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. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Older HFMs are going to be pickier with amps, even if the HE-500 isn't particularly infamous for this. I've tried a couple other planars, one with flat bass-through-mids, without issue.

    Otherwise, are you using stock tubes? They are relatively neutral but definitely need a fair amount of burn-in time. If after that you still feel the mid-bass thin, carefully pursue NOS tubes.

    I got some Amperex A-frames and was surprised how much the LP changed. Noticeably bassier, thicker, warmer, etc. Perhaps too much of a good thing, actually. So, while I'm not saying those are the tubes to get, just goes to show a smart purchase of older tubes can easily dial you in to where you want to be.
     
  2. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    This was my initial impression of my Amperex A-frames, but after 20 hours or so they really settled in. Clear and neutral-ish, but with the added warmth I was seeking over the stock tubes.

    Of course, not all Amperex A-frames are made equal...
     
  3. lcmusiclover

    lcmusiclover Friend

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    I got some of that listening to Ether 2 with stock tubes, but not so much with Siemens E88CCs. Note that I'm running balanced.

    Also, at least some impressions have said the same about Ether 2 (thin mid-bass) from other amps, but I would have called it more linear with a lack of mid-bass boost.

    I don't hear it from Utopia, or especially from Auteur, which might confirm your comment about pairings, although I don't think either of those would be described as having boosted mid-bass.

    So, in reality, the tl,dr for this post might be:

    I guess @lcmusiclover likes thin mid-bass :D

    Or maybe:

    Your ears, my ears ;)
     
  4. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    everyone please celebrate this Historic posting on SBAF! from Hands even.
    lesson learned: even warm poo has limits.
     
  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    You are rambling and full of shit. I know many many many many many sound engineers who not only put shit together, but actually do the work. We are talking about feature films and premium television content. I've seen all sorts of interfaces, DACs, amps, and computers. No one gives a shit about the timbre of color boxes, operating systems, brands, etc. These things are merely tools. A good sound engineer who knows his tools can deliver an outstanding product, whether it be Burl, Solaris, RME, etc. It's the man, not the machine.

    Just because someone doesn't use your favored gear doesn't mean they cannot nail down the timbre and tone properly. I'm talking about sound houses that have won Golden Globes and Oscars. Sure they are popularity contests to a large extent, but so is the NFL Pro Bowl. The technical awards are less popularity contests anyway because the voting is from peers. Bottom line: the people who have done this for decades for a living and have won peer awards know more than you.

    I wouldn't dare to comment on the "IMO shitty" DACs and "IMO shitty" amps that I see racked up in machine rooms of these sound houses. A lot of places run affordable "shit" gear that wouldn't meet members' hifi standards. You have to when you have half a dozen mixing rooms and two sound stages doing multi-channel work. On occasion, I might throw a compliment when I see some high-end monitors, speakers, consoles, or boutique pro-DACs (e.g. Forrsell - which might be too softpoo for you, etc.).

    You are an idiot with a laptop giving advice about system stability and tone&timbre to people who do this for a living using dedicated workstations, consoles, and AoIP (which is everywhere now because no more bundle of 14 cables).

    Stay in your lane - because I stay in my lane too.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2019
  6. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    @Hands is often misunderstood in his tastes and labeled as a warmpoo seeker by old simpletons.
     
  7. Mithrandir41

    Mithrandir41 Friend

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    @Hands also speaks in the third person when rejecting nebulous criticism.
     
  8. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

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    I typed up a bunch of shit in response to you but deleted it as it was just more rambling and I don't care about all that or to say anything harsh. Sorry for the tonedeaf idiocy in what I wrote. I don't think I had my caffeine when I wrote that or was trying to cut back on booze and coffee. Consumers can't give a shit anyway as they have to accept it. Nobody ever rejected great music due to what gear was used on the recording. I actually really like old Yamaha digital consoles (02R and 01V) with all their crap as they just work. Some of the stuff on it sounding cool and not like crap is a bonus. Only internet audiophiles would ever not listen to great music due to disliking the gear used to make it.

    I'm actually taking @atomicbob 's (and a few other people's) advice and just going to buy a more stable interface eventually. Not even sure I will keep the Source then despite loving the sound as it will have redundant features. I just haven't responded yet as I intended to make a new thread, which I will do in a bit. Thanks atomicbob.

    What I really want to know is why movie mixes have gotten really f'ing annoying over the past decade? Lately when I've been dragged to the movies to watch whatever talked about morality play or tensionless blockbuster movie (this movie I just saw where Denzel kills Russians with a nailgun in Home Depot is a better watch than almost all this acclaimed crap) half the time the mixing has been so annoying I'd rather have an old school mono soundtrack with all dubbed dialogue. What's up with this inaudible dialogue, random bassy gunshots, and engine roars cranked up to ear ringing levels?
     
  9. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Avoid the blockbusters if you want good sound. Though Rogue One was deserving. If you stay through the credits you'll eventually know which houses do good work. I find it's usually the 20-40M budget films where the producers and directors care that fare best with sound mixing.
     
