[kirkhere]

starpause -
Check out the cowon iaudio F1 - it *does* show analog style L and R meters on its record screen. it's one I'm considering (depending whether the monolith ever shows up stateside... and I can reliably record without meters, kind of a big IF). The F1 meters have kind of a cool retro-ish look, hopefully, they respond like analog meters do too.

With the Monolith, I'd be concerned about clipping when recording from a pre-amp'd mic source, which I intend to do a lot of.

doomlordis -
Is the headphone jack 1/4" - it looks too fat to be 1/8". All other online info I can find is near useless, your pics are the only proof that it exists right now!

I'm down to the cowon F1 or this premium Monolith... unless I can get some more info on it and some US availability, it loos like the F1 will win out. It's not a problem, learning about the Monolith has been cool, but it'd be nice to know for sure before I have to pick one or the other!

k

 

[starpause]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkhere Check out the cowon iaudio F1 - it *does* show analog style L and R meters on its record screen. With the Monolith, I'd be concerned about clipping when recording from a pre-amp'd mic source, which I intend to do a lot of. doomlordis - Is the headphone jack 1/4" - it looks too fat to be 1/8". All other online info I can find is near useless, your pics are the only proof that it exists right now!

the conwon iaudio F1 records at a max of 128kbps ... the appeal of the monolith is the 320kbps encoding

it's not wav or flac but 320kbps mp3 might be good enough that i could set the volume low and safe ... then decode the vocals/field recordings/live set/etc to .wav and do eq/compression/limiting

all the same, even a CLIP indicator would be beautiful on the monolith ... that's all i've got on my TASCAM US122 which is what i've been using for miced recordings these days. so wishing for dynamic meters may be a bit overboard, just a red CLIP is enough for me.

considering it's impossible to get a manual (or any other info) from the manufacturer (eStarLab) ... i doubt any one of us would have any luck contacting them to ask for an upgrade to the firmware with a CLIP indicator. who knows though, maybe pigs will fly

worst case scenario: i'll be building a mic preamp to use my xlr mics w/ the monolith, i'll include & calibrate a CLIP led in that package.

kirkhere, what are you talking about w/ the headphone jacks? 1/4" is fatter than 1/8" ...

also, this is the freaking internet ... it doesn't matter if the unit is availible in only HK or through a euro reseller ... it IS availible through those routes to american customers ...

another question: does anyone know what mp3 encoding chip/codec is used in the monolith? and still unanswered ... does the monolith premium have any automatic gain control?

 

[starpause]

EstarLab got a page up on the monlith premium mx7000

http://www.estarlab.com/product/mx_7000.php

looks like a 2gb version will be availible ... wonder how long before we see that one ... if only i could read korean.

 

[kirkhere]

starpause -

..."the appeal of the monolith is the 320kbps encoding" - well said!

...1/4" jacks are fatter than 1/8" jacks (as in wider diameter). In the photos, the jacks looked big to me. They're probably 1/8" plugs. Can't see any sense in anyone putting 1/4" jacks on small gear like this these days, anyway. The macro photography is quite close, and no reference (like a coin or a pencil) made them look too big to me.

k

 

[doomlordis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkhere starpause - ..."the appeal of the monolith is the 320kbps encoding" - well said! ...1/4" jacks are fatter than 1/8" jacks (as in wider diameter). In the photos, it the jacks look big to me. They're probably 1/8" plugs. Can't see any sense in anyone putting 1/4" jacks on small gear like this these days, anyway. The macro photography is quite close, so they just look too big to me. k

The headphone sockets are normal 3.5mm sockets, firmware upgrades for the monoliths have always been released at a good rate.
www.Monolith-Europe.com i am sure will be updated soon with the premiums downloads, the premium appears at the top in the banner now it didnt last week.

 

[kirkhere]

The "other players" I have been considering in this arena have known issues with the manner in which they do two things - one is VBR playback (they do it, but their time displays jump all over the place as the data rate changes) - and the other is whether you can seek/scan through tracks and hear the audio as you do so (some go silent during the scan, others skip-sample as they go, etc.).

