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Monoprice Portable THX AAA Amplifier
Jun 13, 2019 at 4:32 PM Post #76 of 191
bassct said:
All very valid points. It seems like the only way to use this device would be over the SPDIF interface. Optic in Analog out.
Firmware revisions, i doubt it can receive them. There is no interface to communicate with the device. There is no logic on it. It is pure DAC/AMP with a DSP in between. If i am wrong, then there has to be an Updater app, to be able to flash new firmware from a PC.
Smartphone app is also a no go, no way of communication between the 2 devices.
Hiss is an engineering oversight. If someone with multiple IEMs could test and see if it is persistent on all of them. My R1 is 32 ohm, its should not be as sensitive as CA Andromeda or anything else with less than 32 ohms and full BA headphone.
Click to expand...

The portable Monolith THX AAA amp does have firmware installed. You can find the firmware version in settings. Having said that, I have not seen a firmware update like there is for the desktop Monolith THX AAA amp (which fixed a reversed phase issue with one of the channels).

As far as hiss goes, there is absolutely none to be heard from my full size cans such as the Sundara or the much more sensitive Creative Aurvana SE. My ears are sensitive enough to hear hiss from noise cancelling headphones, but I have not been able to hear it at all from the portable THX AAA amp with any headphones I've tried so far. I will have to find my cheap IEMs to see if I can hear any hiss with them, but I don't need an amp with IEMs so it's not a big deal to me if there is.
 
Jun 13, 2019 at 4:40 PM Post #77 of 191
Drog said:
The portable Monolith THX AAA amp does have firmware installed. You can find the firmware version in settings. Having said that, I have not seen a firmware update like there is for the desktop Monolith THX AAA amp (which fixed a reversed phase issue with one of the channels).

As far as hiss goes, there is absolutely none to be heard from my full size cans such as the Sundara or the much more sensitive Creative Aurvana SE. My ears are sensitive enough to hear hiss from noise cancelling headphones, but I have not been able to hear it at all from the portable THX AAA amp with any headphones I've tried so far. I will have to find my cheap IEMs to see if I can hear any hiss with them, but I don't need an amp with IEMs so it's not a big deal to me if there is.
Click to expand...

Awesome - thank you. I was mainly worried with the hiss after reading the review on www.audiosciencereview.com. I think I'm going to purchase one of these to replace my Schiit Stack. I've been wanting something portable.
 
Jun 13, 2019 at 4:48 PM Post #78 of 191
Good to know there is at least a firmware version number. Perhaps it can be updated after all. About the hiss, i hope that its not the design of the R1 that contributes to me hearing hissing. What i mean is, it is not your simple single DD driver, but a DD plus a piezo ceramic tweeter. Now perhaps that twitter is so sensitive that it picks up whatever electrical potential in the output and makes it audible. Because a regular DD driver ( a 10mm on an IEM - or - a 50mm on a full size HPs ) just might not be sensitive enough to pick up and make that electric potential audible, DDs have bigger mass and different design that of a piezo twitter. Now that is a shame if it is its inherent design, that makes it so audible. I would like to hear opinion of someone with a set of sensitive BA IEMs.

For Aurvana SE i can only see freq range of 10hz-30khz, no other info.
 
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Jun 13, 2019 at 4:50 PM Post #79 of 191
bassct said:
Good to know there is at least a firmware version number. Perhaps it can be updated after all. About the hiss, i hope that its not the design of the R1 that contributes to me hearing hissing. What i mean is, it is not your simple single DD driver, but a DD plus a piezo ceramic tweeter. Now perhaps that twitter is so sensitive that it picks up whatever electrical potential in the output and makes it audible. Because a regular DD driver ( a 10mm on an IEM - or - a 50mm on a full size HPs ) just might not be sensitive enough to pick up and make that electric potential audible, DDs have bigger mass and different design that of a piezo twitter. Now that is a shame if it is its inherent design, that makes it so audible. I would like to hear opinion of someone with a set of sensitive BA IEMs.
Click to expand...

I have some KZ ZS6 iems. I don't know how sensitive they are, but they do have BA's. I'll let you know how they do with the amp after I get it.
 
Jun 13, 2019 at 5:18 PM Post #80 of 191
Please do, also, try with both USB and SPDIF (if you have an optic cable), while charging and on battery. Thanks. And also enjoy, this thing is nice with full size cans.
 
Jun 13, 2019 at 11:35 PM Post #81 of 191
I heard no hiss with my IEMs.

I would guess there was either a hardware revision that fixed the issue, there was a bad batch of units that went out, or the people who hear hiss have a source with a noisy USB.
 
Jun 24, 2019 at 9:21 PM Post #82 of 191
Harry Manback said:
I have some KZ ZS6 iems. I don't know how sensitive they are, but they do have BA's. I'll let you know how they do with the amp after I get it.
Click to expand...

Edit: They have no hiss that I can hear.
 
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Jun 24, 2019 at 10:46 PM Post #83 of 191
Grado PS500 (not e) are also like hot cougars prowling around this amp. The bass is delicious. Tool - Undertow is as you’ve never heard it before.

It’s like when you go to the optometrist, and he’s flipping lenses. Is this better, or this? Well, it’s this, this, this. Then he hits you with the fix for the astigmatism you didn’t know you had (how the **** you get so old?!?!?)! These are like a fresh set of contact lenses. Everything in focus and no squinting. Just nice and clean and as it should be.

Can you guess if I like it or not?
 
Jul 17, 2019 at 8:16 PM Post #86 of 191
No drop, when the EQ or PEQ is used. Unless for some inexplicable reason, you cut 6 db across the board, with the PEQ

The PEQ & Shelf EQ are encoded in the hardware. The two interfaces are adjusted thru a combination of the menu system and the volume knob ( to add or subtract to each setting)
 
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