당신은 주제를 찾고 있습니까 “topping a90 vs smsl sp400 – 12 Watts for Under $650! SMSL SP400 Headphone Amplifier“? 다음 카테고리의 웹사이트 Chewathai27.com/you 에서 귀하의 모든 질문에 답변해 드립니다: Chewathai27.com/you/blog. 바로 아래에서 답을 찾을 수 있습니다. 작성자 Joshua Valour 이(가) 작성한 기사에는 조회수 21,145회 및 좋아요 811개 개의 좋아요가 있습니다.
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d여기에서 12 Watts for Under $650! SMSL SP400 Headphone Amplifier – topping a90 vs smsl sp400 주제에 대한 세부정보를 참조하세요
SMSL SP400 Here – https://apos.audio/products/smsl-sp400-thx-aaa-888-headphone-amp?sca_ref=476690.LeLqamn4OB
My recommendation (topping A90) here – https://apos.audio/products/topping-a90-headphone-amp?_pos=1\u0026_sid=56f67acc4\u0026_ss=r\u0026\u0026sca_ref=476690.LeLqamn4OB
Here are all my recommendations!
OPEN BACK HEADPHONES
🥇 Arya – https://amzn.to/3cDZ0vT
🥈 DIANA V2 – https://abyss-headphones.com/products…
🥉 DT1990Pro – https://amzn.to/38BN3DM
CLOSED BACK HEADPHONES
🥇 Sony Z1R – https://amzn.to/3cF6EWX
🥈 M1060C – https://amzn.to/39vDkQU
🥉 1More Triple Driver – https://amzn.to/2wGC2ni
BUDGET HEADPHONES
🥇 HD58X – https://massdrop.7eer.net/mmKDX
🥈 SHP 9500 – https://amzn.to/32ZQJ0S
🥉 Porta Pro – https://amzn.to/2Is8dtu
AMPLIFIERS \u0026 DACS
🥇 THX AAA Dual 788 DACAMP – https://amzn.to/3cHHTJC
🥈 THX 789 / 887 – https://amzn.to/2TwsvZg / https://massdrop.7eer.net/DmW0n
🥉 DX3 Pro – https://amzn.to/2wJGp0X
IEMS
🥇 Fir M5 – https://www.firaudio.com/store/m5
🥈 ZUES – https://massdrop.7eer.net/rN9Ny
🥉 Tin T2 – https://amzn.to/2xeGvxT
SPEAKERS
🥇 SVS ULTRA Towers – https://amzn.to/2v2Fto1
🥈 Vanatoo T1E – https://amzn.to/2TKEmSl
🥉 Micca RB42 – https://amzn.to/2wCCO53
ACCESSORIES
🥇 Soundrise Pro Stands – https://amzn.to/3aCpb4i
🥈 IEM TIP Storage – https://amzn.to/331xuUN
🥉 Headphone Case – https://amzn.to/39xOlkF
My Filming Equipment
Camera – https://amzn.to/38tuIc1
Sigma 18-35mm F/1.8 – https://amzn.to/2wI119R
Sigma 16mm F/1.4 – https://amzn.to/2wBRe5q
Sigma 30mm F/1.4 – https://amzn.to/39ym2m8
Ronin SC – https://amzn.to/39zDLcG
GVM Slider – https://amzn.to/2PWZDam
These are my genuine recommendations in various categories. They are affiliated links that help pay for this youtube channel at no additional cost to you.
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📫SENDING FOR REVIEW??📫
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#SMSL #SP400 #Amplifier
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topping a90 vs smsl sp400 주제에 대한 자세한 내용은 여기를 참조하세요.
SMSL SP400 vs TOPPING A90 Comparison Chart – Apos Audio
SMSL SP400 vs TOPPING A90 Comparison Chart. Buying a desktop amp may be harder than ever now that benchmark quality can be attained for …
Source: apos.audio
Date Published: 12/26/2021
View: 8894
SMSL SP400 Review – A Flawed Masterpiece – Soundnews
As headphone amp I prefer A90, it’s slightly more calm and smooth tone balance at higher frequencies is more pleasant for long time sessions.
Source: soundnews.net
Date Published: 12/22/2021
View: 1997
S.M.S.L SP400 Impressions thread | Page 2 – Head-Fi.org
The sound is nutural, clinical and sharp with spacious soundstage. It doesn’t do bass that well as I dont feel the impact. A90 is noticeably …
Source: www.head-fi.org
Date Published: 1/7/2021
View: 9915
SMSL SP400 Review (headphone amp) | Page 6
If you don’t need remote control, you can also conser Topping A90. In direct comparison it’s warmer sounding than both SP200 and SP400 …
Source: audiosciencereview.com
Date Published: 6/25/2022
View: 7039
Topping A90 vs SMSL SP200 – thattruyen.com
I’m comparing the 789 and A90 on an SMSL M200 and Topping E30 dac. … wait for SMSL’s matching amp (SP400), which should be released soon, hopefully.
Source: thattruyen.com
Date Published: 11/29/2022
View: 8831
S.M.S.L. SP400 Review – Audio Discourse
While I dn’t have a Topping A90 to test this against, reviews I’ve read seem to peg the A90 as a super neutral sound with little life in the …
Source: www.audiodiscourse.com
Date Published: 7/11/2022
View: 2771
S.M.S.L SP400 Full Balanced Headphone AMP THX AAA-888 …
You read correctly. The SP200 at HALF the rated power, is louder. Clean power yes, but not enough headroom for my money. The Topping A90 is a better …
Source: www.amazon.com
Date Published: 3/22/2021
View: 4889
Amplifier Recommendations – Headfonia Reviews
The Topping A90 is an absolute no-brainer recommendation as a balance sol-state amplifier. … Review: https://www.headfonia.com/smsl-sp400-review/ …
Source: www.headfonia.com
Date Published: 3/7/2021
View: 9161
주제와 관련된 이미지 topping a90 vs smsl sp400
주제와 관련된 더 많은 사진을 참조하십시오 12 Watts for Under $650! SMSL SP400 Headphone Amplifier. 댓글에서 더 많은 관련 이미지를 보거나 필요한 경우 더 많은 관련 기사를 볼 수 있습니다.
주제에 대한 기사 평가 topping a90 vs smsl sp400
- Author: Joshua Valour
- Views: 조회수 21,145회
- Likes: 좋아요 811개
- Date Published: 2021. 2. 24.
- Video Url link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyQgzETciBE
SMSL SP400 vs TOPPING A90 Comparison Chart
Influencer Sound Opinion: Z Reviews
“How good is the TOPPING A90? Fucking good. Fucking real good.” “This beats [the THX 789] on paper. There is at least a transparent difference between [the A90] and [the THX 789].” “I really like this amplifier. It really does all that crazy bullshit it’s talking about.”
SMSL SP400 Review – A Flawed Masterpiece
My Video Review:
With the introduction of SP200, SMSL embraced the THX-AAA hype train that everybody was talking around the block. Finally, there was a serious contender in town for the overrated Drop THX-789 and as my comprehensive comparison of the THX-es proved, in some ways it even outclassed it. SMSL plunged high and established itself as part of the good-fellas, offering plenty of power even for hungry planar-magnetics, some very low-distortion numbers and a lack of a sound signature, making it a true wire-with-gain amplifier at less than $300! Suddenly, high-end sonics could be achieved at a price of a custom-made headphone cable, forcing Drop to lower the price of THX-789 from $399 to $299 so they would compete again. Instead of resting on Laurus Nobilis leaves and catch some breath, SMSL went totally berserk by announcing in April 2020 that two higher performing headphone amplifiers are in the works. That was the most discussed Tweet SMSL ever posted, as people were genuinely interested in learning more about them. In August 2020, SMSL revealed the first pictures and the actual names of their upcoming SH-9 and SP400 amplifiers and people started asking even more questions. As my SH-9 review confirmed, it felt like a polished version of SP200 from any point of view. On one hand it had pretty much the same power ratings, but on the other its background noise was nowhere to be found even with ultra-sensitive IEMs, its volume control worked much better at low listening volumes, it measured and sounded substantially better and it looked like a mini version of my Benchmark HPA4 thanks to its colorful LCD screen and simple to use UI. The best part? It was offered at the same original price that SP200 had one year prior.
With SP400, SMSL is targeting the top of the crop, releasing a statement device that could drive pretty much any headphone on the market. It’s a world first amp on several key aspects too, for example it’s the first THX amplifier that can pump 12 Watts into your precious headphones, it’s the first one using four flagship AAA-888 modules instead of two found on Benchmark HPA4, on SMSL SP200 and on SH-9, meaning that it’s the first true-balanced input to output AAA-888 amplifier there is. So, could it be true? A true high-end piece of kit with a mid-fi price tag attached to it? Let’s find out together!
Unboxing Experience
Compared to all other boxes we’ve received so far from SMSL, this one felt like the mothership of them all as it was considerably bigger and heavier. SMSL used a thicker card-board with lots of foam for protection. It is a double boxed affair, as it normally should, inside the product box you’ll find the unit itself, a power cord, a fancy user-manual and a remote control – which is something I don’t see very often with headphone amplifiers, but since SP400 can be used as a preamp in a loudspeaker setup, it makes a lot of sense and I wish Topping A90 had one too.
This is the same remote I’ve seen on SU-9 DAC and SH-9 headphone amplifier, it is their standard matte-black one with rubberized buttons, press the B button first to start controlling the SP400.
Design & Build Quality
Build quality wise, this is the nicest SMSL unit I’ve tested so far. It has a very good weight to it, it feels balanced in hand, it has pretty much the same square surface as my Benchmark HPA4 – maybe it was intentional as it can be considered a direct competitor to it at a much lower price point. It has a 1.9” LCD screen and an easy-to-use UI that again reminds me about the HPA4, it is very convenient to use as you can immediately see the volume position, the selected gain and input source, believe it or not, it’s a big quality of life improvement. Without three analog switches that were present on SP200, the newest device looks much sleeker without them, it is more elegant and since it will memorize the selected gain and volume position, I will not miss them.
It screams high-quality, as everywhere I’m looking, I see a higher attention to the smallest details. It looks like a matte-black metal brick, it is milled on a CNC machine with just two panels attached on top and under the unit. It has the same body thickness of about 3.5mm with SU-9 and SH-9, so wireless interference shouldn’t be a problem. The front panel houses a glass sheet with an LCD screen behind it. The volume knob is a big upgrade to the one found on the SP200 and it is the same found on SH-9. It doesn’t wobble at all; it is a stepped volume knob with exactly 99 steps. The best part of it? It’s using a ladder of high-performance analog relays to control its volume. Yes, that is a high-end relay controlled stepped volume attenuator, exactly what I have in the Benchmark HPA4 and exactly what Flux Labs Acoustics put in their FA-10 and FA-12 amplifiers. There are four rubber feet beneath it taking the shape of the unit, those are bigger and deeper compared to the ones on SU-9 and SH-9, it will not lean to any side as it happens with those devices. I find the build quality really nice, but I still have one complaint that bothers the hell out of me. Its top plate is covered with tempered glass and while it gives a very positive first impression, immediately after touching it, it becomes obvious that it wasn’t their brightest idea. It’s a fricking fingerprint and dust particles magnet. I tend to put my headphones sometimes on the headphone amp itself, but I can’t do it with SP400 fearing of scratching that glass or even worse, breaking it. Another issue is of course managing your headphones around it, you should be extra careful with them around. This is its biggest downside, it was a less inspired design decision, a simple matte-black metal top would look the same, but will resist a lot more use and abuse.
As usual, SMSL moved most of its screws on the back and under the unit, so it would look much cleaner. Everything else looks really nice, everything is secured tightly, nothing is wobbling around, it looks clean and minimalist, with a very high WAF factor attached to it. SMSL is offering it only in black and at 1330 grams or almost ~3 pounds, it feels like a compact headphone amplifier, with a huge power reserve under its hood.
Controls & I/O
SP400 has a clean looking front panel, with just an LCD screen on the left and a volume knob on the right that also works as a menu navigator. Its LCD screen is not that big, but thanks to its bigger lettering, you can clearly see the volume level, the selected input and the gain position. It has two headphone jacks: a regular 6.35 mm (1/4”) and a 4-pin XLR balanced output.
On the back you can see two analog inputs, a balanced XLR and a single ended RCA one, there’s also a balanced XLR output just in case you’ll want to use it as a preamp and on the right you can spot a universal 100 V to 240 V AC inlet.
Menu Options
Absolutely all its features can be controlled via its remote or volume knob that doubles as a joystick for its menu. In the stand-by mode a single press on the knob will power it on and another press will enter its menu where you can select:
Input – Balanced (XLR) or Unbalanced (RCA) – very straightforward
Gain: Low (best setting for IEMs or sensitive headphones), Mid or High (for your power-hungry headphones)
Volume Mode: Enable or Disable. When its enabled, it will reduce the frequency of relay operation, thus increasing the service life of those relays. If you disable this feature, you will hear clicks on every step.
Brightness – 6 positions, lowest one is almost dimming it completely
Version – will show your Hardware and Software version (for now it is at version 1.0)
This is basically it, a very simple and straightforward graphical user interface. Most of these settings are set and forget, with the exception of the Gain setting which will be used more often. HPA4 can sleep tightly now, as Benchmark implemented a lot more features, which I did mention in its dedicated review.
Under the hood of SP400
Up to this point, SP400 is the fourth THX-AAA-888 based headphone amplifier on the market, but it is the first one having four modules instead on two. In simple terms, this is the first quad-mono AAA-888 amplifier available and the first true balanced input to output amplifier, so I should definitely hear an improvement over the SH-9 and who knows, maybe over the HPA4 as well. If you lived in a man cave for the last three years or so or never heard about them, THX AAA modules are reducing harmonic, intermodulation and crossover distortion by 20 to 40 dB by offering a true to life, realistic and fatigue-free listening experience. It accomplishes that by using a patented feed-forward topology to null conventional distortion and noise levels, resulting in the world’s most linear amplifiers. THX AAA allows the amplifier to reach its maximum power without any kind of distortion that would normally appear in traditional amplifiers.
The funny part is that on the inside, the analog section of SP400 is looking exactly like a double version of SMSL SH-9, here is a picture of them side by side that will tell you more. You can clearly see double power supplies, its power filtering doubled, you can spot four THX modules instead of two, the number of analog relays remained the same: 9 relays for the headphone amp section and 2 additional ones for its preamp section – that were missing on SH-9. Having a twice as big power supply and analog section, resulted in doubling its power output, from 6 Watts on SP200 and SH-9, SP400 is now offering a staggering number of 12 Watts per channel in 16 Ohms! That is a lot of power and it is currently the most powerful THX-equipped headphone amplifier on the market.
It has an output impedance close to zero so that damping factor wouldn’t be affected at all and at only 1.9 micro volts of noise, it should pair nicely even with ultra-sensitive IEMs. Most THX AAA amplifiers have their noise floor undetected at any volume level, but will see how SP400 performs with ultra-sensitive loads very soon.
All that power will mean nothing if there isn’t a wide bandwidth to deliver all that instantly to your precious headphones. The bandwidth of SP400 extends from 0.1 Hz to over 500 kHz! Meaning that SP400 will deliver an instant amplitude and should have a perfect phase accuracy over the entire audio bandwidth.
A very low noise amplifier will need a high-quality volume pot to preserve all the dynamic range and all the bits of the digital source, that is precisely why SMSL put the same ladder of analog relays that are sitting in their SH-9. All that was possible by using 9 relays for the headphone amp section and another 2 for its preamp section. My Benchmark HPA4 is also using a relay-controlled volume pot, but instead of 9 relays that are found on SP400, Benchmark has 24 of them to offer a state-of-the-art precision. Nonetheless, a relay-controlled volume pot is already high-end in my book and considering that SP400 goes for $629, I don’t have much to complain about.
SMSL used 2 x 24 Watt ultra-low-noise power supplies, those are encapsulated inside a metal shell and as with all THX AAA designs, the electrolytic caps are not sitting in the signal path, but are used for power filtering and storing for the purest possible signal path.
Test Equipment
SMSL SP400 was used in three different setups. At first it was connected to a reference Audiobyte HydraVox DAC that would help me checking its flow and soundstage as a headphone amplifier, then it was connected to a Matrix Audio Element X that helped with detail retrieval, transparency and speed / decay of the notes and after that it worked as a preamplifier, feeding a Keces S300 power amplifier that was driving a pair of KEF Reference 3. SMSL SP400 was used with ultra-sensitive IEMs, with regular multi-driver IEMs, with portable headphones, with desktop dynamic and planar-magnetic headphones. In the latest chapters it will be compared to its brother SH-9 and then to a Benchmark HPA4, be sure to read until the end for some entertaining comparisons. Okay everyone, time to hit some eardrums!
Sound Performance
I. Preliminary Impressions
Having heard so many THX Achromatic Audio Amplifiers by now, you would think that all of them should sound the same and this article would read like a copy paste as I would be describing the same sound for the fifth time, right? Truth is that all of them sounded so differently that I felt the urge to compare separately three THX amplifiers and write that down. THX released several modules and from the all, 888 modules sounded the best to me and I’m not about their uber low distortion and undetected noise levels, I’m about their sound signature. While they all disappear from your acoustic chain, leaving your headphones doing their work, 888-based amplifiers sounded by a hair bolder, they were wider and deeper sounding, and a lot more visceral and impactful to me. Those are having a higher current delivery, thus offering a better driver control with hardest to drive planar magnetics and that was the sole reason Benchmark HPA4 stood at my side no matter what for almost two years now. SP400 is reminding me a lot about the technicalities of the HPA4, but since it has a higher current delivery, it worked even better with the most demanding headphones like Hifiman Susvara. HPA4 and the rest of the THX mafia were in the clipping territory with Susvara, unable to sustain a deep bass note, it is painful saying this but SP400 is a better unit with headphones like Susvara, as it never entered its protection mode, it was never clipping and dynamics were always sky high.
While it is still not as precise as HPA4 is when it comes to ultimate transparency and detail retrieval, it still has double the power and that was immediately felt with headphones like Audeze LCD-4 and Hifiman Susvara. I knew that HPA4 was controlling well the drivers of some of the best headphones there is, but SP400 did that so gracefully and so easily, like it was nothing for it. HPA4 is no slouch and it is still one of the best I have ever heard, but with some particular headphones, SP400 worked better at less than ~4.75 times the price of HPA4, impressive! Isn’t it?
With an increase of power and current delivery, the windows toward music are widening considerably so the soundstage is improving on all axes, and from a cozy sounding SMSL SP200, to a much wider sounding SH-9, SP400 appears as the soundstage king especially via XLR input and output where the channel crosstalk is so much lower. I’m going as far as say that it feels extremely airy, so much so that it starts rivaling the sound of Flux Lab Acoustics FA-10 and to some degree feels bigger and airier compared to the excellent sounding Topping A90. The slight dry midrange and that emotionless sound of Drop THX-789 is nowhere to be found in here, as SP400 offered plenty of warmth with the right tunes, there was smoothness and I even had goose bumps all over my body for several times. There is one flaw that bothers me deeply, I will be mentioning in the third chapter so keep reading.
II. Noise Floor
Out of all headphone amplifiers that passed through these hands, only a handful of units offered a pitch-black background that worked exceptionally well with ultra-sensitive IEMs. The biggest majority of such amplifiers had either THX modules or NFCA modules developed by Topping, there were others too like the Sparkos Labs Aries and Aune S7 Pro that were extremely quiet and IEM friendly amplifiers. First attempts by SMSL as SH-8 and SP200 failed in delivering a noiseless performance across the board, as those were increasing the noise floor, lowering the overall performance with sensitive loads.
Starting with SH-9, SMSL invested a lot more time in R&D and the same can be said about the SP400. A well-designed power filtering, that ladder of resistors you normally see in high-end amplifiers paid-off big times by offering a perfect channel balance even at lowest listening levels and a pitch-black background. At my usual listening volume of around ~90 dB, no matter the selected gain, there was an absolute silence between passages with the most sensitive IEMs in my possession: the FiiO FA9. All other IEMs performed the same, as after pausing my music, there is only the sound of silence and nothing more. There is no point in trying portable or desktop ones, as those would perform absolutely the same. At its lowest volume position, the sound is not leaking as it happened on Topping A50S and there are plenty of volume steps until it reaches your desired position, so I’m happy to recommend it as an IEM friendly amplifier.
