Low-impedance dynamic headphones: Meze 99 Classics.
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The sharp-looking 99 Classics from Romanian manufacturer Meze Audio are designed primarily with portability in mind, but I find that they do scale well with great source gear and reward with a rich, engaging bass-y signature when fed properly. The A90 only needs to get to 9 o’clock on the volume pot to unleash the bass demons inside the 32-ohm 99’s, with Radiohead’s ‘A Punchup at a Wedding‘ sounding controlled and sure-footed. Cranking it up into ‘High’ gain does lose some play on the volume wheel, but does feel like it adds a dollop of extra punch and impact to the 99’s dynamic ability.
High-impedance dynamic headphones: Audio Technica ATH-ADX5000.
Topping A90 and Audio Technica ATH-ADX5000
Audio Technica’s open-backed flagships are a 420-ohm pair of headphones, and one of the more difficult sets of cans to drive that I’ve reviewed. Power them appropriately, however, and the ADX5000’s will reward the listener appropriately. And reward the A90 does – the big, 58mm tungsten-coated drivers deliver a deliciously-raucous rendition of The Vines’ ‘Get Free‘ when driven at merely 8:30 on high gain via the 4-pin XLR-out. Punch, slam, air, detail, and finesse – it’s all there, in spades. Side note: I forgot how much I loved this Australian band’s debut record from 2002. It’s a great ‘rock-out’ test and I’m going to need to rotate it into my testing routine more often.
Full-sized planar magnetic headphones: Final D8000.
Topping A90, D90 MQA DAC and Final D8000
Switching-out for the full-sized Final planar flagship on the A90/D90 MQA stack is one of the most rewarding pairings I’ve heard on any system, period. The D8000’s aren’t my usual cup-of-tea in terms of their voicing – they’re dark, warm, with an absolutely silky yet brutal low end. What I love about the D9000 over the A90/D90 MQA is the absence of any form of distortion or harshness whatsoever. But, it still hits like a velvet sledgehammer on Sepultura’s 2017 MQA remaster of ‘Roots’, which is a beautifully violent assault on the senses. The great thing about the A90 is the fact that it delivers all the detail, slam and dynamic capabilities of the D8000 at lower listening levels, which is comforting in terms of your long-term listening enjoyment. I never try and listen much more than 80dB, and certainly never over 85dB for any more than a few moments at a time.
Portable planar magnetic headphones: Audeze Sine DX.
Topping A90 headphone amplifier with Audeze Sine DX
The open-back version of the smallest Audeze over-ear portable headphone is not only extremely rare, with only eighty units released worldwide, but (perhaps controversially) it also happens to be my favourite-sounding open-backed Audeze headphone. At 18-ohms impedance and with a sensitivity of 102dB/mW they’re certainly built for on-the-go use from low-power devices, but due to their comfort (with aftermarket pads), low weight and terrific voicing I love to use them for desktop listening (they also respond very well to EQ). An underpowered source will mask the excellent dynamics and tonality of the Sine DX, but underpowered the A90 is not. Massive Attack’s ‘Angel‘ feels positively big and scary over the A90/D90 MQA stack via a balanced connection, and certainly not the compact planar that its form would suggest.
Conclusions.
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 long-term service for virtually any sort of headphones that you decide to 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 directly 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.
Lieven
last test comment
Clifford
I currently have a drop 789 and with my high end dac and hd800s have reached the best sound I have ever heard.
That said I’ve read that the 789 will compress the music and the A70 would be a far better choice. I’m setting up sereral systems around the house with a less expensive DAC. So getting another amp is in the planning.
Would I be improving my main system by replacing the AAA 789 with the A90?
I have asked the drop boards this and mostly got back less than useful information from people who have clearly not compared the two.
If the sound would not be much different using HD 800s headphones, I could save one or two hundred dollars on the computer setup. Not a lot but it would be a proven divise. If it will notably improve the sound, or slightly above notably improved, it would be worth the upgrade.
Thanks in advance.
Matty
You probably won’t hear a substantial difference. The A90 has the benefit of a fully balanced topology, plus balanced preamp facilities and 4.4mm output though.
Carl A
Hi,
Really good review, many thanks.
Some great comparisons with different headphones.
Can I ask what those aftermarket pads are that you are using with your Sine dx?
Be well.
Matty Graham
Thanks mate. They’re from Geekria: https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50X-ATH-M20X-ATH-M30X-Headphones/dp/B07518L298/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&tag=headfi-20&ref_=d6k_applink_bb_marketplace
Danh
How do you feel about the Topping D90/A90 versus Burson Conductor 3x??? I know that 3x has the double price of D90/A90 combo, but can the Topping combo nearly reach the level of Burson? Thank you very much.
