Massdrop x THX AAA™ 789 Linear Amplifier - Impressions Thread

[NickT23]

Mine is a Drop version from maybe a year ago or something.

Well apology you dint get the massdrop version.

 

[saratoga1740]

Mine is a Drop version from maybe a year ago or something.

Mine too and VanHai probably has Massdrop version.

 

[NickT23]

Mine too and VanHai probably has Massdrop version.

I have the Massdrop variant. Very sorry you guys dont have Massdrop.

 

[LillaGrynet]

I have the Massdrop variant. Very sorry you guys dont have Massdrop

I have the Massdrop variant. Very sorry you guys dont have Massdrop.

For me it is not a big problem. If I move my phone to the other side of my desk any interference disappears.

 

[saratoga1740]

For me it is not a big problem. If I move my phone to the other side of my desk any interference disappears.

I don't have that much space to move the phone as my desk is small=D

 

[Powermankw]

Hey guys... I have a Matrix Mini-i Pro 3. I think it sounds good with my Utopias and black dragon. However, it does have a high output impedance. (22). I was thinking of adding the 789 with balanced connects to see if it would do better. I do want transparency. Anyone know if this would go well together? (Or if it would be an improvement)

Thanks.

 

[kumar402]

Hey guys... I have a Matrix Mini-i Pro 3. I think it sounds good with my Utopias and black dragon. However, it does have a high output impedance. (22). I was thinking of adding the 789 with balanced connects to see if it would do better. I do want transparency. Anyone know if this would go well together? (Or if it would be an improvement)

Thanks.

I personally would not pair Utopia with 789. It will sound boxed in. But that’s just me

 

[NickT23]

By the way, anyone of you tried pairing any headphones that the THX 789 unable to drive to its peak performance ? Headphones such as vintage cans, 600 ohm cans, high sensitivity dynamic and planar or even super efficient/inefficient iems.

 

[Powermankw]

I personally would not pair Utopia with 789. It will sound boxed in. But that’s just me

Good to know. Thank you.

 

[geoffalter11]

I didn’t love the 789 with any headphone. That is just me, and I know not the most popular viewpoint. I will say this, the amp is incredibly clean and powerful. My issue is that it lacks a bit of Je Ne Sais Quoi. The soundstage always felt compressed and lacked air, which made it feel like I couldn’t hear the space between the notes. There is no doubt it faithfully reproduces an amplified signal completely free of grain, hash or any hint of distortion. It is dead quiet.

I would agree with the above sentiment that the Utopia wouldn’t be its optimal pairing. I did like the Quad Era-1 with the 789, and I also found the Alpha Prime to be a good pairing. Both headphones have extremely musical presentations. In my opinion, the 789 needs an R2R DAC and a headphone with a touch of warmth to balance out its analytical and sterile nature.

For the money, I have yet to hear a better amp. If my budget was $300 for an amp, that is what I would get.

 

[Voxata]

I didn’t love the 789 with any headphone. That is just me, and I know not the most popular viewpoint. I will say this, the amp is incredibly clean and powerful. My issue is that it lacks a bit of Je Ne Sais Quoi. The soundstage always felt compressed and lacked air, which made it feel like I couldn’t hear the space between the notes. There is no doubt it faithfully reproduces an amplified signal completely free of grain, hash or any hint of distortion. It is dead quiet.

I would agree with the above sentiment that the Utopia wouldn’t be its optimal pairing. I did like the Quad Era-1 with the 789, and I also found the Alpha Prime to be a good pairing. Both headphones have extremely musical presentations. In my opinion, the 789 needs an R2R DAC and a headphone with a touch of warmth to balance out its analytical and sterile nature.

For the money, I have yet to hear a better amp. If my budget was $300 for an amp, that is what I would get.

Great impressions! I rather enjoyed the 789 with the HD600 & HD660S - was a great pairing with these intimate and smooth headphones. The clean nature of the amp helped those cans shine.

 

[geoffalter11]

Great impressions! I rather enjoyed the 789 with the HD600 & HD660S - was a great pairing with these intimate and smooth headphones. The clean nature of the amp helped those cans shine.

I see you have a Dynahi. That is more to my preference with amps. I just had a CFA3 built and it arrived this past week.

 

[Voxata]

I see you have a Dynahi. That is more to my preference with amps. I just had a CFA3 built and it arrived this past week.

Nice! I've heard CFA3 is a great amp as well. The Dynahi has been incredible despite it's equally incredible footprint. It's larger than my speaker amps! I favor it GREATLY to the 789.

 

[geoffalter11]

Nice! I've heard CFA3 is a great amp as well. The Dynahi has been incredible despite it's equally incredible footprint. It's larger than my speaker amps! I favor it GREATLY to the 789.

Yes, I would agree. The CFA3 is significantly more to my liking than the 789. It is huge. My only issue with it is its size. My other amp is a Cembalo Labs Spring 1, which is also more to my preference. Absolutely love the Spring 1.

 

[Voxata]

Yes, I would agree. The CFA3 is significantly more to my liking than the 789. It is huge. My only issue with it is its size. My other amp is a Cembalo Labs Spring 1, which is also more to my preference. Absolutely love the Spring 1.

Nice an SE out! Don't see those too often on CFA3s yeah? One thing I like and dislike at the same time about my Dynahi is the SE only nature of it. Keeps things simple and easy. I've noticed the Dynahi really likes a clean DAC though. The RME ADI-2 FS Dac does the trick perfectly. Much better than the Bifrost 2/Gungnir MB did in pairing.