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Opinions on the Monarchy Audio amps


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Hi Guys,

I just purchased a pair of brand new Monarchy Audio SE-100 Delux SS mono bloc amps, they are Class A and 100watts per channel in 8 ohms, 200 watts in 4 ohms. So far they sound real good going through my YS Audio tube preamp. I was just wondering what your experiences were with the Monarchy audio amps.

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I have a pair of Monarchy Audio SM 70 Pros 80 watt monoblocks or 35 watts stereo that sounded very good with my KLF 20s and La Scalas. I also have a Cayin TA 30 Tube int amp. The SM 70s have better detail and a little better bass and the TA 30 has a fuller, smoother sound with very good details but not as good as the 70s. Also with the right tubes bass can be improved upon. I am going to sell the SM 70 Pros on EBay soon. I don't need a lot of bass and I like the fuller, smoother sound of the TA 30 . My preamp is a SS so with a tube preamp the 70s would sound smoother but I really like my Luxman preamp so I'll sell the 70s.

Xman

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  • 3 weeks later...

A good pal has a pair of the Monarchys that he used to drive some JBL 3115s; a "small" 3-way motion picture speaker with a 15" vented woof and horn mids and highs. The set-up sounded VERY good. Now he uses a JVC chip-amp reciever with the JBLs, it sounds VERY good too.

Jeez, I really oughta borrow those Monarchys, they're just gathering dust. And like I said, they sounded great.

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Have currently have a pair of Monarchy SE-100 Delux monoblocks. I also have used the SM-70's, and I think they are great amps. Very well balanced, smooth, and from my experience, no lack of bass. I have used other amps, from 2A3 to 300b to monster power 300wpc SS units, and I still come back to these Monarchys. (Especially for the $$$$)

However, as many of us are wont to do, I still try and search for the grail and keep trying new amps. I just will not sell the Monarchys until I am sure I have reached a higher level.

Jobman

PS:

I will say that the pure class A eats up the PG&E bill.

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Just got a Transcendent Sound Ground Grid tube preamp out of the box. I'm going to try it with my 2 SM 70 pros and see how they sound. Right now I have 3 amps to choose from: 2 Monarachy Audio SM 70 pros monoblocks, a Cayin TA 30 tube int amp, and a Luxman L505f int amp. This is the first tube preamp I've had and it will be interesting how they all sound. If anyone is intersted in my 2 SM 70 pros just send me a email.

Xman

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I have had the Monarchy's for 3 weeks now and they sound Awesome!!!! Just as warm as the Dynaco Mark III's they replaced, more bass slam and detail. These things are beauties. I am done with tube amps, biggest headaches known to man. Work for one month and then there down for 3 months for repair. Just flip the switch on these bad boys and they are ready to roll, no tubes to swap, or bias or break down.

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I really like the SE-100's. I had a pair of the SM-70's and I was running them in Balanced mode, hence using the higher power available. They were great, but then I started getting the tubes bug, so I sold them for a Wright 2A3 and I was on my way.

I did regret selling them, until I bought the SE-100, and I have been happy ever since.

I think it would take and amp (or amps) upwards of $4-5000 to get a better sound in my system at this point. (not that I am ever going to give up searching)

Jobman

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On 8/7/2005 6:37:45 AM Speedball wrote:

Hey K.-RF7,

Sounds like you really like them.....
4.gif

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oh yeah, they are great! For the price you cant beat these bad boys and they sound Great with Klipsch! Smooth detailed top end, I run mine through a tube preamp so that helps with mellowing out the tone and giving it that tube warmth, but the slam and detail of solid state.

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I was planning on trying what Klipsch RF7 does using a tube preamp with my SM 70 pros and compare the 70s to my tube amp and see which sound I like better. But Fedex decided to deliver the Ground Grid tube preamp damaged so now I have to go through the claim dept and try and get the whole mess cleared up.

It's hard to tell if the package got bounced around so much it loosened over half of all the screws or someone was trying to steal the circuit boards and had to through it back together quickly so they would not get caught. It looks like it needs a simple soldering job for a loose wire but until I find out what Fedex wants to do with the claim I have to leave it alone.

Klipsch RF7 what tube amp or amps did you try? I would like to try your Monarchy amps also.

Xman

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On 8/7/2005 12:59:27 PM jbsl wrote:

I was planning on trying what Klipsch RF7 does using a tube preamp with my SM 70 pros and compare the 70s to my tube amp and see which sound I like better. But Fedex decided to deliver the Ground Grid tube preamp damaged so now I have to go through the claim dept and try and get the whole mess cleared up.

It's hard to tell if the package got bounced around so much it loosened over half of all the screws or someone was trying to steal the circuit boards and had to through it back together quickly so they would not get caught. It looks like it needs a simple soldering job for a loose wire but until I find out what Fedex wants to do with the claim I have to leave it alone.

Klipsch RF7 what tube amp or amps did you try? I would like to try your Monarchy amps also.

Xman

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Xman,

Sorry about your shipping woes, I hate when goods get damaged in shipping, its a big hassle and headache.

Ive tried the Dynaco Mark III's completely rebuilt from the ground up with all new components. It makes a diffrence going through a nice tube preamp, I use the Audio Experience Symphonies Plus preamp hand made by a audio guy in china. I paid $650 shipped for it and its great, all point to point connections, uses 3x 12ax7 preamp tubes with a 6x4 rectifier and has 4 inputs and two left and right outputs, for the price you cannot beat it at all. Them SM-70's are mighty fine amps, the SE-100's are basically the same thing but Mono only and more power and better Mosfets and caps. Here is a link to the preamp i use.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1128136593

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