# Monoprice Monolith Desktop THX Amp/DAC (#24459) - Impressions Thread



## XERO1 (Apr 20, 2022)

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=24459

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...monoprice-desktop-thx-headphone-amp-dac.5420/
__________________

*FYI* - The analog RCA and XLR inputs are converted to digital by an internal ADC.  *The ADC cannot be defeated or bypassed.*


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## XERO1 (May 5, 2019)

*- Update -* DAC/preamp outputs have been added to the final design.


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## mandrake50

Agreed. I wonder if that has anything to do with the THX licensing?


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## Asahi Templar

It looks like they have changed the design and now it does have RCA DAC outputs, very nice change. Now I wonder if you are able to cycle through the AKM filters. Seems like a exceptionally good deal if the THX amp lives up the hype. That surround processing has big potential for gamers and movie watchers especially. Its supposed to be a quite subtle effect which is great IMO. 





  T


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## HipHopScribe

Asahi Templar said:


> It looks like they have changed the design and now it does have RCA DAC outputs, very nice change. Now I wonder if you are able to cycle through the AKM filters. Seems like a exceptionally good deal if the THX amp lives up the hype. That surround processing has big potential for gamers and movie watchers especially. Its supposed to be a quite subtle effect which is great IMO.



Where do you see that they've added outputs?


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## Asahi Templar

HipHopScribe said:


> Where do you see that they've added outputs?


Its the picture I posted, they updated the product page on Monoprice.com. You can see Analog  RCA output in the middle of the Balanced XLR ones.


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## HipHopScribe

Asahi Templar said:


> Its the picture I posted, they updated the product page on Monoprice.com. You can see Analog  RCA output in the middle of the Balanced XLR ones.



Those are labeled inputs


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## Asahi Templar

HipHopScribe said:


> Those are labeled inputs


For me I see 2 sets of RCA one says in the other says out. You might want to clear your browsers cache, could be loading the old image if you have been to the page before.


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## HipHopScribe

Asahi Templar said:


> For me I see 2 sets of RCA one says in the other says out. You might want to clear your browsers cache, could be loading the old image if you have been to the page before.



Strange, it still doesn't show up right for me even after clearing my cache, but anyway that's definitely a needed change


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## Asahi Templar

HipHopScribe said:


> Strange, it still doesn't show up right for me even after clearing my cache, but anyway that's definitely a needed change







Ill try putting it on file hosting site maybe this one will show up correctly. THey changed the way the back looks quite a bit, reversed inputs and outputs side and added RCA outputs.


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## NuClear235

Now they change backplate? It seems it is it still not in final stage. I hoped this product will sell next month


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## XERO1 (Oct 16, 2017)

Asahi Templar said:


> Ill try putting it on file hosting site maybe this one will show up correctly. THey changed the way the back looks quite a bit, reversed inputs and outputs side and added RCA outputs.



Now that's more like it!

Of course I would prefer it to have a balanced output instead of a balanced input, but I'll take what I can get.

The Monolith Desktop just got a whole lot more attractive to me!


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## lugnut

I still don't see a updated picture on monoprice site. Yes cleared my browser and no change. How about posting a link to new picture. Thanks


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## Asahi Templar

lugnut said:


> I still don't see a updated picture on monoprice site. Yes cleared my browser and no change. How about posting a link to new picture. Thanks


I actually posted one a few posts back, but here is the direct link to where I uploaded it to imgur. https://i.imgur.com/elwqPQG.jpg . I am in Japan so I am assuming I am seeing a different version of the Monoprice website than everyone else which might be why its not showing up.  Some more news is that the ETA now says 1/23/2018. So it looks like it has been delayed until next year likely to make these changes to the back-plate.  No idea if that is final or not and they still havent added the full specs.

They must have saw all the feedback which was along the lines of "NO LINE OUT NO BUY!" and decided to redesign it.


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## NuClear235

Strange is, how it will be implemented. Dirac is optimization for headphones. How it will sound on speakers thru line out...
And what about balanced out ? Headphone amp is balanced


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## Flak2 (Oct 9, 2017)

Good point... Dirac Sensaround can be switched off when listening to speakers through line out

 Flavio


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## twibmassa

Well shoot. Now appears to be delayed til 2018. I was looking forward to this too.


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## Flak2 (Oct 16, 2017)

One of the reasons why we ventured into this is that we have found that the need for individualization is less important than generally thought, provided that the HRTFs are modelled correctly... just as in room correction, trying to model every tiny detail of a head-related transfer function can lead to errors.
The solution needs to be robust to work for everyone.
Also we have not tried to make a system that takes a given HiFi room and transforms that into headphones.
We rather wanted to create an ideal listening space... real rooms and hifi systems have lots of problems that color the sound, which is exactly what we wanted to avoid.
In a sense the virtual HiFi room might be the ultimate room correction solution.

Flavio


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## tuan2195

I'm really interested in this one. I want to get a nice solid state amp and I'm pretty bummed I missed out on the Massdrop x Cavalli Liquid Carbon drop. This might be a good choice, since it has a built in DAC and I assume the DAC module is balanced since it has a balanced output? The Cavalli LC also have a balanced output but I would need a balanced DAC as well, which isn't cheap on its own. I really want to try balanced with my Elear/HD6XX. For $100 more this can be a winner, depends on the performance.


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## kukkurovaca

tuan2195 said:


> I'm really interested in this one. I want to get a nice solid state amp and I'm pretty bummed I missed out on the Massdrop x Cavalli Liquid Carbon drop. This might be a good choice, since it has a built in DAC and I assume the DAC module is balanced since it has a balanced output? The Cavalli LC also have a balanced output but I would need a balanced DAC as well, which isn't cheap on its own. I really want to try balanced with my Elear/HD6XX. For $100 more this can be a winner, depends on the performance.



I wouldn't assume the DAC is balanced just because there is a balanced output. In fact, you can't even assume the amp is balanced just because it has balanced in and out; some amps are internally single-ended and only have those connectors for convenience. Probably best to wait for detailed specs if a fully balanced dac/amp is important to you. 

Also the Cavalli LC does not require a balanced dac. And just generally, how balanced the design is will not be the main factor in determine how good it will sound in use.

If you do want a dac/amp combo with dual dac, may want to look at Topping DX7, Schiit Jotunheim w/dac, SMSL M9. 

Or, on the portable side, the RHA L1 had a price drop to $300, that's fully balanced. And for a little less, the Shanling M3S is a fully balanced DAP that also works as a DAC/amp.


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## docninety

At least one thing can already be said: It's design is absolutely gorgeous - stolen or not!


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## Schwibbles (Nov 9, 2017)

This looks really promising. I wonder how it will compare to the Jotunheim and Topping DX7.


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## blueangel2323

Pricing will be under $400 according to this http://www.avsforum.com/monoprice-monolith-headphone-amps-thx-aaa-technology-unveiled/


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## Extorsivo

I would like to see a comparison to *Fostex HP-A4BL, Jotunheim *and *Topping DX7.*


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## vanstevens

With the addition of the RCA outputs, I should be able to insert this into my two channel signal chain, right?  

I have my Sonica DAC network player and I want to use it with both my two channel speaker set up AND my headphone set up.  I am thinking I can now go Sonica DAC>>>Monolith>>>Emotiva PT-100 Pre Amp and that will let me use my source with both my headphone and two channel system, right?  

I am actually really looking forward to this release and am hoping it isn't delayed for any reason.  I have held off buying a new headphone amplifier for months waiting for the desktop amp.

Thanks!


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## gr8soundz

Still can't pre-order but looks like they've raised prices for the portable and desktop from 230 and 400 to 280 and 480....


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## InAndOut

gr8soundz said:


> Still can't pre-order but looks like they've raised prices for the portable and desktop from 230 and 400 to 280 and 480....



I'm interested in the portable if the balanced out spec is accurate. I haven't seen a thread for the portable version yet, if someone sees it please point me to it. I'll have to wait 6 months for a Monoprice sale if the price keeps creeping!


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## gr8soundz

InAndOut said:


> I'm interested in the portable if the balanced out spec is accurate.



+1
Pics show everything except top view of the inputs/outputs. I also wonder if the the few details provided were cut/paste from the desktop description. Site says both amps will be available in about 2 weeks so no idea why Monoprice is still holding back on specs while raising prices.

If the portable does have balanced out plus bass/treble menu controls it might be just what I'm looking for (assuming it actually sounds good).

I do like the idea of the new AKM4493 built-in as well.


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## Allanmarcus

For those that want that "tube" sound, Monoprice is also going to release a new $400 tube amp/DAC.
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=29511


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## Schwibbles

Allanmarcus said:


> For those that want that "tube" sound, Monoprice is also going to release a new $400 tube amp/DAC.
> https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=29511



An impedance switch??? Seems like it may be transformer-coupled. Very interested in seeing how the THX DAC/amp will compare to it.


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## InAndOut

So Massdrop has an AMP only version of the Monoprice THX Amp coming out: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdr...leCampaignId=251971&iterableTemplateId=359684

For $350, balanced in and out, no Dirac sound, or any of the DAC stuff, but with all the power. I really like the look, but for the price I'd have to go with the Jotunheim for $50 more.


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## vanstevens

InAndOut said:


> So Massdrop has an AMP only version of the Monoprice THX Amp coming out: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdr...leCampaignId=251971&iterableTemplateId=359684
> 
> For $350, balanced in and out, no Dirac sound, or any of the DAC stuff, but with all the power. I really like the look, but for the price I'd have to go with the Jotunheim for $50 more.



Doesn't seem like much of a deal.  Lose what appears to be a great dac for $129 off the price?  Monoprice typically has 25-30% off every week or two so most people are going to be paying $360-ish for the DAC/Amp.  Hard to see how the Amp only version is a winner for MassDrop.


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## LajostheHun

InAndOut said:


> So Massdrop has an AMP only version of the Monoprice THX Amp coming out: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdr...leCampaignId=251971&iterableTemplateId=359684


it's not the same amp, the designer in the discussion section explains the differences.


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## squee116

As quoted from an engineer at THX:
"
-uses the same AAA technology
-788 has less output current/voltage/power
-788 no true balanced output (has XLR-4, but it's only driven single-ended)
-788 includes a DAC selected by the Monoprice team.
So it depends on what you're looking for.
"


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## InAndOut

squee116 said:


> As quoted from an engineer at THX:
> "
> -uses the same AAA technology
> -788 has less output current/voltage/power
> ...



No true balanced output on the 788? What, how can they call it balanced then, balanced input? I didn't realize the XLR was single ended.


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## Zachik

I for one would wait for comparisons before deciding if I get ANY of those 2...
Also would be interesting to see how good (not bad) is the THX DAC in the Monoprice version.


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## squee116

The only certain leg up of one to the other is the THX 789's power (and balanced output) to the integrated DAC of 788.  I doubt many people need 6 watts per channel, and many of us already have DACs.


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## mtoc

squee116 said:


> As quoted from an engineer at THX:
> -uses the same AAA technology
> -788 has less output current/voltage/power
> -788 no true balanced output (has XLR-4, but it's only driven single-ended)
> ...



look at here and wake up, the flagship is called 888, not 789, 789 is just a bridged 788

http://www.thx.com/aaa


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## squee116

mtoc said:


> look at here and wake up, the flagship is called 888, not 789, 789 is just a bridged 788
> 
> http://www.thx.com/aaa


So you're saying the employed engineer from THX is lying or more likely to be wrong than a commentator from head-fi?


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## mattris

InAndOut said:


> No true balanced output on the 788? What, how can they call it balanced then, balanced input? I didn't realize the XLR was single ended.



I inquired regarding the unit's 4-pin XLR output, and Hobie S. from the Monoprice staff promptly confirmed that it is, in fact, "fully balanced". This unit is looking quite promising. Shame they keep pushing the release date back, though.


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## antdroid

the price and date on this keep rising. It looks like May now and price is now $479.


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## squee116

The price went up and date was pushed back after it was announced the xlr4 wasn't balanced. Maybe their remedying that, and it's reflected now?


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## antdroid

squee116 said:


> The price went up and date was pushed back after it was announced the xlr4 wasn't balanced. Maybe their remedying that, and it's reflected now?



That would be nice.


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## antdroid

I received this response from Monoprice: "Yes, the 788 isn't a true balanced amplifier, and YES, this unit will have two THX-788 modules in it. It also has two AKM 4493 DACs inside as well."


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## NickedWicked (Mar 21, 2018)

Man, this little thing has quite some potential, If they don't mess up the internals this might be a killer amp/dac combo, can't wait for impressions!


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## Packdemon (May 22, 2018)

antdroid said:


> I received this response from Monoprice: "Yes, the 788 isn't a true balanced amplifier, and YES, this unit will have two THX-788 modules in it. It also has two AKM 4493 DACs inside as well."


That's confusing to me. Does that mean that the THX-788 (the open source design) isn't designed to be balanced, and that's why Monoprice used 2 modules (to make it balanced somehow)? Or did they use 2 modules for extra juice without making it balanced?


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## antdroid

Packdemon said:


> That's confusing to me. Does that mean that the THX-788 (the open source design) isn't designed to be balanced, and that's why Monoprice used 2 modules (to make it balanced somehow)? Or did they use 2 modules for extra juice without making it balanced?


Thats kind of how I imagine it is given the info I've read and asked the THX folks and whats on the THX website, and what's on the Monoprice site.


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## Packdemon (May 22, 2018)

antdroid said:


> Thats kind of how I imagine it is given the info I've read and asked the THX folks and whats on the THX website, and what's on the Monoprice site.


I'm a little disappointed with Monoprice's response. It'll not clear enough for me to have a definite interpretation, and I wish they were a little more nuanced with their answers. The answer they gave was almost like one a politician would give. I have half a mind to not buy their product (once it comes out) until they give some further clarification.


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## runssical

Monoprice recently pushed back release dates for their new amps to early and mid October 2018. I interpret these delays as a positive because it likely means they continue to fine tune the design.


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## Packdemon

runssical said:


> Monoprice recently pushed back release dates for their new amps to early and mid October 2018. I interpret these delays as a positive because it likely means they continue to fine tune the design.


That's good, because I'm sure that I and many others from the look of it won't be buying it unless if it is truly balanced.


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## antdroid

runssical said:


> Monoprice recently pushed back release dates for their new amps to early and mid October 2018. I interpret these delays as a positive because it likely means they continue to fine tune the design.



There was a post by Alex Cavalli who mentioned theres a worldwide electronic part shortage on some of these components which is causing delay to the Monoprice/Cavalli amps, so I assume this also affects the THX/Monoprice amp too. It's also interesting that the new dates are aligning closely with the Massdrop/THX amp release as well.


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## Sythrix (Aug 23, 2018)

antdroid said:


> I received this response from Monoprice: "Yes, the 788 isn't a true balanced amplifier, and YES, this unit will have two THX-788 modules in it. It also has two AKM 4493 DACs inside as well."



Can you confirm that your response has been deleted? I went and asked a question:

_"OK, so the 788 isn't a true balanced amplifier... but you're putting two in. AND you're putting in two AKM 4493 DACs. 

Are you putting two of these in to make it a balanced output? What is the reasoning behind using two of each of these units if the unit won't be balanced? Furthermore, why put a 4-pin XLR connector on the unit if it won't be balanced? You have a lot of clarifying to do Monoprice and I suggest you get someone who actually knows what they're talking about to answer all these questions, because they are not being answered with any clarity."_

based on these other questions that had directly conflicting answers and someone replied (not staff by the looks of it?). However, your post seems to be missing now, or I'm unable to find it, which leads me to believe Monoprice took action and cleaned up the answers which were incorrect.

EDIT: Whoever responded (again, it doesn't say they're staff) said:

_" Incorrect. This Monoprice unit is truly balanced in & out. It contains dual THXAAA-788 stereo amplifier modules configured to create a fully balanced bridged stereo output. It also supports TRS unbalanced output. 
The XLR-4 is present to permit balanced headphone connection."_


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## Packdemon

I messaged their support directly and got no response, which is not like them (they used to always respond). I hope they are not avoiding the question because it simply is not balanced, and they want people to buy it thinking it is balanced. When I was at CanJam SoCal, the guy at the booth made it seem like the version that they'd be selling was the best one available. He even said that they improved upon the design, which I don't think they are even aloud to do, so maybe he was full of hot air.


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## Sythrix

I don't think any of their staff has the faintest idea and there isn't any real information available. That's why it made me so curious, as to why this person seems so sure when they're not part of the staff. Could be someone interpreting the prior answer to antdroid as definitive proof. I mean it wouldn't make any sense to put in two of each module unless it was to make it balanced. Either that or their team (or more likely contracted team) is just throwing components inside and have no idea what they're doing (which would explain the delay, maybe they had to switch suppliers).


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## Packdemon

Sythrix said:


> I don't think any of their staff has the faintest idea and there isn't any real information available. That's why it made me so curious, as to why this person seems so sure when they're not part of the staff. Could be someone interpreting the prior answer to antdroid as definitive proof. I mean it wouldn't make any sense to put in two of each module unless it was to make it balanced. Either that or their team (or more likely contracted team) is just throwing components inside and have no idea what they're doing (which would explain the delay, maybe they had to switch suppliers).


It could be adding more power without making it balanced. Which is stupid, but hey companies do stupid things sometimes. Fingers crossed that that's not the case.


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## runssical

Stay calm Sythrix. I'm sure we'll get answers when the amps are close to launch.


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## Sythrix

runssical said:


> Stay calm Sythrix. I'm sure we'll get answers when the amps are close to launch.



Alright giant tortoise, we do it your way.

However, if October 17 rolls around and we still haven't heard anything, I won't be able to stop myself.

I'll have no choice...

*I'll ask another question on their website.*


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## Packdemon

runssical said:


> Stay calm Sythrix. I'm sure we'll get answers when the amps are close to launch.


I think that'll be the case, because I'd hate to have to find out the day it launches only for it to be sold out.


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## runssical

Sythrix said:


> Alright giant tortoise, we do it your way...
> 
> *I'll ask another question on their website.*



I think we're going to have to await some professional reviews or at internal photos of the board with explanations on the topology by knowledgeable people in the headphone audio community to break down and explain the design and how well thought out it is. 

With this essentially being a novel product centered around THX amplifier chips people have little experience with I'm going to need some solid listening impressions before I buy. 

Those other amps Monoprice is launching designed by Cavali are more of a known quantity.


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## Sythrix

runssical said:


> I think we're going to have to await some professional reviews or at internal photos of the board with explanations on the topology by knowledgeable people in the headphone audio community to break down and explain the design and how well thought out it is.
> 
> With this essentially being a novel product centered around THX amplifier chips people have little experience with I'm going to need some solid listening impressions before I buy.
> 
> Those other amps Monoprice is launching designed by Cavali are more of a known quantity.



I wonder if it will be somewhere at RMAF this year. I don’t know if Monoprice has ever appeared there, but maybe THX will have one of their versions to test. It’s only a couple weeks away from the current launch date and you would generally expect them to promote their partners. I’ll have to look when I go.


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## phthora

Packdemon said:


> I messaged their support directly and got no response, which is not like them (they used to always respond). I hope they are not avoiding the question because it simply is not balanced, and they want people to buy it thinking it is balanced. When I was at CanJam SoCal, the guy at the booth made it seem like the version that they'd be selling was the best one available. He even said that they improved upon the design, which I don't think they are even aloud to do, so maybe he was full of hot air.



Thanks for doing that. For me, as I would imagine for most people, if it's not a balanced amp I won't be buying one. Nothing against single-ended, I just don't need that right now.


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## Sythrix (Aug 28, 2018)

Alright, score! Just got confirmation from the staff that the person who replied to me is the THX engineer. This was the staff's reply:

"
The gentleman that answered is the AAA tech engineer from THX. Obviously, we stand by his answer as we worked extensively with THX in bringing this product to fruition.
Hobie S Staff on Aug 24, 2018"

*Recap:
*
My original question:

_"OK, so the 788 isn't a true balanced amplifier... but you're putting two in. AND you're putting in two AKM 4493 DACs. 

Are you putting two of these in to make it a balanced output? What is the reasoning behind using two of each of these units if the unit won't be balanced? Furthermore, why put a 4-pin XLR connector on the unit if it won't be balanced? You have a lot of clarifying to do Monoprice and I suggest you get someone who actually knows what they're talking about to answer all these questions, because they are not being answered with any clarity."
_
Answer (now confirmed to be the THX engineer):
_
" Incorrect. This Monoprice unit is truly balanced in & out. It contains dual THXAAA-788 stereo amplifier modules configured to create a fully balanced bridged stereo output. It also supports TRS unbalanced output. 
The XLR-4 is present to permit balanced headphone connection."_


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## Packdemon (Aug 24, 2018)

Sythrix said:


> Alright, score! Just got confirmation from the staff that the person who replied to me is the THX engineer. This was the staff's reply:
> 
> "
> The gentleman that answered is the AAA tech engineer from THX. Obviously, we stand by his answer as we worked extensively with THX in bringing this product to fruition.
> ...


Oh thank God...they had me worried there for a second with the radio silence. Take my money Monoprice, just promise you won't do that again.


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## mattris

As per their product pages, both Desktop and Portable Monolith THX AAA DAC/amps have been delayed once again... this time only by a few weeks. The new scheduled release date is Nov. 2nd.

While I'm curious to know the reason(s) for these units' release delays, I just want them to deliver in spades when they are eventually become available. Monoprice's behavior regarding these two units - consistent delays over the course of almost a year - is akin to treating potential customers like donkeys. These two products are the carrots on a string.


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## phthora

Boy, they are going to get skewered if those products have any sort of problems. With delays like this, I certainly expect them to be honing perfection and not trying to correct major flaws.


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## Sythrix

Seems like they must have switched suppliers at some point, given the redesign. They’re probably having a hard time locking down a date because whoever they contracted to bulk produce is not sticking to the original plan. So they keep pushing it out just a bit each time. We might still be months off from release. 

The conspiracy theorist in me wants to say that it was Massdrop insisting that THX delay Monoprice’s amp on purpose so it wouldn’t steal the glory and potential sales of the 789... but they’re very different products, so that wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense.


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## runssical

As it turns out the cheap Magni 3 has grown on me over the past several months. I bought it as a temporary replacement after my main amp decided to get lost in the postal system on an I'll fated trip to a repair shop. But the Magni 3 sounds very good and I'm content at the moment. 

I can sit back and wait for this nonsense with Monoprice and their amps to sort itself out. I got no rush. My guess is we'll see at least another delay before this sorry tale comes to a conclusion.


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## antdroid

The delays could be from thx or could also be related to the shortage of electronic components that Cavalli mentioned is holding up the release and required some redesign of the monoprice/Cavalli amps. He wrote about it in the headfi thread


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## Allanmarcus

Allanmarcus said:


> For those that want that "tube" sound, Monoprice is also going to release a new $400 tube amp/DAC.
> https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=29511


Note, this amp is now shipping. 
Link to product


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## Zachik

Allanmarcus said:


> Note, this amp is now shipping.
> Link to product


I could not find a dedicated thread - is there one on Head-Fi?
How about reviews / early impressions?


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## Allanmarcus

Zachik said:


> I could not find a dedicated thread - is there one on Head-Fi?
> How about reviews / early impressions?


Dedicated thread for the tube amp

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mon...ne-amplifier-with-ess-sabre-dac-29511.888665/


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## Zachik

Allanmarcus said:


> Dedicated thread for the tube amp
> 
> https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mon...ne-amplifier-with-ess-sabre-dac-29511.888665/


Thanks for creating it


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## runssical

The THX AAA 788 availability has been pushed back further still. Now listed as November 2nd.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=24459


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## runssical

The user manuals for the desktop and portable THX units are now available: 

AAA 788 Desktop: https://downloads.monoprice.com/files/manuals/24459_Manual_180912.pdf

AAA 788 Portable: https://downloads.monoprice.com/files/manuals/24460_Manual_180917.pdf


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## runssical (Sep 19, 2018)

This is interesting. According to the manuals *the portable unit will feature the same dual AK4493 DAC chips and also dual 788 amplifier modules* featured in the desktop unit.

The manuals note that both have the same circuit board material and share the same components.

The portable unit outputs 220mW into 32 ohms. This is same as Sony's PHA-3, a vastly more expensive unit that can only achieve that output figure in balanced mode. It's also significantly more than a Dragonfly Black which has an output of 135mW [source].

The portable unit looks like compelling option especially if you already have a decent desktop setup and need a mobile solution.


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## kukkurovaca

runssical said:


> The user manuals for the desktop and portable THX units are now available:
> 
> AAA 788 Desktop: https://downloads.monoprice.com/files/manuals/24459_Manual_180912.pdf
> 
> AAA 788 Portable: https://downloads.monoprice.com/files/manuals/24460_Manual_180917.pdf



Oooh, I am very interested in the parametric EQ on the portable unit. There aren't a lot of portables that have customizable EQ, would be nice especially for folks who are using stuff like the Audeze iSine.


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## runssical

kukkurovaca said:


> Oooh, I am very interested in the parametric EQ on the portable unit. There aren't a lot of portables that have customizable EQ, would be nice especially for folks who are using stuff like the Audeze iSine.



Yes, the desktop AAA-788 looks nice but the portable could be the most interesting of all the new Monoprice product launches. I am now inclined to to pass on the desktop unit and try the portable instead,


----------



## runssical

The manual indicates that the portable AAA-788 has both USB and Optical input. I'm impressed.


----------



## phthora

Delayed again until 12/12. Damn it!


----------



## Sythrix

phthora said:


> Delayed again until 12/12. Damn it!



I've moved on and accepted that Monoprice has no idea when they are coming out. They're just moving the date back arbitrarily.


----------



## Packdemon

I just hope they are worth the wait, though I really want to see a review of them before I buy them.


----------



## runssical

Sythrix said:


> I've moved on and accepted that Monoprice has no idea when they are coming out. They're just moving the date back arbitrarily.



It's a complete joke at this point. 10 months of delays so far with no end in sight.


----------



## runssical

Packdemon said:


> I just hope they are worth the wait, though I really want to see a review of them before I buy them.



How could it be worth the wait? The amp section is purportedly weak. See the manual. 

How much of an advantage will the DAC section give you over what we already have. Modi 3 tests very high according to Schiit's AP report and Amir's independent testing. It's up there with $1000 DACs. 

The Liquid Spark is probably a better amp than in the THX AAA. Reviews are universally favorable for that $99 unit. I believe bits stronger than the THX AAA if you go by the manuals monopMono posted last month.

$200 vs $479. You tell me which makes more sense.


----------



## phthora

runssical said:


> How could it be worth the wait? The amp section is purportedly weak. See the manual.
> 
> How much of an advantage will the DAC section give you over what we already have. Modi 3 tests very high according to Schiit's AP report and Amir's independent testing. It's up there with $1000 DACs.
> 
> ...



Worth ten times its price? Riiiiiiight....


----------



## Packdemon

I don't know about the 788, but the top end THX amp has the best measurements in the world, right? It's supposed to have the lowest distortion of any amp. The 788 is supposed the best value oriented amp.


----------



## Allanmarcus

Packdemon said:


> I don't know about the 788, but the top end THX amp has the best measurements in the world, right? It's supposed to have the lowest distortion of any amp. The 788 is supposed the best value oriented amp.




Schiit Magni 3 THD: Less than 0.001%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 1V RMS, less than 0.02% at 5V RMS into 32 ohms
Monoprice 788 THD: < 0.0005%

OMG, the Schiit has as much as 40 times the distortion!

Most people believe anything below 1% is imperceptible.  40 times imperceptible is still imperceptible. Your headphones will add way more distortion than these amps.


----------



## Packdemon (Oct 16, 2018)

Allanmarcus said:


> Schiit Magni 3 THD: Less than 0.001%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 1V RMS, less than 0.02% at 5V RMS into 32 ohms
> Monoprice 788 THD: < 0.0005%
> 
> OMG, the Schiit has as much as 40 times the distortion!
> ...


No problem here man, I asked that as a legitimate question. So here's another one for you, with the distortion measurements being irrelevant what values/measurements would you say are actually important? Noise floor maybe? How do the 788 compare to the Schiit?


----------



## mattris

phthora said:


> Delayed again until 12/12. Damn it!



Carrot on the end of a string, I tell ya!

With a THX AAA amp, balanced DAC, full array of inputs/settings, and Dirac Sensaround processing (the biggest draw for me), this Monoprice unit promises a lot. It could turn out to be the best overall DAC/amp under $500 _in the world_... if it's ever released.


----------



## phthora

mattris said:


> Carrot on the end of a string, I tell ya!
> 
> With a THX AAA amp, balanced DAC, full array of inputs/settings, and Dirac Sensaround processing (the biggest draw for me), this Monoprice unit promises a lot. It could turn out to be the best overall DAC/amp under $500 _in the world_... if it's ever released.



I think on that front the real competition is the Topping DX7S, but I'm hoping the Monoprice doesn't have an output impedance of 10 ohm. And you're right about the Dirac Sensaround. That has definitely piqued my curiosity. I'm hoping it's more advanced and convincing than simple crossfeed.


----------



## Allanmarcus

Packdemon said:


> No problem here man, I asked that as a legitimate question. So here's another one for you, with the distortion measurements being irrelevant what values/measurements would you say are actually important? Noise floor maybe? How do the 788 compare to the Schiit?


I don’t think any measurement, with regards to an amp are useful.  Possibly wattage if you have hard to drive headphones.  Beyond features, which tend be a DAC function and not the amp, most amps will sound fine with most headphones.  Sometimes pairing matters, so if you have god and or sensitive hearing, the only way to know if a certain combination of equipment will work for you is to listen to it. Most people here put way too much stock in amps and DACs. There are a few that claim to be able to very subtle differences between models, and for for them, it might matter between $4000 amp.  For the vast majority of listeners, the headphones make the most difference to the sound, assuming a decent amp and DAC and good source material.  

Obviously the draw for this amp is Dirac.


----------



## Packdemon

Allanmarcus said:


> I don’t think any measurement, with regards to an amp are useful.  Possibly wattage if you have hard to drive headphones.  Beyond features, which tend be a DAC function and not the amp, most amps will sound fine with most headphones.  Sometimes pairing matters, so if you have god and or sensitive hearing, the only way to know if a certain combination of equipment will work for you is to listen to it. Most people here put way too much stock in amps and DACs. There are a few that claim to be able to very subtle differences between models, and for for them, it might matter between $4000 amp.  For the vast majority of listeners, the headphones make the most difference to the sound, assuming a decent amp and DAC and good source material.
> 
> Obviously the draw for this amp is Dirac.


Why crap on an amp that you haven't heard before? Or have you?


----------



## Allanmarcus

Packdemon said:


> Why **** on an amp that you haven't heard before? Or have you?


What? I’ve said nothing about this amp other than the draw of the amp, the thing that makes it interesting, is the Dirac.


----------



## Packdemon

Allanmarcus said:


> What? I’ve said nothing about this amp other than the draw of the amp, the thing that makes it interesting, is the Dirac.


Wait, that was runssical. Nvm, lol


----------



## runssical

I wouldn't be surprised if Monoprice pulls the plug on their THX partnership. Something is up.

The Massdrop THX amp


Packdemon said:


> Wait, that was runssical. Nvm, lol



Looks like my comment stirred things up on here. 

I just think we need to forget about this DAC. With another 5 week delay after a 1 month delay just a couple months ago there is little reason to believe that this device is ever coming out. 

Keep in mind that Monoprice also raised the expected price from $399 to $479 since the PR in Fall 2017. 

This is simply a disaster. 

I think the Cavalli products look promising. The upcoming Cavalli balanced amp could be a winner. The budget Liquid Spark has good reviews thus far. So...promising.

I want to point out that the AKM DAC chips in this Monoprice DAC are the cheapies that AKM markets for application in Soundbars and portable battery powered Bluetooth speakers. It's not their flagship chips. The chips are lower power draw and the page at AKM website touts them as ideal for "portable" devices, not audiophile desktop devices. Their flagship is marketed for audiophile components such as desktop DACs, CD players, ect. 

In case I have to I'll just remind everyone that THX has no credibility or reputation in product segment. This year is their first crack at getting these AAA modules into consumer and audio enthusiast products. I liken THX to Bose's "soundwave" gimmickry. Count me as skeptical. 

Just to drill home how mediocre this Monolith DAC/Amp is, the manual (available on  the product page) lists the power output as 1550mW x 2 into 16ohm is weak as heck for a balanced desktop amplifier. The little dinky Magni 3 outputs 3,000mW x 2 into 16ohm.

Pass, pass, pass!


----------



## mattris

You certainly have your doubts, don't you?

Within the Questions/Answers tab on the product page:

October 15, 2018
"Is this gonna be released soon? It's been delayed for a long time. Any issues with the production?"

From Monoprice Staff:
*Yes it is! It is actually on its way! There haven't been any delays due to "issues", more with general parts availability. The switch to the AKM 4493 DAC from the 4490 was the main culprit in the hold up.*


From THX AAA tech engineer:
*It contains dual THXAAA-788 stereo amplifier modules configured to create a fully balanced bridged stereo output.
*


Obviously, some corners were cut to achieve this price-point, which is still more than reasonable. Even without a super-powerful amplifier, I expect its sound quality will be thoroughly impressive... and hopefully, the Dirac Sensaround mode will, as well.


----------



## mandrake50

runssical said:


> I wouldn't be surprised if Monoprice pulls the plug on their THX partnership. Something is up.
> 
> The Massdrop THX amp
> 
> ...


From AKM
"Dec 8, 2017 - AKM releases _*AK4493*_, upgrade to the AK4490, the best selling Premium High-end DAC, ... As an upgrade from the AK4490EQ"
and

*"Applications*
High-end Audio, Professional Audio, AV Receivers, CD/SACD Players, Network Audio, USB DAC’s, USB Headphones, Sound Plates, Sound Bars, PA Equipment, Bluetooth Headphones, HD Audio, Voice Conference Equipment, IC Recorders, Measurement Instruments, Control Systems"

If you get half a watt into the impedance of your headphones it will be more than sufficient to cause hearing damage in most cases.
So what am I missing?

 Of course I know nothing more about the device than anyone else here, but were I to try and belittle the device I would pick criteria that were one, accurate, and two would actually influence suitability for use.

BTW, I have been around the hobby for quite some time. It has been rare for any manufacturer to meet their initially announced schedule for a new product release on a brand new product.

I am not in a big hurry, so once the DAC/AMP has been out for a bit and there are some reviews, and if it lives up to the hype and is reliable, I will definitely pick one up.


----------



## Sythrix (Oct 17, 2018)

Sythrix said:


> Alright, score! Just got confirmation from the staff that the person who replied to me is the THX engineer. This was the staff's reply:
> 
> "
> The gentleman that answered is the AAA tech engineer from THX. Obviously, we stand by his answer as we worked extensively with THX in bringing this product to fruition.
> ...



The engineer who responded to my initial inquiry actually responded to my followup question (which I never actually showed since Hobie S from Monoprice staff answered for him). He must have logged in and saw it and decided to respond himself. We already know, but I thought everyone might want to see it from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Here is the comment and his reply

...and now, to continue:

*My response to his answer (before I learned he was a THX engineer from Hobie S, Monoprice staff):*

_"Incorrect? What information do you have? Do you work for Monoprice? Because the only thing I've seen is a staff response that told someone that it was not a truly balanced output (that response seems to be gone now), which prompted this question. 

Also, during questioning over at Massdrop for the THX 789, on of the THX team stated that this DAC/AMP would not be truly balanced."
Tom T You on Aug 23, 2018_
*
His answer today:*

_"I work for THX and have seen the schematic 
The Monoprice desktop XLR-4 output IS truly balanced. There was an early miscommunication about how many 788 amplifiers were going to be included in the design. i.e. having balanced output requires more amplifiers than just single-ended output."
Andrew M on Oct 17, 2018
_
So that's it. Not really new information, just overwhelming confirmation. I still think this is just a bunch of vaporware at the moment... but at least it's balanced vaporware. Important stuff.


----------



## Packdemon (Oct 17, 2018)

For me the measurement of noise floor matters. Want to hear your system's noise floor? Turn up your source (computer) and amplifier volume to max, go high gain, and watch a YouTube video with the YouTube control volume muted. Despite the video being muted it should be playing the amplified signal coming from your source.

All that noise is part computer, part DAC, and part amplifier. So it's good to have a quiet system.


----------



## Allanmarcus (Oct 17, 2018)

Packdemon said:


> For me the measurement of noise floor matters. Want to hear your system's noise floor? Turn up your source (computer) and amplifier volume to max, go high gain, and watch a YouTube video with the YouTube control volume muted. Despite the video being muted it should be playing the amplified signal coming from your source.
> 
> All that noise is part computer, part DAC, and part amplifier. So it's good to have a quiet system.


ok. what standard vendor provided measurement shows noise floor?

thanks for the tip. I just tired it, and I heard nothing!


----------



## Packdemon

Allanmarcus said:


> ok. what standard vendor provided measurement shows noise floor?
> 
> thanks for the tip. I just tired it, and I heard nothing!


I've seen vendors list the noise floor before, but I'm not sure what the noise floor is for the 788.


----------



## runssical

mattris said:


> You certainly have your doubts, don't you?
> 
> Within the Questions/Answers tab on the product page:
> 
> ...




The portable THX DAC/Amp also has dual AK D/A chips and dual THX modules. Despite this factf ac portable is listed in the manual as only having SE output. Not balanced.

I'm not an engineer but I know there are differences in balanced topologies. There is a right way to do it and a half-arsed way.


----------



## runssical

I think Monoprice is no where close to stocking the two THX DAC products. They posted manuals for both units back in September but ommited an output impedance spec, one of the most crucial specs for any amplifier. 

Translation: these dacs are still vaporware and not even in production yet. THX and/or Monoprice don't know what theyret doing.

Maybe they bit off more than they could chew with these combo DAC/AMP units and are having difficulty with the balanced configuration?


----------



## Packdemon

Allanmarcus said:


> ok. what standard vendor provided measurement shows noise floor?
> 
> thanks for the tip. I just tired it, and I heard nothing!


You're lucky, where I live we have a lot of Em noise and my house doesn't have the cleanest power. I do own a power conditioner to clean up the sound from the power of my house, but the device itself produces sound just from being on so there's almost no point in using it. I could try throwing a blanket to absorb some of the sound, but I'm worried it might overheat.


----------



## Asahi Templar (Oct 18, 2018)

Ok, lets see if we can put some of the naysaying to rest.

First off the Desktop version of the Monoprice THX DAC/AMp will be fully balanced.

The reason people are claiming that its not is because the original design of this amp/dac was not balanced.

Originally they were planning to use only a single AKM 4490 and a single THX 788 amp.

Someone asked Andrew Mason, the THX engineer, about the Monoprice unit when he was answering questions about the Massdrop 789 amp. He answered that the Monoprice was not fully balanced because the 788 as as single unit is not balanced. This was before Monoprice redesigned the unit.

Now the version that they are making is a fully balanced unit. They redesigned it to use TWO 788 THX amp modules as well as two AKM 4493 DAC chips. THis is a hardware balanced configuration now and Andrew Mason confirmed it in the questions and answers section of the monoprice website.

If you connect headphones to it using a XLR cable, you will have a fully balanced connection.

One should keep in mind, that 6.5mm/3.5mm connectors are not balanced on the desktop amp or the portable amp. If you are connecting via that port you are not getting a balanced connection.

The reason that the Portable unit says it is single ended only, is because it does not have a balanced output. Its a hardware balanced setup outputting as single ended.

In other words, the desktop unit is capable of a full balanced connection but the portable unit is not.

The output impedeance of a THX 788 amp is less than 0.05 Ohms at 1 kHz. according to Andrew Mason, who again answered this in the Q and A section. Both the portable and desktop unit should have this impedance.

The manual they released is likely an early version as it has some obvious omissions. The manual claims that the desktop unit is only capable of 192khz max frequency, but this is not true as the staff have already answered it can go up to 768khz and DSD 512 via USB.  SO basically they forgot to give the specs for USB in the manual a well as output impedeance and even output power is not really listed correctly as it will be different for single ended and xlr outputs.

AS far as the output power goes, 1.5W into 16ohms is more than  enough to drive the vast majority of headphones on the market to earbleed levels and if you are connecting via xlr that output should double to 3W into 16 ohms which will be good enough for roughly 98% of headphones out there. Only ones I can think of offhand it couldnt power would be some of the crazy Hifiman cans like HE6 or Fostex RP headphones if you are of the needs 6 watts mentality (I am not).