At a noise floor of just 1.9 microVolts at full power, very much in line with a Benchmark HPA4, I didn’t expect less and I’m glad to report that it works flawlessly with any headphone I tried it with, being it sensitive or not. Volume wise the highest I could go was 40 out of 99 on the low-gain position with IEMs, or about 35 on the high-gain on its single ended 6.35mm (1/4”) output. I would stick with low gain with sensitive IEMs and portable headphones, mid-gain with desktop dynamic headphones and use high-gain only with the most demanding ones.
III. Power Output
Being the most powerful THX-AAA amplifier has its perks as you can drive pretty much any headphone you want with flying colors. Yes, including the notorious Hifiman Susvara, add the Abyss 1266-TC in here too and the Audeze LCD-4 seems like a child’s play for it. As you can imagine, all those IEMs, portable dynamic headphones, desktop dynamic and planar magnetic headphones were driven to their fullest and there is nothing more to say about it. I felt an absolute control over the drivers, lightning-fast notes sounded exactly as they should, dynamics were pressing the gas pedal and SP400 was keeping up with all of that. Sincerely, everything except for the Susvara, sounded pretty much the same on the HPA4 by Benchmark, it was always fast and engaging, it was always visceral, it had a perfect pin point imagining and a well-spread and layered sound. With most headphones I didn’t even reach its half volume position on high-gain, even Hifiman Arya and Audeze LCD-4 felt like a feather weight load for it.
With all that said, there is one thing that I wish SMSL did differently, there is still hope as I’m having the Hardware and Software version 1.0 and maybe there is a chance, I can update it later on. The biggest issue that I’m writing about is its gain position. There is very little difference volume wise between low, to mid and then to high gain and while this doesn’t seem like a huge con, it is a huge con with hard to drive headphones like Hifiman Susvara. When you put it side by side with its smaller brother SH-9 that offers exactly half the power, it doesn’t sound more powerful at all and here are some examples.
While feeding a stronger signal of 84 dB into a 300 Hz sine wave into both amplifiers I am getting these results on high gain:
Audeze LCD-4 will sit at 57 volume on SH-9 and that would equal a volume of 55 on SP400
Hifiman Susvara will sit at 78 volume on SH-9 that would equal a volume of 76 on SP400
Considering that SP400 offers 12 Watts and SH-9 only 6 Watts, I expected a much bigger difference volume wise and the culprit seems to be the low gain amplifier design of both devices. From their user manuals, SP400 is having a max gain of 11.6 dB if its balanced inputs and outputs are being used and SH-9 has a max gain of 10 dB. If you are upgrading from SH-9 to SP400 and you don’t feel the increase of power, that is normal behavior, but you still should hear the improvements in terms of layering, easiness and dynamics, which are quite obvious from the start. Right now, it makes a lot of sense why that is happening, but I would still raise the high gain of SP400 to 20 dB so it would work much better with hardest loads as Hifiman Susvara, HE-6SE and Abyss 1266 TC.
With some very high dynamic range tracks, I’m at about 95 to 97 out of a maximum of 99 on the SP400, sometimes I’m maxed out and the only fault is its limited gain position. Susvara sounded good to great, definitely a little better than on the Benchmark HPA4, than on SH-9 and also compared to the Topping A90, but it still didn’t sound top notch as I have expected. There was little to no headroom left on tap so dynamics were a bit strained and limited, other than that, I have no complains when it comes to power.
SMSL, if you are reading this, if you are already planning on increasing the gain settings on SP400 and if that would happen soon, I would personally send you a thank you card and some home-made cookies. You know you want those.
IV. Resolution & Transparency
This is a topic were all THX amplifiers excelled at and SP400 is really no different, with one big exception: it is even cleaner sounding than most of them, save for the HPA4 that still sits on an iron throne, reigning supreme. This is really the easier chapter to write about as there aren’t more transparent and more detailed headphone amplifiers than this. If you have any experience with THX or NFCA amplifiers, then this is basically the same.
With SP400 you’ll be listening to the source material first, then to the source itself and only then to your headphones. It doesn’t leave a stain on your music, it simply wants to disappear from your acoustic chain, without adding or drawing anything from there. I’ve a tried tens of headphone amplifiers by now and I still have the most respect for those that are not staying in the way of the acoustic signal. With an amplifier like this, doing DAC or headphone reviews becomes a whole lot easier, because I would be listening to the acoustic chain and not to the amplifier itself.
No matter the song that is playing, you know that you’ll be hearing the truth and only the truth and nothing else. If what you hear is not to your liking, blame the alcohol, blame your DAC or your headphone, even your music if you want, but not the amplifier itself, because it’s not there in your acoustic chain.
With a crazy signal-to-noise ratio of 133 dB, good luck finding any noise in your tunes, you will be listening to the limits of your DAC, headphones and of course of your hearing apparatus. Living with HPA4 for two years now, I’m not that easily impressed anymore with transparent sounding devices, SP400 is about on the same level, unearthing the smallest nuances and micro-details. Transparency goes hand in hand with detail retrieval, it was a child’s play focusing on any note I wanted, be it in front of me or somewhere to my right or left. SP400 is a hell of a transparent amplifier, it will let you be the conductor in your tunes, you can choose on what you want to focus and what’s less important. If you want to focus on the big picture, be my guest, lean back and relax, music will soon do its thing.
I can go on and on about how transparent and detailed SP400 can be as there is no other way to describe the sound of it. It always offered the last drop of micro-details, if there are movements in the auditorium and that somehow made its way into the recording, you’ll be surely hearing that easily. There are several pros and a con to all of this, anything can’t hide with an amplifier like this, on the flip side some older tunes with lots of background noises, pops and crackles could be too much and too distracting at times.
V. Transient Response
SP400 is a very speedy mustang and always challenges the headphone and the source that is connected to it. It goes wild and it goes fast, it kicks and it kicks hard, over and over again with high dynamic range tracks. Expect a lightning-fast start and stop of the drivers with electronica and modern music. Forget about spectral decay, its instantaneous and that creates the perception that nothing is standing between the source and your headphone. It’s a wire-with-gain amplifier alright and nothing will be stopping it, only if the music is demanding it. With a super-wide bandwidth of 0.1 Hz to 500 kHz it would be weird experiencing a less speedy sound. It is more or less on the same level with HPA4 by Benchmark and Topping A90, which mind you are still one of the fastest headphone amplifiers I’ve ever tried.
Lower tiered THX and NFCA amplifiers were always impressive in terms of speed, but not so much in terms of slam and ultimate impact, their power output was limited, hence moving less air in the lowest octaves, but SP400 is a completely difference beast. With a 48-Watt power supply, having 12-Watts on tap, bass notes were moving more air and all that created a higher sound pressure level. In simple words, a higher power output always leads to a much better slam and impact into the eardrums. This is exactly where SP400 felt bossy, powerful and really impressive. I’m still using a 16-Watt Flux Lab Acoustics FA-10 on a daily basis when I want to rock out hard with some planar magnetic headphones. SP400 almost matches the engagement factor of FA-10 and that is amazing to hear and experience first-hand. Finally, a THX amplifier that carries more warmth, more body, that sounds fast, but also visceral and engaging. So far, SP400 came up as the most fun and engaging THX amplifier and if you don’t want to deal with heat dissipation of class-A amplifiers, SP400 seems like an excellent middle-ground offering the same fun factor, without trading other technicalities like FA-10 is doing.
SP400 has a close to zero impedance, meaning that its higher power would be delivered instantly to your headphones, its damping factor is fully preserved with low and high impedance headphones and nothing would be stopping those drivers from achieving their maximum potential.
VI. Soundstage & Depth
The Achille’s Heel of all THX amplifiers has always been the soundstage size and while it was never bad or anything like that, only very few of them were great in here. For example, SMSL SP200 and Drop THX-789 weren’t that impressive when it comes to soundstage. Sure, there was some air around the notes and a decently spread stage, but those didn’t sound holographic or totally 3D. SP400 on the other hand is entirely a different animal, its quad-mono design and its close to zero channel crosstalk on the balanced output are leaving a huge mark on its sound-staging capabilities. Flux Lab Acoustics FA-10 and Burson Conductor 3 are still reigning supreme in here, but I’m putting SP400 and HP4 next in line which tells a lot how I feel about them.
Soundstage and slam are probably the biggest changes compared to SH-9, as SP400 is simply bigger sounding, even bolder and slightly harder slamming. The difference is not huge, certainly not 2X how the price might suggest, but it’s there, there no question about it. There is more air around, it sounds 3D, wrapping entirely my body with musical notes. Pair it with a high performance open-back headphone and SP400 would spread its wings and fly in all directions. In my SH-9 review I was dreaming about an THX-888 amplifier that would have a higher capacitance and power output so that soundstage wouldn’t be limited in any way and it seems that I have found that amplifier. High-end tube and hybrid amplifiers are still having a small upper hand when it comes to layering and stage size, but the gap is not a huge one as it happened before.
VII. Frequency Response
An Achromatic Audio Amplifier with a wide bandwidth of 0.1 Hz to 500 kHz can only be described as ruler flat in the frequency response and extended from the lowest pits of the sub-bass to the highest peaks of the upper treble.
Sub-bass is exemplary and impressive from even from the first notes. It easily reaches 20 Hz notes and can sustain even longer bass notes with ease. If you love clean undistorted bass, with layers and sub-layers of it, SP400 will easily show them to you. It is linear in here, but powerful and hard slamming when called for. It reminds me a lot about my own HPA4 with the exception that SP400 is even more powerful and full-bodied in here.
Mid-bass is also linear without being over-emphasized, there aren’t drops or rises in here, just a perfect rendition of it. It is something to be heard with headphones like Audeze LCD-4 and Hifiman Susvara, as it was always tactile and impactful sounding.
Midrange is a paradigm shift compared to the rest of THX amplifiers, because it isn’t dry, not thin sounding at all. SP400 is among the very few THX amplifiers that has a bit of warmth and a higher presence in this region. It was natural sounding with my Jazz and rock, but neutral and precise with modern music. It shifts from one camp to the other, it went several times from warm to neutral and vice versa, but it was never bright or thin sounding with any of my tunes. Do note, it’s still linear in here and it will not lean too much to the warm and overly saturated side, that will never happen.
Treble is one of the standouts of the SP400, while it is extremely clean, detailed and sharp sounding, it was never bright or teeth clenching to me. It goes high and there is plenty of driver movement past top octave. SP400 is extremely good in here, with a clean and defined leading edge. The best treble I have ever heard was with THX amplifiers and SP400 is really no different. If you love real sounding cymbals, tambourines and bells then SP400 got you covered.
VIII. Comparisons
1) A Tale Of Two Brothers: SMSL SP400 ($630 / €600) VS SMSL SH-9 ($290 / €320)
There isn’t much to say about them design wise, one is smaller and one is bigger, one has 6 Watts on tap and one is doubling that number, one has a preamp output and SH-9 doesn’t have it. SP400 is pretty much a dual-mono version of SH-9 and it costs twice as much too. Apart from that, their UI is the same, I/O is the same, they look almost the same too.
When it comes to sound performance, there are two instances that I will cover. If hard to drive planar magnetics are not on your daily menu, then SH-9 would be a better choice, since there is little to no difference between both siblings with desktop dynamic headphones or with easy to drive planars like Erzetich Phobos and Kennerton Wodan. Both are extremely neutral sounding with a slight tint towards naturalness and real textures. Wodan had a slightly better bass impact and a deeper stage on SP400, but others performed more or less the same on both devices.
SP400 was clearly leading the pack with harder to drive headphones as those sounded very differently on it. Susvara was a different animal altogether on SP400, the biggest improvements happened in the bass region where SP400 was able to sustain much longer 20 Hz notes, there was a better feeling of a physical impact when bass notes were landing. Compared to that one, SH-9 was struggling in offering higher dynamics, pace, rhythm and timing, especially with Susvara. Soundstage felt better spread on SP400, there was more air around every musical note, the void spaces were bigger, so I could easier focus on any note I wanted. SH-9 was smaller sounding, slightly cozier and more up-front, which some folks might even prefer to the wide and spacious SP400.
Frequency response and the rest of the technicalities felt pretty much the same on both devices. Do note that SP400 can also work as a dedicated preamp in a loudspeaker setup and I totally get it why one might want the SH-9 and others would pay twice for a more powerful and feature package device.
2) David versus Goliath: SMSL SP400 ($630 / €600) VS Benchmark HPA4 ($3000 / €3200)
If you are interested in driving headphones only and you own a single DAC, get the SP400 and move to the conclusions. If you want to drive headphones, but you also need a decent preamplifier for your loudspeaker setup: get the SP400 and move to the conclusion. If you have multiple audio sources (DACs, CD players, Turntables) and you need the most precise and uncolored headphone amplifier and preamplifier section then you should proceed with this comparison. People that are really interested in HPA4 would probably use it in a speaker setup too, as it’s still the best preamplifier bar none I’ve tried and don’t forget that it has 4 analog inputs! Two single ended and two balanced inputs. It’s so easy comparing two or even four DACs with HPA4. Via its graphical user interface, I can volume match each analog input so that I would have the same sound pressure level with 4 different DACs. All my DAC comparisons were done via HPA4, it is not only a headphone amp, but much more than that, hence the huge price difference.
Performance wise, HPA4 has a very small lead in terms of transparency, detail retrieval, signal to noise ratio and it works even better with sensitive IEMs. It is simply silent even at max volume (0 dB) and I can’t say the same about the SP400. HPA4 has more relays, those have a higher precision and it also incorporates a better preamplifier section. SP400 was good when I’ve put it in between the Matrix Element X and Keces S300, driving a pair of KEF Reference 3, but HPA4 sounded cleaner and it had a better flow and easiness to it.
When it comes to driving easier loads as IEMs, portable headphones, even desktop dynamic headphones, I would give an edge to the HPA4 which was simply noiseless and was providing the cleanest power unleashing their maximum potential. SP400 was very close to it, but it wasn’t as crystal clear and transparent sounding.
Moving on to the hardest to drive headphones like Hifiman Susvara, well that’s an entirely different story. You see, with high dynamic range tracks at close to maximum volume HPA4 was simply shutting down, because it couldn’t provide enough current and instead of damaging its output stage, it went lullaby. Only with louder tracks, HPA4 was decently driving the mighty Susvara, but in all honestly SP400 trounced it on almost every level. SP400 had more control with Susvara, even higher dynamics, a deeper and a more impactful bass, it was awakening them from their deep sleep. Soundstage was deeper and wider and it had more headroom to play with. With Susvara alone, SP400 was a better amplifier and if SMSL would further increase its gain from 11.6 to say 20 dB, then it would work even better with them and with other hard to drive headphones. When I moved to Audeze LCD-4, sometimes I wanted a better slam and more viscerality in my tunes and SP400 provided more of that, but sometimes I wanted more transparency and detail and HPA4 was doing that better.
In some ways SP400 was better, in other ways HPA4 was better, but in a high-end loudspeaker setup there wasn’t a contest, as HPA4 was on another level altogether.
If you are interested only in headphone drive and you really despise the dryness of your Drop THX-789, then SMSL SP400 should provide a warmer tonality, it would restore some lost midrange density, offer a bigger stage, a better driver control and more importantly a lot more power on tap to drive a wider variety of headphones.
Conclusion
Here we are at the end of the road, telling a story about one of the nicest headphone amplifiers money could buy at less than one grand. I wish it had a higher gain, I wish it had at least one additional XLR input and I wish it didn’t have that fingerprint magnet on top, but everything else is really up there with the best there is. Sincerely, there is very little to nitpick about it and its biggest flaw will most probably be taken care of in the near future, I would really appreciate that.
Apart from this, starting with IEMs and finishing with notorious headphones like Hifiman Susvara, SP400 was pumping a high engagement factor, it had a very high level of detail, offered an open wide soundstage and it had one of the best diaphragm control I’ve experienced with headphones. It stood shoulder to shoulder with my Benchmark HPA4 and it even outclassed it on several occasions, while costing about ~5 times cheaper. In terms of value, there isn’t much to add, it’s one the best ones that are costing south of $1000 and as such, I cannot move forward without awarding them for their work.
Silver award it is and if SMSL would increase the gain position in the near future, I would edit my review and award it our Gold medal. Come on SMSL, you want those cookies and that shiny gold award, don’t you?
SMSL SP400 was kindly provided by Apos Audio, it can be purchased from their web-store by following this link (Apos is offering free shipping in the USA and Canada, free 45-day returns in case you don’t like it, an extra year of warranty and they will price match any price you can find online).
If you get one, please come back and leave a comment, I’m very curious to know how it performs in your headphone or loudspeaker setup! 😉
PROS:
Simple yet beautiful design
High-quality uni-body case
Its remote control and LCD screen are huge quality of life improvements
Extremely linear frequency response, super extended at both ends
Neutral with a slight tint of warmth and naturalness
Highly impressive levels of transparency and resolution
Very precise pin-point imaging, 3D sounding all the time
One of the best dynamics at less than one grand
Pitch black background, IEM friendly amplifier
The most powerful THX-AAA based amplifier
Good preamplifier section
Amazing value
CONS:
Low gain design (only 11.6 dB on High Gain)
Tempered glass cover is a fingerprint magnet
An additional XLR input would be killer
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT:
Sources: Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro, Corsair One i160
DACs: Audiobyte HydraVox + HydraZap, Matrix Audio Element X, Flux Lab Acoustics FCN-10, Topping D70S, QLS QA390
DAPs: Shanling M6, FiiO M15
Headphone Amps: SMSL SP400, SMSL SH-9, Benchmark HPA4, SparkoS Labs Aries, Flux Lab Acoustics FCN-10, LittleDot MKIII SE
Power Amps: KECES S300
IEMs: FiiO FA9, FH7, Meze Rai Penta, Rai Solo, LittleDot Cu KIS & lots of other lower tiered ones
Portable headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 2, Meze 99 Classics
Full-sized headphones: Hifiman Susvara, Hifiman Arya, Audeze LCD-4, Erzetich Phobos, Erzetich Mania, Kennerton Wodan, Magni, Gjallarhorn, Vali, M12S, Quad ERA-1, Ollo S4X Reference, HarmonicDyne Zeus
Loudspeakers: KEF Reference 3
Interconnects: QED Reference (x3)
Speaker cables: Kimber PR8, Audioquest Type4
Power Cables: Isotek EVO3 Premier (x3)
Balanced Isolation Power Conditioners: PLiXiR Elite BAC400
Overall score 91/100
S.M.S.L SP400 Impressions thread
Got mine today. Been using the Massdrop THX 789 daily for a while now. HD800 (Balanced) & HE5XX (SE). I need to adjust because the change is noticeable, so this is Just first impressions, also vs Drop THX amp.
More soundstage at least on SE (HE5XX), Balanced I just notice more air/3d space but sounds more intimate generally at times at first, I suspect this is due to good channel balance keeping its layering while the Massdrop as of late was loosing that during congested songs, It’s taken quite a while now to adjust & its slowly opening up (HD800). Clarity & resolution is a noticeable step up from the Massdrop amp e.g. HD800 sounds Good actually notice the peak with this amp, the Massdrop one never bothered me In fact the Massdrop one made the HD800 & HD800s sound the same only way to tell them apart was the HD800s had more forward bass, I suspect it’ll be a different story with the SP400. The HE5XX on the other hand sounded worse at first vs the MD 789 (shows the headphones lack of technically ability & the amps lack of power in sub-bass at first to much by comparison to the Massdrop where it was a perfect match riight from the start). When my balanced cable arrives i’ll re-try the HE5XX in more depth, because over time this seems to be improving.
So the bass & power (with HE5XX/ananda/LCD2/Aeon 2 open) is not right At least at first!, Massdrop THX was the clear winner here SE, but the more I use the Amp the more the subbass gets its power on the SP400 over time, it really takes some time to adjust. I think the SP400 is faster with decay in general on top of all the other improvements it confuses your mind & ears.
