Topping A70 Pro HP & Preamp Review

[SRS_04]

Hi Folks!
I have a class d amplifier for my living room, feeding my passive speakers, I was thinking of using the Pre90 as a preamp, but I've seen the A70 pro which also has a headphone amp, I use headphones at night so I need a headphone amp, is it crazy to use the a70 as a preamp for the main amp in the living room? Will it perform just as well as the pre 90?

 

[staticV3]

is it crazy to use the a70 as a preamp for the main amp in the living room?

Not at all

Will it perform just as well as the pre 90?

Yes.

 

[SRS_04]

Not at all


Yes.

Great! Well, I'll tell you how it works on my system. Thanks!

 

[marcom22]

Try to listen some Vinyl Rip from PBthal or Doctor and come back here .....The problem is the Amp not The Dac ...... so I must Buy a Rme Dac to work?

Problem was related to 4.4 mm balanced output After I tried the XLR output no more dropping audio. Now I can make my ears "bleed" There is something broken with the 4.4mm balanced output. Great AMP and PRE

 

[JediMa]

I had a faulty A70 pro and now I'm not so sure to buy another one so is the SMSL 400H a good alternative?

 

[Antagron]

I had a faulty A70 pro and now I'm not so sure to buy another one so is the SMSL 400H a good alternative?

DC Abnormal?

 

[JediMa]

DC Abnormal?

Yes

 

[Antagron]

I’m left with deciding to ship my buster a70 back to china for over $100. Has anyone had any experience with this?

 

[JediMa]

And I replaced it with SMSL H400 better in any way

 

[Antagron]

And I replaced it with SMSL H400 better in any way

Did you mean “every” or “any”? Not being picky but just trying to understand your meaning. What makes it better?

Does the H400 have separate volume memory for each input/output?

 

[JediMa]

Did you mean “every” or “any”? Not being picky but just trying to understand your meaning. What makes it better?

Does the H400 have separate volume memory for each input/output?

Sorry about the every or any issue, english is not my native language. Firstable I had 2 faulty A70 in less than 1 year so I "needed" to change it. SMSL has a better built, chassis hardly gets warm while Topping was getting very warm. Menu is much more clear and rational and so it's the display that shows the right informations and not useless ones. About power they are close but I like to have 3 levels of gain (low, mid, high) rather than 2 (low - high). I don't think it has a separate volume memory.

 

[JIW]

Sorry about the every or any issue, english is not my native language. Firstable I had 2 faulty A70 in less than 1 year so I "needed" to change it. SMSL has a better built, chassis hardly gets warm while Topping was getting very warm. Menu is much more clear and rational and so it's the display that shows the right informations and not useless ones. About power they are close but I like to have 3 levels of gain (low, mid, high) rather than 2 (low - high). I don't think it has a separate volume memory.

According to Toppings specs, the A70Pro can do 17000 mW at 16 Ohm balanced and 12600 mW at 32 Ohm balanced at <0.1% THD+N. Looking at SMSL's published measurements, at 0.1% THD+N, the H400 can do around 13000 mW at 16 Ohm and 8000 mW at 32 Ohm. Thus, at 0.1% THD+N, the A70Pro has around 10*log10(17/13) = 1.1650 dB higher output at 16 Ohm and 10*log10(12.6/8) = 1.973 dB higher output at 32 Ohm. Gain settings are the same apart from the H400 having negative low gain.

You can check if it has separate volume memory by setting one output to some value and selecting the other. If that has a different value, there is separate volume memory. If it has the same value, change that and select the other output again. If the setting of the first output is the same as before switching, volume memory is separate.

 

[JediMa]

Ok I check and no they are not separate.
I didn't have any complaint about A70 untill the first one failed with the nasty DC error message and I got the same issue with the A70 I got as replacement, so I "had" to change. Beside numbers that arer actually true, I really don't have any complaint about the SMSL and I just personally like it more (so it's just my own feeling). If you want to buy an A70 you will be very happy if it's not a faulty one, because it's an excellent amp.

 

[Antagron]

Ok I check and no they are not separate.
I didn't have any complaint about A70 untill the first one failed with the nasty DC error message and I got the same issue with the A70 I got as replacement, so I "had" to change. Beside numbers that arer actually true, I really don't have any complaint about the SMSL and I just personally like it more (so it's just my own feeling). If you want to buy an A70 you will be very happy if it's not a faulty one, because it's an excellent amp.

It’s an excellent amp… if it doesn’t grenade itself.

 

[formdissolve]

It’s an excellent amp… if it doesn’t grenade itself.

I've had mine over a year, used daily, and no explosions or errors Use it for headphones (planar) as well as pre-amp sometimes

 

[marcom22]

I've had mine over a year, used daily, and no explosions or errors Use it for headphones (planar) as well as pre-amp sometimes

XLR headphones output?

 

[BeeKay]

XLR headphones output?

 

[staticV3]

View attachment 435508

@marcom22 was asking if @formdissolve has used his A70 Pro's XLR headphone output, not if the A70 Pro had XLR Headphone output in the first place.

 

[BeeKay]

@marcom22 was asking if @formdissolve has used his A70 Pro's XLR headphone output, not if the A70 Pro had XLR Headphone output in the first place.

Thx. Did not realize that.

 

[formdissolve]

@marcom22 was asking if @formdissolve has used his A70 Pro's XLR headphone output, not if the A70 Pro had XLR Headphone output in the first place.

I used the XLR with Sennheiser HD6XX (easy to drive) for awhile, and the SE output for my Dan Clark Aeon (hard to drive).