Honest Audiophile Impressions of the Topping A90

Recommended Gear:
Massdrop THX AAA 789:

Music recommendations:
Tingvall Trio “Beat” - piano tonality
Sinne Eeg “We’ve Just Begun” - multiple layer soundstage
Molly Johnson “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” - female vocal tone
Leslie Odom Jr. “Under Pressure” - male vocal tone
Eric Clapton “Change the World” - soundstage, layering and placement
Yo Yo Ma “Ecstasy of Gold” - acoustic instrument timbre
Adam Baldych “Spem in Alium” - acoustic instrument timbre
Pain of Salvation “Stress” - percussion balance
Michael Buble “When I Fall in Love” - orchestral dynamics
Patricia Barber “Code Cool” - sibilance check
Christian Scott “New New Orleans” - shouty upper mids
Tool “Chocolate Chip Trip” - imaging
Hans Zimmer “Why So Serious” - sub bass extension
Marcus Miller “No Limit” - bass control
Dave Holland Quartet “Conference Of The Birds”- bass check
Ilhan Eshkeri “47 Ronin”- orchestra and bass dynamics
Hans Zimmer: “2049” - sub bass extension
Cher: “Believe” - sibilance
Stanley Clarke - “Passenger 57 main title” - percussion, bass, separation and placement
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra - “The Pine of the Appian Way” - soundstage, imaging and separation
Houston Person - “You are my Sunshine” - tone and timbre

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[JTB--]

Nice honest review. I like how quick this review was... like you were double parked outside trying to avoid a parking ticket 😊

[TheKent]

Thank you! Love how you are straight to the point. Wish all other reviewers do that. Not everyone has time to peruse all the reviews. As a purchaser, we know there will always be strengths and weaknesses to any product. We want to know the consensus view before purchasing so we can make the right choice. Short reviews will undoubtedly make that process more efficient.

[georgebogdangrigore]

Thank you Dave for your honest opinion!

[marcfoss]

Thanks Dave, appreciate the honest review and write-up as well.

[ginom]

Your reviews and opinions are greatly appreciated! Thank You! 👍👍👍

[heyguyslolGAMING]

lol, I had the same opinion about the A90 so I returned it. I'm now saving for a Burson Soloist 3XP.

[ForeverYoung]

Appreciate the honesty. How does this compare to the THX 789 which is also considered to be a "neutral" reference amp? I think people hopefully come around to the fact that measurements isn't everything. You can design an amp to do great in limited measurements which necessarily doesn't translate to what most subjectively perceive as sounding "good".

[MrNikovec]

I dont know if you still respond to old video comments but.

I am very new to this environment and I would like to ask I wanted to jump the gun and buy myself a Aeon 2 Noire variant (I liked the design - lover of PXC 550 design).

So while reading some articles, reviews and watched a bunch of videos it left me some kind of confused.

The headphones impedance is 13 so that would mean that it doesn't need and Amp/DAC. But I read most people recommend to use a amp for these headphones.

What headphones should I buy? I was thinking of the Topping A90 but after your review I don't know. On my current headphones (PXC-550) I use software EQ and Amp what is the main difference?

What would you recommend to me?

[matusjurcik]

Hi :) for 350 usd is it a good deal? What would u recommend over the A90? (some alternative)...

[chefsteve]

I went with the L30, its a mini version of this at a quarter of the price and drives most headphones and is great with iems.

[herseyberry]

How about the Zen Dac V2 its 160, for a dac headphone amp combo ? I better look for you Zen Dac review. This seems to be my best bang for buck option.

[jameswilkinson]

Would love to know what you think of the Topping A90D, supposedly it has a bit more low end.

[saab_]

What do you think about pairing topping a90 with denafrips ares 2 ?

[fei]

Your opinion make me think about the other Topping cheap amp - NX1S. I bought NX1S like my first headphone amplifier, many positive reviews about it. But i was disappoint, NX1S is good power for the size and money i paid. It also very clean, clean to erase the detail, emotion of the source. Build quality is very nice, i didn't see or hear any fault from that amp, but it's not an amp for music lover like me. I have'nt used any Topping things then

[jonmarinos]

Thanks for this! Bought a 789 instead. Pairing it with a SMSL SU-9 DAC 👍🏻

[towsifshahriarshovo]

Have any plan to review Apos caspian?? Looks pretty interesting 😍
Waiting for your review.

[patrick]

It's nice to hear an opinion that doesn't sound like a paycheck relied on what was said. Honesty IS the best policy

[mclement]

Opinions are opinions. I have the A90, a Soloist 3xp, and a Monoprice THX DAC/Amp, a RME ADI2 DAC FS. (and a few others). I think they're all excellent.
For $500 the A90 is an insane value, and its incredibly popular in the FB headphone audio groups that I belong to.
Admittedly, this is a very subjective hobby, and if you don't like the A90 that's OK, but there's a LOT more people than the few in this bunch who think the world if the A90.

[life_in_solace]

This is a good thing. A unseasoned amp let's your headphones sound sig shine and be the seasoning. Pair it with a r2r dac like the kte spring 3 and you got your self the best of both worlds. Just my 2 cents.

[SweetLead]

Hi! I have sennheiser hd 660 s + ifi neo. I want upgrade to sennheiser hd 800 s + topping a90 to create stack with Ifi Neo. Using mostly for tidal, youtube and competitive gaming. Do you recommend A90 or A30 Pro, maybe ? Or some other amp ?