Just going to put this out there and anyone feel free to disagree.
You will most likely really like the Arya with whatever amp and dac you get as long as you get something recommended here. At worst, you will have not gotten the perfect headphone, amp and dac or your preferences, and could have gotten something that pleases you more for the same or less cost. You might not be able to fully appreciate just how good your new gear is and find that it was a bit overpriced for the previous reasons. But you will have a much much better listening experience to what you currently have. Don’t fret too much with all the back and forth; people are trying to help you get the most out of what you eventually decide on. Take their advice and then make your decision and you won’t look back. 
I’ll definitely wait until I get more advice on whether the D90 and A90 is a good combo with the Aryas. So far all of the reviews I’m reading are really positive! It even apparently beat some of the measurements of the HPA4.
The measurements are great. A lot of ppl here are would say that measurements only matter up to a certain point. In the end we care about how good does it sound, not how good it measures and measurements are not a great indicator.
The review also said that it sounds great. Better than the 3000$ headphone amp that he was comparing it to in some ways.
Seems like guy in Soundnews A90 text was actually listening to music and everything it brings.
And not even trying to describe it with meaningless words like bright, soulless, lean, borin or dry.
It might actually do things right, how it should be. Just the music.
Yeah. That’s what it seemed like.
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…
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?
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
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.