[KPzypher]

It depends on how a balanced circuit is done, those can be noisy as well But yes, I'd start from checking things easy to check, and those SE ICs are a good start.

I wasn't saying that as a general statement. I was referring to this particular unit. The SE side IMO is very poorly designed/implemented. I had to return my first unit due to this exact problem. The second unit fared a bit better but the noise was still there. The balanced side is clean. That's just my experience. As always, YMMV.

 

[iFi audio]

I wasn't saying that as a general statement. I was referring to this particular unit. The SE side IMO is very poorly designed/implemented. I had to return my first unit due to this exact problem. The second unit fared a bit better but the noise was still there. The balanced side is clean. That's just my experience.

All good, I hear you.

 

[NickT23]

Just wanted to share my set up now (as well as a brag that is also a beat). Still loving my A90 D90 combo as well (any news on Pre90?)

I recently bought the focal HP stand which is an absurdly overpriced piece of metal that does nothing more than hold your headphones while not in use. It is nowhere near worth the $350 price tag it carries and I told myself I would never pay that money for one. But when I noticed Adorama was selling it for $250, I just couldn’t pass up on saving $100 on a headphone stand I wanted but said I would never buy.

Brag - saved $100 on the stand, maybe a price mistake that they just honored. I don’t seem to see the item offered at that price anymore.

Beat - I still paid $250 for a damn headphone stand. Smh

Edit, and yes I know I have a wire mess. I have a small desk that now if my full time work desk since covid and I can fit everything on the desk properly

$250 for HEADPHONE STAND ? Is this for real ?

 

[ClicketEKlack]

$250 for HEADPHONE STAND ? Is this for real ?

I'm not sure what the French word for 'cojones' is, but Focal sure has them. The Woo Audio stand is fully adjustable, less than half the Adorama mistaken-sale-price, rock solid, and looks just as nifty.

https://wooaudio.com/accessories/hps

 

[redrich2000]

I've had my A90 for a week now and thought I'd post some impressions.

Build: I think the appeal of something like the A90 is not really its build quality and aesthetics. But I wanted to post some comments because I see a fair few posters saying the build quality is great. IMO it’s not. It’s very average. The case is metal, but it’s the most plastic-y metal I’ve ever seen. It’s destroyed by Schiit amps. So bear that in mind if build and aesthetics matter to you.

The volume knob is pretty bad too. The A90 knob is only marginally better than the SP200 knob, if at all. The turn is loose and imprecise and it feels cheap. Again the Schiit knobs destroy it.

Sound quality: I personally find it much easier and more useful to discuss SQ relative to comparable amps, so...

A90 v SP200

I half expected this comparison to be very close. I really wanted something with pre-outs and so any SQ improvement was going to be a bonus. But the A90 is significantly better in every way. Better detail retrieval, imaging, sound stage, balance. Tonally they’re broadly similar, although the SP200 has a honky mid/upper bass bloat I hadn’t really noticed until putting it against the A90. The A90 is flatter, more neutral. I think the price difference is justified by the performance of the two.

A90 v Jotunheim

This is a tricky comparison because these two are polar opposites. The A90 is balanced, flat, airy and laid back. The Jot is dynamic, meaty, aggressive and intimate. The Jot is more mid forward, the A90 is dead flat. In technical terms, I think the A90 is probably the better amp. It has better detail retrieval, separation, 3-D, sound stage and balance. But it is very slightly cold/clinical/digital sounding. The Jot has a beautiful rich and natural timbre to it that I prefer to the A90. The slight coldness of the A90 make it slightly less forgiving than the Jot and it can sound a touch splashy on some recordings. I do want to make it clear though that these negatives are very, very slight. Because these amps are so different, AB-ing them exaggerates these qualities. But I think it’s worth pointing them out because if you’re particularly sensitive to them it could matter to you.

I’m keeping both the Jot and A90. My Jot has the MB card and I use it in the bedroom. If I could only keep one, it would be the A90. But there is a magic to the Jot I’d miss. An amp that combined the a90s technical performance with the Jot’s timbre would be my end game I suspect it exists but is a level up in price range

 

[yolosauce]

I opened the a90 and d90 so fast I think I got the power cords mixed up

Does the a90 power cord say 125v on the front and slightly narrower than the d90 wall wart?

 

[Mightygrey]

I opened the a90 and d90 so fast I think I got the power cords mixed up

Does the a90 power cord say 125v on the front and slightly narrower than the d90 wall wart?

They're just interchangeable IEC cords, neither has a wall wart.

 

[nerdoldnerdith]

Okay, I don't know if this is a stupid question. I'm no audio expert, so I'm not sure if it would work:

Somehow I ended up with two A90's. Instead of getting rid of one of them, I thought I'd try to use them both, maybe using one per ear to provide double the power.

