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Drop + THX AAA™ 789 Linear Amplifier
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Drop + THX AAA™ 789 Linear Amplifier
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Product Description
Announced at CES 2018, the Drop + THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier (THX AAA™) 789 is a linear bipolar amplifier with feed-forward error correction. It’s designed for objectivists who appreciate an incredibly clean, transparent amp—the sought-after “wire with gain” whose amplification is wholly uncolored by a sound of its own Read More
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mahon232
14
Jan 2, 2020
How do I connect this to my computer? I have an rca cable and I plugged it into the headphone jack of my computer while connecting the red and white cables to the input on the back. When I turn it on I hear a loud static noise.
Aries
155
Mar 4, 2020
Headphone jack on a computer is amplified through a typically crappy amp. This is a great amp. Garbage in, garbage out. Get yourself a DAC which will connect to the computer via USB and then connect its output to the THX. There's lots on here to pick from -- Topping, Grace Design, etc.
Artismo
461
Nov 6, 2019
As in true dual mono? No, I believe the engineer covered this in the discussion, but if IIRC, according to him, the performance difference is negligible or non-existent.
kromie
0
May 7, 2020
ArtismoI was sort of disappointed with power for driving my Sennheiser HD650s, using the SE output 1/4 plug. I had to use level 3 gain, and crank up the volume to get sufficient volume through the headphone. So I bought a Sennheiser brand balanced headphone cable for the Sennheiser, that mates to the balanced plug out on the THX AA 789. I haven't tried it yet, still waiting for delivery. But my understanding is it will provide 3.5 watts output, compared to the SE output of 1.5 watts. I don't know if higher wattage will produce greater output, or just more dynamic range, etc. I don't really listen that loud, but at the 3 o'clock position (maybe 80 percent volume knob rotation), the amp doesn't impress me. It would be much better with higher efficiency headphones, so just my experience with the Sennheisers.
Artismo
461
May 8, 2020
kromieSET at 300ohm it will not be 1.5w. The spec sheet states 100mw at <1% THD, less if you want less distortion. It is also widely known that the SET output is the weakest feature of the 789, with the Atom providing more power. The HD650 is 103dB/v SPL converted to 97.7dB/mw SPL. At 300ohm, it would only require 2 milliwatts, 0.77 volts, and 2.6 milliamps to reach 100db at 1kHz. That’s about the same loudness as being 1 meter away from a speaker at a night club. Even at Gain 3, the 789 should have no problem
powering the HD650 to piercing and damaging levels to both you and the headphones.
Lmvrtinez
51
Jan 4, 2021
kromieSeems like your issue is your DAC Vrms feeding into your Amp. Originally I had this from my PC and I was also at gain 3, 12 o clock. However when I got an external DAC that feeds 2.1 VRM fixed into this amp, I no longer can go past gain 2 on my sennheiser hd 6xx
Jakob
377
Mar 6, 2020
Read it is not pure balanced throughout the circuit but I have also read it's not an issue as the advantage of a balanced circuit is low noise and this tests objectively very very low noise making it of no real advantage.
Ares78
1502
Keyboard Club Member
Dec 17, 2019
It does support a balanced XLR output but it isn't truly balanced
perfusionista
2
Nov 29, 2020
It's not. It's very complicated to make a true dual balanced topology. But it's irrelevant. Yes, balanced cables are cool, and you wanna be purist and have totally balanced. But even the best ears can't hear .00000X distortion. Use these with Etymotic ER4XR IEM and you will hear background singers and inhalations and really amazing transparency. Honestly, we've reached the limits of what's possible with amplification. Don't worry about balanced, it's unnecessary unless that's the only way your headphones will work.
Artismo
461
Nov 6, 2019
Balanced output for better compatibility and channel separation. Lower single ended power, but significant power through XLR, which the Atom does not have.
SlothTheWizard
2
Mar 29, 2020
I'm new to the audiophile community, would love some help!
I'm a pc gamer who will be plugging this into my pc, what do I need to know and what is required? or is it plug and play to a pc easily?
Headphones = HD6XX
E.G Will I need to buy an XLR cable? or an extra item?
Do I *require* a dac this instant? or can I wait a little after getting the amp
What else is recommended to add to my audio setup?
What dacs are recommended to pair with this amp?
spartan2600
21
Apr 14, 2020
Using this amp alone with your computer would not be a waste. Although a motherboard builtin DAC is not ideal, this amp is significantly better than your motherboard's.
You just need a 3.5mm audio jack to RCA cable/adapter. The only inputs are RCA and XLR, and you wouldn't have XLR outs on your motherboard. Plug and Play technology doesn't even come in to play here since amps only take analog in.
You can definitely wait to get a DAC. An amp will be by far the bigger improvement, so I'd recommend getting this first. Topping makes great, affordable, feature-packed DACs, you can make that your second purchase. Any good external DAC $50+ or a good soundcard like the Creative AE-5 will get you 99% of the way there. I bought a Topping D50s for that last 1%.
Of a good gaming system I'd consider good headphones 60%, the amp 30%, and a good DAC 10%.
For reference: I own this Amp and mostly use it with Beyerdynamic 990 600ohm. I use it secondarily with Beyer 880's and Grado 325is. My current DAC is the Pico Upsampling DAC, but I have an order in for the Topping D50s to ship later this month.
(Edited)
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