Awesome Small-Form Factor Amps

I think they went out of business recently (made in the USA) so that explains that.

But I have this little Monarchy 25 watt Class A that I power my Altec 19's, JBL C40's and EV Regency's on occasion along with a late model McIntosh C220 Tube Preamp. Great sounding little amp.

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Oh my. I'll bet those sound good, Bob.
 
Oh my. I'll bet those sound good, Bob.

Thanks Art, they do! It has that warm tube-like sound. It runs very hot being a Class A and I leave the top off of it when I use it, but it's not as hot as my old tube Knight Mono-Blocks, so the Monarchy is my AZ summer amp when I run my efficient horn speakers.
 
I find it curious that I spend time in threads started by PG and Art K.

I respect the opinions of both you guys. Maybe because you are both willing to try different stuff and discuss what you have found. I think of both of you as leaders but in different ways.

At this point, I am QUITE happy with my audio systems (upstairs and down as well as garage. Well maybe not the garage. ) All have been influenced by your thoughts.

I hope there is no animosity here.

I, for one, appreciate any and all thoughtful input!
 
No animosity from me, for sure. PG and I have a very different focus. I generally stay away from his threads. Not because I think his kit is any worse or any better, but because it is a focus on a part of the hobby that I have no interest in. I don't do DIY and don't have any appreciation of it, especially aesthetically. Same with open baffle speakers. Just a case of different strokes. That is what makes the world interesting, to me.
 
Do you use this amp? Would you please talk about it? What does it compare to?

It looks interesting. Thanks for any insights.
This little amp actually rekindled my interest in stereo. Built like a brick house. I've heard it described as "tube-like," but not sure I'd characterize it as such. However, it has great midrange, decent built-in power and it's not at all harsh. It's a keeper.
 
I try to keep an open mind regarding all things audio. I sold my Classe powered Aerial Acoustics once I discovered that I could build better sounding gear for far less money. Bling is not my focus but sound is. Too often I see others waste so much money not realizing there are less expensive but better performing options down the road less traveled.
 
I also have kept an open mind. However, I also know what I have tried and like and what I have tried and don't like.
 
I've always enjoyed small amps. Started with the Mission and the Naim amps from Britain. I've never owed any but I do have a couple of small amps. I've also found bookshelf speakers to my liking. I'm currently looking at a pair of Audio Physic Step speakers.

The Mission Cyrus I first liked.

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I've always enjoyed small amps. Started with the Mission and the Naim amps from Britain. I've never owed any but I do have a couple of small amps. I've also found bookshelf speakers to my liking. I'm currently looking at a pair of Audio Physic Step speakers.

The Mission Cyrus I first liked.

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Those were great amps. The next generation metal cased ones were even better. Put the PSX with it and it punched so far above its weight you were in Perreaux or Levinson territory before it was worthwhile bothering.
 
I have a couple of those Monarchy amps. They really are great. They haven't gone out of business yet, but Mr. Poon is trying to sell the business. You can still buy the amps new. Lots of nice stuff on the site.

http://www.monarchyaudio.com/
 
This might not be in a class with some of this other gear, but it's a small form-factor amp that I own, is pretty versatile, and sounds at least decent to my ears...my Sherbourn PA 2-50. Perhaps the best thing about it is its versatility...2 RCA inputs, 2 PAIRS of speaker outputs, remote control, automatic switching on. I've got it in my office system, powering Kef 103.2's stacked on Bozak 305's and it sounds pretty damn good. In the past I've used it to power big Magnepans, Kef LS50's, and Kef 107's...it handles them all (not saying performance will be optimal with only 50 WPC, but it drove them all fine).

I'm about to build one of the small, cheap DIY tube pre-amps for some tube flavor, to see whether I like it or not in this system. The Sherbourn sounds fairly accurate, if not a bit sterile, so maybe some tube coloration will make the system a little more "fun."

Either way, I bought this unit NEW for only $169 on closeout, with a 10 year warranty. Happy with it so far, over the last 3 years or so.

Edit - added under the hood pic
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Original Job Systems mono amps. Somewhere there is a nice picture of the original integrated amp too, but I haven't found it. Loved these little amps, kind of wish the new ones took over the same case/styling.
 
This might not be in a class with some of this other gear, but it's a small form-factor amp that I own, is pretty versatile, and sounds at least decent to my ears...my Sherbourn PA 2-50. Perhaps the best thing about it is its versatility...2 RCA inputs, 2 PAIRS of speaker outputs, remote control, automatic switching on. I've got it in my office system, powering Kef 103.2's stacked on Bozak 305's and it sounds pretty damn good. In the past I've used it to power big Magnepans, Kef LS50's, and Kef 107's...it handles them all (not saying performance will be optimal with only 50 WPC, but it drove them all fine).

I'm about to build one of the small, cheap DIY tube pre-amps for some tube flavor, to see whether I like it or not in this system. The Sherbourn sounds fairly accurate, if not a bit sterile, so maybe some tube coloration will make the system a little more "fun."

Either way, I bought this unit NEW for only $169 on closeout, with a 10 year warranty. Happy with it so far, over the last 3 years or so.

Edit - added under the hood pic
6171.Jpg




SHEPA250-2.jpg
This amp looks very similar to the Emotiva Fusion Flex
http://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/fusion-flex
 
This amp looks very similar to the Emotiva Fusion Flex
http://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/fusion-flex

Yep it is...same company (now, anyway). I think Emotiva bought Sherbourn or something along those lines. They are virtually the same thing. For awhile there the Sherbourn had the edge over the Emotiva models...it had a 10 year warranty vs. 5 years on the Emotiva stuff. It also had two inputs (Emotiva had one). Both really great bang for the buck, IMO. I can't believe the little guy can drive my Kef's and my Bozak's so well at the same time...can drive them to loud levels, doesn't run hot or appear to be even breaking a sweat. Probably helps that the total load on the amp is not bad with them being 8 and 16 ohm speakers. Can't wait to hear if there is any improvement after adding the tube-pre (a topic for another thread, I know).
 
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