[Or Astroman]

When it's under $200, I consider it a bargain. Then built in dac is pretty good and you have line inputs for a second source and a mini plug input to boot. The amp is flexible with multiple impedance settings so most any headphone you get down the road will work. It sounds pretty good as is but swapping out the stock input tubes for GE 5670w($16 for the pair)made a healthy improvement to my ears. Swapping the output tube made a much smaller difference. Mine is as quiet as can be.

The downsides are the size, it's a large unit that barely fits on my side table and the looks. It's a bit too industrial for my tastes plus I like to see the glowing glass sitting out and proud. Although with having cats, maybe the enclosed tubes are a good thing.

So yes, $199 for a full tube HP amp with an ESS dac, line inputs, preamp outputs, selecteble impedance, and good sound is a bargain in my book. I can live with the large size and meh looks.

 

[CADCAM]

I have 3 hp setups at the house now, one SS with a Keces amp & DAC, one hybrid system with Loxjie P20\SMSL SU8 (balanced) and the other OTL tube using a Little Dot MKIII\Maverick Audio D2.
I like the amp but wish it had optical\coax in so I could feed it with one of my cd players and use the DAC, with only USB & RCA\3.5mm in I'd have to feed it with one of my laptops (USB) I have some nice disc players but would need to go with RCA in and I like using my disc players as transports feeding external DACS...decisions decisions.

 

[CADCAM]

Well I just ordered it! Fingers crossed it isn't damaged during shipping and it doesn't hum.
$199.99 & free shipping.
I'll post something as soon as it arrives.

 

[Cyberthingy]

This is $199 again free shipping you guys still think it's worth getting?

I just ordered one at the sale price and should have it tomorrow. I've got a Darkvoice 336 and the Loxjie P20 so I already have a few extra tubes to swap out with. I love the Darkvoice when I have some clean tubes in it but I'm hoping the Monolith will be less problematic and perform as well if not better.

 

[CADCAM]

I just ordered one at the sale price and should have it tomorrow. I've got a Darkvoice 336 and the Loxjie P20 so I already have a few extra tubes to swap out with. I love the Darkvoice when I have some clean tubes in it but I'm hoping the Monolith will be less problematic and perform as well if not better.

Great to hear someone else took the plunge! I have the P20 also and a Little Dot MKIII... can't swap tubes with the LD but nice to have a reference point.
I bought a Douk Audio Little Bear P7 which uses the same 6as7g\6080 & 6N3 tubes as the Monolith and it failed but I had already ordered a RCA 6080 & a pair of Svetlana 6as7g's so it will be great to try rolling them eventually but I want to hear the amp stock for a week or so first.
Hopefully these units arrive safe and functioning properly fingers crossed.
What tubes are you running in your P20?

 

[Cyberthingy]

Great to hear someone else took the plunge! I have the P20 also and a Little Dot MKIII... can't swap tubes with the LD but nice to have a reference point.
I bought a Douk Audio Little Bear P7 which uses the same 6as7g\6080 & 6N3 tubes as the Monolith and it failed but I had already ordered a RCA 6080 & a pair of Svetlana 6as7g's so it will be great to try rolling them eventually but I want to hear the amp stock for a week or so first.
Hopefully these units arrive safe and functioning properly fingers crossed.
What tubes are you running in your P20?

I originally ordered and tried some expensive Western Electric 396A Tubes as they came highly recommended. Paid almost as much for the tubes as I did the amp. I had read good things about the much cheaper Russian 6N3P-DR tubes so I bought a pair of those. That's what I left in the P20. I like them a lot. I also have some GE 5670 tubes that I will try in the Monotlith. I have Svetlana Winged C 6N5S In the Darkvoice that I like. In addition I have 2 RCA 6AS7G tubes I can try in the Monolith so I have several choices for both ends of the amp. I should have my new amp this afternoon and will post my initial impressions this evening some time.

