128 MACWORLD DECEMBER 2019
PLAYLIST REVIEW: MONOPRICE MONOLITH DESKTOP BALANCED HEADPHONE AMPLIFERchannel audio system. The Monolith
features a new headphone technology by
Dirac called Sensaround. Dirac is a well
known name in the audio and home
theater world. The company makes one of
the best room-correction software
packages available today. But don’t be
confused, Dirac’s Sensaround tech has
nothing to do with headphone correction.
Rather, Sensaround attempts to address
that unpleasant “in your head” sound
sensation common to headphones. When
engaged, Dirac Sensaround promises to
make your headphones sound more like
traditional speakers. I tried Dirac Sensaround
on several tracks during my trial period with
Focal Clear and Focal Stellia headphones
and decided that it wasn’t for me.
Sensaround certainly created a more
relaxed and recessed sound stage, but it
came at the expense of musical grandeur
and warmth. At the end of the day, it just
sounded too artificial for my taste. You might
have a different experience and preference.
It’s there if you want to try it.LISTENING TESTS
I tested the Monolith Desktop Headphone
Amplifier primarily via USB connected to a
Mac with my Roon Nucleus server. My
source material was high-res PCM and DSD
music files and the Tidal (HiFi level)
streaming service. I used the
aforementioned Focal Stellia and Focal Clear
(go.macworld.com/clea) headphones, plus
Beyerdynamic Amiron Home (go.macworld.
com/beyr) and Oppo PM2 (go.macworld.
com/m2op) planar magnetic cans. I
connected the two Focal headphones via
the Monolith’s balanced headphone output.
Everything in my listening tests reinforced
the notion that the Monolith desktop
balanced headphone amplifier is a
tremendous value. This amp had ample
power, gripping firmly any
headphone I threw at it. Top to
bottom, I never felt as though the
Monolith had any trouble driving
my cans. The sound was
consistently well balanced, tending
toward the warm side of neutral,
which will appeal to many. Bass
was never anemic nor
disproportionately emphasized.
Playing the FLAC version of Hanz
Zimmer’s The Dark Knight Rises,The front display shows you volume, input, file type, and
sampling rate.