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In Reply to: RE: Atma-Sphere Class D vs NAD M33 ? posted by John Elison on April 28, 2024 at 15:41:28:
Having owned the Topping Pre90 and Schiit Kara in my setup.....--> While the Topping Pre90+Ext90 were pretty good on sonics its remote control setup was total crap. Kal Rubinson hinted at this in his S-phile review but being a reviewer I believe he exercised polite restraint and moved on. Me, not so much.
The Topping Pre90 is very quirky about handling remote commands and its not the handheld remote but the electronics within the Pre90 that is at fault. I'm not talking about aiming the remote just so but how the Topping doesn't always respond to remote commands as expected.
And what is this Topping EXT90 thing? Well, you need the outboard EXT90 chassis with an interconnect cable between it and the Pre90 if you want more than one set of preamp inputs. Total it up and you're at $850 for the Topping system.
--> On the other hand, the Schiit Kara is $699 and to my ears it sounds a little more to my liking. By that I mean it's a bit more full-bodied and dynamic. Just a personal preference of mine on sonics.
Topping Pre90 has a better Volume display but frustrating remote. Throw it at the wall frustrating.
Schiit Kara has a remote that works flawlessly but the Volume display is just the position of the volume knob.
Edits: 04/29/24
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Follow Ups
- Enthusiastic YES to Schiit Kara. Topping Pre90 not so much.... - AbeCollins 09:59:48 04/29/24 (4)
- RE: Enthusiastic YES to Schiit Kara. Topping Pre90 not so much.... - John Elison 11:37:02 04/29/24 (3)
- RE: Enthusiastic YES to Schiit Kara. Topping Pre90 not so much.... - AbeCollins 15:31:55 04/29/24 (2)
- RE: Enthusiastic YES to Schiit Kara. Topping Pre90 not so much.... - John Elison 08:07:04 04/30/24 (1)
- RE: Enthusiastic YES to Schiit Kara. Topping Pre90 not so much.... - AbeCollins 14:41:50 05/12/24 (0)