[Ra97oR]

Hi
Just joined and thought I'd ask about your experience with the topping a90 over the normal headphone out on the hugo 2. Just bought a pair of empyrean's and wanted to know if you find the a90 pairing with the hugo 2 to a good upgrade ?

HD800S have a slight bump in detail retrieval, tonally still sound similar but just better in every way. My low impedance Audio Technica sounds better than I have ever heard them, maybe it shown even more improvement but could be placebo.

The most noticeable upgrade was on my Focal Solo 6 Be active monitors, maybe because of the design of the unbalance input being an afterthought. This was pretty much night and day difference there.

I will say, go for it.

It's completely unheard to get a combo Pre/Headphone amp with this performance level and not be in the mega bucks range!

 

[Swisstoni]

HD800S have a slight bump in detail retrieval, tonally still sound similar but just better in every way. My low impedance Audio Technica sounds better than I have ever heard them, maybe it shown even more improvement but could be placebo.

The most noticeable upgrade was on my Focal Solo 6 Be active monitors, maybe because of the design of the unbalance input being an afterthought. This was pretty much night and day difference there.

I will say, go for it.

It's completely unheard to get a combo Pre/Headphone amp with this performance level and not be in the mega bucks range!

Thanks, my reservation is that I have an old violectric v200 headphone amp that is a very laid back amp which i like but some detail is taken away from the hugo. Hopefully the a90 will be an upgrade !

 

[Nautrachkfriend]

I've been testing a few of my difficult to drive cans with the A90 and so far it has surpassed my expectations. To test full power I've gone from using single-ended/RCA operation to running the A90 fully balanced with my D90.

So far the Susvara running off of the fully balanced A90 has been the biggest surprise. I have the gain is set to high, with the volume pot for average recordings sitting around 12 o'clock. The most dynamic/quietest recordings I've listened to hit around 3 o'clock on the volume pot. I thought for sure the A90 would run out of steam but it has proven quite sufficient for the Susvara.

The 600 Ohm Beyerdynamic DT 880 has also been really nice. Haven't really hit anything over 12 o'clock with high gain much like the Susvara. The 600 Ohm Beyerdynamic DT 880 is actually quite stellar with the slightly 'warmer' presentation of the A90. The 880 600 Ohm is definitely a can to check out if you have the A90 and some extra funds.

 

[hmscott]

I've been testing a few of my difficult to drive cans with the A90 and so far it has surpassed my expectations. To test full power I've gone from using single-ended/RCA operation to running the A90 fully balanced with my D90.

So far the Susvara running off of the fully balanced A90 has been the biggest surprise. I have the gain is set to high, with the volume pot for average recordings sitting around 12 o'clock. The most dynamic/quietest recordings I've listened to hit around 3 o'clock on the volume pot. I thought for sure the A90 would run out of steam but it has proven quite sufficient for the Susvara.

The 600 Ohm Beyerdynamic DT 880 has also been really nice. Haven't really hit anything over 12 o'clock with high gain much like the Susvara. The 600 Ohm Beyerdynamic DT 880 is actually quite stellar with the slightly 'warmer' presentation of the A90. The 880 600 Ohm is definitely a can to check out if you have the A90 and some extra funds.

And I had just put DT 990 Premium 600 ohm + DT 880 Premium 600 ohm in my cart, @ about $200 each they are a bargain, but I was wondering how well the A90 was driving them, thanks for the answers
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DHX5TZ4
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0024NK34O

I finally unpacked and set up my A90 / D90 MQA - this morning - wow, really enjoying them:

The A90 really sounds great on High Gain with the SendyAudio Aiva's, driven with the D90 MQA as a DAC (Pre disabled). Started with the Sennheiser HD 598cs 3.5mm => 6.35mm adapter, then TinHiFi P1 4.4mm balanced then through the Asura 4.4mm to XLR balanced. It's been a great morning so far.

Among other sources I've enjoyed this 192khz MQA playlist on Tidal - Windows app with the D90 MQA as USB DAC:
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/bd51ad45-df8a-4333-8615-d7526b80b70a

I'll run through the rest of my headphones and IEM's, and think about getting the DT990 / DT880, maybe one then the other as prices fluctuate... any suggestions on the best place to get them in the US?

 

[David M H]

The 600 Ohm Beyerdynamic DT 880 is actually quite stellar with the slightly 'warmer' presentation of the A90. The 880 600 Ohm is definitely a can to check out if you have the A90 and some extra funds.

I completely agree.

I stuck with Audiophonics so only received my A90 today but after 6 hours listening I'm really impressed with it. DT880 600ohm still sound slightly better with more power. In this case, unfortunately, I have to agree with Zeos. But even so, A90+DT880 is a stunningly good cheap combo.

The A90 is driving my HD800 just perfectly too. Chord Qutest+A90 is gorgeous. IMO A90 is a bargain. I'm now tempted to add a D90 to make a nice little stack for the office.

 

[XERO1]

The 600 Ohm Beyerdynamic DT 880 is actually quite stellar with the slightly 'warmer' presentation of the A90.

Slightly warmer than what?

 

[Nautrachkfriend]

Slightly warmer than what?

