I had the Paradisea a while back and am now using the Monarchy NM24 with a squeeze box source. The Monarchy is superior all around. It has great bass, midrange magic, and smooth highs. It is very well built as well. Some say the preamp is its weak point but that is not my experience. If you can live with the rather high gain, it adds another dimension to the sound. I have found that pairing the tube dac/ preamp of the Monarchy with solid state amps is a great combination. I have used it with a Redwine Sig 30, PS audio HCA-2, and NAD 320BEE (amp stage only) and it works great with all of them. I like the newest Monarchy as you have the flexibility to use the tube dac only, the tube dac with preamp, the solid stage dac with or without preamp. I don't think you can't go wrong with it. The reviews are right on.
Tube DAC Advice Needed
These days I'm doing 90% of my listening through a computer-based system using a Squeezebox 3 directly into my SS integrated (a Plinius 8200 MkII). While the internal DAC in the SB isn't terrible, I'm sure everyone would agree it's nothing to write home about--the sound is somewhat closed in and lacks "midrange magic" to use a cliched term. So I'm shopping around for a DAC with a tube buffer in the $1000 range new or used.
After sifting through the posts and reviews, it seems as though at least three fit the bill--the TADAC, the Monarchy M24 and the Paradisea (or Havana). Unfortunately, all three of these are direct order and therefore I'm unable to demo them. So I'm appealing to fellow Agoner's who have heard one or more of these units for help. What would you say are the relative strengths and weaknesses of each, and which would you recommend? Many thanks!
After sifting through the posts and reviews, it seems as though at least three fit the bill--the TADAC, the Monarchy M24 and the Paradisea (or Havana). Unfortunately, all three of these are direct order and therefore I'm unable to demo them. So I'm appealing to fellow Agoner's who have heard one or more of these units for help. What would you say are the relative strengths and weaknesses of each, and which would you recommend? Many thanks!
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- 10 posts total
- 10 posts total