Topping A70 Pro HP & Preamp Review

[Sjofelumsk]

Yep .
I could deal with it if it was a harmless glitch in the S/W side addressed IMMEDIATELY by the company and far-far,FAR away from the basic functions (specially VC) and company was also active and mouthy about it,it's nice to be informed.

Some brands are like that,only you pay for it (I consider it a fair trade).

True. From what I've seen, they're not very upfront or vocal on forums, Twitter/X, email and so forth. It's super annoying, as it's literally the simplest of things. Detracts from the overall experience of buying a premium product for sure.

I'm on the fence between getting the A90D/D90SE or the A70P/D70P

There's a shop in my country that sells Topping products so I won't have to deal with Topping directly if there's any hassle which is nice. That said, I'm really not that keen on gambling my purchase with the A70P

I might just get the 90 stack instead

When I bought my A30P/D30P Topping had seemingly a very good reputation. Might've gotten stained a bit now..

Never had a problem with my current stack though

 

[Salt]

Never had a problem with my current stack though

Never change a running system

 

[Sokel]

True. From what I've seen, they're not very upfront or vocal on forums, Twitter/X, email and so forth. It's super annoying, as it's literally the simplest of things. Detracts from the overall experience of buying a premium product for sure.

Take another example of cheap,Khadas.
It literally has 3-4 audio products,I own the first Tone1 which I have tortured to the point that no sane user would do and it has endured (mostly learning how to measure stuff,as a gazillion of mistakes can happen at the begging of the learning curve).
On top of that they have their own forum which they answer within the day (sometimes within the hour).

I don't consider them any better than the other brands from abroad but it's nice not to be ignored.

Edit:Torture definition

 

[MBO]

A70/D70 series is better and sounds better than 90 series

 

[Sjofelumsk]

A70/D70 series is better and sounds better than 90 series

Well if you base that comment on your own ears I'd say that's highly subjective

I might not think it does. There's a lot of reviews and talk in general about these two. Overall subtle differences both on paper and during practical use

Why would you say the A70/D70 is better?

 

[MBO]

Well if you base that comment on your own ears I'd say that's highly subjective

I might not think it does. There's a lot of reviews and talk in general about these two. Overall subtle differences both on paper and during practical use

Why would you say the A70/D70 is better?

I have various devices from Topping or SMSL and many others, so I can say my assessment

 

[Sjofelumsk]

I have various devices from Topping or SMSL and many others, so I can say my assessment

Well that's fair enough, however you said they were better, and sounded better. That sounded more like a claim rather than an assessment

I honestly don't think the 90-series is "worse", I think they're both great at doing their own thing

 

[marekm]

Dummy me. It ends up being a horrible rental agreement is all.....

This is a hobby. Loosing money is part of the fun

Just kidding. On the other hand, it is inevitable

 

[MBO]

My requirements for audio equipment are very high, therefore, having studied the technical and SQ sides, as well as testing, I draw conclusions in full confidence that this is correct, but in no case do I mean impudence or insults. I just know that this is exactly as I claim, to check my correctness, just listen for yourself

 

[Clem Fandango]

I’m due a replacement shortly, no news on what the problem was from Topping or whether it was batch related etc.
Surprised they just didn’t issue a statement saying there was a faulty batch etc.
If you have only one or two sets of headphones you should be fine, once they’re easy driven ie Meze 109.
But if you have a collection I wouldn’t recommend testing them all until Topping make an announcement….
Great Amp, when working.

 

[da Choge]

Somebody refresh my memory about the issues with the A90D. I vaguely remember them when I more actively followed that thread, but are they the same as with the A70 Pro? I know this is a thread for the Topping A70 Pro, so apologies in advance. I would NOT get an A70 Pro right now until I know their issues are resolved, but I might get an A90 Discrete to go with my D90 MQA in my bedroom setup if the reported issues with it are few and far between. For my main room setup, I thought the D70 Pro SABRE and the A70 Pro combo for headphone listening was the ticket until I read of these very frequent A70 Pro failures.

 

[da Choge]

OK, answered my own question, for the most part. It seems that some of the earlier firmware versions of the A90 Discrete ended-up with a "-5" error code which indicates a similar issue (DC output leaks) as with the A70 Pro. Don't know if it's because an issue with similar circuitry or a firmware issue, but it seems caution is an appropriate action as far as an A90D purchase until it is confirmed by Topping that this issue has been definitively resolved. It doesn't seem that Topping has really even addressed this as far as the A70 Pro, or am I just assuming that? My impression is that Topping is going to start losing a lot of business until they get their act together, and I've been a fan of Topping and an owner of at least several of their components.

 

[marekm]

The mighty 17W amp, suitable for easy-to-drive headphones only.

