[ayang02]

I thought the THX 789 is advertised as being relatively colorless. Do people find it bright because they have bright sounding DACs or does the 789 make warm DACs sound bright? I would be really happy if the 789 is as close to colorless as possible. That way, you just need to worry about the signature of the DAC.

I'm a portable guy so all I have for DACs are Sony PHA-3, Chord Mojo, and Centrance BlueDAC. So far I've only tried the PHA-3 and Mojo with the 789 and I have to say I like the PHA-3 pairing better. The Mojo pairing, as someone else in this thread also suggested, has a pretty anemic bass and I agree with that.

 

[BrotherKathos]

I thought the THX 789 is advertised as being relatively colorless. Do people find it bright because they have bright sounding DACs or does the 789 make warm DACs sound bright? I would be really happy if the 789 is as close to colorless as possible. That way, you just need to worry about the signature of the DAC.

I'm a portable guy so all I have for DACs are Sony PHA-3, Chord Mojo, and Centrance BlueDAC. So far I've only tried the PHA-3 and Mojo with the 789 and I have to say I like the PHA-3 pairing better. The Mojo pairing, as someone else in this thread also suggested, has a pretty anemic bass and I agree with that.

I'm not sure, but all i can say is that with the THX 789 in the chain I hear the biggest difference between each of my dacs when I switch between them. All my other amps don't seem to sound much different depending on what dac is in the chain.

 

[ayang02]

I'm not sure, but all i can say is that with the THX 789 in the chain I hear the biggest difference between each of my dacs when I switch between them. All my other amps don't seem to sound much different depending on what dac is in the chain.

If you could hear the difference between different DACs then I would say the THX 789 is probably pretty darn colorless.

 

[BrotherKathos]

If you could hear the difference between different DACs then I would say the THX 789 is probably pretty darn colorless.

I've been very happy with it so far, and have used it with a decent range of entry level dacs and headphones. I'm getting a SMSL M9 tomorrow to test with the THX and am eager to see how I like it. Dual akm 4490s and a nice spdif interface as well so the dac is at least promising on components alone. Also $140 is not a bad price at all considering the Topping D50 has similar level of components, sounds great at its price point and cost me $110 more.

 

[Kwyjibo]

Anyone have a chance to compare the Cavalli Liquid Carbon X to the THX 789? So far I like the Cavalli, but I don't get a lot of power out of it when using the SE port.

 

[maxxevv]

These are completely measurements based reviews. So may not be exactly relevant if you prefer some "colour" in your output to suite your tastes. But they give a very good objective comparison between the 2.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...measurements-of-cavalli-liquid-carbon-x.4947/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...easurements-of-massdrop-thx-aaa-789-amp.5001/

 

[omniweltall]

Hmm, okay then. So no matter what I get in that price range I can only expect to get a 10% improvement? If that is the case then what kind of setup is Silver ears listening too to be so disappointed in the THX 789? I'm okay with spending good money on gear if its truly performing with respect to its price, but if its only going to be a marginal increase I'd rather stick with what i've got. That's why I kept trying to get an answer with no luck out of @SilverEars.

Everyone has different priorities and hearing acumen. Silverears has his own priorities and preferences. You know what I think? Even if you buy amps 20x the price the THX 789, you might not be able to tell that much difference at all. That's the scary thing about this hobby. But I'm way over my head here. I don't know enough about you. Some people care about those small differences. And some people actually trained their ears for years and years. So, for the average Joe, even if your gears are capable of more resolution, your ears might not. What's the point?

And remember that there are different qualities and traits about SQ. It is not a distinct better or worse between 2 gears. the V281 might be better in...say...power...but it may have weaker things too compared to the THX 789. How do we tell whether it is OVERALL better or worse? If the strengths of a gear fits your needs and preferences more, over the weaknesses.

For example, my case, I have my favorite tube amp. But they serve different purpose, and both get enough listening time from me. Remember that synergy comes to play. But my ex-SS amps are too similar to the THX 789, so I got rid of them.

I'd say the THX 789 is overall quite a balanced amp in most traits. It has good power (let's not discuss HE-6, as that phone has an abnormal power requirement). It has good dynamics. It has good clarity and detail. It has good extension both ways.

 

[omniweltall]

Anyone have a chance to compare the Cavalli Liquid Carbon X to the THX 789? So far I like the Cavalli, but I don't get a lot of power out of it when using the SE port.

The LC-X is warmer and has less details. Less power too. The THX 789 makes it redundant, in my opinion.

 

[omniweltall]

I thought the THX 789 is advertised as being relatively colorless. Do people find it bright because they have bright sounding DACs or does the 789 make warm DACs sound bright? I would be really happy if the 789 is as close to colorless as possible. That way, you just need to worry about the signature of the DAC.

I'm a portable guy so all I have for DACs are Sony PHA-3, Chord Mojo, and Centrance BlueDAC. So far I've only tried the PHA-3 and Mojo with the 789 and I have to say I like the PHA-3 pairing better. The Mojo pairing, as someone else in this thread also suggested, has a pretty anemic bass and I agree with that.

I don't really like the word "colorless". And I don't think that it is bright. For me, I felt that the THX 789 has slightly forward upper mid. Treble is actually quite smooth and extended, imo. But I may be biased because I'm used to my previous amps, as reference.

Also remember that people have different ear designs too. Perhaps, your hearing is more sensitive in certain frequency more than others. So, different factors can come into play. To be honest, I don't understand why silverears say it is bright. But I believe that he heard what he heard.

 

[Kwyjibo]

These are completely measurements based reviews. So may not be exactly relevant if you prefer some "colour" in your output to suite your tastes. But they give a very good objective comparison between the 2.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...measurements-of-cavalli-liquid-carbon-x.4947/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...easurements-of-massdrop-thx-aaa-789-amp.5001/

Hmm, looks like THX has a lot more power than the Cavalli. Interesting how the THX SE gets relatively close to the clean power level of the Balanced Cavalli. Whelp, looks like I'll be buying a THX the next time it pops up on Mass drop.

 

[Zachik]

The LC-X is warmer and has less details. Less power too. The THX 789 makes it redundant, in my opinion.

I agree that LCX is warmer. But I personally like the LCX better. THX 789 definitely does NOT make the LCX redundant!

 

[omniweltall]

I agree that LCX is warmer. But I personally like the LCX better. THX 789 definitely does NOT make the LCX redundant!

To each his own

 

[Zachik]

To each his own

100% agree

 

[ayang02]

I don't really like the word "colorless". And I don't think that it is bright. For me, I felt that the THX 789 has slightly forward upper mid. Treble is actually quite smooth and extended, imo. But I may be biased because I'm used to my previous amps, as reference.

Yeah I know, I'm just saying it's advertised as colorless. Can't really reach that conclusion without comparing multiple combinations of Amps and DACs, which I don't have.

 

[omniweltall]

100% agree

Btw, the Cavalli that most interests me is the Liquid Platinum. Have you heard it?