People are raving about it, high end for mid – fi price and we need answers! Yes, it measures well but it also sounds good. Matty, I am curious as you have reviewed both the FA-10 and A90 what your feelings between the 2 are? It has more than enough power for both the K701 and the HD660s and ought to provide a completely neutral signature to both. Subjectively the A90 is very clean and linear with a hint of warmth. Cheers Shane, I'm glad you found it useful mate. The gain settings and low noise floor, along with low output impedance mean the A90 is also very capable when using IEM’s, just be careful with all that power on tap. Which one would u recommend? Guys, this is really the big question is Flux Lab FA-10 or 12 better? IEM users might bemoan the lack of a 2.5mm balanced or 3.5mm single-ended connection, but Topping’s choice of 4.4mm Pentaconn is a statement of intent that the A90 is intended to be a future-facing piece of equipment, and also one that the owner can hang onto for a long, long, time in terms of its power and versatility. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. And whilst I posted earlier in the thread that the amplifier was adequate for the HE-1000's, overtime I eventually came to the realisation that I was missing the impact and slam, especially in the lower registers which my old Audio-gd Master 11 could provide. Manufacturers have taken THX’s licensed Achromatic Audio Amplifier technology and have utilised it to great effect, two prime examples being Drop’s, which I reviewed earlier this year. ultra high performance for $499? 20 Reviews Available: In Stock Price: $499.99. They're like chalk and cheese - the Aeon 2 Noire is more resolving and detailed, but has a more reserved, even-handed approach when…. It’s a good time to be a consumer in this hobby right now with budget gear performing as strongly as this does. It won't do much wrong, but generally it will sound flat and boring. It really is as simple as it gets, but the box feels sturdy and does the job of being nice to open whilst offering excellent protection during shipping. The TOPPING A90 Headphone Amp is the companion for the highly reviewed TOPPING D90 DAC. It really is as simple as it gets, but the box feels sturdy and does the job of being nice to open whilst offering excellent protection during shipping. “Well, it seems that the good people at Topping have certainly made an earnest tilt at what seems, on paper, to be a pretty ‘perfect’ kinda headphone amplifier: the new $499 A90. Amplifiers. I prefer A90 over the FA-10 for my headphone listening experience. Thanks for your review;). Firstly I would like to thank Topping for sending me this sample to review. Disclaimer: Topping sent a sample of the A90 to Headfonia to evaluate and share with our readers. Here’s all of the technical information about it. The A90 in my personal opinion drives the HE6SE really well. I have one and it is a pretty good headphone amp - not sure it's the best ever, but it is good. Do you have a particular ‘SMSL’ in mind? Manufacturers have taken THX’s licensed Achromatic Audio Amplifier technology and have utilised it to great effect, two prime examples being Drop’s THX AAA 789 headphone amplifier, and SMSL’s SP200 THX 888 which I reviewed earlier this year. The program is free. Tagged A90 , Amp , amplifier , Audio , audiphile , D90 , DAC , Headphone , hifi , news , released , Topping Discover While this explanation on their company profile page is both succinct AND enthusiastic, Chinese manufacturer Topping certainly is enjoying a rise in prominence of late among audio enthusiasts. Firstly, there’s been a lot of focus put on the measurements of amplifiers and DACs, and there’s subsequently been an arms race of sorts with manufacturers seeking to achieve greater power, lower distortion, and higher dynamic range (among other attributes). When we talk about Topping products, the Topping A90 is definitely one of the best out there. Topping brags that A90 is equipped with ultra-high performance NFCA modules, Voltage current hybrid feedback architecture with UHGF (Ultra High Gain Feedback) technology. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Question tough; I am looking for a step up from my old jds element for my LCD2 (pre faz). Picture Sunday: iFi Audio Gemini & Mercury, https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50X-ATH-M20X-ATH-M30X-Headphones/dp/B07518L298/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&tag=headfi-20&ref_=d6k_applink_bb_marketplace. It has both RCA and XLR input and output on the back, and an internal power supply unit, so … Seems Resonessence Labs has left the building. Quote. Hi Ben, I personally haven’t listened to the FA-10 so I can’t give you a direct comparison. I have a chance to take the used 3x as the same price of new D90/A90 combo, for that reason I really want to compare both of them. Review: xDuoo XD05 Plus Portable DAC/Headphone Amplifier, Review: Clear Tune Monitors CE320 Triple Driver IEM’s, Review: HiFiMAN TWS800 – True Wireless for Audiophiles, Review: Queen Of Audio (QOA) Vesper and Pink Lady Earphones. And frankly, you – the end customer – is the ultimate winner here. Disclaimer: The Topping DL30 sent to us is a sample in exchange for our honest opinion. I have both A90 and FA-10 while using D90 as my DAC. It doesn’t throw the sound overly wide, but then again it does a great job at just amplifying the source material. The Topping L30 is a compact 3.5W capable single-ended headphone amplifier and pre-amplifier using trickle-down technology from the flagship A90. HiFiMan are killers for most headphones up to 1,500 USD, That's very kind, thanks for reading Hermanni! It costs US $499. Topping A90 Review - Joshua Valour Nov 24, 2020 11:50:33 GMT -5 . Run only by me, Oscar Stewart, I have a passion for good quality audio and I try to be as honest as possible in my reviews, portraying my subjective opinion. There are both balanced inputs and outputs, which allows you to use the A90 as a pre-amp for desktop speakers. Hi Edu, if you’re looking to add a little more power to your set-up the Mojo ought to work perfectly as a DAC upstream of the the A90 when set to line-out mode. Thanks mate. The new Topping A90 is a $499 ‘Ultra High Performance’ desktop headphone amplifier and pre-amplifier. Just on that last point for a moment – there has been a sweeping wave of ‘objectivism’ wash through the industry in the past couple of years and has been driven by a couple of