[Poll] What is your experience with the reliability of the Topping LA90D?

[Anthony T]

Just stop buying their amplification for goodness sake, it’s unreliable just like their customer support. I still will not give my money to Roksan or Musical Fidelity because they released products with high failure rates and didn’t support their customers or their products and that was late 80s-early 90s!

The only way they will get their act together is to vote with your wallet and be vocal.

 

[dan_uk]

Is this the right place to post on the LA90D..?

I will anyway I bought a LA90D from Aliexpress from China in June, all arrived in the UK fine, no import tax as marked as sample and value $20...

It worked ok for 3-4 weeks, then started to get pop/crackle as reported by others... I then contacted the seller and said as it was more than 30 days (35 days), I needed to return it to China for repair. I said not interested in repair and wanted a refund. After a while, they agreed... They then offered to give me a refund and not return which I obviously agreed to... Then the day after, they changed their mind and offered a 70% refund and keep it... I said I don't want to use it in case it damages speakers so want 100% refund.

Anyhow to cut a long story short, turns out they have a UK warehouse I could return it too, which I did and got a full refund.

Last thing, the Aliexpress seller was listed as an authorised seller on TOPPING's website.

 

[Astrofly]

Awhile back (years) when I first discovered ASR, Benchmark's ABH2 and LA4 were getting all the praise, so I checked Benchmark out. I found a company that seems by all accounts to make solid, first-rate gear at fair prices. I was even thinking, "Man, maybe I should have bought from Benchmark." Then all this buzz about Topping started, so I checked them out...

...uhhh, is this still the same site that recommended Benchmark?

 

[Kuromi]

Awhile back (years) when I first discovered ASR, Benchmark's ABH2 and LA4 were getting all the praise, so I checked Benchmark out. I found a company that seems by all accounts to make solid, first-rate gear at fair prices. I was even thinking, "Man, maybe I should have bought from Benchmark." Then all this buzz about Topping started, so I checked them out...

View attachment 303818

...uhhh, is this still the same site that recommended Benchmark?

My AHB2 and LA90D sound indentical.

 

[Snix]

It's like that hot psychopath girlfriend tho.
It's so good when it works

 

[Bryguy]

I think it would not be a bad idea to make a new poll now. This amplifier is finally back in stock, (presumably having now been fixed?)

I am interested to see what new buyers' experiences are. Maybe this is just wishful thinking on my part, to think that Topping has resolved this amp's issues, but it seems to be in their best interests as well as ours for the LA90D to operate as it should.. I find it pretty unlikely that they halted sales on this unit for awhile, just to return it to the market exactly as it was with the same issues as before?

 

[Power Pop 23]

I think it would not be a bad idea to make a new poll now. This amplifier is finally back in stock, (presumably having now been fixed?)

I am interested to see what new buyers' experiences are. Maybe this is just wishful thinking on my part, to think that Topping has resolved this amp's issues, but it seems to be in their best interests as well as ours for the LA90D to operate as it should.. I find it pretty unlikely that they halted sales on this unit for awhile, just to return it to the market exactly as it was with the same issues as before?

A new poll may be helpful. I still find it alarming that Topping Audio had to pull the LA90D from the market soon after it was introduced - especially after the debacle with their PA5 amplifier. I will assess the reliability of this new version of the LA90D amplifier after a year on the market.

 

[Bryguy]

A new poll may be helpful. I still find it alarming that Topping Audio had to pull the LA90D from the market soon after it was introduced - especially after the debacle with their PA5 amplifier. I will assess the reliability of this new version of the LA90D amplifier after a year on the market.

Yes. Topping certainly has not done themselves any favors here. You'd think they'd learn from their mistakes... I would just be saving for an AHB2, except that I have in store credit at Apos after being one of the unlucky bunch to buy into the PA-5 bunch in the beginning

 

[Power Pop 23]

Yes. Topping certainly has not done themselves any favors here. You'd think they'd learn from their mistakes... I would just be saving for an AHB2, except that I have in store credit at Apos after being one of the unlucky bunch to buy into the PA-5 bunch in the beginning

I am hopeful that 'eventually' a recently introduced Topping Audio amplifier like the PA7/PA7 Plus/LA90D/RA3/PA5 II/PA5 II Plus will be regarded as reliable by the marketplace. Until then I would hold fast to that credit from Apos.

 

[Bryguy]

I am hopeful that 'eventually' a recently introduced Topping Audio amplifier like the PA7/PA7 Plus/LA90D/RA3/PA5 II/PA5 II Plus will be regarded as reliable by the marketplace. Until then I would hold fast to that credit from Apos.

That's the plan

 

[Snix]

I think it would not be a bad idea to make a new poll now. This amplifier is finally back in stock, (presumably having now been fixed?)

