is that a matrix mini i that i can see underneath your JDS element? how much of an improvement do you think the 789 is compared to the inbuilt amp of the mini? I'm wondering it its worth the $299 upgrade or should i just stick to the mini
As far as audible noise is concerned, there's none in the Mini. The Mini easily drives the vast majority of my headphones, and frankly, I use it more often than the 789.
Do you have an amp recommendation for the audeze lcd xc? Looking for one that may have a great impact on bass and smoothness in the top end. Thank you so much
I'm not sure there's really an amp specific for that. The XC already has a fairly V-shaped signature. If you're trying to tone down the sibilance and treble, I think you'll have to resort to EQ or plugins. Your current amp might not be powerful enough for the XC. Planars do require more power. The rule of thumb is minimum of 250mw at 32 ohms. Also keep in mind the damping factor and output impedance of the amp. You want as low as possible output impedance for planars. You might want to look into the Rupert Neve Headphone Amp, Cayin iHa-6, Audiogd 1Amp, Schiit Heresy, and RME ADI-2. This list is pretty broad, and not knowing your budget, it's a good place to start researching. Frankly, I've found that the Schiit Heresy is a very good amp for a lot of gear, including all my planars. The RME provides the most bang for your money in terms of features, construction, and power, but is overkill for most people.
Sounds lke the 887 has slightly more juce than the 789. If I remember right audioscience review measured somethng like 3.5w @50 ohm on the 789 and the 887 around 3.7w @ 50 ohm. I'm sure their is variance between units. How about buld quality between the 2? I've heard bad thngs about the buttons on the 789? To be honest I'm sure they are bult n the same factory. The knobs and buttons all lne up perfectly. I think personally like the finsh of the 887 better.
@@NoThemeReviews Sounds good. Just picked up a new in the box 789 for $183 should be here Thursday. I noticed they seem to have changed the volume knob and logo's at some time in production. Noticed it seems all the reviews are of the early version without the Drop on the faceplate and just hope quality didn't change with the newer version.
@@NoThemeReviews What do you mean they don't? Monoprice gives 3 year warranty with replacement of these amps. And by the way, I heard a lot of quality control about Massdrop 789 too. So with the same price then I wisely choose Monoprice, a better bet. www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=39359
@@NoThemeReviews Hmm, bastards! But still i like it very much and i think its so same that there is no sense to buy one. Only the gain is dramatically different than other THX amps.. Low gain cant go past 10:30 at balance or se... for my Focal Clear:s.. ;)
@Dex I have it too but then i installed drivers SMSL site to my dac SMSL M300 then downgraded bit rate to 32/384000hz --> 24/48000 and using only XLR balanced then hissing was gone. Half to max volume even low gain at 12 clock it was audible.... This is scary.. Should i send it back too because that can come back someday or is it just luck or groundloop i mean... Maybe its the dac? or is the amp what to blame??? I was first rma M300 but.... Now its fixed dunno what to do anymore should i wait couple of weeks....
@Dex Damn the hiss noise is there with high gain 12 o clock and i unplugged dac and only plug the headphones and the sp200 make that hiss byself! Im very disappointed!!!!
There was a time the availability was markedly different... and that's how I ended up with one after being waitlisted on the other for too long... but if you said you found a difference, I wouldn't have believed you! I also thought the Monoprice warranty was better, but now I just don't know for sure (and you are well aware why). Given the talk on forums, I'd be more interested in you comparing either one of these with the RNHP. I mean, comparing like you do comparisons -- with the Focal Clears mostly, because them's that claim a difference say you need to compare on Clears (or presumably equally "high-end" phones). (Don't know if anyone else cares though)
@@NoThemeReviews Maybe that's enough, lol. I'm seeing recommendations that it's a "clear step up" from these THX amps, at least with some of the better headphones. Of course I'm skeptical.
Total BS. They’re lying. There are good reasons not to buy it: there’s a popping sound every time you turn it off-regardless of the headphone; it has pretty low amplification compared to similarly priced amps; there’s a bit of grain in the mid range; and it is not neutral-treble often sounds harsher with this than the Element or THX amps. If this thing was made by Monoprice or any Chinese brand audiophiles would be dumping on it. But since it has a Rupert Neve logo, it gets rave reviews. What a crock.
