Topping Pre90 Review (preamplifier)

[Stretchneck]

Anyone aware of Pre90 benefitting from break in / warm up?

Mines just arrived. I like it... apart from the poor directionality of the remote (actually the problem is with the IR Receiver which is obscured slightly, nothing an IR repeater won't solve though)

 

[misterdog]

Anyone aware of Pre90 benefitting from break in / warm up?

yes, but to mention such on here is considered heresy .
I just plugged mine in on my coffee table and slowly cycled through the volume range for a few hours. It sounded a bit 'lumpy' factory fresh.

See my post 561 for how to extend the remote range.

 

[Stretchneck]

Cheers. Your mod seems easy enough, does it help with directionality as well as distance? Which part of the remote snaps off, it's not immediately apparent to me.

 

[misterdog]

Cheers. Your mod seems easy enough, does it help with directionality as well as distance? Which part of the remote snaps off, it's not immediately apparent to me.

It extended the range by around 4 feet, not sure about directionality.
The tricky bit is separating the 2 halves, strong thumb nail or old credit card or nail file.
Take the batteries out, gently flex the case you will see the join. start at the rear battery end and gently pry the joint open slightly and work up one side to the front. Once opened slightly leave credit in to stop it closing up.
I only broke one clip doing mine.......

Do not short the transmitter lens with the foil. Insulate first, I used kapton tape but any insulation will work.

 

[ARAJO]

any info about the PRE90 being able to drive low impedance power amps ? a load of below 2kohm

 

[Atanasi]

any info about the PRE90 being able to drive low impedance power amps ? a load of below 2kohm

Pre90 was supposed to drive loads up from 600 ohms.

 

[ARAJO]

2k for XLR, 10k for RCA.
Frequency response will not affected by high output impedance devices unless it's capacitor coupled or transformer coupled.

Is the D90 capacitor or transformer coupled ?

 

[ARAJO]

Pre90 was supposed to drive loads up from 600 ohms.

Ok that’s good, where did you reference that as I’ve researched for a few days with no luck yet?

 

[Atanasi]

Ok that’s good, where did you reference that as I’ve researched for a few days with no luck yet?

This statement for example:

It's just a preamp. No headphone outputs. What the output power means is that this preamp will not have any extra distortion when loaded by low line level impedance like 600Ohm 300Ohm.

Apparently 300 ohms is also fine.

 

[ARAJO]

thanks Atanasi - that was a good pre-production thread.

 

[fmplayer]

Well, have to bite the bullet. I finally parted ways with the Pre90. Just a matter of taste. Details, transparency and clarity are phenomenal,nearly "true to recording studio", but after some days of listening, I finally gave up. Too much lushness (ascending tonal balance) to my taste and a certain "flat" sound, where musically important parts does not "stand out" as they should to catch your attention. No eq, digital filter tweaking or whatever could fix this in a satisfying manner.

As an objectivist, I have hard times to admit that a preamp so good measuring and such transparent is musically under par (at least to me). Frustrating is the fact that I have clues to explain its strengths, but none to explain what bothers me (subjective tonal balance, musicality . ok call me pathetic ...)

 

[ARAJO]

Well, have to bite the bullet. I finally parted ways with the Pre90. Just a matter of taste. Details, transparency and clarity are phenomenal,nearly "true to recording studio", but after some days of listening, I finally gave up. Too much lushness (ascending tonal balance) to my taste and a certain "flat" sound, where musically important parts does not "stand out" as they should to catch your attention. No eq, digital filter tweaking or whatever could fix this in a satisfying manner.

As an objectivist, I have hard times to admit that a preamp so good measuring and such transparent is musically under par (at least to me). Frustrating is the fact that I have clues to explain its strengths, but none to explain what bothers me (subjective tonal balance, musicality . ok call me pathetic ...)

 

[ARAJO]

Perhaps its a consequence of the irregular impedances? if this skews some frequencies it might explain why something isn't sounding "right/correct" in your mind

 

[auronthas]

Well, have to bite the bullet. I finally parted ways with the Pre90. Just a matter of taste. Details, transparency and clarity are phenomenal,nearly "true to recording studio", but after some days of listening, I finally gave up. Too much lushness (ascending tonal balance) to my taste and a certain "flat" sound, where musically important parts does not "stand out" as they should to catch your attention. No eq, digital filter tweaking or whatever could fix this in a satisfying manner.

