When where they expected to ship durring the Feb drop?
May 29, 2019
Good news everyone! Weāve managed to move the production schedule for our THX amps up, and now have 1,000 more units scheduled to arrive in mid/late August. Weāll be opening this batch up for presale, tomorrow (May 30) morning at 10 AM PDT.
This batch does not affect the 500 units sold in April, which should be shipping in early/mid August. Since weāve moved this up from our Q4 2019 delivery schedule, these are currently the last production units scheduled for the year. Weāre looking into increasing this, but this may be the last we see of the THX for a while.
For those who purchased their amps in February, those are in the US and on the way to our fulfillment center in New Jersey, and they will be shipping out very soon.
Thanks,
Duncan
from massdrop
1 Like
The rca outs of the 789 are just a pass through of the rca input (no volume control). Thereās no benefit in connecting the XLR and RCA inputs to the same source.
Thank you for the heads up. Iāll keep the Mackie Big Knob on the desk then. Or just use digital control.
I finally got in on this. On the 30th of May @ 1000, I was at home when I received the email. Yeah I didnt waste any time ordering the thing. It should arrive in August.
Yeah baby! Feeling the Massdrop/drop love and looking forward to August too.
Still waiting for shipping confirmation on the Feb drop, has anyone else gone and checked out the salt on the mass drop discussion page?
Hi I jumped on this when it went on massdrop, I shall be getting the Topping D70 Dac for this, can someone recommend some headphones to go with it too? This is my 1st post, God Bless the Queen. I love this dark mode.
Yeah I have. This amp is my first purchase on Drop and I am grateful I was able to buy one. I can wait for it to ship.
Hi rosso welcome. Iām new too, but Iāve been auditioning audio gear for while now. Is this your first foray into audio gear or are you a seasoned practitioner? I prefer the Phillips SHP9500 over the Neumann NDH 20 and the Beyer DT 1990ā¦so far.
I donāt have mine yetā¦but for what itās worth the very intent of the design of this amp was for it to not color sound. āWire with gainā was the goal. Reviews and general feedback on the amp is that they have done a damn good job at that.
With that in mindā¦my general thought would be to select a set of headphones that are known for having the general tendencies of what youāre looking for.
1 Like
Has anyone used the pass through? I am a newbie in this and I was wondering what are the benefits? Also if another headphone amplifier can be used like the sh 8 that I have and does it act like a pre-amp? I know like you shouldnāt really amplify an amplifier but I am just wondering how the thing works from other owners/experts.
The rca out is a pass-through only. What that means is it will send the same signal out that the amp is receiving.
One example of a use is if you have speakers that you want to connect, from the same source. Youād plug the rca cables into a speaker amp, or the audio in of powered-speakers.
1 Like
People who have heard both, is the 788 as good of an amplifier as the 789? And how is the DAC in the 788 vs say the balanced dac module in the Jotunheim or the SDAC or a modi?
Audio Science Review is a great place for DAC and amp reviews. Check them out of you havenāt. Amir is great at testing noise and lots of other objective things that matter.
1 Like
Appreciate the shout Iāll go take a look
1 Like
I have the 788 as my work listening unit great all in one and right there with the 789.
My opinion is if you have a good balanced DAC go with the 789 (if you can get one).
If you donāt already have a good balanced DAC the 788 is the way to go. Or if you want a really good AIO unit.
Sound difference is minimal, and most would be hard pressed to pick up said difference. The bigger issue Iāve had, and really more of an annoyance, is the controls/user interface on the 788 can take getting used to. Volume pot and knobs are more satisfying to use on the 789. The 788 once acclimated to its quirks is perfectly fine though and my annoyance with it has dissipated over time.
Both are great amps with clean sound, but personally the included balanced DAC and AIO nature of the 788, plus readily available edges out the 789. While the 789 for me is the slightly better amp (seriously very minimal difference) lack of availability and the added cost of a balanced DAC makes it not as high a recommendation from me personally.
This is like just my opinion though and you do you;)
Oh I also have the 789, currently it is hooked up to my gaming PC with the El DAC converting 00110010110s for it. I have used it with my RME ADI-2DAC. Which if in my main audio chain would be the preferred pairing chain. But the 789 was knocked off the chain by my Phonitor XE.
3 Likes
I have a SMSL SU8 sitting in a box waiting for my 789 to arriveā¦someday.
4 Likes
Let us know how the pair soundsā¦in October 
So I need some education. Iām happy with my current audio setup and am looking to step into balanced via this THX AAA 789. My question; can I use the miniDSP hd as a DAC running to the THX and maintain a balanced signal?
Currently using Vanatoo T0 and Sennheiser GSX 1200 >> SMSL VMV VA2 >> HD 58Xs / HD 650s. I love this setup for gaming in 7.1, watching movies and listening to music while I cook and do laundry. But I really want to get a balanced setup for pleasurable music listening and music production while I sit.