I am interested to see what new buyers' experiences are. Maybe this is just wishful thinking on my part, to think that Topping has resolved this amp's issues, but it seems to be in their best interests as well as ours for the LA90D to operate as it should.. I find it pretty unlikely that they halted sales on this unit for awhile, just to return it to the market exactly as it was with the same issues as before?

I just received my 4th-5th unit recently, which are supposedly "new" production lot. (yeh my first 3 had popping issues)
I'll post updates if shit goes south again

What kinda pissed me off was that the Topping guy that usually comes out on Amir's Topping product review page had disappeared and kept silence on this issue.
But oh well, that's the mentality of the brand maybe.

 

[Bryguy]

What kinda pissed me off was that the Topping guy that usually comes out on Amir's Topping product review page had disappeared and kept silence on this issue

Yes please keep us posted. That sounds like a nightmare; I'm sorry you've had to deal with that

Maybe topping oughta rebrand to "Sisyphus Audio", where the simple pleasure of listening to music is an exercise in futility

Anyways, are you referring to John Yang? If so, I asked him about this a day ago. We'll see if he responds. He has not been on the site since Wednesday according to his page

 

[Tony Roma]

Yes please keep us posted. That sounds like a nightmare; I'm sorry you've had to deal with that

Maybe topping oughta rebrand to "Sisyphus Audio", where the simple pleasure of listening to music is an exercise in futility

Anyways, are you referring to John Yang? If so, I asked him about this a day ago. We'll see if he responds. He has not been on the site since Wednesday according to his page

Ostrich and sand come to mind.

 

[Bryguy]

Ostrich and sand come to mind.

Lol

 

[Snix]

Ostrich and sand come to mind.

lol yeh.

Also, it taught me something.
Never take things for granted.
For decades, this is the first amp to teach me that.
You cannot expect your amp to work normally.
Be grateful every day. Be thankful if they work without popping.

Too bad it also gave me PTSD of popping noises.
Now when I watch some youtube vids that have pops or cracking noise,
I have to replay that part and make sure it's the editing, not my amps lol.

 

[lindong]

Got a unit from the 8/15 shipment batch but the unit seems DOA - still debugging but connection is straightforward and I’m running it in “stereo” mode and it’s paired with D90LE through XLR. There is no sound and the L90D unit does not seem to be warm with the indicator light on the right input channel.

 

[Bryguy]

Got a unit from the 8/15 shipment batch but the unit seems DOA - still debugging but connection is straightforward and I’m running it in “stereo” mode and it’s paired with D90LE through XLR. There is no sound and the L90D unit does not seem to be warm with the indicator light on the right input channel.

Wow. This is almost comical at this point. Hopefully your issue is resolved soon.

 

[Astrofly]

[This message isn't directed at any one person, just generally to people buying Topping.]

Yamaha A-S701. Same price as the LA90D. I'm guessing the SINAD measurements on the LA90D are better, but I bet you also can't hear the difference. Other than that, with the Yamaha you get a much, much better amp. More power. Better parts. Much better customer support. Buy it from Crutchfield, and you have 2 months to try it out, only risking the return shipping cost. Yamaha has been around for decades, and it has a wide U.S. distribution network, so if you should ever need a repair, there are tons of repair shops that will be able to do the repair because parts are available.

Getting a Yamaha might not impress many people on this site, but are you trying to impress strangers on the internet, or get some hassle-free equipment, so you can just enjoy your music?

And no, I don't own a Yamaha, but if I was shopping in this price range, it would absolutely be a top choice for me.

 

[Steven Holt]

I can't think of anyone I know who owns some form of Topping gear, hasn't had issue.

Glad to meet ya and ya do now!! I have owned the PA3s for 18 months, not one problem and one hell of a little amp. I've owned the D30 DAC for 3 years works like a charm no issues whatsoever. Look, here's the thing : any mass produced product can fail, Topping is certainly no exception. To me, their biggest problem is not having world - wide service centers. Most have a problem with the service, not the product. And let's keep this in mind : happy customers don't complain.

 

[Bryguy]

Glad to meet ya and ya do now!! I have owned the PA3s for 18 months, not one problem and one hell of a little amp. I've owned the D30 DAC for 3 years works like a charm no issues whatsoever. Look, here's the thing : any mass produced product can fail, Topping is certainly no exception. To me, their biggest problem is not having world - wide service centers. Most have a problem with the service, not the product. And let's keep this in mind : happy customers don't complain.

True, any mass produced product can fail, but when a company releases a product that apparently has just as many faulty units as functional ones, I think there is a greater issue at hand than the frailties of mass production. Topping makes some good equipment. I had a Pre90 for over a year, and it was probably the best preamp I've ever owned, but other releases of theirs (LA 90D, PA5) have such a high failure rate that you have to start to wonder if there are other factors at play, like rushed R&D, or otherwise general incompetence