[Taragudrig]

I'm looking to upgrade my source and was wondering how the Monica 2 dac compared to some of the other nos dacs, like the D02 and Dac-Ah?

 

[rodentmacbeastie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taragudrig I'm looking to upgrade my source and was wondering how the Monica 2 dac compared to some of the other nos dacs, like the D02 and Dac-Ah?

I am wondering the same thing. At the price you can get one for it would make a great second/bedroom DAC or if you made sure it never went over 12vdc you could make a car system sound good. Car CD systems have horrible sounding DACs. Alpine used to make a few good ones but at big bucks. I am even considering making a portable unit with a 12v battery, a Monica, 1 or 2 Charlize amps, and some diy speakers. Great for camping, backyard parties and so on.

 

[mrarroyo]

I have a Lite DAC-AH and I am very happy with its performance. I will modify it in the future but straight out of the box it is a keeper.

 

[fran]

I have a monica 2 dac that I bought around 3 months ago. I bought the fully assembled kit I think it was around $100 or so plus shipping. It arrived in good time and shape. I'm running it off a 13.8VDC regulated power source with no issues (I checked with yeo first). Its easy to finish putting it to work, all you need to do is solder on your input and output wires and your power supply, mount in a box and you're done.

As for sonics: I'm using it with a marantz CD6000KI and thats really all I've compared it against. Definitely theres more detail to be heard and a smoother sound (may be due to a lower noise floor, with silent passages being inky black), I know what people mean when they say a more analog sound, but I don't think that quite gets it. It seems to me to be more musical anyway, although I think soundstage wouldn't be quite as wide as direct from the marantz, but would be as deep. Its now a permanent part of my system.

Rest of system: CDP>monica2>audio innovations valve amp>quad ESL57's, CDP>monica2>LD2>HD650s.


Oh, one thing to note, the output from the DAC is fairly low, much lower than from the CDP rca outs. I'd say half to 2/3 the volume of the CDP.

Fran

 

[thelostMIDrange]

After trying a few other traditional digital sampling dac's with no luck I figured I 'd try out a non sampler and ended up with monica3/separate power supply.  I'm beside myself with wonder at how this nos device works its magic. This is the way music should sound. Instead of meaningless hifi details, the nos monica deliver meaninful details. Meaning deeper impact and insight into the emotional aspects of the performance. It has the analog characteristics like air and space and flowing timing. It's remarkable imo how right this sounds. I ask myself how can this not be the future of audio dac?
 
fwiw, I have no issues that others mention, like low output, lack of detail, distortion, slowness. I hear none of that and would encourage anyone who loves music to try one and find out for yourself what it's about instead of reading others reviews. There is so much nonsense out on the forums ime. This nos dac is the most dramatic improvement in my listening enjoyment in 30 years of listening, 2nd only to my discovery of the turntable.
 
 
I should add, I was around when the CD player was born and recall the first generation players that featured a variation of this non sampled technology and at the time, I recall it was not satisfactory. It had the qualities that some mention of nos dac's. i.e. a slight dullness of sound, lack of detail and extension. But this monica does not remind me at all of the early cd players. Have no idea why or if the technology developed or what but this nos dac really gets out of the way and opens a window into the music. And as far as how the monica compares to others, I can't imagine how it wouldn't hold up. If you're looking fora a usb DAC. highly recommend........ The power supply may also be part of it's appeal and so would recommend that to go with the monica.