Realistically however, the desktop unit will live or die on its dacs merits, as there is no reason to buy it just for the amp section when you can get the Massdrop version for cheaper as its more powerful and likely a better performer.  If it can pull of its full feature set, its gonna be a hell of a value. To my knowledge, there is nothing else that offers a built in parametric EQ and surround DSP in fully hardware balanced configuration with a stellar built in amp for under 1000 dollars.


----------



## Allanmarcus

Allanmarcus said:


> ok. what standard vendor provided measurement shows noise floor?


I'm gonna take a crack an answering my own question.

I believe the answer is Signal to Noise ratio (SNR).

The Magni's is 108db
The Monoprice THX amp is >120db

From what I understand, anything over 90db is inaudible.

Also, crosstalk is important.
The magni is -70db
The Monoprice is: <100db

The mono price amp's measurement doesn't make any sense, as the lower the better. I believe -30 or better (lower) is desired. A cross talk of positive 100 is horrible. I can only assume this is a typo in the specs. Let's assume they meant <-100db. Still, both amps have inaudible crosstalk.

So, my point? from the posted specs, the magni is just a good as the THX amp. Do they sound the same? probably not, although the differences are probably minute (as in very small)

Any decent solid state amp that doesn't color the sound should sound pretty much the same to any other decent solid state amp that doesn't color the sound. In math, one would refer to the Symmetric and Transitive axiom's. What makes this amp really interning is the Dirac.


----------



## DarKu

I stopped reading at "anything over 90db is inaudible."


----------



## squee116

runssical said:


> I think Monoprice is no where close to stocking the two THX DAC products. They posted manuals for both units back in September but ommited an output impedance spec, one of the most crucial specs for any amplifier.
> 
> Translation: these dacs are still vaporware and not even in production yet. THX and/or Monoprice don't know what theyret doing.
> 
> Maybe they bit off more than they could chew with these combo DAC/AMP units and are having difficulty with the balanced configuration?


Factually untrue.  The THX products for Massdrop are shipping two weeks earlier.  Painting with a broad brush often results in poor conclusions though.  Whatever the issue here is, I doubt it's fair to attribute it to THX.


----------



## squee116

Allanmarcus said:


> I'm gonna take a crack an answering my own question.
> 
> I believe the answer is Signal to Noise ratio (SNR).
> 
> ...


MP THX amp>120db means it's somewhere above 120 decibels.  That's at least a linear 10% difference.  I don't know if decibel measurement for SNR is logarithmic growth like for volume.
MP THX amp < 100db simply means the measurement is somewhere below 100db.

These measurements are really vague.


----------



## Allanmarcus

DarKu said:


> I stopped reading at "anything over 90db is inaudible."



I don't stand by that number. I read it in a number of places on the 'net, so I'm totally open to learning more about this. If you can explain, or just point me to a link to learn more, I'd appreciate it. At what SNR is noise inaudible?



squee116 said:


> MP THX amp>120db means it's somewhere above 120 decibels.  That's at least a linear 10% difference.  I don't know if decibel measurement for SNR is logarithmic growth like for volume.
> MP THX amp < 100db simply means the measurement is somewhere below 100db.
> 
> These measurements are really vague.



Agreed. Maybe we can pressure Monoprice to post more accurate or better explained measurements.


----------



## Packdemon (Oct 18, 2018)

Allanmarcus said:


> I don't stand by that number. I read it in a number of places on the 'net, so I'm totally open to learning more about this. If you can explain, or just point me to a link to learn more, I'd appreciate it. At what SNR is noise inaudible?


Maybe he got mixed up with you saying above 90dB, instead of below.


----------



## Allanmarcus (Oct 18, 2018)

Packdemon said:


> Maybe he got mixed up with you saying above 90dB, instead of below.



I believe "above" is the correct wording. When an amp is rated at or above 90db for S/R, noise is inaudible.

I'm not sure about the "90db" level, however. Does anyone know at what S/R level noise is audible? Does that statement even make sense?


----------



## mandrake50

This is helpful:
*"Required Conditions. *In order for the published figure to have any meaning, it must include the _measurement bandwidth_, including any_ weighting filters_ and the _reference signal level_. Stating that a unit has a "S/N = 90 dB" is meaningless without knowing what the signal level is, and over what bandwidth the noise was measured. For example if one product references S/N to their maximum output level of, say, +20 dBu, and another product has the same stated 90 dB S/N, but their reference level is + 4 dBu, then the second product is, in fact, 16 dB quieter. Likewise, you cannot accurately compare numbers if one unit is measured over a BW of 80 kHz and another uses 20 kHz, or if one is measured flat and the other uses A-weighting. By far however, the most common problem is not stating _any _conditions.

*Correct: *S/N = 90 dB re +4 dBu, 22 kHz BW, unity gain

*Wrong: *S/N = 90 dB"

The entire section on SNR is even better to read:
https://www.rane.com/note145.html

So when saying above 90 DB SNR as Allanmarcus did mean an SNR more then, or grater than 90 DB (or whatever the number was). Seem less than confusing to me. It seems to be the correct way to phrase what he was trying to communicate.
At 90 DB below the listening level (or the signal  quoted as reference) should be inaudible. This doesn't mean that if you open everything up wide... a level that would probably horribly distort the amp, damage ears, and depending on the amp, destroy headphones, someone could not hear some noise. But the conditions of that test would have no relationship at all to normal listening conditions, so it is pretty meaningless.

A couple of things to think about as we belabor differences that are usually all but inaudible.

At full quieting a good FM tuner might get 70DB SNR A weighted. With a good signal and listening at 85 to 90 DB SPL, I don't notice noise when listening  to FM.  100 DB SNR would be .001 the power level of noise.

My room has a background noise of 35 DB +/-. Listening at, again, 85 to 90 DB I never notice the room noise with music playing. That amounts to a 50 DB SNR.
So even if the numbers look impressive the difference between 90 and 120 DB SNR (measured and stated with equal conditions) is really insignificant in the real world listening to music at common levels.


----------



## Packdemon

Allanmarcus said:


> I believe "above" is the correct wording. When an amp is rated at or above 90db for S/R, noise is inaudible.
> 
> I'm not sure about the "90db" level, however. Does anyone know at what S/R level noise is audible? Does that statement even make sense?


It is indeed correct, but I was saying maybe he had it backwards and that's why he was confused.


----------



## Allanmarcus

mandrake50 said:


> This is helpful:
> *"Required Conditions. *In order for the published figure to have any meaning, it must include the _measurement bandwidth_, including any_ weighting filters_ and the _reference signal level_. Stating that a unit has a "S/N = 90 dB" is meaningless without knowing what the signal level is, and over what bandwidth the noise was measured. For example if one product references S/N to their maximum output level of, say, +20 dBu, and another product has the same stated 90 dB S/N, but their reference level is + 4 dBu, then the second product is, in fact, 16 dB quieter. Likewise, you cannot accurately compare numbers if one unit is measured over a BW of 80 kHz and another uses 20 kHz, or if one is measured flat and the other uses A-weighting. By far however, the most common problem is not stating _any _conditions.
> 
> *Correct: *S/N = 90 dB re +4 dBu, 22 kHz BW, unity gain
> ...



Thanks! Good explanation. To return to my original example, here's the full specs, as reported by the manufacturer:

Magni: SNR: Greater than 108db, unweighted, referenced to 1V RMS
MP THX Amp: Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted)    > 120dB

So these probably aren't readily comparable, but I'm still guessing any amp induced noise in inaudible in both amps.


----------



## mandrake50

Allanmarcus said:


> Thanks! Good explanation. To return to my original example, here's the full specs, as reported by the manufacturer:
> 
> Magni: SNR: Greater than 108db, unweighted, referenced to 1V RMS
> MP THX Amp: Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted)    > 120dB
> ...


I would agree with that statement. I believe that a bit of searching would find many that would agree that at those levels the differences are not audible. It is called specmanship. And so often in these forums  discussions revolve around the fact that we buy into it, with no frame of reference for what the numbers really mean to our perception of sound.


----------



## runssical

squee116 said:


> Factually untrue.  The THX products for Massdrop are shipping two weeks earlier.  Painting with a broad brush often results in poor conclusions though.  Whatever the issue here is, I doubt it's fair to attribute it to THX.



The Massdrop product does not contain a dac section. 

THX engineers have been answering Questions bon the Monoprice site. So I figure they're deeply involved with the design of the Monoprice products. AKM certainly wouldn't be. 

Maybe the THX modules don't play nice with the D/A chips. Maybe there's feedback or some other technical hurdle. 

Every manufacturer has been dragging arse on these new products and THX is the common denominator.


----------



## Packdemon

It could be an a supply issue. This is a new product, and there are a lot of companies who want to do the value oriented amp (788). I know the high end one is already being sold by at least one company, but no 788s as far as I know.


----------



## DarKu

My on-board DAC (Realtek ALC888) has a SNR of -97dB SNR, A-Weighting
my dedicated DAC (Matrix X-Sabre Pro) has a SNR of -134dB 20Hz-20kHz A-Weighting (on XLR output) and a SNR of -129dB 20Hz-20kHz A-Weighting (on RCA output)

Listening a simple 16 bit 44 Khz WAV track at 90 dB volume I hear a BIG difference between the two, how do you explain that? 
Between different DACs the only two important differences are SNR and Crosstalk numbers.  Freq.Response is not as important as the first two, since DACs measure almost the same as a straight line up to 20 kHz. 
Lower SNR numbers means you'll have lower noise in the signal path, more on that *Here*


----------



## mandrake50

Inside a computer case there is a high level of noise generated by multiple components. Try measuring the actual signal to noise ratio coming out of the audio subsystem rather than using the specifications of the chip for your comparison.
BTW, I would not argue that a higher SNR number means lower noise in the signal path. That is the definition. My contention is that once a certain level is reached, further improvement is inaudible.


----------



## Allanmarcus

DarKu said:


> My on-board DAC (Realtek ALC888) has a SNR of -97dB SNR, A-Weighting
> my dedicated DAC (Matrix X-Sabre Pro) has a SNR of -134dB 20Hz-20kHz A-Weighting (on XLR output) and a SNR of -129dB 20Hz-20kHz A-Weighting (on RCA output)
> 
> Listening a simple 16 bit 44 Khz WAV track at 90 dB volume I hear a BIG difference between the two, how do you explain that?
> ...


I know you are just illustrating a point (hence the smiley), but a couple of questions about your set up. What amp are you using? Does your on board have line out, or are you going from headphone out to your amp? If you are, you might be using an onboard amp into your headphone amp. Also, as @mandrake50 said, there is the noice from the computer. Finally, my hypothesis was "Any decent solid state amp that doesn't color the sound should sound pretty much the same to any other decent solid state amp that doesn't color the sound." It's possible the realtek DAC may have a good SNR, but it may also be coloring the sound.


----------



## squee116

runssical said:


> The Massdrop product does not contain a dac section.
> 
> THX engineers have been answering Questions bon the Monoprice site. So I figure they're deeply involved with the design of the Monoprice products. AKM certainly wouldn't be.
> 
> ...


Do you have evidence contradicting anything in the statement made by Monoprice regarding the reasons for its delays?  It really sounds like a person projecting blame onto a company without much, if any, evidence.


----------



## unmaker

ETA reversed to 11/5/2018?

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=120&cp_id=12008&cs_id=1200801&p_id=24459&seq=1&format=2

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=120&cp_id=12008&cs_id=1200801&p_id=24460&seq=1&format=2


----------



## Packdemon

unmaker said:


> ETA reversed to 11/5/2018?
> 
> https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=120&cp_id=12008&cs_id=1200801&p_id=24459&seq=1&format=2
> 
> https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=120&cp_id=12008&cs_id=1200801&p_id=24460&seq=1&format=2


Interesting. Does anyone know when Massdrop ships out their first batch of THX amps?


----------



## Zachik

Packdemon said:


> Interesting. Does anyone know when Massdrop ships out their first batch of THX amps?


Last week. Some people already received them!


----------



## unmaker

Yup and it measures well

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...easurements-of-massdrop-thx-aaa-789-amp.5001/


----------



## Allanmarcus

I wanna know how the Dirac sounds.


----------



## Packdemon (Oct 29, 2018)

unmaker said:


> Yup and it measures well
> 
> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...easurements-of-massdrop-thx-aaa-789-amp.5001/


It has 1 ohm of output impedance? Isn't it supposed to be < 0.1ohm?


----------



## unmaker

Packdemon said:


> It has 1 ohm of output impedance?


Here is Andrew Mason's response to amirm's 1 ohm measurement for the THX AAA 789 amp:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...sdrop-thx-aaa-789-amp.5001/page-7#post-112221


----------



## unmaker

Still not up for sale despite today being November 5th. And the portable version has been pushed back to 12/12. 

Monoprice please


----------



## jsmiller58

unmaker said:


> Still not up for sale despite today being November 5th. And the portable version has been pushed back to 12/12.
> 
> Monoprice please


Yeah, the documented availability on their website has been all over the place.  Let's hope they did a better job designing and building it


----------



## unmaker

jsmiller58 said:


> Yeah, the documented availability on their website has been all over the place.  Let's hope they did a better job designing and building it


I hope so too. I'm confident that it will given how well the Massdrop THX Amp performs:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...easurements-of-massdrop-thx-aaa-789-amp.5001/

Andrew Mason was also involved with this amp/dac so I'm expecting the same level of performance.


----------



## jsmiller58

unmaker said:


> I hope so too. I'm confident that it will given how well the Massdrop THX Amp performs:
> 
> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...easurements-of-massdrop-thx-aaa-789-amp.5001/
> 
> Andrew Mason was also involved with this amp/dac so I'm expecting the same level of performance.


That is my hope as well...


----------



## jsmiller58 (Nov 5, 2018)

unmaker said:


> Still not up for sale despite today being November 5th. And the portable version has been pushed back to 12/12.
> 
> Monoprice please


I just got a notice that the portable is now for sale and available...  I checked the website and it is, while the desktop version is not...

A12/12 product available on 11/5.  A 11/5 product not available on 11/5.  All of this follows last week’s dates which appear to have been posted by a random date generator...

Monoprice is all over the map.  This is nuts.


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 5, 2018)

My own expectations are extremely high. I was at the CanJam SoCal earlier this year, and the Monoprice representative said they'd improved upon the design, and theirs should be better than the other versions on the market. I can't remember his answer, but I do remember asking how that was possible as I thought that they weren't aloud to change the design (as it belong to THX). They sounded pretty confident, so I'm not going to hold back on any critism once the specs and the product finally come out. I canceled my own order of Massdrop's THX amp (because this seemed like more complete package), so I'm banking on this to be good.


----------



## unmaker

jsmiller58 said:


> I just got a notice that the portable is now for sale and available...  I checked the website and it is.
> 
> Monoprice is all over the map.  This is nuts.


Wow you're right! Hopefully the desktop is just around the corner. I don't know if I should get both as I'm primarily interested in the desktop version


----------



## jsmiller58

unmaker said:


> Wow you're right! Hopefully the desktop is just around the corner. I don't know if I should get both as I'm primarily interested in the desktop version


Yeah.  For my portable needs I already have an iFi xDSD, and a Hidizs DH1000, both of which support balanced...  I think I will sit the portable out, at least until someone convinces me it truly is something special compared to what I already have...


----------



## phthora

That portable looks lovely, but it's hard to tell from the specs if that's going to be enough power to drive planars well. It's about as much amp as on a decent DAP.


----------



## jsmiller58

It is going to be interesting to see if we ever get an explanation about what happened over the last week or two with the Monoprice availability notices on the LP, portable, and desktop dac/amp offerings...


----------



## kukkurovaca

The portable is interesting for its inclusion of EQ, which is unusual. But I’d like to see reviews before jumping in.


----------



## jsmiller58 (Nov 5, 2018)

kukkurovaca said:


> The portable is interesting for its inclusion of EQ, which is unusual. But I’d like to see reviews before jumping in.


Agree!  I would be happy to buy it if there is enough differentiation over the portable gear I have already...  EQ might do it for me, but I too will wait for reviews...


----------



## jsmiller58

Wow...  the portable went from 12/12 to 11/5, and the desktop unit now shows 12/12...  someone really messed up.


----------



## phthora

jsmiller58 said:


> Agree!  I would be happy to buy it if there is enough differentiation over the portable gear I have already...  EQ might do it for me, but I too will wait for reviews...



Agreed. The use case might be pretty narrow for me given the available power on the amp. If the EQ features look tight, I may get the desktop unit instead.


----------



## kukkurovaca

BTW, re: the portable unit (we should probably set up a separate thread if there isn't one already) I asked about the output impedance, since it wasn't listed in the specs. They said it's 0.16 Ohms at 1 Khz, so should be good for driving low-impedance IEMs, provided the noise floor is also good.

It's pretty bulky though, 5.4" long and half a pound? Unless that weight is the shipping weight.


----------



## jsmiller58 (Nov 6, 2018)

Never mind - I see there is a thread already started and discussion underway for a couple of weeks...




Anyone notice the electrostatic headphones they came out with today?

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p...181106_monolith_headphone&deliveryName=DM4889

I certainly missed any prior mentions...


----------



## kukkurovaca

I also got an answer re: a question I had about how the EQ works:

The EQ can be turn on/off globally not per band. EQ includes 2-band hi/low shelf + 3-band parametric. There are no presets.​So, that seems a bit limiting if you're going to be using multiple pairs of headphones/earphones. I would love to be able to have PEQ in a DAC/amp for my iSine 20, but (a) I'm not sure that 3 PEQ adjustments is enough and (b) Once I had the settings in place for the iSine, I wouldn't be able to use another pair of phones that require EQ (even a simple bass boost) without basically re-doing all the settings.


----------



## Allanmarcus

kukkurovaca said:


> I also got an answer re: a question I had about how the EQ works:
> 
> The EQ can be turn on/off globally not per band. EQ includes 2-band hi/low shelf + 3-band parametric. There are no presets.​So, that seems a bit limiting if you're going to be using multiple pairs of headphones/earphones. I would love to be able to have PEQ in a DAC/amp for my iSine 20, but (a) I'm not sure that 3 PEQ adjustments is enough and (b) Once I had the settings in place for the iSine, I wouldn't be able to use another pair of phones that require EQ (even a simple bass boost) without basically re-doing all the settings.


I think you would want the RME ADI-2 DAC for that, but then you trade off adjustable crossfeed as opposed to the Direc. The RME is also double the price.


----------



## InAndOut

jsmiller58 said:


> Never mind - I see there is a thread already started and discussion underway for a couple of weeks...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I didn't see those, interesting for sure. And they aren't Koss collaborations like Massdrops. I'm curious to see some reviews. And are you saying there is a thread for the portable Monoprice THX DAC/AMP? I can't find it and I'd like to hear some impressions of buyers, which should be soon if they purchased first day.


----------



## jsmiller58

InAndOut said:


> I didn't see those, interesting for sure. And they aren't Koss collaborations like Massdrops. I'm curious to see some reviews. And are you saying there is a thread for the portable Monoprice THX DAC/AMP? I can't find it and I'd like to hear some impressions of buyers, which should be soon if they purchased first day.


Was saying there already is a thread on the electrostatic headphones from monoprice.


----------



## AresHarvest

runssical said:


> The portable THX DAC/Amp also has dual AK D/A chips and dual THX modules.



The description might have been updated since your post, but the product page for the portable version says one converter chip and one amp module - "Featuring a THX AAA™ 788 amplifier module for superior amplification and extended battery life, an AKM® 4493 DAC for an exceptionally musical experience"


----------



## rodel808

My portable version came in today. Used a HibyMusic R3 to feed the monolith and used my beloved Utopia and Etymotic ER3XR to listen with.  Decided to compare them against a mojo and after listening to a few Amy Winehouse and Bob Marley tracks I've concluded I prefer the monolith. This is with the Dirac Sensaround (dsp?) enabled. Mojo has a warmer sound. Monolith's sound quality sounds cleaner, transparent and more tonally correct to my ears. Sensaround makes the soundstage a bit bigger. Listening to the monolith and er3xr combo gave me a wow moment. I've never heard the etys bass as good as this pairing before. Monolith has enough juice to drive the Utopia to dangerous listening levels. I had mines on average at around -15 dB. Monolith volume goes up to +16 dB. So far I'm very impressed.


----------



## kukkurovaca

rodel808 said:


> My portable version came in today. Used a HibyMusic R3 to feed the monolith and used my beloved Utopia and Etymotic ER3XR to listen with.  Decided to compare them against a mojo and after listening to a few Amy Winehouse and Bob Marley tracks I've concluded I prefer the monolith. This is with the Dirac Sensaround (dsp?) enabled. Mojo has a warmer sound. Monolith's sound quality sounds cleaner, transparent and more tonally correct to my ears. Sensaround makes the soundstage a bit bigger. Listening to the monolith and er3xr combo gave me a wow moment. I've never heard the etys bass as good as this pairing before. Monolith has enough juice to drive the Utopia to dangerous listening levels. I had mines on average at around -15 dB. Monolith volume goes up to +16 dB. So far I'm very impressed.



Nice! Is the Dirac effect more like a crossfeed (frontal presentation) or more like surround sound all around you? Or something else?


----------



## rodel808

kukkurovaca said:


> Nice! Is the Dirac effect more like a crossfeed (frontal presentation) or more like surround sound all around you? Or something else?



More like a subtle surround sound effect. Something like the DTS:X 3D Surround effect on LG phones. I liked it and kept it enabled. It shifts vocals from being in the center of your head more outwards though not totally outside.


----------



## Packdemon

rodel808 said:


> My portable version came in today. Used a HibyMusic R3 to feed the monolith and used my beloved Utopia and Etymotic ER3XR to listen with.  Decided to compare them against a mojo and after listening to a few Amy Winehouse and Bob Marley tracks I've concluded I prefer the monolith. This is with the Dirac Sensaround (dsp?) enabled. Mojo has a warmer sound. Monolith's sound quality sounds cleaner, transparent and more tonally correct to my ears. Sensaround makes the soundstage a bit bigger. Listening to the monolith and er3xr combo gave me a wow moment. I've never heard the etys bass as good as this pairing before. Monolith has enough juice to drive the Utopia to dangerous listening levels. I had mines on average at around -15 dB. Monolith volume goes up to +16 dB. So far I'm very impressed.


 I'm glad to hear something good in such little time. Does the monolith THX portable run off of Android?


----------



## rodel808

Packdemon said:


> I'm glad to hear something good in such little time. Does the monolith THX portable run off of Android?



Yes. I first paired it with my LG V35 with the following music apps: HibyMusic, USB Player Pro and Neutron.


----------



## Marlowe

I've been looking at the THX portable, but one thing that really turns me off is the absolute lack of almost any accessories compared to similar offerings, both cheaper and more expensive, from Fiio, iFi, or Topping. (I currently use a Fiio Q1 Mk II and have been considering a Fiio Q5 or iFi xDSD.) While there are some gaps (Fiio provides a lightning connector but no Android compatible OTG cable, iFi provides neither), the Monoprice provides nothing (except a charging cable): no connecting cables, no means to attach itself to a phone (velcro or rubber bands), no mini Toslink adapter (iFi provides one). This is sort of small potatoes I guess, but I find it very irritating.


----------



## Packdemon

Marlowe said:


> I've been looking at the THX portable, but one thing that really turns me off is the absolute lack of almost any accessories compared to similar offerings, both cheaper and more expensive, from Fiio, iFi, or Topping. (I currently use a Fiio Q1 Mk II and have been considering a Fiio Q5 or iFi xDSD.) While there are some gaps (Fiio provides a lightning connector but no Android compatible OTG cable, iFi provides neither), the Monoprice provides nothing (except a charging cable): no connecting cables, no means to attach itself to a phone (velcro or rubber bands), no mini Toslink adapter (iFi provides one). This is sort of small potatoes I guess, but I find it very irritating.


To even compare the monoprice to the other brands, I'd factor in the price for the additional cables/adapters and accessories that the Monoprice is missing.


----------



## aerospace33

I would still be interested in comparing the sound quality of the portable even though it doesn't come with the accessories. It has a genuinely interesting amplification and dac/processing design that I don't see in any other portables.


----------



## unmaker

Finally it is up for sale:

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=24459


----------



## gto88

Ordered.
Will sell other DAC on hand to compensate this purchase though.


----------



## gto88 (Nov 16, 2018)

Just found out it has balanced in and no balanced out for external amp.
Not sure why it is designed as this, it is a big disappointment.
Will cancel it.


----------



## unmaker

gto88 said:


> Just found out it has balanced in and no balanced out for external amp.
> Not sure why it is designed as this, it is a big disappointment.
> Will cancel it.



I'm not a fan of the XLR inputs either but they can be modified to be outputs. From Andrew Mason:

"And with some warranty-voiding simple soldering, it should be pretty straightforward to modify the unit so the two XLR-3 "inputs" become balanced outputs wired internally to the XLR-4 headphone out and controlled by the volume dial. i.e. remove C67, C76, C79, C84 to disconnect XLR3's from the ADC. Then patch wire twisted pairs connecting the two XLR3's pins to XLR-4 pins as follows: 

twisted pair 1
L+: XLR3 J2 pin 2 to XLR4 J10 pin 1
L-: XLR3 J2 pin 3 to XLR4 J10 pin 2

twisted pair 2
R+: XLR3 J4 pin 2 to XLR4 J10 pin 3
R-: XLR3 J4 pin 3 to XLR4 J10 pin 4

Each XLR-3 pin 1 is already tied to ground so you can leave that alone. This configuration is a bit better than using the XLR-4 balanced output since the cables will now have grounded shields, and the downstream device will now have shared ground with the 789 product."


----------



## gto88

Yea, I see that post.
But, that is not what I am going to do.
Just tried to cancel the order, and you know what, it has been
prepared for shipping in just a few minutes after order placed.
They told me I can refuse the package though.


----------



## phthora

gto88 said:


> Just found out it has balanced in and no balanced out for external amp.
> Not sure why it is designed as this, it is a big disappointment.
> Will cancel it.



Argh. That is annoying. I assumed that the DAC was the star of the show. Why give the option to use a different DAC with this unit, but not a different amp? Strikes me as an odd design choice.


----------



## kukkurovaca

This is one of the very first consumer THX amps, so I'm pretty sure the DAC is not intended to be the star of the show. The DAC would if anything be more of a feature to differentiate it from Massdrop's offering.


----------



## i20bot

Yeah, was looking forward to this dac/amp too but would have definitely liked the XLRs to be outs instead of ins.


----------



## AresHarvest (Nov 16, 2018)

I tried the portable for several hours over the course of yesterday and today.

It has juice. Setting of -20 dB or so would drive my DT990 250Ω, a pair of HD600, and a few planars I had lying around. -16 dB was the highest I had to go with any of them, before it was on the verge of too loud. The headphones I used are all relatively easy to drive, but then again the amp can go 32 dB higher than the maximum I used (after mute, gain runs from -60 dB through +16 dB max).

While my tests are very much unscientific, they do reflect my real-world usage. I heard exactly zero noise outside of any recording. I cranked it to +16 dB when the media player was muted, to see if there was some inherent noise in the amp, and heard nothing. Again, very unscientific, but I did it. I tried this with USB and optical inputs, both with and without the unit plugged into a charger. Maybe my ears aren't sensitive enough to hear the noise, or maybe the noise isn't there. Also, I did not try the 3.5mm analog input, so who knows.

I'm not a fan of the Dirac processing. Folds inward, the low end starts to disappear. The EQ is also not useful to me, because I would need presets in order for it to be worthwhile. It takes way too long just to dial in a single parametric band, and I can't picture doing that every time just to tweak 4 kHz on this heaphone, 8 kHz on that headphone.

Would I spend $250 for it? If I needed the portable form factor, sure. Otherwise no. I would not buy this as a desktop replacement. But I would be tempted if for some reason my phone wasn't enough for the headphones I use on my commute.


----------



## Packdemon

AresHarvest said:


> I tried the portable for several hours over the course of yesterday and today.
> 
> It has juice. Setting of -20 dB or so would drive my DT990 250Ω, a pair of HD600, and a few planars I had lying around. -16 dB was the highest I had to go with any of them, before it was on the verge of too loud. The headphones I used are all relatively easy to drive, but then again the amp can go 32 dB higher than the maximum I used (after mute, gain runs from -60 dB through +16 dB max).
> 
> ...


The monoprice page for the portable amp only has one review/rating up so far. Doesn't look too good from what he said. I don't think anyone else has had the same issues though, so maybe he just got a bad unit.


----------



## phthora

kukkurovaca said:


> This is one of the very first consumer THX amps, so I'm pretty sure the DAC is not intended to be the star of the show. The DAC would if anything be more of a feature to differentiate it from Massdrop's offering.



Maybe I am misunderstanding the product here, but I thought the Dirac, PEQ and Shelf EQ, digital filters, and dynamic range control were all features of the DAC rather than the amp? For me, those are a much bigger draw than the low distortion of the amp.


----------



## kukkurovaca

phthora said:


> Maybe I am misunderstanding the product here, but I thought the Dirac, PEQ and Shelf EQ, digital filters, and dynamic range control were all features of the DAC rather than the amp? For me, those are a much bigger draw than the low distortion of the amp.



I'd probably agree, but I don't think that's how the product is positioned.


----------



## unmaker (Nov 17, 2018)

Packdemon said:


> The monoprice page for the portable amp only has one review/rating up so far. Doesn't look too good from what he said. I don't think anyone else has had the same issues though, so maybe he just got a bad unit.



This person may have gotten a bad unit and has been commenting on said unit here:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...price-monolith-thx-aaa-portable-dac-amp.5122/

I've seen two other brief reviews on these forums, both of which were positive. One person claiming to prefer it over the iDSD Black Label:

"My Monolith by Monoprice Portable Headphone Amplifier and DAC with THX AAA Technology has arrived and I am listening to it now out my X7 gen II with my IMR R1’s. Holy cow this thing sounds awesome. I paid less than 3 hundred for this?!!! I have iDSD black label, Vorzuge Vorzamp Duo And Duo II, fiio Q5, FX Audio fireye HDB and others. This amp is at the top of the pile. The air! The clarity. I haven’t even played with the eq. Dabbled with sensaround just a bit. R1 doesn’t need it. It might be just for full size headphones, I don’t know." 

Above quoted from: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mon...-by-alex-cavalli.876406/page-37#post-14590993

And another who prefers it over the Chord Mojo which is impressive considering the cost difference:

"My portable version came in today. Used a HibyMusic R3 to feed the monolith and used my beloved Utopia and Etymotic ER3XR to listen with. Decided to compare them against a mojo and after listening to a few Amy Winehouse and Bob Marley tracks I've concluded I prefer the monolith. This is with the Dirac Sensaround (dsp?) enabled. Mojo has a warmer sound. Monolith's sound quality sounds cleaner, transparent and more tonally correct to my ears. Sensaround makes the soundstage a bit bigger. Listening to the monolith and er3xr combo gave me a wow moment. I've never heard the etys bass as good as this pairing before. Monolith has enough juice to drive the Utopia to dangerous listening levels. I had mines on average at around -15 dB. Monolith volume goes up to +16 dB. So far I'm very impressed."

From bottom of page 10 of this thread


----------



## unmaker

Also amirm has performed measurements on the portable version and the results were somewhat meh:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...monoprice-portable-amp-and-dac-with-thx.5189/


----------



## Packdemon

unmaker said:


> Also amirm has performed measurements on the portable version and the results were somewhat meh:
> 
> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...monoprice-portable-amp-and-dac-with-thx.5189/


That's unfortunate, I guess that we'll have to hope that the desktop version measures better then.


----------



## Baten

Ordered   Finally it's out.


----------



## Goatsandmonkeys

Does anyone know if the parametric eq has presets? It would be very useful to have different presets for each pair of headphones I have.


----------



## Baten

Goatsandmonkeys said:


> Does anyone know if the parametric eq has presets? It would be very useful to have different presets for each pair of headphones I have.


Previous in the thread it said no multiple presets just the one EQ screen


----------



## kukkurovaca

Goatsandmonkeys said:


> Does anyone know if the parametric eq has presets? It would be very useful to have different presets for each pair of headphones I have.



No presets, which is a weird choice. If it had presets (and, preferably, more than 3 EQ slots) it would be much more appealing. I don't know why you would make something like this and only design it to EQ one set of headphones.


----------



## antdroid

I decided to give this thing a go. Hopefully it'll arrive before thanksgiving for me


----------



## rodel808

Think my portable amp unit could be defective. I can't get it to play through coax with a Hiby R3. Tested the R3 coax with a Xduoo xd05 and Hugo 2 and they both work.


----------



## mattris

rodel808 said:


> Think my portable amp unit could be defective. I can't get it to play through coax with a Hiby R3. Tested the R3 coax with a Xduoo xd05 and Hugo 2 and they both work.



Your unit is not defective. The portable's digital input is optical (Toslink) - not coaxial.


----------



## rodel808

mattris said:


> Your unit is not defective. The portable's digital input is optical (Toslink) - not coaxial.



facepalm. I should read more carefully.


----------



## Goatsandmonkeys

Any idea how long these will take to arrive and we can get initial impressions?


----------



## Baten

Goatsandmonkeys said:


> Any idea how long these will take to arrive and we can get initial impressions?


I ordered mine sunday, hope to receive shipping alert sometime today!


----------



## Baten

So anyone had theirs shipped out yet?...


----------



## Packdemon

Baten said:


> So anyone had theirs shipped out yet?...


My order finally had a ship update yesterday. It could be coming in today. I'll keep you posted.


----------



## gto88

Mine will be here today.
I am going to take it on 2nd thought, and try it on 
Thanksgiven holiday.


----------



## Baten

gto88 said:


> Mine will be here today.
> I am going to take it on 2nd thought, and try it on
> Thanksgiven holiday.


Lucky  let us know what you think of it. It's starting to irk me that mine has yet to ship!


----------



## Packdemon

gto88 said:


> Mine will be here today.
> I am going to take it on 2nd thought, and try it on
> Thanksgiven holiday.


I envy your maturity to be able to wait, there's no way I could wait that long to try this after it comes in. After already having waited for months through all the delays, I'll probably be like a child giddy with excitement over his new toy


----------



## antdroid

mine should arrive tomorrow.


----------



## swmtnbiker

Mine was delivered today, but I haven't had time to do anything with it yet. Not sure if I should just send it back unopened or take a chance and stack it up against my CTH.


----------



## Packdemon (Mar 4, 2019)

Not sure if I'll post an indept review or not, but here are my initial impressions. (I have yet to try out the EQ as well).

- yes, this amp/DAC is transparent, which is the main reason why there's no need for an indepth review (along with there being no audible noise floor)
- no audible noise from amp with maxed out source and amp volume with a muted YouTube video playing
- digital volume control is good. it has a gradual delay put in place for volume changes, as to not explode your ears from increasing volume to quickly.
- balanced headphone out is capable of taking the volume to deafening levels when on your head, and when not on your head loud enough to play your headphones like they are speakers and pushes it enough to distort the bass on my heavily modded/dampened DT1770 drivers.
- there seems to be a circuit overload protection feature as well. I was triggering it before at normal listening volumes, but I can't seem to set it off anymore so I'm not sure how it works entirely (Edit: plugging and unplugging into/from the HP outputs when a signal is actively ouputing)
- unbalanced and balanced headphone out can be used at the same time, but you only have the one volume control for both

If you want your end game transparent (balanced) amp/DAC, then I'd look no further than this (or any other similarly priced solutions). No need to pay more for what you can't even hear. Like I said, completely neutral with no audible n/s ratio or noise floor. No amount of money will change that, and hopefully this will only get cheaper over the years.

That's just everything that I value though, I guess. Feel free to ask me any questions (other than measurements) you have about the Mp THX desktop.


----------



## jsmiller58

Packdemon said:


> Not sure if I'll post an indept review or not, but here are my initial impressions.
> 
> - yes, this amp/DAC is transparent, which is the main reason why there's no need for an indepth review (along with there being no audible noise floor)
> - no audible noise from amp with maxed out source and amp volume with a muted YouTube video playing
> ...


Nice!

Want to buy, but waiting to see measurements.   But this is on my short list!


----------



## Allanmarcus

jsmiller58 said:


> Nice!
> 
> Want to buy, but waiting to see measurements.   But this is on my short list!


Not sure what measurements will tell you, but if you do look at such things, make sure they are from a reputable source like atomic bob, and not from some pseudo audio scientist.


----------



## Allanmarcus

Im looking for impressions about the Dirac, which is the big feature distinguishing this unit.


----------



## jsmiller58 (Nov 20, 2018)

Allanmarcus said:


> Not sure what measurements will tell you, but if you do look at such things, make sure they are from a reputable source like atomic bob, and not from some pseudo audio scientist.


I do look for such things...  sort of like buying a car...  Clearly I want to buy a car that I like the way it looks, feels, and drives.  I also want to know the measured specs on crash safety, acceleration and braking distance, etc, even if I take it around the block for a test drive and it subjectively feels good to me, I still want the data.  I imagine a lot of others, if they think about it this way, would tend to agree.

But, hey, I’m just looking for all the facts, without any of the drama!  I will take data from anyone with sensitive enough equipment to test the limits of the amp/dac and not the limits of the testing equipment itself, the skill to do the testing right, and no preconceived biases!


----------



## Packdemon

As long as everything is fine and dandy, neutral, and the noise/distortion is inaudible, then the only spec that matters quickly becomes the price (and features) as far as I am concerned


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 20, 2018)

Allanmarcus said:


> Im looking for impressions about the Dirac, which is the big feature distinguishing this unit.


I'll try testing out the Dirac once I'm done modifying the display with amber and red taillight tapes. I generally don't like having white (or worse, blue) lights in a dark room.


----------



## Packdemon

It's a bit blurrier now, but that's a color I can tolerate!


----------



## AresHarvest (Nov 20, 2018)

Packdemon said:


> If you want your end game transparent (balanced) amp/DAC, then I'd look no further than this (or any other similarly priced solutions).



Dangit. I passed on the Monolith desktop because (at the time) the ship date was mid-December and I am impatient. So I got a Topping D50 and THX 789 instead.

D50->789 is a great setup, and I won't be changing it, but if I was more patient then I would have ended up with the more compact form factor that I wanted. First-world problems.

Killer unit on paper, so it's great that you're also experiencing great performance in real-world use.


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 20, 2018)

AresHarvest said:


> Dangit. I passed on the Monolith desktop because (at the time) the ship date was mid-December and I am impatient. So I got a Topping D50 and THX 789 instead.
> 
> D50->789 is a great setup, and I won't be changing it, but if I was more patient then I would have ended up with the more compact form factor that I wanted. First-world problems.
> 
> Killer unit on paper, so it's great that you're also experiencing great performance in real-world use.


I agree. The selling point for me between the Mp THX and Md THX was that with the Mp I'd have a single chassis on my desk with a digital display and volume control all for a pretty killer price.


----------



## AresHarvest (Nov 20, 2018)

That amber mod is really nice, by the way. I own a Topping D10, which has a similar color display. I've always appreciated the slightly hygge aesthetic of it.

(Pic isn't mine, I just found one that looked the same color as mine does in natural light)


----------



## gto88

Listening to it. beware the default -20db volume is too loud for balanced onto LCD-3.
The build is solid as other dac/amp made in China, such as LKS, Audio-GD.
Stack with Ifi is just right, they almost have same width.


----------



## gto88

The issue I have so far is, cannot play with Foobar2000, no driver for ASIO, and the DS mode error out.
Any one knows about the driver for this DAC?


----------



## Packdemon

Allanmarcus said:


> Im looking for impressions about the Dirac, which is the big feature distinguishing this unit.


This is still just my early impressions of Dirac, but it seems like it shifts the headspace a bit vertically. It's pretty noticeable I would say, almost the same way as inverting the signal's phase would be. With Dirac off it might be overall a bit louder, but Dirac might have more clarity.


----------



## Packdemon

EQ is pretty simple. You get a Low Frequency control that you can set by increments of 10 Hz (120 Hz default) with ±6 dB of control, and a High Frequency control that you can set by increments of 1 kHz (8 kHz default) with ±6 dB of control.


----------



## gto88

@Packdemon can you play lossless through it, or just youtube web on PC with USB?


----------



## Allanmarcus

gto88 said:


> @Packdemon can you play lossless through it, or just youtube web on PC with USB?


You can play lossless on all DACs


----------



## gto88

Allanmarcus said:


> You can play lossless on all DACs


I meant to ask for playing from foobar2000, not able to setup for this one.


----------



## Packdemon

Don't know about foobar2000, but in windows I'd go to my audio setting, then edit my playback device settings to the max sampling and bit rates available. I think it was 24-bit with 382 kHz (or 300 something) sampling rate through USB, which is quite a bit higher than what Monoprice advertised.


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 21, 2018)

I am happy to say the Monolith THX works with my LG v30+ (andriod phone) using an OTG cable. I couldn't be happier! 

