OOB1
New Head-Fier
Thank you for your kind welcome and useful response. First I admit that I am an unusual member on this forum, since in fact 90%+ of my listening now is through large speakers in a large room and only use headphones when I can only listen quietly. Wasn't that way always, but no longer sitting much at a desk. What brought me here was finding this D90 tread and a generally tolerant tone while providing lots of useful experience and advice. I value different points of view but steer clear of polarizing commentary. As with DACs I get listener fatigue from sharp attacks. So again, thanks for having me.Sorry to hear of the medical upset to your life, I've been through a few with wife and kid years ago - I've also winnowed down my audio kit to 3 modes of operation...
Very light mode - FiiO BTR5 which I also used as a PC USB DAC for months, and a FiiO BTR3k which serves as the Nintendo Switch DAC at times otherwise does PC and BT wireless duty along with the BTR5 BT. I use those with IEM's and 3.5mm tipped headphones - they both have 2.5mm balanced and 3.5mm unbalanced - the 2.5mm balanced has more power and I've switched over many IEM's to 2.5mm.
Medium Heavy mode - FiiO M15 - for both mobile and desktop with DK-1 dock, and it has the power and 4.4mm balanced (along with 2.5mm balanced + 3.5mm SE) to power my most power hungry headphones - the reason I mention this is because it provides more presence and impact with a larger wall of sound stage with plenty of detail without tedious harshness. And the M15 in Android mode using UAPP streaming Tidal MQA does full unfolding. The Tidal app still doesn't do quite that, but still sounds great with local storage of files. And, using the M15 as my USB DAC with Windows Tidal MQA also sounds great, but it's not fully unfolding - FiiO is still working on it. M15's "over the ear headphone" mode adds slam, power, and a musical enjoyment to even the IEM's that respond well to it's effect - but all "over the ear" headphones are for the better with it enabled.
Desktop mode - Topping A90 + D90 MQA and that is where my comparison with the M15 which sounds so alive will contrast a bit - I don't mean to say the D90 MQA / A90 don't sound as good, they certainly do and more, but the M15 has it's own character that with some music I prefer - but then I switch over from the M15 to the D90 MQA / A90 after a while when I tire - the M15 can be involving and tiring but the D90 MQA / A90 are always sweet for many hours.
As with any audio equipment it will take time to "break in". For me the A90 / D90 MQA sounded great to start, but I moved through a number of headphones to find the best result at the early hours on time and over a couple of weeks the sound continued to mellow and improve - I'd give it at least a few weeks before deciding - or longer if you can get a good return option. I also broke in several new IEM's and headphones over that time and switched back to the FiiO M15 regularly as I was used to that sound but more and more I was staying on the D90 MQA / A90 until it's 95% of what I use now - 3 months on.
I should let you know I had initial issues with RCA noise and RCA + XLR noise which I solved with new cables - I was about to give up and return the A90 / D90 MQA but stuck with finding a solution for the ground nose coming in through the D90 MQA USB port from my PC. A new USB cable with Ferrite cores at both ends and new RCA / XLR cables made to reject noise reduce the noise to such a low level I never hear it in use. I can only find it at the 3 o'clock position of volume on H Gain of the A90 - but I never need the gain / volume that high, so it's no longer an issue for me. Here's my post + links:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/topping-a90.927412/post-15789465
I think the D90 MQA / A90 are worth the effort, I recommend you consider giving them a chance. Here are some recent listening suggestions I've enjoyed on the D90 MQA / A90:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/wha...w-rules-please-read-them.253245/post-15873414
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/beyerdynamic-amiron-wireless.869613/post-15849498
The FiiO sounds like a great solution as a portable player that can serve well in several modes. For me, the balanced outs of the D90 would work best with the balanced inputs of my old Rowland dual mono integrated amp- SQ on the RCA inputs is not of same quality. Also, the DAC will live a sedentary life so portability not a feature for me.
Thanks for reassurance on the burn-in question. Patience will be my mantra. Never had this issue with Meridian equipment so wonder if it had gone through a factory burn-in.
I have been experimenting with cables as you recommended. I found that switching from Audioquest to Cardas Crosslink speaker cables and Hero XLR ICs improved the bass considerably, at small cost since neither are high end cables but reviews praised bass response. So far no noise issues.
So right now plan is to relax and listen and let my ears teach me about the TEAC UD-505 for a couple weeks, and then see if I can audition a D90 MQA for comparison. I must say that the burn-in issue makes for a much more complicated evaluation process. But at least I have a map now.