Remember when you first got your Mass/Drop THX amp & noticed how the Highs stood out, the SP400 has that, but they sound less digital than the Massdrop THX did!?! more natural by comparison but not fully natural in general. Maybe that was just me since I was comparing it to my Class A amp.
Edit: Foobar at minus 11db because… I dunno forgot to check before testing. So the Amp is on high gain at 34-36 for the HD800, mid gain 38-40 is loud. 40 for the HE5XX, Its quite loud. This is with the Topping D90 as the Dac.
Foobar at 0DB so max on slider, HE5xx = 32 med gain is approaching loudness. 28-30 on HD800.
SMSL SP400 Review (headphone amp)
nobody said: It’s my subjective evaluation of those headphone amps… Well, maybe it’s all my imagination, but I can hear those differences consistently with different DACs and even when used as preamps in my loudspeakers rig.
Take it or leave it… Click to expand…
BDWoody said: Did you use any controls when doing your comparisons?
It’s hard to figure out where the differences you describe would come from. Click to expand…
No, straight from foobar or Tidal thru WASAPI (to avoid Windows resampling/volume control) to USB DAC.My amateur theory is, that measurements are made on separate components and not as entire system. From DAC to headphones/loudspeakers. And the components interacts to each other. Most measurements are made with pure resistivity load. But loudspeakers, headphones even all components have also capacitance and inductance load which is/can be frequency dependent and can cause different phase shifts at different frequencies. Then it depends on output stage of previous component how it can handle those loads. With power amps it’s proven that amplifiers with higher damping factor are better with wild impedance loudspeakers.Another thing is power supply filtering, when I’ve compared D50s with 5V phone charger and with battery power (4x AAA batteries), the sound with battery power supply is definitely more transparent. Same with Monoprice THX 887, 2x12V battery, more transparent sound compared to crappy switching supply delivered with the amp.Another thing is “noise” transferred via “ground wire” to previous component. I’m not the “cable guy”, but when I tried to use XLR cables from preamp/DAC to my Hypex nCore 500 monoblocks without attached ground pin, the sound again became more transparent…looks like some noise traveled back to preamp/DAC.But as I said, I’m only amateur with very limited electrician education from high school…
Topping A90 vs SMSL SP200
I use my A90 by my bedside because it is the perfect size for an end table. Using my Mojo/Poly (in fixed pre-amp mode) via 3.5mm to RCA sounds very good. While burning it in at my seated headphone station connected via XLR to a PS Audio Directream DSD and AK380cu via XLR cradle, I noticed the SQ from (input) XLR and RCA have the same sound level when the OUTPUT is 4.4mm or XLR. Your Hugo 2 is the better DAC over the D90. The D90 is a fine DAC, if a bit lean and analytical. The Hugo 2 is much more musical and authoritative. I use Roon with the Mojo/Poly and you could as well with the addition of the Chord 2Go with your Hugo 2. Many thanks for your feedback, I knew my Hugo 2 is a better DAC than D90 but wasn’t sure adding RCA to chain on A90 and using XLR output for Arya and Z1R will make any downgrade in SQ but your experience confirms its not the case. Thanks Again, Nice. I use my A90 by my bedside because it is the perfect size for an end table. Using my Mojo/Poly (in fixed pre-amp mode) via 3.5mm to RCA sounds very good. While burning it in at my seated headphone station connected via XLR to a PS Audio Directream DSD and AK380cu via XLR cradle, I noticed the SQ from (input) XLR and RCA have the same sound level when the OUTPUT is 4.4mm or XLR. Your Hugo 2 is the better DAC over the D90. The D90 is a fine DAC, if a bit lean and analytical. The Hugo 2 is much more musical and authoritative. I use Roon with the Mojo/Poly and you could as well with the addition of the Chord 2Go with your Hugo 2. I’m selling my Mojo as my desktop DAC is RME ADI-2 FS and on the go I use Fiio M11 Pro. Still weighing the pros and cons for paring the RME with A90. Is it worth it? My cans and IEMs are not that hard to drive but I guess A90 might do some magic paired with the German DAC. Thoughts? I’m selling my Mojo as my desktop DAC is RME ADI-2 FS and on the go I use Fiio M11 Pro. Still weighing the pros and cons for paring the RME with A90. Is it worth it? My cans and IEMs are not that hard to drive but I guess A90 might do some magic paired with the German DAC. Thoughts? Its not about wolume, but its all about refinement, parts, power supply.
Also it is good that dac and and amp have its own power supply. Would love to hear more impressions from people who have/had both a THX amp and an A90 amp! Seeing lots of people who say they can’t hear any difference, and other people who say they can actually hear a difference! I use my A90 by my bedside because it is the perfect size for an end table. Using my Mojo/Poly (in fixed pre-amp mode) via 3.5mm to RCA sounds very good. While burning it in at my seated headphone station connected via XLR to a PS Audio Directream DSD and AK380cu via XLR cradle, I noticed the SQ from (input) XLR and RCA have the same sound level when the OUTPUT is 4.4mm or XLR. Your Hugo 2 is the better DAC over the D90. The D90 is a fine DAC, if a bit lean and analytical. The Hugo 2 is much more musical and authoritative. I use Roon with the Mojo/Poly and you could as well with the addition of the Chord 2Go with your Hugo 2. Hello, I can see in your comment that you has Anthem STR Pre-Amp and A90. I also has Anthem STR Pre-Amp and I am thinking about buying an A90 to be used as a Pre-Amp in my second system. Is A90 good to be used as a Pre-Amp? Is it as good as Anthem STR Pre-Amp? Hello, I can see in your comment that you has Anthem STR Pre-Amp and A90. I also has Anthem STR Pre-Amp and I am thinking about buying an A90 to be used as a Pre-Amp in my second system. Is A90 good to be used as a Pre-Amp? Is it as good as Anthem STR Pre-Amp? A90 at $500 vs Anthem at $4000..? Not really a fair fight I would say. Would love to hear more impressions from people who have/had both a THX amp and an A90 amp! Seeing lots of people who say they can’t hear any difference, and other people who say they can actually hear a difference! My personal impression comparing THX 789 with A90 is that the Topping is the better amp to my ears, and not by a small margin either. I found extended listening with the 789 could get fatiguing due to its clinical and upfront delivery, whereas the A90 added a touch of warmth and was less etched. This with HD600/650, LCD2F and DT990 600 with hot-rodded NFB11.32 and RL Concero as sources. I could just enjoy the music for longer with the A90 which strikes a fine balance between high frequency detail and smoothness. Of course YM may well V… Would love to hear more impressions from people who have/had both a THX amp and an A90 amp! Seeing lots of people who say they can’t hear any difference, and other people who say they can actually hear a difference! Yep that is my observation too. I have a very strong suspicion that specifically with power hungry headphones, and especially planars like the Arya (that I own) and for instance LCD4 the A90 true clean power potential can show it full value. When the headphones are relatively easy to drive, and/or not a ‘planar’ the A90 is a perfectly good amp, but the difference to THX seems small. Some even dislike the A90 with some headphones. For instance, my HFM edition X v2’s are super easy to drive, I might even prefer the SP200 with them. But for me the A90/Arya combination is just f*&#ing magical. Coming from a SMSL SP200, the difference was massive with Arya’s: warmer timbre, no harshness, more detail, sub, bass, soundstage, pace, dynamics, texture… etc…. Roon PC > Tidal > Roon EQ > HQplayer OS > Audioquest Carbon USB cable > Holo Audio May KTE > Naim Supernait 2 + Hi-CAP DR PSU > DYI 14AWG Speakertaps > DYI 18AWG Headphone Cable (Ditch that OEM Susvara cable!!!!!) > Hifiman Susvara
A&K Kann Cube > Unique Melody Mest IEM
My finished review and owners guide: Arya’s are better than many Arya owners realize… Yep that is my observation too. I have a very strong suspicion that specifically with power hungry headphones, and especially planars like the Arya (that I own) and for instance LCD4 the A90 true clean power potential can show it full value. When the headphones are relatively easy to drive, and/or not a ‘planar’ the A90 is a perfectly good amp, but the difference to THX seems small. Some even dislike the A90 with some headphones. For instance, my HFM edition X v2’s are super easy to drive, I might even prefer the SP200 with them. But for me the A90/Arya combination is just f*&#ing magical. Coming from a SMSL SP200, the difference was massive with Arya’s: warmer timbre, no harshness, more detail, sub, bass, soundstage, pace, dynamics, texture… etc…. Thanks for the impressions! I have a pair of Stellia’s as my headphones which are super easy to drive and ridiculously sensitive. So I wonder if I wouldn’t get much benefit going from the 789 to the A90 then? Also @capetownwatches, would you say the A90 has all of the detail and technical performance of the 789, plus the added warmth? Or is the some of the detail sacrificed for warmness? Just wondering if it really is the best of both worlds, or if it makes some small trades. Would love to hear more impressions from people who have/had both a THX amp and an A90 amp! Seeing lots of people who say they can’t hear any difference, and other people who say they can actually hear a difference! I went into my subjective opinion in this video if you want to check it out Topping A90 Headphone Amplifier Review, The Best Reference Headphone Amp Under $500? Hello, I can see in your comment that you has Anthem STR Pre-Amp and A90. I also has Anthem STR Pre-Amp and I am thinking about buying an A90 to be used as a Pre-Amp in my second system. Is A90 good to be used as a Pre-Amp? Is it as good as Anthem STR Pre-Amp? Sorry for the late response. Short answer is No. As a preamp the A90 is not near as good as its Headphone portion. It can add gain via the volume knob to the preamp however. But it is not a very good preamp. Probably why Topping is making a separate P90 preamp. I had the A90 preamp connected to the Dragon IHA-1…sound quality was only average compared to other sources via A90. Hope that helps. P.S. I did have high hopes for the A90 as a preamp, that was my initial plan. Ended up buying a Schiit Freya S instead for my headphone station. My first Schiit product ever. Very impressed with it as a preamp. Just dont sit too close to it. The volume resistors are noisy and will be heard through open back HP if seated within a few feet of the unit. Otherwise excellent preamp for the cost. DACs/Sources — Chord Hugo TT, Modwright Oppo UDP-205, PS Audio Directstream DAC, PS Audio Directstream Memory Player, Chord Mojo w/ Poly, AVM 60, Anthem STR Integrated, Anthem STR Preamplifier, Roon Labs via QNAP TS-1685, Auralic Aries w/ LPS, Aries Mini
AMP — PS Audio BHK 250, Benchmark AHB2 (2), Anthem STR Amplifier, Moon-Audio Dragon IHA-1, A&K L1000 HP —- Abyss 1266 Phi w/ CC pads, Audeze LCD-3F, LCD-XC with Nordost Heimdall 2 cables, Sennheiser 800 S with Moon-Audio Silver, Oppo PM3, Audeze EL8 IEM — UE18 Pro, UE18 Pro+
DMP — AK380cu w/AMP and XLR cradle, Hifiman 901s, Acoustic Research AR-M2, AK KANN, Sony NW-ZX2, HE-Adapter Would love to hear more impressions from people who have/had both a THX amp and an A90 amp! Seeing lots of people who say they can’t hear any difference, and other people who say they can actually hear a difference! I’m comparing the 789 and A90 on an SMSL M200 and Topping E30 dac. Really hard for me to put into words since I’m not really good at describing sound like some of the others on this thread. The biggest difference to me is that since the A90 is a little warmer than the 789. And the 789 maybe due to the less warm nature seems to be better at lower end detail. It also feels like the higher are slightly brighter. Since Im using it on a HD-6XX I don’t have the best opinion on soundstage. I feel like some songs sound better on the A90 and others on the 789. Sorry for confusing you even more. I have to decide if Im going to keep the 789 by tomorrow since that is the last date for a full refund return. Also there is a possibility I might sell the A90 on here. I have the volume wobble others have talked about but otherwise in excellent condition. Hi All, I just came across this video about distortion on RCA connection , since I am planning to use it with Hugo 2 via RCA only I need to know if anyone else facing same issue of distortion on RCA.
With a little research I was able to mitigate the noise problem by finding RCA / XLR cables made with wire designed for really good noise rejection and EMI / RFI protection in a build that uses a Faraday cage design for the wiring. I was about to send back the A90 / D90 MQA, but the new cables got rid of so much of the noise – and the A90 / D90 MQA sound so much better now that the noise floor has been dropped so far – that I decided to keep them. I have both RCA and XLR cables between the A90 and D90 MQA and am switching back and forth between the interconnects with that switch on the A90, I have spent hours listening on the RCA connection and it sounds great Here are the details I posted on ASR: Has anyone with the D90 / A90 / ? fixed or substantially improved the RCA connection “noise” by shortening RCA cables or buying better shielded RCA cables? How about better shielded USB cables?, or some other method of reducing the PC noise brought in through the USB cable? If you’ve debugged your noise problem to root cause + solution, please let us know the details. Before I spend $ on new RCA / USB cables or other solutions, I’d like to know if it’s worth the effort. I’d like to use RCA output from the A90 to drive power speakers, but I could put the extra $ instead into better powered speakers + XLR cables. Thanks for the suggestions, I found these premade RCA Mogami 2534 1.5 foot / 0.5 foot sets ( 4 wire) and premade RCA Mogami 2549 (2 wire) 1.0 foot as a jumper between the A90 / D90 MQA – see their Construction and Specifications images for more details: 0.5 Foot – Directional Quad High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors by WORLDS BEST CABLES https://www.amazon.com/0-5-Foot-Directional-High-Definition-Interconnect/dp/B01ALHT7CI 1.5 Foot – Directional Quad High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors https://www.amazon.com/1-5-Foot-Directional-High-Definition-Interconnect/dp/B01ALHUSYE Mogami 2534 vs 2549 – EMI shielding vs “Sound”…? 1 Foot – Directional High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2549 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ALFR02Y Robert R 5.0 out of 5 stars Brand Lives Up To Its Name Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2020 Verified Purchase “Very nice high quality interconnect. I did some research and the Mogami 2549 in this offering seems to be a better option vs. heavier shielded cable also offered by WBC which only improves EMI resistance. Some posts claim that the wire in this cable sounds better vs heavier shielded counterparts. At the end of the day, this is a high-quality well soldered interconnect with excellent packaging and presentation. It’s serving my needs well in between my E30 DAC and 789 Amp.” The 0.5m XLR cables from SKW are working fine – no noise even at H Gain 100% volume… so for now I’ll stick with those. Amazon has SKW 1.5m as the shortest length; the 0.5m length I sourced from Hifigo in China: https://hifigo.com/products/skw-hif…ixer-amplifiers-1-pair?variant=32043150934065
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33034630648.html
https://www.amazon.com/SKW-Balanced-Female-Microphone-2-Pack/dp/B07Q8Q16F9 Good news, the Mogami 2534 based World’s Best Cables (WBC) got rid of the RCA noise. The WBC Mogami 2534 RCA cable pair also got rid of most of the USB noise. I also got a Tripp-lite shielded cable with Ferrite Chokes, and it does reduce the small amount of GPU load noise by a noticeable amount, but just swapping in the RCA Mogami 2534 wired cable was the biggest change. A WBC Mogami 2534 XLR pair round out the cable changes. Now I can only hear a smidge of GPU noise at 100% GPU usage, but it’s so low I can’t hear it while playing media – I can enable / disable the GPU load and not hear any difference in the audio. No more USB crackling either. I can turn up the A90 volume to 100% on H Gain switched to XLR and no noise. On H Gain switched to RCA the “low level hum” without hash noise starts in at 2 oclock. So far I have no headphones that need that much drive. The highest I drive my headphones is 12 oclock on H Gain. For now that’s all good enough, and it was worth the cost and effort. I also bought a Mogami 2549 based RCA cable pair, I’ll try that out later. I’ll probably pick up a WBC 2549 based XLR pair too and pair them all up together. Comments say they sound better than the 2534 heavy shielded cable, but I went with the heavy shield product first to make sure I gave the new cabling the best chance. The cables aren’t “cheap”, but they aren’t expensive either. If you have RCA noise problems or USB noise problems I’d recommend them as a last ditch solution before giving up on the A90 / D90. 1 Foot – Quad Balanced Microphone Cable Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Neutrik NC3MXX-B Male & NC3FXX-B Female XLR Plugs. *sold as a single cable, buy 2x*
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WU1BP10 1 Foot – Directional Quad High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ALHTVMO 1 Foot – Directional High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2549 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ALFR02Y/ Mogami 2534 wire:
Mogami 2549 wire:
WBC RCA Faraday cage wiring design: Tripp Lite USB 2.0 Hi-Speed A/B Cable with Ferrite Chokes (M/M) 3-ft. (U023-003) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008VOPCGY https://www.audiosciencereview.com/…d90-balanced-usb-dac-review.10519/post-475832 I can answer questions here Page 2 Those are excellent cables. I used a 6″ RCA from WBC (i believe it was the gotham cable, not mogami) and had no problems with noise when I used the Qutest over RCA with the A90. Primare NP5/Roon -> Chord Hugo TT2 -> Abyss AB-1266φ TC, DCA Stealth
Favorite headphones: Hifiman Edition X v2, Susvara, Dan Clark Audio Ether 2, Stealth, Abyss AB-1266φ TC
My music: The COVID EP (tidal, spotify) Sorry for the late response. Short answer is No. As a preamp the A90 is not near as good as its Headphone portion. It can add gain via the volume knob to the preamp however. But it is not a very good preamp. Probably why Topping is making a separate P90 preamp. I had the A90 preamp connected to the Dragon IHA-1…sound quality was only average compared to other sources via A90. Hope that helps. P.S. I did have high hopes for the A90 as a preamp, that was my initial plan. Ended up buying a Schiit Freya S instead for my headphone station. My first Schiit product ever. Very impressed with it as a preamp. Just dont sit too close to it. The volume resistors are noisy and will be heard through open back HP if seated within a few feet of the unit. Otherwise excellent preamp for the cost. Thank you. I think I would buy Freya S or Saga+ With a little research I was able to mitigate the noise problem by finding RCA / XLR cables made with wire designed for really good noise rejection and EMI / RFI protection in a build that uses a Faraday cage design for the wiring. I was about to send back the A90 / D90 MQA, but the new cables got rid of so much of the noise – and the A90 / D90 MQA sound so much better now that the noise floor has been dropped so far – that I decided to keep them. I have both RCA and XLR cables between the A90 and D90 MQA and am switching back and forth between the interconnects with that switch on the A90, I have spent hours listening on the RCA connection and it sounds great Here are the details I posted on ASR: Good news, the Mogami 2534 based World’s Best Cables (WBC) got rid of the RCA noise. The WBC Mogami 2534 RCA cable pair also got rid of most of the USB noise. I also got a Tripp-lite shielded cable with Ferrite Chokes, and it does reduce the small amount of GPU load noise by a noticeable amount, but just swapping in the RCA Mogami 2534 wired cable was the biggest change. A WBC Mogami 2534 XLR pair round out the cable changes. Now I can only hear a smidge of GPU noise at 100% GPU usage, but it’s so low I can’t hear it while playing media – I can enable / disable the GPU load and not hear any difference in the audio. No more USB crackling either. I can turn up the A90 volume to 100% on H Gain switched to XLR and no noise. On H Gain switched to RCA the “low level hum” without hash noise starts in at 2 oclock. So far I have no headphones that need that much drive. The highest I drive my headphones is 12 oclock on H Gain. For now that’s all good enough, and it was worth the cost and effort. I also bought a Mogami 2549 based RCA cable pair, I’ll try that out later. I’ll probably pick up a WBC 2549 based XLR pair too and pair them all up together. Comments say they sound better than the 2534 heavy shielded cable, but I went with the heavy shield product first to make sure I gave the new cabling the best chance. The cables aren’t “cheap”, but they aren’t expensive either. If you have RCA noise problems or USB noise problems I’d recommend them as a last ditch solution before giving up on the A90 / D90. 1 Foot – Quad Balanced Microphone Cable Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Neutrik NC3MXX-B Male & NC3FXX-B Female XLR Plugs. *sold as a single cable, buy 2x*
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WU1BP10 1 Foot – Directional Quad High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ALHTVMO 1 Foot – Directional High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2549 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ALFR02Y/ Mogami 2534 wire:
Mogami 2549 wire:
WBC RCA Faraday cage wiring design: Tripp Lite USB 2.0 Hi-Speed A/B Cable with Ferrite Chokes (M/M) 3-ft. (U023-003) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008VOPCGY https://www.audiosciencereview.com/…d90-balanced-usb-dac-review.10519/post-475832 I can answer questions here
I’m glad you found a workaround, but you shouldn’t have to take all those steps just to get it to work properly. It should work properly out of the box, balanced or SE. I’m keeping mine, but it is true that the SE side is bit of a mess. Shanling M9 > Sony M9 Full inventory Hi All, I just came across this video about distortion on RCA connection , since I am planning to use it with Hugo 2 via RCA only I need to know if anyone else facing same issue of distortion on RCA.
