I brought the boost back to zero and maxed out the volume on foobar and windows. Iām now on mid gain and at 2 oclock on the thx. Does that seem normal for the 789?
Yes, that is more in line with what it should be, mid gain 2 oclock is way more reasonable. With those headphones getting close to maxing it on high gain normally would be very very very loud lol
ok thats a reliefā¦ Thanks for the help! 
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Can the 789 be used as a pre amp?
No, it has a line out/pass through but no volume controlled preamp. You could get a passive volume control like a schiit sys if you wanted a passive pre amp
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Has anyone used RCA to XLR cables? Is it worth doing? (thinking to do RCA out of the KTB into the XLR balanced of the 789)
I would not bother
I havenĀ“t tried though
just connected single ended from my ifi xDSD and balanced from the RME ADI 2 DAC to the 789.
A very trustful source(very experianced and highly respected) wrote the single ended in sounded even better for him
So I see now reason to buy a RCA to XLR cable.
I got me a 3.5 TRRS balanced male to 2x 3PIN XLR cables from oidio sound uk and did end up not using it, cause I see no gain in sound. I now simply use my 3.5 single ended to 2RCA cable - also made by oidio sound uk.
do you have plans driving a extreme power hungry headphone out of the THX AAA 789?
Martin, thanks for the feedback. I also use my ifi nano with my 789, but mostly use my KTB. it is good to change the sound a bit sometimes. 
No plans for hard to drive HPās in my futureā¦
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Cool! Yeahh a bit of change with different DACs is really nice from time to time
The KTB uses what kind of DAC implementation?
So there is no need for the balanced in at the moment, if you donāt need the extra volume.
The KTB uses the ES9038Q2M. It is a great DAC imoā¦
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I have read about it. Of course it is really good!
Would anyone know a possible reason why I hear static (seems like the left channel only) through the balanced output? SE output seems fine. Iāve tried with different cables and headphones, albeit the cables are homemade. Iām pretty sure everything is wired correctly as the sound is otherwise fine. Much thanks!
Have you tried the unbalance output? Maybe it is the dac?
I donāt hear it on the unbalanced output. Also same results with either balanced or rca input. I guess I can try a different dac to see. I should clarify that itās more like intermittent crackles rather than persistent static. Could it be a bad solder connection inside the amp?
Do you have another amp to try it on?
You have tried using different balance cables for your headphones? That is the most likely explanation.
That also could be it
Yea two different cables.
One is an XLR extension cable with the female end replaced with a TRRS jack to connect to Argons.
The other is a TRRS extension cable with the male end replaced with an XLR male. That one is connected to a NightHawk balanced cable.
I thought that the wiring was pretty straightforward. However, one thing I was a little confused by is the XLR extension cable had shielding around the pair of L+/L- and that shielding seemed to be connected to L+. I ended up not using it. Maybe thatās why?
Donāt know if those are unnecessary details.
Unfortunately, I donāt have another balanced amp. But perhaps I could convert the balanced cable to single-ended and see if I hear it on my Atom amp.
Thanks!
Since the unbalanced headphone output works, it can not be the DAC. It does not matter if the DAC uses the XLR inputs or the RCA input, both outputs will work for either one inputs.
That is probably the problem if I understand what you are doing.
You need both L+ and L-.