[Guacamolly]

those who found the OG A90 already too neutral/sterile should not purchase the new A90 without either hearing it first or being able to return it as to my ears it leans even further towards the lean side.

I do confirm this statement.

I think this A90D is better for my speakers rather than headphones.
The sound is very weak / unweighty compared to my Fiio M17.

 

[Mista Lova Lova]

I have done some more listening after getting a good night's sleep (and hopefully resetting my brain) and the gap is even bigger now - I far prefer the original A90, it sounds full, visceral/tactile and alive in comparison; the new A90 sounds bright, lean, harsh and analytical.

@Currawong - I hope that you get to hear the OG A90 one day, it's so different from the new one and if you seem to think that it's good value at $600 then I suspect you may really like the OG, especially since it's even cheaper.

Edit - when you said you didn't have the OG I took it as meaning you also hadn't heard it but perhaps I made the wrong assumption.

 

[Arniesb]

I have done some more listening after getting a good night's sleep (and hopefully resetting my brain) and the gap is even bigger now - I far prefer the original A90, it sounds full, visceral/tactile and alive in comparison; the new A90 sounds bright, lean, harsh and analytical.

@Currawong - I hope that you get to hear the OG A90 one day, it's so different from the new one and if you seem to think that it's good value at $600 then I suspect you may really like the OG, especially since it's even cheaper.

Edit - when you said you didn't have the OG I took it as meaning you also hadn't heard it but perhaps I made the wrong assumption.

You can try to eq your headphones... Maybe increase bass slightly and decrease highs slightly.
If problem is solved then its not amp that is problem. Then again...
Good measuring dacs and amps most of the time have very strong attack and Utopia for example is also super strong in attack.
For movies and games technical prowess of Topping, Benchmark, sabre stuff is very welcome, but for music it can be too much.
Violectric amps pair very well with Analytical headphones as from my experience with v280 and Utopia, HD800S. From what i read soloist and Ferrum Orr stack should also pair well with your headphones.
Good luck.

 

[Currawong]

I compared the A90D with the SA-1 yesterday, level matched, from the Yggdrasil. I did find the SA-1 to be a touch more nuanced driving the Stealth, and the A90D a bit less. I hadn't been expecting that. It was quite subtle though. I reckon if someone finds these amps a bit bright (or lean or harsh, or whatever word one prefers) a Jotunheim 2 would be better. It also seems to deliver a better sense of depth (ie: front to back imaging) which is noticeable with headphones such as the Utopias.

I wonder if this bright/lean/harsh impression, which I didn't experience myself, is because I'm using a power conditioner. I'm also wondering if most people don't pair them with a Topping DAC as well. I'll have a go tomorrow with the D90 (original) with both hooked up directly into the mains to see if I can't figure it out.

Edit: I had a quick listen just now via the D90 and now and it's the DAC for sure. Five Man Army (Massive Attack) has unpleasant sibilance via this combination. The USB input on the D90 is not so great, so direct from a computer sounds hard and edgy to me.

Edit 2: Normally, when an amp (or DAC) is made down to a price, the designer will tune the circuit to make it sound a bit warm to cover any hardness or edginess in the sound that comes as a consequence. This is not something that affects the frequency response of the amp, but is done in other ways that don't show much, if at all in conventional measurements. However, if you only design things to look impressive at 1kHz on an analyser with optimised settings, that hardness/edginess will come through (maybe from IMD, noise floor modulation, noise generated by the USB receiver in DACs and other things that only show up when actual music is playing with headphones connected, and not test tones being fed to an analyser) and the music will sound unpleasant. Gotye's Puzzle With A Piece Missing through the Topping stack is like being stabbed in the ears.

 

[Mista Lova Lova]

I compared the A90D with the SA-1 yesterday, level matched, from the Yggdrasil. I did find the SA-1 to be a touch more nuanced driving the Stealth, and the A90D a bit less. I hadn't been expecting that. It was quite subtle though. I reckon if someone finds these amps a bit bright (or lean or harsh, or whatever word one prefers) a Jotunheim 2 would be better. It also seems to deliver a better sense of depth (ie: front to back imaging) which is noticeable with headphones such as the Utopias.

I wonder if this bright/lean/harsh impression, which I didn't experience myself, is because I'm using a power conditioner. I'm also wondering if most people don't pair them with a Topping DAC as well. I'll have a go tomorrow with the D90 (original) with both hooked up directly into the mains to see if I can't figure it out.

Edit: I had a quick listen just now via the D90 and now and it's the DAC for sure. Five Man Army (Massive Attack) has unpleasant sibilance via this combination. The USB input on the D90 is not so great, so direct from a computer sounds hard and edgy to me.

Edit 2: Normally, when an amp (or DAC) is made down to a price, the designer will tune the circuit to make it sound a bit warm to cover any hardness or edginess in the sound that comes as a consequence. This is not something that affects the frequency response of the amp, but is done in other ways that don't show much, if at all in conventional measurements. However, if you only design things to look impressive at 1kHz on an analyser with optimised settings, that hardness/edginess will come through (maybe from IMD, noise floor modulation, noise generated by the USB receiver in DACs and other things that only show up when actual music is playing with headphones connected, and not test tones being fed to an analyser) and the music will sound unpleasant. Gotye's Puzzle With A Piece Missing through the Topping stack is like being stabbed in the ears.

I still have my D90, so I've also just had a quick listen. The difference between the old A90 and the new one is still there and is very easily noticeable.

While I would still use the adjectives I've used so far to describe the new Topping, relative to the OG A90, I think I may have been a little too harsh on this amp. It does actually sound cleaner than the OG, making the latter sound slightly veiled in comparison. Where the OG injects a touch of warmth, resulting in a slightly less direct/incisive sound (and making bass perceptually more present), the new A90 injects air between notes, perfectly clear detail and definition.

