Review and Measurements of Massdrop THX AAA 789 Amp

[Jimbob54]

When was the last time these were available, I always see a wait list on there site.

I doubt they will do another batch tbh. They did a collab with (I think) smsl not too long ago that I think was meant to be the spiritual successor but don't recall seeing any reviews.

Too crowded a market now I fear.

 

[SCG]

They currently have a waiting list of 23,600 people.

 

[Jimbob54]

They currently have a waiting list of 23,600 people.

What do i know then!

(though I suspect they are not all since the last run. Perhaps the list never matches waiters to orders).

 

[Rottmannash]

I got the Monoprice version when on sale to have a back-up HP amp. Sounds identical. And cheaper if memory serves (when on sale).

 

[SCG]

That one also always seems to be on wait list with ETA TBD, what sale price did you pay?

 

[Rottmannash]

That one also always seems to be on wait list with ETA TBD, what sale price did you pay?

Tbh can't remember but I believe is was around $200? It was a decent enough price that I jumped on it, even though the THX is working fine.

 

[frogmeat69]

That one also always seems to be on wait list with ETA TBD, what sale price did you pay?

Monoprice has an open box available for $179, looks like it has the same warranty, too. Get it here.
I had the Monoprice amp, but sold it when I got my A90, only because I wanted pre-amp output. It is a great amp for most any headphones.

 

[Selarom]

When was the last time these were available, I always see a wait list on there site.

At this point, I would not recommend it. It has a common issue where you will have to routinely spray clean the volume pot with contact cleaner and some channel imbalance. Get something price comparable instead with at least a resistor ladder pot or a known good volume pot.

Both Drop and Monolith use a $1 crappy, small pot that is its “Achilles Heel”. A real shame IMO

 

[Rottmannash]

My pot is perfect and it's several years old. I don't believe every unit suffers from this malady.

 

[AVKS]

My pot is perfect and it's several years old. I don't believe every unit suffers from this malady.

Same. Almost 4 years on the desktop now and still trucking.

 

[zepplock]

Same. Almost 4 years on the desktop now and still trucking.

Same here. Mine is from the 2nd batch and zero issue over many years now. Daily use in the office: 9-5, Mon-Fri

 

[Selarom]

Same. Almost 4 years on the desktop now and still trucking.

Same here. Mine is from the 2nd batch and zero issue over many years now. Daily use in the office: 9-5, Mon-Fri

WOW! Jealous! you guys are lucky! Are your units from original release model or the revised model. I have the revised model, and I even looked into replacing the pot with another one (ALPS). But the knob is epoxied into the pot shaft (impossible to take out). Can't think of a way to remove it without damaging the front chassis face or the PCB itself. Makes it not worth the effort IMO.

 

[AVKS]

WOW! Jealous! you guys are lucky! Are your units from original release model or the revised model. I have the revised model, and I even looked into replacing the pot with another one (ALPS). But the knob is epoxied into the pot shaft (impossible to take out). Can't think of a way to remove it without damaging the front chassis face or the PCB itself. Makes it not worth the effort IMO.

Pretty sure mine is the revised, as I have the Drop branding vs Mass drop.

 

[zepplock]

WOW! Jealous! you guys are lucky! Are your units from original release model or the revised model. I have the revised model, and I even looked into replacing the pot with another one (ALPS). But the knob is epoxied into the pot shaft (impossible to take out). Can't think of a way to remove it without damaging the front chassis face or the PCB itself. Makes it not worth the effort IMO.

Mine does not have 'Drop' badging, it's original one but 2nd batch.

 

[Rottmannash]

No clue-how would I know if it's OG or revised?

 

[dolph99]

The pot on my monoprice 887 is basically perfect. Except I had to put on a white sticker for the volume indicator. Annoying but not the worst thing given the price/performance ratio of this thing.

 

[Antagron]

So which companies will still be using THX amp tech going forward? We'll have to see.

SMSL SP400 Review (headphone amp)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the SMSL SP400 balanced THX headphone amplifier. It was kindly sent to me by one of their dealers, shenzhenaudio. It costs US $630 from them. The SP400 makes an attempt at luxury with glossy plexiglass top and digital display: As you see, there...

www.audiosciencereview.com

It seems like Benchmark uses THX tech in their amps.

 

[Music1969]

It seems like Benchmark uses THX tech in their amps.

In current products yes

I wonder if still in next products

 

[Boris]

I got mine on ebay for around $150. There's always a few of them listed. Get it from a reputable seller and profit!

 

[Jimster480]

I got mine on ebay for around $150. There's always a few of them listed. Get it from a reputable seller and profit!

Mine is still going strong after so many years.
It would not even surprise me if I have more than 25,000 hours on it.