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Monarchy Audio Model 33 DAC and DIP 24/96
by Ken Micallef
 Monarchy Audio Model 33 DAC
| Review Summary | Sound | The Model 33 DAC has an "in-your-face personality" -- "vibrant, spacious, slamming, weighty, extended, detailed"; "the soundstage was simply huge, extending beyond [Ken's] speakers; not the "absolute lowest in the bass registers" and lacking warmth when compared to the Bel Canto DAC1. |
| | Features | Model 33 has coaxial, AES/EBU and TosLink digital inputs; single-ended and balanced line-level outputs; three line-level inputs and a volume control. The DIP 24/96 reclocks the digital signal, suppresses jitter, isolates the transport from the DAC, and converts 96kHz sampling frequency to 48kHz. |
| | Use | With the 33 straight into an amp, "clarity and imaging increased dramatically"; adding the DIP 24/96 made the sound weightier and more extended down low. |
| | Value | High value considering the sound quality and the added line-stage functionality of the Model 33 as well as the conversion and de-jitter work of the DIP 24/96. |
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Is less really more? Is it still possible to go all Zen in the current audio climate? The major manufacturers scream, "Buy our SACD and DVD players NOW!" The high-end monkey on your back pleads, "Yes, that is the way; drop $5k and then give me 20." But the cautious angel on the other shoulder, the one less sure of another perfect sound forever, coos, "CD is here for a while, and the sound is better than ever. Just get one of those cool upsampling DACs or perhaps a 24/96 DAC that includes a line-stage preamp." Ah, back to the Zen way, and the subject of today’s reading.
SoundStage! regulars will recognize the name Monarchy Audio. The San Francisco-based company has received many awards for their products, including 1999 SoundStage! Reviewers’ Choice nods for both the SM-70 and SE-100 Deluxe amps. Countless publications have also paid tribute to Monarchy Audio through the years for their combination of forward-thinking technology in quality components offered at extremely competitive prices.
A flower by any other name...
The Monarchy Model 33 20-bit DAC follows in the steps of the lauded Model 22B DAC. Monarchy president and designer C.C. Poon pulled out the stops for the Model 33, incorporating a feature-packed, full-duty line-stage preamp based on his Model 10A (10+22=32 -- go figure). You might assume that quality commensurate with Monarchy’s reputation would be compromised for a dual-action product sold at the price point of $1439 USD, but that is just not the case. All Monarchy products, even before you hear them, have the look and feel of real quality. No cheesy plastic casing or lamp-grade power cords here. This is a professional piece that practically proclaims "security, tradition, class." Sure, it’s nifty to have a big product in a small package (such as my over-achieving Bel Canto DAC1), but hoary Americans that we are, we often still associate quality with something that feels weighty, massive and sleek. Sound is one thing, but touch and appearance can still get our juices going, even if you are a no-frills guy like me.
Rear view of Monarchy Model 33 DAC |
The rear of the Model 33 offers a wealth of options, making it perhaps the most full-featured DAC/line stage on the market. From left to right: two gold-plated RCAs for left and right line out, two balanced line outputs, and pairs of gold RCA inputs. A ground screw is supplied, along with TosLink, coaxial RCA and AES/EBU digital inputs, a power-cord receptacle, and an on/off switch.
Under the hood the Model 33 features a 25-watt toroidal transformer, a K-Grade Burr-Brown 20-bit D/A converter wedded to a "super high-speed current-to-voltage converter (2500 v/uS slew rate)." The Monarchy literature also states that a "Phase Coherent GIC filter...passes the audio signal through a straight wire" and that the line stage provides 14 or 20dB of gain (user selectable) for the two external signal sources. You might say that Monarchy’s years of experience have come to bear on the Model 33.
The only blemish on the Model 33's visual design appears on its underside -- namely, four generic rubber feet. When will audio manufacturers get with it and supply their high-end gear with serious isolation via energy-directing feet? The manufacturer who includes a quality suspension is bound to turn heads while maximizing sound quality. Why must consumers do all the tweaking?
Like butta...
Vibrant, spacious, slamming, weighty, extended, detailed -- just a few of the words that describe the sound of the Model 33 almost out of the box. I ran the volume to the max to hear as much of the Model 33 as possible. I schtooped the Model 33 with a Shunyata King Cobra power cord, setting it atop four Vibrapods. Connected from the Theta Jade transport via a Harmonic Technology Platinum balanced cable, then to the Blue Circle BC21 preamp with a pair of NBS Signature II interconnects, the Model 33 perked my ears up instantly with its in-your-face personality. Johnny’s home!
Associated Equipment Loudspeakers – Audio Physic Virgo, Spendor 2/3.
Amplifiers – Atma-Sphere MA-60 Mk II.
