Topping A90 Discrete Review (Headphone Amp & Preamp)

[lashto]

I have recently purchased both D90SE and A90 Discrete and I've never owned a Chinese DAC or amp before. And here's what I have to say. These companies: SMSL and Topping and probably others as well are popping out new products at a mind blowing rate and those devices measure well and get great reviews but the ones I purchased while being a few steps ahead of my older devices in some of the aspects are a couple of steps behind too. And I would much rather like to see the Chinese companies work on building customer trust by continuously improving weak areas versus trying to optimize already industry-leading measurements.

Here are a few examples:

- The remote controls on my both units are the worst in terms of the reception angle I've had in years.
- The screen on D90SE is worse than the one on my 10 year old Audiolab MDAC. How expensive might those two extra inches of the monochrome screen be I wonder?
- If I restart D90SE with the speakers connected I get a really nasty but luckily short crackling through the speakers, that doesn't sound healthy to me. Don't have anything like that with much older and cheaper MDAC and DacMagic Plus
- I can plug and unplug headphones in both MDAC and DacMagic Plus without any pops or crackles or any kind of functional interruptions - not so much with A90 Discrete.
- When I turned on the HPA mode on my A90 Discrete - after 10 seconds the right ear on my HD800 went dead silent. I had to turn off the device and re-connect the headphones and then it worked fine. Hopefully this was the last time I've had this problem (knock on wood). Never in 10 years my MDAC or DacMagic plus have exhibited such behavior.
- Every time I start or stop a track on D90se there's a slight short crackling through the speakers. Don't have that on my other older DACs.

You may think this all is unimportant and that the advanced technical designs trump it all, but I think when responsible manufacturers build new devices they should not ignore the achievements of the last decades and just chase better measurements. Everything is important.

those look like typical issues with the first version of ~any product. Hopefully, most can be fixed via firmware updates.

There is nothing Chinese or Topping-specific about such issues, almost any v1 product comes with similar headaches. The good old saying still applies to everyone & everything: never buy v1 of anything.

OTOH, a big thank you for buying & testing it, that is very helpful for all of us!

P.S.
Might be a good idea to send that kind of feedback to @JohnYang1997 or @TOPPING-Service. Or probably even better, use their website https://www.topping.audio/contact

 

[metasharp]

UPDATE

To make it shine my advice is :
- Windows volume doesn't matter (it's ignored)
- SMSL DAC USB Driver on windows
- selected windows device : SMSL USB DAC
- foobar output : USB DAC ASIO (to make sure the DAC receives native bits/KHz)
- foobar volume @ 0db (max)
- SU-9 Pro @ -4db to remove XLR/DSP distorsions or -7db to remove RCA/DSP distorsions (to test, listen a music and activate Sound mode "Rich 1", if you hear pchrrrrrrrrrrrr, lower the DAC volume)
- SU-9 Pro in PRE mode "Fixed" (unlike what's said in the manual, it doesn't forces the volume to 0db, it actually freezes the volume at the chosen value of variable mode)
- A90D (button B) in either Volume Curve 1 with low gain if XLR3 inputs or high gain for RCA inputs (due to sensitivity of inputs)
- A90D custom C1 for headphone only, custom C2 for loudspeakers only
- LA90 AB @ 50% volume

 

[Sokel]

I have upgraded to the latest firmware (V2.4) and I am using the 6.3mm out (I'm using Sennheiser HD800s). Unfortunately the issue has reappeared again. I have seen the -5 error code multiple times now. Every time I hear a loud popping noise on the right ear cup followed by the -5 error! If I don't do anything and just leave the AMP on, the error disappears on its own just to reappear in about 10 to 20 minutes. I've also noticed random clicking and popping sound in the right ear cup since the first time this happened. I am confident that there is something wrong with my A90D and decided not to plug my headphone in until I hear back from the support.

I will update here once I hear back from Topping.

It should be already traveling for repair or refund.
I will gladly be a beta-tester for a useful something that would help me and others,but not to my expense.
Worst case scenarios/reliability/etc should be already tested for something asking my money.

