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. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Well I hope I can get in on the loaner tour because based on my initial experience with the LP, if the mod removed or thinned out the engaging nature of the mids, that would be a swing and a miss for me, and I won’t really know unless I hear a modded unit to compare.
     
  2. Inoculator

    Inoculator Friend

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    Loaner tour with the ability to compare side by side would be ideal. I am just going off of about a year of memory regularly listening to the LP for my comparison, but Verite are still relatively new to me, and I have been listening to speakers for the last month...so my quick impressions may be a bit off.

    I would say the mid lushness reduction is like a 5-10% difference type scenario, not a complete deal-breaker. (I also still think this may be a tube synergy mismatch post-mod). The bonus you get is significantly more natural/accurate vocal presentation. Things feel breathier and more real for sure. After a month of listening to my LS3/5a monitors almost exclusively, which I would consider some of the most natural vocals I have experienced, I was left very satisfied and impressed by the Verite+modded LP mid presentation. I appreciated that it is a bit less shouty than nearfield with these little BBC monitors.

    I would agree with the way @Ksorota put it in regards to separation as well. When I did my Mjolnir 2 vs LP shootout I noted that the MJ2 really puts in you a space in the audience, while the LP seems to really put you in the center of a recording. Not a bad soundstage stock, just acutely aware you are listening to a recording. Post mod you get more of that live music presentation sense. Placement and separation is just so much better and less congested.

    All that being said, if you already have a SS or other amp that does a lot of these things well that you enjoy, keeping the LP stock is a nice captivating counterpoint.

    My buddy who did the mod that is a golden ears type noted that the bifrost 2 was a wonderful pairing as well, enough so that he immediately bought an LP of his own to mod after doing mine. I am may eventually have to see if it has better synergy than my Gungnir Multibit with the modded LP. Might help tame some of the extra dryness post-mod.
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2020
  3. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    The only real mod I'd be interested in for the LP would be one that makes it so using a linear power supply became safe. I tried it with one and it's much better than any cap mod is going to achieve.
     
  4. Ksorota

    Ksorota Friend

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  5. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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  6. Baten

    Baten Friend

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    Currently priced cheaper than their open box of the same thing, lol :)
     
  7. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    I pulled the trigger at that price, won't lose much cash if I don't like it and need to sell. And we'll see how it stacks up vs the v280 when that one rolls in.
     
  8. Sqveak

    Sqveak Friend

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    Make sure to take the time to let the components settle in. The burn in is real on the stock tubes as they are new production and the amp really does get better in the first few weeks of use. Mine sounded technically competent but slightly bloated and slightly lacking some grip when it was fresh out of the box. It also started off with some treble grain that smoothed out quite quickly. Please note that I use it with an LCD-2C exclusively via the balanced output.

    Don't over think it. No silly rituals required. Just play your music, watch your movies, remember to take breaks from your netflix binge :p

    As an aside. I read your intro post and checked your profile page. Neither mentioned what equipment you are using. Adding your gear list to your profile and your current set up in your signature would be help a lot for people to understand where you are coming from.
     
  9. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    OK gear list added :)

    We will see, this will be replacing a headamp that did the job but was not ideal in all ways.
     
  10. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I convinced Monoprice to refund me the difference in the sale price on the LP. I’m very happy with their customer service and even more happy with their sale pricing!
     
  11. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Their customer service is good.

    When my early LP died all of a sudden they arranged for shipping it back to them and shipped me a new recent one as soon as I dropped the return off to FedEx.
     
  12. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    I ordered one of these but I do get worried that so many people have reported they died
     
  13. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    The only failures I am aware of (aside from the very early first run) are related to changing the power supply to an LPS. The cap doesn't discharge quickly enough and that fries the little switching mosfet circuit Alex used for the standby mode
     
  14. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I think at least one person had an issue when they plugged the power cord into the outlet first, then into the amp. Always plug the power cord into the amp first, then the outlet.
     
  15. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    Oh well this is great. The unit came in switched on out of the box and I couldn't tell until after I plugged in as its a pushbutton and not switch. Given what I read from atomic bob a "cold start" can damage the amp what are the signs of damage? Volume was at 0 and nothing being input (dac off), so I assume all is fine.

    First impressions with zero burn in I like it enough to consider canceling my v280 order - sound is exactly what I was looking for out of HD820 even w/ stock tubes not burned in, better than unit it replaced; artfully handled (but not obliterated) treble and nice punch. good synergy w/ MX-DAC. headphone jack seems super tight tho, like I gotta hold the unit and rip out the plug. XLR plugs seem kind of shite, or at least not neutrik. Hopefully it will loosen up over time. Looking forward to tube burn in time. I am completely fine w/ the volume knob and its sensitivity in the unit I got btw.

    edit: i just canceled my v280 order. I like the form factor of the LP a lot better too, would have been a pain to try and cram the v280 on my desk. I am really shocked, I thought the LP was gonna be "meh" but even with minimal burn in, real good sound. Gets hot tho, hope my DAC its stacked on can handle the heat :eek:
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2020
  16. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    If your amp powered up and is reproducing sound without obvious distortion, you likely did not damage the amp with the accidental cold start. Glad you’re liking it! It is impressive at first but definitely gets better with burn in.
     
  17. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    I still don't really understand why its an issue to begin with. Couldn't they have engineered the unit default to a "standby" mode (tubes off) when plugged in and made the main switch a soft "on" that begins the startup process? Given you can't use this amp with any sort of power-on 12v trigger or the likes, there is no benefit to using a hard on switch other than cost savings I guess.
     
  18. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Mine just popped when turning it on and I could here a faint clicking noise (~3 per sec) from within the amp every time I turned it on afterwards.
     
  19. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    I've had zero ill effects so I assume I got lucky or maybe because there was no input and/or the first time it was switched on.
     
  20. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    The amp really isn't all that fragile. Just use common sense (always have the volume at 0 when turning on, plug power cord into amp before the wall, etc.).

    I've had several power outage situations where the amp power button was on when the power came back, and it's been fine. I don't recommend this, obviously, but it happens sometimes with unexpected power blips where you can't get to the amp in time to turn it off before the power comes back.

    I got mine pretty early on after it was released and it's been rock solid.

    *knocks on wood*
     

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