[UntilThen]

Yeah but we will never get to try. Too many fan bois. Am not bias always. Why is the A90 bright by the way ?

If you listen to the Topping d90 / a90 and Questyle CMA Twelve side by side and with the same headphone, then the A90 is considered bright. Bright not in a bad way. Just clearer but the Questyle will appear warmer than the Topping set. This is with Arya and Hekse headphones.

 

[NickT23]

If you listen to the Topping d90 / a90 and Questyle CMA Twelve side by side and with the same headphone, then the A90 is considered bright. Bright not in a bad way. Just clearer but the Questyle will appear warmer than the Topping set. This is with Arya and Hekse headphones.

It would be nice these products are everywhere in the world for us to demo without needing to travel.

 

[UntilThen]

I think I have stated that I actually like the Arya and Topping d90 / a90 combination. Synergises well to my years because Arya is more relaxed than Hekse and the Topping set provides the boost.

 

[UntilThen]

It would be nice these products are everywhere in the world for us to demo without needing to travel.

Of course. Don't we all. Those fortunate to be able to go to CanJams before Covid-19 have that opportunity. That's why Head-Fi is doing such a great job organising these events.

 

[NickT23]

Of course. Don't we all. Those fortunate to be able to go to CanJams before Covid-19 have that opportunity. That's why Head-Fi is doing such a great job organising these events.

But that only benefit to people who lives in the USA and they have to travel domestically for event shows and not to mentioned noisy environment, crowded and sometimes not enough A/B or wrong synergy amps/dac and many other factors into consideration. Most high end gears in particular are small company with less revenue unable to have multiple subsidiary worldwide and they keep profit to themselves. Big corporation sometimes keep profit for themselves, its business rather than demoing world wide for dealers. And even if dealers selling particular headphones or speaker, sometimes amp/dac not compatible such as lack of power or wrong synergy or whatever factors. And snakeoil issue especially. Many times its always buy and risk factor involve. Knowledge is very important so we can research and take risk what suits us.

 

[UntilThen]

Of course. Not everyone will have the same opportunity. Head-Fi is a good starting point. There's just so many myriads of opinions for you to sieve through and I've given mine regarding the Topping d90 / a90.

 

[NickT23]

Of course. Not everyone will have the same opportunity. Head-Fi is a good starting point. There's just so many myriads of opinions for you to sieve through and I've given mine regarding the Topping d90 / a90.

Yeah thats true. Hopefully more people can help out. Its as though Head Fi is our only hope.

 

[antdroid]

Have you experienced it?

Yes. I own an A90 and use it daily. I've also owned and use several other amps. Just ordered a Jotunheim 2 to try out as well. The A90 is a good amp if you want something very sterile and clean. I find it's a tad more forward and edgy than I like. It lacks good dynamics that I find in other amps I've owned, or use still today.

If you have ever tried one of the THX-AAA amps, the A90 sounds similar but with more power and features.

And I've also experienced noisy rca usage as well though that's source dependent.

I've mostly kept the A90 around for doing reviews and measurements. Otherwise I prefer most other amps I've used instead. My favorite under $500 is actually the Schiit Asgard 3.

 

[NickT23]

Yes. I own an A90 and use it daily. I've also owned and use several other amps. Just ordered a Jotunheim 2 to try out as well. The A90 is a good amp if you want something very sterile and clean. I find it's a tad more forward and edgy than I like. It lacks good dynamics that I find in other amps I've owned, or use still today.

If you have ever tried one of the THX-AAA amps, the A90 sounds similar but with more power and features.

And I've also experienced noisy rca usage as well though that's source dependent.

I've mostly kept the A90 around for doing reviews and measurements. Otherwise I prefer most other amps I've used instead. My favorite under $500 is actually the Schiit Asgard 3.

I decided to go for Massdrop THX 789 over the A90 for some reason. THX 789 also lacks dynamics ?

 

[antdroid]

I decided to go for Massdrop THX 789 over the A90 for some reason. THX 789 also lacks dynamics ?

In this case, it's not as big of a deal for me since the789 is half the price of the A90. It's been 2 years since I've owned/listened to the THX789 though. I found it was a good value for its price range.

 

[NickT23]

In this case, it's not as big of a deal for me since the789 is half the price of the A90. It's been 2 years since I've owned/listened to the THX789 though. I found it was a good value for its price range.

I got it at $250 (massdrop version). Does it lack dynamics as well in your opinion ?

 

[antdroid]

I did the same exact thing and purchased 2, one from apos and the other from shenzen. I'm pretty sure you've figured by now but they're essentially the same considering their shipping packaging are identical and it's likely Shenzen Audio is just the front they use for Amazon.

That being said I DO NOT recommend buying from Apos if you can help it. If you read their fine print on returns it's severely detrimental compared to if you went through Amazon:

• Orders that were price-matched against a final sale promotion are not eligible for return.
• Return requests made between 8 and 45 days after the order is marked as delivered will be subject to a 20% Processing Fee*.

I'm not sure if some of it is just a bad wording but from what I inferred if you price match an order you forfeit returning the item. I'm not too clear on what "final sale promotion" refers to though. This is especially bad considering they've raised prices for 2021 roughly ~10% on most items in their store. The 20% processing fee on top of return shipping(to their Oakland HQ hopefully) is quite absurd as well considering you're given only a week after delivery to decide if it's for you. Personally 20% is the highest fee I've seen for returning something within a normal 30 day window assuming you return everything properly. There are more restrictions to returns but I only picked out the ones that stood out to me as out of the ordinary.

Unless you're adamant on not giving Bezos your money, I wouldn't consider Apos Audio my place to purchase audio gear under most circumstances.

The reason for this is I believe Shenzhen is the distributor internationally for Topping and other brands. They are also a store, so a lot of stuff go through them.

 

[antdroid]

I got it at $250 (massdrop version). Does it lack dynamics as well in your opinion ?

Maybe lacking dynamics is the best word choice. I think A90 and THX789 both do dynamics, just not as well as other amps do that I've tried, but again many do cost more.

You should find out for yourself. Most people probably dont nitpick at things like I do, since I do often write review pieces where I do a lot of very very critical listening and focus on certain sounds.

Some headphones also pair well with some amps and not with others from my experience. I like the A90/THX-AAA with warmer headphones, and I prefer warmer amps like the Asgard 3 with my brighter headphones.

 

[NickT23]

The reason for this is I believe Shenzhen is the distributor internationally for Topping and other brands. They are also a store, so a lot of stuff go through them.

Their return policy are bad then ?

 

[antdroid]

Their return policy are bad then ?

I dont know. I was just pointing out that APOS probably gets their products from Shenzhen since they are a distributor for a lot of products, in reference to the comment that APOS may be a front for shenzhen.

Ive bought from APOS before and it was a nice transaction. I never had to return before to them. There are other topping dealers in the US as well. Headphones.com for example sells topping and offers a 1 year return policy and amazon sellers have to meet standard amazon return policies.