[damintoell]

I have the sundara with the original cable attached to the A90 IN UNBALANCED and I don't feel much definition and separation, if I attach them directly to my bass dx220 they sound better

I would consider going balanced, if you can. I'm using my Sundaras on the A90 with balanced cables and I'm quite satisfied. I'm inclined to believe that the A90's performance is targeted toward balanced usage.

 

[cirodts]

do you use balanced xlr?

 

[damintoell]

do you use balanced xlr?

Yes, I have a fully balanced setup. Balanced XLR input from my DAP to the A90 and then the 4-pin XLR out from the A90 to my Sundaras.

 

[cirodts]

sorry from DAP to A90 which xlr cable do you use?

 

[damintoell]

sorry from DAP to A90 which xlr cable do you use?

I use a 4.4mm balanced male to dual XLR cable that I got from AliExpress, but what you use would be dependent on the outputs on your DAC/DAP.

 

[cirodts]

I use a low right DAP 220, it has a 2.5 balanced output but it is a non line-out headphone output.
which dap do you use?

 

[damintoell]

I use a low right DAP 220, it has a 2.5 balanced output but it is a non line-out headphone output.
which dap do you use?

I use the HiBy R6 2020, which has two separate 4.4mm outputs, one for line out and one for headphones. If you want to get a 2.5mm to dual XLR cable, Amazon has items like this, if you're in the U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/Balanced-Headphone-Adapter-Silver-Plated/dp/B083LX1Q4T/

 

[Zainetto]

I have the sundara with the original cable attached to the A90 IN UNBALANCED and I don't feel much definition and separation, if I attach them directly to my bass dx220 they sound better

I've got your same DAP and ampli. The line out of the dx220 in my opinion doesn't works well even if my headphones were attached at the a90 with 4.4 balanced cable. Try using a bluetooth receiver like wtx500 and see what happens. The best solution I've found is dx220 attached with optical cable to d70s wich Is attached with RCA to a90. However try a balanced cable for the headphones

 

[equalspeace]

Having a spiritual experience with the DX7 Pro/A90 combo, the HD650 and Beethoven from the 4.4mm output. I’ve never heard the 650 sound this earth shattering before today. I almost cried listening to Merry gathering and Thunderstorm from Symphony No. 6. Unbelievable.

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

Threading a needle here, but has any A90 owner compared it to a decent tube amp with Focal headphones?

The more "decent" tube amps get, the more they sound like solid state IMO. Had a WA22 and when AB testing it was hardly distinguishable to I think the A90 back then.

 

[ClicketEKlack]

The more "decent" tube amps get, the more they sound like solid state IMO. Had a WA22 and when AB testing it was hardly distinguishable to I think the A90 back then.

That's great to hear -- thanks!

 

[AgentXXL]

I'm 12 days into owning my DX7 Pro/A90 combo and so far I'm pretty pleased. The DX7 Pro on its own can drive my Fiio FH7, Shure SE846 and Hifiman HE560 to satisfaction. The HD800 however is still a little underwhelming when connected to the DX7 XLR output. But that's where the A90 shines. I've connected the DX7 to the A90 with XLR cabling and set the DX7 in Preamp mode vs straight DAC. This allows me to use the remote that came with the DX7 to control the volume level (and of course many of DX7 DAC features).

Finally I have a desktop solution that mates well with the HD800. It's been over 3 years since I was last able to get to a local meet to try other amps and DACs with the HD800. From what I can recall, the A90 does what I wanted... enough to finally hear the expansive soundstage that the HD800 is known for. Like others that have the A90 and HD800 (or the S version), I can definitely recommend it.

I did also receive my Woojer haptic vest. I was hoping that it would integrate well for use with music and movies, but that hasn't been my experience. I've tried it with varying styles of music with both the 200Hz and 100Hz crossover settings. Neither really do a very good job of providing that bass 'slam' that I was hoping for. So I consider it a bit of a failure for music and movies, but for gaming I'm quite pleased with the haptic solution. My favorite genre for gaming are racing sims like the Forza series on Xbox and the Gran Turismo series on Playstation. The Woojer complements this type of game very well.

I'm going to spend some time experimenting with software like Sonarworks SoundID Listen to see if that can improve the haptic vest experience, but I suspect gaming is where the vest will get the most use. But for now, the DX7/A90/HD800 combo is my favorite setup for music and even movies. I'll use the HE560 or IEMs when gaming.

 

[chrisnyc75]

Threading a needle here, but has any A90 owner compared it to a decent tube amp with Focal headphones?

Not sure what you consider a "decent" tube amp, but I used a Focal Elex with both A90 and Schiit Valhalla (with NOS Siemens tubes, if that helps? lol). The Elex came across a bit limp in low gain, and a bit bloated in high gain. I tended to prefer it on the A90, though I ultimately decided to sell the Elex.

 

[cirodts]

I did several tests with A90 and amiron and sundara I noticed that with low gain I always have the best result, why with high and medium gain the sound is too tiring and not very musical?

 

[Rantenti]

Hi all,

Just received my Topping A90 and it now sits between the ifi iDSD Signature (as DAC) and Neumann KH80 active speakers.

While the iDSD Signature is a very nice portable DAC, with the addition of A90 in the chain, the soundstage becomes wider, apparently good for certain music types (eg. ensembles where a bigger width and separation is preferred).

Interestingly according to the specs, the best SNR and dynamic range is by SE in/ BAL out. If your DAC has both SE and BAL out, would you choose to use SE out to achieve a better SNR/ dynamic range?