need on your A90 at H Gain?

It's weird actually, as I didn't think the DT880 250 ohm would work on a vanilla PC headphone output, but sure enough it works find on a Gigabyte motherboard back panel 3.5mm (green) audio output. As does a DT770 16 ohm... makes you wonder, right? The impedance matters, but each amplifier device interface interacts differently.

The best idea is to try it and see how it works before giving up. :)
What song are you listening with dt880? I will try the high gain with the same some song later.
 

hmscott

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What song are you listening with dt880? I will try the high gain with the same some song later.
I've already passed on the DT880 250 ohm to my friend - she doesn't like swapping headphones back and forth so I'm gonna go from memory - here are some playlists I listened to the DT 880 250 ohm @ H Gain on the A90.

Here's a Tidal 192khz Playlist https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/bd51ad45-df8a-4333-8615-d7526b80b70a

Here's an Amazon HD list: https://music.amazon.com/playlists/B08684DMF5?ref=dm_sh_0dd0-3b5f-ed4d-835c-0498d

I listened deep into the tidal playlist of 192khz MQA masters, and at least 1/2 way through the Amazon HD list skipping through my favorites as UltraHD tracks.

I also played around with the D90 in PRE mode dropping -6dB, -9dB, etc, -30dB, seeing how the A90 Gain settings affected the sound at the matched output level, which also let me use more range in the A90 volume control. I'll update if I can wrangle the DT880 250 ohm's back for more details and comparison.

I'm thinking of getting a DT990 600 ohm, or a DT880 600 ohm, been cruising the German Beyerdynamic site and custom builds to get what I want - it's hard to find a 600 ohm premium (I like the headband, no sharp horns) in black otherwise here in the US. I emailed Beyerdynamic DE a while back, no answer yet.
 
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bahamot

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I've already passed on the DT880 250 ohm to my friend - she doesn't like swapping headphones back and forth so I'm gonna go from memory - here are some playlists I listened to the DT 880 250 ohm @ H Gain on the A90.

Here's a Tidal 192khz Playlist https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/bd51ad45-df8a-4333-8615-d7526b80b70a

Here's an Amazon HD list: https://music.amazon.com/playlists/B08684DMF5?ref=dm_sh_0dd0-3b5f-ed4d-835c-0498d

I listened deep into the tidal playlist of 192khz MQA masters, and at least 1/2 way through the Amazon HD list skipping through my favorites as UltraHD tracks.

I also played around with the D90 in PRE mode dropping -6dB, -9dB, etc, -30dB, seeing how the A90 Gain settings affected the sound at the matched output level, which also let me use more range in the A90 volume control. I'll update if I can wrangle the DT880 250 ohm's back for more details and comparison.

I'm thinking of getting a DT990 600 ohm, or a DT880 600 ohm, been cruising the German Beyerdynamic site and custom builds to get what I want - it's hard to find a 600 ohm premium (I like the headband, no sharp horns) in black otherwise here in the US. I emailed Beyerdynamic DE a while back, no answer yet.
For high gain, listening Beatle's Here Comes the Sun (24bit/96KHz Qobuz), I only need volume pot at 9.
D90 is in DAC mode, connected to A90 with short XLR cable.

Really like what I hear from the D90+A90 and DT880. Sounds smooth to me, no need EQ anymore. Next gotta try Sennheiser HD650 and Oppo PM1.
 
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burma

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I also played around with the D90 in PRE mode dropping -6dB, -9dB, etc, -30dB, seeing how the A90 Gain settings affected the sound at the matched output level, which also let me use more range in the A90 volume control. I'll update if I can wrangle the DT880 250 ohm's back for more details and comparison.

So are you saying that L M H gain settings on the A90 behave differently when volume matched from the D90 PRE?
 

frogmeat69

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For high gain, listening Beatle's Here Comes the Sun (24bit/96KHz Qobuz), I only need volume pot at 9.
D90 is in DAC mode, connected to A90 with short XLR cable.

Really like what I hear from the D90+A90 and DT880. Sounds smooth to me, no need EQ anymore. Next gotta try Sennheiser HD650 and Oppo PM1.
I kinda regret selling my PM1's, even though I sold them for more than I paid for them, even before they were discontinued.

I also sold my DT880, but I have the T1 2nd gen and Amiron Home, and they both sound great on my A90 / RME ADI-2 combo.
 

hmscott

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I kinda regret selling my PM1's, even though I sold them for more than I paid for them, even before they were discontinued.

I also sold my DT880, but I have the T1 2nd gen and Amiron Home, and they both sound great on my A90 / RME ADI-2 combo.
If you had to choose between the T1 2nd gen and the Amiron Home wired, which would you choose? I'm trying to decide which one to get. :)
 
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