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Pictures of SE-160 |
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Pictures of SE-160 |
| Bound for Sound Report |
| Issue #136
The Monarchy SE-160 mono power amplifier, $1990.- ea. Monarchy Audio, 380 Swift Ave, #21, South San Francisco, CA 94080. Ph. 650.873.3055; fax 650.588.0335; e-mail monarchy@earthlink.net; A great amp in much the same fashion as the Clayton M-100s reviewed above. And due to the similarities in the sonics of both amps, I felt this a good place to talk about the Monarchy. Where I see these two amps varying most significantly is in the ability of each to cope with different kinds of loads, and the ability to deliver the goods in brute force fashion. And, by the way, this is the finest sounding power amp Monarchy has ever made, and it may be one of the finest hybrid amps ever brought to market. Tale of the tape. Each SE-160 weighs in at 30 lbs. Per chassis, and is 5.5" x 12.5" x 15.5" (HWD).Stated output power is 50 wpc into 8 Ohms and 50 wpc into 4 Ohms pure Class A with no global feedback. And while on the subject of feedback, this amp utilizes no negative feedback anywhere. No nested, no local, no global – no feedback. The circuit is single ended, solid state. No audible buzzing during operation, though there was transformer hum upon turn on that soon disappeared. The amp is all discrete, no IC’s anywhere, a notable departure from other amps from Monarchy. Input impedance is 100,000 Ohms. Input section is tube based using a single E288 per channel. Other tubes can be used, including 6DJ8’s with 6.3 volt filament. Other tubes reportedly used with good success are the 6N1P and 6N30P. The toroid transformer is 750 VA, and is solidly mounted. Minimum drive impedance is 2 Ohms. Each channel has 12 MOSFET output devices. Output impedance is below 0.1 Ohms, for a damping factor above 80. The rear panel has RCAs for single ended operation and XLRs for balanced. Input sensitivity is 1 volt for full outputs and a fuse pot with a single set of speaker terminals is located on the rear chassis. The amp has no provision for stereo operation. In true Monarchy tradition, taped to the bottom of the chassis is a small box of fuses. At one time in the past, those fuses would have been used up during the auditioning period. During the extended period of time I had the amp on hand, not one fuse gave up. AC chassis to ground potential measured 85.7 volts in the standard orientation, 30.9 volts with the AC polarity reversed. I reversed the AC polarity during all critical listening. This amplifier was truly put through its paces, being placed in the Big Rig numerous times (at least 6 or 7), and it responded beautifully to the abuse by operating flawlessly throughout the auditioning period. Because of the sound quality of the amp, it was in and out of the main system more than its share. Set-up. Being a hybrid power amplifier with no global feedback, set up was critical and not entirely predictable. The amps did not respond all that much to chassis damping, though audiophile approved footers were a positive. I used TG Audio Pointy Things for feet and Walker Weights on top of the amp. To be honest, the improvements heard were not all that dramatic. Power cords were extremely important with these amps, though, Being a hybrid will do that, and having no feedback further muddies the water cordage wise. Ribbon cords from Electra Glide and Walker did not work, though my experience with the NTAOTLs led me to believe that these would be the perfect cord for the SE 160s. Nope. So I went to the new Audience Power Chord. This has to work – It’s great with solid state, and seems to excel with everything that the ribbons don’t Nope again. Way too much bass. Fortunately, I had on hand the excellent JPS Kaptovator cords…. Oh yeah. Things tightened up, but there was still plenty of pop in the lower mids. The midrange was plenty liquid with nice dimension and texturing. Next, the new TG Audio HSR2 Gen. II arrived. They needed some breaking-in, and let them burn for the next 30 days. Better still. Tone was about the same as the JPS, but the new Gen.II’s with the SE-160s resulted in a phenomenal soundstage. Yeah, sure, power cords don’t make a difference….my eye! The amplifier had no trouble driving low impedance loudspeakers, as long as it doesn’t go too low. During my audition I used the Osborn Epitome with Extra Woofers, the RBH S-1266, and at the very end, the PBNKAS 4-ways, Oh my, did this amp even love the KAS….IT WENT CRAZY! Talk about a fun package, and making music fun. But the amplifiers run hot. For a while I used a small fan purchased from Wal-Mart to keep operating temperatures down. Ended up I didn’t need to; the amps ran fine without the fan during later auditions….my audio neurosis at it again. As far as preamps went, I liked the Reflection with it, but it worked equally well with the Symfonia Opus 8, perhaps even better. Tube preamps worked fine, no problems. Sonics. When the Claytons were shipped back to Missouri, the SE 160s hit the Big Rig running. Yes, as you may recall from the prior reviews, the Sim Audio Moon W-3 spent some time in the Big Rig immediately after the Claytons went home, but it was the Monarchy amp that I settled down with, and ultimately, despite the fine performance of the W-3, the SE-160 ended up being the superior amplifier all things considered. But in all fairness, it wasn’t until I inserted the PBN KAS loudspeakers that I got the real feel for these amps: Call them wild! The Monarchy SE 160 mono amps have just the right amount of "tube" sound to allow for the energetic flashy action that makes music come alive. Much of this energy is focused in the lower midrange which results in a dramatic up-front presentation that is ear catching in a classically audiophile way. Recordings with cello sound