Some questions regarding issues with my new Monolith 7 X 200 amp

mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord

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Ledformyhead

Ledformyhead

Junior Audioholic
While I've never found a power amp to be a magical difference, just more capability over typical avr amp sections, YMMV. So far its sounding like maybe a return and putting the money to other uses if your Pioneer works great for you alone.....

Cheater plug to test if lifting ground makes a difference
Ahhh....gotcha.....I have one of those lying around here somewhere.
 
Ledformyhead

Ledformyhead

Junior Audioholic
That best price you found , could turn out to be costly.
Restocking Fee

All items returned for a refund WILL BE assessed an automatic restocking fee as follows. 5% for refurbished or new unopened items. 10% for items sold as new and have been opened and/or used. Shipping costs incurred & paid to Fedex are non-refundable and will be deducted from the refund amount also (regardless of any amount you may have been charged including promotional "Free Shipping".). The original shipping we paid to Fedex will be calculated and deducted from the refund amount ($8.99 is not what it cost us to ship the order). These fees apply to ALL RETURNS for REFUND unless you received the wrong item, the item is defective (see below for defective return details), a physically damaged product due to shipping damage, or the fee is prohibited by law.

Defective exchanges

Accessories4less will replace any defective item purchased from Accessories4less.com within 30 days from date of purchase that it has determined to be defective. Shipping charges for defective exchanges will be paid for by Accessories4less or the manufacture, including return shipping cost and cost to ship the replacement. Prepaid shipping will apply to Fedex ground shipping charges only. No prepaid air shipping is offered. See below for required authorization approval. Prepaid exchanges apply to the Continental US only!

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Please go to our website at www.accessories4less.com and click on the "RETURN AN ITEM" link at the bottom of any page under customer service. Enter all info requested, and allow up to 2 business days for a response. Any item returned without authorization will be refused. Returned merchandise must be postmarked no later than 5 days after we provide you with a Return Authorization Number.

Non-Defective Returns
Items cannot be returned without the original packaging. Non-defective products returned to us for a refund will be credited to your original form of payment less any cost we incurred in connection to shipping the product, regardless of any amount you may have been charged including promotional "Free Shipping". The original shipping we paid to Fedex will be calculated and deducted from the refund amount ($8.99 is not what it cost us to ship the order). All items returned for a refund WILL BE assessed an automatic restocking fee as follows. 5% for refurbished or new unopened items. 10% for items sold as new and have been opened and/or used. These fees apply unless the item is defective, damaged, you received the wrong item, or the fee is prohibited by law. Items returned incomplete (original boxes, accessories, remote, power cord, etc.) will be automatically assessed an additional 5% restocking fee or the cost of missing items, whichever is greater.

Defective Returns

Defective Products returned for a refund will be credited to your original form of payment less any cost we incurred in connection to shipping your product to you, regardless of any amount you may have been charged including promotional "Free Shipping" If the item is being returned as “defective”, it will be fully tested upon return (if applicable as some items are returned directly to the manufacturer and cannot be tested by us). If no defect is found, an automatic restocking fee as follows. 5% for refurbished or new unopened items. 10% for items sold as new and have been opened and/or used. Any missing accessories cost will be reduced from the refund amount.
No plans to return the Elite 701 so not sure why this was posted.
 
P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
Well they have apprently extended their return policy over the Holidays for any "Monoprice branded product" purchased between November 27th and December 24th out to Jan 31st. Mine falls into that time frame. So it looks like I have until then to return it, which is nice I guess. Gives me some more time to try and play around with this. They also schedule a Fed Ex pick up for you which is nice. No mention as to who pays for shipping.....I think I know the answer to that unfortunately.
The only reason I have been recommending the Anthem MCA325 and/or Outlaw M2200/2220 is for the much lighter weight. It feels good to have a heavier amp, until you have to move them, worse if you have to send one back. Practically speaking the heavier enclosure and transformer would offer no audible benefits probably 99% of the time.
 
K

Kleinst

Senior Audioholic
For what it’s worth, like I said the folks at accessories4less told me that class D AVR seemed to be more dynamic than most others. I realize they were trying to sell me something but i was discussing other AVRs they sold and felt strong about that unit for those who enjoy home theater. I ended up getting a Marantz instead. Your confirming they might have been right.
 
V

VMPS-TIII

Audioholic General
For what it’s worth, like I said the folks at accessories4less told me that class D AVR seemed to be more dynamic than most others. I realize they were trying to sell me something but i was discussing other AVRs they sold and felt strong about that unit for those who enjoy home theater. I ended up getting a Marantz instead. Your confirming they might have been right.
accessories4less has one of the worst return polices. I don't buy anything from them unless I'm ABSOLUTELY sure I want it.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
accessories4less has one of the worst return polices. I don't buy anything from them unless I'm ABSOLUTELY sure I want it.
The only time people have trouble with their terms is when they don't understand them before purchasing, it's not a typical retailer with all sorts of consumer-friendly guarantees of satisfaction. Caveat emptor applies. I have not had them fail on their terms and in one case they even went beyond them.
 
