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Monoprice Turntable with Audio-Technica AT100E Cartridge

R

redjr

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Anyone have one of these new TT from Monoprice? Just curious if it's a Hanpin sourced manufacturer. It certainly looks great, but the form factor makes me think it is a Hanpin knockoff. Sound? Seems the AT100E cartridge is a step up from the competition in this same sub $400, budget TT space. Looks very similar to my Teac TN-300, that is fairly respectable, but still out-classed by my vintage JVC QL-7.
 
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I just glanced at it and it reminds me a lot of my Fluance RT81. It has internal switchable pre, switchable auto-stop, and aspects of the arm assembly and configuration (and anti-skate) are very similar, even though the Fluance uses an S-shaped arm. Same retail price too. I would guess YaHorng Electronic is the manufacturer. FWIW, I've been very happy with the RT81 for going on two years now.
 
Yeah, I've been impressed with my TN-300 as well. It's pulling duty in one of my secondary systems. It sounds great compared to the Rat Shack I had in the 60s! :) While none of theses 'inexpensive' TTs sound as good as one costing > $1,000, they do the job 'good enough' for my ears and system. The MP one has that modern, smart looking piano black finish plinth too. The plinth does look thicker than my TN-300. I'd like to hear one, but I'm sure it's very close to my TN-300.
 
From what I can tell, the Monolith TT is offered by Monoprice, maybe the confusion. In any case, it looks very nice and I too would like to hear what others who have it say about it. I am trying to make recommendations to a friend who is interested in getting a TT in about that price range.
 
Maybe some variation in the appearance of the table but internals are all from the mfg catalog of standard parts to choose from. In other words if price like the Teac it will perform like the Teac just look different.
 
What Monoprice claims is an "AT100E" cartridge looks exactly like an AT95E, and nothing like the real AT100E, which is discontinued:

https://www.audio-technica.com/cms/cartridges/06264e9fc93d590b/index.html

at100e_1_sq.jpg
 
Actually, the last photo on the linked page looks identical to the photo above of the AT-100E with the exception of the plastic stylus grip being green in color.
 
Here's some information you might be interested in. The Monolith turntable is identical to the Elac Miracord 50, except the Monolith has a better cartridge. $250 versus $500 is a big difference in price. I contacted Elac about this discrepancy, and they are scratching their heads. They did promises to send me another reply once they discuss this with the manufacturer. Remember in China, US laws don't apply, and I suspect Monoprice made a better deal than Elac. On this date the Monolith can be had for $180, and that is a super deal.
 
Just so you know Audio Technica will sell to distributors pretty much what they want. LP Gear still sells many of the older cartridges now. The idea of the new VM series was to stop the same cartridge selling under different model names.
 
Audiolad said:
Here's some information you might be interested in. The Monolith turntable is identical to the Elac Miracord 50, except the Monolith has a better cartridge. $250 versus $500 is a big difference in price. I contacted Elac about this discrepancy, and they are scratching their heads. They did promises to send me another reply once they discuss this with the manufacturer. Remember in China, US laws don't apply, and I suspect Monoprice made a better deal than Elac. On this date the Monolith can be had for $180, and that is a super deal.
Click to expand...

The cartridge that comes with the Monolith is unmarked. Nothing on it anywhere that identifies it as being made by Audio-Technica, except the sound, which is identical to the other AT100 variants I have. I suspect that was part of the deal that kept the price low.

And yes, for $180 its a great buy.
 
Roboturner91 said:
The cartridge that comes with the Monolith is unmarked. Nothing on it anywhere that identifies it as being made by Audio-Technica, except the sound, which is identical to the other AT100 variants I have. I suspect that was part of the deal that kept the price low.

And yes, for $180 its a great buy.
Click to expand...
Here's my last reply from Elac concerning the the Monolith and Miracord 50 being the same:

Sorry for the late reply…

I know they look similar, however, they are different…

1. The Model 50 has a damped platter. The underside of the platter is covered with strategically-placed elastomer damping material. Not only does this material drastically reduce the platter resonance (the RING when the platter is tapped) but due to the increased mass, it also increases rotational inertia, improving speed accuracy. An undamped platter will ring like a bell, and that resonant energy is transferred through the vinyl back to the phono cartridge resulting in distortion.

2. The Model 50 incorporates servo speed control. A sensor and motor control circuit measures the actual platter speed at the bearing and corrects it instantaneously in a closed-loop feedback system. This technique improves the Model 50 wow and flutter specification by over 50% and speed accuracy by 66% over the simple belt drive and DC motor. (Our Wow & Flutter is 0.15 vs. Monoprice without servo at 0.25). ** Actually the Monolith is .2 not .25

3. The motor servo sensor for the speed feedback is integrated into an improved main bearing assembly. The platter rests on this bearing, so it takes not only the vertical load of the platter mass plus the record, but it also has to resist the torque applied to it via the drive belt and motor pulling laterally against it. A better bearing has lower friction and lower rumble, in this case by 10% (motor speed variation of the Miracord 50 is +/- 1% vs. Monoprice +3/-2 %)

4. No separate ground on the Monoprice table.

We will update our website with these specs….

Hope this helps….

Addendum: Rubber under the platter? Using the rubber mat does the same thing. The servo motor is the same for both. The Monolith is internally grounded to the blue wire, much like Rega does. Nothing he said shows $250 difference.
 
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The Monolith has the damping material on the bottom of the platter too. Same thing on both. Pic below.

That calls into question for me the validity of explanations 2 and 3, especially since the parts look EXACTLY the same and my measurements of the Monolith's w/f are consistently in the .12 to .16 range. Why would an "improved main bearing assembly" look exactly the same as the one they supposedly improved upon? Tempted to call shenanigans here.

Ground screw is a difference I noticed, but that seems very much like a "who cares" kinda thing that's more explained by use of different preexisting circuit board/back panel assemblies than an actual attempt at "improvement."

2018-10-ELAC_Miracord50-Teller.jpg
 
Yep. The electronics control board does look different, and the Monolith has auto stop feature.

I see the Elac for sale at $350, expect more discounts to follow.
 
The cart on the Monolith is a AT-100E (just to clear up confusion about it earlier in this thread). I have both (was running a AT-100E on my Teac TN-300 long before the Monolith ever came along). Stylus are interchangeable, the cartridge body also fits AT-440ML.

I swapped my Monolith dust cover over to my Teac (like the smoked look better), since I prefer the Teac with the lower profile look and finish. Both are good tables and very similar, the Monolith base is heftier. I tend to get better speed measurements than spec'ed on either one of them.
 
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