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Media Note:
a post-review conversation with the reviewer revealed that the Champion
turntable had previously rested upon an Ultra Resolution Technology
stand, a state-of-the-art exampe of the hyper-rigid design school
with its massive shelves and welded all-metal support structure,
proving our contention that multiple degrees of freedom and visco-elastic
damping outperform the old "high-mass, ultra-rigid" paradigm by
a significant margin. "... Perhaps by now you can appreciate why Monsieur Monaco won't be leaving.
None of the effects described above are unique per se. Upgrading speakers
nails some of them. A better DAC will enhance resolution just the same.
Likewise, a superior SET will inject more presence and immediacy.
Did I just list three fully fledged components to duplicate the "Monaco
Effect" though? I sure did. Granted, this is not some hard-line mathematical
formula to gauge its magnitude of impact. Rather, it's a deliberate
suggestion. On how, once your components have reached a certain level of
performance maturity, precious little remains to be done that will effect
wholesale quantum leaps without spending obscene amounts of money. Even
then, sometimes it doesn't pan out. Money isn't everything. Mostly it's the
old White House shuffle - two steps forward, one back. Progress at snail's
pace. High-End audio. The big syphon on finances, patience and ultimately,
good faith..." >>
"... At the end of a positive review, one often sees the phrase
"you owe it to yourself to hear this product". Here, it might
be wiser to counsel that yes, listen to your music with this stand,
but only if you are ready to spend the money. Be forewarned: every
encounter with music will be fresh, new, and full of pleasant surprises,
even after many months living with the Monaco Modular Isolation
System. It sheds an entirely new light on how important isolation
is, so stark is the improvement in the sound. You may come to the
same conclusion as I did: once you've heard how good it can be,
there is no going back..." >> July
2001: Grand Prix Audio Monaco by Michael Fremer, Stereophile, Analog
Corner
Alvin, From my perspective, of having been a classically trained musician, High-End audio salesman, High-End audio National Sales Manager for three different firms -- throw in touring the country and visiting some of its top dealers as well as numerous trade and consumer shows -- I have a reasonably close fix on the status quo. As a reviewer for the last four years, even more equipment now passes through on a regular basis than before. The word? The word is that the eventual marginal improvements we reap if we've been at this endless upgrade game for a few years are relegated by the Monaco Modular Isolation System to where they belong: marginal advances that, at this stage of the game, costs a heckuva lot more. In my reference system (somewhere upwards of $50,000 these days) the $3,500 expenditure of your stand has made a more pronounced across-the-board improvement than any other equivalent dream purchase I could think up. I'm not saying this lightly. I could have thrown the same money at a new CD player. 'cept I know without a doubt that in order to improve over what I have, I'd have to go a lot higher. And knowing the shrinking gap that nowadays separates really good "reasonable" digital from the so-called SOTA efforts, I'm confident that even going after a $10,000 digital setup wouldn't return the kind of overall transformation the Monaco Modular Isolation System did. In short, for someone like me whose system has arrived at a high level of sophistication (involving years of trial'n'error and don't-ask how many paychecks) the Monaco Modular Isolation System counts as a true highlight purchase and the best investment I've made of late. I'm happy to hear you've decided to offer a home-trial program. Any mature audiophile in a similar boat to mine would be crazy not to take you up on it!
