Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Dolby Atmos & DTS:X Home Theater Processor w/Dirac & Alexa Compatibility

Verdinut

Verdinut

Audioholic Spartan
I need balanced, so a balanced preamp will cost at least $2000. In addition Into not like having the extra wiring clutter. One last thing is it eliminates an extra DA conversion.
Why would you need a preamp with balanced outputs? If this is for your home system and you don't have to run long interconnects, there is no advantage except more secure connections with the balanced XLR plugs. You can get interconnects with male RCA at one end and female XLR at the other.
 
ellisr63

ellisr63

Full Audioholic
Why would you need a preamp with balanced outputs? If this is for your home system and you don't have to run long interconnects, there is no advantage except more secure connections with the balanced XLR plugs. You can get interconnects with male RCA at one end and female XLR at the other.
I will need 75' runs ( I am running my wires behind my sound panels, and my rack is on a 2nd floor loft) to my front 3 channels which will be crossed over with my Xilica xp4080. Yes this is for my home system. My room is 19'w x 32'h x 40' deep (it is a open floor plan, and that is why it is so deep).

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AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Didn't our President raise the duty from 2.5% to 20%?

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Oh, wait, where is this Mini-DSP company? Hong Kong? So the product would be shipping from Hong Kong to the US?

Yikes. :D

So $1800 + 20% duty/tax + $22 s/h = about $2,200?

Anyway you look at it, it's expensive. :D
 
A

Andrein

Senior Audioholic
Oh, wait, where is this Mini-DSP company? Hong Kong? So the product would be shipping from Hong Kong to the US?
Yikes. :D
So $1800 + 20% duty/tax + $22 s/h = about $2,200?
Anyway you look at it, it's expensive. :D
Is this dirac really so good? I can buy without 20% tax)) Though i doubt anyone would really need 16ch dirac
 
ellisr63

ellisr63

Full Audioholic
Oh, wait, where is this Mini-DSP company? Hong Kong? So the product would be shipping from Hong Kong to the US?

Yikes. :D

So $1800 + 20% duty/tax + $22 s/h = about $2,200?

Anyway you look at it, it's expensive. :D
Yip as far as I know they do not have a US Distributor. With me being in Mexico and not trusting the mail here except for Amazon... I have to have it shipped to my Texas mail forwarder and they hand deliver it to me. Of course that is another 17%, plus .50 per pound added to the bill.

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AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Is this dirac really so good?
It depends on the room and/or system.

My wife's uncle has Dirac in his Emotiva. I don't think Dirac sounds any better than no room correction at all.

RichB also has tried Dirac in his Emotiva. He doesn't think Dirac makes his system sound any better - at least that's my impression.

So it just depends. I wouldn't spend $1800 or more on something unless I know for sure it will improve the sound of my system. :D
 
A

Andrein

Senior Audioholic
It depends on the room and/or system.
My wife's uncle has Dirac in his Emotiva. I don't think Dirac sounds any better than no room correction at all.
RichB also has tried Dirac in his Emotiva. He doesn't think Dirac makes his system sound any better - at least that's my impression.
So it just depends. I wouldn't spend $1800 or more on something unless I know for sure it will improve the sound of my system. :D
Yeah. Agree. If svs put dirac as an option into their subs with their return policy, would be great
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Yeah. Agree. If svs put dirac into their subs with their return policy, would be great
Yep. Definitely need to be able to try it out for free before spending that kind of money. :D

I thought DIRAC offered a free trial? Maybe a few years ago? I can't remember.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
But if you're buying a new Pre-pro anyway, the Monolith seems like a great choice for people in the $4K budget and the Dirac is a bonus to try. :D
 
F

flak2

Enthusiast
RichB also has tried Dirac in his Emotiva. He doesn't think Dirac makes his system sound any better - at least that's my impression.
I remember that thread and RichB's measurements and findings were subject to debate because something went wrong (and I think later corrected), if interested in that lengthy Sunday's discussion one may start reading from here:
https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/emotiva-xmc-1-processor-with-dirac-room-eq-review.96353/page-2#post-1098025
As I said there I never argue about subjective opinions on listening results but I did about measurements... I'm not sure that RichB would want to be quoted as saying that "he doesn't think Dirac makes his system sound any better"

:) Flavio
 
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AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I remember that thread and RichB's measurements and findings were subject to debate because something went wrong (and I think later corrected),if interested in that lengthy Sunday's discussion one may start reading from here:
https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/emotiva-xmc-1-processor-with-dirac-room-eq-review.96353/page-2#post-1098025
As I said there I never argue about subjective opinions on listening results but I did about measurements... I'm not sure that RichB would want to be quoted as saying that "he doesn't think Dirac makes his system sound any better"

:) Flavio
Not interested in reading, but did Dirac make the soundstage wider and bigger and sounds more dynamic or sweeter than ever before?