Ledformyhead

Ledformyhead

Junior Audioholic
For what it’s worth, like I said the folks at accessories4less told me that class D AVR seemed to be more dynamic than most others. I realize they were trying to sell me something but i was discussing other AVRs they sold and felt strong about that unit for those who enjoy home theater. I ended up getting a Marantz instead. Your confirming they might have been right.
Well they were correct about the dynamics of the 701. One could argue I should have stopped there and been happy. Before I purchased the Ultra Towers I read MANY reviews and a few of them emphasized them needing power....minimum 200-250 watts was ideal so they said. When purchasing the 701, which I did after purchasing the Ultra Towers I specifically asked SVS about power requirements for optimum performance. They assured me the 701 would do just fine.....they turned out to be correct as well.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Well they were correct about the dynamics of the 701. One could argue I should have stopped there and been happy. Before I purchased the Ultra Towers I read MANY reviews and a few of them emphasized them needing power....minimum 200-250 watts was ideal so they said. When purchasing the 701, which I did after purchasing the Ultra Towers I specifically asked SVS about power requirements for optimum performance. They assured me the 701 would do just fine.....they turned out to be correct as well.
You might find the dynamic range measurements of this Pioneer class D avr interesting https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/pioneer-sc-1222-avr-review.12485/
 
V

VMPS-TIII

Audioholic General
The only time people have trouble with their terms is when they don't understand them before purchasing, it's not a typical retailer with all sorts of consumer-friendly guarantees of satisfaction. Caveat emptor applies. I have not had them fail on their terms and in one case they even went beyond them.
When I tried to return some speakers to A4L the total cost added up to 20% including shipping and return fees. That's not normal. You are right though they spell it all out. And you should be willing to accept those crazy terms if you buy from them.
 
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M

mj30250

Audioholic Intern
How far are you sitting from your speakers and how loud are you listening?

Unless the answer is "far away" and/or "consistently at or above reference levels", you're probably well within your AVR's capabilities. I also have a 5.(2) setup and similar towers in terms of power demands (4 ohm, 91 dB sensitivity = "effectively" 88 dB, same as the Ultras) and my Denon X4500H has zero problems driving the system to beyond uncomfortable listening levels. If you weren't experiencing distortion or clipping before, simply having more wattage on tap is unlikely to make much if any audible difference.
 
Ledformyhead

Ledformyhead

Junior Audioholic
How far are you sitting from your speakers and how loud are you listening?

Unless the answer is "far away" and/or "consistently at or above reference levels", you're probably well within your AVR's capabilities. I also have a 5.(2) setup and similar towers in terms of power demands (4 ohm, 91 dB sensitivity = "effectively" 88 dB, same as the Ultras) and my Denon X4500H has zero problems driving the system to beyond uncomfortable listening levels. If you weren't experiencing distortion or clipping before, simply having more wattage on tap is unlikely to make much if any audible difference.
Roughly sitting about 10 feet away and you are likely correct with your assessment. I do like to crank it now and then, especially during two channel listening (mostly classic rock but still a mix of all genres) and the Elite never flinched.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
I get that when it comes to amplifiers as to the technical aspects of what they do and don't do. However we all know that certain amps sound better than others whether it be due to how an amplifier matches up with a speaker, what it's design is and how effectively it delivers its power. If all amps were the same, I and others would simply buy the cheapest amp they could that puts out the power desired.

In this case, as I stated, this amp is actually sonically less dynmamic than the Elite receiver. I realize that may be due to the receiver possibly coloring the sound some but with all the commentary on this Monolith amp one would think that I would not notice an actual sonic quality and dynamic fall off. Maybe I'm nuts.....but I don't think so. I've been an "audioholic" for roughly 40 years and I think I know what to expect and what not to expect. With that said I don't know everything by any means which is why I'm reaching out here to the forum.

P.S. I also realize that it is unlikely that there is anything wrong with such a new amp.....but it's not impossible. With that said I am moving forward assuming it's not the amp and perhaps it's an issue elsewhere. The hum issue is its own issue....I'd love to get that resolved. I purchased the Emotiva "conditioner" the CMX 2 based on Genes experience with the same hum. As stated it has not fully resoved the issue.....that's disappointing on its own. But to be honest I could live with that minor hum (at times not so minor by the way) IF the amp sounded great with these Ultra Towers. But as stated it's not as expected. I've even read articles on here and elsewhere where folks have paired this specific amp with my Ultra Towers and they have stated it was a great pairing.....the amp really brought the SVS Towers alive. Not hearing that.....and unfortunately quite the opposite in my case.
The OP is correct. Amps do not all perform the same under varying load conditions. They absolutely do not. Testing amps on the bench does not tell the full picture. Bench testing is done with a purely resistive load. Testing other conditions of load is difficult and effectively impossible. The ideal is absolutely to have amps and speakers designed as an integral package.

As you know I use Quad amps as Peter Walker did test amps under different loading conditions, and specifically made his designs perform as optimally as possible under a wide variety of loads. If you look at the huge differences in the loads loudspeakers offer in terms of impedance and phase angles, it would absolutely stretch credulity to think that all amps would perform equally well under such a huge variation of loading conditions.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
When I tried to return some speakers to A4L the total cost added up to 20% including shipping and return fees. That's not normal. You are right though they spell it all out. And you should be willing to accept those crazy terms if you buy from them.
Like any purchase, know the terms before you buy. They're not that unusual for terms, particularly for a smaller outfit with limited focus like they are.
 
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