 

[john_w]

Just purchased the A90D to give it a whirl. Bought on Amazon and just noticed the manufacturer is listed as KGUSS rather than Topping. Only 8 reviews which I thought was weird but there’s only one other seller offering Topping and it’s called Dilvpoetry. Anyone know if these are knock offs or how this affiliation works? Thanks.

 

[okok]

- foobar volume @ 0db (max)
- SU-9 Pro @ -4db to remove XLR/DSP distorsions or -7db to remove RCA/DSP distorsions (to test, listen a music and activate Sound mode "Rich 1", if you hear pchrrrrrrrrrrrr, lower the DAC volume)
- SU-9 Pro in PRE mode "Fixed" (unlike what's said in the manual, it doesn't forces the volume to 0db, it actually freezes the volume at the chosen value of variable mode)

this sounds really bad, why the DAC's clipping, it's not distortion, it's clipping hard

 

[Veri]

Just purchased the A90D to give it a whirl. Bought on Amazon and just noticed the manufacturer is listed as KGUSS rather than Topping. Only 8 reviews which I thought was weird but there’s only one other seller offering Topping and it’s called Dilvpoetry. Anyone know if these are knock offs or how this affiliation works? Thanks.

Divlpoetry Aoshida etc etc are just big resellers/retailers.

 

[john_w]

Divlpoetry Aoshida etc etc are just big resellers/retailers.

Thank you. I dug deeper and saw the actual seller is Hifi College. I sent them an email and they responded saying their Amazon store isn’t managed well and they simply listed the wrong info. They promised a brand new and genuine unit. They also said genuine Topping products can be confirmed as such by a sticker on the side of the unit. They provided this photo:

 

[da Choge]

Divlpoetry Aoshida etc etc are just big resellers/retailers.

Yes, of course, understood. But how are they related business-wise to the actual manufacturer, Topping? Can't say I totally understand this in the USA (being a little facetious); but in China -- no idea at all!

 

[madani]

It should be already traveling for repair or refund.
I will gladly be a beta-tester for a useful something that would help me and others,but not to my expense.
Worst case scenarios/reliability/etc should be already tested for something asking my money.

It is in fact travelling for a repair. I contacted Topping and the Amazon seller. I had to pay out of pocket to send it back to China! I know it is stated in their warranty page, but I did not expect to pay so much for sending this to China! I'm told it probably takes about 2 months for it to get to China, get service or replaced and then get back to Canada. I will update here once I get it back and tested it.

 

[Gggggas]

It is in fact travelling for a repair. I contacted Topping and the Amazon seller. I had to pay out of pocket to send it back to China! I know it is stated in their warranty page, but I did not expect to pay so much for sending this to China! I'm told it probably takes about 2 months for it to get to China, get service or replaced and then get back to Canada. I will update here once I get it back and tested it.

Mine will be back home in some days after a long trip to China for a repair. I mentioned all issues and screen errors to Topping beforehand so according to them it is fixed. I guess I'll be reporting back first on the thread.

 

[john_w]

Yes, of course, understood. But how are they related business-wise to the actual manufacturer, Topping? Can't say I totally understand this in the USA (being a little facetious); but in China -- no idea at all!

Quick follow up. I got the A90D from Hifi College and it appears legit. Sealed in plastic and pristine. There was no sticker on the side of the unit as described by Hifi college, so not sure what that’s about. It has a serial so I’ll check it with Topping directly. Hifi College is Chinese based:

Shenzhen Gushengse Electronics Co., Ltd.
Company Address: 19 dong 406 , shen zhen shi long hua xin qu long hua jie dao long tang xin cun, China

 

[Gggggas]

Hello I wanted to give you all an update after receiving the repaired A90D. After doing a lot of tests on the 6.35mm and 4.4mm jacks I can comfortably say that there are no pops like before , no device reboots/shutdowns and no erros whatsoever! I am extremely happy with what Topping has done and I feel so good switching to it from the A90.
So to all you fellow audiophiles thinking of sending the A90D for repair I highly suggest you to do it.