Equipment list: The very first thing that attracted me to the Grand Prix Audio Monaco Modular Isolation System equipment rack was its sheer beauty. I had been looking for quite some time for a rack that would look good in my living room. While I wanted something that looked good, I also wanted an improvement sonically. Little did I know just how much it would improve the sound of my system! The makeup of the system is as follows;
•
Krell KPS-28c CD player On the power end of things I am using a JPS Labs In-wall Power Cable to go from my electric panel to a Wattgate wall outlet. From the wall outlet I am using a PS Audio Ultimate Lab Cable to a PS Audio Power Plant (P-600). From the P-600 I am using also Ultimate Labs to my pre-amp and CD player and finally an Ultimate lab from the wall to the Krell Amp. My loudspeakers are Totem Acoustic Mani-2's. While I realize this is not an ultra hi-end system; in the grand scheme of things, the Monaco Modular Isolation System took my system up many, many notches. As suggested, the first thing I did after setting up the rack was to listen to some music with only my CD player place onto the acrylic shelf. Due to insufficient cable lengths, I was unable to use interconnects that I would normally use between my CD player and the pre-amp. I did notice a difference in the music immediately. It was a bit livelier and very enjoyable to listen to. After listening to the usual array of cuts that I would any time I implement a change to my system, I proceeded to swap out the acrylic shelf for the Formula Shelf. At this point in time I placed my pre-amp in the rack on the acrylic shelf. All I could say was "WOW"... I felt like I had gone out and purchased a new system. The space between the instruments had improved tremendously; the music became more open sounding, more dynamic, more like music. The thing I liked most about my Totems was the fact that they were on the analytical side of things. I was content with giving up a bit of musicality in exchange for their ability to be relentlessly revealing. Upon placing an Formula Shelf under my pre-amp, that whole scenario changed. I was totally blown away by the presentation. At this point in time I felt that I was not only listening to the music but that I was now listening to the music in the same exact environment that it originated in. I felt that it had taken on the character of its place of origin rather than just being there in theory. Everything about the music improved - dynamics, soundstage width and imaging, the depth; at times I felt like the stage had moved out in front of the speakers as well. Most importantly, it was more musical, the one thing I was willing to sacrifice. It was amazing. Over the course of a couple of weeks I tried some various tweaks from Black Diamond Racing. The first thing I did was to place 3 cones under my CD player; they have two types - Mk3 which are warm sounding, and Mk 4 which are more linear. I tried the Mk3s. I felt the sound became a bit edgy - as a result less musical. Based on the fact that the Mk4s were more linear I did not try them. I was convinced that the result would be even worse. The next thing I tried was to place the BDR "The Source" under the CD player.. The "Source" is a heavy carbon fiber shelf. I used the racing cones both under the CD player as well as under the "Source"; plus the Pits, which are basically cone footers to de-couple the player from the Formula Shelf and to protect the Formula Shelf from the points of the cones. This smoothed things out again. But now I felt there was a lack of focus. Next I removed the cones and the pits entirely and placed a sheet of paper between the BDR "The Source" and the Formula Shelf. There was more detail but no musicality. The last thing I tried as far as BDR was concerned was to place the felt pads between the "Source" and the Formula Shelf. This took me closer but nowhere near the performance of the Formula Shelf on its own. Less is more?
The only other things I have done was to place a Bright Star Audio
"Little Rock" (12 lbs.) on top of the CD player to mass-load it,
I filled the rack with lead shot and I placed a Formula Shelf
between my Sound Anchors Amp Stand and my amp. I felt that the "Little
Rock" did clean things up. Unfortunately at the time that I got
around to adding lead shot, I had to return my PS Audio Power Plant
to them for repair. It was creating a mechanical hum in the components
that were plugged "My Goodness Gracious!!! This stand (Monaco Modular Isolation System) is outstanding! I finished the long and arduous task at around 8:30 Saturday evening and started listening even before the components had warmed up sufficiently. I nearly dislocated my jaw on the floor! I have not made use of sand or lead yet, but had to go forward anyway. Across-the-board improvement in all the right ways. At first I thought I might have to re-tune the system, but as it warmed up thoroughly, I realized I wouldn't need to. I listened until 3:30 in the morning! I just couldn't stop. The increased level of focus and transparency was breathtaking.
I'll be writing you with my stepped listening observations, but
I can tell you now that every step [replacing the acrylic with the
Formula Shelves made a very audible improvement in
the sound and that each step was not exactly the same in the improvement
it made." Doug R., Waterloo Gramophone
Apex "... It turns out that coupling full-range speakers to the floor is just about the dumbest idea ever to be foisted upon our collective notions of high fidelity. What you want is decoupling, not coupling. Why? Because it transmits high-amplitude, low-frequency resonances from your speakers directly into your equipment stands, which, Golly Gee, happen -- in proper audiophile dress code -- to be spike-coupled to the floor as well. They thus welcome these presumably asinine vibrations with open arms and inject them right back into your components, naturally ever so slightly delayed in time to now overlay, intermodulate and muddy up the crystalline yet fragile signal so carefully encoded and upsampled from the 1 and 0 pits... Decoupling your speakers on Apex to give your other audio components a much-needed break from resonance abuse isn't elusive or the stuff of feverish fantasies ... a nearly complete absence of boom halos rendering what should be tautly delivered salvos with fuzzy, echo-y smears in time; separation of bass detail previously still somewhat clumped together to reveal actual timbes in parallel rather than appearing overlayed as composites; more broadband transparency set against a quieter background; a notable reduction of overall grunge or murkiness that elevated the see-deeply-into qualities of the soundstage by offering better micro-detail ... Subtle? Not at all ... " February 13, 2003: Grand Prix Audio Apex, Part 2 by Srajan Ebaen, 6moons.com
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