(edit) It's limited to USB PCM 48 kHz though.


----------



## gto88

Yes, I did that, and it is 24bit/352.8kHz.
But, this can only play from web.
In foobar2000 music player, it fails to play music onto the dac...


----------



## Packdemon

It's annoying that everytime I unplug and plug it in it resets the input to RCA Line by default. Not sure if or how I can change that permanently.


----------



## gto88 (Nov 21, 2018)

Ok, I figured it out.
I downloaded wasapi driver, and along with sacd decoder, i can get it play
includes DSD files.


But, it can only play 24bit, set it to 32bit will be error on foobar2000.
in foobar2000:
output - dsd,wasapi(push)   - "event" will not work well, sound is garbled and distorted
             choose 24bit (32bit will be error)
DIRAC feature is disabled when playing DSD
Along with other setting disabled (only SETTING is available to change).

I still think a driver is needed to utilize its full strength.
Not sure why Monoprice doesn't provide driver with this latest DAC.


----------



## gto88

About Dirac feature, it does change the sound field, I would not say sound stage, because
the change is a little odd, it moves some instrument sound to back and higher in space,
it seems lost if you don't listen carefully.
This is just my brief back and forth comparison with one sound track,just FYI and YMMV.


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 21, 2018)

gto88 said:


> About Dirac feature, it does change the sound field, I would not say sound stage, because
> the change is a little odd, it moves some instrument sound to back and higher in space,
> it seems lost if you don't listen carefully.
> This is just my brief back and forth comparison with one sound track,just FYI and YMMV.


I got a similar impression. It is slightly back, but noticibly higher. With Dirac off the music also sounds fuller (more bass hum, ambience, and the like), whereas with Dirac on the music seems more detailed.

Not sure if the feature is good really. It's seems like an arbitrary change that may fit some songs and movies, but not others. In that sense it might just be a gimmick, but I'll wait and hear what everyone else has to say about it.


----------



## alota

Packdemon said:


> I am happy to say the Monolith THX works with my LG v30+ (andriod phone) using an OTG cable. I couldn't be happier!
> 
> (edit) It's limited to USB PCM 48 kHz though.


I habe same phone. No problems with uapp?


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 21, 2018)

alota said:


> I habe same phone. No problems with uapp?


I don't use uapp anymore. I use MX Player Pro instead. But ya, it works with everything pretty much (YouTube, Chrome, etc.).


----------



## jsmiller58 (Nov 21, 2018)

Packdemon said:


> As long as everything is fine and dandy, neutral, and the noise/distortion is inaudible, then the only spec that matters quickly becomes the price (and features) as far as I am concerned


I agree!  And that’s why I like to know how it measures...  How do I connect those two seemingly unrelated (unrelatable?) perspectives?  If I like how something sounds as part of a specific sound chain, and it measures poorly, I will be worried about how it behaves with other components in a chain.  If I like how it sounds as part of a particular sound chain, and it measures well, I will have confidence (even if misplaced ) I will be satisfied with (or predict how it will behave with) other components/chains.

But, no matter what, I hope you continue to enjoy your Monolith dac/amp, and I really hope it measures well so I will have the justification I am looking for, on top of positive reviews by listeners like you, to buy one myself!


----------



## Packdemon

jsmiller58 said:


> But, no matter what, I hope you continue to enjoy your Monolith dac/amp, and I really hope it measures well so I will have the justification I am looking for, on top of positive reviews by listeners like you, to buy one myself!


 I am enjoying my Monolith very much at the moment. So much so that I've already committed and modified her internally. And right now I quite literally have her in bed with me and am watching late night movies on my phone using her as the source.


----------



## Baten

Packdemon said:


> I am enjoying my Monolith very much at the moment. So much so that I've already committed and modified her internally. And right now I quite literally have her in bed with me and am watching late night movies on my phone using her as the source.



Modified? Can you elaborate ?

Ps if you already removed the chassis any chance for a pic of her internals?


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 21, 2018)

Baten said:


> Modified? Can you elaborate ?
> 
> Ps if you already removed the chassis any chance for a pic of her internals?


Inside she's all black and clean, the modification was to give her bosom a warm orange glow. Even had a bit of foot play:


----------



## jsmiller58

Packdemon said:


> I am enjoying my Monolith very much at the moment. So much so that I've already committed and modified her internally. And right now I quite literally have her in bed with me and am watching late night movies on my phone using her as the source.


WAY TOO MUCH information!!!


----------



## smallcaps

jsmiller58 said:


> WAY TOO MUCH information!!!


What was she wearing?


----------



## Baten

smallcaps said:


> What was she wearing?


He stripped her down bare, even tweaked around with her nude parts T_T


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 21, 2018)

smallcaps said:


> What was she wearing?


All black with a nasty white glow. It's cool though, I gave her a veil and now she glows a warm orange. I can't give anymore details than that or maybe the mods will get mad at me


----------



## smallcaps (Nov 21, 2018)




----------



## Goatsandmonkeys

I am most curious how the dirac sounds with some of those tracks, mostly from the 60's where the left and right channel had completely different instruments. there are a lot of tracks I find difficult listening to on headphones. I am hoping this feature will make them seem more natural.


----------



## Packdemon

Goatsandmonkeys said:


> I am most curious how the dirac sounds with some of those tracks, mostly from the 60's where the left and right channel had completely different instruments. there are a lot of tracks I find difficult listening to on headphones. I am hoping this feature will make them seem more natural.


Hmm, I feel like it's hit or miss with most songs. I never heard of Dirac until I saw it labeled on my Monolith yesterday, so I have no clue what it's advertised to do. It's certainly different, and I have a few posts I made about it here.


----------



## Flak2

Packdemon said:


> Hmm, I feel like it's hit or miss with most songs. I never heard of Dirac until I saw it labeled on my Monolith yesterday, so I have no clue what it's advertised to do. It's certainly different, and I have a few posts I made about it here.



Here the concept behind it:
https://www.dirac.com/dirac-blog/how-to-make-headphones-stereo-compatible


----------



## antdroid

Hows the UI? Complicated or easy? Have you tried parametric EQ yet? It sounded like you had only played with the shelf EQ function.

Mine is out for delivery, but I need spoilers.


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 21, 2018)

antdroid said:


> Hows the UI? Complicated or easy? Have you tried parametric EQ yet? It sounded like you had only played with the shelf EQ function.
> 
> Mine is out for delivery, but I need spoilers.


UI is pretty simple, it takes a few minutes to get used to though. Menu button left of scroll wheel doubles up as the back button, and when held serves as the power on/off button as well. Enter button to the right of the scroll wheel sometimes doubles up as a scroll button, and when held takes you to the various input settings (which is always set the RCA Line by default when power cycling). And last, but not least, the scroll wheel is a, well scroll wheel. Ya, I've only used the shelf EQ so far. Scrolling through the PEQs it seems you get 5 presets (PEQ 1-5) that you can set and enable. Below 1 kHz you can adjust the preset frequency by increments of 10 Hz, and above 1 kHz by increments of 100 Hz. Forgive me for not knowing this, but there is also a Q value that you can change by increments of 0.1 and it is preset to 1.0. If you go all the way to the settings you also have a quick option for disabling the EQ entirely, so you don't have to manually disable each and every single one.


----------



## Packdemon (Mar 4, 2019)

Goatsandmonkeys said:


> I am most curious how the dirac sounds with some of those tracks, mostly from the 60's where the left and right channel had completely different instruments. there are a lot of tracks I find difficult listening to on headphones. I am hoping this feature will make them seem more natural.





Flak2 said:


> Here the concept behind it:
> https://www.dirac.com/dirac-blog/how-to-make-headphones-stereo-compatible


I see, so it's supposed to be a cross-feed between the channels, but theirs would be a "pure cross-feed" as they put it. I certainly wouldn't use this while playing a video game with built-in in-game directonality, but either way I think you're right about this working well for your 60's music. I know how unnatural and fatiguing it can be hearing an instrument (mastered to be) only in one ear.

If something was mastered properly, or mastered for headphones rather, then I would say Dirac is unnecessary.

With Dirac off, everything is much more full, cinematic, and emersive. With Dirac on it's more detailed, live (musically), and intimate.


----------



## Baten

Packdemon said:


> UI is pretty simple, it takes a few minutes to get used to though. Menu button left of scroll wheel doubles up as the back button, and when held serves as the power on/off button as well. Enter button to the right of the scroll wheel sometimes doubles up as a scroll button, and when held takes you to the various input settings (which is always set the RCA Line by default when power cycling). And last, but not least, the scroll wheel is a, well scroll wheel. Ya, I've only used the shelf EQ so far. Scrolling through the PEQs it seems you get 5 presets (PEQ 1-5) that you can set and enable. Below 1 kHz you can adjust the preset frequency by increments of 10 Hz, and above 1 kHz by increments of 100 Hz. Forgive me for not knowing this, but there is also a Q value that you can change by increments of 0.1 and it is preset to 1.0. If you go all the way to the settings you also have a quick option for disabling the EQ entirely, so you don't have to manually disable each and every single one.


Sounds like a 5-band EQ


----------



## Packdemon

Baten said:


> Sounds like a 5-band EQ


Maybe, but there's I think there's nothing to stop you from using the 2-bands from the shelf EQ along with the 5 PEQ, so you can get 7 in total.


----------



## MrPretty

So the DAC just arrived but I cannot get windows to find the correct driver, it just installs a generic USB Audio driver.  It shows up in the device manager but it has a little yellow exclamation next to it and its currently not showing up as a playback device.

Does anyone know which driver needs to be installed?


----------



## Packdemon

antdroid said:


> Hows the UI? Complicated or easy? Have you tried parametric EQ yet? It sounded like you had only played with the shelf EQ function.
> 
> Mine is out for delivery, but I need spoilers.


Here's a bit of me scrolling through the UI:


----------



## FrostyP

Hmm it's sounding like I should wait for a revision like how the M1060 was revised. I do plan on buying one of these sometime in the future for sure though.


----------



## antdroid

I got mine in. Sounds pretty good. Everything works fine. Will need to report back later


----------



## gto88

Asked Monoprice tech about driver, they said there is no driver and sent me the manual.
The manual said nothing about 32bit nor 768khz, and dsd is limited to dsd128.
This unit is limited to 24bit according to manual.
If you use PCM all the way, it can do 24bit/352.8Khz on Windows 10.
It is a pity that this unit doesn't offer driver to go up to DSD512 and 32bit/768KHz.
It is probably a cost consideration.
As for its Amplifier, THX AAA module, after listening it, even it is a short period, I can say that 
it is pretty good and on par with iFi Pro iCan (for me of course).
It is so good that they only design XLR input for this Amp, and no XLR output for its DAC.
For the price, the performance is really worth it IMO.
I am thinking to return it because of these:
- no 32bit support (even iFi nano iDSD has it)
- no XLR output for dac
- no driver support (all my dac have driver to utilize full strength of its dac.)
- no DSD512 (not that I have source but it has hardware, why miss it?)
- failed to take DTS playback while my Pro-ject S2D can (driver related??)
I intended to have this to replace my big block LKS dac, but unfortunately
this dac misses something that I need.

This is my personal view only.
I am sure many of you will like this product.


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 21, 2018)

gto88 said:


> Asked Monoprice tech about driver, they said there is no driver and sent me the manual.
> The manual said nothing about 32bit nor 768khz, and dsd is limited to dsd128.
> This unit is limited to 24bit according to manual.
> If you use PCM all the way, it can do 24bit/352.8Khz on Windows 10.
> ...


It's always possible that they might release a driver in the future, but I'm glad that it works out of the box with windows and andriod.


----------



## antdroid

There are some things I like about the DX7 more. The remote makes things easy to switch settings quickly. On the MonoTHX, everything is run through the Menu and Enter button, so just switching sources is annoying. I have it hooked up to my computer as well as using an old DVD player as a digital transport via Coax to the DAC.

Another annoying thing is that you can the Line Out is not active all the time. It requires switching from HP out to Line Out, but the option is buried a few steps in from the main menu.


----------



## gto88

+1, Yeah, the user interface can take some improvement.


----------



## antdroid

I should have mentioned, I really am liking how this thing sounds. It's extremely clean and detailed! The Dirac Sensasound feature surprisingly works well. It adds vertical height, and depth to music, while still retaining good width. Basically gives you a very natural sound field that doesn't seem to lose any or much detail through the processing in my limited listening of some bluegrass music via CD. You do lose some richness/fullness. It doesn't sound like some other virtual surround sound DSPs. This one seems like it was made for music. I'll have to try it out on some movies and games in the future.


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 22, 2018)

antdroid said:


> I should have mentioned, I really am liking how this thing sounds. It's extremely clean and detailed! The Dirac Sensasound feature surprisingly works well. It adds vertical height, and depth to music, while still retaining good width. Basically gives you a very natural sound field that doesn't seem to lose any or much detail through the processing in my limited listening of some bluegrass music via CD. You do lose some richness/fullness. It doesn't sound like some other virtual surround sound DSPs. This one seems like it was made for music. I'll have to try it out on some movies and games in the future.


+1 That's the impression I got, too. It does well to give vertical height, though might take out a bit from the width. With the fullness gone it takes out the immersion and makes it sound more like the music is live in front of you. While great on a lot of music, l would say it doesn't do well with cinematic tracks since you lose the epic immersive feel. Movies are the same in that sense, and most games already are mastered with headphone in mind, in which case the speaker like effect of Dirac becomes more of a detriment. It's certainly fun to play around with, and I still am trying to narrow down everything that benefits from it being on.


----------



## Baten

Mine is scheduled for Monday delivery damn it  worst time to ship something I guess with Black Friday and everything


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 25, 2018)

Okay, I figured out how to set off the Over Current Protect feature. It happens when your headphone output cable isn't plugged in properly or when you pull it out while it's outputting a signal. I'm glad I finally figured that out.


----------



## antdroid

These are just some initial quick impressions on the amp and it's feature set:


Sound:
Very clean sound in normal operations. Has balanced XLR and 1/4" single ended output. Sounds very transparent to me. I have nothing more to comment right now.


Power:
Has plenty of power in balanced operation. HE560 planar is plenty loud at -35dB and Elex/Elegia at -50dB


Inputs:
Has USB, Digital Coax, RCA, TosLink, Balanced XLR and AES. I have used USB and Digital Coax from a CD player


Output:
Just has line out to RCA. For whatever reason they didnt put balanced XLR output here. There is a guide to mod the XLR input to do output, which I may do in the future. The board itself is a little cramped but I think I can do it.


Dirac Sensasound:
Neat feature. Adds a lot of soundstage virtualization to music. I definitely hear improved vertical/height and depth to music. The width stays relatively the same and may sound a little less because of the virtualization (some of the width is converted to depth). Overall, for some music, it sounds very natural and organic. For some tracks, it does lose some of the needed rich/fullness sound in the lower end. I feel like this was definitely made for music and may vary depending on genres/artists/recordings.


Equalizer:
I have only barely played with EQ. It comes with Shelf EQ (standard bass/treble knobs on receivers) and 5-band parametric EQ which lets you customize the Frequency you want to modify, the gain, and Q-settings. It is a little cumbersome to use since it has a lot of menu presses and knob turning to set. I havent played enough to give a proper impression yet.


Line-Out:
Line out is not active by default. You have to enable it via settings menu. This is a little annoying since it's buried a bit. You have to press Menu, turn the knob to the last item, press Enter to go to SETTINGS, then turn the knob to Line Out, then press Enter and switch it.

Button layout: 
The Menu button turns on and off the unit. The Enter button changes Input. Nothing to complain with here. But these buttons are on either side of the volume knob. This makes going through menus a little annoying. Its not the end of the world, but would be faster to operate if they were near each other.

General Menu:
The menu itself is a little clunky, but I'm not sure how to really improve it with the limited buttons. One of the things I miss using this vs my Topping DX7 is the remote control. The DX7 remote has quick buttons to line inputs and outputs and other menu settings, so quickly switching devices and outputs is easy peasy. This THX unit would have greatly benefited from an IR remote capability given its complex menu feature set.

Also there is a menu item for Dynamic Range Control. I dont really know why this is even an option and is a waste of
an option slot. I want my full range of audio. It's off by default.


Overall, this is quite a package. It has definite annoyances but I think I'll get used to it over time and more usage. There are people complaining about windows drivers for higher quality formats but this isnt something that is going to bother me right now.


----------



## NaranKPatel

Packdemon said:


> It's always possible that they might release a driver in the future, but I'm glad that it works out of the box with windows and andriod.



I looked up the vendor id and product id, appears to be xmos based usb? I tried but none of the xmos drivers worked though, I do hope they release something soon, would be nice to get xmos thesycon asio drivers released  (if that's really what they end up releasing)


----------



## Baten

NaranKPatel said:


> I looked up the vendor id and product id, appears to be xmos based usb? I tried but none of the xmos drivers worked though, I do hope they release something soon, would be nice to get xmos thesycon asio drivers released  (if that's really what they end up releasing)


I would definitely raise that to their attention =/


----------



## Baten

Can any happy owner here maybe take a picture of the power brick? What does it perform at?


----------



## CAMSHAFT

@antdroid How does the amp section compare to that of your Cavalli Liquid Spark? I am running Audirvana+ > Reveal Plugin > Mojo > Liquid Spark > iSine 20


----------



## antdroid

CAMSHAFT said:


> @antdroid How does the amp section compare to that of your Cavalli Liquid Spark? I am running Audirvana+ > Reveal Plugin > Mojo > Liquid Spark > iSine 20



I have not A/B compared them yet. The Spark is at work. From audio memory, I think the Spark is more full-bodied and rich, but less detailed. The THX is cleaner and more detailed and probably has wider stage. This is even more apparent with the Dirac DSP enabled, but YMMV because it can mess up the sound signature. I'll consider taking the Spark home from work to A/B them when I get back into the office Monday.


----------



## CAMSHAFT

antdroid said:


> I have not A/B compared them yet. The Spark is at work. From audio memory, I think the Spark is more full-bodied and rich, but less detailed. The THX is cleaner and more detailed and probably has wider stage. This is even more apparent with the Dirac DSP enabled, but YMMV because it can mess up the sound signature. I'll consider taking the Spark home from work to A/B them when I get back into the office Monday.



Thanks!


----------



## CAMSHAFT

delete


----------



## wadec22

just got mine.  so when i set the sampling to 24 bit, 96hz or higher - it says it takes the change but with the start of any application with audio - it defaults back to 16bit, 48hz.  is this a driver limitation at the moment via usb - or has someone figured out a way around that?


----------



## Baten

wadec22 said:


> just got mine.  so when i set the sampling to 24 bit, 96hz or higher - it says it takes the change but with the start of any application with audio - it defaults back to 16bit, 48hz.  is this a driver limitation at the moment via usb - or has someone figured out a way around that?



Can you use ASIO or WASAPI to get around it?


----------



## wadec22 (Nov 24, 2018)

Baten said:


> Can you use ASIO or WASAPI to get around it?



haven't tried yet, as i was hoping it would just be plug and play.  looking in the device manager, xmos needs a driver.  super annoyed right now....

EDIT: I disabled windows system sounds and that seems to have solved it (as far as I can tell so far)


----------



## gto88

For windows sound device setting, you can just set it 16bit/44.1khz.
It will change to the format of your music when played.
As I mentioned, for foobar2000, you need WASAPI and use "push" mode to work.
Windows does flag xmos driver not installed for this dac, but it is the way for now.
I guess that you can leave it, and wait for monoprice to provide one if they have this plan.
I have started the return process of my unit though.


----------



## wadec22 (Nov 24, 2018)

I prefer the disabling windows sounds fix so it just stays at 24/48 for all my non-music listening.  trivial - but you like things a certain way you know. 

I do like the unit.  Sounds very good.  Chassis is very nice.  Display is nice but not as nice as the Topping D50.  Volume knob feels great.  Two buttons for navigating settings feel cheap. I think it's an attractive DAC/Amp and now that I found a work around for my one pain point, I'm enjoying it is use.


----------



## FrostyP

Has anyone tried this DAC/Amp with any video game consoles yet? I'm particularly interested in if it works with the PS3, PS4 and Nintendo Switch


----------



## Baten

FrostyP said:


> Has anyone tried this DAC/Amp with any video game consoles yet? I'm particularly interested in if it works with the PS3, PS4 and Nintendo Switch


Easiest set up with consoles is using the optical input. As long as the console outputs PCM it should work fine


----------



## unmaker

FrostyP said:


> Has anyone tried this DAC/Amp with any video game consoles yet? I'm particularly interested in if it works with the PS3, PS4 and Nintendo Switch



I've got mine hooked up to a SNES and Nintendo 64. Both can be modified for SPDIF output. My SNES sounds really good but I'm blown away at how good the N64 sounds. Never before has the N64 felt so immersive. With games like Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask, I feel as if I'm in the game rather than just playing it. And this is with an ancient pair of Skullcandy Crushers...I can't imagine how good it'll sound when I get some actual audiophile headphones


----------



## Baten

Oh my!


----------



## swmtnbiker

Anyone using this with the Focal Clear? I'd be especially interested in impressions of this combo while using the Monolith's internal DAC.


----------



## antdroid (Nov 26, 2018)

swmtnbiker said:


> Anyone using this with the Focal Clear? I'd be especially interested in impressions of this combo while using the Monolith's internal DAC.



Not Clear, but I do use it with the Elex and Elegia. They sound very clean with them. On the tracks that benefit with DIRAC, it's really excellent as the soundstage is improved dramatically.


----------



## swmtnbiker

antdroid said:


> Not Clear, but I do use it with the Elex and Elegia. They sound very clean with them. One the tracks that benefit with DIRAC, it's really excellent as the soundstage is improved dramatically.



Awesome. I see you also own the CTH. Any thoughts on how the Monolith compares to the Massdrop Cavalli?


----------



## antdroid

I haven't tried them side-by-side, but I think the overall tonality is similar. I think both are leaner and wider sounding than other amps. The Monolith is probably more detailed though. There's also the added in functionality like DIRAC, EQ and balanced DACs.

I am considering selling my MCTH right now mostly because I think these two sound similar enough, and I prefer a tube to be warmer sounding to compliment the Monolith and the current headphones I have which are not warm/laid back.


----------



## swmtnbiker

That's been my experience with the MCTH as well, although the right tube will give it some warmth, especially noticeable with the Clears. While I'd welcome all of the functionality in the Monolith I'm a little concerned about losing the flexibility of tube rolling. Decisions, decisions. I've had the Monoprice amp for almost a week now and haven't opened it due to the possibility of sending it back. I suppose I might as well practice what I preach, unbox the Monolith, and give it a listen for myself.


----------



## antdroid

swmtnbiker said:


> That's been my experience with the MCTH as well, although the right tube will give it some warmth, especially noticeable with the Clears. While I'd welcome all of the functionality in the Monolith I'm a little concerned about losing the flexibility of tube rolling. Decisions, decisions. I've had the Monoprice amp for almost a week now and haven't opened it due to the possibility of sending it back. I suppose I might as well practice what I preach, unbox the Monolith, and give it a listen for myself.



Keep both. They stack on each other nicely. 

I am using the Loxjie P20 balanced tube amp. It's a great compliment (warm and detailed with GE JAN 5670 tubes) and sounds quite good and under $100.


----------



## swmtnbiker (Nov 26, 2018)

That's a pretty sweet looking little tube amp. I may just have to check it out too! As for keeping both, I'm afraid that my budget-conscious self can't swing it. I'd have to be happy with one or the other.


----------



## Thenewbie76

wadec22 said:


> I prefer the disabling windows sounds fix so it just stays at 24/48 for all my non-music listening.  trivial - but you like things a certain way you know.
> 
> I do like the unit.  Sounds very good.  Chassis is very nice.  Display is nice but not as nice as the Topping D50.  Volume knob feels great.  Two buttons for navigating settings feel cheap. I think it's an attractive DAC/Amp and now that I found a work around for my one pain point, I'm enjoying it is use.


This probably sounds dumb. But how did you disable windows so it stays at 24/48


----------



## wadec22

Thenewbie76 said:


> This probably sounds dumb. But how did you disable windows so it stays at 24/48



you can either disable windows sounds or use ASIO drivers.  if you want to disable windows sounds just right click on the speaker icon in the lower right tray, click "sounds", then under "sound scheme" drop box, just select "no sounds".


----------



## Thenewbie76

wadec22 said:


> you can either disable windows sounds or use ASIO drivers.  if you want to disable windows sounds just right click on the speaker icon in the lower right tray, click "sounds", then under "sound scheme" drop box, just select "no sounds".


Disabling  windows sounds seems easier.I have no idea what   ASIO driver is


----------



## wadec22

Thenewbie76 said:


> Disabling  windows sounds seems easier.I have no idea what   ASIO driver is


even if you don't use ASIO, worth reading up on.  http://www.asio4all.org/


----------



## Thenewbie76

Thx m8


----------



## gto88

So, you just mute the speakers on laptop.
But, you don't have to,  it doesn't affect foobar output
assuming you meant it uses ASIO.
I don't know why you have to do that, disable the sound.

For me, I change driver for laptop (pc) speakers output to whatever I want.
But, of course disable it is also an option.


----------



## wadec22

Thenewbie76 said:


> Thx m8


anytime. enjoy the new toy


----------



## Baten (Nov 27, 2018)

Anyone read the article on audiosciencereview?? They shipped him the amp with 0.82 beta firmware, which even stopped working while he was reviewing it!

Other people have received units with seemingly proper 1.01 firmware

Where can we update firmware if in need?
Where do we find official drivers??
What the hell, monoprice  I had all my expectations set on this one


----------



## ACDOAN

InAndOut said:


> No true balanced output on the 788? What, how can they call it balanced then, balanced input? I didn't realize the XLR was single ended.



You have to be careful when you see a XLR input(s) or output(s) on an amp, be it headphone amps or stereo amps. Most of them are not "true" balanced amps. The XLR connectors on most of these amps are just the XLR connectors for convenience and marketing. They (XLR in/out) are just the convertors XLR to S/E circuitry. 

A few true balanced amps if my memory serves me well are Krell , Pass, Audio Research. Not so sure about Bryston products but the low-end brother of Bryston, The Anthem lines are not true balanced pre/ amps.


----------



## wadec22

If you read the Q&A on the site, Andrew from THX clears it up that the amp is indeed balanced from start to finish.


----------



## Thenewbie76

Baten said:


> Anyone read the article on audiosciencereview?? They shipped him the amp with 0.82 beta firmware, which even stopped working while he was reviewing it!
> 
> Other people have received units with seemlingly proper 1.01 firmware
> 
> ...


Yeh . I know.  I think they rushed the product. Can't really give a review if the firmware is not up to date . Gotta wait I guess


----------



## Baten

Thenewbie76 said:


> Yeh . I know.  I think they rushed the product. Can't really give a review if the firmware is not up to date . Gotta wait I guess


You can check in "about" menu if you have BETA or 1.0+ btw, after 1.0 release you should be good I think?

Just really hope we get some information on everything, cause otherwise this is simply embarrassing.


----------



## Baten

Baten said:


> Anyone read the article on audiosciencereview?? They shipped him the amp with 0.82 beta firmware, which even stopped working while he was reviewing it!
> 
> Other people have received units with seemingly proper 1.01 firmware
> 
> ...


@AndrewM888 I'm not sure you are as involved with this one as with the massdrop product, but would you know anything ?


----------



## AndrewM888

Baten said:


> @AndrewM888 I'm not sure you are as involved with this one as with the massdrop product, but would you know anything ?


I dont know about this. THX didn't design the two Monoprice products. We just supplied IP for some key analog stages.


----------



## Baten

AndrewM888 said:


> I dont know about this. THX didn't design the two Monoprice products. We just supplied IP for some key analog stages.


Thanks for clarifying!

I think it's clear who did the better job..


----------



## antdroid (Nov 27, 2018)

I'm on v1.01 firmware. I still stand by my previous comments regarding the amp.

Also no issues with 24bit/192KHz from Windows 10.


----------



## Das Mookid

Been years since I came to this site... I see somethings never change. Comparing an amp that doesn't require firmware on this issue is vacuous, even for these forums. 

Fellow Seattle purchaser ^^^ bought day one, also 1.01 firmware. I'd be curious of ANYONE other than Amir-TotallyNotAToppingShill has run into this lol?


----------



## antdroid

Das Mookid said:


> Been years since I came to this site... I see somethings never change. Comparing an amp that doesn't require firmware on this issue is vacuous, even for these forums.
> 
> Fellow Seattle purchaser ^^^ bought day one, also 1.01 firmware. I'd be curious of ANYONE other than Amir-TotallyNotAToppingShill has run into this lol?



Amir is also a Seattlelite. Don’t give him such a hard time.  It does suck that his unit was preproduction and that should not have happened. Hopefully he can review a production unit with proper updates. To be fair, I did get a Topping DX7 and it has served me well. I think the MonoTHX sounds cleaner and detailed than it but I cant measure any amps. I do miss the remote.


----------



## gto88

Monprice's return process sucks.
You need to register it, and then just wait, wait for them to contact you
for next step (register is 1/7 steps), and it is like forever.
Guess that I am spoiled by Amazon.


----------



## Baten

gto88 said:


> Monprice's return process sucks.
> You need to register it, and then just wait, wait for them to contact you
> for next step (register is 1/7 steps), and it is like forever.
> Guess that I am spoiled by Amazon.


I'm in same boat. It's ridiculous.


----------



## wadec22

Baten said:


> I'm in same boat. It's ridiculous.



yup.  me 3.   Too bad.  It's a nice looking little unit that I've enjoyed using this far.  I just don't trust it or them.


----------



## Packdemon

gto88 said:


> Monprice's return process sucks.
> You need to register it, and then just wait, wait for them to contact you
> for next step (register is 1/7 steps), and it is like forever.
> Guess that I am spoiled by Amazon.


I've been trying to return something that I ordered along with the Monoprice THX, they said it takes 3 days max but it's been over 5  -_-


----------



## gto88

Unacceptable


----------



## antdroid

Amazon has definitely spoiled everyone (including me). But I know a lot of other sites that have old skool RMA process that are not fully automated and require actual pre-approval by a real person first.


----------



## swmtnbiker

Interesting. I went through Monoprice's RMA process to return my unit on 11/26, and it was taken care of within 24 hours. I've already boxed it up and shipped it back to them.


----------



## wadec22

just got my return label


----------



## antdroid

So everyone is returning it based on Amir's bad experience or your own bad experience?


----------



## swmtnbiker

My return is partially due to Amir's findings, even though I'm fully aware he evaluated a unit that shipped out with beta firmware installed. While I generally liked the unit's functionality, I was concerned with reliability, resale value, and quality control. The other thing that bothered me is I felt Monoprice's "THX" advertising on this was a bit deceptive when THX had no hand in designing the unit.


----------



## antdroid

swmtnbiker said:


> My return is partially due to Amir's findings, even though I'm fully aware he evaluated a unit that shipped out with beta firmware installed. While I generally liked the unit's functionality, I was concerned with reliability, resale value, and quality control. The other thing that bothered me is I felt Monoprice's "THX" advertising on this was a bit deceptive when THX had no hand in designing the unit.



I can understand some of those concerns. I've opened up the board - it looks actually pretty well put together -- if not one of the better looking boards I've seen. UI could have been a little better but overall I think the unit is pretty good for its price.

THX licensed the technology to them. I don't see how that's deceptive. It's like buying a Northface or Arcteryx "Gore-Tex" jacket but WL Gore didnt design the jacket.


----------



## Tsyer

Mine has Beta firmware and i am returning it to Monoprice. I will lose US$77 for delivery costs to me plus whatever postage back to them. Overall loss is more than US$100 for their mistake in sending me a preproduction firmware unit. 

What else can i do?


----------



## ACDOAN

wadec22 said:


> If you read the Q&A on the site, Andrew from THX clears it up that the amp is indeed balanced from start to finish.


Great. May get me one for Xmas. Thanks.


----------



## swmtnbiker

antdroid said:


> I can understand some of those concerns. I've opened up the board - it looks actually pretty well put together -- if not one of the better looking boards I've seen. UI could have been a little better but overall I think the unit is pretty good for its price.
> 
> THX licensed the technology to them. I don't see how that's deceptive. It's like buying a Northface or Arcteryx "Gore-Tex" jacket but WL Gore didnt design the jacket.



Perhaps "deceptive" was the wrong word to use, but Monoprice is leaning heavily on that THX brand recognition to sell the product. I guess it's like the old "THX approved" DVDs we used to buy. At the end of the day, that THX "certification" didn't amount to a hill of beans. It was more of a marketing ploy in that scenario. A bit different here to be sure, but I still don't really like it.


----------



## wadec22

antdroid said:


> So everyone is returning it based on Amir's bad experience or your own bad experience?



I would not want to dissuade anyone from this amp.  It's very attractive, feels hefty, has a very convenient display and the volume knob feels top notch.  Even Amir's own quick confirmation stated it had a solid SINAD of 107db and put out a clean 1W of power into 33 ohms  - good stuff.  The headphone amp also has ZERO hiss with Denon AH-D7200 - which will shed light on any output impedance close to 1ohm (I could hear hiss on an O2 amp).

My only so-so feelings on it would be; clunky interface, menu and enter buttons feel really cheap (especially next to the great volume knob) and I found Dirac to be all gimmick.

I don't have a problem with THX's not being involved.  IMO the headphone out is very good - and that is because they licensed a THX unit inside of there.  I do wish THX was more involved due to their great service and feedback on both audio forums I follow.

Now, those cons are not enough to get rid of it.  My reasons for getting rid of it are mostly from amir's review;

I swap gear out a lot and his scathing review and experience will make resale awful.   If I send it back, I'm out $10 that I was originally charged for shipping.
Monoprice service has a rep for being awful.  I did not know that until I read amir's review - then googled them.  Their reseller rating on Google is a two start with thousands of upset users.  I didn't want to chance a unit going faulty and having a company like that to rely on for service.
I don't like that there is no XMOS driver to download.  Sure I found a way to get everything to work.
Lastly, I already have a THX 789.  I had to chose between the two.  If I chose the Monoprice, I would lose money on the 789.


----------



## antdroid

Tsyer said:


> Mine has Beta firmware and i am returning it to Monoprice. I will lose US$77 for delivery costs to me plus whatever postage back to them. Overall loss is more than US$100 for their mistake in sending me a preproduction firmware unit.
> 
> What else can i do?



They should replace that for free. Have you asked them?


----------



## Thenewbie76

wadec22 said:


> I would not want to dissuade anyone from this amp.  It's very attractive, feels hefty, has a very convenient display and the volume knob feels top notch.  Even Amir's own quick confirmation stated it had a solid SINAD of 107db and put out a clean 1W of power into 33 ohms  - good stuff.  The headphone amp also has ZERO hiss with Denon AH-D7200 - which will shed light on any output impedance close to 1ohm (I could hear hiss on an O2 amp).
> 
> My only so-so feelings on it would be; clunky interface, menu and enter buttons feel really cheap (especially next to the great volume knob) and I found Dirac to be all gimmick.
> 
> ...


Good points. I hope it monolith gets their mind straight and releases a driver for it , somewhat improve the user interface. If they did that I will definitely be buying it .


----------



## Packdemon

Thenewbie76 said:


> Good points. I hope it monolith gets their mind straight and releases a driver for it , somewhat improve the user interface. If they did that I will definitely be buying it .


I wouldn't be against that  I also wouldn't be against them adding a remote while they were at it. Maybe one that controls everything: volume, inputs, Dirac, EQ (+ or - dB for all your presets), and line out. Not nativagtion controls, like dedicated buttons. I would not be against it


----------



## wadec22

Thenewbie76 said:


> Good points. I hope it monolith gets their mind straight and releases a driver for it , somewhat improve the user interface. If they did that I will definitely be buying it .



I hope they do a few things with driver and firmware as well.  given their lack of response or representation on a forum, you get some insight as to the difference between them and massdrop.  feels like monoprice contracts the work and wants to hit a price - that's it.  no involvement, no pride, no passion.  massdrop has many of their own faults, but at least in a lot of their projects they are either leaving great design work to great designers or are intimately involved in what they want to see as an end  game.  their customer service also sucks but at least you get the feeling the majority of their projects have someone on their team that is passionate about it.  really a bummer.  like I said, this unit basically checked every box on my list - I just wasn't comfortable keeping it for a number of reasons mentioned above.


----------



## swmtnbiker

Yeah, I wouldn't count on Monoprice to do anything support-wise with this amp. I'd also be willing to bet that no new firmware will be released for it. v1.01 is their end-game. What you get is what you get. This is also one of the reasons I decided to send mine back.


----------



## Baten

swmtnbiker said:


> Yeah, I wouldn't count on Monoprice to do anything support-wise with this amp. I'd also be willing to bet that no new firmware will be released for it. v1.01 is their end-game. What you get is what you get. This is also one of the reasons I decided to send mine back.


I wonder if anyone has sent them either audiosciencereview or this thread though. But yeah probably they don't care particularly.

Note that schiit too, has stealth revisions of firmware without alerting users or making them user-upgradeable. Unfortunately it's quite common.


----------



## swmtnbiker

True enough about Schiit, but they're a small American company that stands behind their products. Monoprice is a different beast entirely.


----------



## Roen (Nov 29, 2018)

wadec22 said:


> If you read the Q&A on the site, Andrew from THX clears it up that the amp is indeed balanced from start to finish.


Pretty sure the 789 has a balanced in, converts to SE internally and then converts back to balanced for balanced HP out. Not a true fully differential balanced amp for the entire chain.

Unless you're referring to the Monoprice? It could be dual-mono all the way through with the dual 788's so yeah, could be true balanced.


----------



## Baten

Roen said:


> Pretty sure the 789 has a balanced in, converts to SE internally and then converts back to balanced for balanced HP out. Not a true fully differential balanced amp for the entire chain.
> 
> Unless you're referring to the Monoprice? It could be dual-mono all the way through with the dual 788's so yeah, could be true balanced.



Yea he meant the monoprice. But let's just say I'd much rather get the massdrop which goes BAL>SE>BAL and still performs amazingly, than the monoprice which seems to have bugs and zero support. But that one is supposedly 100% balanced all the way. I wouldn't take any changes on it though, maybe if we had a monoprice rep here at head-fi actually answering questions .....


----------



## Roen

Roen said:


> Pretty sure the 789 has a balanced in, converts to SE internally and then converts back to balanced for balanced HP out. Not a true fully differential balanced amp for the entire chain.
> 
> Unless you're referring to the Monoprice?





Baten said:


> Yea he meant the monoprice. But let's just say I'd much rather get the massdrop which goes BAL>SE>BAL and still performs amazingly, than the monoprice which seems to have bugs and zero support. But that one is supposedly 100% balanced all the way. I wouldn't take any changes on it though, maybe if we had a monoprice rep here at head-fi actually answering questions .....


I think true balanced vs bal->se->bal has such a marginal (and clearly inaudible) difference that it shouldn't be a make or break factor in anyone's purchasing decision. So many other factors to consider first.


----------



## Baten

Roen said:


> I think true balanced vs bal->se->bal has such a marginal (and clearly inaudible) difference that it shouldn't be a make or break factor in anyone's purchasing decision. So many other factors to consider first.


100% agree. I have read zero complaints so far, so I suspect the THX engineers simply did not make any rookie mistakes in that SE and BAL actually have the exact same performance in this amp, except BAL has more power. No difference in noise or sound quality, just power that's it.

Other amp makers could learn from it


----------



## antdroid (Nov 29, 2018)

Monoprice, when they released the M1060, had used mmcx connectors that failed often. They switched over to 2.5mm connectors a few months later and anyone was allowed to swap it out. I swapped mine out and it went pretty flawlessly. But as far as silent revisions go, I think this happens a lot and you just don’t know about it.

It’s a bit easier nowadays to get internet updates to firmware if the hardware allows it (like our receivers and Blu-ray players and other connected items) but this wasn’t the norm prior to connected devices.

I believe they do have a rep — @MonoPrice


----------



## Baten

antdroid said:


> It’s a bit easier nowadays to get internet updates to firmware if the hardware allows it (like our receivers and Blu-ray players and other connected items) but this wasn’t the norm prior to connected devices.



Yeah but only as long as they provide both a firmware flashing tool, as well as the updates without being afraid of people reverse-engineering them :/ I think that's what makes other companies hesitant at least. Proprietary DSP shenanigans.


