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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 1 response by viggen

viggen
838 posts
 
Hi All,

I have a Meridian 518 dejitter device. I have used it with a CAL Alpha and a Meridian 563. The improvements the 518 has on the Alpha is slightly deeper bass and smoother highs. However, with the 563, the soundstage expanded and everything improved big time. I believe there is some synergy going on with the Meridian pieces. Similarly, I suspect the DIP and other Monarchy DACs might have synergy as well. BTW, my transport is the Delta.
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