That ground loop issue was resolved months ago production run wise. Sajunky seems to have serious personal issues with Topping and their marketing in which he makes outlandish claims against them. Check his South Africa feeds to see how others view his opinion. The only way I have introduced distortion via the Mojo was to increase the gain from the Mojo while it was turned on in Preamp mode. A90 is just a victim of overhype that should not be held against it. For $500 it is an over performer in its weight class. Is it better than a Hugo TT2? Of course not. But it was never meant to be. Apos gives a 30day free return. Try it for yourself. Use clean power. Etc. DACs/Sources — Chord Hugo TT, Modwright Oppo UDP-205, PS Audio Directstream DAC, PS Audio Directstream Memory Player, Chord Mojo w/ Poly, AVM 60, Anthem STR Integrated, Anthem STR Preamplifier, Roon Labs via QNAP TS-1685, Auralic Aries w/ LPS, Aries Mini
AMP — PS Audio BHK 250, Benchmark AHB2 (2), Anthem STR Amplifier, Moon-Audio Dragon IHA-1, A&K L1000 HP —- Abyss 1266 Phi w/ CC pads, Audeze LCD-3F, LCD-XC with Nordost Heimdall 2 cables, Sennheiser 800 S with Moon-Audio Silver, Oppo PM3, Audeze EL8 IEM — UE18 Pro, UE18 Pro+
DMP — AK380cu w/AMP and XLR cradle, Hifiman 901s, Acoustic Research AR-M2, AK KANN, Sony NW-ZX2, HE-Adapter I’m glad you found a workaround, but you shouldn’t have to take all those steps just to get it to work properly. It should work properly out of the box, balanced or SE. I’m keeping mine, but it is true that the SE side is bit of a mess. A simple Audioquest RCA cable was enough on my end. XLR was Benchmark Media. No hum whatsoever switching back and forth. Using IEMs to Abyss to Audeze and 800 S….no noise! DACs/Sources — Chord Hugo TT, Modwright Oppo UDP-205, PS Audio Directstream DAC, PS Audio Directstream Memory Player, Chord Mojo w/ Poly, AVM 60, Anthem STR Integrated, Anthem STR Preamplifier, Roon Labs via QNAP TS-1685, Auralic Aries w/ LPS, Aries Mini
AMP — PS Audio BHK 250, Benchmark AHB2 (2), Anthem STR Amplifier, Moon-Audio Dragon IHA-1, A&K L1000 HP —- Abyss 1266 Phi w/ CC pads, Audeze LCD-3F, LCD-XC with Nordost Heimdall 2 cables, Sennheiser 800 S with Moon-Audio Silver, Oppo PM3, Audeze EL8 IEM — UE18 Pro, UE18 Pro+
DMP — AK380cu w/AMP and XLR cradle, Hifiman 901s, Acoustic Research AR-M2, AK KANN, Sony NW-ZX2, HE-Adapter I’m glad you found a workaround, but you shouldn’t have to take all those steps just to get it to work properly. It should work properly out of the box, balanced or SE. I’m keeping mine, but it is true that the SE side is bit of a mess. To be fair, I have no issue with A90’s RCA. I am just using Klotz cable. I’m comparing the 789 and A90 on an SMSL M200 and Topping E30 dac. Really hard for me to put into words since I’m not really good at describing sound like some of the others on this thread. The biggest difference to me is that since the A90 is a little warmer than the 789. And the 789 maybe due to the less warm nature seems to be better at lower end detail. It also feels like the higher are slightly brighter. Since Im using it on a HD-6XX I don’t have the best opinion on soundstage. I feel like some songs sound better on the A90 and others on the 789. Sorry for confusing you even more. I have to decide if Im going to keep the 789 by tomorrow since that is the last date for a full refund return. Also there is a possibility I might sell the A90 on here. I have the volume wobble others have talked about but otherwise in excellent condition. Hello ! Is your THX 789 the nicer looking ones or the hideous ones ? That ground loop issue was resolved months ago production run wise. Sajunky seems to have serious personal issues with Topping and their marketing in which he makes outlandish claims against them. Check his South Africa feeds to see how others view his opinion.
The only way I have introduced distortion via the Mojo was to increase the gain from the Mojo while it was turned on in Preamp mode. A90 is just a victim of overhype that should not be held against it. For $500 it is an over performer in its weight class. Is it better than a Hugo TT2? Of course not. But it was never meant to be. Apos gives a 30day free return. Try it for yourself. Use clean power. Etc. How do I get clean power for my A90?
Also, I got some XLR cables from HeartAudioCAble and Monoprice. The Monoprice cables are 16awg guage and cheaper. I jus tdon’t get why the ones from HartAudioCable are more expensive, they’re like $40 for a pair of 6″ XLRs. The Monoprice cables are only $5.50 each so $11 for a pair of 1.5ft. I’m comparing the 789 and A90 on an SMSL M200 and Topping E30 dac. Really hard for me to put into words since I’m not really good at describing sound like some of the others on this thread. The biggest difference to me is that since the A90 is a little warmer than the 789. And the 789 maybe due to the less warm nature seems to be better at lower end detail. It also feels like the higher are slightly brighter. Since Im using it on a HD-6XX I don’t have the best opinion on soundstage. I feel like some songs sound better on the A90 and others on the 789. Sorry for confusing you even more. I have to decide if Im going to keep the 789 by tomorrow since that is the last date for a full refund return. Also there is a possibility I might sell the A90 on here. I have the volume wobble others have talked about but otherwise in excellent condition. Thanks for the info! So in terms of pure technical prowess then, would you say the 789 has a slight edge? Does the A90 “trade” some of the detail retrieval for the warmth? I’m trying to see if it’s a pure upgrade, or more of a sidegrade. Also, what’s the volume wobble problem? Is that fairly common? I’m using cheap xlr cables, from d90 to a90 and never have any noise problems, plus all my system very close from each to other, but I’m using just comp.TIDAL Audeze lcd4, Lcd4z ,Hifiman HE1000SE, Focal Utopia,Abyss 1266, Audeze lcd3i , Beyerdynamic Xelento Wireless,Hifiman Ananda BT, Chord Mojo Poly, Mytek Brooklyn Bridge,ifi pro idsd4.4, XI audio formula s with powerman , Auris Nirvana, Sonet Morpheus 2 Those are excellent cables. I used a 6″ RCA from WBC (i believe it was the gotham cable, not mogami) and had no problems with noise when I used the Qutest over RCA with the A90. That’s great!, I am actually planning on finding alternative wire to Mogami that offer better noise rejection – made by WBC or otherwise, fortunately WBC builds many cables with alternative wire and termination: Mogami, Canare, Lava, van Damme, Gotham, Beldan terminated with Neutrik, Neutrik-Rean, Amphenold, Eminence, and KLEI https://www.amazon.com/stores/WORLD…LES/page/D5DC000C-B9F2-4E19-9143-22DE290EE84B I don’t see all of them advertised on Amazon, so I may need to make a build request for specific wire to be used directly from WBC. Fortunately the A90 is very sensitive to noise – like many preamps – so there is a noise floor to deal with and perhaps I can find a way to measure the noise foor other than listening for it – but that’s what really matters in the end – how the music free from noise sounds to you. There are other characteristics that differ between the wire brands / types that can affect matching the connection between the DAC and the AMP, and eventually the powered speakers or AMP / Speakers. But for me noise reduction was the most important characteristic. I’m glad you found a workaround, but you shouldn’t have to take all those steps just to get it to work properly. It should work properly out of the box, balanced or SE. I’m keeping mine, but it is true that the SE side is bit of a mess. Yup, I usually don’t have to worry about reducing noise into the device to this level of attention, but overall I am happy in that it made me research the noise rejection properties of the wires my cables were using and the ferrite core efficacy of my new USB cable – and as I add more ferrite cores / wraps. The A90 is so sensitive to noise inputs I can use it as an instrument to judge the efficacy of my cables at noise rejection. A nice side-effect of reducing the noise floor is that the resulting noise reduction contributed to the filling out of the soundstage and widening of the sound stage – which may also be due to the wire capacitance and inductance characteristics – which I will be listening for in the other wire versions of WBC cables with different brands of wires down the road. I’m much happier with the A90 / D90 MQA sound characteristics after re-cabling with the WBC Mogami 2534 wire, and it took the A90’s oversensitivity to noise to get me here. So the power cable that comes with the A90 is a bit short. If I want to get a longer power cable, any recommendations? I’m scared to get one on amazon and then it would burn my A90 Just get one that’s UL rated. I got these for my D90/A90 stack and they do the job. Just get one that’s UL rated. I got these for my D90/A90 stack and they do the job. What do you mean UL rated? what’s UL? I always thought the stock power cable has s omething special in it that you have to built to some kind of specifications? Underwriting Laboratories. Google it. Page 3 So the power cable that comes with the A90 is a bit short. If I want to get a longer power cable, any recommendations? I’m scared to get one on amazon and then it would burn my A90 I don’t have the A90, but I bet it’s the same power cable that came with the D90 MQA, which was way too short for my purposes. (And just way too short in general; I’ve used a number of components in the exact same spot and every other stock power cable, or external power supply, was easily long enough.) TBH, I just grabbed a longer standard power cable I had in a drawer and it works fine. Headphones/IEMs: ZMF Aeolus, Focal Elex, FioO FH9, Sennheiser HD700, Sennheiser HD6XX, Hifiman HE-400i, Campfire Audio Lyra II, Audeze iSine LX, Philips Fidelio X2, Sennheiser Game One (headset), iBasso IT03, Sennheiser IE80, Klipsh X6i, B&W C5 Series 2, MEE Audio M6 Pro Amps: Monolith Liquid Platinum, Gustard H16, Schiit Valhalla 2, Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid, Little Dot MK III, Schiit Magni 2U, Fiio Q1 Mark II, Schiit Fulla 2 DACs: Topping D90 MQA, Gustard X16, Cayin RU6, SMSL SU-8, Schiit Modi Multibit/Eitr I bought both the A90 and D90 MQA at the same time and the A90 cable was definitely shorter. I want to say by at least a foot. Yep, that’s why when I got the A90, I I had to let my power strip hanging a bit since the cable is a bit short. I know that’s not a good idea cause it might pop out and my A90 would lose power. I bought both the A90 and D90 MQA at the same time and the A90 cable was definitely shorter. I want to say by at least a foot. LOL. It can’t be much longer than 18 inches then. Headphones/IEMs: ZMF Aeolus, Focal Elex, FioO FH9, Sennheiser HD700, Sennheiser HD6XX, Hifiman HE-400i, Campfire Audio Lyra II, Audeze iSine LX, Philips Fidelio X2, Sennheiser Game One (headset), iBasso IT03, Sennheiser IE80, Klipsh X6i, B&W C5 Series 2, MEE Audio M6 Pro Amps: Monolith Liquid Platinum, Gustard H16, Schiit Valhalla 2, Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid, Little Dot MK III, Schiit Magni 2U, Fiio Q1 Mark II, Schiit Fulla 2 DACs: Topping D90 MQA, Gustard X16, Cayin RU6, SMSL SU-8, Schiit Modi Multibit/Eitr Those are excellent cables. I used a 6″ RCA from WBC (i believe it was the gotham cable, not mogami) and had no problems with noise when I used the Qutest over RCA with the A90. BTW, would you please look up the model number – what is the id of the wire used? I’d like to also try the Gotham cable in a WBC built cable. Did you notice any positive effects other than the lower noise floor? I’m hearing much better detail and dynamics than the previous SKW cables. What are the RCA connectors used on that WBC build? What is the USB cable you used? Does it have ferrite chokes, or did you add them? Thank you! Last edited: Aug 10, 2020 Thanks for the info! So in terms of pure technical prowess then, would you say the 789 has a slight edge? Does the A90 “trade” some of the detail retrieval for the warmth? I’m trying to see if it’s a pure upgrade, or more of a sidegrade. Also, what’s the volume wobble problem? Is that fairly common? With the HD6XX I like the 789 a touch better but its something I need to listen for. I would say it’s more of a sidegrade BUT it could be different based on the headphones you have. So on something like an LCDs the results could be different. Listening to the“Why so serious” from the Dark Knight, I noticed although extremely subtle, to my ears, there was a little bit more detail in the low end that starts at 3:26ish. I think this has to do with the less warm nature of the 789. But I’m also a noob at this. Honestly, both are good esp if you not sitting there A/B testing them. I’m still finding it hard to decide which one to keep and I’ve had them both for a whole month! Others on this thread have said this before, they are both good that either will be plenty. I would just look at cost, features, pre-amp, aesthetics (if you care), power output (although not a crazy difference). The wobble is in reference to the volume pot being a little loose. I’ve read about by a handful of other people as well. Honestly wouldn’t deter me from keeping it. This is a gif someone else put up but mine has the same issue. Again nothing that would deter me from keeping it and I’m not just saying that because I might sell my A90. https://imgur.com/a/60nHNRG#WEmoxex Thanks for the info! So in terms of pure technical prowess then, would you say the 789 has a slight edge? Does the A90 “trade” some of the detail retrieval for the warmth? I’m trying to see if it’s a pure upgrade, or more of a sidegrade. Also, what’s the volume wobble problem? Is that fairly common? Sidegrade. THX 789 still somewhat the benchmark. Just got the A90/D90MQA stack — Apos delivered 3 days ahead of schedule! Really delighted with the sound. This may be an endgame setup, as I can’t imagine what more I’d want or expect sonically, from, say, a Chord DAVE or some other ultra-high end gear. The 4.4mm Pentaconn output is a game-changer, as it allows me to have one cable for both desktop and DAP. I was curious as to how much better it might sound than my HiBy R6 Pro, and the answer is: quite a bit. The whole presentation is just BIGGER, punchier, and smoother. More detail everywhere. Sound feels very warm and organic, pairs really well with Focal Utopias. Loving it with both MQA and Qobuz Hi-Res. This will be the acid test for which streaming service I marry.
Nice Setup you got there man. Can I ask what is that black cable you got there? That’s not the stock Utopia cable, is it? thanks. Nice Setup you got there man. Can I ask what is that black cable you got there? That’s not the stock Utopia cable, is it? thanks.
Thank you, sir! Much appreciated. It’s an Arctic Cable Signum Series. The stock cable was bristly, microphonic and stiff — truly an unpleasant piece of gear. Really weird that Focal ever released such an accessory, but I’m guessing the new one is better? Focal Utopia, Topping D90 MQA/A90, Shanling M8, Hiby R6 Pro, Arctic Signum Cable Thank you, sir! Much appreciated. It’s an Arctic Cable Signum Series. The stock cable was bristly, microphonic and stiff — truly an unpleasant piece of gear. Really weird that Focal ever released such an accessory, but I’m guessing the new one is better?
Nice man. How long did it take them to build your cable? 2 weeks? Nice man. How long did it take them to build your cable? 2 weeks?
