[Baten]

+1. There is one single report of an A90 failing, and John from Topping specifically said that the reason for the failure can't be the same as for the L30, as they have a completely different design. My D90/A90 stack is functioning well since day one, and I'm very happy with it.

I've never had any problems with the A90 in any case. Sounds good too.

 

[LightBlue77]

It is not a single report, there are many here and I found out of another not on this forum.

 

[Lolito]

for all those commenting on A90 problems, give it 5 years, and then let me know how they are. Or the 6th owner maybe... in 5 years, all A90 dead. You heard it here first folks.

 

[TeknicalXtacy]

Having listened to a decent cross section of gear I have to say that there are too often times where hyperbole is the order of the day. Of course, if you read enough, you will generally get a sense of a product, but you always get the emphatic over reach statements as well. For those seeking gear, it really is distracting and unfortunate. At this time, given the status of technology, things have tightened up quite a bit. The Topping stack is certainly not cheap, and it does not feel or sound cheap. Its performance is quite remarkable. For some the sound signature is not to taste, which can be said of EVERY product of this kind. Warm or intimate, sterile or articulate etc etc etc. Pick your desired signature. But choosing an analytical sound does not make it intrinsically deficient any more than a warm sound makes it muddy. It makes them built to meet an INTENDED outcome, one which may not be for YOU.

My experience with the Topping stack is that it is well built, very well design/versatile, and sounds very good.

 

[TeknicalXtacy]

topping is cheaper, but it also breaks much sooner and it comes with a defect if you bought the first version, guaranteed. If it breaks, doesn't matter much the price how cheap it is. if it breaks ends up very expensive.


Maybe the problem is the owner and not the equipment: if you like that stack, you own it, and you didn't noticed how terrible the knob is, at several levels, maybe you don't judge the equipment as it should be judged. Not to mention when talking topping, it's all new devices. There are people with 5 year old violectric, or chord, or SPL, or sennheiser, or sony, or... Anything topping from 2015 out there still working properly? well... maybe not so many, LOL.

It is what it is.


nocte buna friend!! sell it while it's not too late, just sell it. Cu placere!!

I fundamentally disagree with everything you said, not least of which because you are just talking and have absolutely no hard data of any kind. You are guaranteeing breakage - LMAO. The product just came out, so unless you can tell the future, once gain, you are just flapping your jaws. Another stellar Headfi insight.

And yes I own it and have compared it directly to other very high end equipment, which makes dismissing your OPINION even more easy to do. Have a look at the Chord TT2 thread and see how many people have had an issue, far more than you would expect. And this is from relatively new owners for a piece of equipment that costs $5,500 U.S. Things break, products have issues. So buy from a reputable dealer that gives you options if something goes wrong - common sense.

As far as Toppings track record, again you have absolutely no empirical evidence. Given the amount of product they likely sell, knowing their failure rate relative to other products would be interesting. But then none of us know those numbers and any comments to the contrary are pure speculation, or given your approach, vacuous hyperbole.

 

[LightBlue77]

i give you evidence: an amp that fried the headphones. Have you ever heard anything like this?
when, not if, it will happen to your 2000$ worth of headphones, pass by again and let us know your thoughts.
They had issues with L30, now with A90. Different kind of issues so their QC is... close to null.
Until then: i've seen sony, cowon, etc products functioning after more than 10 years. Burson offers 5 and even 10 years warranty. Even Fiio old products are still sold on ebay and alike. I even have the feeling that they are more reliable than new products.
"topping is cheaper, but it also breaks much sooner"
this is absolutely true, they are cheaper then most of the well known high end manufacturers. and it seems they break sooner.
btw, my replacement arrived 2 days ago, it has 2011 series. not tested yet though.

 

[joseG86]

I'm very happy with D90/A90, specially when I sold them and almost got 95% $ back

 

[Racheski]

for all those commenting on A90 problems, give it 5 years, and then let me know how they are. Or the 6th owner maybe... in 5 years, all A90 in perfect working condition dead. You heard it here first folks.

I fixed it for ya.

 

[Racheski]

i give you evidence: an amp that fried the headphones. Have you ever heard anything like this?

Yes. There are reports over the hears of similar issues with Schiit products over the years, although the root cause may be different, they have fried headphones. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...unusual-power-issue-with-schiit-heresy.19983/

They had issues with L30, now with A90. Different kind of issues so their QC is... close to null.

