Monacor / IMG Stage Line SPR-6 Pre-amp / Phono Stage Owners' Thread

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by LivingForever, May 2, 2017.

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  1. robegian

    robegian Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Trieste, Italy
    I found this review about the Monacor (it's in Polish — I had to use Google translator to read it):
    HIGH Fidelity
     
  2. Tonmeister

    Tonmeister Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Great write up Benzion, you certainly gave the unit a thorough try out. I am wondering if burn-in time might be a factor at all here? I know the Monacor is a very simple circuit, but of the phono pre’s I’ve owned (Lounge, Cambridge Audio) they both sounded a bit lifeless at first and only started to bloom after some 20+ hrs use. I never got around to trying the Monacor myself and think I’m happy to stick with the Lounge for now.
     
  3. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Gee, it's in Polish - thanks! I like the way letters form themselves into seemingly unpronounceable combinations in that language...:wave:
     
  4. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Mine was from eBay, which at the time had only two listings, one from Austria, one from Italy. Both for around 46-48 Euro. I chose the one from Austria because shipping from Italy is always hellishly expensive for no reason. In fact I stopped ordering anything from Italy for that reason. Shipping from Austria was 26 Euro - not cheap, either.
     
  5. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Burn-in, for... transistors?:eek:

    Lounge never sounded lifeless to me. As soon as I hooked it up - it was magic, liquid gold.
     
  6. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I'm not surprised it's better than the Rega Fono, between the two, I'd choose the Monacor, as well. Graham Slee I have no experience with, so will keep mum on it.

    As far as OM10 - it makes sense, perhaps the Monacor was made specifically for lower-end carts, and does make them sound better than they otherwise would. But, with better carts and equipment available out there - I don't see what all the hubbub is about.
     
  7. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    I have one up for sale but I am not recommending it. It's a piece of crap compared with an MF v90LPS but of course you get what you pay for. Now if someone added a decent power supply things might be different. I just found the sound to be rather veiled. It's also lacks enough gain if you have a passive pre.
     
  8. Thorensman

    Thorensman Forum Resident

    Fair comment.
    I may use the Monacor as a project
    Years ago NVA took the QED digit
    /and breathed upon it,
    It was rather good.
     
  9. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Totally agree regarding gain deficiency. Was just about to post about it myself.

    I did more listening today, on purpose, with no cans, just speakers. The lack of gain in the Monacor is clear: when the Shure cart, with its 4.0 mV output is played through the Lounge's 40 dB gain, the resulting output is 400 mV - below the Monacor's rated output of 450 mV from a 5.0 mV cart.

    Well, Shure/Lounge combo did great with my active preamp at 23 dB level, providing healthy SPL to my liking, with full-bodied sound typical of the excellent Lounge.

    Just to get the same sound level (admittedly measured by ears only, but I'm fairly good at discerning my comfortable SPL), the 2M Blue/Monacor combo had to be played at the 29 dB mark on the preamp - a 6 dB difference, and the 2M Blue has 5.5 mV output, compared to Shure's 4.0! Doing some math backwards, I now estimate the Monacor's gain to be even lower than the 38-39 dB it claims, probably closer to 30-31 dB. And all my yesterday's comments still hold true - compared to the Lounge it's rather anemic, very well-behaved, but bland.

    I think I'm still going to keep it, what the hell, precisely for those in-between moments when I don't have the phono I want at the moment.

    Final verdict: It's cheap enough to be a decent spare, but nowhere good enough to be considered a primary player in a good system. Those who love it and swear by it - please don't feel offended, this is not, I swear, meant as an insult, all opinions herein are definitely and subjectively mine, and mine alone. As always - YMMV.

    Happy listening!

    P.S. On a side note: with every comparison I make, I realize more and more just how big of a gem the Lounge LCR is.
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2018
  10. robegian

    robegian Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Trieste, Italy
    I bought a Schiit Mani. I compared it to the Monacor. So far, I prefer the Monacor — damn, I could have spared those 165€...

    [​IMG]
     
    LivingForever likes this.
  11. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I never bought the Mani - I was warned against it. I use Monacor, occasionally, as a temporary stand-in, for when one of my regular phono's needs service. It's OK, I guess.
     
  12. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    I got the Monocor out and compared it to the Musical Fidelity V90LPS. The Monocor is nowhere near it. Going on Ebay.
     
  13. robegian

    robegian Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Trieste, Italy
    Actually it's spelled Monacor ;-)
     
    Fishoutofwater likes this.
  14. robegian

    robegian Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Trieste, Italy
    The Mani was suggested by many (!) and it's got raving reviews. Still, to me it's a disappointment — at least on my system.
     
  15. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Which doesn't make it sound any better!
     
  16. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Shows - don't go for forum favourite of the week/month/year. Invariably they disappoint. Most of the raves I've seen include using it with Nag MP 110 cartridge.
     
  17. robegian

    robegian Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Trieste, Italy
    It literally makes it sound better — its name, that is :->
     
    MikeM. likes this.
  18. robegian

    robegian Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Trieste, Italy
    I strongly disagree — with the "piece of crap" and "of course you get what you pay for" parts (I never heard the V90-LPS).

    In these months I compared the Monacor to several phono preamplifiers (some very costly) and actually it's an amazing piece of hardware which sounds like it had costed several times its price.

    Besides, its sound is all but "veiled": actually the very high frequencies are a bit too present, which should be somehow a flaw (because looks like they implemented the RIAA curve in a customized — and thus wrong — way to get more detail in the highest frequencies) but in fact gives the Monacor a pleasing kinda high-resolution character.
     
  19. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Flat soundstage, lacks resolution, low gain for many MM cartridges. Not musically satisfying. I've had quite a few phono preamps over the years and this certainly doesn't worry anything sold as a true hi fidelity product that I 've heard. It may well be as good as some other sub £100 products which may make it a good buy in that context or for DJ work with a very high output cartridge. Maybe if you used the basic component modified to use a serious power supply it could be good. The switch mode supplied is horrible and dumps interference into the mains.
     
  20. robegian

    robegian Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Trieste, Italy
    I'm beginning to believe that you listened to either a defective unit or a totally different device.
     
  21. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I'm afraid I have to agree with him, not you. It is flat, not satisfying. Lack gain, lacks dynamics. Not really crap crap, but not audiophile stuff, by any stretch of imagination. Good as a spare, until you get better stuff.
     
  22. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I guess the fellow who warned me about it was disappointed, as well.
     
  23. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Remember because I'm comparing against really good stages. Many inbuilt stages on older amps are far better. I would suggest if it beats the Mani there may be an issue with that unit. Likely it's quite competitive with £50-£80 stages but get impression it was designed for high output MM DJ cartridges. Not for critical hi-fi listening. One thing I would agree with is that it is remarkably quiet in terms of hiss or hum being absent.
     
  24. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    I think Ortofon have a higher output than the AT's I have tried which may well help. I don't think your preference says a lot for the budget Rega and the Graham Slee. Your cartridge deserves something better likely costing as much or more than the 2M blue. I would put a really good stage above buying a more expensive cartridge. 35 Euro stage is not going to be as good as 150-200 Euro.
     
  25. robegian

    robegian Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Trieste, Italy
    Instead, this is exactly the case —this 35€ thing is even better than some 150-200€ stages.

    P.S. I'm going to record and put on line some bits played through the Monacor and through the Schiit (I'll use one of my Macs with an RME FireFace external audio card connected directly to the pre's outputs) and sooner or later I'll pay a visit to a dear friend of mine who owns some pretty costly stuff to record some further comparative samples.
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2018
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