Give or take — they do a break-in period before they ship. My experience is not the norm, as just as they were about to ship, I realized that I’d stupidly ordered the wrong plug and they very graciously agreed to build me another. They were good with communication, and the cable is superb. Focal Utopia, Topping D90 MQA/A90, Shanling M8, Hiby R6 Pro, Arctic Signum Cable Thank you, sir! Much appreciated. It’s an Arctic Cable Signum Series. The stock cable was bristly, microphonic and stiff — truly an unpleasant piece of gear. Really weird that Focal ever released such an accessory, but I’m guessing the new one is better? Good to hear that you had a good experience with Arctic since I am planning to order a cable from them for my ZMF Aeolus in the near future. (Though I’m planning on one of the less expensive premium copper series; Ion I think.) I assume (or at least hope) that the Utopia cable is upgraded from the cables Focal includes with its cheaper models. Not only were the cables provided with the Elex unpleasant to use, but the stock XLR cable failed three times in a little over a year despite never leaving my apartment and receiving careful handling. After two replacements (of the entire headphone) by Drop, I gave up and got an XLR cable for it from Periapt. Headphones/IEMs: ZMF Aeolus, Focal Elex, FioO FH9, Sennheiser HD700, Sennheiser HD6XX, Hifiman HE-400i, Campfire Audio Lyra II, Audeze iSine LX, Philips Fidelio X2, Sennheiser Game One (headset), iBasso IT03, Sennheiser IE80, Klipsh X6i, B&W C5 Series 2, MEE Audio M6 Pro Amps: Monolith Liquid Platinum, Gustard H16, Schiit Valhalla 2, Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid, Little Dot MK III, Schiit Magni 2U, Fiio Q1 Mark II, Schiit Fulla 2 DACs: Topping D90 MQA, Gustard X16, Cayin RU6, SMSL SU-8, Schiit Modi Multibit/Eitr BTW, would you please look up the model number – what is the id of the wire used? I’d like to also try the Gotham cable. Did you notice any positive effects other than the lower noise floor? I’m hearing much better detail and dynamics than the previous SKW cables. What are the RCA connectors used on that WBC build? What is the USB cable you used? Does it have ferrite chokes, or did you add them? Thank you! These are the ones I got: https://www.amazon.com/0-5-Foot-RCA…worlds+best+cables+.5ft&qid=1597039100&sr=8-9 Sorry, I don’t have the A90 anymore, so can’t provide any of those. I didn’t try any other cables, these are just my go-to cables and they worked perfectly, like they usually do. Primare NP5/Roon -> Chord Hugo TT2 -> Abyss AB-1266φ TC, DCA Stealth
Favorite headphones: Hifiman Edition X v2, Susvara, Dan Clark Audio Ether 2, Stealth, Abyss AB-1266φ TC
My music: The COVID EP (tidal, spotify) These are the ones I got: https://www.amazon.com/0-5-Foot-RCA…worlds+best+cables+.5ft&qid=1597039100&sr=8-9 Sorry, I don’t have the A90 anymore, so can’t provide any of those. I didn’t try any other cables, these are just my go-to cables and they worked perfectly, like they usually do. Thanks, that’s what I was looking for, I found the 1 foot version and will order it, and then look for the WBC XLR build with Gotham cable, and see if there is improvement from the Mogami builds. So you had no noise problems with the A90? What was the problem that caused you to get rid of the A90 then? Page 4 Thanks, that’s what I was looking for, I found the 1 foot version and will order it, and then look for the WBC XLR build with Gotham cable, and see if there is improvement from the Mogami builds. So you had no noise problems with the A90? What was the problem that caused you to get rid of the A90 then? So between Gotham and Mogami wires, which one is better? Im trying to get a 6′ XLR cable for a Microphone and Interconnect between my DX7 Pro and A90. Currently I’m using Hart Audio Cable XLR going from DX7 Pro to A90. So between Gotham and Mogami wires, which one is better? Im trying to get a 6′ XLR cable for a Microphone and Interconnect between my DX7 Pro and A90. Currently I’m using Hart Audio Cable XLR going from DX7 Pro to A90. I haven’t used Gotham wire made WBC cable yet, that’s why I was asking @ra990 what model Gotham cable he used so I can order some to compare against the Mogami cables I am using. For now I’d definitely recommend the WBC Mogami 2534 made RCA and XLR cables I mention here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/topping-a90.927412/post-15789465 WBC makes other lengths than what I bought, I only needed 1 foot length, but WBC has many listings for other length RCA / XLR cables using Mogami 2534 wire. Please come back and let us know how it works out for your set up. Last edited: Aug 10, 2020 Hi friends! Finally received A90, the parcel went 41 days. Connected to the D90, a great bunch. The sound quality is wonderful, the design is nice too. But there is also a flaw. it may be due to the grounding and electrical wiring of the apartment. I found a problem with power noise. This is when connected to the same network filter as the DAC and PC. Strange, but even on xLR. I was surprised, because I had previously had a similar experience on the SP200, but it had interference only on the RCA, with xLR they were not. The problem was fixed by connecting the A90 to an power filter with outlet in another part of the room. Perhaps this will help someone who has not tried such a power connection option. I also wanted to advise those who use regular USB and power cables to replace them. For example, before the replacement, I did not hear what the D90 how much good quality sound can it produce. Now I have a Furutech GT2 USB and a pair of power cable with aliexpress, inexpensive about $ 20 per cable, but even with them there is a difference. Also for maximum sound quality, I recommend that you disable preamp and bluetooth in the D90 settings, if you don’t need they. If someone does not know how to open the settings menu, it is very simple : the D90 is turned off by the button on the back, holding the power button on the front, press the power button on the back. And choose only one RCA or xLR output on remote. p.s. Sorry if the post does not comply with some rules and regulations of the forum, this is my first message here. Last edited: Aug 11, 2020 JVC HA-SW01/ JVC HA-FW10k / Smabat M2s pro+superone unit. Fiio em5. Yinman 600
tract: Topping E50+Singxer SA1/ Ibasso dx208 Hi friends! Finally received A90, the parcel went 41 days. Connected to the D90, a great bunch. The sound quality is wonderful, the design is nice too. But there is also a flaw. it may be due to the grounding and electrical wiring of the apartment. I found a problem with power noise. This is when connected to the same network filter as the DAC and PC. interference appeared only when the PC mouse moves, if it is not moved-there is no interference. Strange, but even on xLR. I was surprised, because I had previously had a similar experience on the SP200, but it had interference only on the RCA, with xLR they were not. Perhaps it’s xLR cables, now it’s diy Ortofon 8nx + itt cannon. The problem was fixed by connecting the A90 to an power filter with outlet in another part of the room. Perhaps this will help someone who has not tried such a power connection option. I also wanted to advise those who use regular USB and power cables to replace them. For example, before the replacement, I did not hear what the D90 how much good quality sound can it produce. Now I have a Furutech GT2 USB and a pair of power cable with aliexpress, inexpensive about $ 20 per cable, but even with them there is a difference. Also for maximum sound quality, I recommend that you disable preamp and bluetooth in the D90 settings, if you don’t need they. If someone does not know how to open the settings menu, it is very simple : the D90 is turned off by the button on the back, holding the power button on the front, press the power button on the back. And choose only one RCA or xLR output on remote. p.s. Sorry if the post does not comply with some rules and regulations of the forum, this is my first message here. These are the RCA, XLR, USB cables I am using that vastly reduced the noise into my A90 – enough to decide to keep it, it sounds great now with the noise mostly gone, and I’m working on getting rid of the rest of the noise inputs to the A90:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/topping-a90.927412/post-15789465 ————————————————————————————————– Here are the AC cables I am looking at getting, they are a little more pricey than I feel comfortable getting a dozen of, but so far they are the only double shielded 14awg cables I can find that are stocked in inventory, and don’t have a 500 unit minimum order to get run made: NEMA 5-15 Male Plug to IEC320 C13 Connector Double Shielded 1.8 meters / 6 feet 15a/125v 14/3 SJT Black – Power Cord https://www.stayonline.com/power-cords/nema-5-15-power-cords-2997.asp There are other lengths: https://www.stayonline.com/pc_combi…45EF4F946D0C40A483A3C2B739E5F9D3&search_prod= There are other combinations of shield and wire awg that might be more affordable, and adequate to the job, I’m still deciding what to order and try. They also have a clearance lot of 7 of these cables, not enough over all for me, and not sure if 4 feet is enough for what I will need, but some of you might be ok with a single order qty, under closeouts I selected the ends + SJT double shielding and ended up with 3 options: https://www.stayonline.com/power-cords/nema-5-15-power-cords-5761.asp
https://www.stayonline.com/category/c-closeouts.asp
https://www.stayonline.com/category/c-closeouts.asp?pc_id=14B5568782C24F20BD3D28D74CC24786&search_keyword=&opts=&faceted_search_terms=Male+Plug~9D2B1AC469574A329FC64782FBE5C85F|Cord+Jacket~B470BDF047514BF2853541B957E5C6C4 I am looking at other sources too. My criteria are shielding or better yet double shielding, 14awg – standardizing for all power cables – and good noise rejection. Any suggestions? Last edited: Aug 11, 2020 I don’t recommend such move. Any voltage spikes in your installation (lightning, power outages, switching home devices like a fridge) can destroy USB ports. Rather get galvanically isolated USB device. Using to many filters can make it even worse. Ideally: one mains filter for all interconnected devices and a proper ground connection. Perhaps you misunderstood me. In my room there are two outlets, one at the door, it includes a power filter that runs the PC, DAC and monitor. The other one is at the window, and it has a different power filter on. When connecting the A90 to the first power filter, there is interference. By connecting the A90 to the second power filter, there is no interference. There are no risks or problems with this type of connection. Cables are currently a hot toping on this thread. understandable why it happens, but works as a workaround, it doesn’t remove source of the problem. Your solution may work on your system, but fails on many others and in reverse. I meant that replacing the USB cable and power cable that are in the box gives a good result. This message is sent to those who have not had experience replacing these cables and are skeptical about this, and are not very impressed with the D90 level for example. Because I was the same, and if I had not changed the cables and do not turned off the preamp, sold the D90,then I had a false opinion about it regarding its level of sound quality. A few experiments with connecting A90. Option 1: A90 is connected to D90 via XLR and RCA. Into the socket with the PC and DAC. There is has interference. But there is no interference when connecting to another outlet A90. Option 2: A90 is connected to D90 only via XLR, rca cables are disconnected. Connected to the first outlet together with the PC and DAC, there is no interference. Conclusion: Interference occurs only if there is an RCA connection, when problems with wiring and grounding in the apartment. Possible solutions to the problem: 1. Use only the XLR connection 2. Use both XLR and RCA connections, but connect the A90 to another outlet without problems. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy with topping works. The D90 and A90 are wonderful stuf. I wanted to ask if anyone had experience comparing a 90 and Cayin ha-1 mk2 ? It has an amazing power of 2×2200 mW for 600 ohms. Can you advise what the amplifier better for 600om load, on SE output, not balanced. Last edited: Aug 11, 2020 JVC HA-SW01/ JVC HA-FW10k / Smabat M2s pro+superone unit. Fiio em5. Yinman 600
tract: Topping E50+Singxer SA1/ Ibasso dx208 This one should sound better than a A90 (on both RCA and XLR connection). I can say with confidence, as it has the same amp as in R28 DAC/Amp combo, recently compared to A90 on the South African forum: http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB1AMP/NFB1AMPEN19.htm Thank you for your recommendation. It has more power, but still 600 mW/600 Ohms is not so much, the A90 has less, 500 mW/600 Ohms on the balance and 125 mW/600 Ohms on the SE. For example, the cayin ha-1 mk2 has 2200 mW/600 Ohms, this is a significant difference! But I have not heard these amp, plus in addition to power, other characteristics they have are noticeably worse. And disign from audio-gd device not very pretty =) Last edited: Aug 11, 2020 JVC HA-SW01/ JVC HA-FW10k / Smabat M2s pro+superone unit. Fiio em5. Yinman 600
tract: Topping E50+Singxer SA1/ Ibasso dx208
Thank you for your recommendation. It has more power, but still 600 mW/600 Ohms is not so much, the A90 has less, 500 mW/600 Ohms on the balance and 125 mW/600 Ohms on the SE. For example, the cayin ha-1 mk2 has 2200 mW/600 Ohms, this is a significant difference! But I have not heard these amp, plus in addition to power, other characteristics they have are noticeably worse. And disign from audio-gd device not very pretty =) What headphones are you using? 500mW @600Ohms is loads! (for reference the T1 2nd Gen from Beyerdynamic only needs 63mW to get to 120dB SPL – which is painfully loud) Also I’m using the HiFiMAN HE6SE with the A90 – they need 5624.66mW to get to 120dB SPL – again this is wayyy louder than anyone needs) i7 powered custom PC > Keces S3 > Feliks Audio Espressivo MKII > German Maestro GMP400 / HiFiMan HE6se + HE-500 Audio Opus #2 / iBasso DX200 > Various cables > Final A8000 / Custom Art FIBAE 3 / Inearz P350 / 64 Audio A6t and more… OStewart’s Review Index (Head-Fi) Sound Perfection Reviews What headphones are you using? Now the ones described in the signature. For them, the A90 is more than enough. But there is interest in different old models, without a replacement cable, for a classic connection. For example, the dt880-600 Ohm, in the review zeos said that the A90 does not fully disclose them. The volume level is not so important for me, but as far as I understand, the more power the amplifier gives out, often excessive to most headphones, the more better & complete the sound is. Last edited: Aug 12, 2020 JVC HA-SW01/ JVC HA-FW10k / Smabat M2s pro+superone unit. Fiio em5. Yinman 600
tract: Topping E50+Singxer SA1/ Ibasso dx208
Now the ones described in the signature. For them, the A90 is more than enough. But there is interest in different old models, without a replacement cable, for a classic connection. For example, the dt880-600 Ohm, in the review zeos said that the A90 does not fully disclose them. The volume level is not so important for me, but as far as I understand, the more power the amplifier gives out, often excessive to most headphones, the more better & complete the sound is. A bit more is fine, but we’re talking almost 10x the power required. So you’ll be fine with the A90, honestly. (Zeos probably knows very little about impedance matching and how it works, let alone headphone calculations) I would not trust him to say if the A90 will drive a said pair of headphones. It’ll easily blow the drivers of many headphones if you’re not careful. Last edited: Aug 12, 2020 i7 powered custom PC > Keces S3 > Feliks Audio Espressivo MKII > German Maestro GMP400 / HiFiMan HE6se + HE-500 Audio Opus #2 / iBasso DX200 > Various cables > Final A8000 / Custom Art FIBAE 3 / Inearz P350 / 64 Audio A6t and more… OStewart’s Review Index (Head-Fi) Sound Perfection Reviews A bit more is fine, but we’re talking almost 10x the power required. So you’ll be fine with the A90, honestly. (Zeos probably knows very little about impedance matching and how it works, let alone headphone calculations) I would not trust him to say if the A90 will drive a said pair of headphones. M aybe you are right, I do not perceive him as a specialist and I do not really like his frequent swearing, but him a man-emotion, he shares his experience and sometimes this is more important than knowledge of the theory and qualifications.
I am also grateful to him for the tradition of making sound demo recordings of headphones. JVC HA-SW01/ JVC HA-FW10k / Smabat M2s pro+superone unit. Fiio em5. Yinman 600
tract: Topping E50+Singxer SA1/ Ibasso dx208 Hello A90 users! I just blew the 2 fuse of my A90. I dont know why it blew. Luckily i have a 1A 250V extra fuse. But the stock is 500mA 250V only. Can it harm my A90? Thanks Hello A90 users! I just blew the 2 fuse of my A90. I dont know why it blew. Luckily i have a 1A 250V extra fuse. But the stock is 500mA 250V only. Can it harm my A90? Thanks TL;DR. Usually when fuse is blown, something else is wrong, not a fuse. If it blew 500mA fuse (while it shouldn’t), it will also blew 1A fuse and return to the safe (dead) state. Fuse is only there to prevent fire. Yes, you can use 1A fuse to check whether it get blown instantly. If it doesn’t, then switch device off and install the right fuse. For this type of devices use only a slow-blown fuses. /Sorry, not sure if my grammar is fine/ Hello A90 users! I just blew the 2 fuse of my A90. I dont know why it blew. Luckily i have a 1A 250V extra fuse. But the stock is 500mA 250V only. Can it harm my A90? Thanks
So how did it blow up? too hot? Hello A90 users! I just blew the 2 fuse of my A90. I dont know why it blew. Luckily i have a 1A 250V extra fuse. But the stock is 500mA 250V only. Can it harm my A90? Thanks Topping is using 1A fuse for current A90 shipment. TL;DR. Usually when fuse is blown, something else is wrong, not a fuse. If it blew 500mA fuse (while it shouldn’t), it will also blew 1A fuse and return to the safe (dead) state. Fuse is only there to prevent fire. Yes, you can use 1A fuse to check whether it get blown instantly. If it doesn’t, then switch device off and install the right fuse. For this type of devices use only a slow-blown fuses. /Sorry, not sure if my grammar is fine/
It blew upon switching on.. dont know might be a sudden surge of electricity? It happened twice with the 2 stock fuse. Hopefully the 1A fuse will last. Page 5 It blew upon switching on.. So how did you know when it blew up? LIke did it make any sound? sorry Im just wondering just in case it happened to my A90 So how did you know when it blew up? LIke did it make any sound? sorry Im just wondering just in case it happened to my A90 I used it the other night, turned off the avr (without turning the back switch off) then the next day i turned on the avr, the a90 wont power anymore I used it the other night, turned off the avr (without turning the back switch off) then the next day i turned on the avr, the a90 wont power anymore Did you switch off on the front switch? Is anyone experiencing issues with switching from RCA to XLR and back? I have this setup: 2 dacs connected to the A90, one using RCA and one using XLR cables. The DACs are synced using Roon, meaning they play the same track at the same time. The signal is basically identical to both DACs. When I switch from RCA to XLR and back there are 2 behaviors that I’m noticing: 1. The song is moved back about half a second every time I switch the input. This does not occur when the second behavior happens. 2. The tempo of the played track changes and it stays changed for about 10-15 seconds until it gets back to normal. Even if I continuously switch from RCA to XLR the tempo remains changed until I wait some 15 seconds for it to disappear. I switched the cables and the DACs so its not that. I’ve used the D90 MQA, the FiiO M15 in DAC mode and Schiit Yggdrasil. Still the same. Anyone can test this or knows what is going on? Thanks! Is anyone experiencing issues with switching from RCA to XLR and back? I have this setup: 2 dacs connected to the A90, one using RCA and one using XLR cables. The DACs are synced using Roon, meaning they play the same track at the same time. The signal is basically identical to both DACs. When I switch from RCA to XLR and back there are 2 behaviors that I’m noticing: 1. The song is moved back about half a second every time I switch the input. This does not occur when the second behavior happens. 2. The tempo of the played track changes and it stays changed for about 10-15 seconds until it gets back to normal. Even if I continuously switch from RCA to XLR the tempo remains changed until I wait some 15 seconds for it to disappear. I switched the cables and the DACs so its not that. I’ve used the D90 MQA, the FiiO M15 in DAC mode and Schiit Yggdrasil. Still the same. Anyone can test this or knows what is going on? Thanks!
The timing and tempo of your song is changing for 15 seconds when you change the input on the amplifier? That is very weird. It sounds impossible. Any bufferings or retimings would have to happen in or before the DAC. Can the DACs even be aware of the amplifier’s input setting? The timing and tempo of your song is changing for 15 seconds when you change the input on the amplifier? That is very weird. It sounds impossible. Any bufferings or retimings would have to happen in or before the DAC. Can the DACs even be aware of the amplifier’s input setting? If it happens with the DAC then why does it happen with any DAC I plug in the A90? The only constant here is the A90 and Roon. But Roon doesn’t know I changed the input on the A90 and doesn’t care since its sending signal only to the DACs. If it happens with the DAC then why does it happen with any DAC I plug in the A90? The only constant here is the A90 and Roon. But Roon doesn’t know I changed the input on the A90 and doesn’t care since its sending signal only to the DACs.
Yes, it’s pretty weird. Unless changing inputs on the A90 is sending some kind of electrical spike to the DAC which is messing it up. That would also be weird – because even if there were such a spike the interconnects are connected to the analogue part of the DAC but what you describe would require a disruption to the digital side of it. Do you hear a gap in the sound after switching inputs, or is the music continuous but just mistimed? Yes, it’s pretty weird. Unless changing inputs on the A90 is sending some kind of electrical spike to the DAC which is messing it up. That would also be weird – because even if there were such a spike the interconnects are connected to the analogue part of the DAC but what you describe would require a disruption to the digital side of it. Do you hear a gap in the sound after switching inputs, or is the music continuous but just mistimed? When the tempo issue occurs there is no pause between switching the inputs but if there is no tempo change than the first issue occurs where there is small delay and the song goes back half a second. Is anyone experiencing issues with switching from RCA to XLR and back? I have this setup: 2 dacs connected to the A90, one using RCA and one using XLR cables. The DACs are synced using Roon, meaning they play the same track at the same time. The signal is basically identical to both DACs. When I switch from RCA to XLR and back there are 2 behaviors that I’m noticing: 1. The song is moved back about half a second every time I switch the input. This does not occur when the second behavior happens. 2. The tempo of the played track changes and it stays changed for about 10-15 seconds until it gets back to normal. Even if I continuously switch from RCA to XLR the tempo remains changed until I wait some 15 seconds for it to disappear. I switched the cables and the DACs so its not that. I’ve used the D90 MQA, the FiiO M15 in DAC mode and Schiit Yggdrasil. Still the same. Anyone can test this or knows what is going on? Thanks! This has got to be happening in your DAC or Roon. The amplifier has nothing to do with the position of the track and has no way of modifying it. It is simply amplifying what is being fed. Your playback on the two inputs are not in sync going into the amp, guaranteed. Primare NP5/Roon -> Chord Hugo TT2 -> Abyss AB-1266φ TC, DCA Stealth
Favorite headphones: Hifiman Edition X v2, Susvara, Dan Clark Audio Ether 2, Stealth, Abyss AB-1266φ TC
My music: The COVID EP (tidal, spotify) This has got to be happening in your DAC or Roon. The amplifier has nothing to do with the position of the track and has no way of modifying it. It is simply amplifying what is being fed. Your playback on the two inputs are not in sync going into the amp, guaranteed. I understand this logic, but here’s the thing: it only happens with the A90. I can plugin any combination of dacs into the A90 and I get the same result. I also have a NuPrime HPA-9 which has 2 RCA inputs (no XLR) and when switching the inputs on it there is no such issue. The same DACs, the same Roon and the same syncronization of DACs in Roon. I’m trying to figure out what could be the cause. What am I not seeing? I understand this logic, but here’s the thing: it only happens with the A90. I can plugin any combination of dacs into the A90 and I get the same result. I also have a NuPrime HPA-9 which has 2 RCA inputs (no XLR) and when switching the inputs on it there is no such issue. The same DACs, the same Roon and the same syncronization of DACs in Roon. I’m trying to figure out what could be the cause. What am I not seeing? No idea, it sounds really strange to me, and I’m sure there’s something that’s amiss…but I’d be shocked if the A90 had anything to do with it. Unless…like the other user stated, it’s sending back some kind of spike or surge that is causing the DAC to mess up, but that would be really really strange! Primare NP5/Roon -> Chord Hugo TT2 -> Abyss AB-1266φ TC, DCA Stealth
Favorite headphones: Hifiman Edition X v2, Susvara, Dan Clark Audio Ether 2, Stealth, Abyss AB-1266φ TC
My music: The COVID EP (tidal, spotify) Page 6 Thanks for the info. Im using macOS so no WASAPI or ASIO. The built in audio drivers (which are universal). My bad. Mac has USB Audio Class 2 drivers, so no vendor drivers are required. MacOS has also different USB transfer modes. I saw it in the Audirvana setup; items like “Exclusive access mode” and “Direct mode”. I remember, both should be checked. Sorry I can’t help with Mac. Perhaps you should check Ron setup. Last edited: Aug 15, 2020 Ok, so I just got my A90 today and have it hooked up to both XLR and RCA. The XLR is coming from an XLR switcher box where I have 2 different DACs connected via XLR and a tube buffer via RCA. The RCA that connects to the A90 is a different tube buffer. I like the sounds of both the tube buffers for the different sounds each one produces (different models and different tubes), and like to switch b/n DACs and both tube buffers. I do not detect any distortion so far. Is there a certain test that I can verify if I am experiencing the distortion issue? I am not using particularly high quality cables [neither XLR nor RCA]. I have read that the issue is based on a sort of design flaw, but am unsure if this is an issue that affects every set-up. I am hopeful this can work in my current configuration. I will say that I am enjoying what I’m hearing so far, too. I’ve owned both a 789 and an SP 200 in the past and think this absolutely sounds better [def. a bit warmer, which is good bc the THX amps are cold and sterile, IMO]. Anyways, Thanks! Last edited: Aug 14, 2020 Source: HDD ➔ PC (Foobar2K) ➔ Pi2AES ➔ BNC ➔ Schiit Gungnir Multibit [A2] | I²S ➔ Topping D70S ➔
AMP: Burson Soloist 3XP+SC 3A | Schiit Jotunheim 2 | Cavalli Liquid Platinum (w/ Capacitor Mod) | THX AAA 789 ➔
Headphone: Audeze LCD-XC [2018] | Focal Clear | HiFiMAN HE6SE v1 | Beyer DT880 600Ω (Balanced) | Denon AH-D7200 [DMT Mod] | Senn HD6XX ➔
Portable: FiiO M9 | FiiO BTR5 | LG V50 ➔ Fearless S8F | 7Hz Timeless | Ikko OH10 | ThieAudio L3 | Moondrop KPE | Tin HiFi P1, T3 Plus ➔
“There’s only 2 types of music: good music… and bad.” I understand this logic, but here’s the thing: it only happens with the A90. I can plugin any combination of dacs into the A90 and I get the same result. I also have a NuPrime HPA-9 which has 2 RCA inputs (no XLR) and when switching the inputs on it there is no such issue. The same DACs, the same Roon and the same syncronization of DACs in Roon. I’m trying to figure out what could be the cause. What am I not seeing? As an option, it may be the problem in xlr outputs of the DAC, the situation you described is closer to a digital problem. This is the only way to check and understand that, the problem in the A90, can only be connected another amplifier in the same way, ie rca and xlr. JVC HA-SW01/ JVC HA-FW10k / Smabat M2s pro+superone unit. Fiio em5. Yinman 600
tract: Topping E50+Singxer SA1/ Ibasso dx208 I’ve found the culprit. Its not the A90 at all. Its the ifi iDefender USB3.0. What a piece of garbage! So, one of my DACs was always connected using the ifi Defender so I was always getting this behavior. The reason I decided to look there was that I synced the FiiO M15 and the D90 connected to the A90 using Roon and just switched the headphone, this time around, from one amp to the other. I noticed the tempo change without having to switch from XLR to RCA. I was doing nothing but changing the headphone. So I realized its the digital signal. Removed the ifi Defender from the D90 and the problem is solved. And before you blame it on something else please remember that I had the ifi Defender connected to other DACs before. So its not the D90 either. Last edited: Aug 17, 2020 Recall seeing someone use the A90 w their Susvara, anyone else here has a similar setup to share feedback? 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 Last edited: Aug 19, 2020 Home theater: LG OLED 65C9P, Marantz SR 7012, 3 Outlaw 2200 Monoblocks, 7.2.4, SVS Ultra Tower, SVS Ultra Bookshelf, SVS Ultra Center, SVS Prime Bookshelf, SVS Prime Elevation, Dual SVS Ultra PB16
Family Room: LG OLED 65E7P, Sonos Play Bar, Sub, 2 Play 1’s and 2 Play 5’s for music in adjoining rooms
Over The Ear: Focal Utopia, AKG K812 Pro, Focal Clear, Beyerdynamic T1 Black, Fostex TH-X00 Ebony, Audeze EL-8 Titanium Closed, Sennheiser HD700, Audio Technica M50x, Audeze Mobius
IEM’s: Campfire Audio Andromeda, Shure SE846 DAC: Topping D90 MQA
Amps: iFi Micro iDSD Black Label, Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies with tube power supply, Beyerdynamic A2, Audeze Deckard, THX 789 AAA, Topping A90 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 We are all together in this forum/group because we recognize we have a sickness. And we accept it. And we love you for it too.
