Topping A900 released: insane beast

[Roland68]

For the money you spent on that combo, you could've bought two or three pretty great headphones instead... or like 100 IEMs, if you're into that sort of thing.

Or it wouldn't have even been enough for a pair of headphones or an IEM, and the last shirt doesn't have any pockets anyway...

 

[boXem]

I suppose the question was sarcastic. He meant your "more musical" statement

Because there is no such thing as more musical. If i have to be captain obvious

It was mainly related to the "32 elements of resolution", last time I asked why it was more better, I was served an IA executive summary.

 

[Chagall]

Or it wouldn't have even been enough for a pair of headphones or an IEM, and the last shirt doesn't have any pockets anyway...

Never heard that phrase before, but fair enough.

 

[welwynnick]

I suppose the question was sarcastic. He meant your "more musical" statement
Because there is no such thing as more musical. If i have to be captain obvious

Of course HiFi can be more musical.
Have you ever heard Meridian vs Yamaha?
It's not voodoo, it's simply down to fidelity.
The better the fidelity the better the musicality.

 

[Chagall]

Of course HiFi can be more musical.
Have you ever heard Meridian vs Yamaha?
It's not voodoo, it's simply down to fidelity.
The better the fidelity the better the musicality.

If fidelity equals musicality why do people say tubes and vinyl are more musical? It's like it means different things to different people and as such safe to ignore.

 

[welwynnick]

If fidelity equals musicality why do people say tubes and vinyl are more musical?

Well, I think they're missing out on something.
I still play records on my (very nice) record deck, but it's only because people ask me to ...........

 

[Roland68]

If fidelity equals musicality why do people say tubes and vinyl are more musical? It's like it means different things to different people and as such safe to ignore.

Tubes are something completely different, but with vinyl, the reasons are different.
I have several rips of records that are so good that people usually don't believe they were originally recorded on vinyl.
Some of the recordings aren't available on CD or digitally, others just don't sound the same on CD or streamed. I assume that's due to different processing and bandwidth/compression on vinyl.

We've often compared the same recordings on CD and vinyl, and the result was on average 50/50.
By the way, I was never a vinyl fan and was delighted when CDs came onto the market, and then CDRs and MDs. I was also one of the first to buy them and didn't have a record player for 30 years.
And if there weren't such good recordings on vinyl, I wouldn't have one either.

I will definitely test the A900, but I'm also curious about the D900.

 

[Chagall]

Tubes are something completely different, but with vinyl, the reasons are different.
I have several rips of records that are so good that people usually don't believe they were originally recorded on vinyl.
Some of the recordings aren't available on CD or digitally, others just don't sound the same on CD or streamed. I assume that's due to different processing and bandwidth/compression on vinyl.

We've often compared the same recordings on CD and vinyl, and the result was on average 50/50.
By the way, I was never a vinyl fan and was delighted when CDs came onto the market, and then CDRs and MDs. I was also one of the first to buy them and didn't have a record player for 30 years.
And if there weren't such good recordings on vinyl, I wouldn't have one either.

Well, I think they're missing out on something.
I still play records on my (very nice) record deck, but it's only because people ask me to ...........

Think I’ll repeat: “Musicality” is a vague and subjective term that means different things to different people. Often, when someone says something is “musical,” they just mean “I enjoy how it sounds.” So yes, I think it’s safe to ignore. I mentioned tubes and vinyl as examples of where this term often comes up.

I will definitely test the A900, but I'm also curious about the D900.

Honestly, I'm just hoping A900 won't have problems - it's really tempting.

 

[welwynnick]

It is coming from China. I thought I was supposed to receive it on Tuesday but I was mistaken. It did not arrive on Tuesday. I got confirmation from UPS and Topping that it should be here today. UPS confirms its location 10miles from me and gave me a 4-hour time window today. So, I am confident it will arrive today. I have the 2 spots ready on the top level for them.

Hi Aaron7 - how are you getting on with the D900 & A900? I'm a great fan of the D70 & A70, so I'm curious.

Everyone else - yes, I do know what all the numbers say.

 

[Chagall]

Hi Aaron7 - how are you getting on with the D900 & A900? I'm a great fan of the D70 & A70, so I'm curious.

Everyone else - yes, I do know what all the numbers say.

Probably still running Cinebench with all that processing power.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

More musical!
I have discovered ( after manfully struggling with the guitar) that I am not particularly musical.
Keith

Maybe you should change cable

 

[effj]

When you said “insane beast,” I envisioned a speaker amp.

 

[welwynnick]

It does put out 22W?

 

[Human Bass]

When you said “insane beast,” I envisioned a speaker amp.

I mean, if it is a sensitive speaker

 

[welwynnick]

It is a 1-bit DAC with 32 elements of resolution. It should be much more musical than D70 since 1 bit DAC filtering is superior in every way.

I'm not very familiar with one bit DACs. What makes you say 1 bit DAC filtering is better?
The NAD M51 got a glowing write-up on Stereophile, but less so on ASR, largely due to intermodulation.
The result, though, was that the M51 still had the same sort of pre- and post-ringing associated with a normal linear phase brick wall filter, and not like DSD:

 

[Mike_Trueman]

First good review.

 

[piR2]

Hi, does anyone know the input impedance of the A900?

 

[WillBrink]

If used as a pre amp, what is route to dual subs?

 

[staticV3]

Hi, does anyone know the input impedance of the A900?

Topping never specify input impedance and many reviewers don't measure it either.

I know two people who measure input impedance, @nagster and @Kal Rubinson (of Stereophile), so hopefully they'll get a chance to measure the A900.

 

[staticV3]

If used as a pre amp, what is route to dual subs?

Two of these, plugged into the A900's Pre outs, and from there to both the Amps and subs.

Only recommended if your subs have XLR in.