See review below. This product should be sold with every DVD and CD player that uses an optical out or even a coaxial outputs. Compatible with BOTH Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS soundtrack formats.

Makes your friends "un-DIP'd" sound and theater systems sound noticeably absolutely awful. Limited local availability but thankfully obtainable through mail order from Audio Advisor. Will "skip" if your power supply to the DIP isn't adequately isolated from dirty electrical sources like washing machines and refridgerator motors.

This is a follow-up to my previous review. I'm now the proud owner of a second DIP Mk II. Yes, it's THAT good!

I just wanted to note that the DIP Mk. II functions flawlessly with DTS 5.1 datastreams as well Dolby Digital. I've used it with Gladiator, Men in Black, and other DTS soundtracks without a problem.

I've heard it used with a Sony A-55 DSS receiver and the difference in stereo and multi-channel audio quality was stunning. The Sony must have seriously rotten datastream quality due to cheezy internal components. Since I've purchased a similar model, there's no doubt the second DIP will be used for this.

The skipping problem seems be associated with the turn-on transient from large electrical motors. Isolating it with a good power condition (Monster HTS 3500 or better) seems to eliminate the problem if you can't get it on a clean circuit.

I gotta say it's a shame this little miracle box isn't sold at every electronics store. We'd all be listening to a lot better music.

I'll be purchasing a third DIP, the current 24/96 model when I upgrade my CD/DVD transport to a DVD audio-compatible, progressive scan model. Unless Sony wakes up and starts aggressively licencing the audibly superior SACD format, you can bet money it'll be another Beta (which was far superior to JVC's VHS format) travesty.

Similar Products Used:

None.

great improvements in sound for rock-bottom price

none

i just want to add my praise to the chorus already building. over the past 6 months, this little unit has become an integral part of my system. it does everything right: soundstage, midrange palpability, electronic glare, transparency, extension....you name it, it improves it substantially. it's a bargain--thanks CC Poon!

system: Gallo Nucleus Solo, Silver Audio Symphony 32, BAT VK200, Silver Audio 6.0, Sonic Frontiers Line 1 with Tungsram NOS (courtesy of Kevin Deal), Silver Audio 6.0, EVS Millenium DAC, Silver Audio 6.0 (as digital!), Monarchy DIP MkII, Kimber AGDL, Panasonic A310 DVD, Kimber Hero, Sunfire True Sub MkII

Similar Products Used:

none

Overall better resolution.

For the price-None.

Purchased this Monarchy DIP MK II about a week ago from Audio Advisor for $199.00.Best money I've spent so far on my system.The bass is much tighter and overall better resolution. I recomend it highly.If your interested in puchasing one call Audio Advisor and ask for Chris,great guy.

Similar Products Used:

MF X-DAC

Jitter reduction, Price, Cable type independent

Have not found one

I have used a Monarchy Audio DIP Mark 1 for three months and just received a few days ago the latest version, the Mark 2 from Monarchy for $239. I was very happy with the Mk 1 version, due to the effect it had on my set. Deeper and tighter bass, grain free high tones, more dynamics. But things changed now.

After a few notes played I noticed an improvement. And after two long nights listening I am sure this unit transforms my complete setup from "being a very nice digital set" to almost "analogue high-end". No need to buy a record player anymore for the first time in my life.

Things improved are the bass which is even more thight (I use large speakers and an additional active sub woofer). Midrange is better and voices sound more open. High tones are no longer "a digital sound" but sound as sweet as analogue. More details can be heard and the soundstage has grown wider and deeper.

This is an amazing piece of equipment for just $239,-. Having heard the effect I would pay double of triple this price. I was looking for a new D/A converter. But no longer. Congratulations Monarchy Audio, well done.

Further equipment used:
Teac VRDS-T1 (tweaked)
van den Hul The First Digital interconnect
Monarchy Audio DIP Mk 2
Sonic Link Silver Pink interconnect
Audio Alchemy DDE V3.0 Dac
Van de Hul The First analogue interconnect
Sphinx Project 2 pre amp
Two Monarchy Audio SM-70 power amps bridged as mono block
Supra classic 2x4mm2 speaker cable
JM Lab Daline 6.1
Active band pass sub (DIY)

I can recommend this unit to anyone who uses a separate CD player and a D/A converter and has no extra clock link (like Wadia or Krell). The cable from CD player to DIp is important, the cable from DIP to Dac is far less important.

