Monarchy Audio is a San Francisco, California-based concern founded in 1979 by C.C. Poon, an audio enthusiast with a technical bent who began his business selling amplifier kits from Japan. By the 1990s, the company had shifted focus and began manufacturing its own audio gear, including DACs and amplifiers, all under a banner of “High End at Low Cost.” in 1995, Monarchy introduced the SE-100 mono block amplifier, a Class A model whose design remained in production unchanged for nearly 15 years. In late 2009, an updated version of the SE-100 was released under the moniker SE-100 Delux Mark 2.

Features & Setup

Measuring 11 inches wide, 13 inches deep and just 4 inches high, the Mark 2s are relatively tidy in dimension yet still tip the scales at 21 pounds. The construction is tank-like and these amps can pump 100 watts into 8 ohms and 200 watts into 4 ohms – enough power for most home systems. The Delux sports a bevy of betterments, including improved output stage, new protection circuitry, dual low-noise bridge rectifiers, lower distortion and faster operating speed, a time-delay relay to prevent turn-on “thump,” cascaded driver to preserve signal integrity and ability to handle 2-ohm loads. Cosmetically, the amp now sports oval handles, laser-engraved front and rear panels and a top cover with twice the vent slots as the previous model. Here's the kicker: The amps are offered at the same price as they were 15 years ago - $1,179 each – an incredible feat considering they are still hand-made in California.

The SE-100 Mark 2 Delux is a true Class A amplifier, which means that it operates continuously at full power, regardless if a signal is being transmitted. Virtues of Class A operation include low distortion as there is no cross-over as signals travel from input to output stage and low output impedance. The downside is that Class A amps are inefficient operators and generate large amounts of power, which is lost as heat. To keep cool, each side of the SE-100 sports 20 heat-dissipating fins, and the top cover now boasts twice as many vents as the previous model. The amps release 200 watts idling and get warm but not dangerously so.

The SE-100 Mark 2 Delux, like most mono block amplifiers, is characteristically frills-free when it comes to buttons and other front-panel gadgetry. Aside from the twin handles, the front panel has a power switch only – any tone, loudness or volume controls are left to the pre-amp. The rear panel is equally spartan, with a single connection for RCA or XLR, one pair of speaker outs, an AC fuse and outlet for detachable power cord.

The “SE” in the SE-100's name stands for “single ended,” and to that end the amp is designed for RCA connection. If your system requires XLR connections, the SE-100 can accommodate but to no sonic advantage. And if you're into bi-amping, the SE-100 can be mated to a pair of its own for more power and separation of the high and low frequency spectrum. For this review, I used Hegel Audio's H100 integrated amplifier as a pre-amp and connected each mono block via the RCA connections.

Listening

Mono blocks can be thought of as single, self-contained amps, each with its own transformer and power supply. Such an arrangement, theoretically, affords better channel separation, imaging and a deeper soundstage. The SE-100s were my first foray into the mono block world, and what impressed me most was the degree of separation I heard in every recording. Monarchy recommends letting the SE-100 warm up for 30 minutes for best sound. Although the amps are touted as “virtually noise free,” there is a definite degree of hum when first powered on and warming up. That hum never goes away totally but decreases substantially - a power conditioner could probably smooth out the last bit of roughness. Even so, the Delux is smooth, clean, open and transparent and well suited for big and bold as well as intimate and delicate. The SE-100's specs suggest an amp that delivers distortion-free sound, even at full-rated power, confirmed by my experience.