Little Laps Monotor Headphone amp, opinions.

[oso]

Has anybody tried the Little Laps Monotor Headphone amp, how does it compare to say Lake People 109 and the Phonitor mini? 

Does it work well with the Sennheiser HD800? or the Audeze LCD2?

 

[dalethorn]

40 minutes ago, oso said:

Has anybody tried the Little Laps Monotor Headphone amp, how does it compare to say Lake People 109 and the Phonitor mini? 

Does it work well with the Sennheiser HD800? or the Audeze LCD2?

 

 

There are no reliable audiophile reviews that I can find.  Headfi has announcement postings, but this is considered "Pro" gear distributed by the likes of Sweetwater.  Whether it really is a $540 headphone amp in sound quality, or more of the cost is in the pro features made for recording, remains to be seen.

[PAP]

The Little Lab engineer is getting into a heated discussion on this forum, claiming his amp is better than the

lake people 109.

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/1101619-anyone-used-lake-people-g109-headphone-amp-i.html

[dalethorn]

6 hours ago, PAP said:

The Little Lab engineer is getting into a heated discussion on this forum, claiming his amp is better than the

lake people 109.

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/1101619-anyone-used-lake-people-g109-headphone-amp-i.html

Given that it's Gearslutz, who do pro audio, no surprises there.

[oso]

How do you mean?

[dalethorn]

1 hour ago, oso said:

How do you mean?

As I mentioned previously, because I don't see known headphone reviewers like headfonics or headfonia (just 2 examples) covering this amp, and because it's a "pro audio" item, I can't guess how much of the $540 price is in audiophile sound, and how much is in the pro-audio features.  Gearslutz is pro-audio, so there's no audiophile info there that I can use to judge this amp. $540 can get you some very good headphone amps, like the Grace ...xx amp from massdrop, or the Chord Mojo.

[oso]

2 hours ago, dalethorn said:

As I mentioned previously, because I don't see known headphone reviewers like headfonics or headfonia (just 2 examples) covering this amp, and because it's a "pro audio" item, I can't guess how much of the $540 price is in audiophile sound, and how much is in the pro-audio features.  Gearslutz is pro-audio, so there's no audiophile info there that I can use to judge this amp. $540 can get you some very good headphone amps, like the Grace ...xx amp from massdrop, or the Chord Mojo.

Ok Thanks. I will take a look at the grace as well.

So the pro guys have different demands? ....one should think that they should go for the most revealing in the complete audio spectrum.

Some of the guys on that forum seems to like it but that's on a different thread;https://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/1078101-little-labs-monotor-wow.html

[dalethorn]

53 minutes ago, oso said:

Ok Thanks. I will take a look at the grace as well.

So the pro guys have different demands? ....one should think that they should go for the most revealing in the complete audio spectrum.

Some of the guys on that forum seems to like it but that's on a different thread;https://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/1078101-little-labs-monotor-wow.html

It's not so much what music pros and audiophiles differ on - each would like the best sound and features - it's about what the amp mfr. can put in for $540.  You want more features for pro recording stuff, you have to pay for it, it isn't free.  If the mfr. has to put in $200 worth of pro/recording features, then on average you're getting a $300 amp with $200 worth of pro features.  But that's a general rule. If you want to find out how good it is for pro use, Gearslutz should be able to tell you.  If you want to know how good it is for audiophile use, you need audiophile reviews.

[dalethorn]

BTW, I just got off the phone with Geoff, my friend at Sweetwater in Fort Wayne, and we talked about this amp.  Here's the commercial page they have, with 4 reviews.  Not conclusive as audiophile reviews, but anyway there it is....

 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Monotor

[oso]

Thanks alot Dave!

[89reksal]

I've been trying to decide between this Little Labs Monotor and Rupert Neve RNHP Precision headphone amp. I realize this is an old topic but I'm hoping someone(s) may have some input on either or both of these.

 

So far from internet searches I've found cases of people preferring the Little Labs over the Rupert Neve but none where someone preferred Rupert Neve over Little Labs. As well, the Rupert Neve seems completely dedicated as a headphone amp while the Little Labs has some added functionality that while definitely interesting looking, may be adding to the total cost for something that I don't really need. Point being, dollar for dollar, there may be more direct investment in the headphone amp portion in the Rupert Neve compared to the Little Labs for the same approximate purchase price.

 

On top of all that, I see Rupert Neve has recently announced a new headphone amp, along with a new dac and phono amp under the "Fidelice" line but so far very little info, not even prices.

 

Anyways, hoping someone will be able to provide some feedback on these products.