Nobody saw this coming

 

[hsg120]

OK, answered my own question, for the most part. It seems that some of the earlier firmware versions of the A90 Discrete ended-up with a "-5" error code which indicates a similar issue (DC output leaks) as with the A70 Pro. Don't know if it's because an issue with similar circuitry or a firmware issue, but it seems caution is an appropriate action as far as an A90D purchase until it is confirmed by Topping that this issue has been definitively resolved. It doesn't seem that Topping has really even addressed this as far as the A70 Pro, or am I just assuming that? My impression is that Topping is going to start losing a lot of business until they get their act together, and I've been a fan of Topping and an owner of at least several of their components.

I was probably Topping's #1 fanboy, until I kept getting defective units from them. I've owned PA3s, PA5, Pre90, A90, A90D, U90, E30Pro, E50, D10, D70, D90, BC3...Just sharing my experience--

Recently, I bought a Topping PA5 amp from Apos that was totally dead on arrival (fwiw, Apos was a huge PITA about the return too). The amp wouldn't even power on.

Thinking that was a fluke, I bought another PA5, this time from Shenzhenaudio. This time, the amp exhibited periodic noise coming from only the left channel. I returned the unit and got a refund.

I also bought one of the very first A90D headphone amps. After about 6 months of light use, I also got the infamous "-5" error code. I got a replacement unit from Apos and so far it's been working fine.

I have gone through A LOT of audio gear over the last several years, but I've never had so many problems from a single brand like I have experienced with Topping products. I went all the way from, "Topping is a rare gem," to "Never again"...lol.

 

[Human Bass]

It

I was probably Topping's #1 fanboy, until I kept getting defective units from them. I've owned PA3s, PA5, Pre90, A90, A90D, U90, E30Pro, E50, D10, D70, D90, BC3...Just sharing my experience--

Recently, I bought a Topping PA5 amp from Apos that was totally dead on arrival (fwiw, Apos was a huge PITA about the return too). The amp wouldn't even power on.

Thinking that was a fluke, I bought another PA5, this time from Shenzhenaudio. This time, the amp exhibited periodic noise coming from only the left channel. I returned the unit and got a refund.

I also bought one of the very first A90D headphone amps. After about 6 months of light use, I also got the infamous "-5" error code. I got a replacement unit from Apos and so far it's been working fine.

I have gone through A LOT of audio gear over the last several years, but I've never had so many problems from a single brand like I have experienced with Topping products. I went all the way from, "Topping is a rare gem," to "Never again"...lol.

It is a quite sad downfall. Insane technicalities that many western companires could only dream of, but failing at the most basic quality control.

The saddest thing is that we a Topping guy here in the forum, but he is clearly avoiding this matter.

 

[hsg120]

It is a quite sad downfall. Insane technicalities that many western companires could only dream of, but failing at the most basic quality control.

The saddest thing is that we a Topping guy here in the forum, but he is clearly avoiding this matter.

You are referring to JohnYang1997? I agree with you that he developed provably ground-breaking amplifier design(s) that measurably shook up the industry. But I don't know that anyone can expect him to answer for the questionable manufacturing quality that is recently coming from the company he works for, when he presumably has zero control over it. I don't think he alone can answer for Topping's perceived failings, but with that said, I'm grateful that he spends time answering people's questions here at all. It was one of the many reasons I ended up buying into the Topping brand in the first place, and I found his comments to be candid, and incredibly insightful/interesting.

But I also 100% agree with you that their quality control issues tainted what could've been an otherwise indisputable dominance in hi-fi tech...

 

[Human Bass]

You are referring to JohnYang1997? I agree with you that he developed provably ground-breaking amplifier design(s) that measurably shook up the industry. But I don't know that anyone can expect him to answer for the questionable manufacturing quality that is recently coming from the company he works for, when he presumably has zero control over it. I don't think he alone can answer for Topping's perceived failings, but with that said, I'm grateful that he spends time answering people's questions here at all. It was one of the many reasons I ended up buying into the Topping brand in the first place, and I found his comments to be candid, and incredibly insightful/interesting.

But I also 100% agree with you that their quality control issues tainted what could've been an otherwise indisputable dominance in hi-fi tech...

He seems to be the lead designer/engineer or something very close, so Im sure he knows what is causing those failures, as those seem to be actual electronical failures, not a simple electrical failure.

 

[marekm]

Mine is working fine, so it is unlikely a design problem, but perhaps a batch of faulty components.

 

[shrimp_dude]

It

It is a quite sad downfall. Insane technicalities that many western companires could only dream of, but failing at the most basic quality control.

The saddest thing is that we a Topping guy here in the forum, but he is clearly avoiding this matter.

Sounds like Hifiman in a way. Chifi is Chifi at the end of the day.

 

[Sjofelumsk]

Mine is working fine, so it is unlikely a design problem, but perhaps a batch of faulty components.

Your unit is working as intended on high gain with more demanding headphones?