As an objectivist, I have hard times to admit that a preamp so good measuring and such transparent is musically under par (at least to me). Frustrating is the fact that I have clues to explain its strengths, but none to explain what bothers me (subjective tonal balance, musicality . ok call me pathetic ...)

Generally, Pre-90 is an analog-to-analog splitters aka analogue source selector unit with volume control.

 

[TimF]

My brother won't buy any of these relatively small and relatively inexpensive Chinese made products no matter how good we know them to be, or how good they measure. He likes audio products made in America, or maybe a British piece on rare occasion. You could not convince him that something that costs less than $1,000 could be worthy. Stick a Audio Research label on it, or a Bel Canto label, or Berkeley Audio Design or Conrad Johnson and he'd find the sound sweet. Come to think of it, I don't think he's ever owned an Asian car. He probably wouldn't let me park my Kia in front of his house.

 

[fmplayer]

Perhaps its a consequence of the irregular impedances? if this skews some frequencies it might explain why something isn't sounding "right/correct" in your mind

When dealing with amp-speakers interaction, it's obvious, but OTOH impedance curves of electronic devices are not that complicated. It looks (subjectively) like a dynamic phenomenon.
Lack of musical 'relief' is another dynamic issue. It's complex to analyze, because on the one hand, you 'hear' the S/N ratio, the dynamic range of the device, but OTOH, everything is more fused and it is hard to focus on a specific voice or instrument part. Truth is that this a characteristic of high end gear, even if nobody's able for the moment to explain it. In the same way, if we measure and compare what produces an average musician to what produces a master, it's hard to find something particular. But listening leaves no doubt about who is who.
Conclusion is that we need some additional measurements of something we can't really identify at this stage.

 

[fmplayer]

My brother won't buy any of these relatively small and relatively inexpensive Chinese made products no matter how good we know them to be, or how good they measure. He likes audio products made in America, or maybe a British piece on rare occasion. You could not convince him that something that costs less than $1,000 could be worthy. Stick a Audio Research label on it, or a Bel Canto label, or Berkeley Audio Design or Conrad Johnson and he'd find the sound sweet. Come to think of it, I don't think he's ever owned an Asian car. He probably wouldn't let me park my Kia in front of his house.

Point is: does he want to listen to western made gear or does he want to listen to the best gear he can find. It looks like more of a snobbery. His loss.
It's the eternal debate between origin and achievement

 

[Harmonie]

My brother won't buy any of these relatively small and relatively inexpensive Chinese made products no matter how good we know them to be, or how good they measure. He likes audio products made in America, or maybe a British piece on rare occasion. You could not convince him that something that costs less than $1,000 could be worthy. Stick a Audio Research label on it, or a Bel Canto label, or Berkeley Audio Design or Conrad Johnson and he'd find the sound sweet. Come to think of it, I don't think he's ever owned an Asian car. He probably wouldn't let me park my Kia in front of his house.

I wonder how he would react in case of ABX listening


PS I feel sorry for you and your KIA

 

[auronthas]

My brother won't buy any of these relatively small and relatively inexpensive Chinese made products no matter how good we know them to be, or how good they measure. He likes audio products made in America, or maybe a British piece on rare occasion. You could not convince him that something that costs less than $1,000 could be worthy. Stick a Audio Research label on it, or a Bel Canto label, or Berkeley Audio Design or Conrad Johnson and he'd find the sound sweet. Come to think of it, I don't think he's ever owned an Asian car. He probably wouldn't let me park my Kia in front of his house.

Wonder your brother's toilet bowl is made of china or US stainless steel ?

 

[pma]

Generally, Pre-90 is an analog-to-analog splitters aka analogue source selector unit with volume control.

No, it is an electronic circuit with opamps and other parts.

https://www.audiophonics.fr/img/cms/Images/Produits/14K/14964/14965-topping-pre90-inpage7.jpg

https://nwzimg.wezhan.hk/contents/sitefiles3604/18020413/images/3667011.jpg