Schiit's products have a less-than-neutral sound signature. The dac in the Jot sound a bit harsh to me; but if you have a darker sounding headphone, that might be exactly what you're looking for. I can't hear any noise difference amongst any of the three. They're all silent to the human ear. So...for price to performance, I think the Jot is pretty good. I think the Lyr 3 sounds smoother than the Jot, if you want an alternative Schiit.
I've been waiting for this video my whole life does the THX 789 or the 887 have more power you said before the THX 789 had more power but you're doing a comparison now so I think you would understand them better so Wich has more power
The 887 does have more power initially at 16ohms but it drops very fast when the impedance increases. The problem with manufacturers is that they provide little info about their products. Neither brand says what the actual gain increase is with the various settings. It could just be that the 887’s gain is modulated higher than the 789. In reality, it doesn’t matter since both amps can easily power every headphone I can think of.
I think they are made in the same place. But they are not the same. ASR opened both the 789 and Monolith THX Desktop and found different component configurations. And the 789 definitely has different components from the 887.
@@NoThemeReviews I read ASR too, the chip is different for sure, 887 use newer chips. but mostly components are the same. Same design, 3 gain stage. Same power. Even the packaging box is similar. The power supply unit is exactly one to one copy. You can say 887 is technically superior because of newer (DAC/AMP) chips. I had both unit, so I know. I do recommend people to buy the 887. First, the 887 is blacker, looks nicer too.
Monolith claims there’s a warranty, but you can’t find it anywhere on their website or in the packaging. It’s not a real warranty if you have no idea what they cover
@@NoThemeReviews I think the original receipt should cover the warranty. You just need the Web page where it says the length of warranty and a screenshot. I got my evidence off hifiman selling on ebay say in their add for the 887 3 year warranty
@@noelsetterington648 I don’t think you understand. In order to know what a “warranty” is they are required by federal law to tell you in writing what they do and do not cover. Monolith doesn’t do that. You have no clue what they will warranty. They just say they have a 3 year warranty-and while that SOUNDS nice, they can easily refuse service on anything at all, or claim you owe some service fee. That is the problem. Compare to Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Sony, Apple, Audeze, or nearly any other brand and you can easily see they have actual warranties.
Drop should make a thx 999 amp that would be interesting to see in the amp would probably be all nice and chunky chunky 😁😉 then we would have more competitors and have enough power to power 5 Hifiman hifiman susvara
The cost of THX plus neutral balanced dac is far too much imo. You can get neutral sound with the JDS Element or Fiio K5 Pro or Modi+Magni Heresy. Both the THX tech and Rupert Neve are overhyped by people who don’t compare products.
@@NoThemeReviews What do you think about a DAC that pair well with the JDS for transparency? Also the THX is hyped by a lot of people, even guys over at audio-science lol. I am yet to try one
The Element has a fantastic dac already. I wouldn’t spend any more money on a separate dac. You’ll come to find that there are very minor changes between dac if similar sound signature. So, neutral dacs have very little differences between them no matter how expensive they are. It makes more sense to spend money on separate dacs that have unique features and different sound signatures than it is to buy evermore neutral and transparent dacs. The obscene amount of money spent on the minute changes from dac to dac would be better put to buying music or headphones.
![SingXer SA-1 vs Jotunheim 2 vs A90 vs THX AAA 789 [ Solid State Showdown Pt.1 ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/429AMOXdYZY/mqdefault.jpg)
![SingXer SA-1 vs Jotunheim 2 vs A90 vs THX AAA 789 [ Solid State Showdown Pt.1 ]](/img/tr.png)
Great video! What is the best headphone amp would you recommend for under $500? For the best linear sound (using for music production)
Fantastic comparison review man. Cheers. Just bought the 789 from Drop and saved $50 by getting the Massdrop branded one.
One good reason for existence of Monolith 887 is the fact, that it's distributed in Europe. 789 has to be imported from the USA.
is that a matrix mini i that i can see underneath your JDS element? how much of an improvement do you think the 789 is compared to the inbuilt amp of the mini? I'm wondering it its worth the $299 upgrade or should i just stick to the mini
As far as audible noise is concerned, there's none in the Mini. The Mini easily drives the vast majority of my headphones, and frankly, I use it more often than the 789.
How did you install the drivers from the SU-8 to windows? I recently bought on Massdrop and windows recognize him as a SmSL M8.. Strange right?
I didn't. Drivers self-installed on Windows 10.
Get the SMSL SP200 for the price?
