NM24User CommentsNM24 vs. Benchmark Dear Mr. Poon, I finally got the NM24 about three hours ago and eagerly installed it in my system! My anticipation for it has been great together with a big sense of curiosity and "buyer's remorse" about not having chosen competitive equipment from Benchmark and PS Audio. From these units I have only had the Benchmark USB in my system but three things made me not to buy it at the time: The first reason was the fact that in using it as a headphone amp it limits the user into only listening to CDs. I am an avid LP collector and a big part of my listening is from LPs. The second and more serious reason of not going with the Benchmark was its sound! Despite all the hoopla going around (it seems that people run after "hoopla" like sheep in a herd) I found the sound disappointing for my taste. Yes, it did extend the music extremes over my CD player but the sound sounded too analytical with my present stereo setup. By the way I lived with the unit for about a month so I did have all the time to play with it. One last issue thing I had with the benchmark is the size and built quality of the thing...Too light and diminutive for its price! This for me is a purely psychological issue and it has nothing to do with a unit's sound quality but ...still it affects my way of perceiving the gear... Now back to the NM24! When UPS left it at my door and I picked it up I got a BIG surprise from the weight of the box! It is heavier than a lot of small receivers! When I opened the box the SECOND surprise was its looks! Understatedly gorgeous! Nothing pretentious but still elegant. I give it A+ for its looks alone (again this is MY taste, it may not be everyone's cup of tea). The final and biggest surprise came as soon as I started it up! Last night I went through and found my "nastiest" sounding CDs form the early 80s just to see what would happen! In a nutshell this thing SINGS! My "Madness" CD is one of my favorites but it sounds thin and shrill at times. With the NM24, even with the unit still cold out of the box, this CD took on a life of its own! As the NM24 warmed up the sound became warmer, melodical and enticing! About 30 minutes ago I started playing a little with better sounding CDs and the sound over my CD player is just so much better I can hardly believe my ears. Diana Krall never sounded better in any of the systems I have had over the past 15 years. Sawn Colvin sounds as if she is in the room with me right now. The bass is extended and natural sounding. The highs sound so airy it is like I am dreaming! And all this in a few of hours of listening. I am really looking forward for my evening listening session with the unit well warmed up. All my 'buyer's remorse" is gone just by the sound alone. Still, with the built in amp I can use my headphones with my precious LPs and (yes!) tapes. Still, I have not listened to the headphones critically because I am too busy listing to the speakers. I doubt I will sleep too much tonight! Thanks for a great prod cut at an unbelievable price. Please feel free to use this mail anyway you can Mr Poon! It has been a real pleasure doing business with you. PS: I will be placing an order for the DIP combo and the speaker cables in a while. I am a new believer in Monarchy Audio.
To: Poon Monarchy audio <monarchy@earthlink.net> Hello sir Poon I start this e-mail by thanking you for advising me the Mundorf silver oil capacitors, and for helping me installed them. I have done a lot of upgrades, as audiophile. But the Mundorf Capacitors silver oil upgrade is the most efficient, ever. Thank you very much for your help. Sir Poon, I should have listened to you years ago when you told me, not to use the M24 just as a DAC. You told me to use it as a preamp.But I have been using, all the time my Legendary Conrad-Johnson PV9A Preamplifier and the M24 as a DAC. My musical life has changed since I remembered (after you helped me install the Mundorf caps) that you told me years ago to use the M24 as DAC/PREAMP. So, after the Mundorf caps were installed, I listened to the music and I was not too happy. Because after we spoke about the Mundorf silver oil caps, I went over the internet and read about these capacitors. But after you helped me installed them, what I was gaining, as improvement, was not really convincing. I was still using that time, the Conrad-Johnson Pv9 as my preamplifier and the M24 as the DAC. (Please for those who don't know the Conrad-Johnson PV9 preamp, read the reviews about it). And I remembered that Mr Poon told me once to use the M24 a DAC/PREAMP. I decided then to remove my lovely Conrad-Johnson Pv9 (I told myself, I would never quit that preamp) then I connected the M24 as a preamplifier directly to my BRYSTON power amplifier 4 SST.......That was it......Everything changed at that point. The music was transparent, open, airy, clear. The sound stage was far more spacious than it used to be. Everything (cymbals, strings, drums) went higher in details. The bass was so deep, I have now to turn off my subwoofer from time to time. I have immediately put the conrad-johson PV9 on sale and it is sold by now. I never thought the Mundorf caps will be so active to make me quit my Conrad-johson. Just unbelievable. All my CDs, from Beegie Adair (embraceable you), Misterioso(K.Burrell etc), Back to back(Duke Ellington)Diana reeves(quet after the storm), Louis Armstrong/Duke E.