----------



## antdroid

Baten said:


> Yeah but only as long as they provide both a firmware flashing tool, as well as the updates without being afraid of people reverse-engineering them :/ I think that's what makes other companies hesitant at least



Yea, I am definitely curious if firmware updates are possible with this amp. Hopefully @MonoPrice can provide some answers to our questions


----------



## Flak2

I'm watching this thread as of course I'm very interested in your comments and findings about Dirac Sensaround,
it's unfortunate that a few initial units with wrong firmware slipped into users hands and one has been tested by Amir 
I'm confident anyhow that Monoprice will follow up..

Flavio


----------



## Roen

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...th-thx-aaa-portable-dac-amp.5122/#post-120533

With reports of hiss, that's the death knell of this amp. Who wants a noisy amp when there's plenty of quiet, transparent options out there?


----------



## swmtnbiker

Roen said:


> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...th-thx-aaa-portable-dac-amp.5122/#post-120533
> 
> With reports of hiss, that's the death knell of this amp. Who wants a noisy amp when there's plenty of quiet, transparent options out there?



That review is referring to the Monoprice PORTABLE amp, not the desktop unit being discussed in this thread.


----------



## Baten

Roen said:


> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...th-thx-aaa-portable-dac-amp.5122/#post-120533
> 
> With reports of hiss, that's the death knell of this amp. Who wants a noisy amp when there's plenty of quiet, transparent options out there?


Not the product being discussed here.


----------



## Roen

Baten said:


> Not the product being discussed here.


Goddamn it, I keep getting the two confused.


----------



## swmtnbiker

antdroid said:


> Keep both. They stack on each other nicely.
> 
> I am using the Loxjie P20 balanced tube amp. It's a great compliment (warm and detailed with GE JAN 5670 tubes) and sounds quite good and under $100.



Just wanted to mention that I picked up the Loxjie and am listening right now with the stock tubes and the Clears/Mimby in the chain via the balanced output. Holy crap, this cheap little beast sounds *insanely* good to my ears with this combo! I'll have to grab a pair of the GEs and give them a shot. Thanks for pointing this amp out to me!


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 29, 2018)

antdroid said:


> Monoprice, when they released the M1060, had used mmcx connectors that failed often. They switched over to 2.5mm connectors a few months later and anyone was allowed to swap it out. I swapped mine out and it went pretty flawlessly. But as far as silent revisions go, I think this happens a lot and you just don’t know about it.
> 
> It’s a bit easier nowadays to get internet updates to firmware if the hardware allows it (like our receivers and Blu-ray players and other connected items) but this wasn’t the norm prior to connected devices.
> 
> I believe they do have a rep — @MonoPrice


It might be a while...


*MonoPrice*
*Member of the Trade: Monoprice*
Male
Profile PageStart a Private MessageFollow Ignore
Member Since:

Aug 31, 2011

Messages:

2

Likes Received:

32
MonoPrice was last seen:
Oct 24, 2018


----------



## antdroid

swmtnbiker said:


> Just wanted to mention that I picked up the Loxjie and am listening right now with the stock tubes and the Clears/Mimby in the chain via the balanced output. Holy crap, this cheap little beast sounds *insanely* good to my ears with this combo! I'll have to grab a pair of the GEs and give them a shot. Thanks for pointing this amp out to me!



Yea, the P20 is surprisingly really good, and fully balanced! I took it apart and peeked inside. They pair great with the Focal headphones I have. The stock tubes took a few hours to warm up and they sounded quite good. I think the GE ones add more detail back into the mix with a similar sound signature. All subjective listening but I feel like this is one of the bargains of the year.


----------



## swmtnbiker

Indeed. I think it's good enough to warrant its own thread.


----------



## Packdemon (Nov 29, 2018)

Not returning this amp specifically, but another item that I ordered through Monoprice (mentioned earlier in this thread) has taken 6 days with no response whatsoever. So I called in and apparently my specific issue was transfered over to the the technical department from the RMA one, and they claimed that to be the reason for the wait. If they transfered my case they should of let me known, and once they did I don't see why it would take the technical support team to reach out to me to find out what was going on (and do trouble shoot bs to prove the issue was valid).

(Edit) :
I basically restated what I had originally written out, no point in the hold up. Are they just lazy, or were they perhaps hoping I'd forget about it, I wonder.


----------



## dpump

What does Monoprice do with amps that are sent back for credit? Do they have a separate place they sell returned items at a discount once they have checked them out and found they are working properly?


----------



## antdroid

dpump said:


> What does Monoprice do with amps that are sent back for credit? Do they have a separate place they sell returned items at a discount once they have checked them out and found they are working properly?



They sell open-box and refurb items on their site.


----------



## gto88

I am done with Moniprice, I am currently working to get my money back in full.
I just learn that they charge tax of shipping, and they did not refund it.
After back and forth a few times, now they refund the tax part of shipping.
Anyway, I am done with Monoprice, too much hassle.
Watch their web site, and you might see the amp I returned in low price as openbox.


----------



## ra990 (Dec 4, 2018)

Monoprice's service aside. I just got this little thing to audition and it's doing a fantastic job of driving my Abyss. It's got the typical AKM DAC sound, which I find to be slightly on the warmer side and lacking sibilance. Details and resolution are not at the Hugo 2's level, but at this price you can't really expect that. It does have some nice clean power that's bringing out a lot of the physicality and texture of the low end on the Abyss. The single ended output sounds good as well on my Utopias. The U/I is a little clunky, but I don't see myself playing with it too much. It does look like I have to click several times to do something as simple as change outputs from HP to RCA, so there's definitely room for improvement there in a future version. But, all in all, I think it's a pretty fantastic value for a great sounding fully balanced DAC/AMP.


----------



## Baten

gto88 said:


> I am done with Moniprice, I am currently working to get my money back in full.
> I just learn that they charge tax of shipping, and they did not refund it.
> After back and forth a few times, now they refund the tax part of shipping.
> Anyway, I am done with Monoprice, too much hassle.
> Watch their web site, and you might see the amp I returned in low price as openbox.


Same I'm $8 short


----------



## WailingBanshee (Dec 12, 2018)

Has anyone tried this unit with IEMs? I was wondering if it was suitable for high sensitivity and low impedance IEMs? (Ie CA andromedas)


----------



## ACDOAN (Dec 12, 2018)

swmtnbiker said:


> Perhaps "deceptive" was the wrong word to use, but Monoprice is leaning heavily on that THX brand recognition to sell the product. I guess it's like the old "THX approved" DVDs we used to buy. At the end of the day, that THX "certification" didn't amount to a hill of beans. It was more of a marketing ploy in that scenario. A bit different here to be sure, but I still don't really like it.



THX ( Tomlinson Holman's Experience ) is dated. Their trade marks on the low-end mass production gear back in the days was simply a marketing tool. THX charge a fee just to have their trade mark on the products. George Lucas has to recover the money of R & D under THX name. Now a day, it does not mean much.


----------



## Packdemon (Dec 12, 2018)

ACDOAN said:


> THX ( Tomlinson Holman's Experience ) is dated. Their trade marks on the low-end mass production gear back in the days was simply a marketing tool. THX charge a fee just to have their trade mark on the products. George Lucas has to recover the money of R & D under THX name. Now a day, it does not mean much.


It probably doesn't mean much, but it must still be worth it if companies still use it. They probably know what they are doing, and the cost is likely outweighed by the benefits in some way or another. 

Hopefully, when that changes in the future they'll stop using it


----------



## wadec22

WailingBanshee said:


> Has anyone tried this unit with IEMs? I was wondering if it was suitable for high sensitivity and low impedance IEMs? (Ie CA andromedas)



I did not use it with iems but I used it with the Denon AH-D7200.  25 ohms, 105db/mw - very sensitive headphone.  no hiss or imbalance issues.


----------



## antdroid

WailingBanshee said:


> Has anyone tried this unit with IEMs? I was wondering if it was suitable for high sensitivity and low impedance IEMs? (Ie CA andromedas)



Surprisingly, I found it hissy when using CA Orions, which are sensitive as well. I did not have hiss issues with any of my planars, or other over-ear headphones and less sensitive IEMs.

I used it with balanced output though - but I can try it with single ended when I get home if you want.


----------



## WailingBanshee

antdroid said:


> Surprisingly, I found it hissy when using CA Orions, which are sensitive as well. I did not have hiss issues with any of my planars, or other over-ear headphones and less sensitive IEMs.
> 
> I used it with balanced output though - but I can try it with single ended when I get home if you want.



If you could do that I would really appreciate it. I'm trying to decide between this product and the Questyle CMA400i. Based on features and specs, the monoprice seems at least on paper the better buy, but given its newness there has not been many detailed reviews for reference.


----------



## wadec22

antdroid said:


> Surprisingly, I found it hissy when using CA Orions, which are sensitive as well. I did not have hiss issues with any of my planars, or other over-ear headphones and less sensitive IEMs.
> 
> I used it with balanced output though - but I can try it with single ended when I get home if you want.



not that surprising, those are significantly more sensitive and lower resistance than my denons.

_114 dB SPL/mW Sensitivity_

_13.9 Ohms @ 1kHz Impedance_


----------



## antdroid

WailingBanshee said:


> If you could do that I would really appreciate it. I'm trying to decide between this product and the Questyle CMA400i. Based on features and specs, the monoprice seems at least on paper the better buy, but given its newness there has not been many detailed reviews for reference.



With single ended using the CA stock cable, I get very, very faint hiss but it seems inaudible to me during playback. With the balanced cable, it's audible during quiet moments of playback, so it's quite louder. I have almost always used IEMatch with my IEMs, especially these CA ones, so it's never been an issue for me until I recently decided to try it without the IEMatch and then noticed the issue.



wadec22 said:


> not that surprising, those are significantly more sensitive and lower resistance than my denons.
> 
> _114 dB SPL/mW Sensitivity_
> 
> _13.9 Ohms @ 1kHz Impedance_



Surprising since this is supposed to have low OI


----------



## wadec22

I guess I don't find it surprising. My Denon pickup hiss at OI of 1ohm. Your IEMS are significantly more sensitive.


----------



## Packdemon (Dec 12, 2018)

I have a modified pair of DT 1770s that have top-notch isolation, and all I hear is air foil and environmental noise from outside my house.

I'll try using a pair of my sensitive iems under my hearing protectors next.


----------



## LajostheHun

ACDOAN said:


> THX ( Tomlinson Holman's Experience ) is dated. Their trade marks on the low-end mass production gear back in the days was simply a marketing tool. THX charge a fee just to have their trade mark on the products. George Lucas has to recover the money of R & D under THX name. Now a day, it does not mean much.


Dude Lucas sold THX a long time ago, way before Lucasfilm, and this amp has nothing to do with those HT certification patents. Might wanna brush up on things before your unload on something you know nothing much about.


----------



## wadec22

LajostheHun said:


> Dude Lucas sold THX a long time ago, way before Lucasfilm, and this amp has nothing to do with those HT certification patents. Might wanna brush up on things before your unload on something you know nothing much about.



agreed.  THX AAA certification on an amp today _should_ mean a great deal actually.  Although their implementation here is not taking full advantage of the tech.


----------



## AresHarvest

THX AAA is not a certification, it's an amplifier design owned by THX. "Achromatic Audio Amplifier."


----------



## wadec22

AresHarvest said:


> THX AAA is not a certification, it's an amplifier design owned by THX. "Achromatic Audio Amplifier."



semantics - sure.  this unit has THX stamped on it because it has the AAA tech.


----------



## AresHarvest (Dec 14, 2018)

It's not semantics.

Certification involves a third party (THX or other) testing a manufacturer's product and, if it performs to spec and the manufacturer pays whatever fees are involved, the third party grants the certification.

In this case, THX is providing the tech instead of just testing it.


----------



## wadec22

AresHarvest said:


> It's not semantics.
> 
> Certification involves a third party (THX or other) testing a manufacturer's product and, provided it performs to spec, certifying it.
> 
> In this case, THX is providing the tech instead of just testing it.



sure - you are right if that is what you are after.

THX is on the unit because they are using their latest AAA tech.  unfortunately it turns out their implementation of that tech could/should have been much better - that is what anyone following this thread needs to know.


----------



## antdroid

Outside of hissing on extremely sensitive IEMs, I dont really have anything showstopping to complain about. This sounds a step up in quality than my Topping DX7 which is a comparable budget darling.


----------



## Packdemon (Dec 15, 2018)

I tried out my etymotic Hf5 paired with this, and I definitely hear a a flat noise floor when plugged in (that doesn't change when I raise or lover the volume). It becomes even more noticeable once I put on my hearing protectors over my Hf5s for added isolation. When I watch a YouTube video with this setup on my phone (LG v30+) and turn the phone source volume to one bar while turning up the amp volume (all the way), then the distortion becomes extremely noticeable with an extremely harsh hiss.

I know that I'm really pushing the limits with that kind of test, but I wanted to see how far I could go with that. It seems as though there is still room for improvement on headphone amplifier technology in the future, and hopefully a lot of price decreases to follow along with that.


----------



## WailingBanshee

Thanks for everyone's input. This is tempting to get since there's a 10% coupon on monoprice!


----------



## wadec22

WailingBanshee said:


> Thanks for everyone's input. This is tempting to get since there's a 10% coupon on monoprice!



it's a good unit.

Pros

very low noise, high SNR
good headphone amp that will drive most cans pretty well - although keep in mind it puts out about half as much power as advertised at high ohms.   low impedance, it puts out a full watt - so no worries there.
display is great
build quality feels good
attractive

cons

no xmos driver available, no downloadable firmware. best experience probably to use ASIO drivers
possible issue with analog inputs
navigation is annoying & really could have used a remote
two buttons on the front face feel cheap
possible engineering issue with circuit protection - shouldn't be an issue if you are careful and use common sense.
Monoprice service is lacking and slow

it's a very good value for the $.  depending on what you are looking for it can make a ton of sense


----------



## Packdemon

WailingBanshee said:


> Thanks for everyone's input. This is tempting to get since there's a 10% coupon on monoprice!


That's the first time I've seen a coupon for a newer item. Usually, they would have sitewide discounts that take a percentage off all items in your checkout cart, but it would always exclude certain products.


----------



## antdroid

wadec22 said:


> it's a good unit.
> 
> Pros
> 
> ...



I am using XMOS drivers with it.


 

Noise isn't great for high sensitive IEMs though. 

I havent had issues with coaxial, toslink or usb or RCA analog. 

Definitely agree remote could be helpful.


----------



## alexzogh

antdroid said:


> I am using XMOS drivers with it.



Can you provide a link to download the XMOS drivers? Couldn't find them on the Monoprice website, and the version I have (for a different unit) say they are not compatible. Thank you!


----------



## antdroid

You can try the ones on xmos official site. I had a topping DX7 before and it used the same driver it seems as the monolith. It automatically installed when I plugged it in to Windows 10


----------



## Suppa92

subscribed....


----------



## NaranKPatel

antdroid said:


> You can try the ones on xmos official site. I had a topping DX7 before and it used the same driver it seems as the monolith. It automatically installed when I plugged it in to Windows 10



The official XMOS drivers aren't working properly I get "XMOS DFU error" on drivers list in Windows 10, I too have a Topping DX7s so that didn't work as you've indicated. There no ASIO driver so it's not proper support anyway? I don't know who they think they are kidding.

"
The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)

There are no compatible drivers for this device.
"


----------



## antdroid

NaranKPatel said:


> The official XMOS drivers aren't working properly I get "XMOS DFU error" on drivers list in Windows 10, I too have a Topping DX7s so that didn't work as you've indicated. There no ASIO driver so it's not proper support anyway? I don't know who they think they are kidding.
> 
> "
> The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)
> ...



Well, I don't know what to say. I can research and try to figure out what driver I have installed. The only other USB dac I have installed that had drivers, that I can remember, is the Topping DX7 or the Audeze Mobius headphone - which used its own driver. 

I dont really even take advantage of the driver to be honest, as I have no DSD files and just play normal CD-quality FLAC and stream audio. I'll let you know if I find anything in my driver files.


----------



## antdroid (Dec 21, 2018)

NaranKPatel said:


> The official XMOS drivers aren't working properly I get "XMOS DFU error" on drivers list in Windows 10, I too have a Topping DX7s so that didn't work as you've indicated. There no ASIO driver so it's not proper support anyway? I don't know who they think they are kidding.
> 
> "
> The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)
> ...



I attached my driver files from my Windows 10 folder. I am using the latest version of Win 10 too btw.

https://redirect.viglink.com/?forma... Discussion - Head-Fi.org&txt=XMOS 2.26.0.zip


----------



## NaranKPatel

antdroid said:


> I attached my driver files from my Windows 10 folder. I am using the latest version of Win 10 too btw.
> 
> https://redirect.viglink.com/?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_154543912220414&key=1e99669452acedd7650a94861c9354cb&libId=jpyqj9ey0101zlp1000DL1c1f4390&loc=https://www.head-fi.org/posts/14671792/save-inline&v=1&out=https://cdn.head-fi.org/a/10215448.zip&ref=https://www.head-fi.org/threads/monoprice-monolith-desktop-thx-amp-dac-24459-impressions-thread.860046/page-24&title=Edit Post by antdroid | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org&txt=XMOS 2.26.0.zip



These are very old drivers, but still much appreciated and worth trying if they work, cheers!

I believe I tried the latest XMOS 4.x and they didn't appear to work??
https://www.xmos.com/developer/published/usb-audio-class-20-evaluation-driver-windows

-Naran


----------



## antdroid

NaranKPatel said:


> These are very old drivers, but still much appreciated and worth trying if they work, cheers!
> 
> I believe I tried the latest XMOS 4.x and they didn't appear to work??
> https://www.xmos.com/developer/published/usb-audio-class-20-evaluation-driver-windows
> ...



Well, those old drivers worked for me. Then I decided to be dumb and install the 4.x test driver and now I can't get the 2.6 driver to work anymore either. :|

Doesnt really bother me too much since I don't do DSD, but annoying to see a DFU driver error in Device Manager. I'll keep playing around and see if I can figure out what worked and what made it stop working.


----------



## davidmthekidd

anyone using any of the Hifiman's Arya/Ananda/HE1000 with these? I want to plug a turn-table to this aswell as the PC. Lyr3/Jot are my potential choices, coming from a Schiit stack v3 Magni/Modi.


----------



## BrokeSkoolBoi

Sound like the lack of compatibility with sensitive iems makes this a no go. I Wanted a unit I could enjoy plugging my MD+ into, seems like I'll be getting the thx 789 and ending the chase for a fully 'balanced' system.


----------



## antdroid

BrokeSkoolBoi said:


> Sound like the lack of compatibility with sensitive iems makes this a no go. I Wanted a unit I could enjoy plugging my MD+ into, seems like I'll be getting the thx 789 and ending the chase for a fully 'balanced' system.



That's probably the biggest negative for this if that falls into your use case. IEMatch works fine with it though.


----------



## Sybase (Dec 27, 2018)

I received this DAC/AMP about a week ago and so far it's been really good. It drives all my headphones easily: DT 1990, HD600, AKG K7XX with a lot of amp left to spare. It sounds materially better than my previous unit, the Centrance DACport Slim from Massdrop. More detail, faster response, and fuller bass.

I also have FLC 8S and Etymotic ER4XR and there's a small amount of background noise with those, but when the music starts playing, it's inaudible. I have a Etymotic ER4P to S convertor cable (adds 75 ohms) and running IEMs through this eliminates any background noise.

edit: that was all on single-ended


----------



## davidmthekidd

Sybase said:


> I received this DAC/AMP about a week ago and so far it's been really good. It drives all my headphones easily: DT 1990, HD600, AKG K7XX with a lot of amp left to spare. It sounds materially better than my previous unit, the Centrance DACport Slim from Massdrop. More detail, faster response, and fuller bass.
> 
> I also have FLC 8S and Etymotic ER4XR and there's a small amount of background noise with those, but when the music starts playing, it's inaudible. I have a Etymotic ER4P to S convertor cable (adds 75 ohms) and running IEMs through this eliminates any background noise.
> 
> edit: that was all on single-ended



what's the sensitivity of the DT 1990?


----------



## Sybase (Dec 27, 2018)

davidmthekidd said:


> what's the sensitivity of the DT 1990?


250 ohm

102db per 1mW which means it shouldn't be that hard to drive


----------



## Packdemon (Dec 28, 2018)

Sybase said:


> I received this DAC/AMP about a week ago and so far it's been really good. It drives all my headphones easily: DT 1990, HD600, AKG K7XX with a lot of amp left to spare. It sounds materially better than my previous unit, the Centrance DACport Slim from Massdrop. More detail, faster response, and fuller bass.
> 
> I also have FLC 8S and Etymotic ER4XR and there's a small amount of background noise with those, but when the music starts playing, it's inaudible. I have a Etymotic ER4P to S convertor cable (adds 75 ohms) and running IEMs through this eliminates any background noise.
> 
> edit: that was all on single-ended


They sell 75 ohm impedance adapters like that on Amazon. They work with any 3.5mm device. This is the one I use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A2QJL0C

Though I believe that a cable/adapter with a volume pot basically does the samething. Adjusting the volume pot change the resistance thereby changing the volume. This is the cheap one I use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DYP98LU

I'll test both and report my findings.


----------



## Packdemon (Mar 16, 2019)

Okay, so I can confirm that the +75 ohm impedance cable works very well with my sensitive iems, and I cannot hear the distortion with the source volume turned down low, and amp volume all the way up.

With the cheap volume control cable, not so much. I think it did make some difference, but it didn't get rid of it all. It very quirky to work with and the added volume control is redundant and it being analog is probably a net negative considering the amp volume control in digital.

As a little side note, the 75 ohm impedance cable can be chained together to add as many 75 ohms of impedance as you like. I'm sure you will get deminishing returns on the benefit per each additional cable you add, so take that as you will.

Basically, if you want a THX MP 788 and are a heavy user of sensitive iems and headphones, then I would recommend the purchase of an impedance cable. Mind you that mean the cost you incure for the total system would be $500.


----------



## davidmthekidd

Guys, I wanted to ask, would Dirac work if I connect my Turn table via a phono-preamp through the Analog RCA IN? I would love to connect my Pro-Ject Essential III turntable via the RCA and enjoy my vinyls. Wonder if older analog recordings would take advantage of Dirac.


----------



## antdroid

davidmthekidd said:


> Guys, I wanted to ask, would Dirac work if I connect my Turn table via a phono-preamp through the Analog RCA IN? I would love to connect my Pro-Ject Essential III turntable via the RCA and enjoy my vinyls. Wonder if older analog recordings would take advantage of Dirac.



Hello - I tried plugging my DAP into analog RCA input to the amp, and yes, DIRAC works.


----------



## davidmthekidd

antdroid said:


> Hello - I tried plugging my DAP into analog RCA input to the amp, and yes, DIRAC works.



sweet, is this amp/dac your main Amp/dac? I would love for someone to make a youtube Impressions video.


----------



## antdroid

davidmthekidd said:


> sweet, is this amp/dac your main Amp/dac? I would love for someone to make a youtube Impressions video.



It currently is my main desktop amp/da at my computer workstation which is where I do a lot of my music listening. I also have a Loxjie P20 Hybrid Tube that is connected to it for warmer sound needs. My relaxation areas, like the living room and den, I primarily plug my headphones into my the integrated amps I have there which work fine mostly for limited use (i'm usually using speakers) -- or I use my DAP.


----------



## davidmthekidd

When an analog source is connected via the Analog In RCA port, is that signal converted to digital for EQ/Dirac and then back to Analog? I need to know this, I want my analog signal to remain 100% analog when listening via headphones.


----------



## AndrewM888

davidmthekidd said:


> When an analog source is connected via the Analog In RCA port, is that signal converted to digital for EQ/Dirac and then back to Analog? I need to know this, I want my analog signal to remain 100% analog when listening via headphones.


Yes analog input is converted to digital by ADC, regardless of DIRAC on/off.


----------



## Bquach206

Just a quick question, has anyone hooked up this monoprice 788 to a mac? Everything i have read so far is for windows and wondering if the dac will work on a mac computer. thanks


----------



## Packdemon

Bquach206 said:


> Just a quick question, has anyone hooked up this monoprice 788 to a mac? Everything i have read so far is for windows and wondering if the dac will work on a mac computer. thanks


Yup, works on my really old iMac.


----------



## antdroid

FYI xmos drivers have been released for those on older windows os versions


----------



## lgcubana

20% off coupon code (SURPRISE1) is good for today (2.26.2019) only.  Brought it down to $408 shipped, for me


----------



## stimuz

lgcubana said:


> 20% off coupon code (SURPRISE1) is good for today (2.26.2019) only.  Brought it down to $408 shipped, for me



450 for me . still pretty impressed, was using a janky dac -> tube hybrid setup with mostly planars and that was definitely making the bass crappier.


----------



## lgcubana

Just recv'd my 788.  The display is white, not the blue that is shown on the MP website.

The firmware is 1.01
On the main page for the 788, MP is now offering a 1.03 firmware update and the tool to do the upgrade.  No mention of a change log

I'm using a TOS link on a Win7 PC, set to 24 bit 48K, for Spotify premium. So far so good


----------



## wadec22

honestly with the introduction of the JDS Atom amp, I cannot see a reason to buy the Monoprice.  There are so many DACs to choose from in that perform as well or better and paired with the Atom amp will save you some $ and desktop space.  I guess the only reason I can think of if you are simply taken with the aesthetic of the unit.


----------



## mattris

What DACs "perform as well or better" than the one in the Monoprice? To match its feature list, the DAC would need optical, coaxial, and AES inputs... and niceties like Dirac Sensurround, parametric EQ, and other sound customizations. And let's not forget that the Monoprice's amplifier has a balanced headphone out... and is based on THX AAA architecture, which will produce measurably cleaner sound than the JDS Atom.


----------



## lgcubana

wadec22 said:


> honestly with the introduction of the JDS Atom amp, I cannot see a reason to buy the Monoprice.  There are so many DACs to choose from in that perform as well or better and paired with the Atom amp will save you some $ and desktop space.  I guess the only reason I can think of if you are simply taken with the aesthetic of the unit.




Beyond what mattris countered with, I don't see how an SE amp (e.g. JDS Atom) can be in the same conversation with a bridged dual amp, dual AKM 4493 unit.

Not to say that the Atom isn't a sound (no pun intended) choice; it's just in a different class, than the AAA 788


----------



## wadec22

mattris said:


> What DACs "perform as well or better" than the one in the Monoprice? To match its feature list, the DAC would need optical, coaxial, and AES inputs... and niceties like Dirac Sensurround, parametric EQ, and other sound customizations. And let's not forget that the Monoprice's amplifier has a balanced headphone out... and is based on THX AAA architecture, which will produce measurably cleaner sound than the JDS Atom.



I've owned the monoprice. The Dirac is all gimmick. Maybe if you need the EQ but there are free options on PC that are much more versatile.

Measurements wise, the EL DAC is equal to the MP DAC and has plenty of inputs. Measurements wise the atom amp wipes the floor with the amp in the MP (which actually delivers half the advertised power).


----------



## wadec22

lgcubana said:


> Beyond what mattris countered with, I don't see how an SE amp (e.g. JDS Atom) can be in the same conversation with a bridged dual amp, dual AKM 4493 unit.
> 
> Not to say that the Atom isn't a sound (no pun intended) choice; it's just in a different class, than the AAA 788



A spec sheet means nothing when it comes to implementation. If they delivered on what they marketed it would be one thing. If you do some research, the fumbled the execution.


----------



## Packdemon

Does anyone have a link for that firmware update?


----------



## franz12

I receive this today. It sounds pretty good. Lower end is hefty and clean.


----------



## stimuz

wadec22 said:


> I've owned the monoprice. The Dirac is all gimmick. Maybe if you need the EQ but there are free options on PC that are much more versatile.
> 
> Measurements wise, the EL DAC is equal to the MP DAC and has plenty of inputs. Measurements wise the atom amp wipes the floor with the amp in the MP (which actually delivers half the advertised power).



Where are these measurements?


----------



## Flak2

wadec22 said:


> I've owned the monoprice. The Dirac is all gimmick



It's possible that the unit has been returned before availability of the firmware update.
One channel phase was reversed (SE input RCA only)


----------



## lgcubana

Packdemon said:


> Does anyone have a link for that firmware update?


Its near the bottom of the MP page for the product "Support Files"
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=24459

under the "Description" tab


----------



## lgcubana

wadec22 said:


> A spec sheet means nothing when it comes to implementation. If they delivered on what they marketed it would be one thing. If you do some research, the fumbled the execution.


I can only surmise that you got a bad unit.  My unit is working so far, including the Dirac feature; which is really notable on artist like Billie Holiday

Still waiting on my balanced cable (for my Sennheiser HD6xx), to really give the 788 a run.


----------



## lgcubana (Mar 5, 2019)

wadec22 said:


> ... with the amp in the MP (which actually delivers *half the advertised power*).



Well that's alarming, do you have a source that you can point me to ?

In my very non scientific measurements (my +50 yr. old ears), my 50 ohm, MP M1060 (using the same SE cable for both amps) plays at low gain, 11:00 o'clock.  On my Audio-GD R2R-11
&
-19.0db on the THX AAA 788

(listed power output)


----------



## antdroid

I get this error when trying to install the firmware: 

Start update progress......
Updating image......
Error: Update image failed(kStatus_FlashAddressError).
Update process is stopped by error.


----------



## lgcubana

antdroid said:


> I get this error when trying to install the firmware:
> 
> Start update progress......
> Updating image......
> ...


When I attempted to do the flash earlier today, I received an error related to a missing dll file.  Their customer support got back to me relatively quickly with the missing dll. And I was successful in flashing the new firmware, following the included directions.

They said that they would be updating the 24459_Software_160413.zip file to include the missing dll.  It’s very possible that their host for web services has them on a schedule, for updates.  Which would mean the updates might not be until tonight or tomorrow morning.

Also the XMOS driver for Win 7/8 will be reposted as well.  The support person said that this should resolve my Win 10 “... driver is unavailable” problem.

If you’d like, PM me your email and I’ll send you the errant dll


----------



## antdroid

lgcubana said:


> When I attempted to do the flash earlier today, I received an error related to a missing dll file.  Their customer support got back to me relatively quickly with the missing dll. And I was successful in flashing the new firmware, following the included directions.
> 
> They said that they would be updating the 24459_Software_160413.zip file to include the missing dll.  It’s very possible that their host for web services has them on a schedule, for updates.  Which would mean the updates might not be until tonight or tomorrow morning.
> 
> ...



I found the dll online but it could be not the right one. So if you have it and can send it over that'd be great! I'll PM you


----------



## antdroid

Thanks to @lgcubana I was able to get mine upgraded to the latest firmware. I haven't played with it much since I got the RME ADI-2 DAC today and there's too much to learn on that one. Planning on using it as a DAC for this amp.


----------



## franz12

antdroid said:


> Thanks to @lgcubana I was able to get mine upgraded to the latest firmware. I haven't played with it much since I got the RME ADI-2 DAC today and there's too much to learn on that one. Planning on using it as a DAC for this amp.


The monoprice thx has better dac chips akm4493 vs akm4490 in the RME ADI-2 DAC, so the monoprice may sound better.
What do you think?


----------



## antdroid

franz12 said:


> The monoprice thx has better dac chips akm4493 vs akm4490 in the RME ADI-2 DAC, so the monoprice may sound better.
> What do you think?



Possibly, but in my very early limited listening I *think* the RME ADI-2 DAC is cleaner and I am hearing somethings I did not pick on before. That could just be weird bias or could be the implementation. Besides just the chipset, the ADI-2 has a lot of features I wanted to take advantage of that the Monolith has but in a much more limited way. I have multiple headphones, so being able to create EQ profiles for each will be nice. I also like the pretty display.


----------



## franz12

antdroid said:


> Possibly, but in my very early limited listening I *think* the RME ADI-2 DAC is cleaner and I am hearing somethings I did not pick on before. That could just be weird bias or could be the implementation. Besides just the chipset, the ADI-2 has a lot of features I wanted to take advantage of that the Monolith has but in a much more limited way. I have multiple headphones, so being able to create EQ profiles for each will be nice. I also like the pretty display.



Regarding the EQ, have you tried the DMG equilibrium? It is the cleanest implementation I have heard after trying multiple parameteric EQ.  
If you have any chances to compare them, give us your thoughts how the EQ function in the ADI-2 compared to the DMG equilibrium.


----------



## Packdemon

@franz12 It could mean that it'll measure better, I won't say as to whether or not you'll be able to hear the minute difference.


----------



## antdroid

franz12 said:


> Regarding the EQ, have you tried the DMG equilibrium? It is the cleanest implementation I have heard after trying multiple parameteric EQ.
> If you have any chances to compare them, give us your thoughts how the EQ function in the ADI-2 compared to the DMG equilibrium.



I can give it a try. I actually try to avoid using software EQ except on my DAP which is standalone. The reason I wanted hardware-based EQ was because I don't always listen to music on my PC. I also have a CD player and streaming devices attached to the DAC and headphone amp.


----------



## antdroid

Got this email just now:

Dear Monoprice Customer,

We are reaching out to inform you of a new firmware update that is available for your Monolith by Monoprice Desktop Headphone Amplifier and DAC with THX AAA Technology. 

The update is to address a minor phasing issue with the RCA inputs on the back of the unit and is currently available for download on the Product Page (Firmware v1.03) along with the Firmware Update Guide.

If you require any assistance or have any questions please contact us and we will be happy to assist.

We thank you for being a valued Monoprice customer and hope you are enjoying your Monolith Amplifier!


Sincerely,

Monoprice Support


----------



## AresHarvest

I've been impressed with Monoprice customer service. Just yesterday I had a question for them, contacted them thru the CS form on their website. I received a reply within an hour. And now this.


----------



## lgcubana

My Windows 10 Pro, Fall Edition, (using the USB connection) states: "MONOLITH DESKTOP HPA *Driver is unavailable*"

Just installed the posted XMOS.dll and the error is gone.  What I didn't think to do was try the USB connection before installing the XMOS driver.  With the driver, the playback is fuller and louder than my other setup (Win 7, with TOS Link).  I'd be curious to know if anyone notices a difference with and without the driver.

Now if my balanced cable would show up, I can really start my testing.


----------



## antdroid

lgcubana said:


> My Windows 10 Pro, Fall Edition, (using the USB connection) states: "MONOLITH DESKTOP HPA *Driver is unavailable*"
> 
> Just installed the posted XMOS.dll and the error is gone.  What I didn't think to do was try the USB connection before installing the XMOS driver.  With the driver, the playback is fuller and louder than my other setup (Win 7, with TOS Link).  I'd be curious to know if anyone notices a difference with and without the driver.
> 
> Now if my balanced cable would show up, I can really start my testing.



Interesting. You shouldn't need to use drivers on Windows 10 (post creator's edition) since it has it incorporated into the OS already. The only thing missing from the Win10 default package is the DFU Loader for firmware upgrades, but seems like you don't need it with the app that Monoprice provided.


----------



## Flak2

antdroid said:


> Got this email just now:
> 
> Dear Monoprice Customer,
> 
> ...



Pleased that it has now been fixed,
that phasing issue impacts on Dirac Sensaround cutting the bass reproduction


----------



## Packdemon

I never use the RCA input


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz (Mar 7, 2019)

Got mine with the coupon. Installed XMOS Win7 drivers from Monoprice,  flashed to V1.03, setup Windows sound (no XMOS Control Panel) for 192/32 - high as it'd go. Then fired up Tidal MQA Sgt. Pepper's, A Day in the Life  busted out the vintage AKG-240DF 600Ohmers that nothing can drive,  -10db on the volume... I near cried,  pass.

Rather outstanding actually... Suppose Win 10 sound system will allow up to our 768k rate.

I notice V1.03 also gives us 5 band PEQ in addition to the configurable shelves.  Neato!  Thought it was 3 band but forgot to check before I flashed it.


----------



## lgcubana

It was 5 band PEQ prior to ver. 1.03

I’m still putting around with the Q factor, as the manual isn’t overly clear on the ratio to the resulting bell curve. For my MP M1060s I just left the Q value to the default of 1, when I put in a cut at 5K


----------



## antdroid

lgcubana said:


> It was 5 band PEQ prior to ver. 1.03
> 
> I’m still putting around with the Q factor, as the manual isn’t overly clear on the ratio to the resulting bell curve. For my MP M1060s I just left the Q value to the default of 1, when I put in a cut at 5K



Dang I lost my M1060 REW measurement file in a hard drive crash, otherwise I'd run the EQ simulator for you. The larger the Q the smaller the EQ band is.


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

lgcubana said:


> It was 5 band PEQ prior to ver. 1.03
> 
> I’m still putting around with the Q factor, as the manual isn’t overly clear on the ratio to the resulting bell curve. For my MP M1060s I just left the Q value to the default of 1, when I put in a cut at 5K



I'm still recovering from trolling reviews and spec sheets.  Can't even recall which whizbang I think did what.  At least MP helped the decision with that coupon. Heck of a piece.

Maybe time come FW 2 the nice little OLED can show  the PEQ curve and label it  Maybe next manual or measurements will tell us.  I'm fiddling with Q 0.5 @~50Hz as a virtual sub control.


----------



## therealness

I got mine in the mail yesterday (from the sale day), found a windows computer, flashed it with minor headaches (XMOS drivers), and then hooked it up. Sounds great using Audirvana+ and my modded 58X's. Don't have a ton of dac/amp's to compare but it was worth the money for me as a dual unit. Good dacs, good amps, sounds crystal clear with no perceivable noise. Had to force DSD as Audirvana didn't detect it but other than that, all good.


----------



## antdroid

SmokeNMirrorz said:


> I'm still recovering from trolling reviews and spec sheets.  Can't even recall which whizbang I think did what.  At least MP helped the decision with that coupon. Heck of a piece.
> 
> Maybe time come FW 2 the nice little OLED can show  the PEQ curve and label it  Maybe next manual or measurements will tell us.  I'm fiddling with Q 0.5 @~50Hz as a virtual sub control.



I just got the ADI-2 DAC and it does this.  Has 5 band PEQ and displays the curve. It's pretty handy. I do use Room EQ Wizard to set up my EQ first and then just input it into either the ADI-2 DAC or the THX-AAA amp but having the visual makes it more fun and confirm what I am doing.


----------



## stimuz

Flak2 said:


> It's possible that the unit has been returned before availability of the firmware update.
> One channel phase was reversed (SE input RCA only)



I don't even know what dirac is, but gimmick or not its a bonus for this dac/amp.


----------



## mark5hs

How's this compare to jotunheim with dac?

I'm coming from Geek Pulse standard and want something balanced. Main headphones is he560, also use a pair of swans powered desktop speakers with the rca out.


----------



## sff2008

I got myself in a bit of a bind and I'd appreciate some assistance.  I have a unopened RME ADI-2 DAC and I'm now thinking for my use case I should have just got the Monoprice #24459.  I would say 80% of my listening is from my speakers (LSR305) and the rest headphones.  I just want the cleanest sound possible without getting to the point of diminishing returns, and I fear I did that with the ADI-2 DAC.  I'd like to blame Z-Reviews, but he didn't force me to do it. 

Anyhow, I used to have a TEAC UD-H01 hooked to the LSR305's via XLR.  I'm a huge fan of hardware EQ after having a terrible time with the likes of Equalizer APO and others with the TEAC unit.  A couple of months ago I purchased the Mayflower ARC, the JDS labs Subjective 3 hardware EQ, and the JDS labs OL Switcher to control volume. The ARC decision was in large part due to the mic input.  A decision I now mostly regret.  The mic input aside, even with the Subjective 3 I'm not totally satisfied with the sound.  It's a bit muddy sounding no matter what I do. Granted I listen to mostly metal, and the way it's mastered is......well.....lets say less than par.  Wanting to ditch the 3 unit stack and go back to a all in one unit with built in EQ, I narrowed it down to the Monoprice or the RME.  If the Monoprice had XLR out I would have purchased it without thinking twice, but the unknowledgeable side of me said I had to have XLR out instead of just RCA.

I'm rambling.  At the end of the day -

Do I use the ADI-2 DAC, return it and get the Monoprice, or return it and keep what I have?

Again, my use is mostly the LSR305's for music and gaming, and headphones when playing online with friends.


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

Wow,  wish I had your problems... and a RME. 

This
https://www.amazon.com/Balanced-Female-Hi-end-Silver-Adapter/dp/B010NCDVIW

will let you tap the balanced headphone out and get XLR from there. You can also rewire the XLR-In to an Out this way- see the posts on MP for the pinouts and warranty voiding info.


----------



## antdroid

The RME is better in every way. I have both.

Plus pretty lights.


----------



## sff2008

SmokeNMirrorz said:


> Wow,  wish I had your problems... and a RME.
> 
> This
> https://www.amazon.com/Balanced-Female-Hi-end-Silver-Adapter/dp/B010NCDVIW
> ...



