Monoprice Monolith 600046 turntable overview: Nice listening, 3 Methods

At a look

Knowledgeable’s Score

Execs

• Nice for ripping vinyl
• Quite simple to function
• Wonderful Bluetooth streaming
• Excessive-quality cartridge included

Cons

• Doesn’t embody the RCA cable wanted to hook up with a stereo system
• Requires endurance and ability if you happen to’ve by no means arrange a turntable earlier than

Our Verdict

Monoprice’s Monolith turntable fashions 600046 (walnut) and 600047 (gloss black) provide glorious worth, nice audio high quality, and include Audio-Technica’s terrific AT-VM95E cartridge.

Worth When Reviewed

$249.99

Finest Costs Right this moment

$249.99

Free

Ask an getting old audio head in regards to the outdated days and various will inform you about a number of the wonderful gear that Radio Shack launched underneath its home model, Lifelike. Not all the things was nice, however the very best gear—together with the Minimus 7 bookshelf audio system—has a following to today.

Monoprice has grown from its origins as the very best supply for affordable HDMI cables to exchange Radio Shack because the go-to supply for unflashy-but-quality audio gear. Its Monolith turntables proceed the corporate’s custom of delivering excellence at a surprisingly low value. This overview covers the belt-driven Monolith mannequin 600046, which has a walnut-colored end. The Monolith 600047 is just about the identical product, however with a shiny again end.

The Audio‑Technica AT‑VM95E cartridge that Monolith bundles with each turntables consists of an elliptical stylus and is well-known for its sturdy output degree. (A 3rd mannequin within the lineup—the Monolith 600045—is offered for $50 much less as a result of it comes with the lower-end Audio Technica AT-3600L cartridge.)

In case you’ve arrange a whole lot of turntables prior to now, you’ll recognize the cartridge housing with threaded inserts, so you may mount the cartridge with simply screws and overlook about dropping the nuts in your first dozen tries.

James Barber/Foundry

Monolith 600046 turntable options

The Monolith turntable comes with a mud cowl, an AC energy adapter with a number of plug choices that may be switched based mostly on the place you reside, a die-cast aluminum platter, a forty five rpm adapter, a counterweight, an anti-skating weight, a Monolith-branded felt slip mat, a cartridge alignment protractor, and a USB-A to USB-B cable. The turntable weighs in at a really gentle 9.7 kilos.

Controls are quite simple. There’s an on/off energy swap on the again of the turntable, a begin/cease knob on the proper entrance close to the tonearm, and a 33/45 rpm selector on the left entrance of the plinth.

The Monolith is a guide turntable, so that you’ll must drop the needle to start playback and decide up the tonearm and return it to its relaxation on the finish of a aspect.

James Barber/Foundry

Establishing the Monolith 600046 turntable

The Monolith isn’t fairly able to exit of the field. The setup isn’t tough however it might be intimidating for somebody who’s by no means owned a turntable earlier than. The instruction guide that comes with the turntable is useful and well-illustrated.

You’ll should loop the belt over the motor pulley, which isn’t exhausting however the subsequent step includes placing the counterweight onto the tonearm after which balancing it. Skilled customers will fly although this step however first-timers will need to be affected person and take it gradual. The identical goes for the set up of the anti-skating weight, which includes aligning skinny filament with the proper slot on the tonearm and looing the load by way of a wire help.

In case you’ve by no means achieved these steps earlier than, search for movies on YouTube or ask somebody to stroll you thru the steps. Positive, there are many plug-and-play turntables on the market, however the Monolith is price the additional steps and endurance required.

James Barber/Foundry

How we examined the Monolith 600046 turntable

I examined this turntable with a Naim Mu-so speaker for Bluetooth streaming, a 2021 MacBook Air for vinyl recording and a system that features a NAD Phono Preamp PP-1 by way of a NAD Stereo Preamplifier S100, a NAD Monitor Sequence Amplifier 2400, and a pair of classic Bowers & Wilkins P5 floor-standing audio system.

As I arrange the Monolith and turned it on, it routinely discovered and related to the Naim Mu-so. Listening high quality was distinctive. When you’ve got an amazing Bluetooth speaker setup like this one, the Monolith turntable and Audio-Technica cartridge are adequate to benefit from your funding in a high-end speaker setup.

I additionally tried it out with the moveable Tronsmart Bang, an excellent Bluetooth speaker that’s clearly in the identical class because the Mu-so, however is nearer in value to the turntable. The Monolith related simply, stayed related, and sounded superb. Regardless of your setup, the Monolith delivers.

James Barber/Foundry

Ripping vinyl with the Monoprice 600046 turntable

Monoprice suggests utilizing the free software Audacity for recording data onto your pc. The audio enter settings on my Mac took trial and error to be set good, however I consider that’s extra a operate of the present state of Audacity’s interplay with the Mac OS than something to do with the turntable.

The standard of the WAV information recorded from vinyl was excellent. I’ve used half a dozen turntables with USB cables over the previous decade (together with the more-expensive Professional-ject Debut Carbon), and the outcomes I’ve been getting from the Monolith 600046 are superior to something I’ve skilled earlier than.

When you’ve got a stack of data you’re trying to convert to digital, the Monolith 600046 is a good selection and, in fact, you may select any digital recording software program you like if Audacity isn’t best for you.

James Barber/Foundry

Listening to the Monolith 600046 turntable with stereo gear

The Monolith’s built-in phono preamp is clearly getting the job achieved for Bluetooth listening and USB recording. It’s additionally a more-than-adequate choice for analog stereo listening. I used to be impressed with the audio once I set the turntable to Line Output and plugged it instantly into my NAD preamp.

Altering the turntable’s setting to Phono Output and utilizing the NAD Phono Preamp PP-1 as a phono stage, nonetheless, gave the sound an enormous enhance. The Monolith 600046 affords glorious sound for the value but it surely’s able to even higher efficiency if you happen to’re in a position to give it that further enhance.

James Barber/Foundry

Monoprice doesn’t put an analog RCA cable within the field, so that you’ll must order your individual if you happen to don’t have already got one and plan to make use of the turntable with a stereo system. Monoprice affords all kinds of RCA audio cables in numerous lengths, so you may order one to go along with your turntable.

The turntable has a put up to connect a floor wire, and I used an RCA cable that got here with a floor wire. There was zero hum when the bottom wires weren’t connected to the turntable and NAD preamp, so I discovered that I didn’t even want the bottom.

Our bottom-line opinion of the Monolith 600046 turntable

The Monoprice Monolith is an excellent turntable for the value. Even if you happen to solely want one in every of its three capabilities (Bluetooth streaming, vinyl recording or stereo system playback), it’s a superb selection. In case you want all three, you get a great-looking and succesful turntable that’s remarkably versatile.