Monolith by Monoprice Desktop Balanced Headphone Amplifier and DAC with THX AAA Technology (Dual AKM 4493 DACs & Dual AAA-788 Modules)

The Monolith™ THX® Desktop Headphone Amplifier and DAC features cutting edge technology to bring out the best in your headphones, playback device, and music library.

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The Monolith™ THX® Desktop Headphone Amplifier and DAC features cutting edge technology to bring out the best in your headphones, playback device, and music library. Featuring dual THX AAA™ 788 amplifier modules for best in class amplification, an AKM® 4493 DAC for an exceptionally musical experience, and Dirac Sensaround® II decoding for an out‑of‑your‑head, larger than life soundstage, the Monolith amplifier is engineered for the finest in music reproduction. A host of inputs and outputs, including balanced, unbalanced, and digital, ensures that you have plenty of ways to connect your audio devices.

Additional information

Dimensions

8.7" x 7.8" x 2.0"

Year 788 (DCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar, the 788th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 788th year of the 1st millennium, the 88th year of the 8th century, and the 9th year of the 780s decade. The denomination 788 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:

The AKM (Russian: Автомат Калашникова модернизированный, romanized: Avtomat Kalashnikova modernizirovanny, lit. 'Kalashnikov's Automatic Rifle Modernised') is an assault rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1959. It was developed as the successor to the AK-47 adopted by the Soviet Union a decade prior.

Introduced into service with the Soviet Army in 1959, the AKM was the most prevalent variant of the Kalashnikov rifles in the Warsaw Pact. The rifle was produced at the Tula Arms Plant and Izhmash factories in Russia. It was eventually replaced by the AK-74 in 1974.

The AKM maintains the AK-47's wood stock, but has simpler individual parts that are favorable for mass production. Like the AK-47, many variants of the AKM exist such as the AKMS, AKML, and AKMP.

An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It is a two-port electronic circuit that uses electric power from a power supply to increase the amplitude (magnitude of the voltage or current) of a signal applied to its input terminals, producing a proportionally greater amplitude signal at its output. The amount of amplification provided by an amplifier is measured by its gain: the ratio of output voltage, current, or power to input. An amplifier is defined as a circuit that has a power gain greater than one.

An amplifier can be either a separate piece of equipment or an electrical circuit contained within another device. Amplification is fundamental to modern electronics, and amplifiers are widely used in almost all electronic equipment. Amplifiers can be categorized in different ways. One is by the frequency of the electronic signal being amplified. For example, audio amplifiers amplify signals in the audio (sound) range of less than 20 kHz, RF amplifiers amplify frequencies in the radio frequency range between 20 kHz and 300 GHz, and servo amplifiers and instrumentation amplifiers may work with very low frequencies down to direct current. Amplifiers can also be categorized by their physical placement in the signal chain; a preamplifier may precede other signal processing stages, for example, while a power amplifier is usually used after other amplifier stages to provide enough output power for the final use of the signal. The first practical electrical device which could amplify was the triode vacuum tube, invented in 1906 by Lee De Forest, which led to the first amplifiers around 1912. Today most amplifiers use transistors.

A desktop traditionally refers to:

  • The surface of a desk (often to distinguish office appliances that fit on a desk, such as photocopiers and printers, from larger equipment covering its own area on the floor)

Desktop may refer to various computer terms:

  • Desktop computer, a personal computer designed to fit on a desk
  • Desktop metaphor, a style of graphical user interface modeled after a physical work surface
    • Desktop environment, software that provides a comprehensive computer user interface
    • .desktop file, providing configuration details for a program in a desktop environment
    • Remote desktop software, software that provides remote access to a computer's desktop
  • Client (computing), sometimes referred to as a desktop to distinguish the client from a server
  • Desktop (word processor), a program for the ZX Spectrum

A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monoliths are volcanic plugs, solidified lava filling the vent of an extinct volcano.

In architecture, the term has considerable overlap with megalith, which is normally used for prehistory, and may be used in the contexts of rock-cut architecture that remains attached to solid rock, as in monolithic church, or for exceptionally large stones such as obelisks, statues, monolithic columns or large architraves, that may have been moved a considerable distance after quarrying. It may also be used of large glacial erratics moved by natural forces.

The word derives, via the Latin monolithus, from the Ancient Greek word μονόλιθος (monólithos), from μόνος (mónos) meaning "one" or "single" and λίθος (líthos) meaning "stone".

Monoprice is an American online retailer that sells generic-branded consumer electronics under its namesake private label, as well as name brand consumer electronics and outdoor equipment. The company is based in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

The office and shipping operations are run out of a 173,000 square-foot warehouse. As of 2013, Monoprice is a $120 million-a-year business.

