Recording - November 2016 - 49

these are an additional pair of 1/4" TRS
inputs. While labeled as inputs, they are
actually multi-function jacks. As inputs,
they allow for a secondary, parallel input
source. They can also act as an output
passthrough pair, one that bypasses the
front panel attenuation and mono-stereophase controls. This allows the unit to be
hooked up in series between your sound
card and monitor speakers, or it can be
used to daisychain multiple Monotor units.
Lastly is a small minijack input for
inserting a smartphone, MP3 player, or
another additional input source into the
unit. This input is summed with the other
inputs and sent to all the headphones
and parallel outputs, post the mono functions and volume control.
In use
First, I used the Monotor with my home
listening setup, on the outputs of my
Apogee Duet for iPad and Mac along with
JRiver's Media Center software for highresolution playback of 24/96 and
24/192 music. I listened with my AudioTechnica ATR-M70x headphones, reviewed
by Mike Metlay in our May 2015 issue.
Next, I used it in my studio for both
tracking and mixing. I took a direct feed
from my Apogee Symphony I/O converters into the Monotor, set up as a mult from

my patchbay. Here I used several different
headphones: the abovementioned ATRM70x as well as Audio-Technica's ATRM20x (reviewed May 2014). These inexpensive but great-sounding phones are my
standard studio/client headphones, and I
keep five pairs on hand for sessions. I also
used my trusty AKG K271 MKII phones
and a pair of Direct Sound's Extreme
Isolation EX-29 headphones, great for
loud guitar tracking and drums. I also
used the Monotor to conduct listening tests
with the Westone AM series in-ear monitors (review forthcoming).
End result? Across all headphones
and in all applications, the Monotor
offered some of the best headphone listening experiences of my life! So much
so, in fact, that at home I haven't
hooked my monitor speakers back up...
I've been doing all of my hi-fi enjoyment
listening through the Monotor. It's downright sonically addicting.
In the studio it's a fantastic mix tool
that allows you to check mixes in great
detail, both functionally and sonically.
The dead silent yet super loud capability
of the Monotor really lets you hear the
idiosyncrasies of your gear, from hiss to
sputters and more, as well as making it
easy to discern and pinpoint clicks,
pops, and noises in your mix.

This is not the box to use if you're listening to compressed audio. Actually, I
guess it is, if you want to hear what
data compression is doing to your own
mixes. Be warned, though: the Monotor
with a good set of headphones will
shame most codecs painfully. If you want
a real shock, try using the L-R setting on
a 128k MP3 file-it really lets you hear
exactly what is being affected (read,
"destroyed") by the compression
process.
Wrapping up
Many reviewers (myself included)
describe Little Labs as one of those companies that builds devices to solve problems you didn't know you had. With the
Monotor, that has never been more
clear. I really thought that the built-in
headphone outputs on most of my studio
devices were more than sufficient for critical tasks. Well, most of them are at
least adequate... but with the Monotor
it's obvious how much better the headphone monitoring experience can be.
I, for one, do not want to go back.
Price: $540
More from: Little Labs,
www.littlelabs.com

http://www.littlelabs.com http://www.transaudiogroup.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - November 2016