huge increase in soundstage and detail

non at this price

This review is for the DIP Upsampler. I must say that this is the first time I have felt compelled to comment on a piece of equipment, but the moment after I hooked up this little gem I could not believe the impact it would have on me. The increase in soundstage was amazing, I had been listening to Lord of The Dance CD and most of the bass contained no notes other than a non coherent boom , with the DIP installed suddenly there was a wealth of information in the bass notes. I am using a MSB LInk III (with modifications)with the Monolithic sound HC-2 power supply and a Cambridge CD4 as transport. I would highly reccomend this upgrade to any one with an older transport, in hindsight I should have purchased the DIP before any other upgrades to my digital front end I think it has more bang for the buck, than modding the LINK DAc or the external power supply. amplification YBA intergre DT

Very revealing, freedom from graininess and congestion, great soundstage and placement. Very reasonable price and finally a sensible layout (all input/outputs in the back).

None that I can detect. I think I might need new speakers if I'm going to find any defects in this system.

Top line: my digital front end is so good now I'm wondering if I should buy new speakers. This is a review of what I believe to be the latest 24/96 DIP. It has a single amber lock light on the front and all of the inputs are on the rear. Very tidy presentation (finally). After deciding that my Phillips CD-950 player was at best a transport, I started to look for outboard DAC's. I eventually ended up with a Link DAC III, a reasonable but not startling improvement. But when a Link DAC III w/ Full Nelson + network + upsampling + power base came up on eBay, I couldn't resist. The effect on the system, even when the DAC was driven directly with a Toslink cable was a very noticeable improvement. Now with a Canare Digiflex S/PDIF between the transport and the Monarchy Audio 24/96 DIP and an Apogee Wyde-Eye AES/EBU cable driving the fully tricked-out Link DAC III, I am no longer looking for a new turntable (or multi-kilobuck CD player, for that matter). That "little box" brings out the best in the MSB DAC. The total package creates an unbelievably deep, wide, and well-placed soundstage. Air around instrumentalists and vocalists is easily discernible. The stunning amount of detail from bottom to top is very revealing. Poorly recorded discs are soon discarded because their flaws are very prominent. While playing Eliane Elias' Jobim record, I thought to myself, I bet that's a Steinway and not a Yamaha or other Asian piano. I looked in the liner notes, and sure enough, she plays on Steinways. That's how much inner detail is revealed by this front end. I've been playing familiar "reference" CD's like crazy and almost every one of them has told me a little (or a lot) more than they ever have. Absolutely stunning. Even my wife noticed a huge difference. I am having one slight problem. If I turn off power to the transport a relay inside the Link DAC III starts clicking. I did not have this problem when the transport was driving the Link DAC III directly and I turned it off. I am going to contact MSB and Monarchy and try to figure out what's going on. If I do, I will post a short follow-up. See my review of the Canare Digiflex S/PDIF cable for more info (and complete system description): http://www.audioreview.com/PRD_116407_1584crx.aspx

Similar Products Used:

MSB Link DAC III and MSB Link DAC III + Full Nelson + network + upsampling + power base. Both performed adequately without the DIP, but the latter DAC creates an awesome digital front-end when paired

Does the job

limited inputs - toslink and RCA

I purchased a fancy toslink cable for my MSB Link Dac II. The salesman opined that I would no longer need an anti-jitter device.

The cable arrived, and yes, the sound improved somewhat. Nice, I thought. Then my DIP arrived - I wondered whether to just send it back, but no I plugged it. Wow. It doesn't transform the system into a first-rate analog system, but it makes a bigger improvement than the cable alone.

For the price, it's quite the worthwhile improvement, though there remains digititis that can be further removed by the Bedini Ultra cliarifier. Bring on 24/96!


FYI:
Pioneer DV525 as transport
MSB Link Dac II with upgraded power supply
Cardas Golden cross cables and wires
Decware ZEN SET amp used as an integrated
ProAc Response 1sc spkrs

Similar Products Used:

none

Does the job it's advertised to do!

