An affordable high performing Topping Pre90 pre amp and Topping D90SE DAC.

#hifi #audiophile #amplifier #stereo #Integrated amp #DAC #preamp

Gear used in this review :
Silverline Sonata speakers
CSS Criton 2TD Tower Kit speakers
Topping D90SE DAC
Topping D90 DAC
Topping Pre 90 preamp
Schitt Freya Preamp
Topping EXT90 expansion unit
SMSL VMV A1 amplifier
Peachtree Gan400 class D amplifier
VTV tube buffer Purifi class D amplifier
Lumin Poweramp
Xiang Sheng 728a Preamp
Musical Paradise MP 701 preamp

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Track: Left Alone — Airixis [Audio Library Release]
Music provided by Audio Library Plus
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[ThomasAndStereo]

For those who have not seen my last video on discussing what to listen for.

[antonysaudiolab]

There is one catch with this Topping Pre90, thats the low input impedance thats about 2kohms (BAL Input) and ~10kohms (UNBAL) that caused distortion in my Tube DAC. In my Opinion, the Gustard P26 was better compared to Topping Pre90. Gustard P26 specs were amazingly great and I had a AB comparison with Mark Levinson 326S and absolutely no difference at all. Also Gustard P26 goes with any Kind of DAC's whether tube or Solid State due to its input impedance 50Kohms BAL and UNBAL. Also the measurements are great and it improved the imaging, and the overall music presentation. When I had a AB comparison with Gustard P26 vs Topping D90, I preferred the Gustard P26 and sold Topping D90 on the same day when I purchased :)

[jajessee]

The noise floor on the Freya + is so much improved. It really should be heard.

[jimatyeo]

Caveat Emptor folks. I bought one of the Topping D90SE recently and after just 60 hours of use it quit playing right in the middle of a song. I have been trying for days to get ahold of someone at Apos to help but to no avail. They will not respond and keep blocking me from contacting them. I even tried via the survey they send you about the product but no reply thus far. All I have been trying to do is to find a DAC under $1000 that will beat my 22 year old Musical Fidelity CD player. This Topping is DAC no.5 and it still not even close to beating the sound of my older CD player. Of course now that it does not work its even worse. But you would think new vs old it should be the winner but not yet apparently. I would suggest caution dealing with Apos. They will not stand behind anything they sell evidently.

[nma]

I hope you can make video for audio enthusiasts with a budget from 1k to 2k per component? Separates or integrated

[User_not_found_]

I was super impressed with the Topping A90 headphone/pre-amp - it did exactly as you described - added a level of detail and made it sound better even when going into my higher-end power amp. IMO, an amazing product would be to have something like the Topping Pre90 combined with a Schiit Loki +. Clean pre-amping with the some tone controls to make those subtle EQ adjustments to season the audio of your system to suit your taste. It would be a KILLER product and eliminate too many boxes and cable clutter in the signal path.

[pegun]

I've been eyeing on the Xiang Sheng tube preamp for some time, but can't find much info to buy them. Hope you'll talk about it, pretty please?

[newton]

Turn your d90se to 5v not 4 and use xlr to get the best out of it. Disability Bluetooth and rca if ain’t using it then done… 5v is always best on poweramp

[hi]

I use LA90D and DOSE to connect my iPhone via USB and listen to music. I'm interested in the PRE90, but do you think it's better with or without a preamp?

[momtazularefin]

Somehow I seemed never to like a Topping device. They sound hollow and empty to me. The clarity comes at the expense of instrument body. And the detail is unfortunately devoid of smoothness and emotions. Sorry for a generalizing statement. May be I am not lucky enough with Topping devices.

[hi]

There is a rumor that the sound quality of the DOSE is better in DAC mode

[markwilson]

pre90 best attribute its silent at this money unbeaten but is all about taste and synergy

[gw]

I’ve had the Gustard p26 balanced class A pre amp in my system for a few months. It’s really good. It uses NEX for volume control. And I was able to upgrade the op amps to Burson classic. At a similar price, I think it would be a better fit for most people.

[chrisvinicombe]

Apparently Topping are working on mono block amps to go with this stack. They are gunning for benchmark abh2 level performance. So will probably have the same character as the dac and pre.

[tnk]

Curious how you feel about this vs the Doge 8. I feel like my Doge 8 is in your face with detail at times. I love that about it. Thoughts?

[chriscooper]

Another great review Thomas!
I'm really looking forward to your CSS audio tower speaker review.
I'm building my own set of CSS audio monitors. But I'm already thinking of upgrading to the towers down the road..
Depending on your review of course.

[shawnwu]

OMG, this sharing is excellent and it is pretty much exactly what I need to try elevate my Buchardt A700. As much as I love the A700, I am naturally unsatisfied in some areas. Unluckily I have never heard the high-end Focal or B&W sound :-(, and I am always searching a great system to match the angelic voice I have heard, which is Zhou Sheng's treble. In some sense, I love his singing from my android phone more so than my current system, especially when he sings really high, because the phone's treble is really boosted up and shouty. Also there is very little room to improve if you own a pair of active speaker. A700 is quite neutral so I think it will fit what you said well. I normally don't have hours of listening time to spend so listening fatigue will not be an issue. Lastly, can you think of any preamp have the similar characteristics like the Topping Pre90, but in the next level? For me money is no object only the space is, I can't keep on buying gears and stacking them up, which is also wasteful... Again, many thanks Thomas!

[nikosidis]

This review is very interesting. I love the sound to be as detailed and real as possible. I have the D90SE and pair with a modified tube preamp that I love. I only found D90SE bright when I paired it with Usher 718DMD, that is very much like Focal speakers. B&W CM5, DLS R55 and Thivan Labs speakers sound fantastic with D90SE. If pre90 will tip it over and give to much brightness for my taste on those speakers remains to be heard.
Recordings are different so what comes out as natural is not always from the most resolving, natural equipment. Thanks for the review.

[AbsoluteFidelity]

I can see many Wharfedale owners running out to get the Pre90 preamp... another great one Thomas!

[petethegreekre]

Great review, thanks Thomas. Now everything's clearer now. No need to reply here, You've done a lot of it as I have read in the comments. I can't imagine how much time that would need. Thanks again.