 

[CADCAM]

I originally ordered and tried some expensive Western Electric 396A Tubes as they came highly recommended. Paid almost as much for the tubes as I did the amp. I had read good things about the much cheaper Russian 6N3P-DR tubes so I bought a pair of those. That's what I left in the P20. I like them a lot. I also have some GE 5670 tubes that I will try in the Monotlith. I have Svetlana Winged C 6N5S In the Darkvoice that I like. In addition I have 2 RCA 6AS7G tubes I can try in the Monolith so I have several choices for both ends of the amp. I should have my new amp this afternoon and will post my initial impressions this evening some time.

I had the original tubes that come with the P20 running in it with a SMSL SU-8 DAC and HE400i running full balanced and liked it. Bought these https://redirect.viglink.com/?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_160157343829812&key=1e99669452acedd7650a94861c9354cb&libId=kfr3g4gn0101zlp1000DA2qk755au&loc=https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hifiman-he-400i-impressions-and-discussion.698974/page-953#post-15892947&v=1&opt=true&out=https://www.ebay.com/itm/6N3P-2C51-396A-6385-6n3-Matched-Pair-Made-in-USSR-in-1968-military-tubes-2-PCS/253572965875?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ref=https://www.head-fi.org/members/cadcam.359458/&title=Hifiman he-400i Impressions and Discussion | Page 953 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org&txt=https://www.ebay.com/itm/6N3P-2C51-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 for the Douk Audio amp that failed on me and tried them in the P20 to hear if they would make a difference...unbelievable! It blows my mind that a preamp tube in a hybrid amp can make this much difference.
Please let me know your experience with the Monolith. Mine won't be here till the 6th

 

[Cyberthingy]

I had the original tubes that come with the P20 running in it with a SMSL SU-8 DAC and HE400i running full balanced and liked it. Bought these https://redirect.viglink.com/?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_160157343829812&key=1e99669452acedd7650a94861c9354cb&libId=kfr3g4gn0101zlp1000DA2qk755au&loc=https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hifiman-he-400i-impressions-and-discussion.698974/page-953#post-15892947&v=1&opt=true&out=https://www.ebay.com/itm/6N3P-2C51-396A-6385-6n3-Matched-Pair-Made-in-USSR-in-1968-military-tubes-2-PCS/253572965875?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ref=https://www.head-fi.org/members/cadcam.359458/&title=Hifiman he-400i Impressions and Discussion | Page 953 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org&txt=https://www.ebay.com/itm/6N3P-2C51-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 for the Douk Audio amp that failed on me and tried them in the P20 to hear if they would make a difference...unbelievable! It blows my mind that a driver tube in a hybrid amp can make this much difference.
Please let me know your experience with the Monolith. Mine won't be here till the 6th

There seems to be several varieties of the 6N3P tubes from Russia but I settled on the 6N3P-DR version in lieu of the 6N3P-E variety as I read they were better and I do like the results. https://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-6N3P-DR...975483?hash=item3aabe4663b:g:HVoAAOSwKrhVeZ64

So, I did receive my amp today and after unpacking it and setting it up I found no issues with loose parts or any other visible QC problems. The top vent plate is held in with 4 phillips screws and a sticker instructing you to remove the plate before powering on to remove the protective foam insert. They are kind enough to include a screwdriver for that operation. I quickly removed the plate and removed the foam and proceeded to connect the Power and USB cables to my Windows 10 PC. The system recognized the DAC and I was up and running. I'm currently listening with the stock tubes in place using my ZMF Aeolus Dynamic Headphones (300 ohm) and I have to say this amp sounds pretty darn good as is. Those are the only headphones I use with the Darkvoice because it does not play nice with lower impedance and planar drivers. There is a slight low frequency hum that does not change with volume adjustments. I suspect it is the common tube hum that should go away after a burn in period. I do also detect a little more treble extension compared to the P20 and the Darkvoice amps but that could change. I don't think I will change tubes until I've given these some time to break in. My other tubes have already been broken in. So far I think this is well worth the money and hopefully will be a better option for me with other headphones in my collection. Good luck with your unit and I'll update once I get some more listening and burn-in time with the stock tubes and then a swap with my others.