Preamplifier – Blue Circle BC21 with power-supply upgrade, Placette Audio Remote Volume Control.
Analog – Oracle Alexandria turntable, Grado Platinum Reference cartridge, Camelot Merlin Pro phono stage.
Digital – Bel Canto DAC1 DAC, Theta Jade transport.
Digital cables – Harmonic Technology AES/EBU, JPS Labs Superconductor+.
Interconnects – Cardas Golden Cross, NBS Signature II.
Speaker cables – Cardas Golden Reference biwire.
Power cords – Shunyata Research PowerSnakes Black Mamba, Sidewinder, Mamba, and King Cobra.
Power conditioners – PS Audio P300 Power Plant, Richard Gray's Power Company 400S.
Accessories – Salamander and Standesign equipment racks, Dunlop "Anna Kournikova Abzorber" tennis balls.
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The soundstage was simply huge, extending beyond my speakers. Depth was also very impressive, as layered and deep as an airplane hangar. Imaging was especially commendable, the best I’ve heard in my system, with pinpoint accuracy, air and resolution. Voices took on inflection and tone I didn’t know existed, a good sign. Vocalists with an edge in their voices, like John Lennon and Donald Fagen, now sounded sweeter and more intimate as subtle nuances became more apparent. Sometimes, as with Lennon’s weary lilt in "I’m So Tired" (The Beatles [Capitol 46443]) I could hear more dynamic range, variation and even breath; his notes took on more weight, and I could hear exactly where his notes ended in the mix, which seemed to be more sustained than before. Bass-drum whacks took on more slam and punch, and there was definitely newfound air and space around instruments in general. I could actually feel the air moving from the mallet striking bass drum, a visceral wallop that, as a drummer, I love. Guitars, such as Walter Becker’s solo in "Gaslighting Abbie" (Two Against Nature [Giant 247192]) became liquid mercury. The Model 33 sounded very lucid, clean and transparent.
And more. Steely Dan’s "Janie Runaway": Fagen’s vocal is easily discernible as two double-tracked voices; bass drum is very solid, even touchable, cymbals are very clean but smooth, every last bit of detail is squeezed out, but never etched, grainy, tizzy or cold. While bass-guitar notes are perhaps not the absolute lowest I have heard, they are illustrated with great articulation and speed. Speed is a constant with the Model 33. And coherency, transparency. On "Jack Of Speed," bass notes are pungent, snare drum is taut, meaty and popping. Geddy Lee’s My Favorite Headache [Atlantic 83384-2] sounded forward on the 33, and The Beatles’ Revolver and Led Zeppelin’s eponymous debut album sounded a bit flat, but open and pleasing in the frequency extremes.
Organist Larry Golding’s meaty As One [Palmetto 2068] sounded amazing on the 33, with organ reaching down low stupendously while upper-register notes blew through the roof (and my skull). Console’s Rocket In The Pocket [Matador 424-2] is brain-spinning German electronica laced with skyscraper-plumming synth bass notes and freakish sampled noises, all communicated accurately through the 33. The soundstage was again a revelation; I heard new stuff in the mix that was very surprising. There was so much depth that I felt I could walk in and take a seat between the computers. The Quincy Jones/Sammy Nestico Orchestra’s Basie and Beyond [Qwest 47792-2] particularly revealed the 33's low noise floor, enabling easy rendering between brass, drums and bass. I could even pick out the variations in drummer Vinnie Coliauta’s buzz roll! Again, the 33 is not the last word in absolute low bass or overall body and texture, but it is very close. Coming to Diane Krall, as we all do eventually, and When I Look In Your Eyes [Verve CIMPD-304], the acoustic bass breaks in "Let’s Fall in Love" were completely tactile, with both pizzicato notes and deep bottom runs taking center stage.
Switching the Harmonic Technology balanced cable to a JPS Labs coaxial digital cable changed the sound ever so slightly. Imaging was not quite as immaculately resolving, the treble seemed a little warmer but also a little fuzzier, and bass frequencies remained extended but slightly less palpable. But the 33's basic signature remained intact.
The Model 33 does so many things so well, its minor shortcomings are very forgivable. Not the absolute lowest in the bass registers, it is nonetheless extremely articulate. The Model 33 is not dark, or even warm; it leans toward neutral and fast. If you want a warm and honey-let’s-get-sweaty DAC, this is not it. You are there, first row and feeling the lights. It makes its presence and personality known immediately. And it takes no prisoners. |
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人老是自然规律。等那些老的烧友仙去，你也会变老了的。当你老了的时候你会知道，在对声音的整体领会中，並不是能听到更高频率，就等于会听音乐。总不会认为儿童比你更会理解音乐吧？而且这样不着边际的比较，什么也说明不了吗，这就像说调查过某二个收入相差几十倍的人，证明收入
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发表于 2009-10-21 12:57
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