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Preview: Monolith by Monoprice Desktop THX Headphone Amp & DAC

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I've stopped using everything Monoprice over the last couple years as even their "premium" cables didn't last worth a damn vs Tecknet cables.


I find them to be a quite shady company, I dont like supporting them. This was their first product I had considered in some time and I am glad I didnt get it!
 

AresHarvest

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They likely still had it designed and built by the same OEMs they have make the reverse engineered products for them.

Is that likely, or is that a guess? They licensed the amp tech, so it's weird to assume they bootlegged the rest. Either way, the USB controller and DAC chip are widely used, so I'm told. Knocking 2/3 off and licensing the remainder would be a bad investment.

Edit: and they licensed the Dirac IP
 

Jimster480

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I find them to be a quite shady company, I dont like supporting them. This was their first product I had considered in some time and I am glad I didnt get it!
I haven't personally had issues with them, but I just got sick of the cables failing over and over again under regular usage so I stopped buying them around 2 years ago.
When I first found out about monoprice I thought it was great and I bought these cables for all of my family, today only 2 of these cables are still in service and they are both microUSB. Otherwise the rest of them are dead.
 

antdroid

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I've had this amp/dac since Wednesday of last week. I am on Firmware 1.01. No real issues for me.

I posted photos of the internals on another site but here's one photo:

P1020577-mod.JPG

Images are blurry though, sorry about that. I dont want to take it apart but if there are very specific questions, and I have time, I can do it again.

I havent had any major issues with the unit. All my streaming/flac files work just fine. I use Coax with a CD transport and works great.

My initial impressions:

-Sound is extremely clean. It's lean sounding compared to other amps and dac/amps I have -- DX7, Liquid Spark, MCTH, P20, Schiit Magni 2, etc.
-I find it very detailed.
-DIRAC Sensasound adds a lot of height and depth to music. It works quite well on some songs and not so well on others. YMMV. When it works well, it works REALLY WELL. Some songs which emphasize bass and beats -- may not sound so well with it on since the DSP essentially stretches the soundstage and this kills some of the rich/full sound. Works great for acoustic/bluegrass stuff.
-Menus - it's a little cumbersome at first, but now that I'm used to it - its not too bad. There are definitely more menu presses than I'd like and I do miss the quick remote access of the DX7 sometimes.
-EQ - works well. Easy to use, just takes a little bit of time to scroll through since you can tailor it very precisely to what you want.
-Headphone Amp - Plenty of power for everything I've thrown at it from Planars to Dynamics. I dont have any super duper low sensitive stuff but it powered the HE560 and Audeze Sine quite well with plenty of headroom left (using balanced XLR)
-This is, in fact, a fully balanced amp/dac. Theres twin dacs and 4 amps on board.
-No XLR Output, kind of a bummer. You can either mod it per what Andrew mentioned in the monoprice site, or use XLR 4-Pin from the headphone out to your external amp.

Overall, I think this amp sounds cleaner and more detailed than the Topping DX7. It also has more features that I actually find quite useful and relevant. Its missing a remote that the DX7 has though, which would come in handy with the extensive menu items and presses required to do advance functions. I understand this is a measurements board, and I dont have any measurements to add. :) This is all subjective listening, so take it for what it is.
 
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antdroid

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I haven't personally had issues with them, but I just got sick of the cables failing over and over again under regular usage so I stopped buying them around 2 years ago.
When I first found out about monoprice I thought it was great and I bought these cables for all of my family, today only 2 of these cables are still in service and they are both microUSB. Otherwise the rest of them are dead.

microusb cables tend to die out no matter the brand in my experience. They are super cheap, so i honestly dont care either way.
 

Jimster480

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microusb cables tend to die out no matter the brand in my experience. They are super cheap, so i honestly dont care either way.
Interestingly enough, the ones from other brands (aswell as the ones that came with my various HTC phones) have not died in the last years despite being older than the monoprice ones.
I have cables from tecknet that also are in service now for 3+ years where the monoprice ones lasted 1-2 years max.
 

AresHarvest

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Not to join in on the Monoprice beat down, but... Have you dissected their TRS cables? It was a block of hot glue under the jacket, when I bought my first (and last) cable from monoprice. I've never seen anything like it before or since.
 

wadec22

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I have not bought a lot of cables from them.

The 30' HDMI Redmere cable I bought from them to connect my projector has been going strong for 5 years. The Stage Right XLR cables I just bought from them in the last couple weeks sure seem nice.

Of course neither of those cable types would be their cheaper value line type of cables either. Both are considered at least a tier 2 item with comparable, lesser quality options of their own.
 

Headphonaholic

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Not to join in on the Monoprice beat down, but... Have you dissected their TRS cables? It was a block of hot glue under the jacket, when I bought my first (and last) cable from monoprice. I've never seen anything like it before or since.
That's horrifying... I'm now suspicious of the few monoprice cables I have. Lately I buy lots of Amazon Basics cables thankfully.
 

