This is a review and detailed measurements of the Monolith by Monoprice USB DAC (29512) portable DAC and headphone amplifier. It was kindly sent to me by a member and is on sale for US $60.
I like the volume control on the right. Other than that, there is not much else to it.
Monolith by Monoprice USB DAC Measurements
Let's start with our usual dashboard:
I must say, that is one odd looking noise floor! Company specifies output voltage of 2 volts but we are shy of that at 1.85. This is critical for headphone amps as that also sets the max power into high impedance loads. I don't know where their 117 dB spec comes from (datasheet for ES9018K2M chip???). We are nowhere in the same universe with SINAD of 82 dB.
Another major deviation is in dynamic range:
96 dB is OK for the application but why spec 122 dB that requires state of the art desktop DACs to achieve?
The high distortion is reflected in IMD tests:
I expected jitter to be bad and it is:
Filter performance is OK:
At this point I decided to measure power instead of more DAC tests:
These are middle of the road power levels so not bad.
I don't have listening tests for you. It is past midnight and I need to go to sleep.
With the above power levels, I expect that performance to be OK.
Conclusions
It is clearly measurements were not performed properly to find and fix the many flaws in the implementation. Shame as I thought the "Monolith" was supposed to be the premium sub-brand for Monoprice. There are many other choices that surpass the performance of this dongle. Probably the worst thing about this device is hugely inflated specifications. While that is kind of the norm for no-name companies, I expect better from Monoprice.
I can't recommend the Monolith by Monoprice USB DAC.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
I like the volume control on the right. Other than that, there is not much else to it.
Monolith by Monoprice USB DAC Measurements
Let's start with our usual dashboard:
I must say, that is one odd looking noise floor! Company specifies output voltage of 2 volts but we are shy of that at 1.85. This is critical for headphone amps as that also sets the max power into high impedance loads. I don't know where their 117 dB spec comes from (datasheet for ES9018K2M chip???). We are nowhere in the same universe with SINAD of 82 dB.
Another major deviation is in dynamic range:
96 dB is OK for the application but why spec 122 dB that requires state of the art desktop DACs to achieve?
The high distortion is reflected in IMD tests:
I expected jitter to be bad and it is:
Filter performance is OK:
At this point I decided to measure power instead of more DAC tests:
These are middle of the road power levels so not bad.
I don't have listening tests for you. It is past midnight and I need to go to sleep.
Conclusions
It is clearly measurements were not performed properly to find and fix the many flaws in the implementation. Shame as I thought the "Monolith" was supposed to be the premium sub-brand for Monoprice. There are many other choices that surpass the performance of this dongle. Probably the worst thing about this device is hugely inflated specifications. While that is kind of the norm for no-name companies, I expect better from Monoprice.
I can't recommend the Monolith by Monoprice USB DAC.
----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/