Do you have an amp recommendation for the audeze lcd xc? Looking for one that may have a great impact on bass and smoothness in the top end. Thank you so much
I'm not sure there's really an amp specific for that. The XC already has a fairly V-shaped signature. If you're trying to tone down the sibilance and treble, I think you'll have to resort to EQ or plugins.
Your current amp might not be powerful enough for the XC. Planars do require more power. The rule of thumb is minimum of 250mw at 32 ohms. Also keep in mind the damping factor and output impedance of the amp. You want as low as possible output impedance for planars.
You might want to look into the Rupert Neve Headphone Amp, Cayin iHa-6, Audiogd 1Amp, Schiit Heresy, and RME ADI-2. This list is pretty broad, and not knowing your budget, it's a good place to start researching. Frankly, I've found that the Schiit Heresy is a very good amp for a lot of gear, including all my planars. The RME provides the most bang for your money in terms of features, construction, and power, but is overkill for most people.
Sounds lke the 887 has slightly more juce than the 789. If I remember right audioscience review measured somethng like 3.5w @50 ohm on the 789 and the 887 around 3.7w @ 50 ohm. I'm sure their is variance between units. How about buld quality between the 2? I've heard bad thngs about the buttons on the 789? To be honest I'm sure they are bult n the same factory. The knobs and buttons all lne up perfectly. I think personally like the finsh of the 887 better.
Yeah I’m sure they’re manufactured at the same place. Build is similar. I’ve had both for years and not encountered any issues.
@@NoThemeReviews Sounds good. Just picked up a new in the box 789 for $183 should be here Thursday. I noticed they seem to have changed the volume knob and logo's at some time in production. Noticed it seems all the reviews are of the early version without the Drop on the faceplate and just hope quality didn't change with the newer version.
They have the same price and same performance but I would like to pick the THX from monoprice with 3 years warranty. Thanks for the review.
I can't fault that decision. If Monolith actually provided warranty information, that might alter your decision, but...they don't.
@@NoThemeReviews What do you mean they don't? Monoprice gives 3 year warranty with replacement of these amps. And by the way, I heard a lot of quality control about Massdrop 789 too. So with the same price then I wisely choose Monoprice, a better bet. www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=39359
the 887 comes with a 3 year warranty for free, and it's 50 dollars extra for 789
Hi, how about SMSL SP200 THX 888??? ps. same thing! :D
Lol...uhhh...I don't have the SMSL...and can't justify buying it. I emailed SMSL about reviewing one, and they never responded.
@@NoThemeReviews Hmm, bastards! But still i like it very much and i think its so same that there is no sense to buy one. Only the gain is dramatically different than other THX amps..
Low gain cant go past 10:30 at balance or se... for my Focal Clear:s.. ;)
@Dex I have it too but then i installed drivers SMSL site to my dac SMSL M300 then downgraded bit rate to 32/384000hz --> 24/48000 and using only XLR balanced then hissing was gone. Half to max volume even low gain at 12 clock it was audible.... This is scary.. Should i send it back too because that can come back someday or is it just luck or groundloop i mean... Maybe its the dac? or is the amp what to blame??? I was first rma M300 but.... Now its fixed dunno what to do anymore should i wait couple of weeks....
@Dex Damn the hiss noise is there with high gain 12 o clock and i unplugged dac and only plug the headphones and the sp200 make that hiss byself! Im very disappointed!!!!
@Dex Ok, thanks. I just contacted reseller this hiss issue too... Hope that i can get the new one or swap other amp totally...
There was a time the availability was markedly different... and that's how I ended up with one after being waitlisted on the other for too long... but if you said you found a difference, I wouldn't have believed you! I also thought the Monoprice warranty was better, but now I just don't know for sure (and you are well aware why). Given the talk on forums, I'd be more interested in you comparing either one of these with the RNHP. I mean, comparing like you do comparisons -- with the Focal Clears mostly, because them's that claim a difference say you need to compare on Clears (or presumably equally "high-end" phones). (Don't know if anyone else cares though)
Ah yes the RNHP. I have a love-hate relationship with it. MSRP is barely justified.
@@NoThemeReviews Maybe that's enough, lol. I'm seeing recommendations that it's a "clear step up" from these THX amps, at least with some of the better headphones. Of course I'm skeptical.
