Topping A90 Discrete Review (Headphone Amp & Preamp)

[hooks]

Hello everyone,

I don't know if this has been stated before but regarding the loud pops when removing headphones from the 6.35 jack as well as the smaller pops from the 4.4mm I was told by the customer service that I can ship the device to them in China and they will adjust the sensitivity without affecting performance. I also mentioned the device powering off sometimes when unplugging headphones and from what I understood it is fixable.
I was informed that this has to be manually tuned by them and that it's not something adjusted by future firmware updates.

Mine turns off when I unplug headphones with a 6.35 jack, But not with a balanced cable, I just thought it was supposed to do that.

 

[Gggggas]

Mine turns off when I unplug headphones with a 6.35 jack, But not with a balanced cable, I just thought it was supposed to do that.

No device is supposed to be powering off upon plugging or unplugging headphones, I mentioned all the issues regarding the amplifier including the -5 indication on the screen as well as the small pops on the 6.35mm+4.4mm jacks and the device making a sound like it is turning off and back on again. They said that they will adjust the hardware on the device specifically the sensitivity and that they will cover the round trip shipping as long as I provide the tracking number, the shipping voucher/invoice and they will reimburse me the shipping fee through PayPal.

 

[raif71]

No device is supposed to be powering off upon plugging or unplugging headphones, I mentioned all the issues regarding the amplifier including the -5 indication on the screen as well as the small pops on the 6.35mm+4.4mm jacks and the device making a sound like it is turning off and back on again. They said that they will adjust the hardware on the device specifically the sensitivity and that they will cover the round trip shipping as long as I provide the tracking number, the shipping voucher/invoice and they will reimburse me the shipping fee through PayPal.

I guess it there isn't a mkII which fixes this problem and I happen to have current unit, to plug out headphone , I would need to switch off the amp to be on the safe side.

 

[Gggggas]

I guess it there isn't a mkII which fixes this problem and I happen to have current unit, to plug out headphone , I would need to switch off the amp to be on the safe side.

Exactly they didn't mention anything regarding a replacement which indicates that they don't have a mkII but instead they adjust the sensitivity of the device. It might be a hassle shipping it to China and back home again but they handle it professionally and I appreciate that.

 

[Grobbelboy]

I’m running my DCA Expanse off the Topping L30II at the moment. It gets plenty loud and I mostly don’t even have to use high gain for sufficient volume, but I was wondering if the A90D would offer any improvement or have any benefit over it in terms of sound.

I read that the Expanse is particularly current hungry and over on Head-Fi there’s lots of (unsubstantiated) talk about audible differences between amps. I’m still in the return window for the L30II so I would rather splurge some more right now if there’s a better option.

 

[staticV3]

@Grobbelboy Your Expanse can play louder through the A90D, but it will not play better at the same volume.

 

[dartinbout]

I am interested in the A90D as a replacement for my current the A90. I want the EXT 90 as I have 3 DACs and I want to be able to switch remotely rather the to get off my fat ass to switch. My question is, do all of the A90D's have difficulty with the the unbalanced HP ports, i.e. power cycling, reset-ing, blowing up, playing Michael Buble' etc? Or is it just a a random selection of units? My DM7 needed reset-ing every so often until the most recent firmware. Do these A90D still have problems after the

A90 Discrete version V2.4 firmware ?​

 

[Snoopy]

I’m running my DCA Expanse off the Topping L30II at the moment. It gets plenty loud and I mostly don’t even have to use high gain for sufficient volume, but I was wondering if the A90D would offer any improvement or have any benefit over it in terms of sound.

I read that the Expanse is particularly current hungry and over on Head-Fi there’s lots of (unsubstantiated) talk about audible differences between amps. I’m still in the return window for the L30II so I would rather splurge some more right now if there’s a better option.

If you just want to upgrade your amp and are still able to return the L30II, I would go for it if you can afford it. It's a hobby after all and it will probably keep bothering you and you will upgrade in the future anyway.

 

[lazarian]

If you just want to upgrade your amp and are still able to return the L30II, I would go for it if you can afford it. It's a hobby after all and it will probably keep bothering you and you will upgrade in the future anyway.

Plus the clicky volume control of the A90d is rather awesome!

 

[Snoopy]

Plus the clicky volume control of the A90d is rather awesome!

My Smsl SP400 has that clicky volume control too and I agree. It's awesome.

 

[Veri]

I love me a clickety clackety volume control!

 

[Grobbelboy]

With RCA input (from a Topping DX3 Pro+ in DAC mode) is there any use in connecting my Expanse to the XLR output at all?

If so, what’s the benefit of connecting a DAC via the balanced XLR input? Excuse my ignorance on this topic…

 

[reter]

With RCA input (from a Topping DX3 Pro+ in DAC mode) is there any use in connecting my Expanse to the XLR output at all?

If so, what’s the benefit of connecting a DAC via the balanced XLR input? Excuse my ignorance on this topic…

i connected my topping d10s in rca and then plugged my 660s on the 4.4mm balanced, i tried the 6,3mm and i can assure you there's a distinguishable change in gain and clarity (i'm using my personal 7.1 impulse responses so i'm pretty convinced there's difference between balanced and unbalanced output)

 

[Jimbob54]

i connected my topping d10s in rca and then plugged my 660s on the 4.4mm balanced, i tried the 6,3mm and i can assure you there's a distinguishable change in gain and clarity (i'm using my personal 7.1 impulse responses so i'm pretty convinced there's difference between balanced and unbalanced output)

Yup - twice the voltage- shouldn't be any other difference.

 

[duffer5]

I have the age old question regarding the preamp settings when connecting the A90 Discrete headphone amp.Which option do I select on the Hifi Rose 150b's Preout options (see pic)?

I plan on using the A90 Discrete headphone amps with my HifiRose 150b and setting the 150b to fixed volume while using the variable volume of the headphone amp(s).

Topping A90 Discrete:

Input sensitivity (XLR balanced in / out)

9.3Vrms @G=L

3.0Vrms @G=H

I will be using XLR in and Out so fully balanced.

Preamp settings available via Hifi Rose 150b (see attached image)

 

[DrDen]

View attachment 239489I have the age old question regarding the preamp settings when connecting the A90 Discrete headphone amp.Which option do I select on the Hifi Rose 150b's Preout options (see pic)?

I plan on using the A90 Discrete headphone amps with my HifiRose 150b and setting the 150b to fixed volume while using the variable volume of the headphone amp(s).

Topping A90 Discrete:

Input sensitivity (XLR balanced in / out)

9.3Vrms @G=L

3.0Vrms @G=H

I will be using XLR in and Out so fully balanced.

Preamp settings available via Hifi Rose 150b (see attached image)

Obviously 6500mV, A90D in low gain mode.

 

[Jimbob54]

Or, if that doesn't give enough wiggle room on the A90 volume, one or 2 settings lower.

 

[duffer5]

Obviously 6500mV, A90D in low gain mode.

Or, if that doesn't give enough wiggle room on the A90 volume, one or 2 settings lower.

Thank you both. Much appreciated. The Vrms vs mV vs V made me unsure of the obvious. Thanks for the reply.

 

[duffer5]

Thank you both. Much appreciated. The Vrms vs mV vs V made me unsure of the obvious. Thanks for the reply.

Any thoughts on if I should add a preamp in-between the Rose 150b and the A90 discrete or is the 150b's preamp adequate?

 

[Jimbob54]

Any thoughts on if I should add a preamp in-between the Rose 150b and the A90 discrete or is the 150b's preamp adequate?

What would a separate preamp get you if your only output device is the A90? No switching needed, certainly no gain staging needed.