If I were to use my geshelli labs Dac and use one of the lower voltage options then I assume that this would do the trick?
Yeah. Using a lower dac voltage or a dac with volume control will usually yield better results than using the volume pot of the headphone/speaker amp it seems. Controlling the volume with windows/foobar/Spotify etc is fine but you could potentially lose bits of info.
Hey, this might be a noob question but does plugging in this amp (or any amp) into an ungrounded outlet result in more noise? Should I buy an iPower X?
Picked up the 789 from Drop earlier this week and have been listening to it everyday so far. I swapped out the Schiit Jotunheim and Magni for it on my desk. Iām still using the Modi multibit DAC and the Loki as part of the chain.
I keep the Loki neutral all the time except for those rare times I need to cut the treble down a bit, or if I feel like adding some flavor on the low end.
The headphones I have are the BLON B20ās (XLR), Senn HD650ās (XLR) and the DT880 Special Edition (SE).
What Iāve noticed with the 789 compared to the two Schiit amps is that it is very clean, almost sterile sounding and I donāt mean that in a negative way. It just sounds a little bit less warm by comparison I think, and that is with the HD 650ās and the B20ās. Iāve been swapping between those two all week and this morning I grabbed the DT880ās to try with it. With the DT880ās the warmth that is missing in the other two seem to be present again. Of course, the DT880ās on the Schiit amps were very warm sounding.
Iāve ordered the Geshelli ENOG2 Pro DAC and some Hart Audio XLR cables to go with it. Iām curious to see how the sound may change with a different DAC in the chain.
The power of the 789 is quite impressive. With the B20ās I seem to keep the gain on I, and the HD650ās on II and the DT880ās on III. Of course that has a lot to do with the impedance of the headphones and XLR vs. SE connections.
Overall, I am impressed with the 789 and pleased with my purchase.
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Given I already have a balanced headphone cable, do I need a balanced DAC for the balanced 6-watt@32ohm channel?
Hi guys I have a HD6xx looking for a amp.
Black Friday week 2020 while I have been ālookingā at balanced ampās I donāt even own a balanced head phone cable. So its not as important to me today.
However this week we have the DROP THX AAA 789 for $250.
https://drop.com/buy/drop-thx-aaa-789-linear-amplifier#overview 200 mW, 300 ohms
But the new āONEā is $50 less on pre-order $199 not balanced. Higher single ended at 300 ohm
https://drop.com/buy/drop-thx-aaa-789-linear-amplifier#overview 275 mW at 300 Ohms
But there is the Topping L30 today @ $119 280wW @300 ohm
https://www.amazon.com/TOPPING-L30-Headphone-Amplifier-Preamplifier/dp/B08DNV2K8C/ref=sr_1_14?dchild=1&m=A2Q0JVLI22BSVA&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&qid=1606293354&s=merchant-items&sr=1-14
I also like the option of per-outs as i would like to get Studio Monitors at some point.
What do I do please help.
US based? Schiit Asgard 3 is probably the best solid state amp for 6xx for the price. iFi Zen CAN is probably next best and has the option to go balanced in the future. 6xx really sound best from a tube amp but that also likely doesnāt fit your studio monitors as well.
I am actually in South Africa. I was keen on the Atom products I believe IMO that atom has better quality than Schiit. I have heard good things about the THX AAA 789 and the much lower priced Topping L30. Schiit is very popular and have a number great products I have not had too much experience with the brand. The iFi Zen CAN to me is more of a gimmick. I will look at this Asgard 3 but time is running out.
Has anyone tried adding a linear power supply to theirs?
Something cheaper like this?
QC?
So, I was always so confused why people called the THX 789 thin sounding or brittle, because I never heard it that way with my chain. This was especially true with my Anandaās that are already considered thin by some. It turns out my Modi 3 with varying apple iPhone/ipad chargers was giving me the fuller sound to complement the THX 789 already.
