I think itās more likely youāre experiencing digital clipping in this case. I donāt see how the amp itself could clip under those circumstances. Do you have any kind of EQ running in the background?
No, I donāt have any EQ or other processing going on. Iāll look up what digital clipping is and see if that could be whatās happening. Thank you.
A tone generator may be helpful for your troubleshooting. Keep in mind the default volume on it is loud
Online Tone Generator - generate pure tones of any frequency
Sad to say, but I think my particular unit may just be defective. I plugged in my old amps, SMSL SP200 and ifi Zen Can, and they didnāt have any issues at even louder volumes.
Mine arrived this evening. after going through the setup process, my reaction is.
Wow.
My previous amp, the Klipsch Heritage Headphone Amp, felt adequate to power my argons. But when hooking them up to the A90D - the difference is insanity.
The best way I can think of to describe it, is like moving from this
Nice boat, classic, pretty, does the job puttering around the bay.
To this
Holy Shi#!
Iām still using the same dac, (the one built into the Klipsch) the only difference is the amplification is now being done by the A90D instead.
Itās like entering an entirely different world. The difference and sound that was unleashed in my Argon headphones (both the T60RP and the Mk3) blew me away in a great way. Clean, powerful, responsive, yet not at all lacking in warmth and fullness of sound. And this is Not about Volume! It literally changed the way my headphones respond in a very powerful way. (although yes, the volume can also crank higher now too, if I want). Was it worth the price? I think so. But if you are on a budget, donāt sell all your clothes, you will have many great experiences with lower priced amps too.
- However, as Ferris Bueller would say, āIf you have the means, I highly recommend itā.
(I suspect the large change I experienced here was due to the type of headphones I use, I always heard Argonās love power, but now I finally understand why.)
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Spending some time tonight with the J2 and A90D 
gave up trying to get EQ APO to work on the laptop and windows 11 so found my mojo with USB out of HiBy as MSEB still works great to give the HE-400ibthe bass I crave actually vibrating and ticketing my ears.
I realized yesterday when I thought they were not loud was in reality really load but this set up is so damn smooth and the A90D has wicked headroom powerwise.
Wifeās not thrilled with the open back but I cooked cleaned and did dishes everyday and earn the $$$$$ so all good .
Edit new balanced cable really is a game changer now the 400i are getting what they need with the more power I like the results very much.
@ Jason_Schabler (or anyone else who desires exceptional closed-back headphones to pair with the A90D)
My earlier post goes into a bit more detail about why I feel this is a good pairing. It comes down to power, the A90D is a powerful headphone amp, and it releases the magic in the Argon headphones. Argonās need power. And when they get it, they turn obscene amounts of power into incredible sound.
If you get the chance to try the Mod House Audio, Argon T60RP or the Argon Mk3, I strongly suggest you look into them, they are effectively closed back, but give you the sound-stage of an open backed, and the power of the Topping A90D is like an unlock-key for awesome on Argon headphones.
- Argon headphones are like some towering audio god materialized in our reality and personally placed music on your head. But he did it with a closed-back headphone.
The Argon headphones are surprisingly affordable for what they offer. If you love bass I suggest giving the Argon Mk3ās a go. I personally prefer them myself out of the two Argon variants available, and they are bass monsters. Itās like wearing a full-sized heavy-metal rock concert hall on your head. The Mk3ās put you in the middle of that rock concert hall, they have amazing sound stage, yet donāt sound muffled in any way. And the Bassā¦ Oh my god the Bass - Mk3 Argons will Rock you - in a good way! Yet they can play every type of music and still sound exceptional.
Here is Zeos video on the Argonās, he gives a good comparison on both headphones.
My own advice from owning both, get the Mk3 if you like bass.
- In case you are wondering from watching the video - yes Zeos still has both the Argonās on his wall, and he regularly uses them and compares them with other headphones in many reviews. Argonās are one of the essential the benchmark headphones getās pulled out whenever anything requires power, comfort, and quality of sound. And the truly amazing key is, they do all that *affordably!
The only reason these exist at the price they do, is because of Ryan at Mod House. Ryan is the owner/operator of the business, and he is very very fair with his pricing. (Yes I used two āveryāsā!) I would easily match these up against any headphone 1,000 dollars or less and the Argonās will win. And they even are equivalent to some headphones that are nearly 3,000 dollars. - Yes the numbers sound insane, how could something that costs so much less be just as good? - Ryan and Mod House is the answer to that question. There is a reason Zeos continually talks about and references Argons in many of his videos. They really are special.
Zeos in the video will try to talk you into getting the T60 Argon, but if you love good bass, then I re-iterate againā¦ go with the Mk3.
