Legion1capone
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As the title states what matches the 789 whether in terms of specs, sound, etc. Price no object.
If price is no object, Benchmark Audio's HPA4 should. And as noted, if you don't need the extra power it has over balanced (and balanced inputs), JDS Labs Atom does.As the title states what matches the 789 whether in terms of specs, sound, etc. Price no object.
Ah, that too. Can't believe I forgot that one.Neurochrome HP-1?
You have to test that one!If price is no object, Benchmark Audio's HPA4 should. And as noted, if you don't need the extra power it has over balanced (and balanced inputs), JDS Labs Atom does.
Wow, you need to go to $3k to find the next equivalent option; no wonder they can't produce enough 789s to go around! The JDS Labs Atom is super nice, but its not balanced, and the power output is the same as my DX3 Pro, so it doesn't seem to make sense to go for the Atom.If price is no object, Benchmark Audio's HPA4 should. And as noted, if you don't need the extra power it has over balanced (and balanced inputs), JDS Labs Atom does.
Wow, you need to go to $3k to find the next equivalent option; no wonder they can't produce enough 789s to go around! The JDS Labs Atom is super nice, but its not balanced, and the power output is the same as my DX3 Pro, so it doesn't seem to make sense to go for the Atom.
Totally! I'm torn between buying an Atom now, or waiting for the 789 to become available (or maybe waiting for something like the next iteration of the Neurochrome HP-1 to be released).Definitely! But the Atom does provide enough power for most people and its performance is at the top of the chart for only $99.
It basically invalidates the existence of most amps on the market!
Totally! I'm torn between buying an Atom now, or waiting for the 789 to become available (or maybe waiting for something like the next iteration of the Neurochrome HP-1 to be released).
Thanks for the extensive thoughts on this.Let me make it easy for you. The people who ordered the 789 in Febuary, were due to have their units shipped May 17th. On the day of shipping their moronic admin tells folks "sorry, but we're delaying your order to late June" and no more talking with customers after that.
The people who ordered a 789 in April (myself) are due to have our units shipped in August 30th. If the current batch is delayed to late June, I expect mine to be delayed to late September as well. By then you probably will have on some random day, to order a 789 in the span of an hour before the next ~500 units are made for pre-order. You're not going to get yours in 2019, that I'd almost wager my life on. Unless of course you don't mind paying ~$800 on eBay if a unit or two pops up sometimes.
The Atom is available now. You say it's not enough power and you need balanced (I doubt that, I'd love to see anyone listen to headphones with the Atom maxed out, as well as source maxed out, for more than a few moments). You can see people are willing to buy an Atom all the time on exchange sites and classfields, and at $100, the most you lose is $10-$20 MAX if you decide to sell it. Though you being in Germany, getting an Atom is more pricey, but I doubt you'll have trouble selling one within the EU as many buyers exist trying to import one.
Whatever you do, I want you to realize, buying an Atom now, you don't actually lose anything. The only reason I ever managed to snag a 789 was PURE luck. The amount of people upset after the 500 unit pre-orders were filled in April for the August ship date was incredible. All complaining they never got e-mail notifications, and just generally pissed their luck sucked.
Do not waste your time waiting for this item. And at some of these eBay prices I see, getting a Neurochrome HP-1 as-is wouldn't be a bad deal all things considered if you're in the market for some of the best amps we know of today. Though you being in EU, I would honestly pony up a little more cash and look to get a Okto Research DAC, sure it's not balanced phones output, but man, that thing looks like a grail piece.
I'm also a fan of balanced output, given the effect it has on the HD 650s. In any case, I agree that it would make sense to buy the Atom now and then upgrade in a year or two if I feel the need. Given the quality and price of the Atom, I don't think it would be difficult to resell on eBay as you've suggested.