Thanks, I'll look into it.  If it requires soldering though I'm not sure I'm up to the task.



antdroid said:


> The RME is better in every way. I have both.
> 
> Plus pretty lights.



Sure but is it $600 better?


----------



## antdroid

sff2008 said:


> Sure but is it $600 better?



I think thats an individual choice. For me, I love it. I have a bunch of IEMs and Headphones and the ability to EQ and SAVE each one is great. I can also EQ my speakers. The ability to fine tune every setting like cross-feed and balance and everything is quite nice too. In general, the DAC on the RME is more detailed than the DAC on the Monolith, despite it using an older 4490 vs 4493 DAC. The output on the RME for IEMs is really well done and black as midnight on a moonless night. The Monolith THX has audible noise when I use some sensitive IEMs.

The headphone output on the RME is quite sufficient on high gain, while the THX does have better output in general using balanced, but I am perfectly fine using the 1/4" out on the RME right now. I switch off and on between both (with RME being the DAC for the Monolith). 

Other than that, having a remote is a nice feature. I honestly like both of them, but I like the RME more because it has more features and sounds better to me.


----------



## AresHarvest (Mar 15, 2019)

One thing not mentioned is the drivers. RME drivers are, in my experience, the most stable of any audio manufacturer. Fewer buffer underruns at any given setting, compared to the competition.

Now, round-trip latency isn't a concern (or even a thing) when using an output-only device, so the fact that RME drivers can achieve extremely low output latency is probably not a concern for you. It would be if you had to monitor inputs and playback while recording, but again that's not what the ADI-2 DAC is for. But either way, it's a testament to the driver quality.

IMO it definitely is $600 better, provided you have that $600 to spend. And it appears you do, since you already bought it. If you could only afford the Monoprice now but had to save up to get the RME instead, I would probably say get the Monoprice.

Edit: one thing occurred to me just now. While I was demoing the ADI-2 DAC I didn't check if the crossfeed and EQ settings can be applied to the line outputs. If they can, you can get best of both worlds by pairing the ADI-2 DAC with a THX/Massdrop AAA 789. You know, if you ever want to get that additional output power.


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz (Mar 15, 2019)

antdroid said:


> The RME is better in every way. I have both.
> .



Going further, a laboratory calibrated and certified McIntosh DAC and Preamp is pretty much untouchable.  That's probably $25-50k so why not get that instead; it's better no?

Few of us our privileged enough to not consider the price to performance ratio.  The THX wins that one I believe.  For most of us is that's likely the single guiding metric of what's "best" and what we wind up buying.  That's why the magic MP coupon day was the final decision for my purchase.  The performance I was after fell within my budget for a day and the ratio became both untouchable (it already was) and attainable.

Price aside, clearly the RME wins on features... You utilize the RME's features for your collection that includes IEMs and the RME has lower noise with them (you just need an impedance cable for IEMs on the THX btw and noise gone). You, in your case, get a lot of additional benefits from those features.  Perhaps those features allow you to tailor the sound to where it becomes better in your use case.

However, the THX-AAA is pretty much the most linear op-amp ever made on a chip and the dual 4493 DACs in the THX is a step-up from the RME on paper at least and it's got more power.  So while you may prefer the RME sound better, which  could be feature/equipment choice driven, others may not and numbers likely don't support it either.  I opened up my 788 and the board and build is excellent; haven't seen the guts of an RME but no reason to think it's notably better.  Even if I could afford an RME I don't know that I'd prefer or even want it; since the THX already exceeded my requirements.  I'd ultimately let my ears decide across the gear that matters most to the listening I'll do on it.

Per sff2008 and your dilemma of choice: if not both, I'd let my ears make the final decision by listening to the pre-outs feeding your amp/speakers if that's 80% of your listening (get the XLR cable if nec < $30).  Test your cans, fully evaluate the the feature set and its control over the the sound and your overall pleasure. If lots of presets is critical then the choice is clear.  If the absolute  best sound is the priority then only you can decide. ; )


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz (Mar 15, 2019)

sff2008 said:


> Thanks, I'll look into it.  If it requires soldering though I'm not sure I'm up to the task.



If you get that XLR-4 to 2xXLR-3 cable or similar then you have the connectivity without any soldering or alteration.  If having your connections on the front is an issue then with soldering you can rewire the existing pair or rear XLR-3 input connectors to the same pins as the XLR-4 used by the front headphones (or the adapter cable).  If this is done then the front XLR headphone jack and the rear stereo XLR outs would both be controlled by the volume together.  You'd give up the XLR-3 stereo inputs (they get desoldered) and your warranty just to have rear mounting.  It might be reasonable, though, if you're largely dedicating it as a balanced preamp with the other inputs.


----------



## AresHarvest

SmokeNMirrorz said:


> Going further, a laboratory calibrated and certified McIntosh DAC and Preamp is pretty much untouchable.  That's probably $25-50k so why not get that instead; it's better no?



So we're looking at a choice between a $480 item and an $1100 item. Do you feel that your $25,000-50,000 item is an apt example of expanding budgets? I get that it's hyperbole, but come on.


----------



## phthora

antdroid said:


> In general, the DAC on the RME is more detailed than the DAC on the Monolith, despite it using an older 4490 vs 4493 DAC.



Can you, uh... expand on that idea? I'm having a hard time coping with this information.


----------



## franz12

antdroid said:


> I think thats an individual choice. For me, I love it. I have a bunch of IEMs and Headphones and the ability to EQ and SAVE each one is great. I can also EQ my speakers. The ability to fine tune every setting like cross-feed and balance and everything is quite nice too. In general, the DAC on the RME is more detailed than the DAC on the Monolith, despite it using an older 4490 vs 4493 DAC. The output on the RME for IEMs is really well done and black as midnight on a moonless night. The Monolith THX has audible noise when I use some sensitive IEMs.
> 
> The headphone output on the RME is quite sufficient on high gain, while the THX does have better output in general using balanced, but I am perfectly fine using the 1/4" out on the RME right now. I switch off and on between both (with RME being the DAC for the Monolith).
> 
> Other than that, having a remote is a nice feature. I honestly like both of them, but I like the RME more because it has more features and sounds better to me.



The RME would be side grade at best, if setting aside all those features. I did a head-to-head comparison between this and ifi Pro iDSD ($2500).  I would say they sound just slightly different. I wouldn't say one is upgrade from the other.


----------



## antdroid (Mar 15, 2019)

Yes, if you took away all the features that make the RME ADI-2 unique and more expensive, then it would be a side-to-slight upgrade. But that's not what it is. You get a truckload of additional features and better display and interface. And you are paying for that additional benefit and features.

Again, I like both units. You have to decide if you need the additional features or not.

@phthora - I dont really know how to really explain it, but when I use with my Focal headphones, I can definitely pick out more detail using the RME as a DAC than when not. It just might be better implemented. I don't know.


----------



## therealness

Ok. I own a studio and I’m gonna step in here. Buy the monolith. Save the money. Unless you live in music, it’s likely overkill for features you don’t need. Wait for a Monoprice sale and buy it. It’s honestly amazing and so reasonably priced. The dac chips alone are $100, I can only imagine the thx chips are similar. It’s amazing, get balanced cables and enjoy. Save the $1000 and buy a better dac for your home speaker setup.


----------



## lgcubana

antdroid said:


> ... while the THX does have better output in general using balanced, but I am perfectly fine using the 1/4" out on the RME right now. I switch off and on between both (with RME being the DAC for the Monolith...


Periapt has me on a 3 week turnaround time, for my balanced cables; which is really making me impatient  to test out the full capabilities of the THX 788.

Could you expound on the THX’s ability to produce better output on the balanced connection ?
E.g. more detail, better presence or just louder

Thanks


----------



## stimuz (Mar 16, 2019)

lgcubana said:


> Periapt has me on a 3 week turnaround time, for my balanced cables; which is really making me impatient  to test out the full capabilities of the THX 788.
> 
> Could you expound on the THX’s ability to produce better output on the balanced connection ?
> E.g. more detail, better presence or just louder
> ...



I ordered a cable too. I really wasn't going to, but then I realized I have 3 headphones that can use dual 2.5mm to XLR so why not. That said, single ended I haven't even gone past -10 DB and I'm told +16 is where it caps out, so I really just ordered the cable because I wanted a longer cable. 

I honestly don't see how dac/amps beyond this point can be better from a functional standpoint, but I can see the argument for features like a remote and saved EQ settings which I assume they COULD patch into the firmware eventually if its on their radar. Then there's tubes, which are entirely subjective, which I'm personally not a fan of since I'd rather just EQ and it always screws with the lows.


----------



## stimuz

therealness said:


> Ok. I own a studio and I’m gonna step in here. Buy the monolith. Save the money. Unless you live in music, it’s likely overkill for features you don’t need. Wait for a Monoprice sale and buy it. It’s honestly amazing and so reasonably priced. The dac chips alone are $100, I can only imagine the thx chips are similar. It’s amazing, get balanced cables and enjoy. Save the $1000 and buy a better dac for your home speaker setup.



Yea, for an all in one it checked all the boxes. Good dac, good amp, looks nice. Those are pretty much all my boxes for an amp or dac.


----------



## antdroid (Mar 16, 2019)

My two issues with the monolith are no preset saving and line noise which is audible on highly sensitive headphones. Most over-ears should be fine but it's not great for IEMs which I can hear the noise in quieter parts of music or movies. The ADI2 is black out clean on both outputs and has the additional functionality.

I still use the Monolith when I want to drive a more powerful hungry planar headphone but the RME does do alright on high gain. The most noticeable difference for me was when using a highly dynamic Focal headphone (which are sensitive and have low impedance) using balanced on the Monolith vs using the RME. The RME sounded more compressed on normal gain, but switching it to high gain solved that. I can see the super power hungry headphones performing better on the balanced output of the monolith.

I'll just mention this again: either amp/DAC combo is extremely solid for their class. To me, it comes down to feature set and possible sensitivity to line noise. An iFi IEmatch or any noise attenuator will help correct the noise problem for the monolith.


----------



## sff2008

Two follow up questions about the Monolith.  One, is EQ adjustment only for headphone out or will it work with the RCA outs to powered monitors?  Two, if I wanted to have the XLR ins rewired to outs, does anyone know of a place that offers such a service?


----------



## lgcubana

sff2008 said:


> Two follow up questions about the Monolith.  One, is EQ adjustment only for headphone out or will it work with the RCA outs to powered monitors?  Two, if I wanted to have the XLR ins rewired to outs, does anyone know of a place that offers such a service?


On the re-wiring: if you can find a local TV and or stereo repair shop.  You could go wild, Wild,  West and use someone that services game consoles, for overheating issues; as they usually have good soldering skills.


----------



## antdroid

sff2008 said:


> Two follow up questions about the Monolith.  One, is EQ adjustment only for headphone out or will it work with the RCA outs to powered monitors?  Two, if I wanted to have the XLR ins rewired to outs, does anyone know of a place that offers such a service?



The EQ applies to whatever the output is. I looked into re-wiring the XLRs. While the idea was relatively simple, getting access to the solder points looked challenging, and I didn't bother doing it. I'm currently using the XLR Ins for my RME ADI-2 DAC now, so glad I didn't mess with it too much. The headphone out to an external amp would be the easier route.


----------



## Packdemon (Mar 16, 2019)

antdroid said:


> My two issues with the monolith are no preset saving and line noise which is audible on highly sensitive headphones. Most over-ears should be fine but it's not great for IEMs which I can hear the noise in quieter parts of music or movies. The ADI2 is black out clean on both outputs and has the additional functionality.
> 
> I still use the Monolith when I want to drive a more powerful hungry planar headphone but the RME does do alright on high gain. The most noticeable difference for me was when using a highly dynamic Focal headphone (which are sensitive and have low impedance) using balanced on the Monolith vs using the RME. The RME sounded more compressed on normal gain, but switching it to high gain solved that. I can see the super power hungry headphones performing better on the balanced output of the monolith.
> 
> I'll just mention this again: either amp/DAC combo is extremely solid for their class. To me, it comes down to feature set and possible sensitivity to line noise. An iFi IEmatch or any noise attenuator will help correct the noise problem for the monolith.


I think that I found a solution for issue #2 back in these post:



Packdemon said:


> They sell 75 ohm impedance adapters like that on Amazon. They work with any 3.5mm device. This is the one I use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A2QJL0C
> 
> Though I believe that a cable/adapter with a volume pot basically does the samething. Adjusting the volume pot change the resistance thereby changing the volume. This is the cheap one I use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DYP98LU
> 
> I'll test both and report my findings.





Packdemon said:


> Okay, so I can confirm that the +75 ohm impedance cable works very well with my sensitive iems, and I cannot hear the distortion with the source volume turned down low, and amp volume all the way up.
> 
> With the cheap volume control cable, not so much. I think it did make some difference, but it didn't get rid of it all. It very quirky to work with and the added volume control is redundant and it being analog is probably a net negative considering the amp volume control in digital.
> 
> ...


----------



## phthora

antdroid said:


> Yes, if you took away all the features that make the RME ADI-2 unique and more expensive, then it would be a side-to-slight upgrade. But that's not what it is. You get a truckload of additional features and better display and interface. And you are paying for that additional benefit and features.
> 
> Again, I like both units. You have to decide if you need the additional features or not.
> 
> @phthora - I dont really know how to really explain it, but when I use with my Focal headphones, I can definitely pick out more detail using the RME as a DAC than when not. It just might be better implemented. I don't know.



Wow. That surprises me quite a bit. I know the 4493 is not leagues better than the 4490, and I certainly trust the engineering of RME over that of Monolith, but still... I had thought all those tone control options and that clean output came at the cost of amp power and DAC resolution. Guess I should put the RME back on my list of contenders. 

Thanks for the info!


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

sff2008 said:


> Two follow up questions about the Monolith.  One, is EQ adjustment only for headphone out or will it work with the RCA outs to powered monitors?  Two, if I wanted to have the XLR ins rewired to outs, does anyone know of a place that offers such a service?



RCA outs also get DSP, yup.


----------



## lgcubana

Finally got my balanced cables.  With my M1060s, there's just a touch more depth and width, vs. the SE, upgrade cable from Monoprice.  

My source being Spotify Premium..  I'm guessing that lossless files would be able to better highlight the difference, but that's what I've got.


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

Hey folks- was tinkering with the Monolith and found the AES-EBU input will take SPDIF just fine.  In other words, get an XLR-3 to RCA and you've got a second coax digital input.  Guessing vice-versa also works and you could throw AES-EBU signal at the coax input as well (untested).


----------



## AresHarvest

More info about going between AES3 and SPDIF here: https://www.rane.com/note149.html


----------



## stimuz (Mar 25, 2019)

lgcubana said:


> Finally got my balanced cables.  With my M1060s, there's just a touch more depth and width, vs. the SE, upgrade cable from Monoprice.
> 
> My source being Spotify Premium..  I'm guessing that lossless files would be able to better highlight the difference, but that's what I've got.



Finally got mine too. With my M1060c's I can dial back the volume and with my HE-560s I can dial back the volume. Works as intended.

This amp really has so much power(never needed higher than -15DB yet) and at least with the headphones I'm using seems transparent. Not disappointed at all with this purchase.

It's a shame audiosciencereview oddly dodged actually reviewing the unit and focused on shipping annoyances. Kind of makes me wonder what method of monetization they use since I see no ads.


----------



## antdroid (Mar 26, 2019)

stimuz said:


> Finally got mine too. With my M1060c's I can dial back the volume and with my HE-560s I can dial back the volume. Works as intended.
> 
> This amp really has so much power(never needed higher than -15DB yet) and at least with the headphones I'm using seems transparent. Not disappointed at all with this purchase.
> 
> It's a shame audiosciencereview oddly dodged actually reviewing the unit and focused on shipping annoyances. Kind of makes me wonder what method of monetization they use since I see no ads.



I think a couple people offered to send him a new unit to review but I am still waiting to see the review. 
The THX supplied data looks quite good.

I doubt ASR needs money. He's a retired executive from Microsoft, according to his profile, and since he's got a lot of fancy toys and expensive hobbyist measurement rig(s), I have to assume he's doing fine.   I sent him an amp/dac to review and gave him money for return shipment, and he actually gave that money back to me hehe.


----------



## stimuz

antdroid said:


> I think a couple people offered to send him a new unit to review but I am still waiting to see the review.
> The THX supplied data looks quite good.
> 
> I doubt ASR needs money. He's a retired executive from Microsoft, according to his profile, and since he's got a lot of fancy toys and expensive hobbyist measurement rig(s), I have to assume he's doing fine.   I sent him an amp/dac to review and gave him money for return shipment, and he actually gave that money back to me hehe.



All I know is his review likely destroyed sales for that unit. Honestly I'd hate to see Monoprice exit the audiophile headphone market but its looking like thats gonna happen. I'm especially annoyed with that review after buying a unit ignoring the review and it is pretty much exactly as advertised. Everyone is avoiding it and waiting for the 789 because of this guy. What a shame.


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

AresHarvest said:


> More info about going between AES3 and SPDIF here: https://www.rane.com/note149.html



Thanks for the read and yeah there are signaling, wiring and impedance considerations but to summarize (ymmv):

"The old rule that direct connection between AES/EBU and S/PDIF equipment is bad practice is relaxed today with new receiver chips tolerant to either interface."

The input side on the Monolith seems plenty tolerant.  Worked with the few things I've tried couldn't hear a lick of difference.  Let's me work in an old PS3 too- there's a transport lol


----------



## antdroid

stimuz said:


> All I know is his review likely destroyed sales for that unit. Honestly I'd hate to see Monoprice exit the audiophile headphone market but its looking like thats gonna happen. I'm especially annoyed with that review after buying a unit ignoring the review and it is pretty much exactly as advertised. Everyone is avoiding it and waiting for the 789 because of this guy. What a shame.



Yes, I agree with your assessment as well. I saw it in forum posts in various places including here when that review came out


----------



## lgcubana

antdroid said:


> I think a couple people offered to send him a new unit to review but I am still waiting to see the review.
> The THX supplied data looks quite good.
> 
> I doubt ASR needs money. He's a retired executive from Microsoft, according to his profile, and since he's got a lot of fancy toys and expensive hobbyist measurement rig(s), I have to assume he's doing fine.   I sent him an amp/dac to review and gave him money for return shipment, and he actually gave that money back to me hehe.



In post #104 (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...thx-headphone-amp-dac.5420/page-6#post-146141), dated Feb. 3, 2019, Amirm states that a forum member is sending him their production unit, for testing.

Zeos Pantera also has a THX 788, which he has mentioned (several weeks ago) is in need of a firmware update, on his Youtube channel; it's been sitting on his desk for a few weeks.  Hopefully he'll get around to reviewing it soon.

I'm not well steeped into this platform yet,  but from my perspective, it doesn't seem that Monoprice is pro-active about getting their higher end gear into the hands of well recognized influencers.  If you search Youtube, the only video that comes up is a short Ad by Monoprice

I hope that the person in charge of the Monolith platform (of Monoprice ) will continue to enhance this line with firmware updates. e.g. multiple profiles (for different headphones), recognizing the last volume setting for Balanced & SE, individually, ...


----------



## lgcubana

stimuz said:


> All I know is his review likely destroyed sales for that unit. Honestly I'd hate to see Monoprice exit the audiophile headphone market but its looking like thats gonna happen. I'm especially annoyed with that review after buying a unit ignoring the review and it is pretty much exactly as advertised. Everyone is avoiding it and waiting for the 789 because of this guy. What a shame.



Read into it what you will, but their new line of Monolith cables are now available.
https://www.monoprice.com/search/index?keyword=Monolith+Cables


The 2m usb B is on sale, $16.99
https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=301&cp_id=30107&cs_id=3010710&p_id=33464&seq=1&format=2


----------



## Suppa92

Does anyone know the output impedence of the Monoprice amp? Massdrop THX 789 has less than 0.1ohm output impedence.


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

Suppa92 said:


> Does anyone know the output impedence of the Monoprice amp? Massdrop THX 789 has less than 0.1ohm output impedence.



Per the product FAQ section:
Output impedance of AAA-788 is very low! It's less than 0.05 Ohms at 1 kHz.


----------



## Suppa92

SmokeNMirrorz said:


> Per the product FAQ section:
> Output impedance of AAA-788 is very low! It's less than 0.05 Ohms at 1 kHz.


That's cool.
Is there a minimum resistance of headphones that supports by this amp without void of warranty?

Apparently Massdrop THX 789 has limitation of 12 ohms, warranty doesn't cover any damage done to amp by connecting a headphone has lower than 12 ohms resistance.


----------



## stimuz (Apr 6, 2019)

Suppa92 said:


> Does anyone know the output impedence of the Monoprice amp? Massdrop THX 789 has less than 0.1ohm output impedence.



"Output impedance of AAA-788 is very low! It's less than 0.05 Ohms at 1 kHz" Allegedly from the Q&A section, but someone earlier mentioned sensitive IEMs have a bad time. I don't really have any IEMs I use at home nor any expensive IEMs to check. Wouldn't you want the mobile version if you plan to use it a lot with IEMs?


----------



## Suppa92

stimuz said:


> "Output impedance of AAA-788 is very low! It's less than 0.05 Ohms at 1 kHz" Allegedly from the Q&A section, but someone earlier mentioned sensitive IEMs have a bad time. I don't really have any IEMs I use at home nor any expensive IEMs to check. Wouldn't you want the mobile version if you plan to use it a lot with IEMs?


No. I don't want to use it with IEMs. but I'm really interested in ordering Verum 1 planar headphones which has resistence of 8 ohms. That's why I'm curious about the output impedance. and the same reason why I asked the second question as well which I've quoted below.


Suppa92 said:


> Is there a minimum resistance of headphones that supports by this amp without void of warranty?
> 
> Apparently Massdrop THX 789 has limitation of 12 ohms, warranty doesn't cover any damage done to amp by connecting a headphone has lower than 12 ohms resistance.


----------



## stimuz

Suppa92 said:


> No. I don't want to use it with IEMs. but I'm really interested in ordering Verum 1 planar headphones which has resistence of 8 ohms. That's why I'm curious about the output impedance. and the same reason why I asked the second question as well which I've quoted below.



I don't really think theres any warranty exceptions like that. I've RMA'd my m1060cs which I broke by slingshotting them off my desk by their wire with my chair arm, came back a week later no questions asked(2.5mm jack became extremely loose). They have good customer service, but somehow catch a lot of hate.


----------



## Packdemon

stimuz said:


> I don't really think theres any warranty exceptions like that. I've RMA'd my m1060cs which I broke by slingshotting them off my desk by their wire with my chair arm, came back a week later no questions asked(2.5mm jack became extremely loose). They have good customer service, but somehow catch a lot of hate.


Happened to me too (not the RMA bit, but the rest). I felt like the cables weren't detachable enough for those cans if you know what I mean.


----------



## stimuz

Packdemon said:


> Happened to me too (not the RMA bit, but the rest). I felt like the cables weren't detachable enough for those cans if you know what I mean.



I use a coat hanger on the side of my desk now for my headphones because of that. You probably should RMA though, there is definitely a R1 and R2 of the m1060c and they sent me a newer one with no headband issues, insanely good isolation and low sound leakage(my original pair was almost semi open) and I got a redo on scratching up my cups.


----------



## lgcubana

Finally, there's an imminent review coming for the THX AAA 788:
 (@9:30 he mentions completing the review)

As I do believe that Z Reviews has a substantial following, it will be interesting to see how his observations could influence those that are clamoring for the next round of 789s; hopefully he'll include a comparison to the MassDrop version.


----------



## freesole

Welp, just took the dive and bought mine from Monoprice. Looking forward to hearing this power my Elegia's and IEM's at work.


----------



## freesole

Got this in yesterday and have started to listen to it with the IEM's and headphones pictured. Very impressed with how clean the dynamic the sound is. Less refined than the Brooklyn Dac+ at home but not really a surprised given the price difference. Very enjoyable and an excellent option for a dac/amp at work.


----------



## lgcubana

Not as good as the last, applicable coupon code, but you can get 10% off, starting April 12, 2019

“Tax10”

I can’t verify if shipping is still free


----------



## Suppa92

Zeos released the review of Monoprice Monolith THX.


----------



## Suppa92

Does someone know the minimum headphone resistance this supports?

I'm trying to get Verum 1 headphones which are rated at 8 ohms & Massdrop THX 789 supports only 12 ohms and up without voiding the warranty.


----------



## neo_styles

Subbing as I took the leap and ordered yesterday. Usually, a Z review being posted means he can wipe out stock on stuff like this; turns out that's not the case this time.

Looking forward to having a single unit next to the turntable instead of a gaggle of wires. Certainly more ideal for the wife-approval factor. Now let's just hope I don't have to jump through hoops with their courier like I did with my last order.


----------



## diadack

Just got mine today and I have to say it really outshines my Hugo 2.


----------



## Joong

diadack said:


> Just got mine today and I have to say it really outshines my Hugo 2.


OMG, it outshines 2.7K USD Hugo2 !
Really ?


----------



## freesole

Joong said:


> OMG, it outshines 2.7K USD Hugo2 !
> Really ?



I have had both the Hugo 2 and the THX AAA Desktop Amp/Dac, although at different times. I remember being underwhelmed by the Hugo 2. The Dac pulls great detail and I would describe the sound as being laid back (in a good way) but very musical without losing clarity. The amp section left a lot to be desired though. I agree that the THX has been more enjoyable for me than the Hugo 2 on that front. There is definitely good, clean, power delivery to my headphones and IEMs that out performs the Hugo 2. The dac section of this amp is good but less refined than the one in the Hugo 2 but not by a lot.


----------



## Packdemon (Apr 15, 2019)

neo_styles said:


> Subbing as I took the leap and ordered yesterday. Usually, a Z review being posted means he can wipe out stock on stuff like this; turns out that's not the case this time.
> 
> Looking forward to having a single unit next to the turntable instead of a gaggle of wires. Certainly more ideal for the wife-approval factor. Now let's just hope I don't have to jump through hoops with their courier like I did with my last order.


It's unfortunate that the 10% off promotion code that Monoprice had expired today. Anyone that ordered with it yesterday got lucky.


----------



## diadack

Joong said:


> OMG, it outshines 2.7K USD Hugo2 !
> Really ?


Yeah the 788 gives more space around the instruments and more details in the bass and midrange. The Hugo has a little more treble detail but for $2,700 I want to laugh at myself for getting it.


----------



## franz12

diadack said:


> Yeah the 788 gives more space around the instruments and more details in the bass and midrange. The Hugo has a little more treble detail but for $2,700 I want to laugh at myself for getting it.



I had the ifi Pro DSD and the 788 at the same. Yes, the  ifi Pro DSD has various options to adjust sounds and many functionalities. 
But I wouldn't complain much if I only had the 788.


----------



## Joong

https://ifi-audio.com/products/pro-idsd/
You mean this above?
It is amazing then.
If you link the 788 with USB DDC, then it will be surprising.


----------



## franz12

Joong said:


> https://ifi-audio.com/products/pro-idsd/
> You mean this above?
> It is amazing then.
> If you link the 788 with USB DDC, then it will be surprising.



One thing I don't like about the 788 is its usb connection. It doesn't sound clean. So I use the optical connection. Problem solved.


----------



## diadack

franz12 said:


> One thing I don't like about the 788 is its usb connection. It doesn't sound clean. So I use the optical connection. Problem solved.


I’m not having any problems with my USB


----------



## freesole

diadack said:


> I’m not having any problems with my USB


Same, no issues here either. Very clean. None existent noise on my Focal Elegia's and no distortion at any volumes that I have listened at.


----------



## franz12

freesole said:


> Same, no issues here either. Very clean. None existent noise on my Focal Elegia's and no distortion at any volumes that I have listened at.



I RMAed my previous unit, because that unit had an other issue. The new one is coming this week, so I should be able to check that again.


----------



## therealness

I also have had this and have zero USB noise. If your new one is a repeat offender, maybe check your source.


----------



## diadack

To add onto my Hugo 2 comparison the filters on the Hugo 2 feel like they have little to no impact on the sound and the X-PHD soundstage thing doesn’t hold a candle to the DIRAC in the 788


----------



## therealness

diadack said:


> To add onto my Hugo 2 comparison the filters on the Hugo 2 feel like they have little to no impact on the sound and the X-PHD soundstage thing doesn’t hold a candle to the DIRAC in the 788


 

When I got the unit, I turned DiRAC on and didn’t like it because I don’t like many DSPs. I tried it a month later and was immediately impressed. Honestly the next best thing to listening to actual speakers.


----------



## lgcubana

neo_styles said:


> Subbing as I took the leap and ordered yesterday. Usually, a Z review being posted means he can wipe out stock on stuff like this; turns out that's not the case this time...



Between the price point and his clouded review (he mentions at the end that it’s late at night and this was his 5th and final take).  I don’t really think that his issues with the unit have any real merit:

1. The volume knob is slow.  If I’m listening to music, I’m not in a rush to go anywhere
2. The protection circuit has a lag.  Again not in a rush and I don’t change my headphones frequently, during the same session.
3. The XLR, analog input goes analog —> digital —> analog.  I only listened to the review once.  But I believe that he said that he couldn’t really find fault with the final output.

But there are those who will take these trivial issues and blow them up, chicken little style.


----------



## neo_styles

lgcubana said:


> Between the price point and his clouded review (he mentions at the end that it’s late at night and this was his 5th and final take).  I don’t really think that his issues with the unit have any real merit:
> 
> 1. The volume knob is slow.  If I’m listening to music, I’m not in a rush to go anywhere
> 2. The protection circuit has a lag.  Again not in a rush and I don’t change my headphones frequently, during the same session.
> ...


I appreciate the opinion, but I merely mentioned that he had posted a review and not the content therein. I'll take anything and everything he says with a grain of salt, but he's the first guy I've seen who's at least attempted to review the thing that isn't Amir (and antdroid here). Any opinions I have are reserved until I've set the thing up and put it through my own judgment.


----------



## diadack

therealness said:


> When I got the unit, I turned DiRAC on and didn’t like it because I don’t like many DSPs. I tried it a month later and was immediately impressed. Honestly the next best thing to listening to actual speakers.


I think it works really good on some songs and equally bad on others.


----------



## therealness

diadack said:


> I think it works really good on some songs and equally bad on others.


Agreed.

I find that songs mastered to be pushed into your ears can get a nice peaceful rounding of the sharp corners. 

I also find that it can make songs with small vocal layering sound a bit odd. I generally leave it on now and turn it off when things sound bad rather than vice versa. It’s also only usable on non-dsd sources so upconverting sadly isn’t possible.


----------



## stimuz (Apr 16, 2019)

neo_styles said:


> Subbing as I took the leap and ordered yesterday. Usually, a Z review being posted means he can wipe out stock on stuff like this; turns out that's not the case this time.
> 
> Looking forward to having a single unit next to the turntable instead of a gaggle of wires. Certainly more ideal for the wife-approval factor. Now let's just hope I don't have to jump through hoops with their courier like I did with my last order.



Stocks not gonna run out, audio science review is the only other easily googled review of the dac/amp and its a "preview review" with petty bitching and not an actual review. Zero respect after that tantrum.


----------



## diadack

The more I listen to this amp the more amazed I am. I switched from my LCD 4z’s to a pair of Beyer T1s and the sound difference in my Hugo 2 and onboard computers DAC are night and day. This amp is amazing. The DiRAC works really well for closed or semi open back cans and to my personal preference older recordings. Modern music sounds better with the DiRAC disabled in my opinion.


----------



## stimuz

diadack said:


> The more I listen to this amp the more amazed I am. I switched from my LCD 4z’s to a pair of Beyer T1s and the sound difference in my Hugo 2 and onboard computers DAC are night and day. This amp is amazing. The DiRAC works really well for closed or semi open back cans and to my personal preference older recordings. Modern music sounds better with the DiRAC disabled in my opinion.



Yep, last dac/amp you'll need. Probably not the last you'll buy though.


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz (Apr 17, 2019)

stimuz said:


> Yep, last dac/amp you'll need. Probably not the last you'll buy though.



Yup thing is really ~end game. First one so epic it took over driving the living room hi-fi. So another again for the desk, one for work, another the nightstand. Oh frick I'm gonna be broke since this damn thing is oboleting everything else!

I did come up with the perfect review of it's sound signature:

        Sounds just like a $500 patch cable should. 

Happy listening : )


----------



## neo_styles

Oh my...so that's what all the fuss is about. Consider me instantly sold. I know I only have the D30/Magni 3 or Opus#1 to compare them against, but I'm smitten within the first few minutes. Don't know if it's going to be that easy to pull myself away so I can cook dinner now. This is what my 2Cs were missing.


----------



## antdroid

neo_styles said:


> Oh my...so that's what all the fuss is about. Consider me instantly sold. I know I only have the D30/Magni 3 or Opus#1 to compare them against, but I'm smitten within the first few minutes. Don't know if it's going to be that easy to pull myself away so I can cook dinner now. This is what my 2Cs were missing.



Nice setup fellow Lynnwood resident.


----------



## neo_styles

antdroid said:


> Nice setup fellow Lynnwood resident.


Oh hell...I thought I caught sight of you being in the PNW somewhere in the ASR thread. You are a dangerous influence to have nearby, bud. Appreciate the compliment


----------



## slappomatt

I have been wanting to jump into the balanced world but replacing my dac AND amp seemed more than I wanted to spend and having separates at my computer was a pain. This seems like just what the Dr ordered so I jumped on it for my upcoming birthday. will be using this with HD6XX and HE 4XX. will be replacing a sanskrit 6th and vali 2 setup. have a periapt cable on order for the Senn's. Ill get one for the planars next.


----------



## neo_styles

slappomatt said:


> I have been wanting to jump into the balanced world but replacing my dac AND amp seemed more than I wanted to spend and having separates at my computer was a pain. This seems like just what the Dr ordered so I jumped on it for my upcoming birthday. will be using this with HD6XX and HE 4XX. will be replacing a sanskrit 6th and vali 2 setup. have a periapt cable on order for the Senn's. Ill get one for the planars next.


I wouldn't feel like you need to be in a rush to go balanced once your 788 arrives. Just put up my initial impressions in r/headphones, but this amp has some serious balls single-ended and neither pair you mentioned should need more power than what it can provide. At least give yourself a chance to understand the amp's character in SE before you take the next leap forward. I almost did the same thing and am glad I waited. It'll be a while before I feel like I need to see what it can do balanced.


----------



## antdroid

If you know how to use a soldering iron, you can convert your cables to balanced pretty easily. A neutrik male xlr 4pin is under $10. Less than 10mins of work.


----------



## Packdemon (Apr 18, 2019)

Mouser.com is where I buy all of my connectors (and circuit board LEDs) from. They have every connector known to man, and you can filter your search for some pretty cheap ones (deals you can't find anywhere else). I'd highly recommend using them for DIY projects.


----------



## slappomatt

I saw a tutorial on doing that.  I bought the periapt cable as much to have a fancy "custom" cable as for the balanced feature. and at the price its not a big deal. sounds like they are a few weeks out and the amp should be here friday. Ill have plenty of time to compare to my old setup head to head S/E before the cable gets here. I might try making my own cable for the HE-4XX


----------



## stimuz

Periapt cables are far from fancy, but they get the job done and are kind of rigid, which I like for longer cables (I prefer at least 6 ft) to avoid getting tangled etc.I kind of held off on balanced but 3 of my most commonly used headphones are 2.5mm so I figure, why the hell not.


----------



## slappomatt

I see the 789 is back at mass drop but I think the 788 is a better value. Figures it comes back the day after I buy the 788.


----------



## therealness

I was going to join the drop and get the 788 for home but then remembered that Monoprice was going to release a new version of the 788 next year and I'd rather just wait for that...


----------



## lgcubana (Apr 18, 2019)

slappomatt said:


> I see the 789 is back at mass drop but I think the 788 is a better value. Figures it comes back the day after I buy the 788.



They bumped the price up to $400 and the estimated ship date (for this pre-order) is August 30th.

This puts the Monolith THX 788 (at it's current sale price, until April 21st) within $50




therealness said:


> I was going to join the drop and get the 788 for home but then remembered that Monoprice was going to release a new version of the 788 next year and I'd rather just wait for that...



1st that I'm hearing of this.  Do you have a point of reference ?

Thanks


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

lgcubana said:


> They bumped the price up to $400 and the estimated ship date (for this pre-order) is August 30th.
> 
> This puts the Monolith THX 788 (at it's current sale price, until April 21st) within $50



And another $200+ easy to match the dual AK4473 DACs in the Monolith,  depending on what one already has but potentially $150 cheaper. Toss in the awesome PEQ and even Dirac the MP is potentially a much better value.


----------



## diadack

If people like the option to get their own balanced dac then the 789 is the better option. I personally think the 788 with the EQ settings and the DiRAC is something you should experience. They’re amazing.


----------



## slappomatt (Apr 18, 2019)

ok so its here. updated fw to 1.03, installed the driver and hooked the dac S/E outputs to my existing vali 2 to see if I can tell a difference from my old SMSL dac. I dont know if its genuine but MAN it sounds better. bass seems tighter and punchier.

Dirac does seem to change the sound stage forward and slightly up a bit. its not crazy but very noticeable.

switched to the built in amp and noticed sharper more detailed sound and lots more bass.

this is all fubar2k on USB with HD6XX.


----------



## neo_styles

Speaking of the 1.03 update, anybody manage to pull it off with Ubuntu and Wine? Don't want to bork the update process if it can only be done on a Windows machine.


----------



## slappomatt

slappomatt said:


> ok so its here. updated fw to 1.03, installed the driver and hooked the dac S/E outputs to my existing vali 2 to see if I can tell a difference from my old SMSL dac. I dont know if its genuine but MAN it sounds better. bass seems tighter and punchier.
> 
> Dirac does seem to change the sound stage forward and slightly up a bit. its not crazy but very noticeable.
> 
> ...




almost think I like the vali 2 over the built in amp. lol. The dynamics on the THX amp seem exaggerated and harsh. Maybe I am just used to too much compression.


----------



## stimuz

slappomatt said:


> ok so its here. updated fw to 1.03, installed the driver and hooked the dac S/E outputs to my existing vali 2 to see if I can tell a difference from my old SMSL dac. I dont know if its genuine but MAN it sounds better. bass seems tighter and punchier.
> 
> Dirac does seem to change the sound stage forward and slightly up a bit. its not crazy but very noticeable.
> 
> ...



Dirac as extremely noticable if you listen to 70s stuff. Stereo was a new thing and boy did they go crazy with the left and right channel switching.


----------



## stimuz

slappomatt said:


> almost think I like the vali 2 over the built in amp. lol. The dynamics on the THX amp seem exaggerated and harsh. Maybe I am just used to too much compression.



You just prefer colored sound, nothing wrong with that. Tubes are popular for a reason, even if I don't personally like them.


----------



## neo_styles (Apr 20, 2019)

Having an exceptional evening with the AFC and 788. What a phenomenal pairing for classical, even without the AFC's tuning pads. Stravinsky's _Firebird Suite_ caused some dust in the living room to get kicked up right into my eyes, making them all watery. That track can normally bring some emotions out of me, but this was something new.


Spoiler


----------



## stimuz (Apr 20, 2019)

therealness said:


> I was going to join the drop and get the 788 for home but then remembered that Monoprice was going to release a new version of the 788 next year and I'd rather just wait for that...



I'd be surprised if they did tbh. They get crap on no matter how good their products can be, wouldn't shock me to see them exit the headphone market, which would be a loss to everyone.

Well, maybe the Cavali sales can keep it going for them.


----------



## Suppa92

therealness said:


> I was going to join the drop and get the 788 for home but then remembered that Monoprice was going to release a new version of the 788 next year and I'd rather just wait for that...


You sure about that?


----------



## Suppa92

Is there any review which directly compares Monoprice 788 to Massdrop 789 with a Balanced DAC?

If Monoprice 788 is as good as THX 789 + Balanced DAC, that would be a hell of a deal considering the fact that Massdrop's $50 price jump.


----------



## prymortal (Apr 21, 2019)

Suppa92 said:


> Is there any review which directly compares Monoprice 788 to Massdrop 789 with a Balanced DAC?
> 
> If Monoprice 788 is as good as THX 789 + Balanced DAC, that would be a hell of a deal considering the fact that Massdrop's $50 price jump.


The only reviewer i know who has had both, talks to much crap (Does a good job at menchioning features in that crap though!) & not enough about audio e.t.c.
Ignoring the fact only 1 has been tested & has good results. Both use THX so will have good results.
The Monoprice has more features (EQ & DIRAC), updateable Firmware & a balanced Dac with DSD. While the MD THX has more power. As for which sounds better you can literally blame Duncan at MD for me not being able to answer that!


