Z Review - Monoprice THX Amp/DAC [Don't Share]

ANAL LOG

ZeosPantera

Both of those are world class amps. The kicker with THX is it beats world class. That being said, the questyle would probably be my choice if THX isn't an option.

ZeosPantera

Real damn well.

ZeosPantera

I think people should be looking at this regardless. Saves you the trouble of needing a balanced DAC.

ZeosPantera

Thanks for the Reply! Makes perfect sense. I didn’t quite give a good enough background story. I was using the SU8 combined with the Jot. Great combination there. Then when I got this, I tried to pair the SU8 with the 788 and it was pretty rough. The signal seemed so weak. I felt like it was at 65-70% strength (if that makes any sense). Used the 788 as the DAC/amp and it was like you said; definitely going to have a hard time upgrading. Somewhere way down the line I might get the ADI 2, but I’m actually excited to start looking for headphones again! I’m going to check out the Teac you mentioned and do some research. I wonder if Massdrop will follow through in 2020. There’s just something about their wait-times that bother me. I can’t get over it lol

With the price increase of the THX AAA 789, should people be looking at this instead?

leops1984

How well does this work with IEMs?

My 2cents: I'd say that the dual AKM dacs are better sounding than the dual ESS dacs. I prefer the AKM 449X over the ESS 9018's. I think there are certainly better dacs than the internal DAC, I have a Teac Nt505 with dual 4497eq's that sounds better but is it better when you consider that this thing is an all-in-one for $450. I'd say, for the money, heck, for double the money, you'll have a hard time touching this thing for awhile. I heard a rumour from Massdrop that they are already specing a revision to this for some time in 2020 with better AKM dacs and more THX magic. It'll likely be the successor to the 4497 and cost more than $450.

First question as a patreon but i am looking for a balanced dac amp and this doesnt ship to me. How does this fare compared to the audiogd 38 you reviewed and the questyle cma400i. Headphones are the meze empyreans.

On sale right now for $30 off. All the excuse I needed!

Z.... I recently got this and am enjoying it but I have a question. You mentioned that you wouldn’t spend a large amount of money on a DAC for this. I tried using it with my SU8 and noticed that the combination of the built in DAC produced a much better sound. Does this have to do with the issue that you mentioned of the analog signal being changed to digital and back to analog? And if so, is that why you mentioned don’t spend big money on the DAC? Or do you think there are some out there that will produce better than the internal?

Just got this for my work setup with the source being my laptop (streaming Tidal and Qobuz) and I am very impressed. Drives my Focal Elegia's via balanced with no issues. Clean, loads of clarity throughout the range and very dynamic.

I folded so easily 🤦🏿‍♂️

Haha ya Z can do that like no one else for me on YouTube.

This has become my favorite DAC/Amp. So quiet and packs enough power to drive most of my headphones. But I agree with you that the volume knob turn-to-db ratio could be tweaked to be more friendly.

Eliot Jacobsen

Lol keith

I literally did the same thing!!! Lol..... And got weak and ordered it! lol

Became a patron just to get this review early and also show my support for all the amazing content of yours I have consumed. Just wanted to say thanks and this thing may just be next on my list. Just gotta get my balanced Argon MK3s first. Keep up the good work Zeos!

The anal log input can be used as an input for a phono amp in order to store vinyl on a computer.

Can I not watch this vid anymore

I own this thing and all z’s beefs are real but totally ignorable. I never hot swap headphones and I use balanced mostly so it wouldn’t be an issue. Using an external dac with it makes little sense as there are few dacs better than this unless you’re living in a price range that is well above this thing.