None

At first I was skeptical about this product. I wondered what improvement(s) it would introduce to my system; and if, I would be able to hear them. After reading the great reviews by the audiofile gods; whom as you know are definitive sources for all that is good and evil in the acoustical realm, and the consumer reviews here at AudioReview.com,...I bought one. I used it to convert my toslink to coax from my CD....major improvement!! The sound stage is wider, highs are smoother, midrange is fuller and bass is tighter. The Monarchy DIP MKII is worth the $199.00 and is a genuine bargain in the bang-for-the-buck department. I highly recommend you try this product. Get it from Audio Advisor and use it for 30 days risk free. You won't be disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

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Removes digital edge, enhances detail.

None

I started with the DIP Mk2 between my CAL Delta CD transport and CAL Sigma (24/96) D/A. Immediately the detail improved and most important, the digital edge, superimposed on voices was reduced. The hard, unnatural, ragged edge that CD adds to voices has always bothered me. Sometimes I cannot enjoy vocal music because of it. The DIP truly reduced this effect. I found the improvement so pronounced, that I experimented with a second unit, this time the Super DIP, which provides a buffered BNC output. The BNC output comes with a good BNC to RCA convertor, so your standard RCA cable still works. The BNC output first caused a ground hum, but after removing the grounding from my power conditioner the hum disappeared. The effect of the BNC output of the Super DIP (in series with the DIP) on the overall sound was an even larger leap forward than the standalone DIP. (The BNC output sounds better than the RCA output of the Super DIP.) Now the digital edge was greatly removed; voices sound so much sweeter. Detail came out of nowhere. A stunning improvement. The best $500 I have ever spend on sound improvement. Cabling does not seem to matter too much. I heartily recommend that if you can afford $500 to $600 to truly improve your CD sound you try this setup. (Audio Advisor even gives you 30 days to make up your mind!). I would be surprised if anybody took them up on their return policy and returned these units. If you have a CD transport and a separate D/A convertor you owe it to yourself to check this out. No, it would be a crime not try it!

Similar Products Used:

None

astounding improvements to digital sound

none

Just tried a second unit in series....even better! Jitter is measurable and clearly degrades the sound. The second unit may seem like overkill, but I strongly urge you to try it out...transforms a budget system into what I firmly believe is a giant-killer! finally, I have made peace with red book. I'll still keep buying records, but the 16/44.1 digital standard will be with us for years as the competing high-sampling rate formats test the commercial waters. In the meantime, getting the most out of the dominant format makes sense, and this has to be the best way to get there on a budget. Strongly recommended(again). PS: If 24/96 catches on the DIP won't go obsolete, as they handle the higher sample rate.

Similar Products Used:

none

Price/Performance ratio

NONE

I am using this little wonder between my Sony XA20ES cdp (now a transport) and a MSB Tech Link DAC III. My Sony only had a Toslink output which when hooked up the Dac created a marginal difference at best, I was even tempted to return the Dac, but after a little more research and $180 later I bought the Dip and a high quality Kimber AGDL silver digital coax($130 .5M) Cable. After all the connections were made, I was totally blown away at what I was hearing. The sweetest highs, Great soundstage and deep quick Bass. I don't consider myself an Audiophile, but I do recognize good sounding music, This is it!! I never had the opportunity to hear a Wadia, Naim or Meridian cdp, I feel I don't have too, I am very satisfied with my set-up. Do your self a favor, Buy the DIP, Dude


Related Equipment
Nakamichi 1a1z intergrated
Sony XA20ES-Transport
MSB tech Link Dac III
Dip mkII
Kimber toslink (transport to Dip)
Kimber ADGL coax (Dip To DAc)
Transparent Musiclink plus Interconnects

B&W CDM 7se's Fronts
B&W CDM Center
B&W CDM 1se's Rears

MIT Terninator 2 Bi-wire all around (great cable)

Similar Products Used:

None

Oh man, Oh man! -"I never thought it could be like this." Monarchy Audio has wrongfuly named this wonderful device. Instead of the "DIP" they should had called it the "BUMP." Bump up your music to greater enjoyment. Digital-Jitter Mumble Jumble and My Foot. Nothing I read or heard made much sense until I plugged this box in the chain with the aid of a Music Metre Fidelus Digital interconnect. (A Real Gem too! : www.musicmetre.com ).