----------



## slappomatt

Zeos has both. he owns 3 of the 789 and has a 788 as well. he raves about both but I know he is verboten here.


----------



## Suppa92

prymortal said:


> The only reviewer i know who has had both, talks to much crap & not enough about audio e.t.c.
> Ignoring the fact only 1 has been tested & has good results. Both use THX so will have good results.
> The Monoprice has more features (EQ & DIRAC), updateable Firmware & a balanced Dac with DSD. While the MD THX has more power. As for which sounds better you can literally blame Duncan at MD for me not being able to answer that!


What happend in ASR is very unfair for Monoprice THX. It's DAC rated rather poor in their ranking.

If it's not allowed to discuss about which sounds better openly, What if I send you a PM?


----------



## prymortal

Suppa92 said:


> What happend in ASR is very unfair for Monoprice THX. It's DAC rated rather poor in their ranking.
> 
> If it's not allowed to discuss about which sounds better openly, What if I send you a PM?


No, I ment that literally hes the reason many couldn't get there hands on one this drop, he said around 12, we logged in around 12 & it was sold out. Butt hurt aside "things" leading up to that specific drop was appalling.
Anyway I'm waiting to borrow my friends one for "personal" review he got one of the August drop ones.


----------



## stimuz

prymortal said:


> The only reviewer i know who has had both, talks to much crap & not enough about audio e.t.c.
> Ignoring the fact only 1 has been tested & has good results. Both use THX so will have good results.
> The Monoprice has more features (EQ & DIRAC), updateable Firmware & a balanced Dac with DSD. While the MD THX has more power. As for which sounds better you can literally blame Duncan at MD for me not being able to answer that!



Still find it interesting he dodged a review to the direct competitor of the 789.


----------



## antdroid

@Darthpool owns both. In my recollection, he liked both. He said his combo (at the time) of the Massdrop + RME ADI-2 DAC was a little wider sounding than the Monolith unit. He uses the Monolith at work now and I think sold or doesn’t use the Massdrop one anymore.

I'll be getting the Massdrop THX whenever it ships (supposedly in May). I may consider letting ASR borrow my monolith if he was going to remeasure and rereview it in a timely manner. Others offered but not sure where that all went.


----------



## franz12 (Apr 21, 2019)

If you use the RCA input, firmware upgrade to 1.0.3 is must. In firmware 1.0.1, there is no bass heard with the RCA input.
Has anyone test the balanced input yet?


----------



## antdroid

I use balanced input from the RME ADI2 DAC and no issues to report,


----------



## TylersEclectic

@antdroid  has the right of it. I use the Monolith as my workhorse at work, and I don't currently have the THX 789 hooked up to anything, it was replaced by the SPL Phonitor XE. For me, the audio is pretty darn close, and I have had no problems with the THX 788. I think that the DAC is probably the weak link here, but not in a huge overly noticeable way. I like the THX 789 just slightly more as an amp, but the THX 788 as a complete package is honestly hard to beat. So depending on the DAC you are using I would recommend the THX 788 over the THX 789 just for simplicity reasons and bang for the buck. But if you have a higher end DAC the THX 789 would be a better choice for the better power, and that slightly better sound (slightly is even a strong word here).  

The other things to factor if you are into that, are the volume potentiometer is irritating on the THX 788, while the THX 789 is enjoyable. The THX 789 toggle switch is also a joy to use for the gain settings. The menu options are very good in the THX 788 but can take some getting used to.  

It is late...and I just finished editing some photos and a review...and I'm a couple of fingers deep into some rye whiskey...so if anyone has further questions feel free to @me as I'm not the most frequent user of Head-fi. Cheers, and have a good one.


----------



## franz12

antdroid said:


> I use balanced input from the RME ADI2 DAC and no issues to report,



Great. Yggdrasil 2 is coming next week. Can't wait to compare them.


----------



## franz12

antdroid said:


> I use balanced input from the RME ADI2 DAC and no issues to report,


 Do you think the THX 788 as a stand-alone amp is better than the amp section in the RME ADI2 DAC?


----------



## antdroid (Apr 21, 2019)

franz12 said:


> Do you think the THX 788 as a stand-alone amp is better than the amp section in the RME ADI2 DAC?



I use the THX 788 amp for over-ears using balanced XLR (and sourced from RME), and specifically my more power hungry planar headphones. For example, my HE560 is much more harsh sounding on RME, but when I use it on the Monolith THX, the upper mids sharpness is much smoother and tamer sounding. It's actually night and day. I had always had a strong amp section to power the HE560, so I never totally understood the complaints of the HE560's sharp spike being very harsh -- but I finally got it when I plugged it into the RME.

I use the RME ADI-2 for IEMs though and its fantastic. Completely black noise floor even on the most sensitive Campfire products, which I wasn't able to get with the Monolith.


----------



## franz12

antdroid said:


> I use the THX 788 amp for over-ears using balanced XLR (and sourced from RME), and specifically my more power hungry planar headphones. For example, my HE560 is much more harsh sounding on RME, but when I use it on the Monolith THX, the upper mids sharpness is much smoother and tamer sounding. It's actually night and day. I had always had a strong amp section to power the HE560, so I never totally understood the complaints of the HE560's sharp spike being very harsh -- but I finally got it when I plugged it into the RME.
> 
> I use the RME ADI-2 for IEMs though and its fantastic. Completely black noise floor even on the most sensitive Campfire products, which I wasn't able to get with the Monolith.


 Perhaps, noise floor at a very low impedance is lower with the RME. I only use over-ear open headphones, so it may not be an issue for me. Thanks!


----------



## omegaorgun

Just picked up a MP, how is it in latest firmware?


----------



## slappomatt

mine came with 1.01 and I got it last thursday.


----------



## stimuz (Apr 22, 2019)

Darthpool said:


> @antdroid  has the right of it. I use the Monolith as my workhorse at work, and I don't currently have the THX 789 hooked up to anything, it was replaced by the SPL Phonitor XE. For me, the audio is pretty darn close, and I have had no problems with the THX 788. I think that the DAC is probably the weak link here, but not in a huge overly noticeable way. I like the THX 789 just slightly more as an amp, but the THX 788 as a complete package is honestly hard to beat. So depending on the DAC you are using I would recommend the THX 788 over the THX 789 just for simplicity reasons and bang for the buck. But if you have a higher end DAC the THX 789 would be a better choice for the better power, and that slightly better sound (slightly is even a strong word here).
> 
> The other things to factor if you are into that, are the volume potentiometer is irritating on the THX 788, while the THX 789 is enjoyable. The THX 789 toggle switch is also a joy to use for the gain settings. The menu options are very good in the THX 788 but can take some getting used to.
> 
> It is late...and I just finished editing some photos and a review...and I'm a couple of fingers deep into some rye whiskey...so if anyone has further questions feel free to @me as I'm not the most frequent user of Head-fi. Cheers, and have a good one.



Yeah the digital volume is annoying, though I rarely adjust it more than 4-5 db. Right now I got Aiva balanced and 1060c jacked in, apparently you can run both at the same time even though I read a comment saying otherwise on the monoprice page. At like -35db balanced its already getting ont he loud side for aiva and is about equally loud with the 4.5mm and more sensitive 1060c, so kinda working out nicely for me since theres no leakage from the 1060c they RMA'd to me(first one leaked like a semi open, not sure the reason). I've also been making a lot of use of the shelf EQ and dirac on occasion. It's extremely useful for the early 70s stuff when stereo was still new and everyone had to make gimmicky recordings with alternating left and right, to me the crossfeed is 100% an improvement on stuff like that.

If you don't already have a pricy dac, I really see absolutely no reason to get the 789 over this as the price gap is so small now and the bells and whistles on the 788 do come in handy on occasion.

Actually, I take that back, the shipping to certain regions from monoprice is killer. If you can get it off amazon or have low shipping costs, then the gap is pretty close.


----------



## omegaorgun

stimuz said:


> Yeah the digital volume is annoying, though I rarely adjust it more than 4-5 db. Right now I got Aiva balanced and 1060c jacked in, apparently you can run both at the same time even though I read a comment saying otherwise on the monoprice page. At like -35db balanced its already getting ont he loud side for aiva and is about equally loud with the 4.5mm and more sensitive 1060c, so kinda working out nicely for me since theres no leakage from the 1060c they RMA'd to me(first one leaked like a semi open, not sure the reason). I've also been making a lot of use of the shelf EQ and dirac on occasion. It's extremely useful for the early 70s stuff when stereo was still new and everyone had to make gimmicky recordings with alternating left and right, to me the crossfeed is 100% an improvement on stuff like that.
> 
> If you don't already have a pricy dac, I really see absolutely no reason to get the 789 over this as the price gap is so small now and the bells and whistles on the 788 do come in handy on occasion.
> 
> Actually, I take that back, the shipping to certain regions from monoprice is killer. If you can get it off amazon or have low shipping costs, then the gap is pretty close.



Couldn't the fix how the volume works with a firmware update?


----------



## stimuz

omegaorgun said:


> Couldn't the fix how the volume works with a firmware update?



I'm not really sure, would be interesting to see what they could do with firmware updates if they decide to do them.


----------



## Neaman

I got Monoprice thx A788 , on digital inputs there is no problem but xlr and rca input i see message display “over”  when decrease from roon headroom setting to -20 db it gone but sound was low. Any body used it as amp not dac amp any body seeng same message  ?


----------



## BuddhaBruce

Can anyone compare this to the Questyle CMA400i?


----------



## lgcubana

Neaman said:


> I got Monoprice thx A788 , on digital inputs there is no problem but xlr and rca input i see message display “over”  when decrease from roon headroom setting to -20 db it gone but sound was low. Any body used it as amp not dac amp any body seeng same message  ?



Have you flashed the fimware to v1.03 ?


----------



## Neaman

lgcubana said:


> Have you flashed the firmware to v1.03 ?


I followed the instruction that I got along with firmware and performed the updated.  Do flashing firmware mean , first removing/erasing it than updating ? no i did not. I will be thankful for your help.


----------



## panasonicst60

Anything better than this for around the price? Regarding sound quality and power?


----------



## TheGovernment

Neaman said:


> I followed the instruction that I got along with firmware and performed the updated.  Do flashing firmware mean , first removing/erasing it than updating ? no i did not. I will be thankful for your help.



Flashing the firmware automatically erases the old one and rewrites the new one. Thats all there is to do.


----------



## slappomatt

you can goto the about section at the end of settings and it will tell you what version FW you have.


----------



## Neaman

slappomatt said:


> you can goto the about section at the end of settings and it will tell you what version FW you have.


it is v1.03   i checked.


----------



## muckyfingers

Neaman said:


> I got Monoprice thx A788 , on digital inputs there is no problem but xlr and rca input i see message display “over”  when decrease from roon headroom setting to -20 db it gone but sound was low. Any body used it as amp not dac amp any body seeng same message  ?



I've used the RCA inputs with an Audio-GD DAC, it works just fine, no issues. I have not seen that message.

What DAC are you using?


----------



## omegaorgun

Oh my this amp is good! Latest firmware improved the responsiveness of the volume and my Argons have never sounded so good and I haven't even touched the EQ.


----------



## franz12

I confirm that Yggdrasil 2 is a solid upgrade from the 788.
I am listening to Yggydrasil 2 - the 788 (XLR) - HE-1000SE. 

I am a person who does not see much differences across DACs, so I was very skeptical until it arrives. But this time was different. I saw an immediate increase in resolution, an improvement in timbre, accurate instrument separations, and very holographic soundstage. 
The 788 still serves as a very good, clean amp.


----------



## slappomatt

franz12 said:


> I confirm that Yggdrasil 2 is a solid upgrade from the 788.
> I am listening to Yggydrasil 2 - the 788 (XLR) - HE-1000SE.
> 
> I am a person who does not see much differences across DACs, so I was very skeptical until it arrives. But this time was different. I saw an immediate increase in resolution, an improvement in timbre, accurate instrument separations, and very holographic soundstage.
> The 788 still serves as a very good, clean amp.


you are running a $3000 dac into the A-D-A setup on the 788?


----------



## franz12

slappomatt said:


> you are running a $3000 dac into the A-D-A setup on the 788?



One change at a time. Don't want to see a large dent in my bank account.
Also, a planar is not really responsive to an amp unless it is underpowered, unlike a dynamic headphone. I wouldn't put a large amount of money into an amp side.

Anyway, it is $2400, not $3000.


----------



## therealness

I love the akm dacs but I love the analog device sharcs more. Nice upgrade.


----------



## slappomatt

I only saw the Yggydrasil 1 listed on Schiits' site and the 2 is a $550 upgrade. is that a typo on their website?


----------



## stimuz

franz12 said:


> I confirm that Yggdrasil 2 is a solid upgrade from the 788.
> I am listening to Yggydrasil 2 - the 788 (XLR) - HE-1000SE.
> 
> I am a person who does not see much differences across DACs, so I was very skeptical until it arrives. But this time was different. I saw an immediate increase in resolution, an improvement in timbre, accurate instrument separations, and very holographic soundstage.
> The 788 still serves as a very good, clean amp.



Lol.


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

No argument to your preferences of sound, some prefer tubes lol @Yggdrasil 2 I haven't heard it but on the bench a $200 Topping blows it away.  As in TOTALLY  Yggdrasil suffers from everything to power supply noise to 300Hz rolloffs on balanced to poor linearity and terrible S/N.  Love the company but that sounds like crap to me.  Meanwhile this 788 handily outclasses my old Krell preamp @$4k.


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

stimuz said:


> Lol.


concur


----------



## franz12

SmokeNMirrorz said:


> No argument to your preferences of sound, some prefer tubes lol @Yggdrasil 2 I haven't heard it but on the bench a $200 Topping blows it away.  As in TOTALLY  Yggdrasil suffers from everything to power supply noise to 300Hz rolloffs on balanced to poor linearity and terrible S/N.  Love the company but that sounds like **** to me.  Meanwhile this 788 handily outclasses my old Krell preamp @$4k.



R2R/Multibit dac tends to perform not very well with measurements. All matters would be whether those sound good to your ears.

I once had Topping d50. Sold them because I preferred my fiio Q5.

I am just honest to my ears. I sell everything if I don't hear any difference or not worth my money.


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

All that matters is that YOU like the sound and can afford it. To me, I'm giddy with the $400 sale 788 I snagged that can stand in for gear 10x its price.


----------



## franz12

SmokeNMirrorz said:


> All that matters is that YOU like the sound and can afford it. To me, I'm giddy with the $400 sale 788 I snagged that can stand in for gear 10x its price.



The 788 is no way bad by the way. I think the 788 is very good for the money. I had ifi Pro iDSD ($2500) and I didn't care the ifi. I let the ifi go and have kept the 788. Also, I didn't care Hugo 1 as well. Yggy 2 may be the first dac that may change my mind that a pricey dac is worthless. But I had to listen a few more days to decide whether it is really worth 2.4k.


----------



## omegaorgun

franz12 said:


> One change at a time. Don't want to see a large dent in my bank account.
> Also, a planar is not really responsive to an amp unless it is underpowered, unlike a dynamic headphone. I wouldn't put a large amount of money into an amp side.
> 
> Anyway, it is $2400, not $3000.



My Argon responded very well to the 788 and it has a very nice amount of power to drive them. I cannot turn it up fully on the single ended. I still ha e to figure out the EQ and other options.


----------



## therealness

Christmas came early for all of you that haven’t boughten this thing yet.

Monoprice code: SUPER125

Add the MoTHX and $20 in random cables you likely need and you get $125usd off your order. I’m tempted to buy a second one for home.


----------



## omegaorgun (Apr 26, 2019)

FYI I got an over-temparature warning using the xlr and unit powered off. I put a higher quality panasonic 16v 3.75amp on it and it's running just fine. I figured it might be the cheap psu was having issues maintaining clean power. I might be wrong on that but the better PSU seems to have fixed it. I was gonna pick up a linear PSU for it anyways.

If anyone has this issue then I suggest picking up an adapter, Monoprice should replace these if there are faulty ones out there.

Model used* CF-AA1633A* 16V 3.75A


----------



## slappomatt

omegaorgun said:


> FYI I got an over-temparature warning using the xlr and unit powered off. I put a higher quality panasonic 16v 3.75amp on it and it's running just fine. I figured it might be the cheap psu was having issues maintaining clean power. I might be wrong on that but the better PSU seems to have fixed it. I was gonna pick up a linear PSU for it anyways.
> 
> If anyone has this issue then I suggest picking up an adapter, Monoprice should replace these if there are faulty ones out there.
> 
> Model used* CF-AA1633A* 16V 3.75A




I was thinking about looking for a larger linear PSU, please let us know if you find a good deal on one.


----------



## omegaorgun (Apr 27, 2019)

slappomatt said:


> I was thinking about looking for a larger linear PSU, please let us know if you find a good deal on one.



I was speaking to a very knowledgeable electronic guy said 16v should be fine as long as it has the correct or higher amperes to handle the power draw.
For a unit that outputs a decent amount of power the adapter is like a phone charger adapter.

I think if you get one like this 16v 1.4a you'll be fine. If you really like the amp then it's worth getting. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/123460924672

Here is the one I used, it's a good bit cheaper and has a bit of quality about it.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/202655980689


----------



## xSociety

omegaorgun said:


> I was speaking to a very knowledgeable electronic guy said 16v should be fine as long as it has the correct or higher amperes to handle the power draw.
> For a unit that outputs a decent amount of power the adapter is like a phone charger adapter.
> 
> I think if you get one like this 16v 1.4a you'll be fine. If you really like the amp then it's worth getting. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/123460924672
> ...


What difference would one of those make? I just got this device, loving it so far, but I'm just curious. 

Thanks.


----------



## slappomatt

linear power supplies produce cleaner power than switching power supplies at the expense of efficiency.  they run hot. it may make no noticeable difference but when you are splitting hairs at this level it certainly couldn't hurt to have nice clean power.


----------



## FiLoh

Has anyone listened to both this and the Sabaj D5? I'm curious to see how 788 stacks up against the D5/DX7S/SH-8 and SU-8


----------



## slappomatt

Good question they are very similar in price and features, the D5 has built in psu (plus in my book) XLR outs, i2s inputs and I believe a remote.


----------



## xSociety

Hey guys, I'm loving this dac/amp but I find the dial to be way too slow in adjusting volume. Is there any way to change that in any way?


----------



## stimuz

xSociety said:


> Hey guys, I'm loving this dac/amp but I find the dial to be way too slow in adjusting volume. Is there any way to change that in any way?



nope


----------



## Mikooki

Can anyone compare this with the ifi micro black label disregarding features?


----------



## IceAero (Jun 20, 2019)

Just got mine today...

Love it, but, I'm hearing a static-electric discharge sound (i.e., crackling) coming though only when sounds are playing.  Updated the firmware and driver...Swapped cables and headphones...all the same.

I wanted to point it out in case anyone ever has a similar issue. I’m going to try non-USB inputs and USB on another computer just in case it’s some kind of usb-power issue...

*EDIT*:  Ha, looks like it was the USB extension cable I was using.  Remember folks, cables matter!


----------



## FiLoh (Jun 20, 2019)

IceAero said:


> Just got mine today...
> 
> Love it, but, I'm hearing a static-electric discharge sound (i.e., crackling) coming though only when sounds are playing.  Updated the firmware and driver...Swapped cables and headphones...all the same.
> 
> ...




I also have the same problem, but I found that the TOSLINK port I was using is very poor. So I'm actually going to have to ask for a replacement... anyone know if their customer service has given replacements in the past?

EDIT: Also IceAero, how does it compare to your 789? Any real sonic differences?


----------



## IceAero

FiLoh said:


> EDIT: Also IceAero, how does it compare to your 789? Any real sonic differences?



I can't say unfortunately.  I'm using the 788's internal DAC at work, and my Gumby at home.  I would think that differences would be more from the different DACs than the different amps.


----------



## diadack

Has anyone used this with a tube amp? I got a dark voice yesterday and I've been using the THX 788 has a DAC and pre amp and it really adds a layer of sound stage, space and imaging that I found really enjoyable.


----------



## Davesrose

diadack said:


> Has anyone used this with a tube amp? I got a dark voice yesterday and I've been using the THX 788 has a DAC and pre amp and it really adds a layer of sound stage, space and imaging that I found really enjoyable.



Welcome to tube rolling: finding that holy grail tube that gives you maximum soundstage and keeping detail


----------



## diadack

Davesrose said:


> Welcome to tube rolling: finding that holy grail tube that gives you maximum soundstage and keeping detail


I just ordered the  Tung-Sol 6SN7 per someone’s suggestion


----------



## slappomatt

when I very first got mine I tried it with a Shiit vali 2 and was very impressed over the sanskirt 6th dac I was using before.


----------



## Davesrose

diadack said:


> I just ordered the  Tung-Sol 6SN7 per someone’s suggestion



Which version, the new Russian 6SN7GTB, NOS GTB, or old GT?  I've found I also love the Tung-Sol sound with my Single Power...and have tried all 3.  Many folks say the GT is the best, but with some headphones it can have too recessed mids.  I think the NOS GTB is the best all around, and the new Russian one has some similar signature with more mids.  My Single Power is all Tung-Sol: great balance.


----------



## diadack

Davesrose said:


> Which version, the new Russian 6SN7GTB, NOS GTB, or old GT?  I've found I also love the Tung-Sol sound with my Single Power...and have tried all 3.  Many folks say the GT is the best, but with some headphones it can have too recessed mids.  I think the NOS GTB is the best all around, and the new Russian one has some similar signature with more mids.  My Single Power is all Tung-Sol: great balance.


GTB


----------



## stimuz (Jun 27, 2019)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B07KQW1WFX?condition=used

amazon warehouse deals has a couple(maybe 1?) at 359.99+tax acceptable. pretty good deal if you're on the market, amazon run seller. 

edit: these are returns btw.


----------



## lgcubana

Actual review by the ASR moderator:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ements-of-monoprice-thx-desktop-dac-amp.7483/


Noted cons :
1. The volume knob has no acceleration, when you need to go from impulse power to warp 7, in 3 seconds.  I still can't fathom where this scenario comes up in day to day listening. As I don't switch headgear, mid listening session.
2. On the measurements, if you take the volume to max there is a ceiling (which the Drop.com 789 doesn't suffer from).  But the moderator follows up to that concern with it being a non-issue (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...noprice-thx-desktop-dac-amp.7483/#post-173873).  Antdroid (thanks for going the extra mile, to get ASR a good unit, to test) has noted that sensitive IEMs will be negatively effected by the "noise issue"

Another poster resolved the sensitive IEM issue by grounding their unit; I may have to pursue this, when I get my replacement pair of TFZ No. 3s.


----------



## antdroid

lgcubana said:


> Actual review by the ASR moderator:
> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ements-of-monoprice-thx-desktop-dac-amp.7483/
> 
> 
> ...



Yes, the only thing I really had any sort of "issue" with is slightly noisy when you listen to low volume on a highly, highly sensitive IEM (like campfire andromeda/solaris or shure iems). For the most part, it goes away with music on a normal volume unless there is a slow part. This is a problem with MANY amps though, not just this one. I did not try the grounding trick unfortunately. I just sold my unit since I upgraded to some tubes and RME ADI-2 DAC.

Also not too hard to get ASR stuff, since he lives in my area and he's been willing to meet up to grab my gear.


----------



## williabe

Just purchased one on the Monolith THX units, arrived with v 1.01 firmware. Is there a specific mode the amp has to be at when updating the FW, or just turned on? Curious to know if any of you have replaced stock power cord with LPS, iFi DC Purifier 2 or anything else?

Thank you in advance for your help!


----------



## williabe

OK, firmware updated - pretty easy. I have ordered an iFi DC Purifier 2 that should be here in a week. I will listen to the amp with the stock PC, and report any noted differences with the iFI device.


----------



## nishan99

This amp/dac out of the SE makes my sensitive IEM hiss loudly! the IEM is BGVP DM6.
I went back to my micro BL to use them on a desktop.


----------



## lgcubana

nishan99 said:


> This amp/dac out of the SE makes my sensitive IEM hiss loudly! the IEM is BGVP DM6.
> I went back to my micro BL to use them on a desktop.


Someone else said that this can be resolved by grounding the unit.


----------



## slappomatt

I only have a small sampling of IEM but none of them hiss, even on balanced out.


----------



## williabe

lgcubana said:


> Someone else said that this can be resolved by grounding the unit.



To whomever grounded the unit: *Did you ground the chassis, or on a RCA connector?
*
Thank you.


----------



## lgcubana

williabe said:


> To whomever grounded the unit: *Did you ground the chassis, or on a RCA connector?
> *
> Thank you.


It’s on ASR:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...e-thx-desktop-dac-amp.7483/page-3#post-179237


----------



## williabe (Jul 23, 2019)

Looks like the Drop THX 789 is available to order......


----------



## genck

williabe said:


> Looks like the Drop THX 789 is back in stock....


If by "in stock" you mean not shipping until at least November 15th then sure, they're "in stock"


----------



## MarCo7

genck said:


> If by "in stock" you mean not shipping until at least November 15th then sure, they're "in stock"


 Early Christmas!!


----------



## lazard

MarCo7 said:


> Early Christmas!!



I doubt they'll get them ready to ship until 2020.


----------



## MarCo7

lazard said:


> I doubt they'll get them ready to ship until 2020.


 Hapyy NY2020 then 

(I would have to agree with u on that)


----------



## nishan99

Do you find this amp dark sounding ?
For some reason my bright and sibilant headphones sound so sweet now! 
my neutral treble headphones did not get affected.

The two headphones that were bright/sibilant are Ultrasone signature studio and Focal Elex.


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

nishan99 said:


> Do you find this amp dark sounding ?
> For some reason my bright and sibilant headphones sound so sweet now!
> my neutral treble headphones did not get affected.
> 
> The two headphones that were bright/sibilant are Ultrasone signature studio and Focal Elex.



Have an ESS DAC previously?


----------



## nishan99

SmokeNMirrorz said:


> Have an ESS DAC previously?



I was using my samsung s9+, fiio btr3, fiio A5 and ifi micro BL. 

The monolith thx is the only one smoothed the treble for these headphones.


----------



## Davesrose

SmokeNMirrorz said:


> Have an ESS DAC previously?



That's quite a generalization.  The one component that I have which has dual ESS DACs is my SMSL DP3 music player.  I output its digital to my Benchmark DAC (which I can then output balanced).  Just listening to its headphone out, I find it quite muddy and far from "bright".  As to the Monolith taming siblance, from the list of portable devices, I believe it could be that you're just seeing a difference with a solid desktop amp.  Your headphones aren't hard to drive, but with the better amp/impedance/etc...I think you might get better range (more FR extension).


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

Davesrose said:


> That's quite a generalization.



Absolutley it is and why I posited as a question so to glean if it might relate to the stereotype. ; )

Likely just impedance matching diffs in the gain stage tweaking ~6kish.


----------



## Davesrose

SmokeNMirrorz said:


> Absolutley it is and why I posited as a question so to glean if it might relate to the stereotype. ; )
> 
> Likely just impedance matching diffs in the gain stage tweaking ~6kish.



Fair enough  I've just noticed the trend on this forum is anything bright, must be ESS DAC.  While I think actual DAC chip is the least common denominator, there's always synergy with whole setup.


----------



## KaiserTK

Although I didn’t hear the same THX magic as the 789, I was surprised at how good the Monoprice 788 is as an all-in-one. 
Dirac feature was garbage but parametric eq was tastefully responsive and clean.
For those sick of cheap treble harsh ESS dac based units, in the $400-450 price I can wholeheartedly recommend this device.


----------



## Johnsouter

Anybody tried this with some Mk2 Argons?
My 789 is on the way from the US and I'm getting very excited!


----------



## muths66

Wanted to get this but shipping cost a bomb to my country.


----------



## Johnsouter

I managed to get an open box product from Monoprice on Ebay. Cost less to get it imported than buy it from the UK direct!


----------



## Inoculator

I picked one of these up to clean up my desk setup (wanted an all in one solution that could drive any cans I bring with me). Loving it overall, have driven 800s/Auteur/HD 6XX/HD 600/Porta Pros/Massdrop Plus IEMS on it and all have sounded great out of it (have to use ieMatch with the IEMS though). 

One nagging issue I have found though is it seems incredibly susceptible to interference. Anytime I bring my cell phone anywhere near it I get feedback. Anyone else run into this issue? Just want to make sure there is not something wrong with my unit.

I additionally get some wonky behavior (distortion, clicks, etc) when running it in exclusive mode, where I have to restart my player, but I chalk this up to my garbage work computer.


----------



## genck

Inoculator said:


> I picked one of these up to clean up my desk setup (wanted an all in one solution that could drive any cans I bring with me). Loving it overall, have driven 800s/Auteur/HD 6XX/HD 600/Porta Pros/Massdrop Plus IEMS on it and all have sounded great out of it (have to use ieMatch with the IEMS though).
> 
> One nagging issue I have found though is it seems incredibly susceptible to interference. Anytime I bring my cell phone anywhere near it I get feedback. Anyone else run into this issue? Just want to make sure there is not something wrong with my unit.
> 
> I additionally get some wonky behavior (distortion, clicks, etc) when running it in exclusive mode, where I have to restart my player, but I chalk this up to my garbage work computer.


Clicks from USB 5v bus is normal if your motherboard is crappy, this can be fixed with a solid DAC. For your interference issue, Electromag is a thing. I'm an EE. Yeah don't that.


----------



## nishan99

Can I use the XLR headphone output as a balanced output for a different amp? since it does not have XLR out in the back.


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

nishan99 said:


> Can I use the XLR headphone output as a balanced output for a different amp? since it does not have XLR out in the back.



Yup, set to 0dB gain.  It is possible to rewire the rear XLR3 inputs as outputs if so inclined.


----------



## nishan99

SmokeNMirrorz said:


> Yup, set to 0dB gain.  It is possible to rewire the rear XLR3 inputs as outputs if so inclined.



thanks a lot! 
stupid design if you ask me, why the **** there is no balanced out with a fully balanced dac/amp and have a balanced-in instead that will be converted to digital again xD like What Monoprice?


----------



## krazyxazn (Oct 20, 2019)

Current DAC / Amp: Schiit Bifrost 4490 and Lyr 2 (stock tubes)
Headphones: LCD-2, HD6XX and HE-500
Testing only in single-ended (non-balanced)
Matched volume output using a dB meter app and constant pink noise playback. It's not ideal but its good enough.
Firmware v1.03

So far I've only used the LCD-2 for listening and put in a few hours with both setups. I currently prefer my Schiit stack.

On paper the Monolith Desktop would be a nice sidegrade/upgrade for me. Takes less space, less heat, balanced option, and EQ option. I have noticed that some songs have harsh notes, that I haven't experienced on the Schiit stack. I'll have to test it the other headphones later. I'll probably end up reselling this unit.


----------



## Baten

krazyxazn said:


> Current DAC / Amp: Schiit Bifrost 4490 and Lyr 2 (stock tubes)
> Headphones: LCD-2, HD6XX and HE-500
> Testing only in single-ended (non-balanced)
> Matched volume output using a dB meter app and constant pink noise playback. It's not ideal but its good enough.
> ...


Are you connecting the bifrost to the monolith? Or using monolith as standalone.


----------



## krazyxazn

Baten said:


> Are you connecting the bifrost to the monolith? Or using monolith as standalone.


Standalone. USB on both.


----------



## slappomatt

SmokeNMirrorz said:


> Yup, set to 0dB gain.  It is possible to rewire the rear XLR3 inputs as outputs if so inclined.


link? I would love to do this. NEEDS balanced out.


----------



## SmokeNMirrorz

Look on the Monoprice product/discussion/qa page,  believe there's a link also earlier in this thread.


----------



## krazyxazn (Oct 21, 2019)

I finished testing the Monoprice unit with the LCD-2, HD 6XX, and HE-500 headphones. LCD-2 sounds better on Schiit stack. HD 6XX and HE-500 sound better on the Monoprice unit.
The Schiit stack added more color but was a little bit muddy. The LCD-2 sounded much more engaging on this stack. Both Schiit units run pretty hot. The Monoprice unit is barely warm to the touch after a few hours, while you can't touch the Schiit stack longer than a few seconds after 15 minutes.

The Monoprice unit has a neutral and clean sound thanks to THX AAA. I could notice small details on quiet tracks that I couldn't with the Schiit stack. THX is oddly owned by Razer now. Maybe they'll start adding this tech to their gaming hardware.

I decided to keep the Monoprice unit since its a great value at $360 (Retail $500). It's more versatile than the Schiit stack with I/O and EQ options. The DRC and DIRAC features might be better for movies and games, but aren't very interesting for music. The Schiit stack will sadly go for sale after years of service. Now I'm looking into headphone upgrades. Lesson learned, don't click on audio review links. Save yourself from the upgrade bug.


----------



## Baten

Someone, please post here whenever these go on sale lol.


----------



## etroze86

I've had the THX 788 for a few months now (Schiit modi/magni stack previously) and love using it on my Nighthawks and LCD2CB's. I use this primarily on my home PC that I have setup for gaming, movies, music and video chat. To my ears everything sounds more clean and clear compared to the Schiit stack, from foot steps to voices there just seems to be more seperation and clarity. I also have decided that I like the DAC section on the THX more than the DAC that is implemented in my Vanatoo T 0s, again everything just sounds a little less muddy and muffled when compared. Thanks for reading my little uneducated review .


----------



## Vy7478

Been a pleasure going through the thread.

Has anyone heard the 788 with HD800's? I was curious since I've seen comments that the synergy between the massdrop 789 and the 800's weren't great.

I currently have the 800's with the massdrop lcx, and the sound is relatively smooth and warm to my ears. The treble peak doesn't seem to bother me as much as others (maybe because I pretty much only use them for classical) and I'm craving a little more detail from them.

Is this amp dac a good choice?


----------



## Baten

Vy7478 said:


> I currently have the 800's with the massdrop lcx, and the sound is relatively smooth and warm to my ears. The treble peak doesn't seem to bother me as much as others (maybe because I pretty much only use them for classical) and I'm craving a little more detail from them.
> 
> Is this amp dac a good choice?



Are you using LCX balanced? Because single ended on LCX is really crappy.


----------



## Vy7478

Baten said:


> Are you using LCX balanced? Because single ended on LCX is really crappy.



Have to agree with you that the SE output is really quite lacking. I am using them balanced, which is more than enough power to drive the 800's, but the sound is noticeably softer and warmer. Definitely makes the 800's much more tolerable over long listening sessions, but definitely not unleashing the 800's full potential. 

Perhaps the Monolith's may fare better, eyeing the 788's as holiday discount season is comin up


----------



## nishan99

After weeks of hating the volume knob I ended up liking it very much! it soothes my OCD for volume matching.


----------



## Baten

nishan99 said:


> After weeks of hating the volume knob I ended up liking it very much! it soothes my OCD for volume matching.


How so?


----------



## nishan99 (Nov 4, 2019)

Baten said:


> How so?



I have multiple headphones and speakers to control and now I know the exact volume needed every time I switch between them. It's also true for different tracks mastering, like for example if a classical piece is loud at -30s dB I know it does not have good dynamic range, as good tracks for those are around -20 dB.

It's also very helpful to know the full output level needed to control the volume digitally for each headphones/speakers, for example I adjust the amp at -15dB and then control the speakers loudness with my phone with Spotify connect  (same with headphones) so no need for remote control when I am laying back listening.


----------



## TheHeedHunter (Dec 2, 2019)

I've used this for a month without driver installations by myself. It worked fine and used 32-bit / 358KHz. Now I tried the Xmos drivers from Monoprice's site. It has more fullfilled sound at same volume but it can only use 32-bit / 192KHz. I had a difference in sound processing when  playing R6S and I liked more for the bigger sample rate.

I think it sounds better with Xmos and 192 but did anyone get to use bigger sampling rate with different drivers, what drivers you used etc?

E: It was better without Xmos drivers.


----------



## nishan99

Can I mod this unit so that I can bypass the internal ADC?


----------



## stimuz

krazyxazn said:


> Current DAC / Amp: Schiit Bifrost 4490 and Lyr 2 (stock tubes)
> Headphones: LCD-2, HD6XX and HE-500
> Testing only in single-ended (non-balanced)
> Matched volume output using a dB meter app and constant pink noise playback. It's not ideal but its good enough.
> ...



I'm still running 1.01 firmware. Any advantages to upgrading to 1.03?


----------



## lok777

I just got the monoprice thx aaa 788 amp/dac and when i plug in my hifiman edition XX over balanced I get the error code "temperature protection" then the unit powers off.  I have to unplug, replug, and re-turn the unit on afterwards.  They work on SE fine, and my M1070s work fine over balanced and SE.  Any ideas?


----------



## CFGamescape

lok777 said:


> I just got the monoprice thx aaa 788 amp/dac and when i plug in my hifiman edition XX over balanced I get the error code "temperature protection" then the unit powers off.  I have to unplug, replug, and re-turn the unit on afterwards.  They work on SE fine, and my M1070s work fine over balanced and SE.  Any ideas?


It could be an issue with the power supply. I would contact Monoprice for support.


----------



## mrblast

Really struggling with this amp. I guess because I dont really know what Im doing but Im struggling with the sound cutting out when I raise the volume. Im just left with intermittent stabs. Im using JVC SZ2000s and cannot get any kind of big sound never mind head rattling bass.

I'm really confused, my old Soundblaster E5 is better than this.


----------



## Baten

mrblast said:


> Really struggling with this amp. I guess because I dont really know what Im doing but Im struggling with the sound cutting out when I raise the volume. Im just left with intermittent stabs. Im using JVC SZ2000s and cannot get any kind of big sound never mind head rattling bass.
> 
> I'm really confused, my old Soundblaster E5 is better than this.


Can you elaborate more? What's exact set-up. What you mean "stabs" ?


----------



## mrblast

I'll turn the volume up and the sound cuts out only to intermittently play a "flash" of song. As if the volume is too much for the amp to process and it keeps cutting out.

I thought maybe there is some kind of volume limiter setting but I cant find anything.

Ive never had this with amps before, usually amps keep going until the headphones distort. I must be missing something but I really don't know what....


----------



## mrblast

Sorry, exact set up is laptop to Monolith via usb, JVC sz2000s into headphone out


----------



## Baten

mrblast said:


> Sorry, exact set up is laptop to Monolith via usb, JVC sz2000s into headphone out


That definitely shouldn't happen. sounds like amp is overloading/cutting out.

Can you return it as a faulty unit?


----------



## mrblast

Yeah Ive been speaking to Monolith and it sounds like a faulty unit.

Thanks for the advice gents


----------



## HulalaHifi (Feb 26, 2020)

I received my Monolith desktop headphone amp/dac last week, I must be lucky, there is no issue whatsoever, plug my Sennheiser HD800S headphones to the balanced output, sounds brilliant, I rate this Monolith amp over my Naim DAC V-1, Marantz HD DAC1, Fiio Q5s and Q5. However when I tried the SE output with my Sennheiser HD650/600, I am not that impressed; but the balanced output, just WOW. 
update: after few weeks' break-in time, listened to the SE output again, it actually sounds pretty good too, but the balanced output still sounds the best for me.


----------



## HulalaHifi

And when I received my Monolith, I found it's not double boxed, so imagine if the delivery guy drop it by accident, there is no protection at all; and the Monolith box itself has no seal or tape to prevent someone else from opening it...but again, I must be lucky, my unit is not faulty.


----------



## stimuz (Feb 19, 2020)

HulalaHifi said:


> And when I received my Monolith, I found it's not double boxed, so imagine if the delivery guy drop it by accident, there is no protection at all; and the Monolith box itself has no seal or tape to prevent someone else from opening it...but again, I must be lucky, my unit is not faulty.



Mine was double boxed and arrived fine. For the price I doubt you can beat this amp/dac combo, especially if you make use of its features. Dirac is quite nice for 70s stuff and I use the shelf EQ pretty much daily. I personally see no difference in audio quality between balanced and SE, other than my HE-560 not needing to be cranked up with balanced.

But yea, the hype train on this amp was crippled by ASR's half assed rage review, which he corrected later.


----------



## SupperTime

Do any of the thx amps have a bright treble?


----------



## Baten

SupperTime said:


> Do any of the thx amps have a bright treble?


No.


----------



## wein07

krazyxazn said:


> I finished testing the Monoprice unit with the LCD-2, HD 6XX, and HE-500 headphones. LCD-2 sounds better on Schiit stack. HD 6XX and HE-500 sound better on the Monoprice unit.
> The Schiit stack added more color but was a little bit muddy. The LCD-2 sounded much more engaging on this stack. Both Schiit units run pretty hot. The Monoprice unit is barely warm to the touch after a few hours, while you can't touch the Schiit stack longer than a few seconds after 15 minutes.
> 
> The Monoprice unit has a neutral and clean sound thanks to THX AAA. I could notice small details on quiet tracks that I couldn't with the Schiit stack. THX is oddly owned by Razer now. Maybe they'll start adding this tech to their gaming hardware.
> ...



