[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by number1sixerfan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well the unit has been here two days, and the line amp that is included is truly impressive. It really sounds good. It almost wouldn't make sense to spend money on an amp for the extra performance.....but I already did, so what the hell.

Are you using the $10 cable adapter Poong sells? For $10 it is hard to beat, heck impossible unless you do it and use an old cable you have laying around. I received today an RCA to 1/$" female adaptor from S2 Audio. Very nicely made and at a great price.

BTW, you can use a jumper from the SS out to the line in. Then you can then switch the Tube DAC w/ the SS DAC to feed the line stage, thus getting to sound signatures out to the headphone.

Good luck.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you using the $10 cable adapter Poong sells? For $10 it is hard to beat, heck impossible unless you do it and use an old cable you have laying around. I received today an RCA to 1/$" female adaptor from S2 Audio. Very nicely made and at a great price. BTW, you can use a jumper from the SS out to the line in. Then you can then switch the Tube DAC w/ the SS DAC to feed the line stage, thus getting to sound signatures out to the headphone. Good luck.

No, the seller I bought it from had a diy cable that is really of great quality. He threw it in for free too! Can't beat that. lol

The only thing so far I don't really like as of now is that it takes a few minutes for the tubes to burn in. Most tube amps I have used in the past only take a few seconds.

 

[Gradofan2]

My tube amps / DACs always seem to sound much better, after they've warmed up for an hour, or two, or even more - much richer, more organic, with higher resolution, and less harsh sound.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gradofan2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif My tube amps / DACs always seem to sound much better, after they've warmed up for an hour, or two, or even more - much richer, more organic, with higher resolution, and less harsh sound.

I do not think that number1sixerfan used the "burn-in" in the same context. I believe he is referring that the NM24 takes about 2 minutes after you turn in on before it will put out music. Kind of a built in protective delay.

I agree though that most tube based gear takes at least 1/2 hour up to 2 hours of warming up before it sounds its best.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I do not think that number1sixerfan used the "burn-in" in the same context. I believe he is referring that the NM24 takes about 2 minutes after you turn in on before it will put out music. Kind of a built in protective delay. I agree though that most tube based gear takes at least 1/2 hour up to 2 hours of warming up before it sounds its best.

Yea, that's what I meant.

After having the DAC for about a week, I can safely say that it is a steal at it's price. The built-in line amp is very close in sound quality to the Zana Duex. Power is a different story though as it couldn't really power my K-501 too well, although understandable.

 

[yepyep_]

Quote:

Originally Posted by number1sixerfan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yea, that's what I meant. After having the DAC for about a week, I can safely say that it is a steal at it's price. The built-in line amp is very close in sound quality to the Zana Duex. Power is a different story though as it couldn't really power my K-501 too well, although understandable.

This is really interesting. I've been reading a lot about dacs/amps for the past year+ or so and the nm24 looks like a good all-in-one package. $1080 on audiogon. After that, a headphone upgrade obviously. I'll keep on reading.

 

[nopietns]

Which DAC chip does it use and does it up/oversample?

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yepyep_ /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is really interesting. I've been reading a lot about dacs/amps for the past year+ or so and the nm24 looks like a good all-in-one package. $1080 on audiogon. After that, a headphone upgrade obviously. I'll keep on reading.

It is...

Either the M24 (without the SS DAC option), or NM24 (with the SS DAC option) are phenomenal DACs, and pretty good amps (Line Stage).

Though, the amp (Line Stage) functions best as a headphone amp for Senns - its very good (maybe even great) with Senns, less so with other phones, such as Denons, or Grados.

Regardless... there are few DACs that are better, at any price.

As I recall the M24 uses the Burr Brown select grade PCM63P-K with DF1704 digital filter (the PCM63P is the DAC many "high-end" DACs use), and the NM24 uses the PCM1704P-K, also highly regarded.

But... it makes no difference, both of these units produce some of the best sound available, at any price.

 

[nopietns]

Oh, if it's a PCM1704P-K, then it must be a top performer.
Do You leave Your Monarchy DACs switched on 24/7 or turn it off after every listening session? If the latter, how much time do the tubes need to warm up before listening?
I'll have to start considering this DAC for myself.
Another thing - does the Line Stage (if I understand it correctly) work as a headphone amp with it's own input and output? Can the NM24 be set up so that I can listen to both speakers and headphones from the tube output at the sime time?
I can't find a decent user's manual for this device.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I switch in on and off because of the tubes.

