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Topping LA90 Discrete Amplifier Review

Rate this stereo amplifier

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 15 3.5%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 21 4.9%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 68 15.9%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 324 75.7%

  • Total voters
    428
FWIW, I have 5x LA90s (3x original, 2x discrete), all of which have been working fine for well over a year now.

(Though I have to add that they only get a few hours of use per week, at most, and are never pushed hard.)
 
I am kinda doubting myself right now if I wanna buy this due to very low power it outputs. 41w into 8 ohms is kinda shit. Unless I buy something that is very easy to drive. Might be better to get one of those hypex ncore architecture amps from audiophonics. But I guess I could always sell it if it's not powerful enough. I see one downside that those audiophonics amps don't have volume control which is a bit annoying, I would need a good preamp. And that's a problem because I already gonna have a lot of devices because I will get toppings linear power supply which is not exactly small either.
 
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bridge...excuse me have you seen the bridge? Where's that confounded bridge?
You mean for bridged operation?
Please look at the back, there is the switch for stereo/mono and the print on the speaker terminals for mono operation.
 
Haha but you need a lot of money if you want it bridged.
you need to buy 2 instead of 1, wait for a sale and save a few bucks. I am extremely happy with mine and could have probably been OK without bridging. But it is done.
 
If I buy golden ear triton five I think I will be ok with one of these since sensitivity is 90db. Those tritons are fuckin amazing, never heard such good soundstage. Other option I have is also easy to drive (q accoustic concept 50)
 
I'm trying to decide between a Topping LA90D, a pair of Fosi V3 Monos or a WiiM Amp Pro to power a pair of Revel M16s.

What would you choose?

The costs would be as follows:
  • £750 for LA90D with 1-year warranty
  • £800 for LA90D with 5-year warranty
  • £855 for LA90D with 10-year warranty (seems worthwhile)

  • £255 for 2x Fosi V3 with 2-year warranty

  • £399 for WiiM Amp Pro with a 2-year guarantee.
  • £439 for WiiM Amp Pro with a 6-year guarantee.

*All warranties/ guarantees are provided by retailers here in the UK.
 
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I'm trying to decide between a Topping LA90D, a pair of Fosi V3 Monos or a WiiM Amp Pro to power a pair of Revel M16s.

What would you choose?

The costs would be as follows:
  • £750 for LA90D with 1-year warranty
  • £800 for LA90D with 5-year warranty
  • £855 for LA90D with 10-year warranty (seems worthwhile)

  • £255 for 2x Fosi V3 with 2-year warranty

  • £399 for WiiM Amp Pro with a 2-year guarantee.
  • £439 for WiiM Amp Pro with a 6-year guarantee.

*All warranties/ guarantees are provided by retailers here in the UK.
Easy. WiiM is the only one with room correction, bass management, high-pass filter, Dolby decode, etc.

Just make sure to feed it digitally, not via analog in.
 
Easy. WiiM is the only one with room correction, bass management, high-pass filter, Dolby decode, etc.

Just make sure to feed it digitally, not via analog in.

Thank you.

It'll be connected to a server via ethernet and a CD player via optical - so all digital.
 
Thank you.

It'll be connected to a server via ethernet and a CD player via optical - so all digital.
In the "Data & EQ" tab below, there's a 7-band PEQ preset which will already make a bigger difference than higher SNR or SINAD ever could:

That leaves you with three filter bands to manually knock down room modes.

I'd also recommend you experiment with enabling the Sub output, even if no sub is connected.

Start with a low Xover frequency and go up in steps as you listen to any changes.

Once you hear the sound deteriorating, go back down one step and leave it there.

That'll maximize the Amp's output capabilities without wasting anything down low where the M16 won't play anyway.
 
In the "Data & EQ" tab below, there's a 7-band PEQ preset which will already make a bigger difference than higher SNR or SINAD ever could:

That leaves you with three filter bands to manually knock down room modes.

I'd also recommend you experiment with enabling the Sub output, even if no sub is connected.

Start with a low Xover frequency and go up in steps as you listen to any changes.

Once you hear the sound deteriorating, go back down one step and leave it there.

That'll maximize the Amp's output capabilities without wasting anything down low where the M16 won't play anyway.

Thank you so much!

I really appreciate the help.
 
I found the LA90 to be lacking in transparency and all around flat sounding (no depth to the image). YMMV
 
I found the LA90 to be lacking in transparency and all around flat sounding (no depth to the image). YMMV
I found the opposite, I replaced an old Yamaha A-U671, feeding a pair of Dali speakers and the improvement was substantial.
 
I found the opposite, I replaced an old Yamaha A-U671, feeding a pair of Dali speakers and the improvement was substantial.
Well I guess it depends on where you are coming from. In my case the Hypex and TPA 3255 class D (I think the number is right, may have to correct)
 
Well I guess it depends on where you are coming from. In my case the Hypex and TPA 3255 class D (I think the number is right, may have to correct)
It seems highly unlikely that any meaningful difference you hear between those two amps and the topping could come from anything other than lack of basic controls (level matching, operating within power limits) or straight perceptive bias.
 
I'm trying to decide between a Topping LA90D, a pair of Fosi V3 Monos or a WiiM Amp Pro to power a pair of Revel M16s.

What would you choose?

The costs would be as follows:
  • £750 for LA90D with 1-year warranty
  • £800 for LA90D with 5-year warranty
  • £855 for LA90D with 10-year warranty (seems worthwhile)

  • £255 for 2x Fosi V3 with 2-year warranty

  • £399 for WiiM Amp Pro with a 2-year guarantee.
  • £439 for WiiM Amp Pro with a 6-year guarantee.

*All warranties/ guarantees are provided by retailers here in the UK.
The WiiM is a streaming amp of course, whilst the others are integrated/ power amps so you'd need a streaming DAC in the loop with your server for the Topping and Fosi.

If I may ask, where in the UK are you getting Topping with upto 10 year warranty?
 
It seems highly unlikely that any meaningful difference you hear between those two amps and the topping could come from anything other than lack of basic controls (level matching, operating within power limits) or straight perceptive bias.
Well - when it comes to one's own perception versus another person's - how can we know what is perceived? For me, it has nothing to do with volume. Transparency is a quality I hear at any volume, it includes a spatial aspect, and the lack of a veil or feeling like I've got a piece of plastic or cloth between me and the speakers. I suspect it is the contact between the power supply and the amp (outboard power supply) that is causing this. But it was plain to hear. And yes, if you don't hear it and I do, then it's my issue not yours!
 
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