Matty Graham
Tough call without comparing them back-to-back. I loved the single-ended Conductor 3, ultimately it would come down to your budget and sense of aesthetics/form-factor preference. The 3X is hard to beat as an all-in-one unit.
Danh
Thank you very much. I have a chance to take the used 3x as the same price of new D90/A90 combo, for that reason I really want to compare both of them. The 3x receives lots of good reviews from many audiophiles. However, D90/A90 reach the highest measurement from Audio Science Review community. That’s make me wonder should I swap for the D90/A90 combo. For my main gear, I use JBL 305P powered speaker (3x acts at a DAC/Preamp), and HD660S.
Tony
ultra high performance for $499? Come on, be serious 🙂
Matty Graham
I would genuinely caution anyone arriving new to the hobby that price = performance (unless that’s a sarcastic emoji?). It’s a good time to be a consumer in this hobby right now with budget gear performing as strongly as this does.
Ben
Matty, I am curious as you have reviewed both the FA-10 and A90 what your feelings between the 2 are?
Matty Graham
Hi Ben, I personally haven’t listened to the FA-10 so I can’t give you a direct comparison. Linus reviewed it favourably, so it’s definitely also a very good amplifier. It’s a bit larger and a bit more expensive, so if a stepped attenuator and even more power (16 watts @ 32-ohms) are are important for you then it might be worth considering.
SAAD
I have both A90 and FA-10 while using D90 as my DAC. I love A90 over the FA-10. The A90 is transparent, powerful (can drive my Susvara easily) and extremely enjoyable to listen to. FA-10 is a colored sound, not as transparent, Mid-bass is boosted and midrange is made to sound meatier but not acurate. You can tell if you listen to the songs that you have listen for long period of time and also listen to the recorded voices of your friends and family. The treble has more detail on A90 with crisper leading and trail edges where FA-10 has smoother treble. I prefer A90 over the FA-10 for my headphone listening experience. It is not easy to beat A90.
Tibor
Hi. Guys, this is really the big question is Flux Lab FA-10 or 12 better? Timbre, slam, details. People are raving about it, high end for mid – fi price and we need answers!
Somebody help please! 🙂
Mel
Nice review and glad too see this site still running strong returning to after so many years👌
Question tough;
I am looking for a step up from my old jds element for my LCD2 (pre faz). And I’m going back/forth between the a90 and LP HPA RS02/08. Which one would u recommend?
Matty Graham
Thanks for reading Mel!
I’ve not had the chance to hear the Lake People set-up so I couldn’t give you a good comparison. I can say with confidence that the A90 will give you ample power and performance with the LCD2, and likely for anything else that you decide to pick-up down the track. What are you using as your source?
Mel
Hi Matty thank u for the reply!!! The only source I have now is my labtop and the element😁, but Im definitly be going to get a dac. Thinking about the d90 offcourse, but im open for suggestions.
Edu
Hi! I have a Chord Mojo a AKG K701 and a Sennheiser HD660S.
The A90 pairs well with the Mojo?And with the K701 and HD660S?
Thanks for your review;)
Matty
Hi Edu, if you’re looking to add a little more power to your set-up the Mojo ought to work perfectly as a DAC upstream of the the A90 when set to line-out mode. It has more than enough power for both the K701 and the HD660s and ought to provide a completely neutral signature to both.
taka
Hi- how does this A90 compare to Sabaj D5 or SMSL ?
Matty Graham
I haven’t listened to the Sabaj, but the Topping is more of a ‘purist’ analogue device and is also more powerful. Do you have a particular ‘SMSL’ in mind?
GR
I notice not many reviewers focus on “chip” vs discrete amps. The A90 sounds great as an op-amp example (which I think is it’s topology). Do you feel it suffers from dry and 2-D “chip” sound? And spending $1000+ on a decent entry/mid level fully discrete topology with decent transistors would add reality, depth, and tone, and be worth consideration?
GR
(and, ito of sound, not features, do you feel it differs much from the THX789? I find that tech to be impressive, netural, transparent, great detail, but still “flat” and “dry” compared to well-implemented discrete or tubes, and also a little fatiguing for long listening in the treble energy. I’ve heard some reviewers say the A90 is like the THX but a little more “musical” or “organic” – would you agree?)
ALex
Hi Matty,
Thanks for a great review. Do you know if there would be big difference between A90 + D90 vs Topping DX7 Pro ?
Thanks in advance