Topping Pre90 Review (preamplifier)

[VintageFlanker]

Im looking for an amplifier to pair with the Pre90 but dont want to pay Benchmark Amp prices. Any good suggestions?

Just any Ncore or Purifi assembled amp, depending on your budget and power needs.

(And place you're livin, for that matter)

 

[mdsimon2]

Im looking for an amplifier to pair with the Pre90 but dont want to pay Benchmark Amp prices. Any good suggestions?

What DAC are you starting from (or do you have analog sources)? You may be better off spending more on an amplifier alone (say Purifi) rather spending less on an amplifier (say Hypex) with a Pre90.

Michael

 

[lordhumungous]

What DAC are you starting from (or do you have analog sources)? You may be better off spending more on an amplifier alone (say Purifi) rather spending less on an amplifier (say Hypex) with a Pre90.

Michael

I use a combination of dacs from Denafrips Ares II,RME ADI ,Matrix,Chord Qutest,etc. Not sure which one I will pair with .

 

[mdsimon2]

I use a combination of dacs from Denafrips Ares II,RME ADI ,Matrix,Chord Qutest,etc. Not sure which one I will pair with .

Got it. It is counter intuitive but you will benefit more from the Pre90 the worse SNR your DAC has. Here are a few examples that may help.

130 dB SNR at 4 V out DAC with Hypex NC252MP (102 dB SNR at 5 W in to 4 ohm, 25.6 dB gain)
1 W in to 8 ohm SNR w/ digital volume control = 96.0 dB
1 W in to 8 ohm SNR w/ Pre90 volume control = 96.9 dB

130 dB SNR at 4 V out DAC with Purifi 1ET400A (107 dB SNR at 5 W in to 4 ohm, 20.2 dB gain)
1 W in to 8 ohm SNR w/ digital volume control = 101.7 dB
1 W in to 8 ohm SNR w/ Pre90 volume control = 102.6 dB

115 dB SNR at 4 V out DAC with Hypex NC252MP (102 dB SNR at 5 W in to 4 ohm, 25.6 dB gain)
1 W in to 8 ohm SNR w/ digital volume control = 85.7 dB
1 W in to 8 ohm SNR w/ Pre90 volume control = 96.8 dB

115 dB SNR at 4 V out DAC with Purifi 1ET400A (107 dB SNR at 5 W in to 4 ohm, 20.2 dB gain)
1 W in to 8 ohm SNR w/ digital volume control = 91.7 dB
1 W in to 8 ohm SNR w/ Pre90 volume control = 102.3 dB

You can see that you get about 10 dB improvement in attenuated SNR with the lower SNR DAC with the Pre90 but almost no benefit with the higher SNR DAC.

Michael

 

[simplywyn]

Pre90 makes everything better, really try to get it.

Clearer, cleaner, transparent sound. Everything I attach to pre90 sounds better and it's very obvious to me now.

I'm now looking to attach a pre90 to all my setups (headphone, speaker etc)

 

[lordhumungous]

Pre90 makes everything better, really try to get it.

Clearer, cleaner, transparent sound. Everything I attach to pre90 sounds better and it's very obvious to me now.

I'm now looking to attach a pre90 to all my setups (headphone, speaker etc)

I know . I already have one and will be buying another.

 

[poopy]

Just get a Purifi, it's a no-brainer

 

[RichM]

I just received my Pre90+Ext90 today and it seems the rotary encoder is terrible unless you move VERY slowly. Anything beyond very slow will have it jumping up and down like crazy, and if you do it anything near quickly it doesn't even really work.

Does anyone else have this issue?

Had the same problem with mine, only when turning volume down though. Jumped all over the place, I ended up sending it back, unfortunately it's not available on Amazon anymore.

 

[theREALdotnet]

You can see that you get about 10 dB improvement in attenuated SNR with the lower SNR DAC with the Pre90 but almost no benefit with the higher SNR DAC.

It’s ironic that Topping styled (and named) the pre90 to go with the D90, isn’t it? That DAC can do 20-30dB attenuation without getting worse than analog.

 

[RichM]

I just received my Pre90+Ext90 today and it seems the rotary encoder is terrible unless you move VERY slowly. Anything beyond very slow will have it jumping up and down like crazy, and if you do it anything near quickly it doesn't even really work.

Does anyone else have this issue?

Yes, mine did the same.

 

[ameerm]

Anybody using the Pre90 with a NAD 298?

How is it? Should i be concerned with the impedance issues mentioned here?

