Monoprice Monolith Liquid Platinum Headphone Amplifier by Alex Cavalli

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by Vtory, Apr 4, 2018.

  1. Cellist88

    Cellist88 Friend

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    Gg well played Alex. Trusting that the amp will be good, can't see any other amp in the sub EC ZDS market beating it out. Looks like an end game amp for those who use headphones as a secondary way of listening. Great value. Where's @Luckbad when you need him?
     
  2. Vordhosbn

    Vordhosbn Acquaintance

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    WHOA!!!

    Take my moneys and run. But give me the amps first.
     
  3. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Those aesthetics are death. Hope the amp sounds good though. I might put it inside a cardboard box with cutouts for the IO.
     
  4. Vordhosbn

    Vordhosbn Acquaintance

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    I kinda like the Liquid Platinum design. It'll be interesting to see what the finished product looks like instead of just renderings.
     
  5. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Wasn’t the Spark originally a battery powered amp for $500 or something?
     
  6. Junki

    Junki Facebook Friend

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  7. Vordhosbn

    Vordhosbn Acquaintance

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    Maybe we'll see the Liquid Tungsten in some form? One can dream... ;)
     
  8. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Am I the only guy questioning Platinum's size?

    Even crimson was this large (see below)...

    [​IMG]

    .. now (presumably) doubled crimson in a smaller chassis?

    I am really wondering how LP resolves heat problems. The latest schiit chapter taught me that smaller footprint might be extremely challenging for tube amps..
     
  9. MrTie

    MrTie Friend

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    My guess is the size difference is in no small part to having an outboard PSU brick (36v/1amp) instead of in chassis.
     
  10. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Also the Liquid Crimson is mainly through-hole components. Using SMD can save a significant amount of real-estate. Not to mention it allows for automated assembly which reduces costs quite a bit.
     
  11. MarcusV123

    MarcusV123 Friend

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    I hope my post isn't taken as just someone schiit-stirring.

    But am I the only one wondering how much cost cutting is going into this product? The original crimson retailed for $2850(?). The estimated price for the platinum is much lower than that and I'm wondering if there is anything component wise that might have been changed to get the price as low as it is.

    Don't get me wrong, I would love to eventually hear from the more experienced members here that the platinum matches the performance of the crimson at a fraction of the price. It would make it possible endgame for me (at least head-amp-wise).

    But I'm reminded by impressions that the zdt Jr. is still no EC ZD and I cant help think this might also be the case with the platinum.
     
  12. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    There is a question of quality, especially coming form Massdrop. Hopefully with the name, it meets Alex's high standards.

    Monoprice can price way lower than Cavalli ever could by outsourcing production, using lesser quality parts where they can, and mass producing, which will always allow for lower price points.

    Plus there is no R&D cost! ;)
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2018
  13. Junki

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    This is one of those rare opportunities to do double blind listening tests when this unit comes out. How often do you see allegedly the same amp get a relaunch for a third of the cost?! Talk about doing all the work already with changing one variable and holding others constant.

    Price bias is massively strong in this hobby. It's already creeping in.
     
  14. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Don't discount enclosure costs as well. The Liquid Crimson had a thick milled front plate. Even the labels are milled whereas the Platinum probably has silk-screened labels. As ugly as the LP is, i dont mind as long as there's a big drop in price.
     
  15. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    I really despise when someone suggests double blind testing. 99.99% of the time is it impossible for the average person to do. Further, people rarely know what it actually means, nor do they know how to properly conduct one.

    @Junki - I'm not targeting you with this, it's just a broad statement to the community.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2018
  16. Junki

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    I'd be shocked if total COGS per unit of the original Crimson was much more than $100. Price points target market segments and are a function of volume. The original margins were such that there is plenty of room to produce this amp at $700 a pop without a drop in quality, because, being distributed by Monoprice, it'll so much more than make up for it in volume.
     
  17. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Calling @atomicbob

    It would be very interesting to see how the Platinum measures against the OG Crimson.
     
  18. Junki

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    Single blind testing then? Less confidence, but still worthwhile.
     
  19. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    I'm always going to remember this when someone says all DACs sound the same and blind testing proves it

    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/schiit-modi-2-uber-ak4490.2290/
     
  20. Junki

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    No worries, I didn't take it that way. I agree, double blind is a pain in the ass to conduct.
     

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