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I was considering the Paradisea tube DAC along with a new preamp, but along came the Monarchy with both DAC and preamp all in one nice package. I should get it this Friday. I feel if worst comes to worst, it can go back up on Audiogon and nothing is lost.
I absolutely love it. I replaced the tubes with 6N1Ps from Svetlana and things got even better. Even the solid state DAC section sounds pretty darn good. I would say that is closest to the Benchmark in sound. The Tube DAC has the sharp focus and other positive qualities of the Benchmark, but adds in a warm realistic texture to the images and sounds that the Benchmark was lacking. As the unit has broken in it has become steadily better with time.
I absolutely love it. I replaced the tubes with 6N1Ps from Svetlana and things got even better. Even the solid state DAC section sounds pretty darn good. I would say that is closest to the Benchmark in sound. The Tube DAC has the sharp focus and other positive qualities of the Benchmark, but adds in a warm realistic texture to the images and sounds that the Benchmark was lacking. As the unit has broken in it has become steadily better with time.I also love the preamp section. I read that a few reviewers were not as enthused with it, but I see and hear no evil on my end. I have a decent system that is quite revealing and to me the preamp section is much more than just adequate.
Hello:I am very interested in the Monarchy NM24. My system does double duty for two channel as well as HT/TV viewing. My current pre (Odyssey Tempest has a HT Bypass) which I must have as my wife and daughter both use this system. Does anyone know if the Monarchy can be used for my purposes. If so, it seems like a perfect fit for me. I could then sell my Tempest and my Zhalou 2.0 DAC.Thanks,rklein