I remember when I first heard the THX789 (after I'd bought my A90) my first impression was: "It is actually cleaner-sounding than the A90". I was confused. But at the end of the day it had a sterile quality to it that just sucked life out of music for me and however clean it was, I knew I was never gonna be able to enjoy it long-term. This new A90 has a similar quality ("wow, it's clean"), but it doesn't suffer from the 789's lifelessness. So I think it might be fair to say that it's technically a better amplifier than the old A90, whilst the original A90 might still be more pleasant for some.

Now I've got a conundrum in front me (ha, I shouldn't be surprised having been in the hobby for a while now...) - the OG has got something magical about it but I'd probably miss the extra clarity of the new one... Maybe what I should do is keep the new one and just get some tubes for the Utopia

 

[wazzupi]

I compared the A90D with the SA-1 yesterday, level matched, from the Yggdrasil. I did find the SA-1 to be a touch more nuanced driving the Stealth, and the A90D a bit less. I hadn't been expecting that. It was quite subtle though. I reckon if someone finds these amps a bit bright (or lean or harsh, or whatever word one prefers) a Jotunheim 2 would be better. It also seems to deliver a better sense of depth (ie: front to back imaging) which is noticeable with headphones such as the Utopias.

I wonder if this bright/lean/harsh impression, which I didn't experience myself, is because I'm using a power conditioner. I'm also wondering if most people don't pair them with a Topping DAC as well. I'll have a go tomorrow with the D90 (original) with both hooked up directly into the mains to see if I can't figure it out.

Edit: I had a quick listen just now via the D90 and now and it's the DAC for sure. Five Man Army (Massive Attack) has unpleasant sibilance via this combination. The USB input on the D90 is not so great, so direct from a computer sounds hard and edgy to me.

Edit 2: Normally, when an amp (or DAC) is made down to a price, the designer will tune the circuit to make it sound a bit warm to cover any hardness or edginess in the sound that comes as a consequence. This is not something that affects the frequency response of the amp, but is done in other ways that don't show much, if at all in conventional measurements. However, if you only design things to look impressive at 1kHz on an analyser with optimised settings, that hardness/edginess will come through (maybe from IMD, noise floor modulation, noise generated by the USB receiver in DACs and other things that only show up when actual music is playing with headphones connected, and not test tones being fed to an analyser) and the music will sound unpleasant. Gotye's Puzzle With A Piece Missing through the Topping stack is like being stabbed in the ears.

Which yggy do you have ? Nvm I see analog 2 does it have unison ?

 

[Mista Lova Lova]

The OG also sounds much more intimate, like I've mentioned before it has a tendency to put you in the middle of the song. None of my other equipment does it so I think the A90 is quite unique in this regard, but it also has the downside of music sounding more in your head (with great depth, but still). The new A90 sounds open, airy and less intimate (easier to focus on particular aspects of sound).

 

[carlcamper]

Joshua Valour should have his review out this week, stay tuned

And it is out!

 

[De7mi]

And it is out!

I never heard the original A90 but my impression of the A90 D is that it is a very natural neutral with a touch of warmth.

Ok so Joshua’s impressions basically lines with mine as I mentioned before.

I never found the A90D to be bright or harsh to be honest. But also I think the D90LE dac is an impressive piece of gear even compared to the original D90 dac which could be the reason some of the members here perceive harshness or brightness?

 

[Mista Lova Lova]

He says the new one sounds warmer and richer. Wow, pretty much the opposite of my experience. Perhaps our hearing is really so different or my OG A90 is a weird-sounding unit

 

[mrjayviper]

anybody flashed the new firmware (version 2.4) yet? feedback?

 

[wazzupi]

anybody flashed the new firmware (version 2.4) yet? feedback?

Not sure did it just come out ?

 

[Currawong]

While I would still use the adjectives I've used so far to describe the new Topping, relative to the OG A90, I think I may have been a little too harsh on this amp. It does actually sound cleaner than the OG, making the latter sound slightly veiled in comparison. Where the OG injects a touch of warmth, resulting in a slightly less direct/incisive sound (and making bass perceptually more present), the new A90 injects air between notes, perfectly clear detail and definition.

I never had the original A90 here. But given the way people described it, and this one, I'm definitely thinking they are hearing whatever DAC they are pairing it with, not the amp.

I remember when I first heard the THX789 (after I'd bought my A90) my first impression was: "It is actually cleaner-sounding than the A90". I was confused. But at the end of the day it had a sterile quality to it that just sucked life out of music for me and however clean it was, I knew I was never gonna be able to enjoy it long-term. This new A90 has a similar quality ("wow, it's clean"), but it doesn't suffer from the 789's lifelessness. So I think it might be fair to say that it's technically a better amplifier than the old A90, whilst the original A90 might still be more pleasant for some.

I was going to do an AAA ONE vs. Magni review, when the former was discounted to $129, but I find it unlistenable now.

Which yggy do you have ? Nvm I see analog 2 does it have unison ?

Sorry, I forgot to say that it's an A2/OG with Unison. Depending on how everything is set-up, it is either fed by a streamer, or fed from the MScaler (often with some up-sampling switched on). It has a slightly less "dry" sound from the MScaler.

anybody flashed the new firmware (version 2.4) yet? feedback?

I wonder if it fixes a weird issue I have where if I touch the volume knob gently, and almost turn it, that the volume will jump 20 steps (in either direction). Got a link?

 

[mrjayviper]

Not sure did it just come out ?

aug 8 (so last week?)

 

[mrjayviper]

I wonder if it fixes a weird issue I have where if I touch the volume knob gently, and almost turn it, that the volume will jump 20 steps (in either direction). Got a link?

not at the moment but it was on topping's site.