[Biskwit]

Planning to use my Fiio M11pro as DAC for Topping A90 amp. Will it do justice? Or Should i buy a dedicated DAC? I'm going to use it for Sennheiser hd800s

Are there any benefits of using Line Out 3.5mm to RCA over 4.4mm to XLR? Is 3.55mm still better because thats the designated lineout for Fiio m11 pro? Or can the 4.4 port work as line out as well? Just max out the volume?

 

[nigel801]

Lol those bastards! I've had my full price Amazon purchased A90 for less than a week! Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.

I ordered immediately the Topping A90 as I saw it was 425 EUR on Amazon Europe to my surprised I got a message that I have to pay 57 EUR customs and taxes , I am buying from Europe website why should I pay customs and taxes it's a joke.

 

[Terriero]

I ordered immediately the Topping A90 as I saw it was 425 EUR on Amazon Europe to my surprised I got a message that I have to pay 57 EUR customs and taxes , I am buying from Europe website why should I pay customs and taxes it's a joke.

I contacted Shenzhen Audio store (that was the A90 best price in amazon.es) and the shop told me that if I'll have to pay taxes, just contact them and they will return me the money from taxes.

 

[nigel801]

I contacted Shenzhen Audio store (that was the A90 best price in amazon.es) and the shop told me that if I'll have to pay taxes, just contact them and they will return me the money from taxes.

Thanks

 

[Ryno1330]

Well I just ordered one from Apos audio (US). They were very quick to price match Amazon and I don't have to wait weeks to get it. Can't wait.

 

[hmscott]

Planning to use my Fiio M11pro as DAC for Topping A90 amp. Will it do justice? Or Should i buy a dedicated DAC? I'm going to use it for Sennheiser hd800s

Are there any benefits of using Line Out 3.5mm to RCA over 4.4mm to XLR? Is 3.55mm still better because thats the designated lineout for Fiio m11 pro? Or can the 4.4 port work as line out as well? Just max out the volume?

I haven't done the 4.4mm out to XLR - I don't think that's advisable, but the 3.5mm LO to RCA will work - there might be environmental noise that the A90 will pick up...so consider getting well shielded RCA cables. If you run the M11pro using only battery power - there isn't a ground connection via a power supply to create a ground loop through the A90, so battery operation might have the best noise-free result.

The D90 MQA is also on sale today in various places, you might consider getting both? I can vouch for how awesome they are together, but again using XLR between them and use XLR to drive external speakers is the way to go to avoid ground loops and USB power induced noise from the source (like a PC).

 

[Biskwit]

Thanms

I haven't done the 4.4mm out to XLR - I don't think that's advisable, but the 3.5mm LO to RCA will work - there might be environmental noise that the A90 will pick up...so consider getting well shielded RCA cables. If you run the M11pro using only battery power - there isn't a ground connection via a power supply to create a ground loop through the A90, so battery operation might have the best noise-free result.

The D90 MQA is also on sale today in various places, you might consider getting both? I can vouch for how awesome they are together, but again using XLR between them and to drive external speakers is the way to go to avoid ground loops and USB power induced noise from the source (like a PC).

Thanks for response mate! Not enough funds for d90! Aha might buy one soon though but a cheaper dac. Maybe smsl su8

 

[Ryno1330]

For some reason I did not like the legendary hd6xx (similiar to hd650) much until I paired it with the topping a90. The a90 really have the power and tonality to help make the hd6xx sounds much better compared to other amp desktop and daps that I have been previously using. Now I am able to understand why so many love the hd650/6xx.

Are you running it on high gain for the 6xx's?

 

[makatech]

Question:

Thinking about trying to connect my amp / dac stack (Topping A90 + iFi Zen Dac) to a small d class amp running a pair of passive speakers.

Right now I have a balanced connection between the Zen Dac and the A90 using a 4.4mm pentaconn > dual 3 pin XLR cable.

Would it be fine to utilize RCA out to the d class amp at the same time? (RCA out to d class amp and balanced out to the Topping A90)

Second question: Is it best utilizing RCA out from the Zen Dac or the Topping A90 for doing this connection?

