Jonathan, I just found this thread, as I'm on the hunt for the best cue amps for both my studio & for my band's live cue system. I've already spent a small fortune, & not yet totally happy. VERY interested in the Monotor, but I have to admit, Amir's review really troubles me, despite your reply. Hoping for more thoughts from you, if you have the time:
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Because of my dual use, my amps have to drive both 600 ohm Beyers and Shure SE846's, and sadly the Shures (which are amazing IEM's for singers) are only 9 ohms. Yes, I read your previous comments, of course, but my personal experience, with other headphone amps, is different: The O2 types fail miserably at 9 ohms. (though I LOVE their midrange presence.) The JDS Atom does quite well. The SP200 THX also fails to some extent, though that's also partially due to its badly conceived gain structure, I think. Still.... But the Atom isn't my dream amp, as it's somewhat lacking in bass and overall fullness, and has a slightly narrow soundstage. The THX is significantly better in both regards, but has issue with IEMs. It also has an oddly recessed upper midrange, despite measuring flat on lab equipment. From what I've been reading, that's typical of all the THX chips, and is not very good for singers.
So..... Is Amir just wrong? I can't help noting that no ads for the MONOTOR give output power specs, so one might assume... well, you know.
Let's say (just theoretically) someone buys one of your amps, loves the sound with 600 ohm cans, but disagrees with you re the IEMs. Sound is subjective, after all. Can anything be done? How about using "impedance converter" adapters? (which I assume are just L pads.) That's actually resistance, not impedance, but could that help? (Or hurt, since the resistance would also knock down the power transfer?)
How about beefing up the power supply for more current? (warrantee be damned...)
Or, again, do you feel that strongly that Amire got it wrong?
thx.