SOLD
This DAC has been my primary source for the past year and has served me very well. I have paired it with several different transports including my modded Tushi, Denon DVD player and most recently my Squeezebox3. It has never failed to impress me with its organic rendering of all types of music and had exceptional synergy with my PPA. The most astonishing thing to me was when I directly compared this DAC to the analog output of the Denon DVM 3700 that I have as well as the SB3. The Denon originally retailed for ~$1000 and is highly regarded for its alpha 24 audio processing and the SB3 is often though to have a pretty decent output. The Monica, while certainly sounding different, held its own against the Denon and thoroughly trounced the output of the SB3. But clearly I'm biased when it comes to the sound of gear that I build so for a more independent appraisal I prefer 6moons' review or perhaps have a look at Positive Feedback's description. I think they say it better than I ever possibly could.
The only other noteworthy thing to say about Monica’s output is that it is not the standard 2V that you get from CD or DVD but rather probably about half that. This was never an issue for me, it just meant that the volume knob on my amps got turned a bit higher to achieve the same listening level as a standard source.
But enough about how it sounds, onto the technical bits. This is a fully loaded version of Yeo’s Monica2 design - the details of which can be found here - http://www.diyparadise.com/dackit/1545bdackit.html.. My build uses all high quality parts including Wima, Oscon and Blackgate capacitors and perhaps most importantly separate, regulated power supplies (TREADs) for the analog and digital sections. The signal path wiring is high quality Belden Teflon-coated, silver-plated copper and the RCA jacks are nice gold-plated units from Parts Connexion.
Here are a few pictures:
I am asking roughly the cost of the parts that it took to build this DAC plus any shipping expenses and Paypal fees. This equates to approximately $350 for the ConUS including insured shipping via FedEx Ground. Please PM me any offers or questions that you might have and I’ll do my best to answer them. Also, feel free to check my feedback here if you have any concerns about dealing with me.
Thanks for looking.
Nate
This DAC has been my primary source for the past year and has served me very well. I have paired it with several different transports including my modded Tushi, Denon DVD player and most recently my Squeezebox3. It has never failed to impress me with its organic rendering of all types of music and had exceptional synergy with my PPA. The most astonishing thing to me was when I directly compared this DAC to the analog output of the Denon DVM 3700 that I have as well as the SB3. The Denon originally retailed for ~$1000 and is highly regarded for its alpha 24 audio processing and the SB3 is often though to have a pretty decent output. The Monica, while certainly sounding different, held its own against the Denon and thoroughly trounced the output of the SB3. But clearly I'm biased when it comes to the sound of gear that I build so for a more independent appraisal I prefer 6moons' review or perhaps have a look at Positive Feedback's description. I think they say it better than I ever possibly could.
The only other noteworthy thing to say about Monica’s output is that it is not the standard 2V that you get from CD or DVD but rather probably about half that. This was never an issue for me, it just meant that the volume knob on my amps got turned a bit higher to achieve the same listening level as a standard source.
But enough about how it sounds, onto the technical bits. This is a fully loaded version of Yeo’s Monica2 design - the details of which can be found here - http://www.diyparadise.com/dackit/1545bdackit.html.. My build uses all high quality parts including Wima, Oscon and Blackgate capacitors and perhaps most importantly separate, regulated power supplies (TREADs) for the analog and digital sections. The signal path wiring is high quality Belden Teflon-coated, silver-plated copper and the RCA jacks are nice gold-plated units from Parts Connexion.
Here are a few pictures:
I am asking roughly the cost of the parts that it took to build this DAC plus any shipping expenses and Paypal fees. This equates to approximately $350 for the ConUS including insured shipping via FedEx Ground. Please PM me any offers or questions that you might have and I’ll do my best to answer them. Also, feel free to check my feedback here if you have any concerns about dealing with me.
Thanks for looking.
Nate