 

[RichM]

Anybody using the Pre90 with a NAD 298?

How is it? Should i be concerned with the impedance issues mentioned here?

I tried the Pre90 with my Nad C298 and RME dac and it sounded excellent. Unfortunately, because of the defective volume control on the Topping I returned it. I won’t replace it unless it’s available on Amazon again.

 

[lordhumungous]

I broke down and bought a Benchmark AHB2 to pair with the Pre90 .
Wow I’ve never heard clarity and a dead silent background like this on any preamp and amp combo .
I’m glad I spent the extra money.

 

[amper42]

I tried the Pre90 with my ADI 2 DAC and Buckeye NC502MP amp using a pair of BMR Monitors. The sound was amazing without the Pre90. Crystal clear and tons of dynamics and power. Once I added the Pre90 there was a sharpness/graininess in the treble which sounded like a bit of Haze in the highs. It wasn't what I was expecting at all. I took the Pre90 out of the chain and the crystal clarity came back. I'm really surprised reading all of these posts on how everything improved with the Pre90. That was not my experience at all.

When I removed the RME ADI-2 DAC and used the D90SE/Pre90 combo the gain dropped by a good 8dB less than when using the RME ADI-2 at the same volume number. Plus, the clarity I was use to with the ADI-2 was substituted with significant graininess in the treble. My experience is so different than many of these posts. It's amazing how the same setup can sound totally different to other listeners.

 

[lordhumungous]

I tried the Pre90 with my ADI 2 DAC and Buckeye NC502MP amp using a pair of BMR Monitors. The sound was amazing without the Pre90. Crystal clear and tons of dynamics and power. Once I added the Pre90 there was a sharpness/graininess in the treble which sounded like a bit of Haze in the highs. It wasn't what I was expecting at all. I took the Pre90 out of the chain and the crystal clarity came back. I'm really surprised reading all of these posts on how everything improved with the Pre90. That was not my experience at all.

When I removed the RME ADI-2 DAC and used the D90SE/Pre90 combo the gain dropped by a good 8dB less than when using the RME ADI-2 at the same volume number. Plus, the clarity I was use to with the ADI-2 was substituted with significant graininess in the treble. My experience is so different than many of these posts. It's amazing how the same setup can sound totally different to other listeners.

I have nothing like that happening and I’m using a RME, Pre90 and Benchmark AHB2 combo . Interesting.

 

[theREALdotnet]

a dead silent background

I have always been puzzled by this expression. I thought it must be a vinyl thing (the unobtanium of the turntable world). When I was playing LPs and cassettes I heard noise/hiss, but not with reasonably modern DACs and amps. I would expect nothing less than complete silence (ear to speaker) from a $1000 DAC+amp combo these days.

 

[misterdog]

I broke down and bought a Benchmark AHB2 to pair with the Pre90 .
Wow I’ve never heard clarity and a dead silent background like this on any preamp and amp combo .
I’m glad I spent the extra money.

Same here with M400>Pre 90>AHB2 >tricked out Quad 989ESL's.

 

[lordhumungous]

I have always been puzzled by this expression. I thought it must be a vinyl thing (the unobtanium of the turntable world). When I was playing LPs and cassettes I heard noise/hiss, but not with reasonably modern DACs and amps. I would expect nothing less than complete silence (ear to speaker) from a $1000 DAC+amp combo these days.

There are plenty of dac/amps even higher than 1k that aren’t silent and I’m talking solid state not tube amps.

 

[theREALdotnet]

There are plenty of dac/amps even higher than 1k that aren’t silent and I’m talking solid state not tube amps.

Well, thank goodness for measurements then! I must have been lucky, the last amp I had that made an audible noise was a 20+ years old Rotel RB-991 (and even that was inaudible from 2m away). The last audibly noisy DAC I heard was an Audio-GD one, but they seem to be designed that way.

If I were to buy new gear I wouldn’t accept anything that makes an audible noise when idle.

 

[mdsimon2]

I have always been puzzled by this expression. I thought it must be a vinyl thing (the unobtanium of the turntable world). When I was playing LPs and cassettes I heard noise/hiss, but not with reasonably modern DACs and amps. I would expect nothing less than complete silence (ear to speaker) from a $1000 DAC+amp combo these days.

I agree.

IMO statements like these based on uncontrolled listening tests are just another manifestation of the typical subjectivist claims but rather than being supported by marketing prose they are supported by very questionable interpretation of measurements.

Michael