Monarchy Audio

I've been aware of Monarchy Audio for quite a while, but I've never heard any of their gear. They haven't always kept up with the trends of higher sample rates, DSD, and the like. That's kinda refreshing. The owner is nearing retirement and I wanted to try something of theirs before they became scarce.

I contacted C.C. Poon and discovered that he has a design for an 18C, the follow-up to the 18B he started building close to 20 years ago.

I was able to pick up an 18B that is built to 18C spec minus the line amp and had him upgrade the volume control as well.

It uses AD1860 chips, which I'm excited to hear because my currently-favored AD1862 is basically two of those in one chip. It has no USB input, is limited to Redbook, and really has no other frills except for being a DAC with volume control.

It should be here tomorrow. In the interim, I sold one of my Atlantis DACs to cover the cost of the Monarchy (and force myself to use it). Will it hold up? We'll see. I'm expecting to end up selling off or returning the Monarchy 18B and getting another Atlantis, to be honest, but I've been surprised before.


The Reborn M18 DAC

• Balanced (AES/EBU) and RCA digital and Optical inputs
• Resistor-ladder type Multi-bit D/A converter in dual mono
• "Straight-Wire" Type (GIC) filter with no phase shift
• High Current analog output stage with DC servo direct coupling
• Distortion-Free Passive Volume Control
• Separate digital and analog transformers
• Volume Control directly drives Power Amp, eliminating Line Stage and Interconnect
• High quality construction
• Smoked Silver Front Panel with 24K Gold Knob
• Superior Sound Quality

 

I owned a Monarchy NM24 (dual 1704UK) for nearly five years before I sold it in favor of the Audio GD Master 7. I really loved that dac. I have never heard the 18 but I did hear the 33B and that was damn good. I also heard good things about the 22B.

 

First impressions are surprisingly good. At such a good price for a USA made, huge, volume-controlled DAC, I didn't expect as much out of it as I'm getting.

I'm not sure if I'll direct A/B the Monarchy 18B and the Atlantis this weekend or not. I had him install a super nice 24 step volume in it which necessitated a machined steel knob... and of course after the extra expense I'm using the fixed output.

I'm using the Mutec MC-3+USB into the Monarchy 18B via AES.

It's limited to 44.1 and 48kHz, so I'm downsampling the few files of higher sample rate that I usually listen to in JRiver.

I wasn't confident that I'd enjoy a non-NOS again, but this baby really is musical. It uses AD1860 chips as opposed to the AD1862 I have in the Atlantis (which are basically two AD1860 in one chip). I talked to Mr. Poon about piggybacking the AD1860s for me, but he said he tried it and was able to get better sound out of a single chip (he was one of the original piggybackers for the PCM63 back in the day).

No tubes and it has 8x oversampling baked in, but it has a wonderful organic and musical sound to it anyway.

As you can see below the ampsandsound Mogwai (those are KT88 tubes for reference), it's a 14 lb monster.

And you can get it for $490 + shipping! I added a $100 volume control upgrade and had to pay sales tax because we're both in California, but still...

Best R-2R DAC to get started with? Maybe. With no USB input (did I mention that?), you need a USB -> S/P-DIF converter (unless you can output in TOSLINK, Coax, or AES).

It's miles more enjoyable to me than the Schiit Bifrost Multibit, and can already tell you that its more organic and slightly thicker presentation is more to my taste than the Soekris dac1101.

That said, you can get yourself into an MHDT Labs Atlantis for a similar price and it has USB and 192kHz capability, but that is a NOS tube dac and won't be for everyone.

Really surprisingly great so far. The ultimate test will be directly comparing it to the Atlantis, perhaps after work tomorrow.



For anyone wondering, those are JJ KT88 tubes and a GE 7F7 tube with an adapter.

 

I'm directly comparing this to an Atlantis right now. I say an Atlantis because, though I sold one of mine to @TooPoor, I already have another.

I had a secret project going that I'll talk more about later with a friend to upgrade the balls out of an Atlantis. I don't have the final list of components yet, otherwise I'd be talking about it a lot more.

Anyway...

The Monarchy essentially holds its own, and would be the preferred DAC of the two for many folks. It's a little more in-your-face of a sound, largely because it does 8x oversampling. The soundstage is also less deep front to back than the Atlantis.

That said, it has all of the sexiness of an R-2R DAC.

No grain, no harshness, organic musicality.

I'm keeping it around for now, but I will probably end up sending it back (and eating the 10% restocking fee). I still prefer the Atlantis slightly in tonality depending on the tube (the Monarchy 18B beats the Atlantis with several tubes--probably all but the GE Triple Mica, 6N3P-DR, and Tesla for me). The Atlantis is also non-oversampling and rolls the highs a bit more, which I actually like.

And... it's way smaller, has USB input in a pinch, and can handle 192kHz input.

Depending on how funds look and whether I find a good PCM63 DAC to try out and other factors, I might end up keeping it around anyway. The 18B is a truly legit DAC and is a great price.

 

Hello everyone. I would like to chime in on the model 18b dac. I purchased mine about a month ago directly from monarchy audio after numerous emails back and forth with with owner C.C Poon. His communication and answering questions I had were top notch. I had been doing research on purchasing an R2R dac for about 6 month's. I thought I had my mind made up several times between a dac from audio-gd and MHDT labs, but something else in my research always caught my eye. I stumbled upon Monarchy Audio in a thread in a different forum. I felt stupid from being a long time lurker in forum's and never hearing about the company before. Besides the company is about 40 miles north from me in South San Francisco. After drooling on there website for over a week I contacted C.C Poon, and our conversation started. Two weeks later I purchased the model 18b dac. 3 days later it arrived by UPS. Even though I am local, that is fast. As said before in other review's this dac is heavy. A good sign of build quality. First and foremost I am a CD guy. This dac in my opinion mates beautifuly with Redbook resolution. My CD collection and current headphone rig consisting of a tube preamp and tube headphone amp was taken to a whole different level. I was amazed and couldn't stop smiling. The sound stage was deeper. Bass was significantly more prominent. The emotional experience with me and my Jazz CD's was like meeting and old friend from the first time again. I absolutely love this dac. Top shelf products and top notch customer service. I have since also bought a monarchy audio DIP Classic reclocker. My audio experience has never been better. If someone is reading this thread, and is in the same situation I was in. You can't go wrong with Monarchy Audio for all the reasons I have given. Sometimes in the search for better gear we forget the reason why we are hear to begin with. THE MUSIC. It's all about the music. Thanks to everyone who have helped me in my audio journey that is far from over.

 

If I limited my listening to Redbook, I could certainly be happy with the 18B for the long haul. It's a great DAC at a great price.

It's very nearly as good as the MHDT Labs Atlantis for hundreds less (priced much closer if you don't have a transport). Plus if you need the preamp functionality, that works quite well in its favor.

The AD1862 in the Atlantis is basically the 20-bit version of the AD1860 in the Monarchy 18B.

 

I know, and have heard all the limitations of Redbook. I have no interest in computer audio. There is just something about the CD format that I love. My digital front end complemented with my analog tube backend sounds wonderful. I almost pulled the trigger on an MHDT Atlantis. I am a tube guy but I love my model 18b dac. Lately I have bern lusting on a another tube headphone amp

 

On the basis of my fondness for older Theta DACs, I was advised to check out Monarchy Audio, which I'd not heard of before. I contact C.C. Poon and he indicated to me that they didn't have any of the older DACs like the 22 or 18 anymore. I am not keen to shell out full price on a new NM24 (out of my price range) - any idea where the older DACS can be had?