What the DIP does is perceived as a restore/increase/recover whatever you want to call the act but the result is such added TRANSPARENCY to your system, everything (and everything does) that relies on it will be substantially improved. Period.

If you're as fortunate as I am to have also a TDS Audiophile harmonics restoration box in the chain. The TDS is to analog as the DIP is to Digital. The combination is dynamite.

This is without a doubt the BEST $200 upgrade I've ever made. Thanks Monarchy.

Must plugged the digital cable by BNC plug rather than any
BNC ---RCA converter.

This is the updated review of the DIP Superdrive,hope all
the users can benefit from this small magis box!

1.sorry for the wrong information of the last review,actually,the RCA output was 75ohm i/o 110ohn(i
confused with the old DIP that hv a 110ohm AES/EBU output)

2.Now,i purchased another 2nd hand Superdrive(BNC output)
& linked them in series.The sound improved by the extent
just as same as the 1st Superdrive(however,as quoted by
a review,noted that a third DIP hvae a very small
improvement only)

3.As mentioned by Craig,power isolation was very important,
i isolate the electricity noise by 3 "IsoClean" noise
fitter(manufactured in Japan)

4.My digital cable were plugged by DENKO gold plated BNC
plugs,the sound improved tremendously!(mainly because the
digital signal was some very very weak impulse---1 or 0,so
the converter will blocked the tiny singal by its high
electrical resistant!)

5.I found that a VideoQuest yellow telfon jacket 75ohm
digital cable(BY AudioQuest)sound very very good(very
clear and smooth sound)however,only cost USD4.00/feet,
pls try.

Improves bass clarity and punch, soundstage, imaging

In my system at least, it compresses dynamics. See below.

This is for the latest version...the DIP 24/96. While it does improve some aspects of the overall sound of my transport/DAC setup, the improvements are slight- in my system at least.

Bass is a little tighter and more resolved. Individual bass instruments come through with a bit more clarity and with a bit more "space". Other instruments, too, seem a bit more fleshed out and more coherant...especially during dense passages. This varies from disc to disc, but I can hear a slight improvement with most.

The soundstage is a little wider and deeper. At times, however, with the DIP inserted into the system, CD's sound a bit overly done in this department. On some discs, the DIP seems to actually open a "hole" in the soundstage. Experimenting by bringing the speakers closer together revealed that the "hole" is still there. The effect in my system is very similar to having the speakers placed too far apart and getting a hole in the center of the soundstage. Removing the DIP 24/96 solves the problem. This is not a major annoyance mind you but rather an obvious sonic signature of the DIP.

The big disappointment for me is an obvious compression of dynamics. With the DIP 24/96 inserted, large orchestral pieces and rock lose their dynamic attack. I suspect the power supply may be to blame. This isn't subtle. I noticed this on the very first CD I played. My old Audio Alchemy DTI Plus didn't have this effect on the sound.

In my system at least, I'd say it is a wash. There is a "negative" for every positive generated by this unit. Mind you, my transport/DAC combo was $7,500 so I would HOPE that issues like jitter were already addressed in the respective units. I suspect that, with less expensive systems, the DIP 24/96 would show its merits. If you already have a good to excellent quality digital front-end you may be disappointed with this unit. Don't expect miracles. Like all other components, the result varies with individual systems and individual tastes.

Similar Products Used:

Audio Alchemy DTI Plus