(the master takes), Verse ( Patricia Barber), Sugar (S. Turrentine) Art Blakey, Joe Sample, Diana Krall, Ben webster, sound with incredible details. even my old Dire strait(brother in arms) and Dave Brubeck (take 5 )and shirley Horn(the main ingredient), the best of Montgomery etc, everything has now details I had never heard before. The Mundorf caps were all My stereo system needed to come alive, and right now the M24 with this capacitors, could compete with any tube preamp $8,000 and even more. This is not a joke. I'm reiterating my appreciation and gratitude to Mr Poon for making me know about the Mundorf silver oil capacitors. As I said, I made a few upgrades, in cables, tubes, etc, (check equipments listed bellow). But this one with the Mundorf capacitors is the most revealing. I'm staying with them. Thus, they say the Mundorf capacitors are rated at 1200V which means they take longer to break-in than average 200V-600V capacitors. I do believe in break-in. Right now, I don't have a 1/4 of the breaking, and I'm happy with what I'm getting. so there is more yet to come. Thank you very very much again for your help and advises. Sincerely yours, Raoul Mr. Poon, But… after reading all the reviews and comments, both hear and on other forums, of how the sound produced by the M24 exceeded that produced by most other digital players, and was equivalent to the best analog and digital systems costing as much as $17,000 – I was seduced into giving the M24 an audition. Skeptical though I was… it took the M24 about 3 weeks to convince me that all those claims by other reviewers and commentators were… absolutely, 100% correct! Although… it was clearly obvious "right out of the box" that the M24 produced exceptional sound – with great extension, soundstage, bass, mids and highs… but, with simply incredible presence and a textured, organic, weighty sound that is hard to imagine could be produced by such a modestly priced DAC. I guess what struck me as most amazing… is how it literally transformed my Sennheiser HD650 headphones into "World Class" headphones. The HD650's, are known to be a bit too dark and warm, without the fast, bright, detailed, clear highs of several other headphones (e.g. Grados, ATH's, etc.) – being overly dominated by their bass and lower mids – and… very hard to drive to their full potential. But… the M24 quite literally "wakes them up" – bringing out their upper mids and highs and making them seem much brighter, clearer and more detailed than other DAC's do. I had often read that the HD650's "scaled up" well with much more expensive equipment – well… it's true, even with some modestly priced equipment like the M24. I have no idea, what the M24 provides, that others don't, that makes them perform, but it clearly does. In fact some have suggested… it brings the HD650's to the level of the one, or two best headphones available (e.g. Senn Orpheus HE90 / HE60, AKG K1000, Sony R10, ATH L3000, etc.). And… of course it excels with my other headphones as well – Sennheiser HD600's, Grado RS-1's, and ATH AD-2000's. I will never allow myself to spend $17,000 on any DAC, or any piece of audio equipment, or a lot less quite frankly… so… it's a pleasant surprise to find that I really don't have to. "Suffice it to say," I won't be looking any further for a great, value-priced DAC – I finally have a truly "World-class" DAC right here in my rack! R C Albin Upgrade NM24 Thank you for the Svetlana tubes. My initial impressions: the tubes haven't had a chance to "break in" yet, but they seem very detailed and open sounding; I head things in the music I was not aware of before, and there is a "thrilling quality" to the sound. I will have to see if they are "too bright" for my system, but they seem better than the Phillips stock tubes. And by the way, I am absolutely happy with the DAC... since I got it I have replaced your stock tubes with Tesla E88CC 1970s NOS tubes in the DAC section and with Amperex 6922 "pinched waist" tubes for the pre-amp section. Compared to the original Philips tubes, the Svetlana tubes sound more detailed, "airy," three-dimensional, and much more dynamic. The sound stage is MUCH wider and deeper, as well. When I went back to the Philips tubes, the sound seemed "dull" and flat. Overall, for me, the difference is very obvious. I will have to live with the Svetlanas for a few days and listen to a variety of music and let them break in--then I'll be able to tell if the sound is not too "bright" to my taste (and for my system). I'll also let a friend of mine who also has a Monarchy DAC try them and see what he thinks with his system. I'll send you an update. Hello Mr. Poon, How long do the tubes last on average? What tubes would you consider to be a step up from the stock tubes which by the way,are fantastic? Can I purchase tubes from you? How many hours on average does it take for burn-in for the NM24? Thank you again. Regards. Reply: If you can find some Telefunkun or Siemens ECC88(made in Germany) , you might experience better sound.but a pastor in the Chicago area said he had to pay $500 for two Telefunkun tubes from Europe to install into the M24. I don't think it's worth the investment. Because for the same amount, you could get a brand newAC-Regenerator from us, that will elevate the NM24 to a higher level, plus giving you good protectionagainst AC line surges or other RF interferences. The AC-Regen normally sells for $850. Many thanks for supporting Monarchy Audio products. I am enjoying the M24 very much, thank you. I had an unusual chance to compare it directly to an mhdt Havana, and although both have different strengths, I enjoy the M24 more - it is clear as rainwater and creates a more believable experience of people really playing instruments - the Havana is a bit fuller in the midrange which is very pretty, but in the end, not quite my cup of tea. Again, my thanks for making such an affordable product that sounds this good. I've been doing digital since the early 90's, and I would never have thought back then that redbood CDs could sound this good for any money, much less the amount I spent on this DAC. For example, I once owned a Classe CDP1, which used their then-touted-as-the-best