Similar Products Used:

DIP Mk 1

A couple of nights ago my Theta Data died on me. I was hoping it would hold outuntil the new digital format would arrive. I considered having it sent to Theta
for repairs but wondered if the expense and wait would be worth. I remembered I had an old Sony 608ES CD player in my basement. I connected it to my Theta ProGen 3 as a transport and hoped for the best. As you guessed it, it was very
disappointing. I remember seeing an add in AudioAdvisor for the DIP. I figured
the price to repair the Data would certainly cost more than The DIP so I ordered
one. WOW. The Sony and the DIP sounded better than my Data using AT&t optical
cable. Im not going to get into all the audiophile jargon but you get the picture. The Dip took my 10 year old Sony and surpassed my Data II. I wish
my Data had broken earlier.

Garbage in, garbage out. I believe that improving things upstream and working down is the rational way to proceed. In this vein, I bought the DIP ( actually, a thoughtfully guided birthday present.) I'm running a Parasound CDP 1000 as transport, MSB Link DAC. For the price of a fancy digital interconnect, you fix the jittered signal. the results have to be heard to be appreciated. If you are looking to do incremental upgrades in search of budget nirvana..hell, just plain excellent digital front end performance, get a DIP. It'll take out the garbage and leave you with music.Unreserved five star for sound, build and price

reduction of glare, enhanced vocal clarity and punch

residual CD bottleneck; questionable "locak" LED validity

A nice addition to my set! Added warmth and punch to vocals, and helped to bring out detail. Definitely worth the $169 I paid for it through Audio Advisor. I have it coupled with a Soundstream DAC-1, Musical Fidelity X-10D, AMC CD8a, NAD C340, Vandersteen 1Cs and all 4N silver wiring. The only difficulties I had with the product were the occassional 1-second pauses as the DIP (apparently?) buffered data, resulting in a pause in playback. This happened to me a total of 9 times over a 5 hour listening period, on different CDs that never demonstrated this prior to the intercalation of the DIP into the system. Regardless, the added revelations in detail and vocal warmth make it worth it.

the music now have "life"

110ohm coxial output(RCA) sound inferior to BNC(75ohm)

This magic box change yr transport into a nearly high-end
one,it improve the sound in too many way & already quoted
by other people,so i'just want to state some points for how
to extract the essences of this Superdrive.

1.its call "superdrive"mainly because the special high speed
driver before the BNC coxial output,this is without any
doubt,the best sound terminal.However any adaptor will
degrade the sound(especially the "nickel" plated one),the best way is to change the plug of your coxial cable from
RCA to gold plated BNC plug,or at least use a best quality
adaptor(such as "DENKO"gold plated adaptor)
The wrong adaptor will sound too hard,the decent adaptor
will have completely different sound,you can hear at least
60% more smooth and airy than RCA coxial(110ohm in this DIP)
every music note sound very bright but not harsh,the liquidity will improved tremendously!But i think the music
now have a "life" is the dominant point!

On the other hand,the normal 110ohm RCA coxial will only hv
a "warm" sounding(because the treble is not enough)

2.Change the power cord to a DENKO pcocc 15A(less than
USD4.00 per yard)you will have at least 50% improvement!
(any digital device were very sensitive to power supply.

3.if the budget is enough,buy another one & put them in
series,the path should be:-
BNC output(1st superdrive)-----RCA input(2nd superdrive)----------BNC output(2nd superdrive)-----input of DAC

4.save your money to buy expensive transport & just enjoy
the music!

Just tried the all new Monarchy DIP MK2 and it was truly outstanding.The Mark2 has an all-aluminum chasis which is 30% thicker the original DIP and a new AC input filter, allowing the Mark2 to block all external noise from AC line and other audio devices so it can suppress jitter batter.The new circuit has gone through several refinements and the result is truly amazing, the sound stage is wider and deeper, music is more transparent and focus, take the sound to a new level of listening. The most amazing thing of all is the price is still the same as original DIP, God bless Monarchy Audio, not like other manufactures always raise the price when there is a new improved version of thier product. At only $239.00 list, this is really the best deal of all.

Bought the DIP about 3 mos ago to put in between my mass market CD player and the MSB Link DAC. Noticed an immediate improvement - the music sounds less harsh and "smeared". The notes sound "rounder" and more musical with no rough edges. There is an increased sense of space around each of the instruments or voices. I was so impressed with the performance improvement I got with the first one taht I bought a second and have the 2 in series with each other. This gave an added improvement, although not as dramatic as adding the first unit. Overall, this has made my mass-market transport/player and inexpensive MSB Link DAC very musical and listenable while I postpone the purchase of a new digital front end.
This is upgrade gives excellent bang for the buck for audiophiles on a budget. It's impact ranks second only to the MSB DAC, which is also a very worthwhile low cost upgrade to an inexpensive player.