Yes, but two cautions:
- make sure impedance of all the HP loads in parallel is > 12 Ohms (https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/tools/parallel-resistance-calculator/)
and
- all outputs are driven all the time. Just watch out you don't blow some sensitive cans while listening to your other cans really loudly.
I am running a Mimby to vali 2 right now and looking for an amp upgrade for my LCD-2 classics and HD700s.
I have powered monitors that I use the Vali 2 for a preamp as well and the Lyr 3 is a preamp but not the THX. I only run SE so balanced is not a priority right now
Great then, reference is what I'm after. Power aside, will the THX 789 make my Mojo sound more neutral? I'm a little skeptical about that though because whatever comes out of the Mojo is already going through it's own amp so that means it's still going to output the Mojo thick fun mainstream sound into the THX 789. in other words, I'm still going to get the same Mojo thick fun mainstream sound out of the THX 789...considering the fact that TH 789 is neutral and reference so it's not supposed to alter the sound that's being fed to it...so what goes in (Mojo standalone sound) should be exactly the same as what comes out (Mojo + THX 789 sound) right? It'd be great if someone can share a direct comparison of the Mojo standalone sound VS Mojo paired with THX 789.
I will try to share some impressions using Mojo standalone vs with THX 789 when I have time. I haven't used the Mojo for at least a year now ever since acquiring the Centrance BlueDAC. I just recently charged the Mojo up to pair with the 789. I don't think there's a way to bypass the "amp" stage of the Mojo or whatever they want to call it so there is a possibility that we are double amping here and introducing more distortion.
I will try to share some impressions using Mojo standalone vs with THX 789 when I have time. I haven't used the Mojo for at least a year now ever since acquiring the Centrance BlueDAC. I just recently charged the Mojo up to pair with the 789. I don't think there's a way to bypass the "amp" stage of the Mojo or whatever they want to call it so there is a possibility that we are double amping here and introducing more distortion.
I briefly compared the Mojo by itself vs paired with the THX 789 using the Sennheiser IE80. Back when I was using Mojo as my daily driver, I almost exclusively paired it with the AKG K3003 and this pairing was wonderfully delightful and neutral to my ears. This is the first time I tried to pair the Mojo with the IE80 and I finally get why some people describe Mojo's sound as fun, thick, and musical. The sound I get out of this pairing is also pretty balanced, didn't notice the bass of the IE80 protrude too much like I remember with other amps.
The sound I hear coming out of the THX 789 & Mojo pairing is not as thick as it sounded straight out of the Mojo. The sound stage might even be a little wider but the bass response is a bit flatter. Again, I don't think Mojo's sound signature is drastically altered by the THX 789 as I feel it was pretty balanced already.
Going over to 4 pin xlr balanced HP cables i couldent hear a difference i think. Also i felt the volume control had to travel the same distance as before for same volume. Using rca inputs. Pressing in input button it was muted as it should be i guess.
Going over to 4 pin xlr balanced HP cables i couldent hear a difference i think. Also i felt the volume control had to travel the same distance as before for same volume. Using rca inputs. Pressing in input button it was muted as it should be i guess.
This is my worry if I were to purchase this amp. Exchange rate to Canada makes it about $500. That’s a lot of money for me just to use it with SE output. I would want to use it balanced.
Going over to 4 pin xlr balanced HP cables i couldent hear a difference i think. Also i felt the volume control had to travel the same distance as before for same volume. Using rca inputs. Pressing in input button it was muted as it should be i guess.
The stock balanced cable on my Focal Elex suddenly lost the left channel a couple of days ago, so I am currently using the single ended cable with the THX 789. While the difference on the volume pot was less than I thought it might be, it was certainly quite noticeable. When using the balanced output, I generally listened on gain 2 with the volume around 10 o'clock, plus or minus a bit. Using the single ended output, I am still on gain 2 but at around 12 o'clock on the pot to get a similar volume. I'm using a single ended source with RCA cables, but will probably get a SMSL SU-8 and XLR cables in a few weeks.