Is there still a way to purchase this at $360?


----------



## stimuz

wein07 said:


> Is there still a way to purchase this at $360?



I think that was an Amazon warehouse deals price, but since then it's been 450ish.


----------



## SupperTime

Which is the best thx amp, most features ect?


----------



## wein07

stimuz said:


> I think that was an Amazon warehouse deals price, but since then it's been 450ish.



Thanks for the info. I remember someone mentioning anew version of this amp in 2020, however can't seem to find any info on it or even prior


----------



## Sybase

antdroid said:


> These are just some initial quick impressions on the amp and it's feature set:
> 
> 
> Sound:
> ...


Did you attempt the balanced out mod? If so, would love to hear how it went.


----------



## wein07

I remember seeing someone mention a new version would be out in 2020, any links? Couldn't find any. 

Also there doesn't seem to be a guide on modding the XLR in to XLR out. Google had no links, can anyone share? ty


----------



## stimuz

wein07 said:


> I remember seeing someone mention a new version would be out in 2020, any links? Couldn't find any.
> 
> Also there doesn't seem to be a guide on modding the XLR in to XLR out. Google had no links, can anyone share? ty



They were probably talking about the THX 887


----------



## Baten

stimuz said:


> They were probably talking about the THX 887


Yeah 789 or 887


----------



## stimuz




----------



## lgcubana

wein07 said:


> ... Also there doesn't seem to be a guide on modding the XLR in to XLR out. Google had no links, can anyone share? ty





unmaker said:


> I'm not a fan of the XLR inputs either but they can be modified to be outputs. From Andrew Mason:
> 
> "And with some warranty-voiding simple soldering, it should be pretty straightforward to modify the unit so the two XLR-3 "inputs" become balanced outputs wired internally to the XLR-4 headphone out and controlled by the volume dial. i.e. remove C67, C76, C79, C84 to disconnect XLR3's from the ADC. Then patch wire twisted pairs connecting the two XLR3's pins to XLR-4 pins as follows:
> 
> ...


----------



## cpc93

lok777 said:


> I just got the monoprice thx aaa 788 amp/dac and when i plug in my hifiman edition XX over balanced I get the error code "temperature protection" then the unit powers off.  I have to unplug, replug, and re-turn the unit on afterwards.  They work on SE fine, and my M1070s work fine over balanced and SE.  Any ideas?



I have this same issue! I don't know what it is.


----------



## Monstieur (Apr 21, 2020)

I found that Dirac Sensaround II doesn't destroy the HRTFs already present in stereo sources. With other renderers like Waves NX on the Audeze Mobius, you must disable any HRTFs at the source - set the game to non-HRTF "Stereo" or "7.1" instead of "Headphones", disable "Dolby Atmos for Headphones" or "DTS Headphone:X" etc. Even if source HRTFs are enabled, they are seemingly destroyed and sound only comes from the front virtual speakers, so you might as well run the source in non-HRTF "Stereo".

Dirac Sensaround II expands the soundstage but the original positional audio from the source HRTFs are preserved. I tried it with games in "Headphone" mode, and in 7.1 movies downmixed to stereo with "Dolby Atmos for Headphones" and "DTS Headphone:X". By default, "Dolby Atmos for Headphones" has a small but positionally accurate soundstage, and "DTS Headphone:X" has a wider but still positionally accurate soundstage. Dirac Sensaround II expands the soundstage further, but reduces positional accuracy a bit. This is a surprising result as I expected stacking HRTFs to destroy each other. This is similar to the Dolby Surround Upmixer on Atmos AVRs which accurately places stereo source HRTFs in a 5.1.4 speaker setup.

It's great for ear-piercing mono sounding YouTube videos, and it's not too bad if you accidentally leave it enabled during HRTF content.


----------



## shysteve40

guys I just got this amp 788 by monolith. I have the drivers from monoprice.com website.  I am using windows 10 laptop latest build.  Why can I go higjer then 24/192hz in sound settings.  I brought this amp to do 786hz like it can.  Why cant I do higher then 24/192hz.  Do I need a special driver. If so where do I get it.


----------



## TheHeedHunter

I was a bit confused with the beginning but I assumr you got the dac/amp as you use drivers. With monoprice's drivers I got the same quality but if you don't use any drivers it gives you 32bit/358kHz, at least for me.


----------



## shysteve40

TheHeedHunter said:


> I was a bit confused with the beginning but I assumr you got the dac/amp as you use drivers. With monoprice's drivers I got the same quality but if you don't use any drivers it gives you 32bit/358kHz, at least for me.


Yes I am using Monoprice drivers. On my mac is does do 786hz. Why not in windows


----------



## Baten

shysteve40 said:


> Yes I am using Monoprice drivers. On my mac is does do 786hz. Why not in windows


i guess because Windows sucks


----------



## etroze86

Baten said:


> i guess because Windows sucks



Have you played around with your output device properties? Right click volume icon-> click device-> brings up properties-> Advanced tab-> select default format.


----------



## shysteve40

etroze86 said:


> Have you played around with your output device properties? Right click volume icon-> click device-> brings up properties-> Advanced tab-> select default format.


Yes sound probities only gives me 24/192 that's the higest


----------



## etroze86

shysteve40 said:


> Yes sound probities only gives me 24/192 that's the higest



I wonder if that is a windows limitation then.


----------



## stimuz

etroze86 said:


> I wonder if that is a windows limitation then.



mines at 24/352 not that i can tell a difference


----------



## starmartyr

Has anyone had luck hooking this up to ps4 via usb?

I read previous to buying that most DACs and dac/amps had no problem working driverless on the ps4. This one does not seem to at all. I can go dig up an old optical cable if I have to but was hoping not to have to if possible...


----------



## starmartyr

stimuz said:


> Mine was double boxed and arrived fine. For the price I doubt you can beat this amp/dac combo, especially if you make use of its features. Dirac is quite nice for 70s stuff and I use the shelf EQ pretty much daily. I personally see no difference in audio quality between balanced and SE, other than my HE-560 not needing to be cranked up with balanced.
> 
> But yea, the hype train on this amp was crippled by ASR's half assed rage review, which he corrected later.



This really does seem to be the case, this one got a bit of a bad shake at first due to that. The value in this is pretty much incredible but the measurement nazis jumped on a tiny spec of noise (only possibly detectable with super low impedance IEMs, but who would be cranking those to the point of noise showing up anyway?) and the beta firmware issue ‐ quickly resolved, mind you - when otherwise this is a hell of a unit with amazing accuracy and noise figures that still are so low to be blacker than black for 99% of users.

Also yes dirac is an interesting effect that doesnt seem to spoil anything but helps with extremely panned mixes like in 1960-70s songs, and adds a great deal to some types of music and from what I've heard is great for gaming too.

My only gripe is that it doesnt seem to do driverless operation with anything other than a computer... PS4 for example, and just waiting on my android OTG cable to test that too. I cant figure out why this is the case with PS4 though...


----------



## Monstieur

starmartyr said:


> Has anyone had luck hooking this up to ps4 via usb?
> 
> I read previous to buying that most DACs and dac/amps had no problem working driverless on the ps4. This one does not seem to at all. I can go dig up an old optical cable if I have to but was hoping not to have to if possible...


It supports only 32-bit 192 kHz or something without the driver so it won't work on most devices.


----------



## ra990 (May 12, 2020)

Just got it from Amazon as a temporary solution (it came only in it's original box, no tape over anything, but brand new, strange!). I'm on Windows 10 and 1.04 firmware. No drivers needed and I'm getting full resolution over WASAPI. Roon detected 32bit/384khz playback capability. Everything seems great, using it with my new Aeon 2 Opens. I've owned this before when it was just released and thought it was a great product. I feel the same way a year later. Very good value - great sounding DAC, powerful amp, balanced, preamp for my powered desktop speakers, inputs, lots of options I'll probably never play with and around $470 now on Amazon, so priced right compared to separate components. I've had a lot of gear go across my desk and I'd say this is definitely one that I'd recommend to anyone looking for a decent all-in-one solution.


----------



## starmartyr (May 12, 2020)

muths66 said:


> Wanted to get this but shipping cost a bomb to my country.



Just curious - what country? And have you checked Amazon either locally or nearby?



Monstieur said:


> It supports only 32-bit 192 kHz or something without the driver so it won't work on most devices.



Ah, maybe that's it. Although it's funny the display shows 44.100 when plugged into the ps4. But no sound whatsoever. That's a bit disappointing but at least there's optical to fall back on, and no cable switching that way I guess. But if I had a ps4 slim I'd have to get an hdmi extractor or something, which is a bother. Wish it just worked over usb out of the box.


----------



## stimuz

starmartyr said:


> This really does seem to be the case, this one got a bit of a bad shake at first due to that. The value in this is pretty much incredible but the measurement nazis jumped on a tiny spec of noise (only possibly detectable with super low impedance IEMs, but who would be cranking those to the point of noise showing up anyway?) and the beta firmware issue ‐ quickly resolved, mind you - when otherwise this is a hell of a unit with amazing accuracy and noise figures that still are so low to be blacker than black for 99% of users.
> 
> Also yes dirac is an interesting effect that doesnt seem to spoil anything but helps with extremely panned mixes like in 1960-70s songs, and adds a great deal to some types of music and from what I've heard is great for gaming too.
> 
> My only gripe is that it doesnt seem to do driverless operation with anything other than a computer... PS4 for example, and just waiting on my android OTG cable to test that too. I cant figure out why this is the case with PS4 though...



He didn't even review it at the time, he just released a partial review complaining about Monoprice. Turns out its pretty good.


----------



## Sanctuary (May 22, 2020)

Got my 788 today, and so far I like it.  I got it to be used for more than simply a desktop amp, but for that at least it does a really good job and can adequately power headphones that my Essence STX just can't.  I'm also not sure if it's just a placebo, but the DAC seems like it's better than what's in the soundcard, but I couldn't exactly point out how other than maybe making things sound just so _slightly_ fuller.  I'll have to do a lot more critical A/B listens, but the STX sounds maybe slightly more congested too.  I get similar listening experience simply playing my Cowon J3 through my Lyr, but that has a limited battery and storage space.

Anyway, with all of the talk of the DIRAC feature, I was expecting something different than what I am hearing. While listening to rock, metal, and classical it just sounds like it's trying to do what Dolby Headphone already does, but much worse. Instead of hearing a "center" speaker with two mains as some reviews have said, it just sounds like the left and right _converge_ somewhat and then become a virtual center that is floating right _above_ my forehead. Similarly as with Dolby Headphone, it also seems to add a noticeable amount of reverb, but also seems to make everything sound _very_ anemic. Maybe the results are just headphone dependent, but I am already using semi-open to open headphones. Maybe that feature will sound better with my (closed) Alpha Dogs. I'll try them later.


----------



## starmartyr

Sanctuary said:


> Got my 788 today, and so far I like it.  I got it to be used for more than simply a desktop amp, but for that at least it does a really good job and can adequately power headphones that my Essence STX just can't.  I'm also not sure if it's just a placebo, but the DAC seems like it's better than what's in the soundcard, but I couldn't exactly point out how other than maybe making things sound just so _slightly_ fuller.  I'll have to do a lot more critical A/B listens, but the STX sounds maybe slightly more congested too.  I get similar listening experience simply playing my Cowon J3 through my Lyr, but that has a limited battery and storage space.
> 
> Anyway, with all of the talk of the DIRAC feature, I was expecting something different than what I am hearing. While listening to rock, metal, and classical it just sounds like it's trying to do what Dolby Headphone already does, but much worse. Instead of hearing a "center" speaker with two mains as some reviews have said, it just sounds like the left and right _converge_ somewhat and then become a virtual center that is floating right _above_ my forehead. Similarly as with Dolby Headphone, it also seems to add a noticeable amount of reverb, but also seems to make everything sound _very_ anemic. Maybe the results are just headphone dependent, but I am already using semi-open to open headphones. Maybe that feature will sound better with my (closed) Alpha Dogs. I'll try them later.



Keep listening to Dirac with games, movies and early stereo recordings I would say. It absolutely corrects badly mixed stereo recordings and adds soundstage/correct placement to games and movies I find. Essential to have some cross feed with these sources I'm finding. I never did much critical listening with headphones until I got this unit as I'm very used to speakers but I find this feature invaluable.

Either way it's subjective and a software crossfeed could achieve much of the same results (like Meier crossfeed in foobar) but I like that you can just apply it on any source on the fly without messing about with settings.


----------



## stimuz

starmartyr said:


> Keep listening to Dirac with games, movies and early stereo recordings I would say. It absolutely corrects badly mixed stereo recordings and adds soundstage/correct placement to games and movies I find. Essential to have some cross feed with these sources I'm finding. I never did much critical listening with headphones until I got this unit as I'm very used to speakers but I find this feature invaluable.
> 
> Either way it's subjective and a software crossfeed could achieve much of the same results (like Meier crossfeed in foobar) but I like that you can just apply it on any source on the fly without messing about with settings.



100% on early stereo recordings. Anything in the 70s when stereo was the cool new gimmick makes listening with headphones pretty uncomfortable and dirac does a great job emulating speakers for that imo. Dirac shouldn't be the selling point of the 788 though, but its useful.


----------



## RoyGB

Anyone try the balanced output mod yet? If I go through with building a OTC tube amp, I am thinking about converting those balanced inputs to outputs.

I am assuming that balanced output would still work. Hopefully there is no weird issues with parallel wiring and that it treats the XLR as an open circuit when the tube amp is not outputting. I guess that would all come down to the design of the tube amp.


----------



## starmartyr

One thing that's a bit frustrating to me on this unit is where the eq starts and stops. It starts at 50hz so eqing below that isn't possible... sure if the q factor is really low it will extend a bit in both directions but the boost is still centered at 50hz. My hd600s feel like they need a boost below this. They already have a strong response at 50hz so adding to this just muddys up the sound.

If manufacturers report such crazy wide "useable" frequency response numbers like 5hz to 40hz or even just the usual 20hz to 20khz why not make the eq settings closer to the actual full fr? Is this some no no I'm missing? Aren't there many other built in eqs with a wider range or is this pretty typical? I know generally on software eqs you can go pretty wide, surely many basic ones will get down to like 32hz and some are whatever you choose. Seems like an odd decision on a well engineered unit that's made to show off excellent sq at the price..


----------



## RoyGB

You can shelf EQ below 60Hz.


----------



## starmartyr

RoyGB said:


> You can shelf EQ below 60Hz.


True, which sort of helps but I'd prefer not to boost 50 or above. I guess I'm just surprised at the lack of control at either end of the spectrum. Trying to figure out why they would choose to do this.


----------



## stimuz

starmartyr said:


> One thing that's a bit frustrating to me on this unit is where the eq starts and stops. It starts at 50hz so eqing below that isn't possible... sure if the q factor is really low it will extend a bit in both directions but the boost is still centered at 50hz. My hd600s feel like they need a boost below this. They already have a strong response at 50hz so adding to this just muddys up the sound.
> 
> If manufacturers report such crazy wide "useable" frequency response numbers like 5hz to 40hz or even just the usual 20hz to 20khz why not make the eq settings closer to the actual full fr? Is this some no no I'm missing? Aren't there many other built in eqs with a wider range or is this pretty typical? I know generally on software eqs you can go pretty wide, surely many basic ones will get down to like 32hz and some are whatever you choose. Seems like an odd decision on a well engineered unit that's made to show off excellent sq at the price..



err hd 600s have a strong response at 50hz?


----------



## starmartyr

stimuz said:


> err hd 600s have a strong response at 50hz?


Charts seem to vary a bit but under 50hz there's definitely a roll off. Luckily 50-60 is still a bit lower than flat anyway so the shelf eq seems to do ok so far, nothing bloated seeming. But it would be nice to have a bit more control I feel like. Like why not just extend out the frequencies you can eq a bit, if it's all in the audible range anyway?


----------



## RoyGB (May 30, 2020)

starmartyr said:


> Charts seem to vary a bit but under 50hz there's definitely a roll off. Luckily 50-60 is still a bit lower than flat anyway so the shelf eq seems to do ok so far, nothing bloated seeming. But it would be nice to have a bit more control I feel like. Like why not just extend out the frequencies you can eq a bit, if it's all in the audible range anyway?


Might be worthwhile to send an email to Monoprice this might be able to be altered with an update or an explanation given. If CS yields nothing, I know earlier in this thread near the beginning, a bunch of people were talking about communicating with various people on the project. There might be a lead there as well.

A firmware update would be nice if it would yield us more control. My only assumption is that they only have so much memory for the EQ and had to make some sacrifices somewhere.

The only thing that I want to note is that if a firmware update is pushed, we are likely going to have to rely on someone in this thread mentioning that they are running 1.05 because atleast when I got my unit 2-3 months ago, Monoprice still only had 1.03 as the latest version on their site whereas my unit is running 1.04.


----------



## starmartyr

stimuz said:


> err hd 600s have a strong response at 50hz?


Also I probably shouldn't say strong but basically the roll off isn't as strong there as in the lower bass, so if you try to boost in that range at all - hoping to improve the sub bass - it gets muddy immediately I find.


----------



## starmartyr

RoyGB said:


> Might be worthwhile to send an email to Monoprice this might be able to be altered with an update or an explanation given. If CS yields nothing, I know earlier in this thread near the beginning, a bunch of people were talking about communicating with various people on the project. There might be a lead there as well.
> 
> A firmware update would be nice if it would yield us more control. My only assumption is that they only have so much memory for the EQ and had to make some sacrifices somewhere.
> 
> The only thing that I want to note is that if a firmware update is pushed, we are likely going to have to rely on someone in this thread mentioning that they are running 1.05 because atleast when I got my unit 2-3 months ago, Monoprice still only had 1.03 as the latest version on their site whereas my unit is running 1.04.


True, good point. If nothing else could get an answer as to why.

Same with mine on the firmware, and I haven't been able to find out what exactly changed from 1.03 to 1.04, which is strangely still not posted on their site. Do you have any idea? I can always ask that as well though I'm not sure if I'll get any response especially how things are with support everywhere these days


----------



## nishan99

Does anyone know if the preamp function is digitally done or through the analog volume pot? 

Can I tell if I opened the amp and saw the wiring?


----------



## Baten

nishan99 said:


> Does anyone know if the preamp function is digitally done or through the analog volume pot?
> 
> Can I tell if I opened the amp and saw the wiring?


Digital volume control


----------



## nishan99

Baten said:


> Digital volume control



Thanks!. 
But how did you know? is there something I can look at to know if any unit is using a digital attenuation or analog one?


----------



## Baten

nishan99 said:


> Thanks!.
> But how did you know? is there something I can look at to know if any unit is using a digital attenuation or analog one?


Because it has a digit-precise attenuation  -0.00 dB, -10.00dB, you get the idea.


----------



## nishan99

Baten said:


> Because it has a digit-precise attenuation  -0.00 dB, -10.00dB, you get the idea.



Wait, even the amp is digitally attenuated?!


----------



## Baten

nishan99 said:


> Wait, even the amp is digitally attenuated?!


maybe someone else can tell you with more certainty it's been AGES since I owned this one (but I do miss it it's a great all in one!!)
But as far as I know there is 1 digital potentiometer to control overall volume.


----------



## RoyGB (Jun 20, 2020)

Ladies, gents, and all yall nonbinaries. I present the volume knob mod.

A bit of sticky rubber stuff leftover from some 3m rubber feet. Cut up and used so you can control the volume infinitely with one finger.

The rubber feet came in a square piece of rubber with the round feet bits punched out. I just used a bit of the excess and viola!

Ive been using this since close to day 1 and just realised I should share. The rubber feet are about 1inch to give you a sense of scale.

One of those small tweaks that make for a massive quality of life differences. Adjusting volume and navigating the menu is nowhere near as much of a chore.


----------



## RoyGB

nishan99 said:


> Wait, even the amp is digitally attenuated?!



All digital. Only one pot and it is definetly digital. It is an infinetly spinning stepped knob.
On my sensitive headphones I can even hear almost inaudibly quiet pops when adjusting volume sometimes. Not sure the methodology they are using though


----------



## starmartyr

RoyGB said:


> Ladies, gents, and all yall nonbinaries. I present the volume knob mod.
> 
> A bit of sticky rubber stuff leftover from some 3m rubber feet. Cut up and used so you can control the volume infinitely with one finger.
> 
> ...



Funny, I knew exactly what this was as soon as I saw it. I'm well versed in those little rubber feet too, haha. I use the excess rubber for lots of things as well, it's nice and grippy. 

Though, I don't have a problem with spinning the knob, i just run my finger around the outside to turn it rapidly. I find turning up or down volume just fine this way unlike the initial complaints of it being too slow.

I too hear the faint "pops", depending on what I'm listening to. Just figure it's a part of digital volume control. Doesnt bother me tho


----------



## CFGamescape

I just experienced the "overcurrent protect" feature when listening to my Argon MKIII plugged in with a balanced XLR. It seems anything louder than -28.00db will trigger the protection. It's a little annoying, but I guess it's a good thing? I ensured the cable was plugged in correctly. It  happened when listening to a track at -25.00db for a couple mins, then the music stopped/notification popped up. Anyway around this if I want to listen to louder than -28.00db?


----------



## starmartyr

CFGamescape said:


> I just experienced the "overcurrent protect" feature when listening to my Argon MKIII plugged in with a balanced XLR. It seems anything louder than -28.00db will trigger the protection. It's a little annoying, but I guess it's a good thing? I ensured the cable was plugged in correctly. It  happened when listening to a track at -25.00db for a couple mins, then the music stopped/notification popped up. Anyway around this if I want to listen to louder than -28.00db?



That's pretty bizarre, I've only had that happen if I've unplugged headphones while something is playing. Are those particularly hard to drive or something?


----------



## CFGamescape

starmartyr said:


> That's pretty bizarre, I've only had that happen if I've unplugged headphones while something is playing. Are those particularly hard to drive or something?


Yeah, they’re pretty hard to drive but it shouldn’t have happened. I emailed tech support and they weren’t very helpful. What was helpful was replicating the issue with the volume a bit louder at -20.00db, which resulted in the amp shutting off. When I restarted it, I didn’t get the issue anymore. Weird.


----------



## Gun21

Bad news for prospective UK buyers. I contacted Monoprice UK and got this back.


Hello,

Thank you for reaching out and your interest in Monoprice!

Unfortunately, we are no longer expecting the Monolith by *Monoprice Desktop Balanced Headphone Amplifier and DAC with THX AAA Technology (Dual AKM 4493 DACs & Dual AAA-788 Modules)* to arrive in our Stores. It might be available in 2021, but there is still no confirmed information.

I am very sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for understanding.

In case you have any further questions, please let me know.

Kind regards,

 Diana
Customer Success Team 
Monoprice


----------



## Baten

Gun21 said:


> Bad news for prospective UK buyers. I contacted Monoprice UK and got this back.
> 
> 
> Hello,
> ...


If you want one soon, you can also order @ audiophonics. But it costs a pretty penny


----------



## nishan99 (Aug 26, 2020)

*WARNING!!!*

I am on the latest firmware and there is a bug while using the USB input (maybe to all digital inputs) and the RCA preamp outs. While on MUTE there is a chance this fuking unit to send a FULL FUKING SIGNAL blowing your ears off!.

My ears still hurt and I have a bad headache right now. !@#$ you Monoprice!!!!!.


----------



## starmartyr

nishan99 said:


> *WARNING!!!*
> 
> I am on the latest firmware and there is a bug while using the USB input (maybe to all digital inputs) and the RCA preamp outs. While on MUTE there is a chance this fuking unit to send a FULL FUKING SIGNAL blowing your ears off!.
> 
> My ears still hurts and I have a bad headache right now. !@#$ you Monoprice!!!!!.



Damn that's crazy. I happened to have mine turned down to mute just the other day when I tried some really sensitive IEMs on it; I realize I've never had it turned all the way down before as any sound on my over ears typically fades out long before that. Also I never turn it down that far because it's like 800 turns of the volume dial. Sounds like a bad flaw that should be reported to Monoprice though.


----------



## Gun21 (Sep 14, 2020)

I have output coming out of both the XLR and the 1/4" SE at the same time. The manual states otherwise. Kind of like it tbh.


----------



## BIGGRIMTIM

Just got my unit last week. Loving it so far paired with my HD6XX via balanced cable. I installed the drivers from the Monoprice site to get all the supported formats. I am having a strange issue however. Occasionally all of my sound cuts out. I have to power the unit off and power it back on to get it working again. My unit has 1.04 firmware which I noticed is not available on the Monoprice site. Is anyone having this issue?

Thanks.


----------



## Gun21 (Sep 18, 2020)

BIGGRIMTIM said:


> Just got my unit last week. Loving it so far paired with my HD6XX via balanced cable. I installed the drivers from the Monoprice site to get all the supported formats. I am having a strange issue however. Occasionally all of my sound cuts out. I have to power the unit off and power it back on to get it working again. My unit has 1.04 firmware which I noticed is not available on the Monoprice site. Is anyone having this issue?
> 
> Thanks.



My unit is 1.04 in the settings too. I wondered about that when I first got it, seeing as only 1.03 is listed on Monoprice's website. That must be the way they roll, and is confusing as best. I'd get in touch with Monoprice about your issue. This unit has been rock solid for me.

PS: check your USB settings, if indeed you are using Windows. Sometimes USB ports go into sleep mode to save polar bears. I'd at least try setting power saving to 'off' in Windows Control Panel for that particular port. Give it a try.


----------



## starmartyr

Gun21 said:


> My unit is 1.04 in the settings too. I wondered about that when I first got it, seeing as only 1.03 is listed on Monoprice's website. That must be the way they roll, and is confusing as best. I'd get in touch with Monoprice about your issue. This unit has been rock solid for me.
> 
> PS: check your USB settings, if indeed you are using Windows. Sometimes USB ports go into sleep mode to save polar bears. I'd at least try setting power saving to 'off' in Windows Control Panel for that particular port. Give it a try.



^^Same on both counts for me. Still no idea what 1.04 revision fixed. But I also haven't had any problems with mine either, and I've certainly never had issue with sound cutting out.

As Gun21 suggests I'd look at turning off all power saving modes completely including diving into all of the advanced power settings which is where you'll find those "USB suspend" settings among others. May as well turn all power saving options off. PCs/laptops are plenty efficient now; most of those settings are holdovers and just cause issues. Windows can be such a pain with all of that. Also disable any "fast startup" settings which I've found can cause graphics stuttering issues and can cause other problems as well. With a solid state drive the fast startup settings are redundant anyway. Windows is always trying to (and I suppose they have to) be compatible with everything including 10+ year old hardware so things invariably get messy.

Anyway if you exhaust all of the settings tweaks you could contact Monoprice to try another unit while you can, otherwise it may be a good idea to backup and do a clean wipe of your PC and start over to alleviate any windows issues.

Best of luck, and don't discount this unit yet. I'm loving it still myself. I'm currently enjoying using the DAC out to my Lyr as it's an excellent & plenty capable DAC, and I have no idea why it catches the usual flack like other all-in-ones. There's zero need to get a standalone DAC unless maybe you need balanced out or MQA decoding for whatever reason... and the amp itself is dead silent and very powerful of course. I appreciate that even more now after adding a tube hybrid that isn't nearly so quiet and noise free. I don't feel the need to chase any other solid state amps at all.

Hope yours cooperates and gives you plenty of enjoyment too!


----------



## BIGGRIMTIM

Thanks for the info and suggestions. One thing I forgot to mention was I am running this through a powered usb hub. I can't imagine this has any effect but I will take it out of the loop and see how it goes.


----------



## starmartyr

Good call. I am running mine on a powered USB hub as well, no issues for me but you never know... each one is different, and audio gear is usually recommended to run straight off a mobo USB port. But of course my laptop only has 2 damn normal USB ports! 😑


----------



## Gun21

BIGGRIMTIM said:


> Thanks for the info and suggestions. One thing I forgot to mention was I am running this through a powered usb hub. I can't imagine this has any effect but I will take it out of the loop and see how it goes.



All depends if the USB hub is, in turn, attached to the USB port on your PC that has polar bear saving enabled ofc. Let us know how you get on. GL.


----------



## stimuz

RoyGB said:


> Ladies, gents, and all yall nonbinaries. I present the volume knob mod.
> 
> A bit of sticky rubber stuff leftover from some 3m rubber feet. Cut up and used so you can control the volume infinitely with one finger.
> 
> ...



isn't that a bit redundant with the dB readout?


----------



## Traveler843

Does anyone know if there's going to be a "MQA" version of this DAC/AMP. I know MQA is a bit controversial, but I plan on keeping my setup for a few years.


----------



## slappomatt

only monoprice would know that and they dont talk much.


----------



## starmartyr

stimuz said:


> isn't that a bit redundant with the dB readout?


It's not an indicator, it's pretty much so you can hook your finger on the rubber and spin the dial more accurately. I run my finger around the outside so it's not much of an issue for me, plus you get accustomed to using the dial, but this is a good solution too


----------



## stimuz

starmartyr said:


> It's not an indicator, it's pretty much so you can hook your finger on the rubber and spin the dial more accurately. I run my finger around the outside so it's not much of an issue for me, plus you get accustomed to using the dial, but this is a good solution too



but you can do it with one finger pressed into the dial not just at the edges with the stock dial. seriously, I'm doing it right now.


----------



## starmartyr

stimuz said:


> but you can do it with one finger pressed into the dial not just at the edges with the stock dial. seriously, I'm doing it right now.


Of course, I was speaking for OP there but for me it's not much of an issue either. I've gotten so quick with the knob and buttons (haha) that I can quickly zip to whatever volume I need, or turn all 5 bands of eq on or off in a few seconds. This is of course when I want to say, leave the shelf eq on but turn off customized PEQ for another set. It's just muscle memory and how you adapt to controls i guess


----------



## spacelion2077

Hey I have a question guys. I'm intending to use this unit as a pre amplifier/dac with USB input and Line Output to another headphone amplifier. Will the EQ or Dirac setting I have on this amplifier affect the sound that comes out the end amplifier to the headphone ?


----------



## starmartyr

spacelion2077 said:


> Hey I have a question guys. I'm intending to use this unit as a pre amplifier/dac with USB input and Line Output to another headphone amplifier. Will the EQ or Dirac setting I have on this amplifier affect the sound that comes out the end amplifier to the headphone ?


Yep it will. I do this too and I like to be able to eq and Dirac through to the second amp. 

As a side note, as it's merits have been hotly debated: I use Dirac more often than not actually as I don't like the weird/unnatural placement headphones typically give you. Guess I'm too much of a speaker guy. Works good for music for me. But it really shines for movies and games, much more accurate soundfield I find. I've compared to a couple other crossfeeds like Meier and I like Dirac much better. Plus it's hardware so not source dependant. 

Anyway, hope that works out for you!


----------



## spacelion2077

Thanks for your input. So if I connect Monolith to another amplifier, will Monolith work as DAC or preamp? I'm planning to connect Monolith to my pc via USB and then connect Monolith to another amplifer through line out. Is this the correct setup


----------



## starmartyr

spacelion2077 said:


> Thanks for your input. So if I connect Monolith to another amplifier, will Monolith work as DAC or preamp? I'm planning to connect Monolith to my pc via USB and then connect Monolith to another amplifer through line out. Is this the correct setup


That's right, it's basically both then. Just change the output under settings to "line". Turn volume to 0db if possible to not lose any SNR.


----------



## spacelion2077

starmartyr said:


> That's right, it's basically both then. Just change the output under settings to "line". Turn volume to 0db if possible to not lose any SNR.


Thanks again for your input. I just bought Topping A90 amp. Not sure how much the Monolith will affect its sound by turning on Dirac. They both suppose to have very clean sound.


----------



## starmartyr

spacelion2077 said:


> Thanks again for your input. I just bought Topping A90 amp. Not sure how much the Monolith will affect its sound by turning on Dirac. They both suppose to have very clean sound.


Cool, no problem. At these specs you probably won't hear a difference between them but who knows... report back any findings!


----------



## slappomatt

I usually run mine standalone but once in a while I run the output to the schit vali2 and enjoy a little bit of tube sound. pairs very well.


----------



## starmartyr

slappomatt said:


> I usually run mine standalone but once in a while I run the output to the schit vali2 and enjoy a little bit of tube sound. pairs very well.


Nice, I run mine to a Lyr for the same reason! Now I'm craving more tube sound, its a slippery slope 😄


----------



## spacelion2077

The reason I'm using it as a preamp is because it alone is not poewrful enough to drive abyss 1266 TC. But I'm so used to the EQ and Dirac sound of Monolith. It feels strange to listen to a song without it. Hopefull Dirac's soundstage will be able to translate to Topping A90


----------



## starmartyr (Sep 23, 2020)

spacelion2077 said:


> The reason I'm using it as a preamp is because it alone is not poewrful enough to drive abyss 1266 TC. But I'm so used to the EQ and Dirac sound of Monolith. It feels strange to listen to a song without it. Hopefull Dirac's soundstage will be able to translate to Topping A90


Oh I see, makes sense. Though I'll have to look up the power difference between the two; I didnt think it was that drastic.

Fwiw, Dirac and eq work perfect through to my Lyr. I cant live without those options either!


----------



## spacelion2077

Topping A90 outputs 7.6 watts a channel at balanced. Monolith only outputs 3 watts. The difference is pretty drastic. It's a great Dac/Amp otherwise. I don't even want to upgrade to other dac because very dac these days came with EQ and Dirac function intergrated.


----------



## starmartyr

spacelion2077 said:


> Topping A90 outputs 7.6 watts a channel at balanced. Monolith only outputs 3 watts. The difference is pretty drastic. It's a great Dac/Amp otherwise. I don't even want to upgrade to other dac because very dac these days came with EQ and Dirac function intergrated.


Yeah you're not kidding! That's pretty insane specs. How does it sound with the Abyss? That's a dream headphone for sure.

Yeah definitely the DAC is solid, balanced, and with all the hardware features it's a keeper. Just wish it was balanced out. That was a weird decision. Andrew from THX himself gave the (warranty voiding) instructions himself on how to resolder the pins to make that an output instead of input. No idea why they didn't just do that in the first place. Oh well always compromises at this price point. Otherwise very good all around, and unless I need that kind of insane power from solid state I'm done chasing others 😁


----------



## spacelion2077

I don't know yet. I ordered Topping A90 today right after I found out you can use Monolith just as a DAC. Abyss 1266 TC sounds very thin on Monolith, I have to turn it all the way up to -5db just to make it sound decent. There is no slam in the bass and I don't hear the details its raved about. I hope it's the amp's fault not the headphone


----------



## stimuz

starmartyr said:


> Yep it will. I do this too and I like to be able to eq and Dirac through to the second amp.
> 
> As a side note, as it's merits have been hotly debated: I use Dirac more often than not actually as I don't like the weird/unnatural placement headphones typically give you. Guess I'm too much of a speaker guy. Works good for music for me. But it really shines for movies and games, much more accurate soundfield I find. I've compared to a couple other crossfeeds like Meier and I like Dirac much better. Plus it's hardware so not source dependant.
> 
> Anyway, hope that works out for you!



Totally depends on the type of music you listen to in my opinion. I like dirac but I find it most useful for 70s rock, when stereo was still a new gimmick and the recordings liked to alternate channels all the goddamn time. Super irritating on a headphone without crossfeed.


----------



## starmartyr

spacelion2077 said:


> I don't know yet. I ordered Topping A90 today right after I found out you can use Monolith just as a DAC. Abyss 1266 TC sounds very thin on Monolith, I have to turn it all the way up to -5db just to make it sound decent. There is no slam in the bass and I don't hear the details its raved about. I hope it's the amp's fault not the headphone


No kidding, that's unfortunate! I know planars like lots of current actually so I hope you get the juice you need with the Topping. Did you get any rec's from the Abyss threads?


----------



## spacelion2077

starmartyr said:


> No kidding, that's unfortunate! I know planars like lots of current actually so I hope you get the juice you need with the Topping. Did you get any rec's from the Abyss threads?



I did, some of their recommendations like Woo headphone amp. are almost or more expensive than the headphone. I know it will probably sound great on Woo audio but I'm not ready to dish out another 6k on an amplifier yet lol


----------



## spacelion2077

If I want to use monolith as a dac alone, do I need to turn the volume all the day down when it's connected to another amplifier?


----------



## Gun21 (Sep 25, 2020)

spacelion2077 said:


> If I want to use monolith as a dac alone, do I need to turn the volume all the day down when it's connected to another amplifier?


I believe the universal convention is to always set the Dac to 0dB, with some leeway.


----------



## spacelion2077

Gun21 said:


> I believe the universal convention is to always set the Dac to 0dB, with some leeway.


0db is already very loud on monolith. The volume won't get transfered to the main amplifier?


----------



## Gun21 (Sep 25, 2020)

spacelion2077 said:


> 0db is already very loud on monolith. The volume won't get transfered to the main amplifier?


The volume is controlled by the amp you've connected to. If in doubt, set everything to low volume and dial it up gradually. 0dB on your Dac, again, is the way to go. I do understand your concern, so go slow.

Check out a previous post https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mon...24459-impressions-thread.860046/post-15880792


----------



## starmartyr (Sep 25, 2020)

Gun21 said:


> The volume is controlled by the amp you've connected to. If in doubt, set everything to low volume and dial it up gradually. 0dB on your Dac, again, is the way to go. I do understand your concern, so go slow.
> 
> Check out a previous post https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mon...24459-impressions-thread.860046/post-15880792



Exactly - with a DAC without a fixed output (in this case it is variable - digital volume control is still in the chain) you want max signal to noise before clipping, so in this case 0db.

If you turn the volume down on the Monolith DAC before it arrives at say, a relatively noisy tube amp, you'll get more noise than is ideal and you will likely hear it. You may not hear it if your chain is all digital and state of the art, but often reality is less than that ideal and there may be some signal degredation regardless. This is no bueno.

If you max out source (digital) and intermediary (DAC, again with no clipping) you'll have the lowest noise possible and the best case SNR. This is always best practice.


----------



## spacelion2077

Thanks for your input guys. I was concerned with how Monolith amp would affect the sound of topping A90 as a preamp. Since A90 is already powerful enough to drive just about most headphones, I wouldn't want Monolith THX 788 get in the way. I'lll try to set the db to 0 to see if it works well as a Dac with Dirac on.


----------



## Gun21

spacelion2077 said:


> Thanks for your input guys. I was concerned with how Monolith amp would affect the sound of topping A90 as a preamp. Since A90 is already powerful enough to drive just about most headphones, I wouldn't want Monolith THX 788 get in the way. I'lll try to set the db to 0 to see if it works well as a Dac with Dirac on.



Great input from @starmartyr. Btw - always set Windows volume to 100% and your media player to 100% - this means it's all bit matched.   

Quick question - if you've got the A90 amp, which is excellent, then why not sell the Monolith and get a separate DAC? The dual AKM DAC on the Monolith is (and this is just a huge guess) maybe worth around $150-200 out of the total $500 of the unit? When I bought this Monolith my only thought was getting a tube amp in the future, as the THX amp in this combo is golden.

DIRAC is fun and OK and all, but I rarely use it. Good for old stereo music. Was listening to some Beatles today, great fun. But the same effect could be got by buying Dolby Atmos for Headphones, Razer Surround or DTS:X for similar cross-feed effects, all for $15ish each. Also, you get EQ adjustments in all of them, plus more. DIRAC is very very clean though, I'll give it that.


----------



## spacelion2077

Gun21 said:


> Great input from @starmartyr. Btw - always set Windows volume to 100% and your media player to 100% - this means it's all bit matched.
> 
> Quick question - if you've got the A90 amp, which is excellent, then why not sell the Monolith and get a separate DAC? The dual AKM DAC on the Monolith is (and this is just a huge guess) maybe worth around $150-200 out of the total $500 of the unit? When I bought this Monolith my only thought was getting a tube amp in the future, as the THX amp in this combo is golden.
> 
> DIRAC is fun and OK and all, but I rarely use it. Good for old stereo music. Was listening to some Beatles today, great fun. But the same effect could be got by buying Dolby Atmos for Headphones, Razer Surround or DTS:X for similar cross-feed effects, all for $15ish each. Also, you get EQ adjustments in all of them, plus more. DIRAC is very very clean though, I'll give it that.


