From THX 789 to A90 worth it?

[Selarom]

Current AMP is Drop THX 789.

Generally speaking, is it worth the upgrade from the 789 to the A90?

 

[stevenswall]

Please change the thread title to "Upgrade from THX 789 to A90 Worth It For _________?" and then put in what you are looking for:

-Increased volume
-Lower distortion
-User with a certain pair of headphones that have exceptionally high/low impedance
-Avoiding hiss
-Better reliability

Chances are if you can't identify problems with your current setup, a new item will be just as transparent unless you're looking for something like more power or a different aesthetic.

 

[Selarom]

Title Edited,

I have HD600 which scale with power as we all know. The THX handles them exceptionally well of course. But I want to upgrade to a headphone that would give me better soundstage/imaging. I still don't know what headphone that would be. So my question is in general... What kind of headphone would it take for one to consider going from the THX 789 to the A90?

 

[JohnYang1997]

Not really. Get the headphones first then consider the amplifier. And what about the dac? You do need a balanced DAC to achieve the potential of 789.

 

[Selarom]

Not really. Get the headphones first then consider the amplifier. And what about the dac? You do need a balanced DAC to achieve the potential of 789.

Thanks for the reply! The DAC is also a point of contention for me.

I currently have the Pulse Infinity from LH Labs. It's my first and last time in doing anything crowdfunded... The DAC is fully balanced and it's not bad in terms of performance. For sure it's the best I've heard, but also my only experience with a "high end" DAC. It had some top specs at the time. The connection to the 789 is through balanced cables. The Pulse Infinity is a DAC/Amp combo. The amp is not so bad either, but using volume control (Digital Volume) worsened the stability of the USB connection which is a bit finnicky. After setting the DAC as pure DAC and handling amplification from the 789, not only do the headphones sound better, but also the connection stability is much better as well. It still looses connection but occurrences have been very few and far between, I can live with it for now.. but the DAC will go at some point soon. Probably will go for the SMSL SU-9 or Gustard X16, not sure either.

 

[3kweave]

Title Edited,

I have HD600 which scale with power as we all know. The THX handles them exceptionally well of course. But I want to upgrade to a headphone that would give me better soundstage/imaging. I still don't know what headphone that would be. So my question is in general... What kind of headphone would it take for one to consider going from the THX 789 to the A90?

Going off published spec the HD600 should be able to hit 120db at 100mw.

Assuming you are running your HD600's balanced and you believe the spec of 800mw at 300ohm, then the 789 has more power than you could ever really need for the hd600s. As long as you can hit your desired volume level, I think scaling with power is nonsense. Its unlikely that the A90 is going to give you much if any improvement in sound quality over the 789. If you want the A90 because it looks cool, the connectivity, or preamp function then go for it.

If you feel like buying another amp then sure. I have the A30pro because I wanted a second amp for another room. I also have an RME ADI 2. The A30 has a ton of power. Headphones sound no different on the a30pro vs the rme except the a30 can get louder. I think the a30 pro is a good buy because you get equal power output over SE or 4.4/xlr. You are far better off keeping the thx and spending that 500 on some new phones. The HE6 might benefit from the extra power that the A90 has?

 

[Vini darko]

Wish to buy expensive hard to power headphones to justify buying another expensive amplifier
Gotta love audiophiles

 

[Bullwinkle J Moose]

I just correct the soundstage of the songs for whatever headphones I'm using

Much cheaper than your method

10 songs, each recorded with a different soundstage, require 10 different pairs of headphones to get "perfect" soundstage for each song

Soundstage will never be perfect for every song with a new pair of headphones

Your doing it wrong!
(That's wut she said)

 

[Zensō]

Your 789 is very good, it’s just not the latest, greatest audio fashion statement. Buy the new headphones first, then upgrade the source if absolutely necessary (highly unlikely).

 

[faheem]

Going off published spec the HD600 should be able to hit 120db at 100mw. View attachment 134809

Assuming you are running your HD600's balanced and you believe the spec of 800mw at 300ohm, then the 789 has more power than you could ever really need for the hd600s. As long as you can hit your desired volume level, I think scaling with power is nonsense. Its unlikely that the A90 is going to give you much if any improvement in sound quality over the 789. If you want the A90 because it looks cool, the connectivity, or preamp function then go for it.