 

[CADCAM]

Those are some nice looking cans! Great to hear you had no major issue's. Hopefully the hum will go away, I've read the DV tubes can hum and people have been leaving them on for 48hrs and the hum goes away...hopefully that works but I'd be a little iffy on leaving a tube amp on for 2 days straight.
I also read older used tubes being very quiet in the DV??? Never heard one so..
I bought 2 1966 Svetlana 6as7g's so hopefully they are a bit used and will be quiet.
I'll post impressions when mine gets here.

 

[theangelboy]

Those are some nice looking cans! Great to hear you had no major issue's. Hopefully the hum will go away, I've read the DV tubes can hum and people have been leaving them on for 48hrs and the hum goes away...hopefully that works but I'd be a little iffy on leaving a tube amp on for 2 days straight.
I also read older used tubes being very quiet in the DV??? Never heard one so..
I bought 2 1966 Svetlana 6as7g's so hopefully they are a bit used and will be quiet.
I'll post impressions when mine gets here.

I have a DV. Hum varies from tube to tube. I only had to burn in my stock driver tube for a several (5 or 6?) hours for the hum to go away. It didn't need anywhere near 48 hours. I also took the power tube out (rear one) while burning it in. With that tube removed the amp didn't even get very hot. I suspect that a good percentage of unused tubes will require some burn in for almost any amp, this Monoprice one included.
I'm tempted to pick one of these amps up since it's a good deal but because I have a DV it's really hard to justify. I'm definitely interested in your impressions when you receive yours.

 

[CADCAM]

Cyberthingy please keep us updated on impressions as you listen.
Mine should be here tomorrow so I'm excited to hear it. Will post my own impressions asap!

 

[Cyberthingy]

Cyberthingy please keep us updated on impressions as you listen.
Mine should be here tomorrow so I'm excited to hear it. Will post my own impressions asap!

I left town for a few days so I had not been listening to the amp until this morning. I did really enjoy the sound with the stock tubes but I decided to change out the pre-amp tubes for the GE Jan 5670 tubes and I like it even better. The high end is a bit cleaner and the soundstage seems a bit wider. Overall I really like this amp. I am using the built in DAC BTW. It seems to play nice with a variety of other headphones that are lower impedance so that's a good thing. I still have a little bit of hum that is only noticeable with no music playing. Hoping it disappears after some additional tube break-in. On another note, I also received a Shuguang Treasure CV-181Z tube for my Darkvoice that I am running in for a few days. Initial impression is positive. It's really quiet for a brand new tube. Let us know what your experience is like once your amp arrives.

 

[CADCAM]

I left town for a few days so I had not been listening to the amp until this morning. I did really enjoy the sound with the stock tubes but I decided to change out the pre-amp tubes for the GE Jan 5670 tubes and I like it even better. The high end is a bit cleaner and the soundstage seems a bit wider. Overall I really like this amp. I am using the built in DAC BTW. It seems to play nice with a variety of other headphones that are lower impedance so that's a good thing. I still have a little bit of hum that is only noticeable with no music playing. Hoping it disappears after some additional tube break-in. On another note, I also received a Shuguang Treasure CV-181Z tube for my Darkvoice that I am running in for a few days. Initial impression is positive. It's really quiet for a brand new tube. Let us know what your experience is like once your amp arrives.

I read that the power from a USB cable runs on the outside of the male connection and the data runs from contacts on the inside. We obviously don't need power from the USB so he said if you tape off that male outside connection it is silent...I'm assuming he means to use tape or something to stop the transmission from the outside male metal connection to female connection on the Monolith. Not saying you should try it just passing along what I read. If mine hums I'll be bummed and might try it if it doesn't go away. Also did you try running the amp a signal through the RCA inputs and if so does it still hum?

 

[CADCAM]

My Monolith amp was suppose to arrive today but now Monoprice has changed the delivery date to tomorrow...

 

[Cyberthingy]

My Monolith amp was suppose to arrive today but now Monoprice has changed the delivery date to tomorrow...

My Monolith amp was suppose to arrive today but now Monoprice has changed the delivery date to tomorrow...

Well Craaaaap! Mine came fedex and was delivered on time. I have not tried the amp with an external source yet but I'll give it a shot later this evening. Thanks for the suggestion.