mc whak
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2001
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This is going to be a quicky review of the Monarchy DIP mk.1.
I've owned it for about two months now. If you have an external DAC...BUY THIS!!! You can usually find them for ~$80 on audiogon.
I also bought the Monarchy 18b DAC w/ piggy-backed R2R DACs. While this product did improve the sound, it was only a slight difference (at least to me). As soon as I hooked up the DIP and popped in Radiohead's "Amnesiac"...I almost pissed myself. The clarity was astounding. It also increased the soundstage ALOT. I then put in Nirvana's "Nevermind". Nirvana has never sounded so good. Then just to check out the natural instrument side of things, I popped in some Stravinski. Wow!!! It makes me wish I really listened to classical more.
One quick note here: This was using the crappy RCA cables that come with most cheap electronics equipment. I've since upgraded to a DH Labs Silver Sonic D-75 coax cable (transport to DIP) and a Bettercables AES/EBU cable (DIP to DAC). The upgrade in cables made a slight difference (for the better), but not nearly as much as the addition of the DIP.
I'm not an audiophile by any means, so I can't describe it much better than that.
BTW - so you know, I use a Pioneer DV-333 as my transport.
I've owned it for about two months now. If you have an external DAC...BUY THIS!!! You can usually find them for ~$80 on audiogon.
I also bought the Monarchy 18b DAC w/ piggy-backed R2R DACs. While this product did improve the sound, it was only a slight difference (at least to me). As soon as I hooked up the DIP and popped in Radiohead's "Amnesiac"...I almost pissed myself. The clarity was astounding. It also increased the soundstage ALOT. I then put in Nirvana's "Nevermind". Nirvana has never sounded so good. Then just to check out the natural instrument side of things, I popped in some Stravinski. Wow!!! It makes me wish I really listened to classical more.
One quick note here: This was using the crappy RCA cables that come with most cheap electronics equipment. I've since upgraded to a DH Labs Silver Sonic D-75 coax cable (transport to DIP) and a Bettercables AES/EBU cable (DIP to DAC). The upgrade in cables made a slight difference (for the better), but not nearly as much as the addition of the DIP.
I'm not an audiophile by any means, so I can't describe it much better than that.
BTW - so you know, I use a Pioneer DV-333 as my transport.