  10. AudioFriend

    AudioFriend Facebook Friend

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    Until this part of his post I was afraid that Psalm had been lobotomized, or at least seriously sick. I'm still not sure that he's completely healthy because I haven't learned any new swear-word from this post :)

    Anyway, the soundtracks get worse for the same reason that everything else: money. While there is someone who is ready to do the "same" work for less, the producers will choose them. Especially if the audience doesn't seem to care.
    This, or it's because the sound engineers use wrong OS and digital volume control :D
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2019
  11. nickwin

    nickwin Acquaintance

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    Awesome, interested to hear what you think. I do have a balanced cable I plan on using, but Im just trying to get a baseline with SE and stock tubes first. Plus using the SE cable makes switching back and fourth between the Lyr easier.

    @Hands this observation was based on the stock tubes. It looks like they are shipping these with a couple different vintage EH tubes, this time I got the star shaped plate ones. Not sure if there would be any audible difference. They have ~40hrs on them. I do have a pair of nice Amperex PQs but like I said above, just trying to get a baseline with the stock tubes first.

    I honestly haven't decided if what Im hearing is a detriment or not, all I know for sure at this point is there is less mid-bass emphasis and slam than Im used to. If all I used before this was the Lyr 1 I would say Im just used to a bloomy mid-bass with a ton of slam, but I also use a lot of relatively neutral IEMs and speakers so I don't think thats necessarily the whole story (but its probably a factor). My ears are still adjusting...

    @lcmusiclover interesting, hopefully my NOS tubes will push the tonality in the right direction.
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2019
  12. ChaChaRealSmooth

    ChaChaRealSmooth SBAF's Mr. Bean

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    I would try the Liquid Platinum balanced out first. It's a balanced design and IMO is way worse with the SE out.

    I'm really curious to see if the tubes will change things up for you; I've been referencing back to earlier posts since I'm thinking about rolling a few tubes (but honestly I have no idea what I'm doing).
     
  13. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    If nothing else, the balanced option will give the HE-500s more power, which is something they don't mind having.
     
  14. lcmusiclover

    lcmusiclover Friend

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    Interesting, did you mean ‘different vintage’ as in different models, or different ‘vintage’ as in produced in different years? My stock tubes are clearly new production. What appear to be date codes say ‘18 04’.
     
  15. nickwin

    nickwin Acquaintance

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    @lcmusiclover "Vintage" as in production date. I guess Im not really sure but I believe they are the same model from different dates. When I got two different tubes one had a rectangular plate with a date code '17 xx' (I don't remember the last two digits) and one with a star shaped plate with date code '18 xx'. As far as I could tell they were the same model, all of the other markings were the same. The replacement LP came with two matching star plate tubes with '18 xx' date codes. I don't know how many people are getting the rectangle ones (if any) but Ive noticed them in numerous pictures of the LP.
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2019
  16. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    18 05 matching star plates came with mine.
     
  17. ML777

    ML777 New

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    My first LP came with two visually different EH tubes like you described (one star pattern, the other smooth). The replacement LP that I received last week had matching star plate tubes with an 18 04 date stamp.

    For the record, I couldn't hear a difference between the mismatched tubes when i had them. I wonder if it was an early production run that shipped with these mix and match tubes. One other person on head-fi mentioned the same but haven't heard of anyone new reports since then.
     
  18. atomicbob

    atomicbob dScope Yoda

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    I wouldn't let go of DM Source so easily. Suppose you went the route of a Dante system for your project studio. There are Dante AES bridges from Digimedia and RDL that don't cost too much. You will need Audinate VSC but it's around $30 US. Now having rid yourself of the USB scourge, DM Source will still provide the sound you have come to enjoy while serving important routing and monitoring management functions.

    When time permits I will be testing 16 in and 16 out via VSC and Rednet D16R on a Dell Latitude E7470 laptop.

    And as a final note, try a Liquid Platinum with the balanced outs from DM Source. I think you might be somewhat impressed.
     
  19. Greg121986

    Greg121986 Almost "Made"

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    I just received mine from MP. As per usual, their shipping is trash and they should be ridiculed for it. No listening impressions yet since I'm just getting started. I paid the new price because I am impatient. I had my eye on this awhile back when it came out and I never bothered to follow its progress so I just went ahead and snarfed it up while it was in stock. I like looking at pictures, so here are a lot of them. https://imgur.com/a/MCaKSUQ

    MP ships this in a box that is too large and has an inadequate amount of dunnage. Shame on them. Thankfully, the packaging of the amp itself is well done. My thoughts mimic those who have chimed in already on the subject. The amp comes in a cute little bag which I was not expecting so that's nice. Once you get over how few shits Monoprice shipping staff gives about putting the amp into a shipping box, you should be happy when you open the retail box and gaze upon the place where your money was actually used.

    The fit and finish of the amp is excellent. It does not photograph well, so you shouldn't worry about the Playskool appearance that you see on the Monoprice website. It is not audiophile jewelry. This is for the best because it is designed to sound good and perform its function. It serves to reinforce its proposition as a high value, high performance product that they were able to assemble it to high standards while still making it present well. The Alex Cavalli name and logo is exceptionally well done on the top cover. I dig it.
     
  20. TheloniuSnoop

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    I thought I'd jump in with an observation about the XLR vs RCA inputs. My source is an Yggdrasil which has both outputs. I connected both to the LP, and can say I hear no difference between the two as I switch between them during a song. FWIW

    I'm also going to be putting my attenuator that I posted pix of in post #462 on page 24 for sale on HF.
    (Can't sell here. No love for piano playin' dogs.)
     

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