Macworld - USA (2019-12-B)

DECEMBER 2019 MACWORLD 129

whose tracks have
exceptional dynamic
range, the Monolith
excelled at bringing
out the musical
energy on tracks like
“Imagine the Fire”
without becoming a
sloppy mess.
Alexis Cole’s
Dazzling Blue,
recorded by
Chesky Records, is
superbly produced
and the Monolith
did a fine job rendering the textures of Ms.
Cole’s vocals. Instruments were placed firmly
in space and time. It was easy for
me to make out the unique
character of each headphone
through the Monolith. From
orchestral, to jazz, to whatever
genre I subjected it to, the
Monolith left me shaking my head
in disbelief that I was getting this
level of performance and a feature
set this complete for $500.
Comparing the sound to more
expensive headphone amplifiers,
such as the exceptional
Benchmark DAC3 HGC (go.
macworld.com/dac3), two areas
where I feel the Monolith fell short
were its ability to resolve

microdynamics and transparency. The sound

stage sounded a bit flatter on tracks I know

well. Then again, the Benchmark

DAC3 costs nearly four times as

much as the Monolith.

BOTTOM LINE

The Monolith by Monoprice

desktop balanced headphone

amplifier is a winner. There are lots

of desktop headphone amps out

there, but I can’t think of any that

deliver anything close to this

combination of performance and

features for $500. It won’t knock

off any of today’s top contenders

for the crown of best headphone

amp at any price, but it will have its

peers running for cover. ■

mmmmh

Monoprice Monolith

desktop Balanced

headphone amplifier

PROS

• Features dual AK4493
  32-bit DACs and dual THX
  AAA-788 amplifer modules.


• An overabundance of
  features and inputs for the
  price.
  CONS


• Dirac Sensaround is not a
  compelling feature.


• Lacks the transparency,
  detail, and delicacy you’ll
  find in even finer
  headphone amps.
  PRICE
  $499
  COMPANY
  Monoprice

The Monolith did a fine job handling high-res FLAC and DSD tracks with

lots of dynamic range played from my Roon server.