Monoprice desktop headphone amplifier / DAC

Lateralus

Lateralus

More [H]uman than Human
Joined
Aug 7, 2004
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I've been thinking about going to an external amp/DAC for a while and stumbled across this little jewel today:

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/monoprice-desktop-amp-dac

Monoprice page

I currently use a Xonar STX and have been thrilled with it. I know a lot of people talk about moving your audio processing out of the PC to eliminate noise, etc., but this thing must be shielded very well because I've never noticed anything like that. I'm pretty picky so if I had, I would have done something about it by now.

But there are other advantages to an external DAC/amp that are attractive to me, such as moving the headphone connection from the back of my PC to my desk, and having an easily accessible volume knob. So I had planned on going with a Schiit stack for around $600, but probably not until moving to a m-ITX PC build because I wouldn't be able to use my STX in that scenario.

However, seeing this thing for under $100 and the reviews it's getting, I'm tempted to try it. My question to you guys is this: do you know how it would compare to my STX in terms of sound quality? I don't know who "StormsABrewin" on Reddit is, but he's replacing his Schiit stack with one of these which makes me seriously wonder if I should spend extra money on that Schiit. Also, one of the reviews on Monoprice says that "it sounds exactly like an O2/ODAC that I have laying around" which, coincidentally, is the other amp/DAC combination that I was looking at.

I'm not necessarily asking if this thing is a giant-killer, but how would it compare to my STX and do you think it really would rival the Schiit stack and O2 + ODAC combo?
 
Looks like a Fiio E09 copy minus the E17 Dock.

Mine.

tWqZnvz.jpg
 
imyourzero said:
I'm not necessarily asking if this thing is a giant-killer, but how would it compare to my STX and do you think it really would rival the Schiit stack and O2 + ODAC combo?
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Depends on the hardware they used. It would be easily doable to make a good one at this price point. TI makes a good headphone amp chip that the Fiio E7 used that is fairly cheap and specs and sounds amazing.
 
I'm curious about this amp/DAC combo too. I had my eyes set on the Schiit Magni Modi combo until I saw this.
 
Heh, too bad I already bought an O2 DAC/AMP from the last drop. The thing is this thing looks more convenient too because it actually has L/R jacks on the back for if you want the DAC output alone (ie for speakers). Sigh.

Oh well, too late. I just stick with hooking my speakers into my O2 directly and using it as a preamp.
 
Didn't even know Monprice made such a device. Tempted to pick one up just to compare it to my O2.
 
StoleMyOwnCar said:
Heh, too bad I already bought an O2 DAC/AMP from the last drop. The thing is this thing looks more convenient too because it actually has L/R jacks on the back for if you want the DAC output alone (ie for speakers). Sigh.

Oh well, too late. I just stick with hooking my speakers into my O2 directly and using it as a preamp.
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Did you get the Mayflower one? I was reading about it tonight, actually.

In addition to the O2/DAC and Schiit stack, I wonder how this compares to the Aune X1 Pro DSD DAC/amp which also offers some pretty attractive features at a very attractive price.
 
Anyone know more about it? The massdrop says it has a TI DAC chip. I'm in the market for a DAC and was looking at the HiFymeDIY Sabre 2 USB DAC/AMP for $67. But this might be the better value.

Apparently it uses the TI PCM1793.
 
Heck if I know just looking at model names. I would think that if you wanted to do see how good a hardware DAC is, you would take its output and then compare it to what a theoretical best-case software output would be. IDK if there's a site that does that anywhere. It's at a pretty good price though.
 
Right now Monoprice is offering 12% off sitewide to celebrate their 12th anniversary with code MP12 (thru 7/28).
Which makes this DAC/AMP combo $86.74 before shipping!! Needless to say, I ordered one.

Also ordered some shielded RCA to XLR cables because the unshielded 1/8 TRS to 1/4 TS cable I'm currently using for my LSR308's picks up serious EMI from my DVI monitor cables. I'm hoping that by going with an external DAC and shielded cables I can move everything far enough away from the video cables to eliminate the interference. As for the amp function, I look forward to comparing it to my O2.
 
Kueller said:
Right now Monoprice is offering 12% off sitewide to celebrate their 12th anniversary with code MP12 (thru 7/28).
Which makes this DAC/AMP combo $86.74 before shipping!! Needless to say, I ordered one.

Also ordered some shielded RCA to XLR cables because the unshielded 1/8 TRS to 1/4 TS cable I'm currently using for my LSR308's picks up serious EMI from my DVI monitor cables. I'm hoping that by going with an external DAC and shielded cables I can move everything far enough away from the video cables to eliminate the interference. As for the amp function, I look forward to comparing it to my O2.
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And if you sign up for their newsletter as a "new customer", they'll also give you a $5 credit supposedly.

I took the plunge, for $92/shipped overnight, it's not bad.
 
Received my unit tonight. 5 minutes in, I'm dazzled by how bright the blue front-mounted LED is. I'll see about posting some audio related thoughts once the seizures subside.
 
Can anybody explain to me why everybody's so worked up about this? Their speakers suck, they had a couple decent budget headphones but only for their very low end price. Three of the last four cables I bought at monoprice failed in short order.
 
Well, I've listened to it a little now. For the price I'm pretty impressed with the sound quality. DAC seems very energetic with an open, lively sound stage, and the included amp has plenty of power to drive my HD650's.

My one complaint so far is the lack of an output select switch. The Preamp RCA's output concurrently with the front 1/4" jack regardless of what is plugged in. If you're hooking speakers up to this thing, you're going to have to unplug them or power them off if you want to listen to just headphones unless I'm missing something.

fss69 said:
Can anybody explain to me why everybody's so worked up about this? Their speakers suck, they had a couple decent budget headphones but only for their very low end price. Three of the last four cables I bought at monoprice failed in short order.
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Because while this is inexpensive compared to the products it competes with, it's not simply cheap like most of the products you describe above. There's plenty of $$ in the asking price to cover quality components. Monoprice keeps the "audiophile markup" factor to a minimum, whereas almost every other company in the audiophile niche is in it for the crazy margins.
 
I don't get why anyone would buy this clear rip off of the Fiio for a lower quality version without the added features.

And 3 out of the 4 USB cables I bought from them are junk in less than 2 months. Their HDMI cables and RCA cables are great, the rest, not so much.
 
Kueller said:
Monoprice keeps the "audiophile markup" factor to a minimum, whereas almost every other company in the audiophile niche is in it for the crazy margins.
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They do it by copying products and making them with cheaper components. They are cheaper because they are cheaper made.
 
Thanks for posting your impressions, Kueller.

So for my upcoming m-ITX build, I was kind of looking for an amp/DAC with an optical input so that I could go digital from my motherboard's optical out to the external DAC. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to optical vs. USB on one of these things? Or would each one potentially have different audio processing circuitry that could result in better results for one over the other?

Also, cables. It's been a while since I've purchased any, but I was under the impression that Monoprice was the de facto standard for inexpensive, quality cables. What are some good alternatives? I know that FireFold had an excellent reputation a while back, but for all I know that could have changed also. Is there a good source for these or should I just go to Amazon and buy something with good reviews?
 
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