2. digital
  3. 1026169760

HELP: is Monarchy Audio DAC a good idea?

Hi all,

I am a newbie to this WONDERFUL hifi world and am setting up my first/humble HiFi (if I may say so) system right now. I bought a Bryston 3B and PSB Stratus Mini (both used). I do NOT have any PreAmp. I am thinking of using a Monarchy Audio 18B DAC which has volumne control capability so I can completely bypass the idea of preamp. My questions are:

(1) is this 'no preamp' a good idea? (according to Monarchy it is !)
(2) is Monarchy DAC, particularly 18B, good for my system? (I noticed it does NOT user any Burr Brown chips)

Since I only have a SONY DVD player as source, no phono/FM/tape/..., Monarchy sounds to me a very reasonable/economical solution. My intention:

SONY DVD optical output --> Monarchy --> Bryston 3B --> PSB

any input is welcome.

Abe
abetongd719
abe_av
78 posts
 
--

Do you think a DIP will be an over kill for my extremely
humble system:

SONY DVD 5-disc ($180 new from CircuitCity!)
Monarchy Audio 18B (will buy soon)
Bryston 3b Pro ($400 used)
PSB Stratus Mini ($320 used)

I listen to all kinds of music 20%instrumental, 20%rock,
20%classic (if you count Charlotte Church), 30%jazz and
10%rest.

--
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
It's hard to say ... your system is good, especially at the price, but not overly resolving (no offense .. you probably realise this). I'd say that you should either demo a DIP before buying, or just buy one here on Agon and worst case resell it and lose the shipping (probably no more than $20 on a small item like this). You'll have little problem reselling if you buy a DIP 24/96, and older DIPs can be found for <$100.
viggen
838 posts
 
Hi All,

I have a Meridian 518 dejitter device. I have used it with a CAL Alpha and a Meridian 563. The improvements the 518 has on the Alpha is slightly deeper bass and smoother highs. However, with the 563, the soundstage expanded and everything improved big time. I believe there is some synergy going on with the Meridian pieces. Similarly, I suspect the DIP and other Monarchy DACs might have synergy as well. BTW, my transport is the Delta.
More to discover