I was going to. The other unit I had in mind Rme adi-2 dac. I was going to buy it until I found it uses the same chip with Monolith which is AKM 4493. I would love to get a D90 but it doesn't come with any of the EQ options. If Rme makes a dac with AKM 4499 chip with all the other functions intact, I would buy it in a heart beat.


----------



## Gun21 (Oct 3, 2020)

spacelion2077 said:


> I was going to. The other unit I had in mind Rme adi-2 dac. I was going to buy it until I found it uses the same chip with Monolith which is AKM 4493. I would love to get a D90 but it doesn't come with any of the EQ options. If Rme makes a dac with AKM 4499 chip with all the other functions intact, I would buy it in a heart beat.


I'm presuming your source isn't a laptop or a PC, then? If it is, you can easily EQ using many options, the most versatile being Equalizer APO.


----------



## Monstieur

My unit seems to have an issue where the channel balance randomly swings left or right, and then recentres after a while. It's very evident on mono / centred content like YouTube videos. This happens on both XLR and USB inputs. I first thought it was from my Steinberg audio interface going into the XLR input, but it's definitely the Monolith because it happens on USB as well.


----------



## Biskwit (Oct 10, 2020)

Hi guys! Planning to buy this. You think its worth buying, because I want MQA work on this, I'll have  my Fiio M11 Pro connected through line out going to RCA. Will i get the full MQA output doing it this way? Or should i jjst look somewhere else.


----------



## Baten

Biskwit said:


> Hi guys! Planning to buy this. You think its worth buying, because I want MQA work on this, I'll have  my Fiio M11 Pro connected through line out going to RCA. Will i get the full MQA output doing it this way? Or should i jjst look somewhere else.


Better get monoprice 887 or Topping A90. This Dac/Amp is best used with USB rather than RCA input.


----------



## KING DRANZER

If I connect Seenheiser GSX1200 Unbalanced Output to THX AAA 788 Balanced Input using 3.5mm to Balanced XLR Cable will I face issues. Will it damage Hardware.


----------



## Baten

KING DRANZER said:


> If I connect Seenheiser GSX1200 Unbalanced Output to THX AAA 788 Balanced Input using 3.5mm to Balanced XLR Cable will I face issues. Will it damage Hardware.


No that's fine. You can always feed a balanced input an unbalanced source, no problem.


----------



## KING DRANZER

Baten said:


> No that's fine. You can always feed a balanced input an unbalanced source, no problem.


Thank you. Some one said it will destroy the Equipment. That is why I was trying to make sure if it is fine. 

Are you sure there will be no issue.


----------



## Baten

KING DRANZER said:


> Thank you. Some one said it will destroy the Equipment. That is why I was trying to make sure if it is fine.
> 
> Are you sure there will be no issue.


You could destroy equipment, if you use a 4-pin XLR adapter (the front XLR output) and short it to single ended like this. That, is always a very very (terribly!) bad idea.

Your use case is fine. no worries.


----------



## KING DRANZER

Baten said:


> You could destroy equipment, if you use a 4-pin XLR adapter (the front XLR output) and short it to single ended like this. That, is always a very very (terribly!) bad idea.
> 
> Your use case is fine. no worries.


Thank you very much for explaining.

Yeah I have no intention of doing it other way round.


----------



## yeboyi

Is this have parametric eq like eq apo ?


----------



## Gun21

yeboyi said:


> Is this have parametric eq like eq apo ?


It has a basic 5 band parametric eq but no visual readout.


----------



## yeboyi

Gun21 said:


> It has a basic 5 band parametric eq but no visual readout.


Can we choose the frequency as well as db and q value or is it predetermined ? 5 band is fine if we have full control. I can use eq apo for visual readout to determine values.


----------



## Gun21

yeboyi said:


> Can we choose the frequency as well as db and q value or is it predetermined ? 5 band is fine if we have full control. I can use eq apo for visual readout to determine values.


Yes, 5 bands and you can choose the frequency for each band. Good idea to use Equalizer APO to find your values and then set them on the amp.


----------



## shortstack31489

How is the eq in this? Interested in on the fly eq adjustments. TIA


----------



## cshum

shortstack31489 said:


> How is the eq in this? Interested in on the fly eq adjustments. TIA



It's pretty nice to have it on board your amp. However, the menu system is a little chaotic to navigate, and there's a really low cap on how many bands you can adjust. Otherwise, pretty handy if you just want to EQ a few small things!


----------



## cshum

spacelion2077 said:


> If I want to use monolith as a dac alone, do I need to turn the volume all the day down when it's connected to another amplifier?



I think the general consensus is to set your DAC to as close as 0 dB as you can get, while using the amp itself for control. Not a good idea to do digital volume control on your DAC imo.


----------



## cshum

Gun21 said:


> I have output coming out of both the XLR and the 1/4" SE at the same time. The manual states otherwise. Kind of like it tbh.



Mine does this too, and so does my Liquid Platinum haha! I have no idea why they tell you it'll mute, when both of my Monolith amps support dual output. I wonder if it's a bug?


----------



## cshum

wein07 said:


> I remember seeing someone mention a new version would be out in 2020, any links? Couldn't find any.
> 
> Also there doesn't seem to be a guide on modding the XLR in to XLR out. Google had no links, can anyone share? ty



Is there actually a way for the XLR inputs to be turned into balanced XLR outs? I'm currently using SE RCA out to my amp, and I'd really love to use it in balanced mode.


----------



## Gun21 (Nov 24, 2020)

https://forum.headphones.com/t/mono...ifier-and-dac-with-thx-aaa-technology/2307/28

Andrew from THX instructions:

*1.* The unit has balanced inputs, and unbalanced inputs and outputs. You can use the balanced headphone output on the front as a balanced output.
Yup, set to 0dB gain. It is possible to rewire the rear XLR3 inputs as outputs if so inclined.


*2.* And with some warranty-voiding simple soldering, it should be pretty straightforward to modify the unit so the two XLR-3 "inputs" become balanced outputs wired internally to the XLR-4 headphone out and controlled by the volume dial. i.e. remove C67, C76, C79, C84 to disconnect XLR3's from the ADC. Then patch wire twisted pairs connecting the two XLR3's pins to XLR-4 pins as follows:

twisted pair 1
L+: XLR3 J2 pin 2 to XLR4 J10 pin 1
L-: XLR3 J2 pin 3 to XLR4 J10 pin 2

twisted pair 2
R+: XLR3 J4 pin 2 to XLR4 J10 pin 3
R-: XLR3 J4 pin 3 to XLR4 J10 pin 4

Each XLR-3 pin 1 is already tied to ground so you can leave that alone. This configuration is a bit better than using the XLR-4 balanced output since the cables will now have grounded shields, and the downstream device will now have shared ground with the 789 product.

/End.

Note: - find an electronics guy in your area to do this, it appears trivial.


----------



## Gun21

cshum said:


> Mine does this too, and so does my Liquid Platinum haha! I have no idea why they tell you it'll mute, when both of my Monolith amps support dual output. I wonder if it's a bug?


I've asked that question on the Monolith's website, hopefully they will answer soon.


----------



## KING DRANZER

I want to ask. If I plug in unbalanced source to rear RCA Input and plug my headphones to Balanced output will that work. Will the internal DAC process it to Balanced output.


----------



## Baten

KING DRANZER said:


> I want to ask. If I plug in unbalanced source to rear RCA Input and plug my headphones to Balanced output will that work. Will the internal DAC process it to Balanced output.


Yes that'll work. You might lose some volume compared to USB/digital input though.


----------



## KING DRANZER (Jan 9, 2021)

Baten said:


> Yes that'll work. You might lose some volume compared to USB/digital input though.


He is looking to pair it with Sennheiser HD800S so won't be an issue.

Thank you very much for quick Reply


----------



## simurg

Isn't this DAC/AMP combo pretty awesome deal given that it has dual DAC and AMP paths for fully balanced at a cost around $400? I understand 887 has more power but this is just an AMP and getting a balanced DAC would set cost at least that much and IIUC, 887 is not balanced internally. I don't understand how important for everything to be "balanced" but I assume it must be a good thing as they added extra DAC and AMP chips to make 788 balanced.  This stuff is pretty confusing to me, I hope someone can clarify it to me.


----------



## Baten

simurg said:


> Isn't this DAC/AMP combo pretty awesome deal given that it has dual DAC and AMP paths for fully balanced at a cost around $400? I understand 887 has more power but this is just an AMP and getting a balanced DAC would set cost at least that much and IIUC, 887 is not balanced internally. I don't understand how important for everything to be "balanced" but I assume it must be a good thing as they added extra DAC and AMP chips to make 788 balanced.  This stuff is pretty confusing to me, I hope someone can clarify it to me.


It is indeed a pretty good deal and a very good combo unit. But, (there is a but), you should really use it over digital inputs. The analogue inputs go into an ADC>DAC conversion stage which certainly limits fidelity. This is to make the EQ/DSP effects work on analog inputs..


----------



## Gun21 (Jan 31, 2021)

Decent watch.

It's not _the_ top end solution of course, but I'm extremely happy with the Monoprice, most especially with my Beyerdynamics. It somehow gets a shedload of extra oomph from this amp. Sounds fantastic.


----------



## simurg (Feb 1, 2021)

Baten said:


> It is indeed a pretty good deal and a very good combo unit. But, (there is a but), you should really use it over digital inputs. The analogue inputs go into an ADC>DAC conversion stage which certainly limits fidelity. This is to make the EQ/DSP effects work on analog inputs..



I only consume digital source so that A/D conversion does not matter to me. I can choose 887 and 788 for the same price. I already have an OK DAC though (nuforce 80) so I am inclined to 887 or buy both but later seems waste  Though I heard that I can use 788 as balanced DAC/preAMP to 887 but latter is not fully balanced so there is no benefit of using balanced DAC. I also don't need bluetooth, hdmi input etc so.

Primarily, I am curious why this unit has dual DAC and AMP chips. AFAIS, this is not common.

I am not looking for top end solution, AFAIS there is no end to it and reviews, options and prices are mind boggling. Up until recentl, I was running my HD650  without amp. I just want to improve the sound where I can notice the difference easily. So I got a W80, major improvement, and just received 887, another major improvement but now I am curious if I should get 788 instead 887 since price on it pretty good and it has all these cool features..


----------



## Baten

simurg said:


> I am not looking for top end solution, AFAIS there is no end to it and reviews, options and prices are mind boggling. Up until recentl, I was running my HD650 amp, I just want to improve the sound where I can notice the difference easily. So I got a W80, major improvement, and just received 887, another major improvement but now I am curious if I should get 788 instead 887 since price on it pretty good and it has all these cool features..


887 is arguably the better amp so I would just be happy


----------



## simurg

Yeah I decided to keep 887 for home to be used with Nuforce and ordered one of the open box 788 for work to be ready when I am back to work. It is easier choice to get both of them   I think it is a small price as cost of these things are amazing and I don't have to haul the the system back and forth. I strongly considered Liquid Gold DAC/AMP but monoprice liquid gold costed roughly 60% more so went with cheaper option.


----------



## spacelion2077

Question about using Monolith's DAC unbalanced RCA line out. Since the unbalanced line out only outputs 2w of power. If I connect the unit to a Topping A90, which has a 7.6w of power at 16 olm. Does that mean Topping A90's power is capped at 2w per channel as well even for the balanced output? Also why does Monoprice put 2 DAC and 2 Amps in this unit?


----------



## RochRx7

I literally just got the M1060 30 minutes ago and I am thinking about pairing this with the 122459. 

Has anyone paired this amp/dac with the M1060 that can chime in? 

Maybe I'm a failure at the search function.... but I couldn't find any solid opinions on the two together.


----------



## spacelion2077

Has anyone used it as a dac and preamp? Not sure how it sounds comparing to its counterpart rme adi 2.


----------



## koikoikoi

spacelion2077 said:


> Has anyone used it as a dac and preamp? Not sure how it sounds comparing to its counterpart rme adi 2.


I think it's a bit of a stretch calling the RME ADI-2 this amp's counterpart.


----------



## 04gto

koikoikoi said:


> I think it's a bit of a stretch calling the RME ADI-2 this amp's counterpart.


Agreed. I have owned and used both extensively. The amp section of the Monolith 124459 is a bit better and more powerful than the RME ADI-2 DAC, but everything else about the RME ADI-2 DAC is way better. Without even discussing the many, many, many things that the RME can do that the Monolith cannot. The EQ abilities on the RME are better than any device I have ever seen or heard at ANY price. The DAC capabilities in both are very comparable but the execution and implementation in the RME maximizes every single component. I have used it mostly as a DAC/preamp (for the Monolith 124459, THX 789 and ZMF Pendant). For anyone who loves EQ and versatility, the command and control the RME gives you are nearly limitless. The Monolith 124459 is an amazing value, a very solid performer and _is unbeatable at its price point_, but if you have the coin the RME is an even better value with _unmatched versatility at any price_.


----------



## searchingtom

I owned one of these for several months.  Its a good value but I like others in the price range for a cleaner sound.  Depends of course on what kind of music you like, your source, headphones, budget etc.


----------



## spacelion2077

koikoikoi said:


> I think it's a bit of a stretch calling the RME ADI-2 this amp's counterpart.



Well both Dac/Amp features EQ, PEG EQ, crossfeed, and AKM 4493 Chip. Rme Adi 2 probably has more functions for tweaking the sound but Monolith is also has a more powerful amp. Fundamentally these two units are very similar, Rme might have functions but not sure if its $700 better than Monolith dac/amp.


----------



## marts30

Anyone know if this will work in AU/NZ with a simple plug adapter?


----------



## Gun21 (Jun 25, 2021)

marts30 said:


> Anyone know if this will work in AU/NZ with a simple plug adapter?


Unfortunately, no. I'm in the UK, and we use 230/240v just like you. I got one of these transformers. Simple plug adapters wouldn't work alas.


----------



## abccpu (Aug 14, 2021)

If I have now a set of SMSL SU-9 DAC + Monolith Monoprice THX AAA 887 AMP is it worth to try Monolith Monoprice 24459 ? I like my actual set but just wondering if there any profit of Monolith combo.


----------



## Faisalova

abccpu said:


> If I have now a set of SMSL SU-9 DAC + Monolith Monoprice THX AAA 887 AMP is it worth to try Monolith Monoprice 24459 ? I like my actual set but just wondering if there any profit of Monolith combo.


what you have is superior in power (amp) and sound quality (dac)


----------



## 04gto

abccpu said:


> If I have now a set of SMSL SU-9 DAC + Monolith Monoprice THX AAA 887 AMP is it worth to try Monolith Monoprice 24459 ? I like my actual set but just wondering if there any profit of Monolith combo.


The only reason you would try the 24459 over your current set up is if you needed the EQ features. The EQ features are good if you primarily use one main headphone that needs EQ. However if you have multiple headphones that need EQ, the RME ADI-2 is a far better solution.


----------



## abccpu (Aug 15, 2021)

04gto said:


> The only reason you would try the 24459 over your current set up is if you needed the EQ features. The EQ features are good if you primarily use one main headphone that needs EQ. However if you have multiple headphones that need EQ, the RME ADI-2 is a far better solution.


Thanks for your comment. I don't use EQ so not a problem for me. Then I will stay with my set up without trying Monolith 24459.


----------



## mauiatheart

I'm new to the hobby.  This unit looked like a good starting point.  I have been using a unit for the past month or two.  I was wondering what path would be suggested to upgrading.  Should I upgrade to a different DAC and use the unit as an amp until my wallet recovers?  Or vice versa?


----------



## etroze86

mauiatheart said:


> I'm new to the hobby.  This unit looked like a good starting point.  I have been using a unit for the past month or two.  I was wondering what path would be suggested to upgrading.  Should I upgrade to a different DAC and use the unit as an amp until my wallet recovers?  Or vice versa?


Do you want to keep the THX sound or do you want to listen to something completely different?


----------



## 04gto

mauiatheart said:


> I'm new to the hobby.  This unit looked like a good starting point.  I have been using a unit for the past month or two.  I was wondering what path would be suggested to upgrading.  Should I upgrade to a different DAC and use the unit as an amp until my wallet recovers?  Or vice versa?


To answer that I would first say that an amplifier will always make a bigger difference in your chain. Do you need more power? Or you just got an upgrade itch? Do you use the EQ features? I feel you have to spend a pretty good chunk to get a noticeable _improvement_ in the amp section, unless you just need more power. And after hearing DACs that cost anywhere from $100 to $5000+, they don't really get better sounding, they just sound different. (😯There is gonna be like 1000 Headfiers whom have spent thousands & thousands on 'different' sounding DACs coming after me with torches and pitchforks, I may not live to see the morning). One really cool thing that can be done with the 24459 (especially when using the EQ section) is to use it as a preamp for a tube amplifier, like a Bottlehead Crack or even better, a ZMF Pendant or another Ampsandsound model etc.

You are right, it is a great starting point.


----------



## mauiatheart

etroze86 said:


> Do you want to keep the THX sound or do you want to listen to something completely different?


I think something different.  I like the THX sound for my home/gaming setup.  For grins, I placed an order for a Schiit Jot2 since there is a long lead time with the thought that I could cancel it if I change my mind.  Maybe tubes?  But then again, I don't understand the differences in the various tubes.  Not sure.


----------



## etroze86

mauiatheart said:


> I think something different.  I like the THX sound for my home/gaming setup.  For grins, I placed an order for a Schiit Jot2 since there is a long lead time with the thought that I could cancel it if I change my mind.  Maybe tubes?  But then again, I don't understand the differences in the various tubes.  Not sure.


The Jot will be a good change from the 788. It'll have better staging and maybe a little better bass. I was going to suggest a singer sa1 if you want to keep the great technicality but have a warmer sound. DAC wise it's an updated AKM chipset you'll be fine till you want to get into R2R DACs or multibit.


----------



## mauiatheart

etroze86 said:


> The Jot will be a good change from the 788. It'll have better staging and maybe a little better bass. I was going to suggest a singer sa1 if you want to keep the great technicality but have a warmer sound. DAC wise it's an updated AKM chipset you'll be fine till you want to get into R2R DACs or multibit.


Thanks for the input.


----------



## freakyflow

Has anyone had an issue where the DAC/amp no longer outputs sound after on idle/standby for a longer period (usually overnight) when using USB on Windows 10? I don’t turn off the DAC/amp when not on the computer but the sound doesn’t disappear every time- maybe 2 or 3 times over a week. 

I iinstalled the Xmos driver and the output etc hasn’t changed at all when this happens - move volume up and down doesn’t help nor changing usb to toslink etc and back to usb. Only way it works is by turning it of then back on.


----------



## mauiatheart

I haven't had an issue.  I never turn mine off and never lost sound.


----------



## freakyflow

mauiatheart said:


> I haven't had an issue.  I never turn mine off and never lost sound.


Hmm thanks - maybe I should RMA it then.


----------



## TheJT

cshum said:


> Mine does this too, and so does my Liquid Platinum haha! I have no idea why they tell you it'll mute, when both of my Monolith amps support dual output. I wonder if it's a bug?


I was looking for confirmation about this and found your comment.  Mine does this too.  It makes me wonder what the heck is going on with the balanced output if the non balanced output is working.


----------



## Arghavan

Hey guys
I'm looking into this unit mainly because of the PEQ convenience. Is the unit still viable in late 2021? I can find far better measuring DAC+AMPs or Combos for this price but none of them have built-in PEQ.


----------



## 04gto

Arghavan said:


> Hey guys
> I'm looking into this unit mainly because of the PEQ convenience. Is the unit still viable in late 2021? I can find far better measuring DAC+AMPs or Combos for this price but none of them have built-in PEQ.


This is the only option with built in EQ (and real power to drive full size headphones) without stepping up to the RME ADI-2 DAC. Any of these 'far better measuring' units are not going to sound better based on those measurements. Different maybe. But all of those improved measurements alone will not be audible anyway. As this unit already is clean and clear way beyond human hearing capability. I prefer the amplifier portion of this 788 (24459) over the 789. By direct comparison the 789 sounds a little thinner with less body or weight to the music. I 'prefer' the sound of my RME ADI-2 DAC V2 (which measures way better) over this unit but only because it sounds a bit thicker and has a taller (vs wide) soundstage. I think the 24459 represents a great value, especially if you catch it when they occasionally offer it for $400 or you get a used one. The RME ADI-2 is a very clear step up in functionality (putting aside sound preferences) and the upgrade is worth every single penny in my opinion.


----------



## mauiatheart

Arghavan said:


> Hey guys
> I'm looking into this unit mainly because of the PEQ convenience. Is the unit still viable in late 2021? I can find far better measuring DAC+AMPs or Combos for this price but none of them have built-in PEQ.


I think the unit is a great value.  I was using it as my primary amp for a couple months and was very happy with it.  I have since moved up to a Schitt BF2/Jot2 stack.  I am planning on selling it.  Let me know if you are interested.


----------



## Arghavan

04gto said:


> This is the only option with built in EQ (and real power to drive full size headphones) without stepping up to the RME ADI-2 DAC. Any of these 'far better measuring' units are not going to sound better based on those measurements. Different maybe. But all of those improved measurements alone will not be audible anyway. As this unit already is clean and clear way beyond human hearing capability. I prefer the amplifier portion of this 788 (24459) over the 789. By direct comparison the 789 sounds a little thinner with less body or weight to the music. I 'prefer' the sound of my RME ADI-2 DAC V2 (which measures way better) over this unit but only because it sounds a bit thicker and has a taller (vs wide) soundstage. I think the 24459 represents a great value, especially if you catch it when they occasionally offer it for $400 or you get a used one. The RME ADI-2 is a very clear step up in functionality (putting aside sound preferences) and the upgrade is worth every single penny in my opinion.


Thanks for the feedback. One final question, does this unit have multiple EQ profiles that I can set for multiple headphones and quickly switch between them?


----------



## mauiatheart

Arghavan said:


> Thanks for the feedback. One final question, does this unit have multiple EQ profiles that I can set for multiple headphones and quickly switch between them?


If I remember correctly, it was a single EQ setting.


----------



## Arghavan

mauiatheart said:


> If I remember correctly, it was a single EQ setting.


Thanks for the info. Sadly a deal-breaker for me then. I use EQ on all my headphones and I can't adjust filters each time I switch between them


----------



## 04gto

Arghavan said:


> Thanks for the feedback. One final question, does this unit have multiple EQ profiles that I can set for multiple headphones and quickly switch between them?


That is the best question to ask. It does not. You can only save each band once. If you were using a couple headphones and only needed 1-2 filters each it might work okay. But otherwise it is kind of a PITA. This is my primary reason for upgrading to the RME initially.


----------



## draven5494

Has anyone tried the Monolith with Windows 11 yet?  I did a clean install of it and the drivers from the Monoprice page don't appear to install on Windows 11.


----------



## mauiatheart

draven5494 said:


> Has anyone tried the Monolith with Windows 11 yet?  I did a clean install of it and the drivers from the Monoprice page don't appear to install on Windows 11.


That's a little concerning.  I guess I'll wait to "upgrade" for a little while more.


----------



## HIGHDOWN (Dec 24, 2021)

I'm on Windows 11 and my 788 driver's installed flawlessly. I even updated the firmware on the 788. Haven't encountered any problems yet. Not saying you won't, though. I may just be lucky. I'm 12 hours into ownership. I swear I only put the headphones down a few times today! It sounds great (DT 700 Pro X) with this unit.

Also, do yall power off the 788 every night before bed like the manuals says or would it be 100% safe to keep this on 24/7, even when not in use?


----------



## Baten

HIGHDOWN said:


> Also, do yall power off the 788 every night before bed like the manuals says or would it be 100% safe to keep this on 24/7, even when not in use?


Should be pretty harmless to do. (besides the obvious power consumption).


----------



## HIGHDOWN (Dec 27, 2021)

Also, coming from an E10K, I miss my bass boost button.

What's the best way to set up the internal EQ to imitate a bass boost? Are my settings good enough? If not, please suggest what I should set it to. I really don't hear a difference with my settings no matter how hard I try, lol.











Also, will a Schiit Loki work with a DAC/AMP combo unit like the 788?


----------



## swva

I purchased this Monolith DAC/Amp combo recently and I have been pleased with it so far.  I feel like it was a step up from the Magni/Modi stack.  
I also enjoy using the Dirac Sensaround when watching anime or movies.


----------



## swva

swva said:


> I purchased this Monolith DAC/Amp combo recently and I have been pleased with it so far.  I feel like it was a step up from the Magni/Modi stack.
> I also enjoy using the Dirac Sensaround when watching anime or movies.


I forgot to add I have been using the Focal Elex and Hifiman Sundara with this DAC/Amp.


----------



## Gun21

Still using this Amp/Dac. Very happy with it so far.


----------



## the1andonly (Jan 22, 2022)

Apparently they are going to release an upgraded version... Monoprice getting srs


----------



## Gun21

Interesting. Good that they are upgrading, but I can't be arsed selling my unit. It will have to have titty-sparklers for me to do that.


----------



## dsrk

the1andonly said:


> Apparently they are going to release an upgraded version... Monoprice getting srs


I was looking for it and can't find it anywhere. So, decided to buy used one.

This is great news, thanks.


----------



## dsrk

I have also sent them an email asking if the updated version also comes with sound tuning features Dirac, PEQ and all.


----------



## the1andonly

dsrk said:


> I have also sent them an email asking if the updated version also comes with sound tuning features Dirac, PEQ and all.


Good luck with that, just remember Monoprice claimed they would release a balanced cable for their proprietary adapter mini-XLR they literally made to milk more money from customers and didn't for years...* They do make good budget products and are competent at releasing something great in the mid to budget range consistently* if not often being late to the party, partially by throwing everything at the wall, but in my experience they are one of the lesser transparent companies by a good margin and regularly make weird/bad/simple decisions that just don't make sense... Probably to the bean counters they do but they have gimped so many almost great products so I wouldn't be surprised if they stripped that or other good features like EQ or told you it will come with Dirac and it doesn't for years or at all...

IMO if you can get a current model for $400 taxed and shipped, go for it, they regularly sell full MSRP when they are out of stock for pre-owned units which I am sure Monoprice loves since they don't transfer warranty


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## dsrk

the1andonly said:


> Good luck with that, just remember Monoprice claimed they would release a balanced cable for their proprietary adapter mini-XLR they literally made to milk more money from customers and didn't for years...* They do make good budget products and are competent at releasing something great in the mid to budget range consistently* if not often being late to the party, partially by throwing everything at the wall, but in my experience they are one of the lesser transparent companies by a good margin and regularly make weird/bad/simple decisions that just don't make sense... Probably to the bean counters they do but they have gimped so many almost great products so I wouldn't be surprised if they stripped that or other good features like EQ or told you it will come with Dirac and it doesn't for years or at all...
> 
> IMO if you can get a current model for $400 taxed and shipped, go for it, they regularly sell full MSRP when they are out of stock for pre-owned units which I am sure Monoprice loves since they don't transfer warranty


If the new version don't come with EQ and all, I will go ahead and buy pre-owned.


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## Unforsaken Jake

HIGHDOWN said:


> I'm on Windows 11 and my 788 driver's installed flawlessly. I even updated the firmware on the 788. Haven't encountered any problems yet. Not saying you won't, though. I may just be lucky. I'm 12 hours into ownership. I swear I only put the headphones down a few times today! It sounds great (DT 700 Pro X) with this unit.
> 
> Also, do yall power off the 788 every night before bed like the manuals says or would it be 100% safe to keep this on 24/7, even when not in use?


What firmware did yours come with? Also, did you recently purchase it or have you had it for awhile? I'm having driver issues at the moment so your response would be greatly appreciated!


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## HIGHDOWN

Unforsaken Jake said:


> What firmware did yours come with? Also, did you recently purchase it or have you had it for awhile? I'm having driver issues at the moment so your response would be greatly appreciated!


I am on FW ver. 1.03

Purchased in December. I was told that v1.03 was the latest firmware by Monoprice support but some people claimed to have gotten v1.04 units so I dunno what's going on with that.


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## Unforsaken Jake

HIGHDOWN said:


> I am on FW ver. 1.03
> 
> Purchased in December. I was told that v1.03 was the latest firmware by Monoprice support but some people claimed to have gotten v1.04 units so I dunno what's going on with that.


Yeah I have v1.04 installed on mine which I'm starting to think is not a positive after all. Downloading the software from the driver page and uploading it to the XMOS file is pretty much what I have concluded secures the software together as a whole. Since there are no driver installation links or information on the new v1.04, there's ulimetely no way XMOS knows the current firmware. On my Amp it says FW ver. 1.04 and in XMOS it says v1.1. Honestly doesn't make sense though cause v1.1 hasn't been around for quite some time. What are your thoughts on all this lol


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## angelus55 (Apr 14, 2022)

anyone have there sound cut out and not work at all untill they shut the unit off and turn it back on? i have it connected to my pc via usb, should i try another connetion type method maybe?

i am on windows 11 if it matters


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## Unforsaken Jake

angelus55 said:


> anyone have there sound cut out and not work at all untill they shut the unit off and turn it back on? i have it connected to my pc via usb, should i try another connetion type method maybe?
> 
> i am on windows 11 if it matters


What version are on (1.03, 1.04, etc)? And, did you download the software via Monoprice's website or did you leave it as it came from the factory? In addition, do you have the XMOS drivers or Microsoft drivers? Last and final question lol, do you use the power cord given by Monoprice or a different one?


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## angelus55 (Apr 14, 2022)

Unforsaken Jake said:


> What version are on (1.03, 1.04, etc)? And, did you download the software via Monoprice's website or did you leave it as it came from the factory? In addition, do you have the XMOS drivers or Microsoft drivers? Last and final question lol, do you use the power cord given by Monoprice or a different one?



thanks, i have fw 1.03 which came with the unit and i use the xmos drivers that were on monoprices page for the unit and i use the power cord that came with the unit

and my issue seems to happen randomly


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## Unforsaken Jake

angelus55 said:


> thanks, i have fw 1.03 which came with the unit and i use the xmos drivers that were on monoprices page for the unit and i use the power cord that came with the unit
> 
> and my issue seems to happen randomly


Just to answer your question from before, no your Windows version won’t affect it. I’m not saying that Windows audio isn’t causing problems, but I’ll address that further down. Below I’m going to list off even more questions just so I can get a better understanding of your situation 

When your sound cuts out does your unit’s display blink or flash? As in the display slightly dims it’s brightness then returns back to normal. If the answer is yes, this is an possible indication of 2 things. (1) Windows is adversely effecting your thx system or the streaming service you use is (could be both). (2) Or more than likely the Amplifier isn’t being fed enough power from your outlet, power strip, etc.

Another culprit that could be causing your sound to stop and what has happened to others in the past is something surprising simple, yet annoying. Windows by default will fluctuate the amount of power being fed to your motherboards USB ports. Ultimately, this can make your devices behave and perform “questionably”. And of course everyone loves this feature because of its ability to save you money on your electric bill! Probably around $0.05 cents…per year!! Jokes aside, I’d try and change that and take power savings off. If you need help with that, I can explain how to do it. But answer those questions from above first and then I’ll get back to you. 

- Jake


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## angelus55

Unforsaken Jake said:


> Just to answer your question from before, no your Windows version won’t affect it. I’m not saying that Windows audio isn’t causing problems, but I’ll address that further down. Below I’m going to list off even more questions just so I can get a better understanding of your situation
> 
> When your sound cuts out does your unit’s display blink or flash? As in the display slightly dims it’s brightness then returns back to normal. If the answer is yes, this is an possible indication of 2 things. (1) Windows is adversely effecting your thx system or the streaming service you use is (could be both). (2) Or more than likely the Amplifier isn’t being fed enough power from your outlet, power strip, etc.
> 
> ...



Thanks! i never noticed it flashing or blinking when it happens, i have tried a power strip and directly plugged in the wall outlet and both have that happen

as for the usb power i checked and all my usb have the option to turn off to save power enabled but my overall windows power plan is set to high performance, so that might be the issue

i switched to rca instead of usb for now to see if the problem stops ill post back if the problem happens again or if you have any other questions

thank you for helping!


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## Unforsaken Jake

angelus55 said:


> Thanks! i never noticed it flashing or blinking when it happens, i have tried a power strip and directly plugged in the wall outlet and both have that happen
> 
> as for the usb power i checked and all my usb have the option to turn off to save power enabled but my overall windows power plan is set to high performance, so that might be the issue
> 
> ...


I'm on ultra performance and it hasn't effected me. I'm thinking it might be one of these: your XMOS drivers may have been corrupt, windows sound settings could be misconfigured, or your streaming service isn't communicating with your hardware/software properly. I had major problems with my Audio Services and this is what fixed it for me https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...e/b06c4897-c141-4afe-97ef-8e8889ad8b6c?auth=1 Might want to check these same service properties yourself just in case. If noooone of these are the culprit, I would try deleting your XMOS drivers and use Microsoft's USB Audio 2.0 instead. Just out of curiosity, what streaming service do you use?


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## angelus55

Unforsaken Jake said:


> I'm on ultra performance and it hasn't effected me. I'm thinking it might be one of these: your XMOS drivers may have been corrupt, windows sound settings could be misconfigured, or your streaming service isn't communicating with your hardware/software properly. I had major problems with my Audio Services and this is what fixed it for me https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...e/b06c4897-c141-4afe-97ef-8e8889ad8b6c?auth=1 Might want to check these same service properties yourself just in case. If noooone of these are the culprit, I would try deleting your XMOS drivers and use Microsoft's USB Audio 2.0 instead. Just out of curiosity, what streaming service do you use?



thanks! i am using spotify on my pc


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## angelus55

can i connect active speakers via the xlr line out on this unit and use all the features still and use it as a volume control?


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## HIGHDOWN

angelus55 said:


> anyone have there sound cut out and not work at all untill they shut the unit off and turn it back on? i have it connected to my pc via usb, should i try another connetion type method maybe?
> 
> i am on windows 11 if it matters


Yes!!! Me! I thought I was the only one.

I was on W11 too. Happened both on native W11 USB drivers and the XMOS one. I have switched to MacOS ever since and just noticed now that it has never happened again along with some other quirks such as intermittent pauses in the audio once in a while until I reboot my PC. I'm on v1.03.


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## spacelion2077

Did Monolith stopped making this dac/amp? I noticed that its been out of stock for awhile now.


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## the1andonly

HIGHDOWN said:


> Yes!!! Me! I thought I was the only one.
> 
> I was on W11 too. Happened both on native W11 USB drivers and the XMOS one. I have switched to MacOS ever since and just noticed now that it has never happened again along with some other quirks such as intermittent pauses in the audio once in a while until I reboot my PC. I'm on v1.03.


IIRC when I first got it and tried it I couldn't get it to work, then realized it needed to be connected BEFORE turning on, then it worked every time. I would assume if it gets disconnected even a second that would essentially kick in and it would act as if it was connected after turning on, have no idea if my unit was busted and this was a while ago so take that with a grain of salt.



spacelion2077 said:


> Did Monolith stopped making this dac/amp? I noticed that its been out of stock for awhile now.


Take that with a grain of salt, when they released the M1570 after they intentionally and really no reason other than greed changed the pinout on the 4 pin XLR they said they would launch a balanced cable either with it or soon after I believe... IIRC it took them over a year, Monoprice a company built on selling cables and still a major part of their business took a year to get rewired 4pin XLR cables after they gimped their product for anti-consumer reasons.... That said I believe this unit uses the AKM DAC so I am not even sure how it continued to sell after the fire but they say they are working on another one/upgrading it, so in real terms even if they gave an estimate or you thought X would be a reasonable amount of time unless there is no info I can safely say I have no idea when or what they will release or if it will actually be better or worse but it is Monoprice so it will probably range from Ok to great deal and from low end to mid range performance.


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## Baten

spacelion2077 said:


> Did Monolith stopped making this dac/amp? I noticed that its been out of stock for awhile now.


AKM chips have dried up after factory fire..


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## jac0006

Anyone know what driver to download in order for the monolith to be recognized by windows? I'm on Windows 10 and my machine fails to see it no matter what usb port I plug the dac into. Was working just fine on my macbook pro but not getting anything on my windows machine. Thanks in advance!


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## Steely Dan (Jul 11, 2022)

jac0006 said:


> Anyone know what driver to download in order for the monolith to be recognized by windows? I'm on Windows 10 and my machine fails to see it no matter what usb port I plug the dac into. Was working just fine on my macbook pro but not getting anything on my windows machine. Thanks in advance!


The XMOS driver used to be on the product page on the Monoprice website along with the manual pdf, even after it was discontinued, but it seems like they have now removed the page.  Luckily I still have the original zip file for the driver which contains the installation executable.  I know some people would be wary of that kind of file from a total stranger, but hopefully me being a member here for over 10 years is some reassurance.  I installed the driver before even connecting mine, so I'd recommend disconnecting or at least turning it off during the install, and rebooting your PC, but afterwards it should be good to go the next time it's powered on.  Technically even without this driver it should work in exclusive mode with Wasapi or a generic Asio driver, but when Asio is selected in in Audirvana the name of the proper downloaded driver is displayed and the full DSD capability is supported.  I've included screenshots of that as well to show the different device display names with both wasapi and the official driver.  Hope this resolves your issue.


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## spacelion2077

It's really a shame Monoprice stopped making this. I still use it as a dac and pre amp after acquiring other higher end amps. Its crossfeed function is simply the best I've experienced


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## Steely Dan

spacelion2077 said:


> It's really a shame Monoprice stopped making this. I still use it as a dac and pre amp after acquiring other higher end amps. Its crossfeed function is simply the best I've experienced


Agreed, this was one of the best values in its price range, and stuff like DIRAC and built in parametric and shelf EQ set it apart from all the stuff from SMSL and Topping and pretty much everything else below $1000.


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## spacelion2077

Does anyone know if this will get reissued someday? I can't listen to music without its crossfeed function now. It's the best crossfeed I've ever heard.


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## wein07

The latest Burson amps have crossfeed as well, with varying lvls to choose from. Likely sounds better that this Monolith unit as well.

Once this unit is outta production, your best option is the used market.


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## TheJT

I have this amp.  How exactly do you enable crossfeed?  I've never noticed it as a feature.


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## Unforsaken Jake

Steely Dan said:


> The XMOS driver used to be on the product page on the Monoprice website along with the manual pdf, even after it was discontinued, but it seems like they have now removed the page.  Luckily I still have the original zip file for the driver which contains the installation executable.  I know some people would be wary of that kind of file from a total stranger, but hopefully me being a member here for over 10 years is some reassurance.  I installed the driver before even connecting mine, so I'd recommend disconnecting or at least turning it off during the install, and rebooting your PC, but afterwards it should be good to go the next time it's powered on.  Technically even without this driver it should work in exclusive mode with Wasapi or a generic Asio driver, but when Asio is selected in in Audirvana the name of the proper downloaded driver is displayed and the full DSD capability is supported.  I've included screenshots of that as well to show the different device display names with both wasapi and the official driver.  Hope this resolves your issue.


I know I'm late to the party and what I have to say/ask might be irrelevant, but I'll just go ahead with it. In reference to your attachments, specifically the Wasapi and Asio drivers, I was wondering the difference between them and how they work. 

Additionally, is one superior to use over the other (sound quality, latency, etc.)? My understanding is that Asio is used as stand alone driver that does everything you need: software, windows audio mixer bypass, exclusive mode, and so on. And for Wasapi, it's a driver or more so a 'mode' that is supplied by Windows OS that is made to work with any audio device and allow that device to have exclusive access over the audio mixer. Similar, but one comes from Asio and the other is built in to the OS. Now like I said I'm not sure if this is right, so please correct me if I'm wrong. 

Besides those questions, I'd like to make a comment on which one I think sounds better on my system using Qobuz. I've bounced back and forth between the two in the 'audio output' section on the desktop app and undoubtedly Wasapi Exclusive is superior. Superior dynamics, smoothness, clarity, spatial capabilities, etc. I'm confused to say the least...I apologize for the lengthy reply but any info would be greatly appreciated, thank you so much.


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## ultraman31

I recently acquired second hand unit, and I am not seeing any power button to turn it off and when I turn off by unplugging power, it erases all eq settings. Do yall leave it on all the time or is there a way to put it to a sleep or off?


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## 04gto

ultraman31 said:


> I recently acquired second hand unit, and I am not seeing any power button to turn it off and when I turn off by unplugging power, it erases all eq settings. Do yall leave it on all the time or is there a way to put it to a sleep or off?


Link to owners manual. 

Excerpt from manual:


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## ultraman31

04gto said:


> Link to owners manual.
> 
> Excerpt from manual:


Feels so dumb to miss this… thanks!


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## ultraman31

Also, another question, now that item has been discontinued, I don't see the webpage for this item in Monoprice site. Is there a way to download driver and firmware?


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