Zilfallion

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Interestingly enough, the ones from other brands (aswell as the ones that came with my various HTC phones) have not died in the last years despite being older than the monoprice ones.
I have cables from tecknet that also are in service now for 3+ years where the monoprice ones lasted 1-2 years max.
I have a micro USB wall-charger from an old LG dumbphone I had over a decade ago that just outlasts all my other chargers, even though I use it almost every day. They definitely can last a good number of insertions.
 

Jimster480

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Not to join in on the Monoprice beat down, but... Have you dissected their TRS cables? It was a block of hot glue under the jacket, when I bought my first (and last) cable from monoprice. I've never seen anything like it before or since.
I bought a couple also, for AUX in two of my cars.... they barely lasted 6 months of service.
They were replaced with UGREEN cables from Amazon that are now going strong for 2.5+ years.
I have a micro USB wall-charger from an old LG dumbphone I had over a decade ago that just outlasts all my other chargers, even though I use it almost every day. They definitely can last a good number of insertions.
Yep, my granduncle has one from like 2005 and its still working.
 

antdroid

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Let me clarify my statement -- Most of my usb cables tend to work that are quite old. But there have been many that have broken down over time, probably due to being bent or twisted or other issues -- and this has occurred to cheap stuff like things from Amazon or Monoprice and also name brand stuff from Samsung, LG, HTC, etc. Failure based on usage or mis-usage or whatever, doesnt seem to matter if its "expensive" or cheap or if it's monoprice or not. In my experience, I have never had any issues with Monoprice cables -- I use them for most of my stereo and home theater equipment and many usb cables.

It's been a while since I've ordered MP cables but the last set of stuff I bought 9 or so months ago are working fine. These were 1 ft RCA to 3.5mm cables and RCA to RCA cables.
 

Roen

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All my HDMI cables are Monoprice, but they haven't failed me yet. YMMV.
 

Jimster480

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All my HDMI cables are Monoprice, but they haven't failed me yet. YMMV.
I have a couple Monoprice HDMI cables too which haven't failed.
They are HDMI and don't move typically.
I do have one HDMI cable that failed, but I am not sure if its monoprice or not.
Let me clarify my statement -- Most of my usb cables tend to work that are quite old. But there have been many that have broken down over time, probably due to being bent or twisted or other issues -- and this has occurred to cheap stuff like things from Amazon or Monoprice and also name brand stuff from Samsung, LG, HTC, etc. Failure based on usage or mis-usage or whatever, doesnt seem to matter if its "expensive" or cheap or if it's monoprice or not. In my experience, I have never had any issues with Monoprice cables -- I use them for most of my stereo and home theater equipment and many usb cables.

It's been a while since I've ordered MP cables but the last set of stuff I bought 9 or so months ago are working fine. These were 1 ft RCA to 3.5mm cables and RCA to RCA cables.

Well.... Its hard to "misuse" cables if you just put your phone to charge.
The ones used in the car's are bent around the most as the phone gets moved around while in the car.
The monoprice ones I had originally bought for usage in my cars and my fathers car all failed within 6 months (non premium).
The TeckNet cables I bought to replace them are still going strong after 2 years.

I do have 2 monoprice premium cables in 2 different cars and one on my desk (all microUSB) that are still fine after 2 years.

So basically if you are going to buy monoprice cables, just make sure they are the premium ones. Although I had 2 of those that physically separated and broke.
 

antdroid

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I have a couple Monoprice HDMI cables too which haven't failed.
They are HDMI and don't move typically.
I do have one HDMI cable that failed, but I am not sure if its monoprice or not.


Well.... Its hard to "misuse" cables if you just put your phone to charge.
The ones used in the car's are bent around the most as the phone gets moved around while in the car.
The monoprice ones I had originally bought for usage in my cars and my fathers car all failed within 6 months (non premium).
The TeckNet cables I bought to replace them are still going strong after 2 years.

I do have 2 monoprice premium cables in 2 different cars and one on my desk (all microUSB) that are still fine after 2 years.

So basically if you are going to buy monoprice cables, just make sure they are the premium ones. Although I had 2 of those that physically separated and broke.

Yep this is pretty accurate. Every cable I've ever had break have been the ones I use in my car. :)
 

aleksander

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Monoprice used to be good alternative to overpriced Monster cables, the hero has lived long enough to become the villain
 

elira

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Monoprice used to be good alternative to overpriced Monster cables, the hero has lived long enough to become the villain
Monoprice cables are really inexpensive, I think they work fine for what they cost. An RCA cable costs like 3 bucks.
 

PuX

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RCA cables are very different from USB cables, just saying.

I have a Monoprice RCA cable, in terms of convenience it's not very good - heavy and does not bend easily, made of hard material. most regular cables are made of softer metal. some hi-fi cables though are hard like this one.
 
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amirm

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Will you test a V1.01 version of this?
I am returning the current unit and have nothing else to measure. If someone wants to send me one and doesn't hold me accountable for it dying the same way, I can.
 
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