Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro

[whell]

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A pair of these little amps found their way into my system over the weekend. For those of you with aesthetic concerns, I'm pleased to report that mine did not come with the goofy looking handles.

I set up a pair of these bridged mono (unfortunately I'm not able to run them balanced with my current set up), and connected to the pre-outs of my Marantz SR-19 EX receiver. My goal was to see if there was a way to add more punch to my music, while still preserving my HT system. Regretably, if I keep these, I'll need to clear out some other equipment, so my KG-4's and my old Yamaha T-85 tuner are going out the door!

Set up:

Some possible hiccups here. This amp has a very sensitive input, making it apparently ideal for use with a variety of low output preamps. I don't think that my Marantz is in the category of low output. I first tried running in stereo mode, and with a pair of Nordost Solar Wind interconnects, got good results. However, bridging to unbalanced mono, this interconnect seemed to be the cause of ALOT of noise. Switched to a pair of Monster M1000 1/2 meter, the noise dropped substantially. The amps still have a very faint electronic hum (don't think its a mechanical hum, anyway). I've tried lifting the grounds using cheater plugs, and that helps a bit. The good news is that I've been corresponding with Mr Poon of Monarchy, and he has volunteered to send me some resistors that I can configure at the inputs and it might help with the hum. I must say that if I pull back from the speakers to about 5 feet, the hum is barely audible, and it certainly does not show up while listening to music. Keeping these amps ventilated will be key, since they are heavily biased to class A, so I have placed these units by themselves on top of my entertainment center.

Listening:

These amp are a great bargain, and a great match with Klipsch. Over the past few weeks, I've corresponded with folks who have used them with everything from K-horns to LaScalas to Cornwalls to Reference Series. They seem to nullify the sonic anomalies that normally give horns heartburn when they are paired with solid state.

Test CD's included Jane Monheit: Dream with Me; ZZ Top: Deguello; Allision Krause: Forget about It; Paul McCartney: Run Devil Run.

I think I can now understand some of the adjectives used by some board members who refer to things like "liquid" midrange. I have to say that this is an adjective that applies here, for lack of any better descriptive term. Bass is not boomy, but tight, controlled and urgent. Highs are much more revealing, I hear the "detail" of a cymbal, where before I might have just heard a swish.

All in all, my objective in improving the musical experience provided from my HT/music systsm has been acheived. Music is so much more alive and satisfying to listen to. However, I've found that these amps do need a little warm up time to really shine. About 5 - 6 minutes of use is needed before the bass, midrange and treble catch up with each other. The Monster M1000i will stay in place for now as interconnects. Don't really know how to account for the extremely loud noise issues with the Nordost (really, I thought I blew my speakers!), but I don't know if there is necessarily a "better" interconnect for this application anyway.

If you are looking for a great amp at a great price from a price/performance standpoint, and get a chance and can find a dealer in your area that will allow you a propper audition, I suspect you'll be quite taken with these.

[mobile homeless]

Whell and others, I did a full REVIEW with pics (both internal and external) of the less expensive MONARCHY AUDIO SM-70 in this very forum almost 1.5 years ago. Note: the pictures have a gray background because our forum had that BG color at the time. Now it's white, hence it no longer matches. A pity. At the time, it was one of the only internal wiring shots.

See link to full, detailed review via Klipsch 2 channel forum below - Man, I just reread this beast! Lordy....:

MONARCHY AUDIO SM-70 REVIEW - Low watt Class A SS up against Tubes

kh

[whell]

My first attempt at the post cut off the picture and about 2/3 of my text. I just revised and recaputured most of what I originally posted.

Actually Mobile, I think it was your mention of the Monarchy in a previous post that prompted me to investigate the product. So...thanks for steering me in the right direction on this.