Buy more absurdly unnecessary HP items. It makes us all feel better and not alone. I can proudly say, “I have a headphone problem”! DACs/Sources — Chord Hugo TT, Modwright Oppo UDP-205, PS Audio Directstream DAC, PS Audio Directstream Memory Player, Chord Mojo w/ Poly, AVM 60, Anthem STR Integrated, Anthem STR Preamplifier, Roon Labs via QNAP TS-1685, Auralic Aries w/ LPS, Aries Mini
AMP — PS Audio BHK 250, Benchmark AHB2 (2), Anthem STR Amplifier, Moon-Audio Dragon IHA-1, A&K L1000 HP —- Abyss 1266 Phi w/ CC pads, Audeze LCD-3F, LCD-XC with Nordost Heimdall 2 cables, Sennheiser 800 S with Moon-Audio Silver, Oppo PM3, Audeze EL8 IEM — UE18 Pro, UE18 Pro+
DMP — AK380cu w/AMP and XLR cradle, Hifiman 901s, Acoustic Research AR-M2, AK KANN, Sony NW-ZX2, HE-Adapter We are all together in this forum/group because we recognize we have a sickness. And we accept it. And we love you for it too. Buy more absurdly unnecessary HP items. It makes us all feel better and not alone. I can proudly say, “I have a headphone problem”! [/QUO 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
I see your stand and raise with a more expensive stand. Last edited: Aug 19, 2020 Unless you run 4.4mm then i’ll save $200 and get the 789…… also best amp for HD800 ain’t this price bracket imo I am curious about this statement. I am thinking about getting a pair of HD800s or LDC3. I’ll likely get a new amp as well. Why would the A90 not be the right amp for the HD800s? On paper, it looks like a good match and has no audible distortion. Just curious as I am new to high end headphones. Is it overkill in terms of power, underpowered, or is there something else that makes it less than ideal? Enjoying this combo. Mainly use IEMs and HD 6XX. Have no issues with my unit in contrast to what several people have reported. Apologies for the dust, my neighbor is doing some renovation. Last edited: Aug 21, 2020 I am curious about this statement. I am thinking about getting a pair of HD800s or LDC3. I’ll likely get a new amp as well. Why would the A90 not be the right amp for the HD800s? On paper, it looks like a good match and has no audible distortion. Just curious as I am new to high end headphones. Is it overkill in terms of power, underpowered, or is there something else that makes it less than ideal? I own both the LCD 3F upgraded to 2016 model and the HD800 S. They both sound fantastic with the A90. Ignore Sajunky predisposition to the A90. He seems to invade every forum worldwide to harp against Topping and promote his favorite Audio GD at every chance. Note he’s practically the lone voice piping in almost immediately whenever someone mentions buyong an A90. For someone who doesnt like the A90, he seems to really watch the forums where A90 is discussed. Like he’s performing a social service for all the world’s forums and discussions. Saving us from ourselves! What an ego! And unlike Sajunky, I actually own the hardware and dont rely upon a review to compare an A90 to an R28 or some such. For the cost in shipping an R28 plus the hardware, the A90 will give you 100% with a blacker background without paying for a DAC you may not need. And a better fit for IEMs as well. 4.4mm Pentacon gives more surface area and travels nicely for IEMs or HP.
However the Audio Gd AMP1 is also a decent model, but a bit lowend. Try the Master 9 if you want an Audio-GD. Aesthetics wise you will need more room and space for heat and such. But much better than the 1AMP. But no local source for support except shipping back to China or Netherlands (Magna HiFi is a great way to purchase Audio GD). Have a good source for your A90 and all will be great. More than Enough power for a Sennheiser and future headphone purchases. Dont forget about ZMF or Meze as choices. Also good fits for the A90. Remember these are low end amplifiers. Well under $1000 and should be used as a baseline for when you purchase a more detailed Headphone Amp. The Topping is nice and small and sleek and can travel with as well on vacation or business in a suitcase. Did I mention they sound great and power any headphone? Dont believe the nonsense that every A90 is some sort of hum like defect. I have two units both using XLR and RCA at the same time…AK380 XLR cradle, MoJo Poly, iBasso DX220 and Cayin N8. No issues. Along with thousands of others. Last edited: Aug 21, 2020 DACs/Sources — Chord Hugo TT, Modwright Oppo UDP-205, PS Audio Directstream DAC, PS Audio Directstream Memory Player, Chord Mojo w/ Poly, AVM 60, Anthem STR Integrated, Anthem STR Preamplifier, Roon Labs via QNAP TS-1685, Auralic Aries w/ LPS, Aries Mini
AMP — PS Audio BHK 250, Benchmark AHB2 (2), Anthem STR Amplifier, Moon-Audio Dragon IHA-1, A&K L1000 HP —- Abyss 1266 Phi w/ CC pads, Audeze LCD-3F, LCD-XC with Nordost Heimdall 2 cables, Sennheiser 800 S with Moon-Audio Silver, Oppo PM3, Audeze EL8 IEM — UE18 Pro, UE18 Pro+
DMP — AK380cu w/AMP and XLR cradle, Hifiman 901s, Acoustic Research AR-M2, AK KANN, Sony NW-ZX2, HE-Adapter I recently had a friend’s A90 for a few days and thoroughly enjoyed my time with it – my Audio-GD R28 was on DAC duties. The A90 impressed me on many levels, at $500 there is no other amp I would want to buy ahead of it. I’m collecting it again tomorrow to test with a D90 MQA which another friend left with me for a few days (pretty impressive DAC). Last edited by a moderator: Aug 21, 2020 Last known location | Somewhere in the audio enthusiast rabbit hole… not sure I’ll find my way out
Chain | PSA P3 > Lumin U1 Mini > AGD DI-20 > AGD R7HE > LTA MicroZOTL MZ2 > Kinki EX-M1+
Headphones | Meze Empyrean > HiFiMan Susvara > Sennheiser HD650
Speakers | Sonus Faber Chameleon T > Axis Voicebox S I own both the LCD 3F upgraded to 2016 model and the HD800 S. They both sound fantastic with the A90. Ignore Sajunky predisposition to the A90. He seems to invade every forum worldwide to harp against Topping and promote his favorite Audio GD at every chance. Note he’s practically the lone voice piping in almost immediately whenever someone mentions buyong an A90. For someone who doesnt like the A90, he seems to really watch the forums where A90 is discussed. Like he’s performing a social service for all the world’s forums and discussions. Saving us from ourselves! What an ego! And unlike Sajunky, I actually own the hardware and dont rely upon a review to compare an A90 to an R28 or some such. For the cost in shipping an R28 plus the hardware, the A90 will give you 100% with a blacker background without paying for a DAC you may not need. And a better fit for IEMs as well. 4.4mm Pentacon gives more surface area and travels nicely for IEMs or HP.
However the Audio Gd AMP1 is also a decent model, but a bit lowend. Try the Master 9 if you want an Audio-GD. Aesthetics wise you will need more room and space for heat and such. But much better than the 1AMP. But no local source for support except shipping back to China or Netherlands (Magna HiFi is a great way to purchase Audio GD). Have a good source for your A90 and all will be great. More than Enough power for a Sennheiser and future headphone purchases. Dont forget about ZMF or Meze as choices. Also good fits for the A90. Remember these are low end amplifiers. Well under $1000 and should be used as a baseline for when you purchase a more detailed Headphone Amp. The Topping is nice and small and sleek and can travel with as well on vacation or business in a suitcase. Did I mention they sound great and power any headphone? Dont believe the nonsense that every A90 is some sort of hum like defect. I have two units both using XLR and RCA at the same time…AK380 XLR cradle, MoJo Poly, iBasso DX220 and Cayin N8. No issues. Along with thousands of others. Thank you for the alternative position on this. I really appreciate the suggestions. What I like about this site is how passionate people are about this hobby, despite that they may have different opinions. To be honest, I don’t really know much about Audio GD. I had seen measurements for one model on another site that showed a the SNR being fairly low, maybe in the 80bd region. I think that would be in the audible range, though I bet it is acoustically masked and you don’t actually hear it. I don’t think it was any of the ones suggested here. I’ve been under the assumption that, whatever the hp amp, if well implemented then you shouldn’t “hear” it. Except, maybe, for tube amps where you want to hear some coloration? I’ve shied away from those since they, specifically the otl versions, seem to not be widely compatible with lower impedance headphones. I guess the same goes for DACs, but I am already very happy with my current DAC, which is a Soncoz SGD1. It’s where musicality, soundstage, etc come in that I admittedly get a little lost. I fully understand what those are, but don’t have a solid understanding of how an amp should affect those. For instance, using binary as an example, if 101101011 goes in then wouldn’t you want 101101011 to come back out? And if it does, how would there be a difference in the way something sounds? I can see how available power could have an effect on performance and sound where there is a strong impedance swing, let’s say for producing low bass. I guess those are really rhetorical questions that I will need to look into further. Anyway, I’ll end my rambling. Thanks again everyone for your comments. A newb like myself greatly appreciates the input from people with much more experience with different gear. Ah, ok thank you very much for the reply. I’m coming from an sp200 that I use mostly with HD6XXs. I’ve been happy with that combo but want to move the sp200 to be my office amp. I figure I would get something with more power, lower distortion, etc for when I upgrade to more high end headphones soon. I got my A90 on Monday and was using the SP200 before this. Headphone is the Focal Stellia though I have also briefly checked it out with my Aeon 2 Closed, a current hungry headphone. The A90 had zero issues with it. Compared to the SP200, the A90 has a much more solid/premium feeling, especially on the pot/volume knob. Way better. I can say it absolutely has more impactful and I also think tighter bass. I thought maybe it was just some volume issue or something else yet I turned it down lower than I used my SP200 at and the bass improvement is still there. Maybe my SP200 was a bit gimped or maybe this is just how it is. I do not know. Channel imbalance with the pot barely above 0 is also much better. Outside of the bass improvement, it seems like it has an even slightly clearer sound and slight increase in soundstage depth. Same with how it feels like the background is even blacker than the SP200, specifically when there is nothing playing. These improvements though could all be in my head as unlike many in this hobby, I don’t think my ears and brain are infallible and grasp I can think I hear things that actually aren’t there. I think this is a great amp and worth an upgrade from the SP200. It’ll definitely be fine with your 800s given it has plenty of power (especially with the balanced outputs), that ruler flat frequency response beyond human hearing, no hiss issues, and it is simply completely transparent which IMO, is what amps should be as colouring/altering the sound should be done at the headphone/speaker or EQ level. Objective reviews show this is a killer amp and many subjective reviews without any agenda also show it is a killer amp. I am of the opinion of those that bash it that if you took out the internals and threw them into some boutique brand case and added a 1 in front of the 500 price that they’d be gushing on it. Sad people are like that yet what can you do. Thank you for the alternative position on this. I really appreciate the suggestions. What I like about this site is how passionate people are about this hobby, despite that they may have different opinions. To be honest, I don’t really know much about Audio GD. I had seen measurements for one model on another site that showed a the SNR being fairly low, maybe in the 80bd region. I think that would be in the audible range, though I bet it is acoustically masked and you don’t actually hear it. I don’t think it was any of the ones suggested here. I’ve been under the assumption that, whatever the hp amp, if well implemented then you shouldn’t “hear” it. Except, maybe, for tube amps where you want to hear some coloration? I’ve shied away from those since they, specifically the otl versions, seem to not be widely compatible with lower impedance headphones. I guess the same goes for DACs, but I am already very happy with my current DAC, which is a Soncoz SGD1. It’s where musicality, soundstage, etc come in that I admittedly get a little lost. I fully understand what those are, but don’t have a solid understanding of how an amp should affect those. For instance, using binary as an example, if 101101011 goes in then wouldn’t you want 101101011 to come back out? And if it does, how would there be a difference in the way something sounds? I can see how available power could have an effect on performance and sound where there is a strong impedance swing, let’s say for producing low bass. I guess those are really rhetorical questions that I will need to look into further. Anyway, I’ll end my rambling. Thanks again everyone for your comments. A newb like myself greatly appreciates the input from people with much more experience with different gear. Audio-GD will not measure well. Especially R2R DACs like they use (research that type). But for whatever reason, those imperfections make very good music. Which is what we are listening to right? Not test tones. Measurements are just a snap shot of a tone, if I were to oversimplify. It is not music. Better to spend just a bit more on your amp/dac now, than keep spending a few hundred here and there for various equipment. It is something you will probably have for a few years and use in an intimate way vs. a standard stereo system. You interact differently when using headphones. Thats why we all care about volume knobs, heat displacement while seated close or intereference from other equipment. you just interact more when playing headphones. 001010110 might be the music, but remember this is happening in real time, unlike a standard data transfer with error correction. That real time transfer of music is critical. When people spend extra money on USB cables, they are really buying a better connection between two USB controllers to maintain that perfect transfer on the first pass. You’ll see that some perfectly measured equipment sound like 0 and 1s without life or musicality. While a lesser measured device will appeal to you due to its musicality and, well, fun…for lack of a better word. The Topping D90 dac measures superbly…but sounds clinical and one note… It is an excellent dac and does the job…but does it get my heart racing? Not really. An Audio-GD R7 or R8(yes more expensive) look average on a test bed…but that really isnt what you will be hearing. Your are ears are not a $30k analyzer. But for whatever reason those DACs sound great. And for whatever reason so does the xDuoo TA-20 and TA-30. I cant understand why…they shouldnt looking at measurements…but they freakin do. There are so…..many….DAC/HP solutions one will fit for you. I even plug my Abyss HP directly into the speaker terminals of my Benchmark AHB2. So go weird and crazy. Buy and try. Return and sell until you find YOUR House sound. Last edited: Aug 21, 2020 DACs/Sources — Chord Hugo TT, Modwright Oppo UDP-205, PS Audio Directstream DAC, PS Audio Directstream Memory Player, Chord Mojo w/ Poly, AVM 60, Anthem STR Integrated, Anthem STR Preamplifier, Roon Labs via QNAP TS-1685, Auralic Aries w/ LPS, Aries Mini
AMP — PS Audio BHK 250, Benchmark AHB2 (2), Anthem STR Amplifier, Moon-Audio Dragon IHA-1, A&K L1000 HP —- Abyss 1266 Phi w/ CC pads, Audeze LCD-3F, LCD-XC with Nordost Heimdall 2 cables, Sennheiser 800 S with Moon-Audio Silver, Oppo PM3, Audeze EL8 IEM — UE18 Pro, UE18 Pro+
DMP — AK380cu w/AMP and XLR cradle, Hifiman 901s, Acoustic Research AR-M2, AK KANN, Sony NW-ZX2, HE-Adapter Page 7 Enjoying this combo. Mainly use IEMs and HD 6XX. Have no issues with my unit in contrast to what several people have reported. Apologies for the dust, my neighbor is doing some renovation. That’s a TOP stack A man can be destroyed but not defeated Does anyone know if xlr and rca on the back are outputting the signal simultaneously? Currently I have active monitors connected via xlr and rca go to a sub-woofer from my DAC, but I am looking to make changes in the setup while still keeping this combo working. Home
MusicBee(wasapi) -> M2Tech Hiface -> Augio-gd NFB-1S -> Audio-gd Phoenix -> Focal CMS65 + MJ Acoustics Ref 150 MkII sub | Sennheiser HD650(balanced)
Office
MBP -> Burson 160DS -> Sennheiser IE80 burn-in the tract… power filter: ht800 player: raspberry pi3 b+ with moode usb: furutech gt2 dac: topping d90 (with cheap copper power cable from aliexpress) xlr: diy ortofon 8nx + neutrik + solder tchernov amp: topping a90 (with other cheap copper power cable from aliexpress) adapter: ddhifi dj44a hp cable: haldane balanced 2.5mm (8*0.65mm 7*0.1mm 7n occ single crystal copper plated silver, clear teflon sleeve insulator material Litz geometry braid) hp: jvc ha-sw01
Last edited: Aug 23, 2020 JVC HA-SW01/ JVC HA-FW10k / Smabat M2s pro+superone unit. Fiio em5. Yinman 600
tract: Topping E50+Singxer SA1/ Ibasso dx208 burn-in the tract… power filter: ht800 player: raspberry pi3 b+ with moode usb: furutech gt2 dac: topping d90 (with cheap copper power cable from aliexpress) xlr: diy ortofon 8nx + neutrik + solder tchernov amp: topping a90 (with other cheap copper power cable from aliexpress) adapter: ddhifi dj44a hp cable: haldane balanced 2.5mm (8*0.65mm 7*0.1mm 7n occ single crystal copper plated silver, clear teflon sleeve insulator material Litz geometry braid) hp: jvc ha-sw01
This looks really nice! I would like to buy some of those power cables. What should I look for to find them on aliexpress?Edit: I found them. Thanks!
