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HELP: is Monarchy Audio DAC a good idea?

Hi all,

I am a newbie to this WONDERFUL hifi world and am setting up my first/humble HiFi (if I may say so) system right now. I bought a Bryston 3B and PSB Stratus Mini (both used). I do NOT have any PreAmp. I am thinking of using a Monarchy Audio 18B DAC which has volumne control capability so I can completely bypass the idea of preamp. My questions are:

(1) is this 'no preamp' a good idea? (according to Monarchy it is !)
(2) is Monarchy DAC, particularly 18B, good for my system? (I noticed it does NOT user any Burr Brown chips)

Since I only have a SONY DVD player as source, no phono/FM/tape/..., Monarchy sounds to me a very reasonable/economical solution. My intention:

SONY DVD optical output --> Monarchy --> Bryston 3B --> PSB

any input is welcome.

Abe
abetongd719

Showing 4 responses by abe_av

abe_av
78 posts
 
Thank you all for the input!

I'm curious: by eliminating Preamp, we are free from potential extra distortion to the music. Therefore direct to power amp should always sounds better, provided same level of equipment is used, i.e.

$1000 DAC --> $1000 amp
vs.
$1000 DAC --> $1000 PreAmp ---> $1000 amp.

???????

Thanks again,

Abe
abe_av
78 posts
 

Thanks for Phild's response. I never thought of matching input/output issue before! From Platsolos and Sean's reply it looks like Monarchy 18B is ok in terms of directly driving power amps.

OK, I will go with 18B.

Interestingly, Monarchy Audio company is right in the neigherhood of where I work in South San Francisco! I can almost see their building from my office. A couple weeks ago I went to their office and briefly talked to their chief engineer C. C. Poon and auditioned the 18M. Frankly speaking I can't tell it sounds good or bad since my ears are NOT well trained (yet). But the build quality is obviously excellent! I trust all the user reviews and the advices from you guys. (plus it is on sale for $299 new!)

Again, big thanks to Sean, Phild, Platsolos, Tacs, Billhansen !!!!!! You guys are cool.

Abe
abe_av
78 posts
 
Seandtaylor99:

Thanks for the tip. I am still skeptical about this jitter and DIP thing. I am an electrical/computer engineer and haven't been 100% convinced technically yet. Still searching for 'truth' and probable will convert soon :-)

Abe
abe_av
78 posts
 
--

Do you think a DIP will be an over kill for my extremely
humble system:

SONY DVD 5-disc ($180 new from CircuitCity!)
Monarchy Audio 18B (will buy soon)
Bryston 3b Pro ($400 used)
PSB Stratus Mini ($320 used)

I listen to all kinds of music 20%instrumental, 20%rock,
20%classic (if you count Charlotte Church), 30%jazz and
10%rest.

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