KGUSSTopping A90 Discrete Headphone Amplifier Pre-Amplifier Relay Volume Control Precise and Matched (Black)

This thing completes my little stack. Balanced sound output is just exceptionally detailed across the full range. Hypnotic, arresting detail. I’ve gone back and listened to so much familiar music again just to hear it from this and discover new detail. Tons of classical, jazz, classic rock.This did fail on me once, after a few months or so. The seller was responsive and arranged quick return / replacement. Normally the failure would bug me. But the sound quality is just so great. This thing is the precious.My alternate amp is Schitt Magnius. It is not comparable. Categorically blurrier sound. To be fair it is a solid amp on its own. It is just not remotely as good. I went through the musical equivalent of heroin withdrawal without my discrete Topping A90.I’ve got a Singxer SU-6 DDC feeding a Gustard R26 DAC behind this, and either Monoprice 1570C cans or 7hz Timeless IEM in my ears (both are planar magnetics). Balanced XLR from DAC to amp, XLR / TRS to ears. If that doesn’t mean anything to you it is enough to know it is a decent high detail chain all around the amp. I imagine this would not sound as good in a weaker stack, as it would only expose things you do not want to hear.

The A90 Discrete is an upgrade in price only from the original A90 amp. Even worse is the "HiFi College" seller! I thought I was buying this thing from Amazon and it turns out that Amazon actually sells very few products that they support after the initial return/refund period. After three months the product began creating faint snaps, crackling, and popping sounds. After a month of trying every possible combination of power glitch solutions, I tried my old reliable SMSL SP200 amp and it worked fine. HiFi College told me I would have to ship 0the A90D to China for "testing and inspection" at my own expense ($90 USPS). I had purchased a second A90 Discrete from Apos Audio two months later and it began failing after two months after the High gain setting achieved less gain than the Low gain setting. After 23 days I finally got a RMA from Apos and returned the second A90D to San Diego. I paid $15 for shipping a replacement unit that I am currently awaiting. The low cost/high performance of all the Chinese audio devices (Topping, SMSL, Gustard, etc.) is impressive as long as they work. DO NOT PURCHASE ANY OF THESE DEVICES THROUGH AMAZON!!!!!

Hard to say best anything but if you'd like a neutral amp that measures fantastically and provides most of all the benefits you could want from an amp with good asethetic aswell, this one could be it. Unless you're looking for a specific sound signature or the colored world of tube amps, I think it's hard to beat this offering.

This review is for the regular Topping A90; not the discrete. This amp's main duty is to serve as a preamp down to a balanced subwoofer then to a pair of Mackie studio monitors. To my largely untrained ear the sound is cleaner compared to my Schiit Magni 2 Uber that handled these duties before. So much cleaner in fact that the price is justified by just this. I plugged in a set of Moondrop Arias, Denon AH-D2000 headphones, and a pair of HIFIMAN 400i's and all sound cleaner, punchier, and generally better.I am slightly concerned about the longevity of this amp based on a review I read, but as long as this amp holds up I'll be a happy listener.

Great Amp has high gane so can power headphones that need lots of power to drive and sounds great