There are no chronic issues with the A90. It is a popular amp so there are more opportunities for folks to complain.

Until then: i've seen sony, cowon, etc products functioning after more than 10 years. Burson offers 5 and even 10 years warranty.
this is absolutely true, they are cheaper then most of the well known high end manufacturers. and it seems they break sooner.
btw, my replacement arrived 2 days ago, it has 2011 series. not tested yet though.

The replacements should be 2012 or greater. Don't use it.

 

[Author]

i give you evidence: an amp that fried the headphones. Have you ever heard anything like this?
when, not if, it will happen to your 2000$ worth of headphones, pass by again and let us know your thoughts.
They had issues with L30, now with A90. Different kind of issues so their QC is... close to null.
Until then: i've seen sony, cowon, etc products functioning after more than 10 years. Burson offers 5 and even 10 years warranty. Even Fiio old products are still sold on ebay and alike. I even have the feeling that they are more reliable than new products.
"topping is cheaper, but it also breaks much sooner"
this is absolutely true, they are cheaper then most of the well known high end manufacturers. and it seems they break sooner.
btw, my replacement arrived 2 days ago, it has 2011 series. not tested yet though.

Are you familiar with the term empirical evidence? You have not provided meaningful data. You’ve shared a story. Which would be fine except that you are making sweeping generalizations based on that story.

 

[TeknicalXtacy]

i give you evidence: an amp that fried the headphones. Have you ever heard anything like this?
when, not if, it will happen to your 2000$ worth of headphones, pass by again and let us know your thoughts.
They had issues with L30, now with A90. Different kind of issues so their QC is... close to null.
Until then: i've seen sony, cowon, etc products functioning after more than 10 years. Burson offers 5 and even 10 years warranty. Even Fiio old products are still sold on ebay and alike. I even have the feeling that they are more reliable than new products.
"topping is cheaper, but it also breaks much sooner"
this is absolutely true, they are cheaper then most of the well known high end manufacturers. and it seems they break sooner.
btw, my replacement arrived 2 days ago, it has 2011 series. not tested yet though.

That is unfortunate, and I feel for you. But it does not condemn the entire line. Nor does it provide anything regarding future performance, and it can not. It is anecdotal, period.

 

[LightBlue77]

yes it does condemn the line as long as other devices may be damaged. if only the amp itself breaks, it is replaced, but if it is possible to damage other things, and this happened, than the risk is too high to ever use another unit in the line.

 

[Chibs]

yes it does condemn the line as long as other devices may be damaged. if only the amp itself breaks, it is replaced, but if it is possible to damage other things, and this happened, than the risk is too high to ever use another unit in the line.

Whether it does or not depends on your perspective and choice. It did ruin the amp for me personally. Now, had I kept the A90, odds are it would have been fine. The problem was that I kept picturing my Aryas / HD800s / Stellia's getting destroyed every time I would go to use it. Not how I want to try and enjoy music. Being well within my return window was serendipitous and made the choice a no brainer.

Chibs

 

[Lolito]

Whether it does or not depends on your perspective and choice. It did ruin the amp for me personally. Now, had I kept the A90, odds are it would have been fine. The problem was that I kept picturing my Aryas / HD800s / Stellia's getting destroyed every time I would go to use it. Not how I want to try and enjoy music. Being well within my return window was serendipitous and made the choice a no brainer.

Chibs

It is a "sinergy" thing really. If you have a very warm or colored end point, or start point, or both, if you have clinical sound in the middle, it's perfect.

If you have clinical, neutral precise speakers or headphones, and your source is clinically clean hi-res stuff, you better not put clinical in the middle.

In any case, my complaint is not just about topping sound, that measures very well but tires your ear very fast, my main complaint is cheap chinese durability and design in companies like Topping, not in other great chinese companies.

 

[Racheski]

In any case, my complaint is not just about topping sound, that measures very well but tires your ear very fast, my main complaint is cheap chinese durability and design in companies like Topping, not in other great chinese companies.

Actually look at the design of the A90...what is "cheap" about it?

• Is it the internal power supply?
• The all-aluminum CNC chassis?
• The gold plated 1/4in & 4.4mm connectors?
• The gain, input, and power switches on the front that are actually labeled?

Honestly so much of the criticism against Topping and other Chi-Fi companies are simply veiled racism - it's really disgusting.