[sabloke]

Just got mine today, so far the best amp I have used with my HE-6se cans, better than iCan Pro, SP200, or the Monoprice THX amp.
Got it running at 1 o'clock in high gain balanced being fed with my RME ADI-2 DAC, good bass, plenty loud for my tastes.

Could you please share your thoughts on how the A90 improves the sound of ADI-2? Is it a significant one? I'll end up buying A90 for the 4.4mm port alone anyway but it would be nice to know what else comes with it when paired with ADI-2.

 

[gto88]

This is real balanced, has two power supplies for each channel and is twice as loud!

Ah, two power supplies, that is good, I heard that power supply is really important for an amp.

 

[Mightygrey]

Has anyone tried this with Utopia or Empyrean? How does it sound? I have a Woo WA8 and thought this would be a nice compliment.

Listening to the Stellia right now on it. Via balanced/4-pin XLR its sounding amazing at 9'clock on low-gain. Dynamics are first-rate, detail is superb, and bass is hugely controlled. An absolute perfect pairing.

 

[wishbon3]

Listening to the Stellia right now on it. Via balanced/4-pin XLR it's sounding amazing at 9'clock on low-gain. Dynamics are first-rate, detail is superb, and bass is hugely controlled. An absolute perfect pairing.

Daaaang, not helping with the wait man! haha

 

[Abodh]

Another Excellent YouTube review and comparison between DX7 pro and A90 for you guys!

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

I like Oluv's reviews, specially on bluetooth portable speakers. Very honest, with out the bla bla bla...

Like how he use binaural mic on his reviews. It gives you the idea what he really is hearing.

 

[JanisR]

I had joined this forum before ordering my own A90 and now, having listened to it for a week, I feel I owe you guys a write-up of my impressions.

My setup before the upgrade: Qobuz (on PC) >> Chord Mojo >> Fostex Purplehearts.
After the upgrade: Qobuz >> Chord Mojo (switched to Line Level Mode) >> A90 >> Fostex Purplehearts.

My impressions:
What I very much expected, and got, is more body, more definition to the base. I'm not a basehead, but still excited.
Treble seems to have become just a bit better defined, perhaps sharper but not piercing or fatiguing. Overall, I would say the changes in treble are rather minor.
The big surprise, and unexpected, was the mids. I immediately noticed the vocals being much more natural and pleasant, the music in general being much more melodic and enjoyable. The changes in the mids are anything but subtle. When listening for the first time, I remember smiling and thinking that the upgrade was definitely worth it.
Overall, I can safely say it is a very noticeable upgrade to my system and it justifies the purchase price of the A90.

Not all is perfect though - as before, I still cannot listen with pleasure to orchestral classical music but I blame my Purplehearts for that. Opera sounds better due to the better vocals though. Some classical tracks sounded as mediocre as before. However, some tracks got completely transformed. I could swear Norah Jones' Sunrise now sounds as if played on a multi-thousand headphone setup.

Future upgrades:
Urgent: get Hifiman Arya or Hedd headphone (if I can find the latter for a good price and still trink I can brave the 700 grams of its weight)
Mid-term: upgrade Chord Mojo to the D90. I've gained a lot of confidence in Topping x90 products and want to aim for tha A90+D90 stack.
Long-term: replace the Purplehearts with Denon AH-D7200 or an AudioTechnica closed back.

 

[sabloke]

I was contemplating doing the same thing, buying the A90 to boost my Mojo, but then I have a great DAP in M11 Pro for on the go listening and needed something for desktop duties. My ADI-2FS is on its way and I'm sure A90 will follow next month Enjoy your Mojo, still a great DAC after all these years, with the amp section quite below that level. Nothing the great A90 can't fix by the looks of it.

 

[frogmeat69]

Could you please share your thoughts on how the A90 improves the sound of ADI-2? Is it a significant one? I'll end up buying A90 for the 4.4mm port alone anyway but it would be nice to know what else comes with it when paired with ADI-2.

It makes it louder? This amp is about as transparent in it's sound as you can get, so along with the clean transparent sound of the RME, nothing gets in the way of the recording, which is what I was striving for, so it's about as close to my goal as I can get.

 

[KenMan85]

i have the d90 to a trafomatic head 2 with upgrades tubes . (about a 3k dollar amp as is) Gonna add a90 after it so i can get that extra tube width while keeping the clarity , and adding the power of the a90. very excited for what that will bring as far as slam.

 

[NoNameNPC]

Hello. I now have Gustard H10, any improvement if I get A90 instead and connect LCD2C via balanced? DAC Ares II, but don't receive yet.
Thx.

 

[ClicketEKlack]

Any A90 owner using Focal Utopias? Wondering how they pair.

 

[394216]

Planning on getting this as an upgrade to my soloist sl mk2. The 4.4mm output I will use for my lcd-2f and t1 2nd gen and maybe iems.

So will this really be an upgrade from the burson? I use ifi micro idsd as dac. But planning to go full balanced bifrost 2 + a90.

 

[Law87]

Listening to the Stellia right now on it. Via balanced/4-pin XLR its sounding amazing at 9'clock on low-gain. Dynamics are first-rate, detail is superb, and bass is hugely controlled. An absolute perfect pairing.

interesting you say that, I dont think the bass is controlled at all, very boomy and loose.

 

[wishbon3]

Empyreans sound great on the A90, good purchase so far.