It seems chain is really, really important with this amp. I bought a DAC upgrade, a Denafrips Ares 2 DAC that I found far too forward and with a painful treble paired with the THX 789. After playing with my chain I did this
Mac->Audirvana->UPNP Raspberry Pi with Pi2Aes Running Volumio->toslink (monoprice)->Denafrips Ares 2->DIY Mogami Balanced Cables->THX 789->Diy Mogami balanced cables->KSC75/Ananda/LCD2c/Elex/HP50
They keys were
- Having Audirvana upsample to 4x power of 2 with a max of 192khz,
- Setting the THX 789 to high gain and keeping it there
- Never go above 9:00 on the volume dial
If you switch to a lower gain and turn the volume pot past 12 the treble becomes painful and the sound is too upfront. Itās likes itās screaming at you. This is also happens before any clipping can occur due to the balanced input.
Very efficient headphones/iemās can go to lower gain settings as long as the volume is never past 9:00, but if the dynamics are lacking try high gain. With the above settings, I get the full bass slam with my balanced modded HP50 on medium gain, balance mod guide for those headphones pending.
This does not solve the imaging issues of the THX 789, left and right is no problem, but behind or forward I really need to close my eyes or try to concentrate on it. I donāt know if this is better on higher end amps because I have never heard them.
Note that the mode of the Ares 2 dac NOS/OS/Filter are irrelevant for taming the THX 789. Choose whatever you like. P.S. if you have an Ares 2, spend 10 minutes to due the bass mod on YouTube it actually works (for me & others, YMMV).
If you need more than 9:00 on high gain, too bad youāre out of luck. I strongly suggest buying a different amp for your headphones.
That sucks. My Massdrop THX 789 doesnāt seem to have those build issues. Itās fairly solid feeling and well aligned.
I just received (my own purchase) a Burson Super Charger 3A power supply for the THX789 , It works perfectly. Initial impressions are good. Have only heard a macrodynamics increase so far. I will pull out my 2nd THX789 and test it on the standard power supply and switch back and forth . So far I have only Tested it on Argon Mk3s (since that is my hardest to drive headphone). If anyone has any constructive A B testing advise on what to listen for or tips let me know, thx
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I recently purchased the 789 while Drop was discounting the price down to $250. So far I am pretty happy with the purchase but have a question for you experts out there. I am pairing this amp with a Creative AE-9 using unbalanced RCA out. I have a pair of HD800Ss. My question is, is it worth it to switch the DAC to a topping D30 Pro for balanced output?
Depending on the output power from your current dac you might be able to drop a gain stage and have less noise if the d30 pro is something like twice the output of the creative. Also the d30 is just gonna be all around better.
Hmm, I donāt know how to measure the output power from the sound card. The specs provided by Creative are all assuming the provided amp is used, but I tossed that thing to the garbage.
Did you buy it only for the 789? Thatās a really expensive upgrade considering the price of the amp itself. Though if you were planning to upgrade to a soloist or something later, it doesnāt hurt to get it now.
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Yep just for the 789 . Iām a mad lad . I really like the sound or non sound of the THX789, I want a 789 but bigger and do not want to spend several thousand dollars on benchmark THX tech. I really like the form factor and sound. I have more expensive amps but this one I want to improve. Long story short I am really happy with the purchase. It fixed the problems I wanted it to fix. The sound is more cohesive and actually sounds like a 6 watt amp now. I was going to write a glowing review of the Burson supercharger but I am not a reviewer. I had pictures of my 2 THX amps the splitters I used and everything but I realized that the Burson power supply is probably not amazing just the included power supply with the THX789 is probably crap.
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It is on sale right now for 199$. I donāt know if it is the lowest recorded price yet. What I would like to know is, is it still relevant in 2021 considering the competition. I am interested in buying a Topping L50 and would like to know how do they compare. L50 would come for 219$ including shipping and 789 would be for 209$ with shipping. I live in Turkey and assume custom clearance might come cheaper on L50, since on aliexpress, there are some āworkaroundsā
This is the lowest Iāve seen the 789 go for. At that price it is temping, but wondering if it makes sense. I already have an Asgard3 and love it. Wondering if it makes sense to have this too.