I’ve had some silly offers for my THX AAA 789 amplifier. To the point that they really don’t make sense.
This is the unhealthy effect of circular-hype-trains, combined with limited availability, the typical FOMO-effects for such things and then add-in some additional furor based, I am convinced, on a large helping of not-actually-understanding-the-superlative-measurements.
Don’t get me wrong - it’s an excellent amplifier for it’s price. In fact, I still think Massdrop underpriced it somewhat - even at the new $400 price point.
But unless measurements (that most don’t understand, let alone appreciate the practical implications and applications of) are your sole point of concern … offering $800 for this is just nuts.
You could have three orders of magnitude (1,000x) more distortion than the THX AAA 789 exhibits and you still would not be able to hear it, even with a single test tone, played at 90 dB SPL. Hell, I don’t think most people realize what it means just to hear a tone that’s at -90 dB, even with nothing else going on, let alone to be able to discern distortion in that tone at that level. It’s a useful experiment to try and is quite eye-opening (and applies to many situations, not just this one).
Again, it’s a great little amp. It’s high-value. It is not the amplifier I am criticizing; it’s the behavior and lack of perspective around it.
Especially where, if the numbers are what’s important to you, the JDS Labs Atom at $99 is technically better for all but the most pathologically hard to drive cans. If nothing else, it’s a very close facsimile of the “sound” of the THX AAA 789 and is a good hold-me-over solution (that many will then wind up sticking with) if you want this sort of delivery but need/want something now … especially if it lets you score this amplifier at its actual price.
I like dealing with them and I am fine with the taxes. I file that under “it is what it is”. If I buy from a physical storefront in Canada, that’s the rules.
When I went hunting for a set of Grado GH2’s, I emailed every dealer in the country looking for the best price. I ended up buying from a dealer in Quebec for “tax free”. I was happy with my little discount and I LOVE the 'phones.
I like what I have read and heard about the amp, but not to the point of almost $700.00. Will it perform better than my Burson Fun? Maybe, but probably to a very small degree.
Will I prefer the sound better? Maybe.
I am so tired of getting hurt by the hype train.
I really do think that $700.00ish would give me a lot bigger jolt with new 'phones vs a moderate change in amp.
I grabbed mine from the leftovers after the first shipment – immediately after ASR and Zeos posted glowing reviews but before the hype train hit the mainstream. So, no mark-up for me. I’m guessing half of the the last batch was purchased by scalpers to resell on Ebay for $700+.
The 789 is mainly about brutal accuracy and resolution. Yes, it has plenty of power for HiFiMan drivers too. It typically makes weak original sources sound raw and butchered, and what likely sounded ‘smooth and warm’ to the sound engineer becomes just plain rough. Even Frank Sinatra’s work (Girl From Ipanema album) reveals a hot vocal mic.
Now, your ears will adapt and all of this becomes ‘normal’ after a few days. So then the experience isn’t dramatically different than any other everyday system.
But am I happy? Yes.
Do I plan to sell? No, probably not for anything less than an SPL Phonitor.
I use mine 95% of the time with balanced cables. With dynamic driver headphones the 789 is a BIG DEAL for reducing driver-based reproduction quirks. With planar magnetic headphones it’s nice but not a dramatic improvement.
My Phonitor XE is for me the bigger brother to the 789, I think that people that don’t have a good, and or good balanced (not that it overly matters here) DAC then the 789 is a good stopping point for solid state, or for me a stepping stone to a “better” amp like the Phonitor XE.
But that being said the better bang for the buck is the Monolith 788
Sure but I did find it to become fatiguing to listen to, which I don’t find to be the case with the Phonitor X or Gilmore Lite MK2. It’s hard to pin point why the THX 789 is fatiguing - it does measure as having a fairly neutral FR so perhaps it’s that the transient edges are rather rough, especially in the higher frequencies. I guess it’s not the quantity but quality of those higher registers that bothers me?