Also am interested in building a Pi to be used as a digital transport, but don’t really know where to start. Any suggestions or links to information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Last edited: Aug 23, 2020 Source: HDD ➔ PC (Foobar2K) ➔ Pi2AES ➔ BNC ➔ Schiit Gungnir Multibit [A2] | I²S ➔ Topping D70S ➔
AMP: Burson Soloist 3XP+SC 3A | Schiit Jotunheim 2 | Cavalli Liquid Platinum (w/ Capacitor Mod) | THX AAA 789 ➔
Headphone: Audeze LCD-XC [2018] | Focal Clear | HiFiMAN HE6SE v1 | Beyer DT880 600Ω (Balanced) | Denon AH-D7200 [DMT Mod] | Senn HD6XX ➔
Portable: FiiO M9 | FiiO BTR5 | LG V50 ➔ Fearless S8F | 7Hz Timeless | Ikko OH10 | ThieAudio L3 | Moondrop KPE | Tin HiFi P1, T3 Plus ➔
“There’s only 2 types of music: good music… and bad.” I just got myself an A90 recently to team up with my Hugo 2 and Arya. In fact, I would go out on a limb here and say that the A90 sounds very very similar to the Eddie Current Black Widow v1 (which I’d since sold because of limited desk space). Yes, my avatar actually is a picture of the BW internals. I hear the A90 as clean, authoritative, meaty, with a tinge of warmth without losing much transparency, just like how the BW sounded in my memory. Hugo2 ==> A90 ==> Arya / Cascade / HP-3 I just got myself an A90 recently to team up with my Hugo 2 and Arya. In fact, I would go out on a limb here and say that the A90 sounds very very similar to the Eddie Current Black Widow v1 (which I’d since sold because of limited desk space). Yes, my avatar actually is a picture of the BW internals. I hear the A90 as clean, authoritative, meaty, with a tinge of warmth without losing much transparency, just like how the BW sounded in my memory. Hi, I have a Hugo 2 with a pair of meze emperians and have been unsure what difference the A90 would make. How would you describe the difference ? Hi, I have a Hugo 2 with a pair of meze emperians and have been unsure what difference the A90 would make. How would you describe the difference ? The Hugo 2 will drive your Empyrean with absolute ease and performance. I don’t think an additional amp is necessary for this case, unless you are also using other hard to drive cans. I would say the Hugo 2 by itself is pretty on the brim of running out of steam driving the Arya when listening at moderately loud volumes. In this moderately loud volume scenario(Hugo 2’s volume indicator at white-ish purple ; somewhere around 90% I guess?), I find that tracks tend to get slightly flatter and congested. With the A90 in between Arya and Hugo 2, the sound opens up with plenty of room for even more intensity without sounding congested. It all just sings more effortlessly with A90 powering the Arya. Just sharing my thoughts on what I hear. I hope this helps. Thanks! Hugo2 ==> A90 ==> Arya / Cascade / HP-3 Just a question to make sure I am understanding the specs correctly. Am I able to run singled ended in and balanced out to my headphones and get the benefits of balanced? I read that on the specs page. I didn’t know that was possible.. just wanted to double check since maybe I was misunderstanding it. Just a question to make sure I am understanding the specs correctly. Am I able to run singled ended in and balanced out to my headphones and get the benefits of balanced? I read that on the specs page. I didn’t know that was possible.. just wanted to double check since maybe I was misunderstanding it. Yes, it can do: XLR in-SE out SE in-XLR/4.4mm out Hi guys!!!!! I have A90/D90 and I LOVE THEMM WITH MY hifiman arya. But I have problem when I put the A90 in high gain and 8 and above volume according to this picture
it start to have these annoying electrical farts in some songs and music. is this problem from the amp or my headphone can’t handle this volume?? mostly these farts happen in high notes like in this you tube video it become so crazy in the 2.05 it makes be confused also if my headphone has a defect or not, because in my simple knowledge planars can handle high volume very well and for me the 8 -9 volume is not bother me at all to be honest I enjoy it more in this volume but the farts ehhh. some people told me to decrease the high gain to M but nooo it is not good enough to me and the dynamics lacking. is there any soloution if the problem from the amp ? iam using xlr interconnectors and xlr cable with arya. some times these farts also come in movies and video games. Hi guys!!!!! I have A90/D90 and I LOVE THEMM WITH MY hifiman arya. But I have problem when I put the A90 in high gain and 8 and above volume according to this picture
it start to have these annoying electrical farts in some songs and music. is this problem from the amp or my headphone can’t handle this volume?? mostly these farts happen in high notes like in this you tube video it become so crazy in the 2.05 it makes be confused also if my headphone has a defect or not, because in my simple knowledge planars can handle high volume very well and for me the 8 -9 volume is not bother me at all to be honest I enjoy it more in this volume but the farts ehhh. some people told me to decrease the high gain to M but nooo it is not good enough to me and the dynamics lacking. is there any soloution if the problem from the amp ? iam using xlr interconnectors and xlr cable with arya. some times these farts also come in movies and video games.
I think These headphones cant handle that much power and they distort. Why would you need that much gain on such efficient headphones? I think These headphones cant handle that much power and they distort. Why would you need that much gain on such efficient headphones? to be honest I tried it in less gains but the sound is not engaging like If I put in high gain and I get confused because some arya owners said they can’t handle the sound of it in that gain it is so loud but for me it is so normal and not hearting me at all so is there something wrong with me or there is problem with my setup and it is so noticeable when lower the gain from high gain and volume from 7 it loses some dynamics and the engaging beautiful feeling for me personally. and the thing which made me confused that I can put the volume at max in high gain and not hearting me like i need to decrease it or my ears gonna bleed. it is just i will be fatigued faster. from my simple search before buying this amp I thought I will not handle the volume above the 6 but maybe I miss understand something. shoould I change some sittings from the dac? to fix this? because I didn’t play that much in the dac side Last edited: Aug 27, 2020 to be honest I tried it in less gains but the sound is not engaging like If I put in high gain and I get confused because some arya owners said they can’t handle the sound of it in that gain it is so loud but for me it is so normal and not hearting me at all so is there something wrong with me or there is problem with my setup and it is so noticeable when lower the gain from high gain and volume from 7 it loses some dynamics and the engaging beautiful feeling for me personally. and the thing which made me confused that I can put the volume at max in high gain and not hearting me like i need to decrease it or my ears gonna bleed. it is just i will be fatigued faster. from my simple search before buying this amp I thought I will not handle the volume above the 6 but maybe I miss understand something. shoould I change some sittings from the dac? to fix this? because I didn’t play that much in the dac side That’s a lot of power on the Arya… What’s your source? Is it running in exclusive mode? What’s the volume on the source at? Headphones: Abyss TC, Senn HD800
Amp/Dac: Cayin HA-6A/Gustard X16 That’s a lot of power on the Arya… What’s your source? Is it running in exclusive mode? What’s the volume on the source at? [/QUOTE That’s a lot of power on the Arya… What’s your source? Is it running in exclusive mode? What’s the volume on the source at? iam using it with my pc and the volume 100% in it. iam really scared now is this power will damage my headphone? what is exclusive mode? Page 8
Ah, sorry. Some applications have that in order to bypass the audio processing of Windows (Tidal, Roon, etc). Are you using XLR or RCA? Are the connections correct? Headphones: Abyss TC, Senn HD800
Amp/Dac: Cayin HA-6A/Gustard X16 iam using Xlr connection the sound is audiobale already I think connections are correct do u mean by (tidal, roon..) the apps for music ?? sorry iam really not that expert. iam using Xlr connection the sound is audiobale already I think connections are correct do u mean by (tidal, roon..) the apps for music ?? sorry iam really not that expert.
Ok, do you know if your d90 is in DAC mode or not? Meaning, are you able to increase the volume on the DAC itself? Headphones: Abyss TC, Senn HD800
Amp/Dac: Cayin HA-6A/Gustard X16 Ok, do you know if your d90 is in DAC mode or not? Meaning, are you able to increase the volume on the DAC itself?
the only things that I played with in my dac is I put it in pure dac mode and mode 3 and xlr only connections I didn’t touched anything els. thats why I think Iam missing something in the dac. the only things that I played with in my dac is I put it in pure dac mode and mode 3 and xlr only connections I didn’t touched anything els. thats why I think Iam missing something in the dac. Got it, it should be fine. I have the LCD-4 (harder to drive than Arya) and if I put it at high gain with that volume, I’d destroy my ears. If your d90 is already in DAC mode and the connections are correct, then it must be your PC. Are you connected to the PC through USB? Headphones: Abyss TC, Senn HD800
Amp/Dac: Cayin HA-6A/Gustard X16 Got it, it should be fine. I have the LCD-4 (harder to drive than Arya) and if I put it at high gain with that volume, I’d destroy my ears. If your d90 is already in DAC mode and the connections are correct, then it must be your PC. Are you connected to the PC through USB? thats why iam sooo confused most people say that I was disappointed when I put my arya in max volume and high gain. yes iam using it with the usb thats why iam sooo confused most people say that I was disappointed when I put my arya in max volume and high gain. yes iam using it with the usb
What software are you listening to your music with? Honestly hard to diagnose without seeing your PC’s sound control panel. Headphones: Abyss TC, Senn HD800
Amp/Dac: Cayin HA-6A/Gustard X16 iam using mainly Spotify and I used tidal masters records but didn’t heared that much different so iam sticking with the spotify premium and youtube now. what should I focus on in the sound control panel? iam using mainly Spotify and I used tidal masters records but didn’t heared that much different so iam sticking with the spotify premium and youtube now. what should I focus on in the sound control panel? On your sound settings in control panel, is your default on the “Playback” tab set to “TOPPING USB DAC?” Also, if you highlight that and go to “Properties,” then the “Advanced” tab, what’s the “default format” set to? Headphones: Abyss TC, Senn HD800
Amp/Dac: Cayin HA-6A/Gustard X16 What is the volume set in the PC? Headphones: Abyss TC, Senn HD8
S.M.S.L. SP400 Review
I recently did the S.M.S.L. SH-9 review and I came out fairly impressed at the sound quality the little amp produced for its price. The only things that personally bothered me was the fact the SH-9 didn’t have any pre outs and that it wasn’t a truly balanced amp. 3 watts is a good chunk of power for an amp but I wanted that true balanced design. The SP400 fills in the gaps with the truly balanced design, an extra 3 watts(6W total) out of the balanced port and at least xlr pre outs. It also has a bigger power supply over the SH-9 and uses the very impressive stepped volume relay system that was in the SH-9 as well. On paper this seems like a decent upgrade over the smaller SH-9.
Thanks to ShenzhenAudio for hooking me up with a review unit. While I always appreciate stuff being sent in to test and review, It never affects the rating of my review.
Gear used
S.M.S.L. SU-9, S.M.S.L. SH-9, Ikko OH10, DUNU LUNA/ZEN, ADV M5-5D, HEDD HEDDphone and Audeze LCD-GX.
Looks and Feel
The SP400 is rather big when compared to something like the SH-9 or iFi NEO iDSD. It isn’t any taller than the SH-9 but its longer and wider which means it takes up a little more space so this is something to think about for desk use. The top of the unit also has a nice glass top which looks great but picks up fingerprints like crazy. The unit itself isn’t very heavy which means It doesn’t stay still when plugging or unplugging headphones into it without holding the top of the device which will leave fingerprints. When I put the SU-9 on top of it, the SP400 stays down and makes swapping headphones a breeze without the device moving around. The display is the same used in both the SH-9 and SU-9 so it matches well with the SU-9 if you don’t wanna pick up the M400 DAC that matches the SP400. The placement of the single ended and balanced ports works out in my favor being closer to the middle of the device vs being far off on the end of the amp like the SH-9.
Accessories and unboxing
The unboxing is pretty straight forward. Inside the box you get the SP400, remote, power cable and the standard user guide and QC check card. The top has a plastic wrap attached to protect the glass from scratches during shipping. The SP400 also comes wrapped in a cloth-like bag. A Lot of effort went into making sure nothing gets scratched or broken during shipping.
UI
The UI is nice but unless you use the remote, you have to do a lot of steps to do simple tasks that could easily be done if there were switches or buttons on the front of the SP400. Things like input select and gain select all have to be done via the UI unless the remote is used(which has dedicated buttons for both). Outside of the input and gain options, we also get a volume mode which allows the option(disabled) to have each volume change activate the relay or the option(enable) to allow you to move through the volume range and when you stop the relay will switch to the desired volume level. I find the enable option better when I swap from IEMs to full size headphones as the volume needed between the two is vastly different. This saves the relay life though I’m really not sure how long the relays are meant to last. The last two options are the brightness and Firmware version info.
Sound (overall)
These final impressions were done off the S.M.S.L. SU-9 connected to the SP400. This will be what the SP400 sounded like with all the headphones I used. Since this is an amp, my sound section is mostly going over the common things I picked up from my headphones vs how they perform on other source gear. Things like DAC selection as well as different headphone pairings will produce different results and impressions vs what my ears hear on my specific gear.
The lows are very accurate sounding. Lows sound a little faster and even some of my slower IEMs felt a little spunky in terms of speed when attached to the SP400. I would call this still pretty neutral though. When music calls for low end thump and rumble, the SP400 definitely delivers. I found no issues with the low end and I was really impressed by the overall presentation down low with the SP400. The mids are super clear and I have no issues here as well. There’s a nice balance with vocals sounding neither too far or two close. That being said, headphones will mostly dictate whether mids like vocals are recessed or not. For headphones that have a mid range bump, the SP400 is a real treat. The highs are also really done on the SP400. The SP400 felt like it had better control over the highs. At first I thought it may be somewhat warm sounding as I didn’t get that clinical “metallic” sound signature I was used to with other well measuring amps. Some headphones that I know are super bright, felt slightly relaxed while still having great details up top. It feels like a less clinical top end and more enjoyable while maintaining fantastic detail retrieval.
Imaging/Soundstage
While I find headphones to be in charge of width and depth, I did notice that pretty much all my headphones had a wider and deeper soundstage vs other things I was plugging them into. It’s not an extreme effect but It was easily noticeable to my ears. Imaging is fantastic as well and in combo with the soundstage, can really make for some wonderful listening sessions.
Inputs and outputs
You get the normal RCA and XLR inputs but the SP400 does have XLR outs. Why they skipped having an RCA out is strange to me. Looking at the back of the unit, there really is no room to stuff RCA outs and I’m gonna guess this is what it came down to. This was designed to stack with the M400 so some sacrifices had to be made I suppose.
Personal gripes with the SP400
While I don’t have any real “deal breaker” issues with the SP400, a few things do irritate me. When the volume knob rotates, it has a felt click. This is fine and one would assume that the “click” they feel would result in one volume change. For the unit I have, it requires two of these felt “clicks” in order to move the volume up or down on notch. I find this super weird and I can’t tell if this is a unit defect or if all units exhibit the same thing. It’s not a show stopper but more of a “WHY?” kind of thing for me. The top is also a fingerprint magnet. This is expected as it’s a black glass top. They didn’t treat it with any fingerprint coating so it can get real ugly fairly quick. While I’ll get into it below, the gain could use a little more output as well. Lastly is the heat this unit produces. I’ve had this over a month with no issues but the SP400 gets fairly hot after about an hour of being on. Like class A hot. This is really strange as I’ve not used any other THX amps that get hot. The SH-9 got a little toasty but it wasn’t anything like this. You won’t burn your hands on the unit but it becomes uncomfortable after a few seconds touching it. I’ve left my phone on top of it a few times which resulted in my phone being super toasty when I picked it up. Those are pretty much my only gripes with the SP400 which in all honestly are mostly personal nitpicking.
Single ended/balanced power outputs and gain
The SP400 is a truly balanced amp so we end up getting 3 watts into 32 ohm via the single ended output and with the balanced output, we get 6 watts into 32 ohm. The power from the balanced port is enough for most headphones I can think of. There was no issue powering the HEDDphone or LCD2C. The biggest complaint I have however is with the gain options. The difference between all three gain options isn’t honestly much in terms of volume. As an example, I had the volume for a specific IEM at 31 for low gain, 27 for medium and 25 for high gain. Luckily I picked up no noise from the balanced jack on high gain so I left it on high gain and never messed with the lower gains. S.M.S.L. could have pushed medium and high gain to higher DB ranges. I had zero issues powering any headphone in high gain and the max volume I reached being 74/99 which was on the high side for me. For my personal tastes, I would have preferred to max out at something lower than 74 on high gain.
Over-ear pairings
HEDD HEDDphone
The HEDDphone pairs decently enough with the SP400. The somewhat relaxed treble still sounds a little dull to my ears. The HEDDphones do sound a little wider and deeper here. Low end has a nice impactful sound when it’s called for. The low end is still a little too light for my personal taste and the Sp400 doesn’t do much in the way of giving it the little extra boost I’d prefer. Vocals still retain their magic with the HEDDphone and while I don’t mind this pairing, I would use these headphones with something a little warmer sounding such as the iFi iDSD Signature or something from Schiit.
Audeze LCD-GX
The GX doesn’t need much power at all to sound good. It does scale a little with better gear and while the SP400 didn’t drastically change the sound quality of the GX, it did benefit from the wider and deeper soundstage that the SP400 provided. Like with pretty much all the headphones I tested with the SP400, the GX sounded very well controlled and tight. Low end still has some wonderful impact and the top end had just a bit more energy overall. This was a rather enjoyable pairing.
Amps comparisons
iFi NEO iDSD
The NEO is another fairly reference sounding DAC/amp and I found this to be an interesting comparison. The NEO has a fairly common sounding low end but it lacks the same impact and tightness the SP400 provides. The mids on the NEO have a slight bump that the SP400 is missing. This can make some vocals on headphones sound a little bright at times. The NEO also has the music mostly in your face vs the deeper sounding SP400, treble performance is mostly the same with the NEO having a slightly shaper top end. The SP400 ends up winning when it comes to soundstage and I think overall tuning for an amp. The NEO is still a great reference amp however and comes in much cheaper than the SU-9/SP400 stack.
S.M.S.L. SH-9
For the most part, the two amps share a lot of the same features and sound signature. While I really liked the way the SH-9 sounded, I started noticing big differences once I started A/B testing the two. The SH-9 struggles with low end impact on full size headphones. With IEMs it sounds fine however. Full size headphones start to sound a leaner the higher in volume you go. This is something the SP400 doesn’t suffer from. Both have about the same mids and highs performance with the SP400 sounding like it has better control up top. The SH-9 has a deep soundstage and average width while the SP400 has a wider stage but with the same deep stage of the SH-9. Both are really nice amps. The SP400 does have a XLR out so there is a little extra function with the SP400 as well. I think it will come down to long term plans for an amp. If you plan to buy something to use for a few years I’d say grab the SP400. If you wanna try stuff out and have multiple desktop amps, then the SH-9 will be easier on the wallet.
iFi micro iDSD Signature
The iDSD Signature is a slightly warmer sounding device vs most stuff I’ve tried. I really like the smooth and warm sound the iDSD Sig produces so I was curious how it does directly against the SP400. The bass impact is actually about the same between both devices with the lower mids sounding a bit warmer on the iDSD Sig. The higher frequency detail retrieval goes to the SP400. While both have a somewhat tame top end, The SP400 simply brought in more details. Soundstage was wider on the SP400 as well. I really like the iDSD Signature and if you need an all in one device and don’t want to squeeze every detail out of a desktop only setup then I’d say grab the Sig over the SP400.
Overall thoughts
The big question is gonna be whether or not the asking price of $630 is worth it for the SP400. To that I would have to say it depends on one’s needs. If you need the XLR pre outs, want the relay volume control and want a good amount of power, then I do think the SP400 is worth the money. While I didn’t have a Topping A90 to test this against, reviews I’ve read seem to peg the A90 as a super neutral sound with little life in the sound. The SP400 is definitely full of energy and makes for a very exciting listen.
As such, I will be giving the SP400 a full recommendation as long as you have a need for the SP400’s extra features and better sound performance over something like the SH-9. I really had a blast with the SP400 and plan to keep it around for future reviews. I look forward to S.M.S.L.’s new VMV lineup coming out later this year. Thanks for reading!
