Interesting observation - older monarchy dacs ( ladder type )

[mitch2]

Hello all,
I am new here and stumbled across this thread because I recently obtained a stock 22B with PCM63 DAC chips. In my system, it sounds great and compares favorably with a $13K DAC and a $19K DAC, both of which I own. I was completely taken by surprise at how good it sounds.
I am curious about upgrading my stock 22B and would be interested in reading any instructions or recommendations that Mr. poon provided to any of you. I would also be interested in pictures of upgraded Monarchy DACs for the same reason, to understand what is being upgraded. As an example, below is a link to a 22B that was upgraded by the owner (this one is NOT mine).

https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/650165157-monarchy-audio-model-22b-dac-many-upgrades/

 

[UzbekJake]

I couldn’t resist replying to this old thread which I never do. I bought a used Monarchy NM24 on Audiogon around 2015 and it’s been my only DAC since. I replaced the still-stock tubes and use a home-made power cord. Transport is a late 2014 Mac mini using Audirvāna/Tidal out toslink direct into my NM24. Amps and speakers are, predictably, Prima Luna 7 monoblocks (kt-88) to 22 year old Vanderateen 2ce signature speakers. All interconnects are silver over occ with silver over ofc bi-amp speaker wire. I’ve had this configuration for years and it’s sweet to my ears. Am considering a big shift by adding a DDC between Mac and DAC to implement USB to RCA coax. NM24 only has S/Pdif inputs. Any thoughts on this implementation or brand recommendations? Yes, I’ve chatGPT’d this but I’d love a human’s reaction.

 

[captainsubtext]

I couldn’t resist replying to this old thread which I never do. I bought a used Monarchy NM24 on Audiogon around 2015 and it’s been my only DAC since. I replaced the still-stock tubes and use a home-made power cord. Transport is a late 2014 Mac mini using Audirvāna/Tidal out toslink direct into my NM24. Amps and speakers are, predictably, Prima Luna 7 monoblocks (kt-88) to 22 year old Vanderateen 2ce signature speakers. All interconnects are silver over occ with silver over ofc bi-amp speaker wire. I’ve had this configuration for years and it’s sweet to my ears. Am considering a big shift by adding a DDC between Mac and DAC to implement USB to RCA coax. NM24 only has S/Pdif inputs. Any thoughts on this implementation or brand recommendations? Yes, I’ve chatGPT’d this but I’d love a human’s reaction.

Hi welcome to the forum.

You could either use a DDC or a separate streamer. Options vary across budgets but a good place to start is with a holo red (can be used as a ddc as well as a streamer) an audio gd di-120 (DDC).

 

[Nikhil]

I couldn’t resist replying to this old thread which I never do. I bought a used Monarchy NM24 on Audiogon around 2015 and it’s been my only DAC since. I replaced the still-stock tubes and use a home-made power cord. Transport is a late 2014 Mac mini using Audirvāna/Tidal out toslink direct into my NM24. Amps and speakers are, predictably, Prima Luna 7 monoblocks (kt-88) to 22 year old Vanderateen 2ce signature speakers. All interconnects are silver over occ with silver over ofc bi-amp speaker wire. I’ve had this configuration for years and it’s sweet to my ears. Am considering a big shift by adding a DDC between Mac and DAC to implement USB to RCA coax. NM24 only has S/Pdif inputs. Any thoughts on this implementation or brand recommendations? Yes, I’ve chatGPT’d this but I’d love a human’s reaction.

Welcome to the forum! Thank you for joining.

I can highly recommend the Mutec MC3+ USB for doing the conversion for you.
Made a huge improvement in my setup some years ago when I first got it.

Alex over at Uptone Audio can probably help you with more information.

.