Using Topping A90 Pre-out to powered studio monitors?

[Tanuki]

I am about to pull the trigger on the Topping A90 (unless there are other alternatives that are as good for less?)
I notice there is a pre-amp out in the back with XLR.

I currently own and mainly use the Adam T7V Powered studio monitors,
what came into mind during this is I read somewhere that using windows volume control to control the DAC/speaker volume
will result in reduced resolution/bitrate.

So I wonder if I can just set windows volume at 100%, through my DAC, into the Topping A90, then using the XLR output
into my studio monitors, would it do any harm or not a good idea?

What's my best option?

Thanks

 

[Dgowland]

I'm curious about the same issue and trying to get some help as well.I'm happy I finally found a thread with someone dealing with what I am and hope to get some clarification soon, I have the topping A90 and D90 stack and want to power my Yamaha hs8's through the A90.

 

[AnalogSteph]

IMHO, it's an exercise in gilding the lily.

The D90 covers a dynamic range of 124 dB(A) as-is. With the A90 added, global non-instantaneous dynamic range (over all gain settings) grows to about 134 dB(A).

HS8 absolute maximum peak output is ~116 dB SPL @ 1 m anechoic. Hiss is 25.3 dB(A) @ 10 cm, translating to 5.3 dB(A) @ 1 m anechoic. (Data: Sound & Recording mag) That's 111 dB(A) worth of dynamic range. And it's got an input level pot, so you stand a reasonable chance of matching levels in a sensible manner.

As you may be able to tell, 111 dB is much less than either 124 dB or 134 dB.

The D90 on its own would be quite adequate to perform preamp duties here already. (In the days of 32 bit samples, digital attenuation is pretty much not a concern at all.) In fact, a MOTU M2 would do the business. Having more money tied up in electronics than speakers makes for a rather lopsided balance in general, though that being said, speaker price granularity is rather coarse - an upgrade over HS8s across that board would probably cost you 3 or 4 times as much as these do, so it isn't exactly like you could just redistribute the budget and get something much better (if you're in the market for an HS8 replacement, KH120As presumably would not be on your list of upgrade options).

 

[Dgowland]

IMHO, it's an exercise in gilding the lily.

The D90 covers a dynamic range of 124 dB(A) as-is. With the A90 added, global non-instantaneous dynamic range (over all gain settings) grows to about 134 dB(A).

HS8 absolute maximum peak output is ~116 dB SPL @ 1 m anechoic. Hiss is 25.3 dB(A) @ 10 cm, translating to 5.3 dB(A) @ 1 m anechoic. (Data: Sound & Recording mag) That's 111 dB(A) worth of dynamic range. And it's got an input level pot, so you stand a reasonable chance of matching levels in a sensible manner.

As you may be able to tell, 111 dB is much less than either 124 dB or 134 dB.

The D90 on its own would be quite adequate to perform preamp duties here already. (In the days of 32 bit samples, digital attenuation is pretty much not a concern at all.) In fact, a MOTU M2 would do the business. Having more money tied up in electronics than speakers makes for a rather lopsided balance in general, though that being said, speaker price granularity is rather coarse - an upgrade over HS8s across that board would probably cost you 3 or 4 times as much as these do, so it isn't exactly like you could just redistribute the budget and get something much better (if you're in the market for an HS8 replacement, KH120As presumably would not be on your list of upgrade options).

I'm happy to know that I have more power than I need in the D90 for potential upgrades down the road. The A90 has been fantastic for a headphone amp and I would hate to part ways with it! Topping recently released the pre90 as a dedicated pre but I shouldn't suffer any loss, when routing the D90 thru the A90 pre amp mode, correct? The A90 outputs to the Yamaha Hs8 sub then the pair of monitors. If no loss is in this system, I'm happy for a good deal of time.

Thank you for your help!

 

[Dgowland]

I'm happy to know that I have more power than I need in the D90 for potential upgrades down the road. The A90 has been fantastic for a headphone amp and I would hate to part ways with it! Topping recently released the pre90 as a dedicated pre but I shouldn't suffer any loss, when routing the D90 thru the A90 pre amp mode, correct? The A90 outputs to the Yamaha Hs8 sub then the pair of monitors. If no loss is in this system, I'm happy for a good deal of time.

Thank you for your help!

I should mention that I have both rca and balanced connections between the dac and amp with very noticable differences in playback when toggled between the two.

 

[AnalogSteph]

I should mention that I have both rca and balanced connections between the dac and amp with very noticable differences in playback when toggled between the two.

Looks like A90 input sensitivity is the same for both inputs, so what you are hearing is likely the balanced output on the D90 being 6 dB louder, as is commonly the case in devices that have both balanced and unbalanced outputs.

