Drop + THX AAA™ 789 Linear Amplifier Discussions | Drop

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Drop + THX AAA™ 789 Linear Amplifier

Audiophile

FULL DISCUSSION

shrimpears

Apr 18, 2019

Enjoy waiting 4+ months for this thing... what a dumb move. Raise the price and have it in stock at least.

Apr 18, 2019

Raths

168

Apr 18, 2019

shrimpearsMassdrop made audio equipment has been going up in cost since March if you read one of the official Massdrop posts

Apr 18, 2019

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essense

Apr 19, 2019

shrimpearsIt's not a compeitive product a higher price point, it's good for what it is, but does not operate in some kind of vacuum were there are no other products. The 788, Schiit Jotunehim, LYR3, Gilmore Lite MK2.. are all very serious competition for the 789.

Apr 19, 2019

shrimpears

Apr 19, 2019

essenseIt does exist in a vacuum at the moment - it is the only balanced amp measured to be totl quality at this performance/price ratio (even with the $50 bump). Until the monolith thx 788 and other amps are measured and proven to actually perform, they aren't competition for the 789 which has been measured VERY favorably. Say what you will about Amir/Audiosciencereview - he's almost singlehandedly keeping the audio industry honest so people can buy products that aren't just shrouded in audiophile nonsense. If it weren't for Amir's measurements lauding this amp's abilities, it wouldn't be as high up on a pedestal as it is.

(Edited)

Apr 19, 2019

shrimpears

Apr 19, 2019

Raths$50 is not a $10-20 change Raise the price $150, I don't care - just have these damn things in stock, not 4+ months of waiting. Looks like they only had 500 up for sale this highly anticipated drop anyways, what a joke.

(Edited)

Apr 19, 2019

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essense

Apr 19, 2019

shrimpearsAmir's not the Savant you make him out to be. He has his own biases, and some of his reviews are quite poor. The Liquid Platinum review was down right criminal. The LP is a balanced headphone amp, designed to be used as a balanced device, and he measured it and compared it based on it's single ended performance. This is incredibly disingenuous to it's core audience. Nobody buy's a LP to use it single ended. There are other examples of his bias and ineptitude. Amir loves to zoom graph's in to make tiny tiny, 0.002% differences look like mountains on his graph. That is nonsense and dishonest. It works well to deceive stupid people who don't understand the graph. If he is using tactics like this, what the hell else is he doing? Guy's got an agenda, and saving the world from the big bad audio companies is not it. Look the 789's a great amp at a fair price. It measures very well, but you can't tell the difference in audible performance beyond a certain metric and reaching for the star's does nobody any good. There are used amplifier's availible that are almost as good, and/or better depending on your taste. Jotunheim's go for 200$ all day long on the used market. There are other competitive offerings as well. I've been in this hobby for a number of years, and I've owned excellently measuring equipment, and gear that does not measure as well. Tubes, solid state, pro gear, you name it. I currently own the RME adi-2 dac FS, it measures exceptionally well, and I enjoy it quite abit. It's built in headphone amplifier is also excellent and compares quite well to the 789. Just a well implemented, simple OP-amp driven headamp. I prefer my Liquid Platinum to the headphone amp in the RME-ADI-2, and i've yet to hear someone who's heard the LP and 789 prefer the 789 over the LP. LP's go on sale used for ~500$.. Jotunheim's are availible used all day for 200$.. Gilmore Lite MK2.. another killer product.. used for 350$... And while the 789 may measure slightly better then all of them, the above products already perform to a high enough standard to eliminate any small differences in SINAD or THD rather moot. And one's satisfaction will likely come down to amp voicing and preference, not technicalities. The 789's just another amp.. FOTM right now. Mass drop will crank out 20k of them in due time and they will be on the used market for 150$ all day long. Of course China may reverse engineer the THX circuit and start cranking these badboy's out before then, as there's nothing particularly special, or proprietary about the 789's guts.. no magic chip, no secret sauce, it's begging to be cloned. Especially for someone who is advocating for a HIGHER price.. i'd never pay more then 350$ for this amp. For chirst sake you can get a used Neurochrome HPA1 for 600$ if you've got a real hard on for measurements. I'll warn you though, measurements are not the be all end all. I've built amps and dac's with my own hands, and I've been in the hobby for years, I know how to read and understand measurements. At the end of the day, I try new gear, and I like what I like.

(Edited)

Apr 19, 2019

cubanmetalguy

Apr 19, 2019

essense"Jotunheim's go for 200$ all day long on the used market." Could you please point me to one? Thank you!

Apr 19, 2019

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shrimpears

Apr 19, 2019

essenseFirst let me just say I don't disagree with you on everything. I do find it strange that you insist the LP is a balanced amp so it should only be used balanced - in that case why is there even a se connection available? I am not saying Amir and his work are the only words to live by. The problem is that in this industry people don't actually measure anything, they just give subjective reviews on gear blathering on with adjectives that don't mean anything. Too many dacs and amps are proving to measure terribly (according to Amir) especially at their price point. Hard not to be skeptical these days when there are so many choices available. If only one guy is providing proper measurements (whether or not they are correct, done properly etc... the fact is that since he's the one that is making a name for himself, his measurements are becoming accepted as truth) then his reviews will shape a lot of what people look for when researching gear. Most people are not going to work their way through multiple multi-hundred dollar dacs and amps a/b-ing them. Most people are not going to buy used gear that's hundreds of dollars as it is in used condition. You can dislike Amir's work but you have to admit the kind of sway ASR has had on equipment and hype around them these days (789, atom). The narrative is already set - do you spend your finite budget on gear that's supposedly objectively great, or go with gear that costs the same or more but isn't proven beyond reviewers descriptions (lush, wet, crunchy, airy, tonally correct, musical, etc ad nauseum) or worse, shown to measure poorly? As the other guy says, point me to gear like Jotunheim going for $200. The cheapest listing in the last few months was for $260 on head-fi. If I were in the market for a amp, I would just save a little money and get the one that supposedly perform great. Anyways I'm sure I could be more concise but I'm no Amir/ASR shill. I'm just stating that in today's market of ever rising prices and dubious performance claims, Amir has a huge say in where people's dollars go.

Apr 19, 2019

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essense

Apr 20, 2019

shrimpearsLook for user Atomic Bob for a more well balanced, and less biased take on Measurements.. with regard to Jotunheim's at 200$ and Neruochrome's at 600$.. you have to be patient and look at used forums regularly to score a deal. They do come up though, sometimes there are no less then 5 or 6 JOT's for sale at the same time on head-fi. Im not saying Jotunheim is better then a 789 either, as it's not, but when your comparing a 200-250$ JOT to a ridiculously overpriced 500-700$ EBAY 789 that's when you've thrown all logic out the window. At 700$ the 789's getting way way to close to something like an RME-ADI-2.. an arguably equal headphone amplifier (as cited from those who have auditioned both) and an absolutely outstanding DAC, with world class USB implementation and superb Parametric EQ built in, with a got damn remote to boot. Yeah, peeps paying 600+ for a 789 ride the short bus. I'll say it again, 789's a great amp for what it cost, and maybe a pinch more, but move up much and there are other alternatives. It's certainly not the only game in town folks.

(Edited)

Apr 20, 2019

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