Warm,smooth, tube like sound. Very good high end detail. Sounds even better when it is bridged.Priced right.

NONE

I heard these small class A,single ended amp at T.H.E. show while I was attending the CES show and can not believe how good these little amps can sound when they drive the huge Sound Lab Millenium-1 panel speakers. Bass is very firm, high end detail and imaging are first class, mid range is as smooth and silky as it can be,no sign of clipping or strain when play loud,very loud.And Mr.Poon told me that the SM70 is only 25Wx2 and the price is only $719.00 each while I was very impressed about the sound of SM70, I feel like to cry because I think these $719.00 amps sound better than my Pass Aleph 0 mono block and can easily beats lots of high end amps on the market right now. Give the amp a try and you will be glad you did for the better sound you get and the money you save. Highly recommended!!

Similar Products Used:

Threshold T-400, Pass Aleph 0.

price, performance, build quality, bridgeable

none

Sound quality is such a debateble topic that I hate to go on about how good the SM-70 sounds. What I will say is this. I have been slowly upgraded my non-audiophile by tiny leaps and bounds for several years now. It began with an involved DIY project to build a great pair of speakers. Since that project I have discovered that my speakers have not been performing up to their capabilities. I've sold my receiver and gone to separates. I've rolled my own cables and rested. I have yet to reach the point where my speakers become the weak link...

Enter the SM-70. I only have one pair so I run it in stereo mode @~25W/ch. It is crisp, clear, detailed, authoritative for such a small amp, and wait...maybe I need a new preamp and CD player. I bet I HAVEN'T heard what the amp can do in my living room yet.

Of course all the usual rules apply. It's class A, let it cook for a while before listening. Give it a lot of break in time also. They age well. If you buy a pair (recommended) then please use the balanced inputs. Don't stack them and give them some breathing space (they get hot).

The SM-70 is not the best sounding amp in the world. It's not the best I've ever heard. I can't say what the best is. It's subjective. It's competition costs 5 times as much though and in a blind test you might guess wrong anyway. So it's hard to buy a piece of audio equipment without listening first, maybe even without auditioning, but if you ever do buy something on advice alone, this is it.

Detail, transparency, coherency and SWEET high end.

I'll be damned if I can figure any. Obviously you don't expect full scale dynamics with an amp of this rating, otherwise...nothing to report.

Difficult to beleive that these dimuntive amps, they look almost like large batteries, could have the punch, detail, transparency and sweet, smooth top end that they do. I am using Sony's flagship XA7ES CD player directly into these amps w/Nordost Red Dawn cables (RCA). Speakers are the excellent Merlin TSM-SE's w/Cardas Cross cables. The detail and palpability is astonishing. Male and female voice presence is utterly oustanding.

These amps are not bargains, they are STEALS! You simply must hear them to beleive them. In fact, I'm selling the SM-70's which I'm using in a monoblock configuration to upgrade to the 70 PRO'S.

Please note that I have been an ardent audio hobbyist for over 20 years. I've had stats, tubes, tables, you name. I currently use all SIM Audio downstairs w/Tyler Acoustics 7U speakers. I really do know good sound. I have played in several bands over the years and see live music at least four x/year.

CC Poon is a person of enormous integrity and he will go to any length to see that customers are treated not just fairly but well. When Frank Alles reports that people will avoid this product because of its reasonable price he is right. However, if you want an astonishingly good amp to use in a smaller system with sensitive speakers, I simply cannot recommend this unit enough.

Smooth sounding with a lot of detail (more than my integrated Classe Amp). Very solid construction

Runs hot

I bought this amp to use in a bi-amp configuration. The Monarchy is driving the mids and highs and a Classe Integrated (CAP-80) the bass. The match between the two is quite good. The improvements were immediate in the area of clarity and "separation". I am now able to distinguish sounds that I though were noise clicks. The improvements were much larger than any changes in interconnect, speaker cables, crossover caps and the like. Im using a Radio Shack Interconnect and DIY cat 5 cables. The speakers are NewformResearch 645.There is no hum whatsoever unless I turn the lights that are in the same circuit but then the Classe integrated also hums.

The owner, CC Poon is very helpful and would answer mail within a day.

Similar Products Used:

Classe CAP-80

Smooth non fatiguing sound that doesn't bite or wear you down in extended listening sessions. Can drive 91db speakers to satisfying levels without pain or strain.
Doesn't get as hot as people say, unless they are driving inefficient speakers at too loud a level for the amp to adequately handle.

Severely limited resolving power as well as the possibility of creating hum and noise (at least in my system) make it less than desirable for those seeking high end sound.

I had high expectations for this unit when I purchased it new, early this year, especially after reading the many good reviews. But alas, my experience was not as rewarding as that of others.
Despite swapping interconnects and speaker cables, revising grounding schemes for power cords, (using cheaters, changing polarity, etc.), nothing could banish the significant hum and bothersome noise level this amp created in my particular system.
Only when inserting a Pass Aleph 3 into my system did the hum and noise instantly vanish.
I'm feeding the amp with a Decware Triode line stage linked to an Ensemble Phonomaster -- linked to a turntable etc...
And cabled with DH-Labs silversonic interconnects and T-14 speaker cables. Which replaced basic Monster cable and generic interconnects.
The Monarchy did have some good things going for it, primarily a smooth non-fatiguing sound, good depth, decent transparency, good imaging and soundstage.
But, it could not resolve delicate inner detail at the same level as the Pass did. Nor should it, at one fourth the retail price of the Pass.
But don't delude yourself into thinking the Monarchy is a "giant" killer as some folks might believe it to be. The Monarchy is a respectable amp for the price, and one that probably shames most mid-fi products at this price point. But, it certainly was system dependent in my abode.
Try before you buy, It will either hum and create noise or it won't. If it doesn't, you have yourself a nice little amp that you might be able to live with for a long long time. It's strenghts may indeed outweigh it's weaknesses for you. Happy listening....

