Topping A90 Headphone Amplifier Review

[Jimbob54]

I would expect an answer to be based on technical insight and experience, ideally with similar all-in-one products like the DX7 Pro - plus a willingness to engage with the question.

Give over . Its no better than asking if you should choose between McDonalds and pixie dust for your dinner.

 

[EchoChamber]

Topping’s combo just got delivered today, initial impressions are very positive. :-D

 

[Paolosnz]

Topping’s combo just got delivered today, initial impressions are very positive. :-D

View attachment 66300

this is the way ... I spoke

 

[Racheski]

Topping’s combo just got delivered today, initial impressions are very positive. :-D

View attachment 66300

I have Flagged to admins as porn.

 

[Merkurio]

Give me this level of performance (power delivery, >1 ohm of Zout, great 50 mV SNR for IEMs and the same outputs) in a single package with the D90 embedded and I'm ready to upgrade my DX3 Pro whenever you want.

 

[Ddd]

The DC blocker is implemented for unbal input so no issue there. If the bal output of a device has large DC the unit is faulty.
In terms of EMI, it's actually not that hard to deal with. In the worst environment, A90 won't do the job because it has ground pin. A totally floating device will be immune to the actual issues in the studio. And usually it's the instruments(pickups), the boutique devices themselves have the inherent issues in these respects.

Hello,
I have 3 question I'm wondering,
I'm not expert in electronics, but have some basic knowledge, still learning XD

Currently using D90 MQA,
Getting the A90 soon,

1) I see both D90 A90 power supply utilised the GROUND Pins,
With the use of balance XLR which have another presence of Ground connection linking each other,
Will there be a ground loop issue?

Since my experience coming from THX 887 which does not have GROUND and all grounding is link to the DAC which have GROUND pin through the XLR interconnect. Without plugging any cable to the THX 887, it's case is full of statics!

2) I see A90 have a 49Vpp swings in BAL IN BAL OUT,
So the Vp should be 24.5V?
When I calculate the max voltage capable (17.32V) using 0.5W at 600 ohm
So I'm a bit confuse, which is the max voltage output? 24V or 17.32V?
Since the highest gain is 6.0x (15.5dB)
Balance in 4V x 6.0 = 24V
So.. Was wondering if A90 HP BAL OUT would clip if I use the highest gain? No matter the volume?

Because my previous THX887 6.6x highest gain clip straight away with balance 4V input no matter what volume I used.
And I obviously don't listen at this level haha, just curious and good to know about if it clips or not.

3) What's the benefit of high voltage swing Vpp in Audio? Better dynamic range? Imaging? Less clipping?

 

[Music1969]

The Pre90 product that has been mentioned a few times here is a product that is not released yet. It will be a dedicated preamp with remote controlled (stepped?) attenuator with in/outs only. Not much else is known at this point

Hi @JohnYang1997

So Pre90 will have same headphone amp performance (or better) as A90 and have remote controlled stepped attenuator volume control for headphone output?

 

[EchoChamber]

Hi @JohnYang1997

So Pre90 will have same headphone amp performance (or better) as A90 and have remote controlled stepped attenuator volume control for headphone output?

That's the only thing missing in the A90 IMO. A stepped volume with a remote control. I don't need extra analog inputs.

 

[Music1969]

That's the only thing missing in the A90 IMO. A stepped volume with a remote control. I don't need extra analog input.

There's only a handful of products that feature state of the art headphone output and stepped volume with remote control - and they are uber expensive (e.g. Benchmark HPA4).

Waiting for Topping to change the game.

 

[Racheski]

There's only a handful of products that feature state of the art headphone output and stepped volume with remote control - and they are uber expensive (e.g. Benchmark HPA4).

Waiting for Topping to change the game.

For the less tech savvy folks like me, can someone explain or point to a resource where I can learn about what a stepped volume control is?

 

[kn0ppers]

Well basically a potentiometer and a stepped attenuator both usually function as voltage dividers. Now the main difference is, that a potentiometer uses a track of conductive material over which a wiper is moved whereas in a stepped attenuator (usually precision thin-film) resistors are used in combination with multiple relays or in form of a physical multipole rotary selector. So single resistors are used to get a similar result as in the potentiometer. A stepped volume control is discrete, so it has a certain number of steps, a pot is continuous, it has a theoretically infinite amount of steps. There are also integrated circuits accomplishing the same task as a stepped volume control. Topping actually uses one in another of their products I think. PGA2311 I think it is called, AKM also makes a similar chip.