factors. The new Topping A90 is a $499 ‘Ultra High Performance’ desktop headphone amplifier and pre-amplifier. Switching to the HE6SE, apart from the V281 I don’t think I’ve had another headphone amp come through that drives them as well as the A90. I would genuinely caution anyone arriving new to the hobby that price = performance (unless that’s a sarcastic emoji?). BLOG: The Fav Album Of…. With a SINAD up to 123dB (measured by Audio Science Review) on its balanced output and an incredibly low distortion of 0.000086%, the A90 significantly expands the boundaries To be fair though the A90 is just a headphone amp so there aren't really any accessories needed. , Nice review and glad too see this site still running strong returning to after so many years. It is already receiving rave reviews on Audio Science Review. A90 review from headfonia.com https://www.headfonia.com/topping-a90-review/ Disclaimer: Topping sent a sample of the A90 to Headfonia to evaluate and share with our readers. You can tell if you listen to the songs that you have listen for long period of time and also listen to the recorded voices of your friends and family. I was always curious about these headphones. Accessory wise the A90 comes with a jack adapter and the power cable. FA-10 is a colored sound, not as transparent, Mid-bass is boosted and midrange is made to sound meatier but not acurate. There are 3 switches on the front along with 4.4mm and 4-pin XLR balanced outputs, 6.3mm single ended output and a volume knob. And I’m going back/forth between the a90 and LP HPA RS02/08. I can say with confidence that the A90 will give you ample power and performance with the LCD2, and likely for anything else that you decide to pick-up down the track. I have more than enough control over the volume knob without imbalance at low volumes with sensitive IEM’s which is great. The A90 comes in a similar box as the D90, it’s a simple black affair with very good foam padding inside to keep the unit safe during shipping. Or, to give it its full name, the A90 ‘Ultra-High Performance Headphone Amplifier’ (let’s just go with ‘A90’ from here, ok?). How do these stand against the Ether C Flow 1.1? Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Headphones. Give Gift; Back to Top; Post by larrys on Nov 24, 2020 11:50:33 GMT -5. Using my GMP 400 which are quite a neutral reference for me, the bass is tight and articulate, the midrange is controlled and balanced, and the highs have tons of sparkle and great extension without sounding hot or too bright. It joins the D90 DAC (which Linus recently reviewed. ) The other factor that’s been partly responsible for this numbers-driven philosophy has been the abundant availability of previously unavailable technology, take for example THX amplification. It is a really good-looking black cardboard box with the Topping logo on the top. It’s a bit larger and a bit more expensive, so if a stepped attenuator and even more power (16 watts @ 32-ohms) are are important for you then it might be worth considering. While putting the diminutive $289 SMSL amp through its paces, it did dawn on me that we, nearly be at the point where headphone amplification is, for lack of a better term, a. problem. I haven’t listened to the Sabaj, but the Topping is more of a ‘purist’ analogue device and is also more powerful. Select Post; Deselect Post; Link to Post; Member. Topping challenges the whole market of headphone amplifiers with its A90 : an exceptional performance desktop headphone amplifier / preamplifier. Topping, as I have said before, have been on a bit of a roll lately. Topping D70S MQA DAC Review - Raising the Bar . For my main gear, I use JBL 305P powered speaker (3x acts at a DAC/Preamp), and HD660S. What are you using as your source? Hi Matty thank u for the reply!!! I've changed from the Topping A90 to a Phonitor XE. The A90 sounds great as an op-amp example (which I think is it’s topology). Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "ab94735e0b9f663d21815ddafa43c13a" );document.getElementById("b5a8464b3f").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The D90 is a top performing DAC at a midrange price, the A90 adds tons of amplifying power with a neutral yet slightly warm sound. Be well. Whilst they initially gained notice chiefly for delivering exceptional value to budget-conscious punters; lately, they’ve been taking names when it comes to delivering levels of performance that have no doubt made established industry players take note and pay additional heed to their own objective performance. The Topping A90 has a nice array of switches, knob, and input/output options. I’m going to throw in an early spoiler here: it performs astonishingly well, as its credentials would suggest, and is utterly competent when it comes to amplifying headphones. Topping has included a High/Medium/Low three-way gain switch on the front panel of the A90, allowing owners to opt between gain as low as -9.5dB and as high as 15.5dB, depending on the combination of single-ended and balanced inputs and outputs used. I loved the single-ended Conductor 3, ultimately it would come down to your budget and sense of aesthetics/form-factor preference. It is priced at $139. I know that 3x has the double price of D90/A90 combo, but can the Topping combo nearly reach the level of Burson? Learn how your comment data is processed. Welcome to Sound Perfection Reviews, a blog dedicated to audio equipment reviews. The only source I have now is my labtop and the element, but Im definitly be going to get a dac. By toggling the RCA/XLR switch on the front, the user can switch between two different inputs sources (so long as one is balanced, and the other single-ended), and Topping has also made the A90 switchable between Pre-out and Headphone Amplifier modes via the standby switch on the front – they can’t operate at the same time, so bad luck if you had visions of listening to open-backed headphones with a subwoofer at the same time (I *might* have done this in the past). Apos Audio is giving away an SMSL SH-9 headphone amplifier for Free! Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for TOPPING A90 Headphone Amplifier 4.4mm XLR Desktop HiFi Full Balanced Amplifier Pre-Amplifier (Silver) at Amazon.com. I’ve not had the chance to hear the Lake People set-up so I couldn’t give you a good comparison. The Topping D90 arrives in a black cardboard box with the Topping logo on the top, identical to the one of the A90 or DX7s from the same company.