Similar Products Used:

Pass Aleph 3

magical trebel,natural mids,good bass extension

instruction manual needs to be read more than once to be confident of connections.

In my search to replace a pair of FORTE' model 7 mono blocks, i came accross a sea of possible amplifier choices. I summoned the help a sales consultant at AUDIO ADVISOR. I ended up with PARASOUND 1201a mono blocks for the bass, and finally a pair of MONARCHY SM70 mono blocks for the mids.and treble. The SM70's are the only amps to date that can equal my old FORTE' amps in the treble. the attack and decay is, well, magical. the mids. are full and airy, just the way i like it. I listen to music more often now than ever before, and that is the highest compliment of all.

Similar Products Used:

parasound 1201a, forte' model 7

Build quality, tight bass

Very hot running

I thought my KEF 103.2 tweeters were going bad but after replacing my Sony receiver with a Monarchy 18B DAC and SM-70 amp I found out they were fine. It was the Sony that made the KEFs sound nasty! Now the upper midrange that had been grating sounds good & I have real bass again! I'm not a 'golden ear' type but I was surprised at what a difference the electronics make. Monarchy also has good customer service and very good quality for the price.

Very natural tube-like sound that only gets better the more you use it. Would land in Stereophile class B and if a reviewer was honest, probably beat a good share of the rated Class A amplifiers. As a DIYer, i would be hard pressed to make this amp for the amount they are selling it for---certainly could not match their build quality--it is built like a tank.

none worth mentioning---hey, i am enjoying the music.

One of the best buys i have ever heard of in high-end audio---i will be saving to buy a second SM-70 so that i can monoblock them. This company represents what high-end should be --- affordable, yet able to stand by the best.

Total ablilty to disappear, Solid construction, and ability to drive difficult real world loads.

Difficult to say, maybe explaining to someone tht such great sound comes from such a small package

I have been a Quad ESL57 devotee for the past 15 years, and I have always look for the Holy Grail to run my Quads. I have tried tons of other amps over the years. Some hit the mids fine but have no bottom. Ohters combine the mids and hi's, but when driven hard give up the ghost, pour smoke into the room, and all that your left with are boat anchors. But this little beauty, well the music is magic. When used with Quads, you are there. It's the only way to describe the music. The SM70 has such control over the Quads, from the bottom end(YES ther is Bottom end with Quads ESL57's) it's stronger than I have ever heard before,
and deeper. The mids and hi's are just magic. The little beasty NEVER complains, never shuts down, and NEVER shows sign of strain, even when driven extremely hard.Reguardless if I am using CD, or analog source, the music is magic. I highly recommend any Quad ESL57 user out there, to give this AMP an audition. I do not think you will find a better match for the Quads. You will not be disappointed. And the price well, just fantastic.

Similar Products Used:

PASS AMP, BEARD TUBE, ARC TUBE, MAC TUBE, KRELL, SUMO

very detailed, non-fatiguing, natural open sound. powerful for its diminuative size. Beautiful design.

sharp corners on heat sinks...kind of dangerous for little ones around the house...I would like to see this company extend the one year warranty out to a five year...something to invoke confidence in the product's longevity

this review is for the SM-70pro since there is no section for it yet:

I have now had this amp for about a month and it has been in constant use from day one. First thing I noticed out of the box was that this amp is extremely good at reproducing every detail in the music. Bells, chimes, triangles and the like ring true, crisp and clear...everything from stringed insturments(pianos, violins, cellos etc) all sound very natural...accoustic guitars just sound amazingly real and palpable.
I have found myself listening to music more often with this amp...I think this is what is known as a 'non-fatiguing' amp...we will see if that is the case in the future and not just a fascination with my new toy.
This amp is also very dynamic even though the power rating is lower than my previous amps. Things are quiet when they should be and get loud when asked to.
Thus far I am very pleased with this amp's performance. It is a tremendous value. It offers true balanced operation in mono mode and that is where I plan to be in the near future(albeit not using balanced connection just yet as my pre amp does not have balanced outs). It has ample power to drive my maggies to very loud levels and it does not seem to strain at all. I would say it comes in an handsome little package to boot. All in all I love this amp!

Its hard to compare amps in this price range because the competition is so tight but here is what my opinion is thus far: compared to my old adcom535II its better in every way...dont get me wrong...I loved that little adcom...its a great amp...the sm70pro just out performs it in all aspects. the marantz was not as full sounding and it had some harshness to it..all that is remedied with SM70pro
When comparing it to the Classe CA-101 its a close call...I feel the Monarchy edges out the classe in its mastery of detail and quickness...the classe is a wonderful but its just that detail from the monarchy that beats it and well the price is also a factor...considering I can get two SM70pros for the price of one CLasse CA-101..
I hope this has been helpful to someone out there looking an amp. As always keep an open mind about things and try to listen to the units in your system if you are afforded the opportunity.

I ran into one little problem initially...I got this nasty ground loop hum coming from my amp but I read in the instruction manual that if I just remove the ground pin from the power cord it would be eliminated and it was: completely. I guess I could try other routes to fix that problem but that was the easiest thing.

Good listening and enjoy the music!!

My Seeestem:
-Nakamichi cd player(MIT terminator2 interconnects)
-Marantz pre
-Monarchy SM-70pro amp run in stereo
-KimberKable 4VS
-Magnepan MG1.6's

Similar Products Used:

ADCOM GFA-535II, Marantz receiver, Classe CA-101