 

[dartinbout]

Congratulations! It's very heartening to hear that a company, that represents a significant investment of mine, has come through for you. I have a non-functioning e-stat amp and I'm hoping that Topping will give me an amp, to drive my Stax headphones, next month.

 

[Gggggas]

Congratulations! It's very heartening to hear that a company, that represents a significant investment of mine, has come through for you. I have a non-functioning e-stat amp and I'm hoping that Topping will give me an amp, to drive my Stax headphones, next month.

Exactly! It is so beautiful to see excellent results after such a long time without my amplifier. I sent a congratulations email to the whole Topping team especially to the Repair's department for doing such a great job. I hope it all goes well with the amplifier driving your Stax headphones

 

[Deleted member 56064]

Hello I wanted to give you all an update after receiving the repaired A90D. After doing a lot of tests on the 6.35mm and 4.4mm jacks I can comfortably say that there are no pops like before , no device reboots/shutdowns and no erros whatsoever! I am extremely happy with what Topping has done and I feel so good switching to it from the A90.
So to all you fellow audiophiles thinking of sending the A90D for repair I highly suggest you to do it.

This is great news I'm so happy for you! Did it really take two months from when u shipped it to when u got it back tho? Or maybe u just took some time to be sure it was working before posting?

I would like to send mine in too but before I do I just wanna be super duper extra sure so forgive the silly question.. Does it for sure not pop at all even in high gain mode? Double checking that it's not switching to low gain automatically too? Mine did that when on firmware v2.3 and I thought it was fixed only to realize it was not actually in high gain mode anymore. But when I switched to high and unplugged headphones it would still pop then switch down to low gain again automatically. Version 2.4 stopped the auto switch to low gain but also still pops like crazy every plug and unplug while in high gain.

I'd be so grateful if u get a chance and can double check it's in high gain every time u plug and unplug. It would ease my mind that I'm not parting with my hpa for two months for nothing. Thank u so much in advance for your help!

 

[Gggggas]

Thanks a lot I am very excited with what they've done. I shipped it on October 25th from Greece and I received it on December 21st but this really depends on where you live. In Greece the customs offices are absolutely horrible and extremely slow plus they have the right to estimate a value for everything outside of the EU so in my case Topping had marked this device as a repaired unit with a value of 20usd but the employees in Greece said no the value is 55 (lol) and so I had to pay 18 euros to receive it.

Yeah no pops at all on H and there is no automatic gain switching so no reason to worry about it mate There are no shutdowns/reboots or anything randomly happening. Feel free to ask me to test anything you like before you decide to ship it to Topping.

 

[Phony846]

I've had my A90D for months without issue. Today I see the A90D has a "-5" on the front panel. Pulling power does not resolve it. Google came up empty. Is my unit dead? What does -5 mean?

Edit: I was on FW 2.3, but did an update to 2.4, but the issue still persists.

 

[madani]

I've had my A90D for months without issue. Today I see the A90D has a "-5" on the front panel. Pulling power does not resolve it. Google came up empty. Is my unit dead? What does -5 mean?

Edit: I was on FW 2.3, but did an update to 2.4, but the issue still persists.

That is what happened to me. I had my A90D for months with no issue and one day I saw the -5 on the front panel. I tried everything, but nothing really worked. If you leave your device on the error message should disappear by itself, however on my device then I kept getting -5 and every time with a popping sound in my right ear cup. At the end I had to send back my A90D to Topping for service. I'm still waiting for my A90D to get to China.

 

[escalibur]

I've had my A90D for months without issue. Today I see the A90D has a "-5" on the front panel. Pulling power does not resolve it. Google came up empty. Is my unit dead? What does -5 mean?

Edit: I was on FW 2.3, but did an update to 2.4, but the issue still persists.

This error seems to be common enough not to buy an A90D without a warranty. I really hope Topping will find a proper fix whatever that might be.

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

I have two questions.

1.
Could someone please explain this measurement to me?
How does it work? And what kind of signal is used for it?

2.
What volume would I get with the A90D and a 60 ohm headphone, 83 dB sensitivity
(and what frequency are you referring to on this)?
@solderdude
You could work that out, couldn't you?