Than neutral

 

[JanisR]

Thanks, my reservation is that I have an old violectric v200 headphone amp that is a very laid back amp which i like but some detail is taken away from the hugo. Hopefully the a90 will be an upgrade !

Interesting. I'm considering both the A90 and the V200 as possible upgrade options. I would be *very* interested in hearing a comparison between the two.

 

[XERO1]

Than neutral

Gotcha.

I'm currently in the process of auditioning a few 'neutral' balanced amps myself.

Right now I just have the Jotunheim, and so far, I'm not really liking it very much. The term "ruthlessly revealing" is often used in high-end audio to describe something that is cooler than neutral, to the point of it being cold and harsh sounding. Well, the Jotunheim is brutally revealing! It can literally become painful to listen to, even with relatively good sounding recordings. Unless the recording is absolutely flawless, the Jot's sound can become quite fatiguing in it's tonal character. So unless it does some kind of amazing 180 in the next week (which is highly unlikely), I'll probably be returning it.

I'm hoping to have a better experience with the THX AAA 789 when it arrives next week. And once I get a good idea of the 789's SQ, I'll definitely be giving the A90 a try next.

I'll keep you guys posted on my findings.

 

[Nautrachkfriend]

Gotcha.

I'm currently in the process of auditioning a few 'neutral' balanced amps myself.

Right now I just have the Jotunheim, and so far, I'm not really liking it very much. The term "ruthlessly revealing" is often used in high-end audio to describe something that is cooler than neutral, to the point of it being cold and harsh sounding. Well, the Jotunheim is brutally revealing! It can literally become painful to listen to, even with relatively good sounding recordings. Unless the recording is absolutely flawless, the Jot's sound can become quite fatiguing in it's tonal character. So unless it does some kind of amazing 180 in the next week (which is highly unlikely), I'll probably be returning it.

I'm hoping to have a better experience with the THX AAA 789 when it arrives next week. And once I get a good idea of the 789's SQ, I'll definitely be giving the A90 a try next.

I'll keep you guys posted on my findings.

You know, I have to agree with you on the Jotunheim assessment. At the time when the Jotunheim came out I thought it was amazing, detailed, revealing, a true bargain at the price. But after directly A/B'ing it with my Benchmark HPA-4 awhile back it was clear that the Jotunheim was extremely fatiguing/harsh. The HPA-4 proved that solid state gear can be pinpoint accurate, yet smooth sounding, much like how the A90 is. Right now if I had to choose between a $400 Jotunheim and a $500 A90, I would choose the A90 without a doubt.

 

[XERO1]

The HPA-4 proved that solid state gear can be pinpoint accurate, yet smooth sounding, much like how the A90 is. Right now if I had to choose between a $400 Jotunheim and a $500 A90, I would choose the A90 without a doubt.

What would be your pick between the 789 and the A90?

 

[KPzypher]

Gotcha.

I'm currently in the process of auditioning a few 'neutral' balanced amps myself.

Right now I just have the Jotunheim, and so far, I'm not really liking it very much. The term "ruthlessly revealing" is often used in high-end audio to describe something that is cooler than neutral, to the point of it being cold and harsh sounding. Well, the Jotunheim is brutally revealing! It can literally become painful to listen to, even with relatively good sounding recordings. Unless the recording is absolutely flawless, the Jot's sound can become quite fatiguing in it's tonal character. So unless it does some kind of amazing 180 in the next week (which is highly unlikely), I'll probably be returning it.

I'm hoping to have a better experience with the THX AAA 789 when it arrives next week. And once I get a good idea of the 789's SQ, I'll definitely be giving the A90 a try next.

I'll keep you guys posted on my findings.

I respect your observations, but I don't think harsh = revealing. Harsh is just harsh. Revealing can be non-fatiguing. If it's painful to listen to, it's an imbalance. Not a big fan of Schiit products that measure poorly (understand measurement is only part of it). That's just my experience.

 

[Nautrachkfriend]

What would be your pick between the 789 and the A90?

If I was on a budget and using cans that are easy/medium difficulty to drive then I'd go with the 789.

Otherwise the A90 just improves over the 789 in every respect. - Build quality, measurements, power output, sound, (imo) pre-amp, etc.

 

[XERO1]

I respect your observations, but I don't think harsh = revealing. Harsh is just harsh. Revealing can be non-fatiguing. If it's painful to listen to, it's an imbalance.

Oh, I agree with you!

The reason I used the term "brutally revealing" was just to make a play on the well-known "ruthless revealing" term. But if either of those terms are being used to describe the sound of a component, that means that it probably has some pretty serious issues going on with it.

But more to your point, I guess I would describe the overall SQ of the Jotunheim as more "brutal" than "revealing".

 

[XERO1]

If I was on a budget and using cans that are easy/medium difficulty to drive then I'd go with the 789.

Otherwise the A90 just improves over the 789 in every respect. - Build quality, measurements, power output, sound, (imo) pre-amp, etc.

Good to know....

I have no problem spending the extra $200 bucks if that means I'll be getting a better built and better sounding amp, even if the SQ improvements are relatively subtle.

Looks like I'll be ordering an A90 pretty soon here.