I couldn’t agree more! Which is why to my ears, at around the same price, the Gilmore Lite was a more enjoyable listen while being almost as resolving.
I wasn’t expecting the world considering I already have a well-performing JDS Atom but this is truly excellent. I still need to do comparisons but my initial impressions are very, very positive as an upgrade from the Atom. I don’t know if it’s the expectation being met, but I haven’t had shivers like this in a bit. Time to go through every song I’ve ever heard again.
What’s going on with this amp is madness !!! I was looking around ,since I’m pretty sure I’ll miss the next drop ( as usual ) and the prices are crazy !!! $650 the cheapest one!!! I’m not sure if it worth $650, and that is provably sold already, but now I know what’s going to happen in the next drop.
I’ll look a little more toward Schiit, either Jotunheim or Lyr 3 if I decide I don’t want the balanced output.
I have a barely used Black model Jot (B-Stock, I purchased direct from Schiit) I’m going to be trying to get rid of on here soon(ish). I prefer to ship to the US though I might be willing to work with someone on shipping if outside the US=)
Interesting!! Could you compare the sound of the Jot with the AAA789 please? I have read a lot about the 789, but almost nothing about the Schiit one. I’m in the US by the way, NJ to be more precise.
It is pretty much right there as far as sound I.E. It doesn’t flavor it. The THX 789 beats it in inky black background and is slightly more analytical.
Jot is great, I just didn’t get much use out of it due to already having the THX789 and THX 788, the Jot was kind of a spur of the moment purchase.
To note the THX789 doesn’t get much play time either anymore due to the Phonitor XE, but the THX789 is now my PC gaming amp, and random comparison amp…
My experience is very poor with amps, but I’m afraid the Jot will be to “flat” or neutral compared to Lyr 3. At this point I’m provably stepping away from AAA789, half because the madness and half because is getting clear to me it is not a warm amp and by warm I mean like a Vali 2 warm and not like a regular OTL tube amp which are too warm for my taste.
Vali 2 has the right flavor, just missing power. That’s way debating between Jot and Lyr, is a matter of - Do I want balanced or not?- or - is the Jot to far away from Vali or not really?.
If you decide to sell your Jot , please let me know, I may pull the trigger, even when I had a silver one in mind .
For what’s worth (and I have yet to post my review/comparison … so far behind on all that stuff … was a much bigger undertaking than I allowed for), I would not describe the newer versions of Jotunheim (which is what @TylersEclectic has) as being clinical the way THX AAA 789 can be.
Lyr 3 is different to Vali 2. It exhibits larger shifts in presentation when tube rolling, for one. It’s more neutral and linear with the stock tubes in both, for another. It’s more lucid and moister than Jotunheim, without necessarily being warmer.
Vali 2 exhibits more acts of omission and commission than either Jotunheim or Lyr 3. The increased resolution and extension of both the larger amps will tend to push their perception to better clarity which people often interpret as being brighter.
Thanks @Torq for the input!! “Clinical” is the word I was looking for to describe what I do not want in my dac/amp sound, therefore 789 is already out of my radar .
Lyr 3 is the one I’m leaning toward since could be warmer than Jotunheim and only my HD6xx has balanced 4 pins cable and I’ll be forced to buy cables for HD800 and Elear and incur in more expenses and that’s far from what I want/need right now.
I’ll be using my Modi 3 as dac .
By the way, True-Fi is keeping my HD800 away from surgery so far, but in an emergency case the “french resonators “ are ready to save them. @TylersEclectic, shoot me with the price when you are ready any way.
I got the THX789 in the last drop. It’s definitely very clean and transparent. I do like it for what it is. I has a lot of very clean energy. I was actually a little surprised that it wasn’t as powerful as I thought it would be, but still has plenty of headroom for my planars.
That said, I enjoyed the Verite with the Woo WA7 more than the THX789 thus far, but it’s nice to have a transparent solid-state and a tube for different moods.
