Monoprice Monolith Liquid Platinum Headphone Amplifier by Alex Cavalli

I advise that you temper your expectations. You'll be happier in the long run. Calm the hype...

 

Why yes, there is

 

First I have to admit that the casework on this amp looks like something you'd find in the electronics department at K-mart (yes, they do actually have an electronics department).

But with the lineage of the Crimson, this amp is rep'd very well. Add early reviews and comments from those who've heard it, @Hands , I may have to give this one a shot in early November (if that date holds).

Then there is also room for increased dividends with tube rolling and swapping an LPS. This is a pretty attractive release IMO.

 

Indeed. Pretty much the only hybrid amp I am thinking about trying out. Hoping for a clearly higher tier of performance compared to amps like MCTH / Lyr 3 / Sunrise III / Vali 2 / ... for still-affordable price (sub-1k USD).

 

Just noticed the "in stock" date changed to Monday 10.29 for the LP.

 

And now the date shows 11/25. Sounds like they really know what they're doing over there.

 

I have used Monoprice.com for various kinds of cables for many years, and they have always been very transparent about availability. It’s one of the reasons that I like them so much.

 

Mr. Cavalli updated the Platnium The on the other site, the amps are at the warehouse and will be up for sale on 11/1/18, not the 25th.

 

Pretty excited about this. I really like the MCHT with hd650, it's not technically spectacular but damn I enjoy listening to music with that combo. $699 USD for a balanced tube amplifier is pretty darn good, relatively speaking; the Mjo2 is $849 for comparison.

 

What do you mean by "the other site?" Normally "the other site" means Head-Fi, but are you saying there is another site that sells Liquid Platinum other than Monoprice?

Edit: sorry, now I see what you mean.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mon...-by-alex-cavalli.876406/page-23#post-14568097

 

Sorry, silly question, but what Acopian LPS did you order, and is it compatible both the upcoming LP as well as MCTH? I am really itching to go all in on the LP...

 

Acopian A36MT400. It is not compatible with the MCTH as the voltage requirements differ (28v for MCTH vs 36v for LP). If you're patient and keep an eye out there's a high likelihood you can catch one on eBay for a fraction of the cost of a new one. They're built to last.

 

Full specs are out.
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33305

Output impedance is low. But damn, almost 1w for balanced out. Hopefully 1w per channel, hopefully... 0.455w per channel is barely enough to wake the 650/6xx in my experience.

 

The DNA Sonett 2 outputs a meager 0.056W into 300ohm and makes the HD6** sound “woke af” (as the kids say). But that’s a conversation for another thread

 

They clearly fucked up the weight and dimensions of the unit. 7" high and only 271g LOL

 

True that. Somebody needs to edit their shit before they put it out there. Have you wife read it over or something.

I would expect that this amp despite the specs, will sound awesome sauce with the hd6x0. Hoping that it would have similar results with efficient planars.

 

Well there's something that you don't see everyday, a set measurements, way down at the bottom of the Description page.

 

The information at the top of the product page seems to indicate the specs listed below are per channel: "The Platinum features fully balanced/differential amplification with 3.6 watts per channel (balanced) into 50R load."

 

Well it's in stock. I can't afford a $1,000 CAD amp right now but hopefully some out there get to enjoy and post their impressions!

 

I've ordered. I always loved the Crimson, so I'm hoping the LP will be very close.