If you feel like buying another amp then sure. I have the A30pro because I wanted a second amp for another room. I also have an RME ADI 2. The A30 has a ton of power. Headphones sound no different on the a30pro vs the rme except the a30 can get louder. I think the a30 pro is a good buy because you get equal power output over SE or 4.4/xlr. You are far better off keeping the thx and spending that 500 on some new phones. The HE6 might benefit from the extra power that the A90 has?

I use a Susvara with a BTR3K when I'm working at home. Which will get me to 95 dB SPL. Around 1.4Vrms gets both the HE6 SE (Amir sample ) / Susvara into the 94 dB SPL range. 4Vrms = 103 dB SPL ( 266.66 mW and 66.66 mA ) or HE 6SE (250 mW and 62.5mA ). The tons of power thing is not true, unless you are listening way too loud or want to eq your sub bass to reach Harman levels.

 

[Selarom]

Thank you all for the reples!

I recently saw a video about the Sundara and how it and the HE-6 those are super hard to drive headphones, where even a proper speaker amp would be more adequate for the job. I find that interesting.

I wouldn't know since I haven't heard either of them. I was also recently seeing good reviews of the recently released Singxer SA-1 and it looks fantastic too. There is that something about such a low noise/distortion amplifier that can push over 6watts and all purely in Class A. That thing must be a power hog and room heater too.

But like many of you suggested, the wisest thing for me to do will be to upgrade my headphones first. Then go for a DAC and if necessary upgrade the amp. It's hard going by just user and pro reviews... would love to hear them first, but that is not easy where I live. I am looking for something that has very good soundstage/imaging that can do better bass than my HD600 which is not it's strong even though I don't find like it's missing something. I am very interesting in how the reviews for the announced HD8xx from Drop turn out. I hope they can achieve keeping the reported awesome soundstage/imaging capabilities while improving it's bass response.

 

[Selarom]

I use a Susvara with a BTR3K when I'm working at home. Which will get me to 95 dB SPL. Around 1.4Vrms gets both the HE6 SE (Amir sample ) / Susvara into the 94 dB SPL range. 4Vrms = 103 dB SPL ( 266.66 mW and 66.66 mA ) or HE 6SE (250 mW and 62.5mA ). The tons of power thing is not true, unless you are listening way too loud or want to eq your sub bass to reach Harman levels.

You sir, I already admire very much. I would love to hear the Susvara. I hope I win the one from the Giveaway from The Headphone show.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Thank you all for the reples!

I recently saw a video about the Sundara and how it and the HE-6 those are super hard to drive headphones, where even a proper speaker amp would be more adequate for the job. I find that interesting.

I wouldn't know since I haven't heard either of them. I was also recently seeing good reviews of the recently released Singxer SA-1 and it looks fantastic too. There is that something about such a low noise/distortion amplifier that can push over 6watts and all purely in Class A. That thing must be a power hog and room heater too.

But like many of you suggested, the wisest thing for me to do will be to upgrade my headphones first. Then go for a DAC and if necessary upgrade the amp. It's hard going by just user and pro reviews... would love to hear them first, but that is not easy where I live. I am looking for something that has very good soundstage/imaging that can do better bass than my HD600 which is not it's strong even though I don't find like it's missing something. I am very interesting in how the reviews for the announced HD8xx from Drop turn out. I hope they can achieve keeping the reported awesome soundstage/imaging capabilities while improving it's bass response.

You don't need speaker amps for he6. In fact it's usually inferior than well designed headphone amps.
Sa-1 isn't pure class A. It's just about three times the regular quiescent current. It's still class AB.
789 is more than enough.

 

[faheem]

I hope I win the one from the Giveaway from The Headphone show.

Good luck. I had auditioned the Susvara for a few months on different amplifiers before deciding to get it.

Volume matching them with a multimeter and later a handheld oscilloscope, I heard no concrete difference, Blind listening, I picked up nothing.

Saved me ALOT of money and unnecessary headache of listening to people who throw out subjective descriptions without backing that up with anything objective or explaining their methodology.

 

[Selarom]

You don't need speaker amps for he6. In fact it's usually inferior than well designed headphone amps.
Sa-1 isn't pure class A. It's just about three times the regular quiescent current. It's still class AB.
789 is more than enough.

Ah!, Didn't know that pesky little detail! all the promo info on the stores tout the Class A aspect.. haha.

Thank you all.