A little off topic, but Massdrop was great about this--they have already shipped me a replacement Elex; I asked a couple of times if they could just replace the cable, but it is not their policy to replace individual parts of a product. TBH, I may just exchange cables, keep my current Elex and send back the replacement, partially because I've broken it in as to comfort, but mostly because some Elex sets appear to be defective in that the drivers physically clip at relatively low volume (apparently they are designed to do so, but at volumes decidedly north of ear splitting) and, after a couple of months, my pair seems free of that defect. I'll listen to both before deciding.
The stock balanced cable on my Focal Elex suddenly lost the left channel a couple of days ago, so I am currently using the single ended cable with the THX 789. While the difference on the volume pot was less than I thought it might be, it was certainly quite noticeable. When using the balanced output, I generally listened on gain 2 with the volume around 10 o'clock, plus or minus a bit. Using the single ended output, I am still on gain 2 but at around 12 o'clock on the pot to get a similar volume. I'm using a single ended source with RCA cables, but will probably get a SMSL SU-8 and XLR cables in a few weeks.
A little off topic, but Massdrop was great about this--they have already shipped me a replacement Elex; I asked a couple of times if they could just replace the cable, but it is not their policy to replace individual parts of a product. TBH, I may just exchange cables, keep my current Elex and send back the replacement, partially because I've broken it in as to comfort, but mostly because some Elex sets appear to be defective in that the drivers physically clip at relatively low volume (apparently they are designed to do so, but at volumes decidedly north of ear splitting) and, after a couple of months, my pair seems free of that defect. I'll listen to both before deciding.
Higher impedance headphones basically makes it harder for the amp to supply them with power. Think of a water pressure tank with a big and small tube. The big tube has lower impedance, so the tank can supply lots of water(power). When the tube is smaller the amp cannot supply the same amount of water(power) without increasing the amp(water tank's) pressure(power). Smaller tube being the high impedance headphones.
It's actually not that simple. Actually it's about impedance of the cans relative to the ouput impedance of the cans when it comes to power delivery. Higher, you get more delivered. If lower, you get the amp dissipating more of the power, less efficient. OTL for example. Lowest output impedance is therefore easier on the amp and most efficient.
Loudness per power input is what we care about. DB/mW. Sennheisers are quite sensitive (gets loud easily) even if high ohms. HE6 is only 50 ohms, but people drive it out of speaker taps.
It's actually not that simple. Actually it's about impedance of the cans relative to the ouput impedance of the cans when it comes to power delivery. Higher, you get more delivered. If lower, you get the amp dissipating more of the power, less efficient. OTL for example. Lowest output impedance is therefore easier on the amp and most efficient.
Loudness per power input is what we care about. DB/mW. Sennheisers are quite sensitive (gets loud easily) even if high ohms. HE6 is only 50 ohms, but people drive it out of speaker taps.
I was answering a question specific to impedance and amp output. Sensitivity is not a factor there as far as I know. And all other things being equal, a 300 ohm headphone will draw less power from an amp than a 30 ohm one, again as far as I know, but if I’m wrong be sure to tell me.
So is this amp going to ever drop again?? It's been quite awhile however their other amps seems to be regular drops. Is the THX 789 really worth this long of a wait?
So is this amp going to ever drop again?? It's been quite awhile however their other amps seems to be regular drops. Is the THX 789 really worth this long of a wait?
It’s going to be hard to get something similar at its price range. You can get the JDS labs atom if you don’t care about balanced. I think the problem with the THX AAA has been some parts supply and Massdrop didn’t anticipate it would become that popular.
It’s going to be hard to get something similar at its price range. You can get the JDS labs atom if you don’t care about balanced. I think the problem with the THX AAA has been some parts supply and Massdrop didn’t anticipate it would become that popular.
Well I've been going back and forth on the balanced issue. Some say they hear a difference compared to SE and some say there is no difference. Perhaps it depends on the amp being used. I've looked at the Atom but also the Massdrop O2 amp (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-o2-amplifier). The latter would stack perfectly with my Grace SDAC as they have the same casing.
Well I've been going back and forth on the balanced issue. Some say they hear a difference compared to SE and some say there is no difference. Perhaps it depends on the amp being used. I've looked at the Atom but also the Massdrop O2 amp (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-o2-amplifier). The latter would stack perfectly with my Grace SDAC as they have the same casing.
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