šŸ”· MassDrop THX AAA 789 - Linear Headphone Amplifier

Very happy with this combo. Every balanced head phone I have sounds better.

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I approve of this setup. Hereā€™s mine.


(ignore the janky board itā€™s sitting on lol)

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Well I got in on this drop before it ended. I figure this is the type of amp I can keep for a long time and have it be part of my setup as a foundational part of my audio set up.

Now I need to figure out what to do with my DAC setupā€¦

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Are you looking for a balanced DAC? If so, Iā€™ve done research on that (all IMHO, YMMV, etc. etc.).

As far as I can tell, the best value is the SMSL SU-8. I chose the Topping D70 because it is the next step up in measured quality - but $200 more and that difference is probably inaudible. The ultimate is, wellā€¦look up at the the post above yours!

Iā€™m actually curious - SMSL SU-8 over the Geshelli Enog 2 Pro? I donā€™t mind the optical only input on the Enog 2 at all, but quality wise are there any differences?

The thing is that I already have a DAC with a balanced output - the Yamaha AG03 mixer. My audio setup was built with an eye towards streaming, and for that use scenario itā€™s perfect. The DAC isā€¦ at least a reasonable enough upgrade over my PCā€™s built-in audio that I havenā€™t found a need to upgrade. About the only bad thing about the outputs is they are very much on the hot side, even compared to the Enog 2 (which Z noted has a hot output). The outputs are meant for monitors, after all. (My current amp, for comparison, is a Liquid Spark.)

Unless there really is a dramatic difference in sound quality, Iā€™m kinda inclined to stick with what I have and just connect it to the 789 with a pair of TRS to XLR cables. To me they sound good enough, but I donā€™t really have a good comparison (i.e., other DACs).

Grace SDAC balanced is cheaper than any balanced DAC. Solid company, too.

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OK. Itā€™s the 30th. Whereā€™s my tracking number???

Cā€™mon Massdrop!!

There are some headphones out there that need much more than what the 789 can put out. Something like raals or akg1000ā€™s. But they usually come with a speaker amp transformer. Raalā€™s need something like 20 amps last I checked.

Well a ribbon driver is pretty specialized and really uncommon, so itā€™s not something you would consider running with the 789 anyway. Stuff like the akg1000 or mysphere, or even the he6 or he6se is usually powered off of a speaker amp like you said. But I mean for him its probably plenty unless he is looking for these specific headphones.

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They sent out an email a long time ago, and posted on the discussion page, that the august 30th shipping date was pushed to the end of September.

The transactions page doesnā€™t get updated when they have the usual massdrop shipping delays.

Eating my my words hereā€¦drop just emailed me shipping notification.

:slight_smile:

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nice!! - for the may drop?

Yep! I wasnā€™t expecting it, itā€™s good news.

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They were smart and re-set expectations for end of Sept, then exceeded their it. They were probably guessing a 9/5 ship date all along. I do this stuff with my customers all the time. If somethingā€™s going to take 3 weeks, I say 6. Then Iā€™m the hero even if it takes 4.

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Are you though? Like I cancelled my order because of this delay and ordered the EL AMP instead.

Not saying its better - I am not daft, just saying Iā€™m happy with my setup and they lost out on sale. (Donā€™t cal the liquidators all at onceā€¦ lol)

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I also recieved the shipment information mail a minute ago

Nice! When did you order it?

it was the may drop- joined in the first 2 minutes the drop opened

Thank you. I order mine on May 30. So maybe, I will get mine soon also.

LOL. I just got my shipping notice! About f***ing time!

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