Unfortunately I haven’t heard one yet, but I will sometime down the road. I’ll be sure to write a little compare if I do.
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I think $200 for the 789 is a pretty great deal. I’ll be hosting all of my comparison/impression charts somewhere soon but here’s how I see the 789 fitting in with everything I’ve tried so far:
| !TECH | !PRICE | !PORTABILITY | !TUNING | !DETAIL | !DEPTH | !DYNAMICS | !VALUE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPL Phonitor XE | -20 V Voltair Technology | $2,200 | E | Neutral/Smooth | S | A | A | B |
| DROP THX 789 | -THX negative feedback | $300 | C | Neutral/Bright | A | B | B | A |
| Burson Audio Soloist 3x | -Vivid op-amp -Class A |
$1,114 | E | Warm | A | A | B | B |
| RebelAmp | -Class A | $500 | E | Warm | B | A | A | B |
| darkvoice 336se | -Preamp tube -Power amp tube |
$309 | F | Goop | C | B | C | B |
| Schiit Magni 3 + Heresy | -All-op-amp | $100 | B | Neutral | B | C | C | A |
“Value” is definitely one of the more arbitrary and subjective columns.
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Many disagreements hinge on the “TUNING” column. Some hear the 789 as neutral/bright, while others hear it as ridiculously piercing and painful. On a relative scale the Rebel is “full-bodied” neutral to my ears, particularly when paired with a brighter DAC. All the content is there, it’s just not in your face.
Using my ears as my guide to excessive brightness, both the 789 and (sold) Magni 3 resulted in relatively rapid fatigue, tinnitus, and discomfort. In contrast, I can listen to the Rebel, ZenDAC, or Lyr 3 for long periods without pain. I think the Magni 3 is not actually bright or brighter than the Rebel, it just has noisier treble.
I can put up with the 789 for longer periods by rolling off the treble via EQ too. It’s never a full sound, but can be fine in some scenarios.
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I don’t have the Elex, or heard it. I like the og clears. I used the 887 with the Elegia and I do have the Elegia eq’d to have similar frequency of the clear. The one Andrew had posted on his review.
Not sure what I like, I don’t have the experience to distinguish issues. But it did not sound bad at all, I actually really enjoyed it. The only thing I did not find to be in taste is ESS dacs, even though I only owned one. It wasn’t suitable for either headphones or stereo listening. Yet, you guys would say that dac is analytical. Which further confuses me. It was probably just poor implementation on that unit.
I am the total opposite of most people it seems. I remember when I was looking into the HE6se people said that it’s bright and fatiguing. Besides the headband discomfort which was an easy fix, I don’t EQ them and I can literally do 8 hour listening sessions.
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Question on Portability… how are you judging that one? Not sure I see the phonitor XE and Soloist in the same rating space but curious
Basically just how much of a pain in the ass would it be to move from one location to another.
The Soloist is less portable but I guess they both would fit in a backpack/carry on.
There’s only so many letters 🤷
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Elex much improved with monoprice 887. Elex sounds like crap ( dry and scratchy)with drop 789. 887 has much more weight also sounding noticeably fuller with better dynamics. Sound is also smoother. Im using balanced output at the mid gain settings.
However not crazy with 6xx on the 887. Somewhat bloated sound.
Probably the same experience I had with the Elegia. I actually bought the 887 to run my HE6se, as some members suggested I would never get 10 watts out of my flux labs, I was curious to see how it would perform. Then when I got the liquid platinum I really wanted to see how that would work with tube integration.
Honestly the liquid platinum with ifi neo iDSD sounds really spot on where I want to be. I will soon try it with my D70s.
Just adding that what is mentioned maybe be accurate but good synergy with these lower focals or maybe all of them.
Drop for the last week or so are not showing the amount sold on the 8xx. Im guessing its because of the amount of returns. Never saw them do that in the past. Another transparency issue for them.
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I bet they messed up sick to my understanding, I think DMS posted a review on it.
Double messed up too, now people will question all their drop branded equipment to come.
But also considering that the 800 was a flagship vs Elear it also makes sense that they aren’t going to be able to make it better. I know they got a couple other drop headphones that they didn’t mess up I believe, but I don’t think they were flagship
There are some detailed reviews of the 8XX on Drop now. My takeaway is that it’s decent overall (at least after EQ), but not as good as the 800 S. The 8XX has an $1,100 price tag while the 800 S is going for $1,400 or less. So, if one has the budget to enter this price class, why would one nickle-and-dime for 2nd place?
The audio world was very different when the 6XX came out. It was a limited edition of a known product (the 650), with the same audio quality. The marketing language portrayed it to be a one-off, but it proved extremely popular and came back to meet demand. They then briefly raised the price ($200 to $250) before dropping back and then inching up to $220. So, Mass(Drop) had the surprise mega-hit 6XX largely by accident. Sennheiser was forced to permanently cap its 600 series pricing too. If starting again today, the 6XX would likely be priced at $250 to $300. Lesson learned, hence the crippled 8XX.
Drop slipped from being an innovator and leader just 3-5 years ago to a relatively minor player today. Chinese brands are now established, directly available, and aggressive direct competitors. Those averse to buying Chinese products now buy from Schiit or others. Drop’s most severe reputation damage followed the cribbed public design and controversy of the Airist R2R DAC.
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Agreed at the price it’s at is not bad, but considering you can get the 800s for like 1260 I think with the 1399 plus 10% off promo code. I think this 1100 presale price is never going to jump up considering that. I mean what can they charge? 1200, another 100 and you get the superior product. Any more than that and it makes no sense at all.
But most consider that the idea of drop mods is a superior product plus a decent price, or that’s what I get from it. Even if it’s just a bit cheaper. Then you need new pads, eq, this and that this now further makes it a bad proposition
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Yep, $1260 is what I paid for my 800s direct from Sennheiser ( on sale + the 10%)
With the 8xx you don’t get the balanced cable ($160) … so if you add that you’re right back at the price of the 800s. Inferior from most accounts…for the same price if you include all accessories of the original.
But hey, let’s not forget the Drop points.
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The end part has me cracking me up😂