You will find whole threads about pots and stepped attenuators. Both have their advantages and drawbacks.

Edit: If you google for stepped attenuator you will mainly find the ones where you physically switch the connections by rotating the shaft, if you search for relay stepped attenuator you will find ones that are usually controlled by a microcontroller and a rotary encoder.

 

[dmac6419]

I got a D90 and A90 arriving next week... :-D

Not if DHL shipped it.

 

[EchoChamber]

Not if DHL shipped it.

Actually, they arrived early. I got them today instead of the estimated Monday (they shipped Wednesday). Apos upgraded my shipping to express...

 

[jae]

I'd appreciate some advice with regard to the following decision: I need a DAC and headphone amp, am in no hurry, and need to decide between
1. Topping D90 DAC + A90 headphone amp
2. Topping DX9 all-in-one DAC and headphone amp, which is surely coming at some point, akin to the DX7
Question: Can it be assumed that the individual components perform measurably better than the all-in-one DX9?
(I'll also ask in the D90 forum.)

I'm in the same boat, my dream product would definitely be the A90/D90/Pre90 all in one chassis. The DX7 is nice but it has high output impedance and not using the latest technology. I don't imagine a DX9 would be any much worse than the sum of it parts, but this will probably not be out until next year at a minimum, I think. There are a number of topping products that have been teased that are still months away, so I wouldn't expect anything like that for a while. The Yulong Aquila II may satisfy your needs but there's no 3rd party measurements on it yet. It uses ESS9038PRO.

Hi @JohnYang1997
So Pre90 will have same headphone amp performance (or better) as A90 and have remote controlled stepped attenuator volume control for headphone output?

I don't know if that's the case, but maybe John can verify topping's intent with that product if he is allowed to. But I imagine that info is being held for business and competition purposes by topping.

Based on the limited talk about it here, I had always thought it was going to be more of a passive preamp product with remote/output switch/stepped attenuation, meant specifically for people who want to use the D90 (or similar dac) but wanted a high quality and precise volume option for speakers etc. or to connect multiple additional analogue sources to the same volume control. If it is active preamplification on par with the A90 but with the other features, those uninterested in headphones would have no real reason to buy the A90 over that product.

@JohnYang1997 Do you know if the Pre90 will have individual volume settings/memory depending on source?

 

[MalinYamato]

Topping’s combo just got delivered today, initial impressions are very positive. :-D

View attachment 66300

looks lovely and with a MQA sticker = end game my usual question: where did you get it, how long did it take to arrive and how much?

 

[MalinYamato]

Give me this level of performance (power delivery, >1 ohm of Zout, great 50 mV SNR for IEMs and the same outputs) in a single package with the D90 embedded and I'm ready to upgrade my DX3 Pro whenever you want.

second to that...a DX9 MQA

 

[MalinYamato]

Well basically a potentiometer and a stepped attenuator both usually function as voltage dividers. Now the main difference is, that a potentiometer uses a track of conductive material over which a wiper is moved whereas in a stepped attenuator (usually precision thin-film) resistors are used in combination with multiple relays or in form of a physical multipole rotary selector. So single resistors are used to get a similar result as in the potentiometer. A stepped volume control is discrete, so it has a certain number of steps, a pot is continuous, it has a theoretically infinite amount of steps. There are also integrated circuits accomplishing the same task as a stepped volume control. Topping actually uses one in another of their products I think. PGA2311 I think it is called, AKM also makes a similar chip.

You will find whole threads about pots and stepped attenuators. Both have their advantages and drawbacks.

Edit: If you google for stepped attenuator you will mainly find the ones where you physically switch the connections by rotating the shaft, if you search for relay stepped attenuator you will find ones that are usually controlled by a microcontroller and a rotary encoder.

is this somewhat similar to PWM rotaries?

 

[MalinYamato]

what is this Pre90 people are talking about? Any links?

 

[Veri]

what is this Pre90 people are talking about? Any links?

A dedicated Pre-amp from Topping, to come later.

 

[Tks]

A dedicated Pre-amp from Topping, to come later.

Any word on the street about the power amp. I'm just waiting to see if anyone on this planet has the capacity to produce something to dethrone the ABH2 after half a decade of dominance.