I have been a/b'ing it with the Zana Duex and I have come to the conclusion that it's about 75% of the ZD in terms of SQ and about 50% in terms of power. I have to really crank up the linestage for just about any headphone plugged in, but it is a very refined sound for a DAC's amp/line stage.

The way the ZD improves on it is by expanding the sound, making it more dimensional. It's really not fair to compare the two, but very interesting none the less.

The only disappointment so far is that it seems(from the website diagram) that there are only one set of analog outs for the tube dac, so I'll have to switch them manually if I add another amp to my setup. Is this correct? Or can the top ones feed the tube dac?

 

[nopietns]

This manual switching (in my case it would be between headphones and speakers ) seems dissapointing to me too. Would it be possible to add another tube output parralel to the one manually (just wire another pair of RCA outputs to the existing)? From the rear connection pdf from their homepage it seems that the top outputs are for the SS stage only.

And another thing - how dependant is this DAC on the quality of the transport? How does it deal with the jitter?

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nopietns /img/forum/go_quote.gif This manual switching (in my case it would be between headphones and speakers ) seems dissapointing to me too. Would it be possible to add another tube output parralel to the one manually (just wire another pair of RCA outputs to the existing)? From the rear connection pdf from their homepage it seems that the top outputs are for the SS stage only.

I think someone with DIY skills could probably do it. That person isn't me.

And another thing - how dependant is this DAC on the quality of the transport? How does it deal with the jitter?[/QUOTE]

Using my Macbook, it sounds perfect. But I have heard that the Macbook has a great bit perfect optical output. I don't use a CD player these days, so sorry if I can't help much. I'd imagine that it would be fine.

 

[mrarroyo]

Ok, as an update I will say that I bit the bullet and purchased the Monarchy A/C Regenerator which I use to provide the power to the Monarchy NM24. The Monarchy A/C Regenerator is being fed using a Virtual Dynamics Power Cord 3. The Monster Reference PowerCenter 3500MkII is used to fee the Singlepower MPX3 Slam SE, the Little Pinkie PSU (to power the PinkFloyd Modded X-Can V2) and a couple of other items.

Anyways, I just hooked up the A/C Regenerator a couple of hour ago and set the output to 120 volts and 400 Hz. I hope to do a comparison at various Hz later, althugh I do not understand what the various settings are supposed to do.

Here is a picture of my current home rig, I apologized for the smudges on the Singlepower. I also need to find a place to put my transport, I guess I need a larger cabinet. BTW, I need to clean up the rig.

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nopietns /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh, if it's a PCM1704P-K, then it must be a top performer. Do You leave Your Monarchy DACs switched on 24/7 or turn it off after every listening session? If the latter, how much time do the tubes need to warm up before listening? I'll have to start considering this DAC for myself. Another thing - does the Line Stage (if I understand it correctly) work as a headphone amp with it's own input and output? Can the NM24 be set up so that I can listen to both speakers and headphones from the tube output at the sime time? I can't find a decent user's manual for this device.

Yes... I switch it on and off - though, if I'm going to be using it a lot for a day, or two (e.g. weekend), I leave it on. It requires about an hour, or so, to sound its best.

Yes... you can use the Line Stage independently, I believe. I know it can be used as a preamp. Though, I don't know if you can use them both simultaneously - I don't think you can, but I'm not sure. Check with "mrarroyo."

Yes... you can drive headphones directly from the Line Stage out, by just setting the unit to DAC (if I recall correctly), or you can route the signal from the DAC analog out RCAs to the Line Stage In RCAs and drive your headphones from the Line Stage out RCAs by setting the unit to Line Stage.

You do need a special conversion cable to convert the signal from RCA connections to the SE phone plug connection for your phones. You can buy one from RS for around $5.

At least that's how it works with the M24. The NM24 may work a bit differently, since it has two DAC circuits to choose from. You may have to choose which DAC circuit you want to route through the Line Stage with it - SS (top set of RCAs), or Tube (bottom set of RCAs). Though, I suspect it defaults to the tube DAC, if you choose to just drive your phones from the Line Stage out, without routing the signal from either one of the two DAC analog out RCA circuits - that is, by just switching to the DAC function with your phones connected to the Line Stage out RCAs.

Though, with the NM24, Monarchy recommends using an in-line, passive transformer between the DAC and Line Stage to produce the best sound. I've never tried that, though you can buy them on eBay from Core Audio in HK for around $200, as I recall.

 

[nopietns]

Emailed them, nice shipping costs - 370$.
+ all the insane Eu customs duties.