Seems like I’ve heard that story too many times in this hobby. :D
 
ellisr63

ellisr63

Full Audioholic
I might be ready to buy a new AVP this winter...I want to see how reliable the Monolith is first though, so I might need to wait till 2020 for any bugs to be worked out (assuming there will be bugs on a new product). Will you be getting one to review before the release date?
But if you're buying a new Pre-pro anyway, the Monolith seems like a great choice for people in the $4K budget and the Dirac is a bonus to try. :D
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I might be ready to buy a new AVP this winter...I want to see how reliable the Monolith is first though, so I might need to wait till 2020 for any bugs to be worked out (assuming there will be bugs on a new product). Will you be getting one to review before the release date?
I won’t, but hopefully Gene will get one to review some time. :D
 
ellisr63

ellisr63

Full Audioholic
Not interested in reading, but did Dirac make the soundstage wider and bigger and sounds more dynamic or sweeter than ever before?

Seems like I’ve heard that story too many times in this hobby. :D
My experience with Dirac was clarity.

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AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
How does ATI do for reliability from your experience...as good as Yamaha?

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I would say ATI has better reliability than Yamaha and most companies.

I wish ATI had this pre-pro 8 years ago when I bought my Denon AVP-A1HDCI.
 
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RichB

RichB

Audioholic Field Marshall
I thought I would revive this thread as the HTP-1 has shipped units but quickly goes out of stock.

There was significant discussion of balanced DACs and from little I understood, the DACs are differential an 1 AK4493 DAC is used for 2 channels with achieves the same 120dB SN as their single AK4490 DAC per channel in the RMC-1. There was no confirmation about the differential or dual differential architecture of the HTP-1 but I don't think it is dual-differential.

Unfortunately, performance specifications for high-end processors have largely disappeared which is absurd at these price points.
The last decent set of specs found are on the XMC-1:
Balanced Input to Balanced Output (Reference Stereo Mode):
THD: <0.0005% @ 1 kHz.
THD: < 0.002% (20 Hz to 20 kHz).
IMD: < 0.004% @ 1 kHz.
S/N ratio: > 123 dB (A weighted).
Frequency Response: 5 Hz to 80 kHz (+0 / -0.1 dB).
Crosstalk: <100 dB.

Digital Input to Balanced Analog Output (HDMI PCM):
THD: < 0.00025% @ 1 kHz.
THD: < 0.002% (20 Hz to 20 kHz).
S/N ratio (all main channels): > 110 dB (A weighted).
S/N ratio (subwoofer channels) > 100 dB (A weighted).

Analog Inputs to Analog Outputs via Digital Signal Path
(modes that include processing or bass management):
THD: <0.0007% @ 1 kHz.
THD: < 0.0007% (20 Hz to 20 kHz).
IMD: < 0.005% @ 1 kHz.
S/N ratio: > 106 dB (A weighted).
Unlike the HTP-1, this unit has an analog path for balanced and unbalanced inputs.
All S/N values are A weighted which yields the best numbers but not ideal, IMO.
The unit has S/N 123 but from the DACs it drops to 110 dB (still good) but when analog is converted to digital it drops to 106 dB.

The XMC-1 was a Momentum Data System design.
The RMC-1 is in house Emotiva design that uses the Analog Devices Griffin Lite DSP and Panasonic chips used in the Marantz AV8805.
The HTP-1, Arcam, JBL, and Audiocontrol processors are all based on the Momentum Data Systems platform(s). The HTP-1 uses the TI DSP based APM-117.
The HDMI has been simplified and does not have an OSD but utilizes an intuitive web based configuration. I should lead to improved HDMI compatibility.
The HTP-1 Dirac processes up to 48kHz and the Emotiva is not implemented and there is no specification.

Unfortunately, for Emotiva the Griffin Lite platform has no other Dirac implementation so it appears they have take a back seat to the MDS based processors. Emotiva has a lot invested here and have estranged and vocal owners so that will continue to be a problem for them. Competition is good for us. So we shall see how this falls out.
Here is the $5K'ish processor comparative thread on AVS:


The RMC-1, which sounds excellent, sounds best in Direct mode.
Of course, I am one of the few people who still views DSP processing as a cost/benefit proposition. ;)

I have been working closely with Emotive to remove the RMC-1 gremlins. IMO, HDMI switching (at least to my LG C9) seems on-par with the first reports for the HTP-1 (3 seconds) and Emotiva promises improvements. Some issue are reportedly due to DSD recognition over HDMI. DSD is not support by the HTP-1 which may turn out to be a good idea.

I have a shared obsession with S/N and balanced architecture expressed by @Matthew J Poes and @Irvrobinson so I have a dedicated path using a Benchmark LA4 for 2-channel.

- Rich
 

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