I see no point in using both connections at the same time, especially since unbalanced connections between two IEC Class I devices will never be 100% free from ground loop issues. You have balanced cabling, stick with that.

 

[Dgowland]

Looks like A90 input sensitivity is the same for both inputs, so what you are hearing is likely the balanced output on the D90 being 6 dB louder, as is commonly the case in devices that have both balanced and unbalanced outputs.

I see no point in using both connections at the same time, especially since unbalanced connections between two IEC Class I devices will never be 100% free from ground loop issues. You have balanced cabling, stick with that.

I removed the RCA and am thrilled with the quality through XLR. Namely because of doing an entire evening's worth of research to discover that the APC battery back-ups I was sold was advertised as pure sine wave. I posted to this thread with my questions because the playback was pretty damned disappointing for a $1,300 stack and I thought I had made a mistake.

The digging led me to find that it was actually modified sine wave and it was very difficult to find a clear and concise answer. The sound quality, clarity, and soundstage is now vastly improved and the true "zero noise floor" of the topping stack is shining as I purchased a Cyberpower unit that was blatant about being pure sine wave this afternoon. I hear no coil whine from my PC, there aren't issues with a ground loop and I have zero uncertainties about this setup. Thank you for your responses.

 

[nimar]

Does the gain setting on the A90 impact the outputs in pre-mode? Am considering adding one to my main listening setup so I have the option to plug in headphones, get a little volume safety and could even disable the input buffer on my power amps if the A90 could provide the needed boost.

 

[Dgowland]

Does the gain setting on the A90 impact the outputs in pre-mode? Am considering adding one to my main listening setup so I have the option to plug in headphones, get a little volume safety and could even disable the input buffer on my power amps if the A90 could provide the needed boost.

The gain settings do create a difference for pre-amp mode on the A90, a significant one at that. All while still maintaining a very quiet background. I've been very happy with it!

 

[nimar]

Just hooked it up to my downstairs setup and indeed works brilliantly, based on the specs it looks like it can put out basically the same as the pre90, 15.5db gain on a90 vs 16db on the pre90.

Using it this way provides almost the exact functionality of the pre90 with the addition of a great headphone amp at a lower cost. I get safe volume by setting the amp to a comfortable max volume and leaving the DAC in preamp mode for when I want to lower volume from there, or heaven forbid I get up and turn the a90 up.

I can disable the input buffer on my power amps.

And this pair doesn't make a popping sound when I cut the power which is an added benefit.

 

[Tansen]

IMHO, it's an exercise in gilding the lily.

The D90 covers a dynamic range of 124 dB(A) as-is. With the A90 added, global non-instantaneous dynamic range (over all gain settings) grows to about 134 dB(A).

HS8 absolute maximum peak output is ~116 dB SPL @ 1 m anechoic. Hiss is 25.3 dB(A) @ 10 cm, translating to 5.3 dB(A) @ 1 m anechoic. (Data: Sound & Recording mag) That's 111 dB(A) worth of dynamic range. And it's got an input level pot, so you stand a reasonable chance of matching levels in a sensible manner.

As you may be able to tell, 111 dB is much less than either 124 dB or 134 dB.

The D90 on its own would be quite adequate to perform preamp duties here already. (In the days of 32 bit samples, digital attenuation is pretty much not a concern at all.) In fact, a MOTU M2 would do the business. Having more money tied up in electronics than speakers makes for a rather lopsided balance in general, though that being said, speaker price granularity is rather coarse - an upgrade over HS8s across that board would probably cost you 3 or 4 times as much as these do, so it isn't exactly like you could just redistribute the budget and get something much better (if you're in the market for an HS8 replacement, KH120As presumably would not be on your list of upgrade options).

Kindly help me understand what you said for my setup. Mac to D10 to Topping A90 to XLR output to Vintage bookshelf speakers Infinity RS2. Topping knobs are in pre, xor and gain setting knob set to high. I can barely power the speakers. Volume knob set to just short of max. Even using a eq software like sound source 5 with volume overdrive setting to 4X and almost max volume speakers just about croak. AM I doing something wrong? Bad speakers or A90 cannot power speakers.

Speaker specs as I got from seller are
Infinity RS2 bookshelf speakers in Production period: 1990's
Power Range: 15-100w Watts
Impedance: 8 ohms
Woofer: 6.5" Poly Cone w/Butyl Rubber Surround
Tweeter: 0.5" Soft Dome
Freq. Response: 50hz - 20khz Efficiency: 89db w/1m Crossover
Rear Ported Enclosure
Heavy Duty Binding Posts

 

[Romaniac]

Don't you need an amp after a90?