My understanding is the THX chips designated 789 and 887 require 2 chips to get a balanced signal. Thus the SE output on those models use only 1 of 2 amp stages, thus half the power. The SP200’S 888 chip is an all-in-one chipset. I’m sure there’s a better way to say that…
TIL, THX amps are all the same. I’m so glad balanced is confirmed to be slightly different so I’m not (as) crazy.
The 789 isn’t even balanced internally. I don’t buy that whatsoever.
Either way, happy I moved on from the thx shitshow
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Stupid question maybe but, when y’all talk about treble harshness, “what” treble exactly? 2khz-ish and above, 6khz-ish and above, 15khz-ish and above?
Hard to say exactly without a measuring rig. 6 to 10 k is a safe guess.
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Yeah, I’m sure I’m not explaining it well going from memory. I do know the 789 and 887 measure half their balanced output single ended.
That’s normal though as far as voltages. But the volume was equal on each output, so I find it odd that there would be a difference.
Really? I found the Modi 3 to be warmer than the SDAC-B (own both). 
Actually, they only have a recession in the upper mids. Compared to the rest of the Audeze lineup, they are much less dark. Maybe you have a strange pair. Audeze does have known variance issues, though not as bad as they used to be.
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Ah it can be warm and still harsh lol
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I don’t have experience with a THX amp, and I’ve never considered the LCD-X as a ‘dark’ headphone. They do have slightly recessed mids, but in the treble region they can sparkle (no where near a Focal, and especially not a Beyerdynamic).
When you say dark are you referring to vocals?
Vocals, just a feeling where mids just feel like they’re not there. If listening to EDM you just get a sense something is missing. Electric guitars were weirdly recessed so they were still clear to hear and not overly recessed, but the distortion for the guitars was just lacking and sounded mildly unpleasant.
If it makes the esses and the ssscymbals sound exssscruciatingly sssharp this is going to be a problem for me for sure.
And yeah I know it’s “subtle”. Any amp is supposed to be the “wire with gain” thing and they all measure flat but, oh well, here I learned fast that measurements don’t mean shit. 
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Measurements are valuable, but only are half of the story. I don’t think a person has to sit firmly in the measurement or subjective listening camp. The smart person would utilize both IMO. But I also think some measurements can be flawed in what they are measuring…especially if it is something that is inaudible to human hearing.
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Yesssss that’ssss a big part of it. But it also is fatiguing generally in the high end, even on instrumental music.
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@DagoRed, have to listened to a Focal (specifically the Clear)?
The Clear is tuned somewhere in between Harman and Diffuse Field, slightly closer to Harman. I’m curious how the guitars on the Clear sound to you.
I haven’t. I want a set of clears pending how much I’ll love my Eikons and where I want to go from there.
I like having some different options here. I also haven’t had the pleasure of hearing the Elex’s yet.
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Ahh, okay. I think you’ll really like the Clears. They’re brighter than the X’s, and still have good bass. Not planar, but good, solid bass.
I mean, the Liquid Spark amp measures flat 0-20khz +/-0dB but some say it sounds “warm”. And that’s the same thing for some DACs with AKM chipsets. The THX amp measures flat 0-20khz +/-0dB but some say it sounds “bright”… and some say the same thing for DACs with ESS chipsets.
i.e.: According to ASR (or whoever) measurements, the THX, RNHP, Liquid Spark… and ESS and AKM chipsets, “sound exactly the same, so, whatever, choose the cheapest one”. This is wrong. For DACs (except R2R) and amps, +/-0dB from 0-20khz don’t mean anything, and we need to measure something else to find “that”.
We think everything will sound “neutral” until we press play and… “oh, crap”.
If it’s something a lot of people can perceive, it can be measured, but isn’t right now.
I still say the amp sounds dark.