Just wanted to know if you'd tried these and how the Monolith fared.

Thanks for your feedback!

k

 

[starpause]

Quote:

Originally Posted by doomlordis firmware upgrades for the monoliths have always been released at a good rate. www.Monolith-Europe.com i am sure will be updated soon with the premiums downloads, the premium appears at the top in the banner now it didnt last week.

aah, that's great news! i didn't even know about the monolith-europe.com site

doomlordis: have eStarLabs been very responsive to customer inquery? i suppose i'll find out myself, i sent them a mail regarding the CLIP indicator durring direct encodeing

thanks again for all the answers. even without a clip indicator the monolith looks to be the best unit around for what i need. i was tempted by the 2GB model until i saw the price was also doubled

 

[doomlordis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkhere The "other players" I have been considering in this arena have known issues with the manner in which they do two things - one is VBR playback (they do it, but their time displays jump all over the place as the data rate changes) - and the other is whether you can seek/scan through tracks and hear the audio as you do so (some go silent during the scan, others skip-sample as they go, etc.). Just wanted to know if you'd tried these and how the Monolith fared. Thanks for your feedback! k

It is silent on fastforward rewind with a bar and timer to indicate where you are in the tune.
On vbrs the timer is replaced with "VBR" but the bar remains and is accurate.

hope this helps

 

[kirkhere]

Thank you, doomlordis - I appreciate your checking out my questions and posting your answers.

Silence is OK given that there's another form of feedback. As long as I can identify where I am in the track, that's great.

Nice to know it understands VBR too. My m3 CD player doesn't, and it's irritating.

This player sounds awesome. Now to figure out where I can buy one and get it to the US. I've had no replies to my emails to Estar and the mp3 shop you mentioned... it's probably just a bad time of year to expect to get quick answers. Must be I need a lesson in patience!

k

 

[starpause]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkhere I've had no replies to my emails to Estar and the mp3 shop you mentioned... it's probably just a bad time of year to expect to get quick answers. Must be I need a lesson in patience!

edit:i heard back from monolith-europe.com

Quote:

Is there any indication for when the incoming signal is too loud? I understand there is no analog style volume-meter, but even a simple indicator to show when a CLIP occurs would be very helpful. Dear Sir, You can see Line-in processing by OLED Screen. I hope that it will help you. Thanks

actually ... i have no idea what that means

... any insite doomloris? i wrote them back asking for a rundown of what is visible durring "line-in processing." i know, no level meter ...

kirkhere, yes, the time of year is busy/holiday ... i'm planning on ordering from advancedmp3players.co.uk once they open again (after the first).

 

[starpause]

http://www.monolith-europe.com/club/...art=&number=44

 

[Nilsson]

Hi!

Nice review!

Have been waiting for the 2gb version of this player for 6 months now and now that its getting close to release the only store that sold monolith in Sweden closed down like a week ago, ****ing typical. So now i have to order it from amp3.co.uk in the UK if i want one.

I wonder how stable this player is compared to the mx-7010.
Lots of people reported softwareproblems with 7010 and to some it just died and they didnt manage to restart it and had to send it back and get a new one etc. Im not so keen on getting problems like this if im ordering from UK.
Would be nice to hear if there are more mx-7000-users here that can report on how stable it is, maybe they have fixed all the problems?

Thanx!

 

[pezzy]

Im in the market for a flash based mp3 player and i have narrowed it down to this or the iaudio u3. Any thoughts on which one to get? Anyone here have first hand experience with the two brands?

Sorry about hijacking

 

[starpause]

i have some complaints with the monolith premium

1) can't delete a file from the player at all

2) can't disable automatic gain control for recording

3) can't change the volume you are LISTENING at once you start recording

4) no visual indicator for line-in signal over load (and also you can not change the incoming signal volume, but the lack of a visual indicator is a real bitch)

other than that, thet unit is GREAT! pristine sound quality, plenty loud, good battery life. i use it to listen to music at work and to record my fm broadcast.

 

[nytmarezz]

Any news about when/where we will be able to get this player in the US?