THX is of course a well-known name in the audio space but now they’re moving into the consumer electronics space. A new device called THX Onyx is something that you can attach to your smartphone, tablet, or computer so you can get a high-quality audio experience through its tiny Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) with the THX AAA amplifier tech. If you’re an audiophile that has been bemoaning the loss of audio quality for mobile devices, then this is a device that may interest you.
High-res audio on mobile devices is not that popular now and streaming sites compress most of the titles in their library so listening to music at a high resolution on your phone or tablet can be tricky. The THX Onyx can give you a simple audio upgrade just by attaching it to your mobile device or computer. The device has THX’s highest-powered mobile amp with “Achromatic Audio Amplifier” (AAA) support, THX AAA-78.
It is able to decrease the harmonic, intermodulation, and crossover distortion by up to 40db and at the same time it can boost maximum power levels. So basically, what you get is a tiny device that can fit into your pocket that can give you amp-style audio without having to carry an actual amp. It also has the ESS ES9281 DAC that is actually five times more powerful than the usual USB DAC/Amps. It also has a Master Quality Authenticated render that is able to support tracks from Tidal and other services that have high-quality audio.
The THX Onyx is a plug-and-play device so there’s no need to install any drivers. All you need is the USB-C plug or the USB Type-A adapter that comes with it. It can also work with headphones that have built-in mics except for iOS devices. On the side of the device, you see LED lights to show you what audio quality you’re getting whether it’s 44.1/48 kHz PCM standard quality all the way through to MQA.
You can order the THX Onyx directly from Onyx or from Razer in the U.S. It is priced at $199.99 so probably serious audiophiles will be the only ones to get it.
