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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
sean
6,231 posts
 
The Monarchy piece would probably warm up and smooth out your Sony DVD and Bryston power amp combo. With the single source that you have, i see no problem with this. My only suggestion is that i would try using the digital coaxial output ( if you dvd has one ) and the optical output to see which you like better. Theory says that coax should be better due to less circuitry involved, but you'll never know what you like better unless you try them both. Sean
>
tacs
220 posts
 
Of course the 18B has a preamp built in, and a quite healthy voltage output, if I remember correctly. It's not that you 'bypass the idea of a preamp', but you do save the cost of an extra pair of interconnects. no reason this should not work well.
billhansen
9 posts
 
I have a remote system driven by the 18b output thru 75 feet of mic xlr cable to bel canto pre1 and Rotel 200w/ch. Sound is great.
phild
603 posts
 
Yeah...give the DAC a try. Some people prefer the direct sound and some people prefer the sound with a preamp. There's no correct method...it all comes down to personal preference. If you buy the DAC and end up liking it, then by all means...enjoy it. Don't begin comparing it to other CDP options (or preamps) unless you're willing to watch your economical solution turn into a money sinkhole. :-) Really...it happens.
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
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