THX Ltd. is an American audio company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is known for its eponymous suite of digital high fidelity audiovisual reproduction standards for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, video game consoles, car audio systems, and video games. The THX trailer that precedes compliant films is based on the Deep Note, with a distinctive glissando up from a rumbling low pitch.

THX was developed by Tomlinson Holman at George Lucas's company Lucasfilm in 1983 to ensure that the soundtrack for the third Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi, would be accurately reproduced in the best venues. THX was named after Holman's initials, with the "X" standing for "crossover" or "experiment". The name is also an homage to Lucas's first film, THX 1138 (1971). Deep Note was created by Holman's co-worker James A. Moorer.

THX is a quality assurance system, not a recording technology. All sound recording formats, whether digital (Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS) or analog (Dolby Stereo, Ultra Stereo), can be reproduced in a THX system. THX-certified theaters provide a high-quality, predictable playback environment to ensure that any film soundtrack mixed in THX will sound as near as possible to the intentions of the mixing engineer. THX also provides certified theaters with a special crossover circuit whose use is part of the standard. Certification of an auditorium entails specific acoustic and other technical requirements; architectural requirements include a floating floor, baffled and acoustically treated walls, non-parallel walls (to reduce standing waves), a perforated screen (to allow center channel continuity), and NC30 rating for background noise ("ensures noise from air conditioning units and projection equipment does not mask the subtle effects in a movie's soundtrack").

On June 12, 2002, THX was spun off as a separate company from Lucasfilm and sold to sound card manufacturer Creative Technology Limited, which held a 60% share of the company. Under Creative Technology, the company developed several further innovations, such as the first THX-certified audio card for computers, the Sound Blaster Audigy 2. In 2016, THX was acquired by video game hardware company Razer Inc.

On September 12, 2024, THX announced Tuyen Pham as Chief Executive Officer.

Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word technology can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible tools such as utensils or machines, and intangible ones such as software. Technology plays a critical role in science, engineering, and everyday life.

Technological advancements have led to significant changes in society. The earliest known technology is the stone tool, used during prehistory, followed by the control of fire—which in turn contributed to the growth of the human brain and the development of language during the Ice Age, according to the cooking hypothesis. The invention of the wheel in the Bronze Age allowed greater travel and the creation of more complex machines. More recent technological inventions, including the printing press, telephone, and the Internet, have lowered barriers to communication and ushered in the knowledge economy.

While technology contributes to economic development and improves human prosperity, it can also have negative impacts like pollution and resource depletion, and can cause social harms like technological unemployment resulting from automation. As a result, philosophical and political debates about the role and use of technology, the ethics of technology, and ways to mitigate its downsides are ongoing.

With or WITH may refer to:

  • With, a preposition in English
  • Carl Johannes With (1877–1923), Danish doctor and arachnologist
  • With (character), a character in D. N. Angel
  • With (novel), a novel by Donald Harrington
  • With (album), a 2014 album by TVXQ
  • With (EP), a 2021 EP by Nam Woo-hyun
Average Rating

4.89

09
( 9 Reviews )
5 Star
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9 Reviews For This Product

  1. 09

    by Lesley

    I have really loved my amp. It sounds great and buttons and dial are excellent. Superior build quality really sets it apart. I would only wish it was running with a USB-C input on the back. Wondering why it was discontinued within a week or two of me receiving the unit. Is there a replacement on it?s way and can I switch it out or upgrade somehow? Thank You

  2. 09

    by Lino

    Sounds really good very linear and clear doesn’t add anything to the music gives the sound really natural.

  3. 09

    by Anthony

    A really great device. Definitely recommended for anyone looking for a balanced XLR amp/Dac combo.

  4. 09

    by James

    Easy set up. This device took my system to a whole new level. It replaced my monoprice USB dac that I had. What a difference. Money very well spent. Build quality feels great. Very pleased with the purchase. Thanks monoprice!

  5. 09

    by David

    I really like this product. I run It balanced with my focal clear headphones and it sounds incredible but especially so at this price. I bought this device for the added bonuses of being able to mess with eq and the Dirac tho I have to admit I?ve barely touched these controls as the generic sound sounds so good.

  6. 09

    by Bart

    Very pleased with this purchase. I would suggest you watch the review by Joshua Valour on YouTube if you’re still not convinced.

  7. 09

    by Nikolas

    Just bought this amplifier and its amazing. I use it everyday for gaming and music and it just works. its easy to config and setup and the shipping is crazy fast. very satisfied, thumbs up.

  8. 09

    by Daniel

    I freaking love this thing. Clean af sound and doesn’t get hot. Actually don’t have anything negative to say other than where the controls are placed but you get used to it. Or maybe kinda sucks you cant switch quickly between line out and headphones, you have to go through the menu to do it. Anyway, watch Zeos review on YouTube. he’s 100% correct. Go buy now.

  9. 09

    by Manuel

    With this DAC/AMP you could eliminate all the downsides of your HD800S. Great product.

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