 

[John Massaria]

I wound up returning the A90 back to apos after extensive listening. My Pass Class A Whammy which for me and a friend both thought the Pass is much more musical and detailed and has gobs of dynamics the A90 doesn’t- the a90 being full featured but lacking a bit of everyday enjoyment- i also wound up getting the Ray Samuels Apache class a dual mono amp which sounds beyond words but emotional is one of them... but all in all the a90 is a great no noise no fuss amp with tons of inputs and outputs

 

[iFi audio]

Second question: Is it best utilizing RCA out from the Zen Dac or the Topping A90 for doing this connection?

If I were you I'd be interested to see which device's volume control this class D amp likes more; whether it's at its best driven form ZEN DAC directly or with Topping as an anlog pre in-between.

 

[Terriero]

Thanms

Thanks for response mate! Not enough funds for d90! Aha might buy one soon though but a cheaper dac. Maybe smsl su8

I suggest you the Gustard A18, here you have a review and comparison against Topping D90. I think is a great DAC for more or less 550 €.

 

[makatech]

I wound up returning the A90 back to apos after extensive listening my Pass Class A Whammy which for me and a friend both thought the Pass is much more musical and detailed and has gobs of dynamics the A90 doesn’t- the a90 being full featured but lacking a bit of everyday enjoyment- i also wound up getting the Ray Samuels Apache class a dual mono amp which sounds Devine but all in all the a90 is a great no noise no fuss amp with tons of inputs and outputs

Is the Whammy a DIY amp?

 

[John Massaria]

Is the Whammy a DIY amp?

Yes- just the parts $200 for PC Board and amps then you have to buy case and then build it- my friend said that amp would easily sell for $1500 -3000 - he said how can a $499 at retail compete? Shipped and all? When he heard both he said the A90 is good but the Whammy is far superior. I use dual OPA627 which are by themselves $38 each x 2 in the amp and additional in cost - So I guess its not a fair comparison.

 

[hmscott]

Thanks for response mate! Not enough funds for d90! Aha might buy one soon though but a cheaper dac. Maybe smsl su8

Cheaper DAC's are getting better and better, perhaps the D90 MQA follow on will meet your budget requirements.

Actually the recently released D50S is a newer less costly DAC, have you checked that one out?

TOPPING D90 vs TOPPING D50s Comparison Chart
https://apos.audio/blogs/news/topping-d90-vs-topping-d50s-comparison-chart

APOS is having a sale with the D50s+A50s+P50 bundled for $549.99:
https://apos.audio/collections/apos...s-topping-50s-ensemble?variant=32494814429258

And, the A50s is a new headphone AMP with some of the A90 charm

I wound up returning the A90 back to apos after extensive listening. My Pass Class A Whammy which for me and a friend both thought the Pass is much more musical and detailed and has gobs of dynamics the A90 doesn’t- the a90 being full featured but lacking a bit of everyday enjoyment- i also wound up getting the Ray Samuels Apache class a dual mono amp which sounds beyond words but emotional is one of them... but all in all the a90 is a great no noise no fuss amp with tons of inputs and outputs

How many hours had you run the "Whammy" and how many hours did you let the new A90 run before giving up the comparison?

This is important as it's not a fair comparison until you let both reach their optimal sound, and out of the box the A90 was very nice, but didn't meet the same enjoyment factor as my FiiO M15 - which had been running constantly for a couple of months.

After a similar time of burn-in the A90 is now my favorite AMP for daily listening. I do enjoy the M15 often, but for daily use the A90 is the one that draws my ears in every time.

I'm happy you like your DIY amp, but next time you give a comparison review please don't give up on the new unit so quickly, please give it a chance to get the same break-in time needed for optimal sound, as the AMP with the "home team" advantage already has.

I suggest you the Gustard A18, here you have a review and comparison against Topping D90. I think is a great DAC for more or less 550 €.

@Biskwit
Gustard shipped out at least one updated A18 (reported, linked below) with Optical digital input and MQA added, but no official word of announcement has come out that I've seen yet:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-this-gustard-a18-from-apos.16612/post-537000

The review link you shared is for the previous version, without Optical input or MQA capability.