Yeah. That’s what it seemed like.
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That’s what I thought, too.
But for the price of the D90 Dac, which is nothing “special”, you could get, I don’t know, Mytek or Soekris stuff even.
I’d consider the A90 with the D70 DAC. The D90 is “better” on paper but not on a way you will hear. D70 has generally amazing measurements but Some falloff if the DAC’s volume knob is maxed. You can run it DAC-only or jist turn the knob down a few clicks and control volume with your amp, and you’re good to go.
I say this only because I read about some occasional connectivity problems with the D90. And because of the price difference where ao think there’s no real SQ difference.
I do not have the A90 amp by the way; considering it. I do have the D70 DAC, however, and think it’s excellent.
Never heard of any of those brands. Does that mean there’s a better dac I could get for 700$ from them? I might consider getting something other than the D90. But I don’t know because the D90 and A90 look aesthetically nice together.
There’s just… different technologies and different ways of doing things. That’s the same thing with THX amps. People who tried R2R dacs (like the Soekris 1321) think the D90 just has a “flat” sound. Still, Soekris is seen as neutral, analytical, and not boring.
You can also get a Schiit Bifrost 2 for more or less the same price. Also R2R – well, “R2R on a chip”, aka “multibit”. Also upgradeable, for “future-proofing”.
for a better understanding and more in depth discussion of R2R/ ladder / multibit dacs, check this thread out; R2R / Multibit / Ladder DAC Discussion and tier list
The reviews for the D90 didn’t say it sounded flat or boring at all. At least that’s what it said in the screenshot I sent lol
You’re not going to get consistent answers from divergent sources… there are battles over balanced headphone outputs from amp, DAC chips vs DAC implementation, ladder (R2R) DACs vs chipsets, proprietary chips vs off-the-shelf, whether DACs are lame and you should stay analogue, whether your church or mine teaches the truth…
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Screenshot was for the A90 amp, not the D90 DAC 
Do you think the schiit Bifrost would be better with the A90? Also, is the Bifrost capable of 24bit 192khz hi res audio?
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Yes on all of it’s inputs.
I don’t think the A90 is going to sound a lot different than the THX amps TBH, it’s a similar feed forwards design.
You run into the same problem… I’d say no, wouldn’t be better… next people say yes, way better…
You have dive in some time.
Some people complained about THX treble harshness, I don’t think it’s the same for the A90.
Also A90 got XLR outs and a headphones/pre switch on the front. Interesting, did not see that. Probably excellent for powered monitors.
@iTM_Havok way too much has gone into this post. $$$ doesn’t seem to be too much of a factor and if you are willing, just start out a little slow. Get an asgard3, get a topping e30, and just play around with some headphones. Just go for the $350-700 range. sundaras,elex,dt 1990 just to name a few variety, and figure out what you like. You need to experience them yourself. You can only hear so many opinions. So just dive in now and tell us what you experience my dude those headphones and that amp and dac…those are all heavily reccomended here on this site. You just gotta go for it now lol
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You really should keep in mind that you’re better off spending more money on the amp than the DAC because that will make a bigger difference. If you get something like Topping E30, which is very good $130 DAC, you can then get higher tier amp. I really doubt anyone new to the hobby will think a Bifrost 2 is worth the money.
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Yeah but he definitely doesn’t want mid-fi stuff so, lol.
He already wants 1600$ headphones and a 500$ amp and a 600$ DAC, So I say to @iTM_Havok “just get the 130$ Topping E30 too and A/B with the Bifrost 2 and if you think the Bifrost 2 was a waste resell it.”
The A90 definitely gives him the potential to hear a difference between the E30 and the Bifrost 2.
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@iTM_Havok here’s your chance
https://forum.hifiguides.com/t/buy-sell-and-looking-for-thread/6305/268?u=ledechaine
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Waiting for “should I get Diana Phi instead?” in 10, 9, 8…
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I’m just going to go with the A90 and Bifrost 2 and Aryas. Because apparently that amp is better than a 3,000$ Amp in certain ways. Plus it’s good enough to power the Aryas. I’ve been overthinking what to get for awhile now.
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