also wait for the may drop to ship in september and IĀ“m very glad about getting the old design
SMSL SU-8 as balanced DAC will be paired with the THX AAA 789 and later Xduoo TA-20
Iād like to second this. My current amp is a Liquid Spark, and Iām not sure how big of an upgrade it would be.
Iāll hold my comments until I get my 789 in September. Iāve been perfectly happy with my Atom and Iāll be taking it to the office once the 789 arrives. For me personally, I really wanted a balanced amp since my audio interface uses balanced outs. The best option besides the 789 is the Neve RNHP but itās more money and doesnāt have the same features.
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@ Martin_Lesch
Nice. I will be feeding the 789 with a Topping DX7S via balanced interconnects. I am very interested to know how the SU8 sounds compared to the DX7S. Same chip but there will be some differences in the implementation (engineering) of the DACs.
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Amen. I have a AAA 789 coming in September and Iām honestly not expecting to hear the difference between that and the Atom. Both are transparent. Transparent is transparent. There arenāt different flavors of it.
Why did I buy it then?
So I can say āendgame!ā And move on to obsessing over other parts of the signal path. 
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Can you provide some more info which version ? Where to buy it etc
End game is a myth in this (endless) rabbit holeā¦ but for the curious, this particular tunnel (Tunnel 789) is begging to be explored. Itās like someone said āthereās shit down there that I didnāt know existed! But it only opens twice a year, and just for a few hoursā¦ā Then other people managed to explore it a bit and were like, āwtf manā¦ this tunnel is ridiculous!ā Then the masses wanted to explore itā¦
I would venture to say that half the reviews on Drop are from people who have limited experience with DACs and amps, or donāt have the reference point of having heard a half-decent DAC or amp before, so ofc the 789 will blow their minds.
Regardless, I was tempted to taste the (hopefully) sweet waters based on the stellar feedback it has received from various sources outside of Drop, including Amir and Zeos. But I will let the amp talk for itself when it arrives. If itās even half as good as the accolades being thrown around, it will have a place at my table.
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Can you imagine two completely different (opposite even) approaches to audiophilia? Z is all id. Amir is all scientific method, footnoted and properly organized.
When they agree (which they often do) you just gotta reach for the wallet.
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i just want my THX AAA 789 already. already got the setup waiting for my baby to arrive and donāt worry i have a balanced cable for the sennheiser coming in soonš
Is that the creative dac amp on ur desk. Its scaryā¦
Yeah one of the best AMP/DAC for gaming.
What makes it well suited for gaming vs music? I have always used the same equipment for music and games.
Literally nothing. All it does is it dumbs down the EQ process which depending on the game you want to play makes it sound ābetterā/different.
Also has those virtual surround nonsense if you are into that.
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Donāt forgot the aggressive āgamerā looks and possibly color changing lights
I donāt know how you could have a gaming product without that.
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EQ is exactly what makes it good for gaming. If you need the low end bumped up for better footsteps itās easy to do. See the problem is Itās directed towards gamers but silly audiophiles see the letters āAMP/DACā and assume itās for them. Audiophiles are weirdos at times.
Iām not saying itās endgame gamer equipment but it gets the job done. EQāing can turn any bad headphone or speakers into good ones. Once my THX AAA 789 comes in Iām going to shelf the Sound Blaster.