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Amplifier Recommendations – Headfonia Reviews
On this page, you’ll find the amplifier recommendations of this moment. Looking for the best amplifier on the market? This ever-evolving list is your answer.
Portable Amplifiers
iFi Audio xCan
iFi Audio delivered another great device with the iFi xCAN. This is an option for the folks who don’t need the DAC section of the xDSD. Actually when I received the xDSD last year, I thought that device would make it as a standalone portable amplifier because of its form factor and lightness. A couple of months later iFi announced the xCAN as their new portable amp. The iFi xCAN provides you a big power, a BAL setup for your BAL system, a great BT DAC/Amp performance with good quality, very nice build quality and a design which is very portable and light.
$300 from iFi Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/ifi-audio-xcan-review/
Vorzuge Vorzamp Duo II
This amplifier is in the same high-end category as the Duet is. They’re very comparable but the Vorzuge doesn’t have the full balanced circuit the Duet has. On the other hand it does have an EQ system. Nathan stated: “no amp I’ve reviewed, and no amp I’ve tested, packages the DUO II’s performance with such a badass EQ system. And no amp company I’ve dealt with is so demonstrably dedicated to a platform.”
$799 from Vorzuge
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/review-vorzuge-vorzamp-duoii-basses-loaded/
Desktop Amplifiers
Topping L30 [Added 27/10/2020]
The L30 is a stunning device for $139.99. In fact, it’s a stunning full-stop. If you’re not fussed about going down the rabbit-hole of balanced cables and aren’t likely to add a pair of low-sensitive planars into your collection anytime soon, then the L30 is an absolutely bankable recommendation if all you need is one audio input, and one headphone output (plus, being a pre-amp is nice and handy too). If you’ve already started out building an audio chain for your headphone set-up and you already have a similarly-priced amplifier from a competitor from Schiit Audio, Monoprice, or JDS Labs, should you rush out and trade them in for this? Probably not. We’re talking incremental gains here, which is true of most things in life. But, if you’re looking to start yourself off with a great amplifier, or perhaps put together an office or second set-up, then the L30 is heartily recommended. Add an E30 to the equation, and you’re all sorted for both digital and analog.
The L30 is the pick of the bunch in the entry-level amplifier stakes, and well worth the $40 price differential over its $99 competitors. In fact, it’s probably the only headphone amplifier you’ll really need for a long time. It’s superbly built and it’s audibly faultless if you’re looking for a faithful and enjoyable solid-state amplifier. I think this L30 might just be staying put on my bedside table.
$139,99 from Topping
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/topping-l30-review/
iFi Audio ZEN CAN [Added 07/10/2020]
Subjective matters like warmth, bass quantity, treble sparkle, and full timbre are other things; but the iFi ZEN CAN is surely an excellent performer with a tiny price. You might find it a bit sharp, colorless, and sterile. But I don’t think anyone can criticize its performance especially for the amount of power for high impedance headphones.
I don’t have the ZEN DAC in my possession but think about it; you get the ZEN DAC + ZEN CAN. You pay about 280$, and you have a formidable desktop setup for your headphones. For the price you pay, this is a great performance. Sure, there are spectacular amps out there but there aren’t many options cheaper than this. The only thing that comes to my mind is the JDS Atom amp, which doesn’t have this build quality, power, or these features.
$149 from iFi Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/ifi-zen-can-review/
Geshelli Archel2.5 Pro [Added 02/11/2020]
Sherri & Geno over Geshelli has amazing energy, they’re both very passionate about the work they do and their approach towards customers is certainly delightful. The Archel2.5 Pro is an impressive amplifier, it does not saturate or color the signature of your DAC, it reflects whatever you plug it into, which is excellent for the price they ask for it. In my opinion, performance-wise it punches way above its price point and it is a must buy if you want a very very good amplifier under 200, therefore, it is going to our HFN Recommendation List!
$179,99 from Geshelli
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/geshelli-labs-archel2-5-pro-review/
Schiit Audio Asgard 3 (AMP only) [Added 11/05/2020]
The Asgard 3 gives-off all the vibes of an American muscle car: it’s big, brash and burly and you feel like you’re getting a lot of metal for your money. It has an easy-to-love utilitarian design, and like the muscle cars of today, the Asgard has actually gone and gotten itself better at handling and packs a bunch more features in than it used to.
The Asgard 3 impressed me with how versatile it’s proven to be with a range of headphones, and it ought to be able to power all but the most obscure of insensitive headphones well into the future. At $199, it’s a stone-cold bargain and absolutely worth the step-up from the tier of entry-level amplifiers that sit below it. If you already have a DAC in your system and you’re happy with its performance, then simply add that to the bare-bones amplifier-only Asgard 3.
$199 from Schiit Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/schiit-asgard3-review/
SMSL SP200 THX 888 (Added 13/01/2020)
$289.99 from SMSL
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/smsl-sp200-thx-888-review/
It’s never been a better time to be a personal audio enthusiast when THX certification and technology is available at an attainable price-point like the $289.99 S200. While ‘SMSL SP200 THX 888 headphone amplifier’ might not be the easiest name to roll off your tongue, it’s a name you ought to remember it because arguably it has become THE new benchmark in terms of value and performance for desktop headphone amplifiers, and you’ll no doubt be hearing much more about it. At $289.99 it’s an absolute no-brainer recommendation for anyone looking for a high-performance, versatile amp to throw at any set of headphones and extract maximum performance from them. Sure, it’s not fancy in its appearance or feature set, and it does forgo a few luxuries. This is a stripped-back, dynamite little amplifier that is focused on performance, and perform it does!
Bottlehead Crack
The little Crack doesn’t need the fancy tubes to sound good. It – for a low amount of money – makes your high impedance headphones such as the 300Ohm Sennheiser HD650, HD800 and 250Ohm Beyerdynamic units sound very good. For the money it’s still going for today, the Crack probably still is the best value tube amp on the market. And not only do you get a wonderful amplifier, you get to learn about audio, DIY and soldering all in one. If you’re into higher impedance headphones, the Bottlehead crack still is THE recommended amplifier to get. In fact I don’t think you can find an amp with a better technicality than the Crack for less than $500. If you build one yourself, that means only $299, and the Crack is a steal for that price. We ordered the amp before the price increase, but even today you’re practically robbing Bottlehead for the sound you get for that little money.
$299 from Bottlehead
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/wayback-wednesday-bottlehead-crack/ & https://www.headfonia.com/bottlehead-crack-otl-addiction/
Sciit Audio Jottunheim 2 [Added 17/10/2021]
The original Jotunheim re-wrote the rules when it came to making balanced headphone amplifiers both available and affordable, and Schiit has made an even stronger case with their latest incarnation of the Jotunheim which not only sounds better, but is also easier to live with. I’d unreservedly say that the Jotunheim 2 is a knock-out product, even if you’re looking at it solely as a headphone amplifier. But it’s much, much more than simply that – the Jotunheim 2 can work as the analogue ‘heartbeat’ of your musical chain, managing far more than simply headphone playback. The fact that you can add a DAC or phono stage in the form of a $100-200 module makes for an even more enticing proposition. I’ll go one step further here than simply recommending the Jotunheim 2 as a headphone amplifier – I’ll go ahead and say that stacking the phono-equipped Jotunheim 2 with Schiit’s Bifrost 2 to create an all-in-one preamp control system is just about the best way you could spend $1,198 USD in audio. In terms of flexibility, convenience and outright sound quality, it’s an absolute winner for the format-agnostic audiophile.
$399 from Schiit Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/schiit-audio-jotunheim-2-review/
Schiit Audio Lyr 3
The Lyr 3 to me is a highly musical-sounding device that really gets you into the music again, where you lose all sight of critical listening and just enjoy what is in front of you. Sure, the DAC could be more resolved or create a bigger venue, but in the end it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you enjoy the music you like, and the Lyr 3 gets you as close as possible for that price.
Take into account the immense elasticity of the product, letting you configure it to your needs, and the extreme output power you will be faced with one tough decision not to get the Lyr 3 when you’re looking for a new affordable desktop amplifier.
$499 from Schiit Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/review-schiit-audio-lyr-3/
Topping A90 [Added 07/07/2020]
The Topping A90 is an absolute no-brainer recommendation as a balance solid-state amplifier. At $499 its performance will embarrass far more expensive offerings, and if you’re looking for future-proof power, connectivity and usability then there isn’t another option under $500 that comes even close – especially if you need pre-amp facilities. Come to think of it, there probably aren’t many options under $1000 that can match the value and performance of the new Topping flagship amp.
Consider me impressed with the A90’s build, overall quality and excellent form-factor – it’s confidence-inspiring and ought to provide versatile and future-proof service for virtually any sort of headphones that you can throw at it (minus electrostatics, of course). But that’s nothing with sounding great and allowing you to have an emotional connection to your music. The A90 simply removes itself from the playback experience and provides absolute fidelity from the musical source to your transducers. It’ll give you the truth, and then some. The A90 + D90 stack ought to be absolute ‘end-game’ material for most listeners at $1,198 for the standard version, or $1,298 if MQA is an option that you’d like to tick. But as an analogue unit alone at $499, the Topping A90 makes gets our recommendation without any hesitation.
$499 from Topping
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/topping-a90-review/
Lehmann Audio Drachenfels
The Lehmann Audio Drachenfels is an amplifier that is easy to like. For the very correct price you get a nice looking, well built and upgradable amplifier that sounds good. The Drachenfels is musical like many other amps in its class but to us its resolution, separation and spaciousness is of a higher level. As said, one of its strongest selling points is how well it performs with everything you throw at it. No matter if it’s an morphodynamic, dynamic or other technology head- or earphone, the Drachenfels makes it work effortlessly and in a musical way. I can see the Drachenfels being an end-game amplifier for many desktop setups both at home and at work. And because of the digital update possibility, it has a lot offers in the future as well.
€499 from Lehmann Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/review-lehmann-audio-drachenfels/
SMSL SP400 [Added 11/06/2021]
The SP400 is an excellent amp and therefore we are rewarding it with the HFN recommendation award. It may be the best THX amp out there with this much amount of power to play with. It can drive nearly anything on the market at the time of this writing and it offers an excellent, hiss-free experience even with sensitive IEMs. It can easily be controlled by the included remote and it offers a pretty straightforward operation. Sound-wise it is very, very good and it reflects the source as it is. It is a technically advanced unit with a very clean and clear background. On another note, it has an excellent build quality and the new glossy top cover looks amazing. Like all SMSL devices, it is built to last. I highly recommend this amplifier, try it and hear it yourself.
$629 from SMSL
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/smsl-sp400-review/
Burson Audio Funk [Added 31/08/2021]
It’s clear that Burson Audio has learned from their experience creating their earlier ‘Fun’ and ‘Bang’ models, and have managed to create a pretty special little device in their new Funk. As well as being both a terrific headphone and nearfield speaker amplifier, it somehow manages to be greater than the sum of its parts – it really does make a solid claim for itself as the only analogue device that deserves a seat at your desktop. I have tried finding a similar style of device to use in the past, and they’re either too large and prohibitively expensive like the Schiit Ragnarok, or have compromised headphone performance, such as the Emotiva BasX A-100 which is only really well suited to super low-sensitivity planars.
You are going to need to BYO source device with the Funk, but the fact that you can mix/match source gear does add to the Funk’s flexibility and does future proof it in that sense. And the Funk does make a solid ‘future proof’ proposition in terms of its performance as it happens to be a terrific-sounding device that pairs well with a wide range of both headphones and speakers. Throw in the fact that it looks great and is a delight to use, and it’s an absolute knock-out device in every regard. Sure, a remote and a couple of extra inputs/outputs would be nice, but at this size and price, it’s hard to complain. The Burson Audio Funk is an unreserved recommendation from us here for those of you looking to get the best out of your headphones and speakers on your desktop.
$744 from Burson Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/burson-audio-funk-review/
Flux Lab Acoustics FA-22 [Added 07/10/2021]
The Flux Lab Acoustics FA-22 is a great performing full desktop amp with excellent build, user experience and sound. If you’re on the lookout for a high level desktop amp, you should definitely check this one out while considering your options.
It’s a very coherent, musical yet highly technical performer. There’s nothing in its sound that I can criticize. There are also high-end options in the market but aside from those, I think this might be the highest level before up-to-2000$ region. This is my first encounter with with Flux Lab Acoustics, but I must say I’m very impressed.
$749 from Flux Lab Acoustics
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/flux-lab-acoustics-fa-22-review
Flux Lab Acoustics FA-10 [added: 21.04.2020]
Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect from the FA-10. I knew Lieven is a fan of their very expensive Atlas DAC/Amp. But that didn’t mean much to me for this amp. When I took the FA-10 out of its box, I liked what I saw, but once I listened to it, I loved the entire thing.
Its biggest strength is probably the control, the dark background, and the superb imaging. All that paired with a very transparent and full-bodied sound makes the FA-10 a great proposition in today’s market and certainly a hard option to pass up in the sub $1,000 USD range.
I can only tip my head to the people behind Flux Lab Acoustics for this marvel. It is well-engineered, robustly made, and sounds bloody wonderful.
To my ears, the FA-10 is a sensational amplifier. It plays well with pretty much any headphones I throw at it and has become one of my absolute favorites.
$749 from Flux Lab Acoustics
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/flux-lab-acoustics-fa-10-review
Ferrum Audio OOR [Added 19/08/2021]
Ever since the Ferrum Audio OOR arrived at the HFN headquarters I have been using it nonstop, together with the Hypsos power supply. The OOR is an addictive amplifier with a high technical level and all the power you’ll ever need. Ferrum has managed to make the OOR sound precise yet musical and that’s exactly what they were going for.
The Ferrum Audio OOR has an excellent price/performance ratio even though it sets you back €2K, or even €3K with the supplementary Hypsos PSU. It’s not cheap but for a high end unit, it’s actually fairly affordable and it easily plays along with even more expensive amplifiers. It’s also an excellent Pre-Amp! If you have this kind of budget available and you like this type of neutral and technically strong tuning, I wouldn’t hesitate to order the Hypsos PSU with it.
€1.995 Euro from Ferrum Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/ferrum-audio-oor-review/
XI Audio Broadway (added: June 2nd, 2020)
The Broadway is an amplifier that I enjoy hooking up to my full-sized headphones. It sounds fantastic with the Susvara, HE1000se, Diana V2 but most of all with the Diana Phi. With the Phi it reaches a level of sonic bliss that is hard to find, especially since the Diana Phi is such a critical headphone to pair with.
For its outstanding sonic qualities and the ability to handle all my headphones with ease, I am putting Broadway also on our Best Amplifier list. Absolutely deserved.
$2,299 from XI Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/xi-audio-broadway-broadway-s-review/
Auris Audio HA2-SF [Added 18/04/2021]
I’m very pleased with the Auris Audio HA2-SF. The updated model now not only has a balanced circuitry and gain selection, but it is technically stronger and more high-end sounding. Sure, it is more expensive, but it is worth it. To me, the HA2-SF is even punching and playing a little above its price point, even though it’s no longer a cheap amp to start with. It’s not the ultimate amp for tube rolling, but I think that for many are a good thing as it’s easier to get into tube amps.
Taking the design, performance and price into account, the Auris Audio HA2-SF – together with the fact that it doesn’t require super expensive tubes to sound great – it for me is very easy to award it with our Recommended Buy Award. It replaces the HA2-SE amplifier on our best buy list.
$2,499 from Auris Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/auris-audio-ha2-sf-review/
Feliks Audio Euforia Anniversary Edition (Added December 12 2019)
The AE Euforia is an amplifier that is playing with the big boys on the market, and if you’re in the market for a high-end tube amp, the AE with its €2900 price, simply is a no-brainer. The AE offers a great sound stage, both in width and depth, combined with excellent layering, timbre, extension, and speed. The detail retrieval is excellent and at the same time, the AE sounds incredibly musical. The Eufoaria AE will immerse you in your music, it’s awesome.
The original €1900 Euforia still gives you great value, performance, and musicality and if your budget doesn’t extend AE far, this still is a highly recommended amplifier. The AE, however, blows it away on all fronts with improvements everywhere.
€2900 from Feliks Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/feliks-audio-euforia-AE-review
AudioValve Solaris
Waw, waw, waw. This amplifier impressed me in all possible ways. Sure you might not love the way it looks but that’s personal. The Audiovalve Solaris doesn’t come cheap but in return you get a reference headphone amp, with a large number of in -and outputs that can handle low impedance, high impedance and even electrostatic headphones all in one. If that’s not enough for you then there’s also the perfect build quality, the integrated phono module, and the fact that you can use it as a speaker amp. The Audiovalve Solaris is a perfect TOTL do-it-all amplifier, and yes, I love it.
€4600 from AudioValve
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/review-audiovalve-solaris/
Niimbus Audio US4+
Lake People set out to build a reference level amplifier and with Niimbus Audio and the US4+ unit, they have done exactly that. When you think US4+ you have to think: Cleanness, silence, power, e xtension , tightness, speed, balance/linearity (SE), and musicality. To me, the balanced output, just like with the V281 is the one to go for. It delivers the most musical, extended, spacious sound, with the best bass impact and body overall.
The Niimbus Audio US4+ is a great amp, with a reference/high-end sound and price. If you’re looking for a well-built and excellent sounding high-end amplifier with both single-ended as well as balanced in and outputs, then the US4+ will probably check all your boxes if you have the budget for it.
€4998 from Niimbus Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/niimbus-us4/
Auris Audio Nirvana
€5550 from Auris Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/review-auris-audio-nirvana/
The Auris Audio Nirvana is one of those amps that performs great with every single headphone you throw at it. It seems to bring out the best of every headphone and especially the balanced output for me is really special. As said, the Auris Nirvana is the perfect mix of Auris’ previous models and it combines the best of both amps to bring you to Nirvana, a place of perfect peace and happiness. Apart from the fact that it’s maybe too powerful there absolutely isn’t a single thing I don’t like about the amplifier. It again looks stunning and the separate power supply gives it an extra classy look. It sounds like you’re in heaven with a dynamic, wide and very well layered sound with a good amount of warmth and tube smoothness. The Nirvana gets sound (and looks) just right and it simply is impossible not to like.
This is the kind of amplifier that wins awards, and I have no doubt it will get several distinctions in December when the audio world looks back at the units launched in 2018. If you’re in the market for a new headphone tube amp in this price range or if you just want one amp that does it all, then the Auris Audio Nirvana should be the first amp on your list to check out.
Feliks Audio Envy [Added 12/04.2022]
It’s always fun reviewing high end gear. The Feliks Audio Envy 300B tube amplifier is among the best on the market. It’s a truly high-end amplifier with an incredible sound. It costs a pretty penny but if you have the budget you will never ever need a different tube headphone amp ever again. The Feliks Audio Envy is a future classic already. If you have the chance listen to it, you absolutely should. And sorry about your wallet, because you’ll want one once you’ve heard what it is capable of.
€6499 From Feliks Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/feliks-audio-envy-review/
Auris Audio Headonia
The Auris Audio Headonia is exceptionally good and wonderful. It is a top-level, reference tube amp that lets you use both your single-ended as well as your balanced headphones at the same time and it gets the absolute best out of it without any effort. If you’re in the market for a high end headphone amplifier that does it all with heaps of control and want the perfect mix of resolution, transparency and musicality with a hint of tube warmth, then this is the amp for you. Yes, it comes with a rather heavy price tag but be warned, once you’ve seen it and listened to it with your collection of headphones, you’ll be putting down your signature on the order form before the first song is finished. The Headonia is the most expensive amp that has been added to our recommended buyers’ guide, but it really has a place in our guide.
€7498 from Auris Audio
Review: https://www.headfonia.com/review-auris-audio-headonia/
키워드에 대한 정보 topping a90 vs smsl sp400
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사람들이 주제에 대해 자주 검색하는 키워드 12 Watts for Under $650! SMSL SP400 Headphone Amplifier
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주제에 대한 기사를 시청해 주셔서 감사합니다 12 Watts for Under $650! SMSL SP400 Headphone Amplifier | topping a90 vs smsl sp400, 이 기사가 유용하다고 생각되면 공유하십시오, 매우 감사합니다.