vibrant and textured, and in an odd kind of way, rock guitar utilized by some of the metal acts around today benefit from the power this amp has in the lower mids. For a hybrid design, the SE-160 has very good bass. Assuming you are using the right power cord, bass from this amp is deep and powerful. Not quite in the same class as the larger more expensive Clayton M-100s, but good enough to fair well in any A/B comparison, and certainly not something to be embarrassed by. And with there being a tube in the input section, there is some warmth and some sweetness in the sound not heard with other amps. It does not have the dark sound of the M-100s, and is more open in that regard. Highs with the SE-160 are superb. Having played some steel string acoustic guitar, a special tingle starts at the base of my spine and emerges from the top of my head when I hear a well recorded guitar making those steel strings sing. With the SE-160 the hard pluck of the string comes through with intensity, power and edge – just the way it should be. You have to love the energy this amp delivers from top to bottom. Just watch out for some "splash" in the lower treble. Under some circumstances, the amp can seem a little hot. In the midrange, much of the tactile qualities heard with the Clayton are heard with the Monarchy too. Vocals were solid and present, but what one has to like best here is the tonal density and the ability of the amp to image around an object (an artifact of an all discrete design?). This manifests itself in images on the stage having a relief around them that defines and outlines each instrument and voice. Something to look for is the size of images produced by the SE-160. They can be on the large side, not bloated or expanded, but of the size that puts the object at the object at the very front of the stage. A good thing in some systems, not as good in others. Music with the Monarchy tends to explode into the listening room, and it is one of the few amps that I know of that can bring an image right to the front of the stage without having it bend far right or far left. This is one of the areas where the total absence of negative feedback shines forth. Though in referring to my notes, I see that image center-fill is a little less dense and solid with the Monarchy than with the Clayton. On the other hand, this amp has abundant energy in the mids that makes things sound very dynamic, even when they sometimes are not. Again, no negative feedback to choke things off. Does the 50wpc power output rating scare you? Please, don’t let it. In a direct A/B with the 150 wpc Odyssey playing back the "Gladiator" soundtrack, the pedal was put to the metal just to see which amp would poop out first. The Monarchy was the more powerful amp, at least when powering the Osborn Epitome’s, and had no trouble taking the PBN KAS 4-ways to lease breaking levels. The manufacturer may say 50 wpc, but I say this amp with its all Class A operation, and absolutely no negative feedback, sounds closer to over 100 wpc than 50. Trust me on this. With 12 MOSFETS per channel and a 750 VA toroid for each side, this sucker can crank! Conclusion. The SE-160 retails for just under four thousand dollars, and at that price it is an absolute steal- really. And yet my sources say that the amp can be obtained for a pretty decent discount….the value just continues to climb with every dollar off. But some of you are wondering how this Monarchy did in the search for Eric and Cat? The vocals were captured realistically, though not with quite the startling realism of the Clayton amps. At the same time, I’m not sure that the Clayton comes out of the chute with the same explosiveness as the SE-160. But, to get everything out of the Monarchy, you’ll want to have a good loudspeaker. On the KAS from PBN, the SE-160 mono amps lengthened its lead over some of the other amps in this survey; amps like the Odyssey, the McCormack and the Sim Audio were noticeably behind the SE-160 on that fine speaker. Going to a less accomplished speaker such as the RBH SE-1266, the other amps made up some ground on the Monarchy, while not quite surpassing it. In other words, the better the loudspeaker, the better this amplifier sounds. As we go through this survey of power amplifiers, I think it important that you have a feeling of where these various amps stand in my estimation. Hence the following ranking. I’m not sure if I should do this, as for some reason, manufacturers and some readers take issue with an generally dislike rankings….but I’m going to do it anyway. What I am going to do then is give a top to bottom list of the amplifiers reviewed in the present survey without consideration to price. This will be a subjective endeavor regarding the overall performance of each amp, and if you generally disagree with my aural priorities, then you are going to disagree with this listing. But I understand that when writing about a group of products, most of which are pretty competitive with one another, the reviews may leave something to be desired when comparing one amp against all others. I hope this will help you understand where I stand, even though your mileage may vary. This rank will not include amps reviewed prior to this survey, though I would consider trying to put together an overall ranking if enough support from the readers arose. (I am including the amps in the catch-up issue.) Finally, as we progress and new amps are auditioned and reviewed
, they will be inserted onto the list, taking their place with the others.
What will this accomplish? Probably make all the manufacturers, save one,
mad at me and refuse to send product in the future – we’ll see.
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| Manufacturer's Note:
This SE-160, as its name implies, is actually a 160 Watt amplifier.
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