I originally got the Argon T60RP, I let Zeos video talk me into it. And I was so curious about the Mk3ās I bought them as well. And I can say that both are great headphones, I am very happy to own both of them. Butā¦
- If I could only have 1 set of Argon headphones, I would keep the Mk3 even though itās often considered the ālowerā of the two. It really is not, when Zeos says they are equal - he is not lying. They are just different, more low end comes through on the Mk3, and everything is more comfortable to listen to. That comfort directly equals enjoyment. For enjoyable relaxing sound that wonāt hurt your ears with anything, the Mk3ās are the way to go. I have fallen asleep several times with the Mk3ās playing on my head, the listening experience is that enjoyable/comfortable.
Ok, iāve waffled on enough. I wish I could put both headphones on your head and pair them with your new Topping A90D so you could truly compare, but distance and annoying real-life physics prevent me from teleporting over to your place to do it.
Here is where to order Argon Mk3ās.
Extras to Definitely get:
- Balanced ( you want this if your amp can at all handle it, which yours can
) - Deerskin Strap (Comfort Supreme, will help insure these are comfortable to wear, the default metal strap will start to hurt your head if you donāt have a nice strap, this is Essential to have!)
- Upgraded Pads Protein, Lambskin, or Cowhide (hugely important for extreme comfort! - if you are curious which type is suggested you can contact Ryan via his company email and he will get back to you)
- The Case (If you travel or want a nice storage spot for your Argonās the Case is worth it for 30$, itās a well constructed case.)
- Balanced Cable (you will need a cable too, because this version of the Argon is not normally balanced, so a cable is needed if you get the balanced Argon mod)
Yes that bumps the price up to $410 for the Argon Mk3 (not counting the balanced cable). But trust me, that is still a great deal for what you are getting. Argonās are amazingly good.
Here is where to order the Argon T60RP.
Extras to Definitely get:
- T60RP is balanced by default! (yay!)
- Deerskin Strap (same reasons as above)
- Xenon Pads, Suede, Lambskin, or vegan leather (These are very comfortable and affect sound quality too! Ryan goes into detail exactly how each one changes the sound on his store page)
The Argon T60RP runs $479. They are slightly more expensive than the Mk3ās. But still worth every penny.
Get to an audio show sometime, or find somewhere in your area so you can try Argonās out. Or just buy them whenever you are ready for your next audio upgrade.
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Output of your DAC could be ātoo highā. Iāve ran into issues with my SMSL Sanskrit and Asgard 3, had to set the volume offset of the Sanskrit to -10 in order for loud bass tones to not cause distortion. Would be odd for a Topping DAC to not play well with a Topping amp though.
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so I guess the firmware update port is cable picky lol thought I was doing something wrong
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throwing down some first impressions, as someone who sold their A90 because I found it too boring/sterile I will say the A90D is an improvement, that said there are still times (depending on song/headphone) that it still is just āhereās the musicā no life to it at all and then there are other times its just so clear you can hear the voices of beings from the higher planes of existenceā¦ I donāt think Iāve been so conflicted over a piece of gear before.
I think it needs a slightly warmer DAC to compliment it. Thatās why I paired mine with the AKM Geshelli J2. I donāt hear the equipment I just hear music and brings a grin to my ugly face!
The J2 AKM is simple not for everyone and some people believe spending more money = better .For me itās about synergy and music = happiness !
My $ 0.02 Cheers J
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Iām still waiting for the official announcement of their new DAC, hoping itās something that catches my eye otherwise probably waiting for next 11.11
Edit: or if Modhouse ever comes out with their new Soekris
Sounds like a plan didnāt hear a rumor about the new one whatās the scoop?
zeos let slip about a year ago that they were working on a new one not many details yet, apparently he has a prototype that heās been using for a while now as he teases it every couple videos āfeeding X AMP with a Geshelli DAC I canāt show you yetā etc etc
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Iāve owned the original A90 for a few yearās now and have loved it. Do you think it would be worthwhile to upgrade eventually to the new Discrete model?
I think the sound difference would be Minor or get it for remote and display or put the money into a new Dac or transducers IEM, HP ectā¦
I love my Combo of @geshelli_labs J2 AKM and A90D
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Stick with the OG and be happy, the difference is rather small - not enough to warrent a āupgradeā
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as someone who didnāt like the OG A90 the A90D is ok itās a bit better but itās still the same product with some upgraded specs essentially.
Greetings ā¦
got my a90d for days nowā¦
plugged via xlr to su9 dac
comming from og atom amp
im surprised how an amp
can change the headphone signature
and performance ā¦
itbrought life to my hd6xx
and blon b20 planar
bass is punchy controlled never bloated
trebile notes are cute and delightfil to ears
instruments are sperated and there is
enough air between them.
soundstage cant be judged
since im using su9 and narrow staged HP
yet i feel there is more depth and width
the lazy thick sound of my planar
replaced by airy enjoyable one
always thought hd6xx lacks some clarity
and bit slow in crowded songs
yet a90d gave it all clarity and speed it needed and it never felt congested .
recommend using hd6xx on unbalanced
output since balanced feels overly clinical
and accourding to power calculators
u do not need more than 2 volts to reach
very loud levels.
thats it for now thanks.
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