March 6th, 2006
CC-
I wanted to take a moment and thank you for your response to my email
with respect to the questions I had about the se250's and also the M24
DAC. I wanted to share a couple of things that I have done:
I put the 6922's which you gave me, into the 250's and really liked the
sound as compared to the 6DJ8's. I thought the sound was a bit
smoother, with more pronounced lows with a greater sound-stage. I
was very happy with the tube switch. I then purchased a matched
set of Amperex 6922 PQ's, white label, to try in the amps.
Admittedly while these are expensive tubes, I had read some great
things about these particular tubes and I was anxious to hear how they
would sound in the SE250's. Well, I must say the sound was just
amazing! Your amps REALLY do respond to the sonic characteristics
of the tube and I thought the Amperex tubes did sound better than the
Phillips JAN 6922's.
When I got your email I thought that I would try putting in the
Phillips 6922's into the M24's output stage as suggested. Interestingly
enough, I did not like the result. For whatever reason, I felt
the highs were very harsh - excessively so. I then replaced the
6922's with the stock tubes of the M24 and I think that I've got the
best sound coming from my discs that I can get; save spending thousands
of dollars more, which I won't be doing. I just want to say the
results of using your electronics is nothing short of amazing and given
the price point, almost too good to be true.
I have the M24 DAC connected in between my transport, which is nothing
special; a Pioneer Elite unit, and my pre-amp which is another Pioneer
Elite product, model C90, which is, I think, a great solid-state
preamp. I use the Monarchy upsampler, and set the sampling
rate at 96 kHz. As interconnects, I use Monarchy digital cables
(1/2" model) between the transport, upsampler and DAC.
The interconnects that I use for the SE250's are Kimber Kable. Because
I live in a small apartment in Boston, space is an issue, so rather
than floor standing speakers, I use very average Cambridge Soundworks
satellite speakers with a powered subwoofer. I know you'll
chuckle at using such a small speaker set up with the SE-250's, but the
results are quite stunning. The quality of the sound, the
sound-stage that I can achieve with satellite speakers is really
unbelievable. The speakers will handle 150w, and while I know i
could drive the speakers well past their power capabilities, it is
really never an issue as the quality and clarity of the sound is so
good, moderate level of gain is all that is needed. I also use
the SE250's as part of my video/home theater set up and the sound
experience, albeit only 2 channel is terrific.
In closing, great products. I always talk about Monarchy to my
friends here on the east coast, although, admittedly, it is not a name
that well recognized around these parts. I hope your new DAC
continues to get great reviews and that your Company receives continued
recognition as a leader in the audiophile industry.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Mead
je.mead@verizon.net