Total BS. They’re lying. There are good reasons not to buy it: there’s a popping sound every time you turn it off-regardless of the headphone; it has pretty low amplification compared to similarly priced amps; there’s a bit of grain in the mid range; and it is not neutral-treble often sounds harsher with this than the Element or THX amps. If this thing was made by Monoprice or any Chinese brand audiophiles would be dumping on it. But since it has a Rupert Neve logo, it gets rave reviews. What a crock.
question; one of these or jotunheim? if one of these, which?
Schiit's products have a less-than-neutral sound signature. The dac in the Jot sound a bit harsh to me; but if you have a darker sounding headphone, that might be exactly what you're looking for. I can't hear any noise difference amongst any of the three. They're all silent to the human ear. So...for price to performance, I think the Jot is pretty good. I think the Lyr 3 sounds smoother than the Jot, if you want an alternative Schiit.
I've been waiting for this video my whole life does the THX 789 or the 887 have more power you said before the THX 789 had more power but you're doing a comparison now so I think you would understand them better so Wich has more power
Lol.
@@NoThemeReviews I'm glad we have such a kind reviewer on UA-cam
The 887 does have more power initially at 16ohms but it drops very fast when the impedance increases. The problem with manufacturers is that they provide little info about their products. Neither brand says what the actual gain increase is with the various settings. It could just be that the 887’s gain is modulated higher than the 789. In reality, it doesn’t matter since both amps can easily power every headphone I can think of.
They are exactly the same unit, probably made from the same factory.
I think they are made in the same place. But they are not the same. ASR opened both the 789 and Monolith THX Desktop and found different component configurations. And the 789 definitely has different components from the 887.
@@NoThemeReviews I read ASR too, the chip is different for sure, 887 use newer chips. but mostly components are the same. Same design, 3 gain stage. Same power. Even the packaging box is similar. The power supply unit is exactly one to one copy. You can say 887 is technically superior because of newer (DAC/AMP) chips. I had both unit, so I know. I do recommend people to buy the 887. First, the 887 is blacker, looks nicer too.
There is a 3 year manufacturing warranty for the thx aaa 887 and 1 year withe thx aaa 789
Monolith claims there’s a warranty, but you can’t find it anywhere on their website or in the packaging. It’s not a real warranty if you have no idea what they cover
@@NoThemeReviews I think the original receipt should cover the warranty. You just need the Web page where it says the length of warranty and a screenshot.
I got my evidence off hifiman selling on ebay say in their add for the 887 3 year warranty
@@noelsetterington648 I don’t think you understand. In order to know what a “warranty” is they are required by federal law to tell you in writing what they do and do not cover. Monolith doesn’t do that. You have no clue what they will warranty. They just say they have a 3 year warranty-and while that SOUNDS nice, they can easily refuse service on anything at all, or claim you owe some service fee. That is the problem. Compare to Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Sony, Apple, Audeze, or nearly any other brand and you can easily see they have actual warranties.
Drop should make a thx 999 amp that would be interesting to see in the amp would probably be all nice and chunky chunky 😁😉 then we would have more competitors and have enough power to power 5 Hifiman hifiman susvara
Lol, yes. All 5 powered at the same time. Innovation!
add $100 and get the Monolith Balanced Headphone Amplifier and DAC with THX AAA Technology?
If you mean the Desktop THX, then yes. It’s more feature packed.
@@NoThemeReviews yes, comes w/ Dirac
789 vs rupert neve??
For what? Both are overpriced for what they do.
@@NoThemeReviews thanks for replying. accurate representation of the music i suppose. what do u think would be better worth your money then?
The cost of THX plus neutral balanced dac is far too much imo. You can get neutral sound with the JDS Element or Fiio K5 Pro or Modi+Magni Heresy. Both the THX tech and Rupert Neve are overhyped by people who don’t compare products.
@@NoThemeReviews What do you think about a DAC that pair well with the JDS for transparency?
Also the THX is hyped by a lot of people, even guys over at audio-science lol. I am yet to try one
The Element has a fantastic dac already. I wouldn’t spend any more money on a separate dac. You’ll come to find that there are very minor changes between dac if similar sound signature. So, neutral dacs have very little differences between them no matter how expensive they are. It makes more sense to spend money on separate dacs that have unique features and different sound signatures than it is to buy evermore neutral and transparent dacs. The obscene amount of money spent on the minute changes from dac to dac would be better put to buying music or headphones.