Monolith HTP-1 Comprehensive Review

Setup and review of the HTP-1 with a look at the Dirac Live calibration, various features and settings.

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[joentell]

If there are any important features of the HTP-1 that I may have missed or gotten wrong, please comment on this pinned post.

[DrewSchinechedi]

I appreciate that your channel isn’t cheap clickbait. It’s a breath of fresh air. Thank you.

[brucecarter]

Best review of the HTP-1 so far! If people only knew how good this thing is for the money. Best you can do until you get up to Storm and Trinnov. Been enjoying mine going on 3 years now, and no plans to change anytime soon.

[erod]

Great review, Joe. It's the best value in this hobby. Nothing in this price range offers so much, and it has great DACs and components, too. And the latest update solved the boot issues. Absolutely love mine. Best and most complete review to date. Get Hobie to come on your show and discuss it!

[ealanosborne]

If this pre/pro eventually supported HDMI 2.1 and IMAX Enhanced, it would be my go-to processor, since it still wouldn't cost as much as a Storm Audio or Trinnov processor. Thanks for the detailed review, homie!

[adamjj]

Love it, great review Joe! I truly believe this is the best processor buy for the money out there. If they can get Dirac ART and an HDMI 2.1 upgrade path, it will be a total market game changer!

[MuenchenBob]

Great review, Joe! I bought one when it first came out & it would occasionally start rebooting after a power outage. The software update you pointed out did solve the problem. I also was surprised at how silent XLR cables are. I've got 25-foot runs to my two woofers & they're totally silent now when there's no signal. The HTP-1's loudness control lets you set where it kicks in at 1 dB increments, unlike Denon's 5 dB ones on their Dynamic EQ. That makes it much easier to have it sound right at low volumes without the boominess you described. At lower volumes, I back it off until male voices sound normal & at that point, bass sounds much more accurate. I encountered a problem with the HTP-1 between an Apple TV 4K and an LG TV. Switching streaming services would occasionally take long enough for the TV to switch into screen-saving mode, adding to the delay. Now I route the Apple straight into the TV, which solves that problem. That would also be the solution for gamers looking for HDMI 2.1 features. I thought I would have to fiddle with the HPT-1's configuration after making that change, but eArc seemed to handle it automatically. There's also a setting that keeps occasional YouTube videos from having repeated audio dropouts in the middle. That's in the user guide.

[krupkake]

You said that you are perfectly happy with your denon, but would you trade it in for the Monolith if you could?

[juliangst]

Going balanced is always a good choice if you have ground loop and noise problems. I also had nasty sounds coming from my PC through the DAC and switching to an XLR DAC solved this.
Because XLR has a plus and minus signal end, any outside noise will effect both the plus and minus and therefore get cancelled out (because only the difference between the plus and minus matters).

[flasuperstar]

Great review. I love mine. Hobie said the ART is on the way. Can't wait for that.

[notoymotorme]

I bought 2 of these when they first came out and had to return both of them due to rebooting problems. Waited 1&1/2 yrs. for the bugs to be fixed. So glad I waited. These pre/pros are excellent and well worth the money. I set up my PEG manually. The sound is AMAZING. Any adjustment you can think of the HTP-1 can do it. I don't do gaming, just cd's and dvd's and of course you tube vids. Love the auro upmixer.

[nonametofame]

Excellent, intuitive, extensive review, Joe. Now onto the Trinnov!

[JuanJose-wtyj]

Thanks for the video and finally an analysis of the product with the potential it has.

I'm glad to see that you can put manual parametric filters before passing Dirac and after.
This as of today can only be done by StormAudio if I'm not mistaken.

The truth is that where a powerful and configurable calibration is put in place to suit the hobbyist, all automatic or semi-automatic calibration should be removed.

Written with translator

Greetings

[johnnycashlesscomedy]

I recently got the HTP-1 to replace an emotiva XMC-1 that was giving me issues. I’m only running 5.2 so far and no Dirac just yet, but it’s a huge upgrade in sound quality. Just before this I also replaced my LCR amps with GAN amps which was also a revelation. The fidelity is fantastic, especially since all the gear is plugged into an Audioquest Niagara 7000. Speakers are modest - the Elac Adante L-C-R designed by Andrew Jones with coincident drivers. I don’t see why everyone is so hung up on hdmi 2.1 when you can buy and HDMI matrix switcher for a little over $100. I don’t even use my HT processor for video switching.

[MyFatherLoves]

Such an powerful processor. It's wild how much value they are able to pack into such a low price. Excellent review! I've wanted this processor since it's launch. This is by far my favorite processor under Trinnov or Storm Audio.

The excellent excellent updating of this unit by Monoprice makes it more desirable to me than then RMC-1 from Emotiva. Though, Emotiva's got that carrot dangling out there of upgradability. That's by far the most interesting thing about their RMC-1.

Did you change the output voltage per channel on the HTP-1 to match the input voltage on your amps? This is highly recommended in the manual as it increases the SINAD.

haha! I have the constant desire to change settings all the dang time. Guilty.

Some oddities:
A Pre/Pro without built-in amplification unequivocally has better audio performance. The exception is Denon's A1H but that's also $6, 500.
Emotiva has had a 9.1.6 processor for the past 5yrs. The HTP-1 was announced at around the same time but didn't have stock out to reviewers until 2021.
The SINAD score was originally low but has since been updated after Monoprice released some firmware updates to fix that. It's SINAD now beats out Trinnov's Altitude and Storm Audio's EVO.

[gufiaitoable]

Missed out on magic beans beta due to illness. i did not know you could use it with dirac

[Espiritiv]

Glad you got this man! Its such a powerful processor! I have mine paired with Buckeye 5CH hypex, and 7 CH Hypex amp

[FURognar]

Tablets are a blessing for Home Theater. I've been using a tablet to control my denon for about 4 years now

[danielmiller]

Finally got your hands on the htp1 nice

[enitalp]

Thanks for the review; I was waiting for it. I currently have a Marrantz 7706, I wouldn't say I like the menus, (no HUD in HDR), no HDMI 2.1 and I really don't enjoy the room correction.
The HTP1 was a possibility because of Dirac's web menus. But no HDMI 2, 1, and no zone 2 (I think?). I will go with the AVM90.