DAC with a superb transport in one box. It was good. But it was still digital - mushy bass, digital "goo" stuck to all the instruments, brittle transients, etc. - all of which are pretty much gone with the 24. The biggest thing for me is that the digital lethargy of many mediocre recordings is gone - the recording may still stink, but the 24 has a way of letting you listen around it and hear people playing real instruments. Very nice, indeed. J. Kugler – Kennebuck, ME The monarchy model 24 is one of the Finest dac's that I have ever heard. It competes with cost no object dac's. The preamp section is also way up there. What CC has proven, is that there is a lot of chutzpa in the world of digital. A feather in your cap CC. Regards Ezra Thanks for your letter, I appreciate it. I will certainly "play" with the 24 over time, including tubes. I already have a PS audio power regenerator, so although yours is likely better, I won't need it for now. I will say the DAC is sensitive to it (and a decent power cord) and is much better with both. I will save up for the combination DIP. Again, my thanks for making such an affordable product that sounds this good. I've been doing digital since the early 90's, and I would never have thought back then that Redbook CDs could sound this good for any money, much less the amount I spent on this DAC. For example, I once owned a Classe CDP1, which used their then-touted-as-the-best DAC with a superb transport in one box. It was good. But it was still digital - mushy bass, digital "goo" stuck to all the instruments, brittle transients, etc. - all of which are pretty much gone with the 24. The biggest thing for me is that the digital lethargy of many mediocre recordings is gone - the recording may still stink, but the 24 has a way of letting you listen around it and hear people playing real instruments. Very nice, indeed. Thanks for your comments. If you could let me know about the Wimas at your convenience, I'd appreciate it. Mr. Poon: Anyway, feeding the DAC into my integrated amp, I find a lack of gain (the Rogue Tempest only has a passive preamp). Although I do like the preamp in the M24, it does tend to lose a bit of the "clearness" the DAC alone gives me. I am thinking that maybe a DIP would cure this - that is, that I would get enough additional gain from the DIP to the DAC that I could run it directly to the amp without this gain problem. If you think that is right, then I need to choose the right DIP. I am not a fan of upsampling really, but then again, I've not heard yours. You told me that you have a new version of the standard DIP - can you maybe help me choose which one you think I should buy. If it is any help, my system is a bit forward sounding and is a bit prone to "digititis." I will await your response, and thanks for making such a wonderful product at this price point - unbelievable! John I have used the NM-24 DAC in my audio system for almost 3 weeks now, replacing a very capable MSB Link 3 I had for 6 years. As I listen to old and new CD's, DVD's and Blu-Ray discs, I continue to be amazed at how much enjoyment it wrings out of them. It is more transparent than the old DAC. I hear things I didn't before. The soundstage is better. It's highly musical. I find myself forgetting about the equipment much more and getting into the performance. And isn't that what it's all about? I prefer the solid state setting best; more transparent and less distortion. It's a bonus to be able to press the button and hear a tube DAC. Maybe I'll prefer it later on certain recordings. Thank you Mr. Poon and company for a wonderful product an average Joe like me can afford. Hello Mr. Poon, How long do the tubes last on average? What tubes would you consider to be a step up from the stock tubes which by the way,are fantastic? Can I purchase tubes from you? How many hours on average does it take for burn-in for the NM24? Thank you again. Regards.
Your 48/96 Upsampler has made me a believer in you and your products and I
presently have the Musical Fidelity DAC and Power Supply for sale on Audiogon so
I can purchase the NM24. I would just like to gain a greater understanding of
your NM24 and the difference in Sound that I can expect from it compared to what
I presently have. The newer version, for 24/96 sampling, is Burr Brown's PCM1704, also a
staircase technology. And if you have read more of the professional reviews (on other DAC's) you will find that reviewers prefer the wider
dynamics of staircase DAC's rather than the Delta-Sigma type. (If you are technically oriented I will try to dig out a paper that discusses the virtues of staircase converters in technical terms) And I think the 96 versus 192 sampling is a numbers game. You can buy many 24/192 DVD players for less than a hundred dollars Dear Mr. Poon, It was a pleasure to see you again. As you know, I have been a fan of your M24 DAC, but your "new" version is absolutely what I needed: a separate sub-woofer output. I noticed that in the previous version (without the solid-state DAC output), if I used the tube DAC output while also using the pre-amp out for the main speakers, the pre-amp output suffered some degradation (I am guessing that having both outputs of the DAC and the pre-amp used at the same time caused some impedance problems?). With the solid-state output connected to my amp/sub-woofer and the pre-amp output connected to my main amp/speakers, the sound is incredibly detailed, clear, warm, and "present." The sound-stage is deep and wide, and the bass is clean and powerful, while the high frequencies are smooth and open.In short, my system has never sounded better. I truly appreciate the high quality and affordability of your M24 DAC. Thank you. Sincerely, Eli Hollander
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