Can I split the outputs from my DAC and feed each channel from the DAC into both channels of each A90, then bridge the channels together by using a 4 pin XLR to 3 pin mini XLR cable into each headphone? Is there a better way, or any way, to do what I am thinking?

EDIT: Okay, I read more into it. In order to do what I want, the A90 would have to have a bridge mode, which I don't believe it does.

 

[bahamot]

Use the Pre out from A90 to feed the other A90, but it might cause clipping.

 

[Mightygrey]

Okay, I don't know if this is a stupid question. I'm no audio expert, so I'm not sure if it would work:

Somehow I ended up with two A90's. Instead of getting rid of one of them, I thought I'd try to use them both, maybe using one per ear to provide double the power.

Can I split the outputs from my DAC and feed each channel from the DAC into both channels of each A90, then bridge the channels together by using a 4 pin XLR to 3 pin mini XLR cable into each headphone? Is there a better way, or any way, to do what I am thinking?

EDIT: Okay, I read more into it. In order to do what I want, the A90 would have to have a bridge mode, which I don't believe it does.

Don't do this. Just sell it.

 

[hmscott]

...Somehow I ended up with two A90's. Instead of getting rid of one of them, I thought I'd try to use them both, maybe using one per ear to provide double the power.

Did you order and pay for 2 A90's?

If not, and it's a mistake that you were sent 2 A90's, the nice thing to do is to contact the selling company and explain you've received 2 A90's instead of 1, can they please look into why they sent you 2 units instead of one.

Then they can give you a return shipping label to return one of the units - they will probably let you know which serial number was yours and which isn't.

If you did end up with 2 A90's by paying for both, there are good reasons to keep both. Perhaps you can set one up at work or in another place in the house? You could give one to a friend or a relative. How did you manage to pay for 2 A90's??

Okay, I don't know if this is a stupid question. I'm no audio expert, so I'm not sure if it would work:

Somehow I ended up with two A90's. Instead of getting rid of one of them, I thought I'd try to use them both, maybe using one per ear to provide double the power.

Can I split the outputs from my DAC and feed each channel from the DAC into both channels of each A90, then bridge the channels together by using a 4 pin XLR to 3 pin mini XLR cable into each headphone? Is there a better way, or any way, to do what I am thinking?

EDIT: Okay, I read more into it. In order to do what I want, the A90 would have to have a bridge mode, which I don't believe it does.

That idea of yours is a bit hairbrained - very amusing to read - but please don't try plugging them into each other in parallel or as a cascade - trying to get more power - it doesn't work that way.

Please let us know how it works out

 

[nerdoldnerdith]

There is no way I am going to try it. It was a harebrained idea from the beginning. The amplifier simply doesn't have the circuitry to do such a thing.

 

[Kashen2020]

Guys I have a problem (I don't know if it is problem to be honest or not)? I have arya and A90/D90 I play arya in high gain and put the knob in 3 o'clock some people told me this is too much for arya it should not reach that lvl in the knob. but the headphone start to shine and show dynamics in that lvl and If I turn the knob to the max in high gain it will not hurt me to the lvl that I should take off the headphone(but sometimes it will have distortion in high screams and notes which is annoying) the A90 is really supposed to be very powerful amp iam really confused. iam using it with balanced cable and balanced inter- connectors. I don't know sometimes I think it maybe the cable is not good?? and in some pictures I see people D90 have high numbers over 100khz but mine is 48 khz is this have an effect in the sound? iam really naive.

 

[freeza2001]

Guys I have a problem (I don't know if it is problem to be honest or not)? I have arya and A90/D90 I play arya in high gain and put the knob in 3 o'clock some people told me this is too much for arya it should not reach that lvl in the knob. but the headphone start to shine and show dynamics in that lvl and If I turn the knob to the max in high gain it will not hurt me to the lvl that I should take off the headphone(but sometimes it will have distortion in high screams and notes which is annoying) the A90 is really supposed to be very powerful amp iam really confused. iam using it with balanced cable and balanced inter- connectors. I don't know sometimes I think it maybe the cable is not good?? and in some pictures I see people D90 have high numbers over 100khz but mine is 48 khz is this have an effect in the sound? iam really naive.

did you max out the volume on your dac and ur pc? at high gain i can only go as far as 9 clock..anything above hurt my ear... using hekv2.which has the same spec as arya.

 

[Kashen2020]

did you max out the volume on your dac and ur pc? at high gain i can only go as far as 9 clock..anything above hurt my ear... using hekv2.which has the same spec as arya.

yess it is max in my system u are not the only one who said that about the volume I don't know how to fix it or where is the problem(my system or amp/dac or the cable)??? what do u mean about the dac volume?

this is my cable https://forzaaudioworks.com/en/product.php?id_product=80