[zybar]

George, I could do a VAC Phi300.1 and. Lamm M1.1 comparison.....   

Happy to lend it to you at some point Art. 

I can do a local M1.1 comparison, but not against that beautiful VAC. 

George

[launche]

I spent a few days with the Ncore's prior to dropping them off for Rich's get together. The basics of my system includes Danley SH50 horns, DAC Stereo Cherry amp, DEQX, Wyred 4 Sound passive Pre-amp.  My rig is a 2 channel/home theater combo system and I mostly use an Oppo BDP-95 SE for all digital media to keep things simple.  If pressed I say I'd prefer tubes over SS but can't deal with all that goes into owning a truly worthwhile pair of tubes that ticks all the boxes. For several years I've been looking for that just right SS amp.  I've tried a few of the ICE Power, Class D variants and enjoyed them all to varying degrees.  I simply wish to find a competent, low maintenance, high power amp.  So the Ncores are the latest to peak my interest based upon the Hypex reputation and the great word of mouth here.  I echo much of what's been said already, nothing really new to report.  I liked the Ncores even handedness from top to bottom.  Very tight focused and articulate bass, transparent mid-range and clean non-exaggerated highs. A very reassuring amp to say the least.  Great at all volumes and kept its composure when pushed hard.  Kept pretty much the same character at whispering levels as at room filling levels.  A very articulate amp all around, a nicely refined and focused sound stage with good instrument placement and separation.  Again, nothing new here so I would say that the essence of the amp is pretty well documented and I agree with much of it.

On my high efficiency horns (100dB) I can say the Ncores were quiet and well composed and were a good match with no harshness or digital nastiness that was offensive to my ears but then again I'm not as sensitive to those things as others may be or maybe I'm just more forgiving.  Very clean, crisp, refined and neutral sound. A pretty dynamic combo, excellent control, transient response and overall speed making for a controlled yet exciting presentation.  If you like Class D then there's isn't much not to like.  Exciting to think about bridging these for 1200 watts or so on my speakers, wow that would be nice in many ways.

As far as how the Ncores compare to my resident Cherry Amp, I did not do a lot of A-B evaluation, that's not my thing so much these days.  I did it once or twice but mostly I dropped the Ncores in and just listened for a few days.  It was one reason why I took my Cherry Amp to Richidoo's audio meet so more A-B listening could be done.  Not as much time as I would have liked was slotted for that comparison but it seems a general opinion was gathered.  Personally, I am very happy with the Cherry amp and it fits my system and tastes well.  In my system I found the Cherry to be warmer, more robust through the bass and midrange, a bit more dynamic and vibrant sounding.  The Ncores sounded cooler, a touch more refined and a bit more precise (monoblocks vs stereo?).  The Cherry seemed to have a bit larger sound stage left to right to front, the Ncore a more defined sound stage and maybe a touch more depth.  The Cherry may project into the room more and sound a little more forceful.  Rich commented the Cherry sounded like a good clean Push Pull tube amp with massive balls and I can agree with that analogy in the context of Class D.  I find the Cherry to be the best compromise I've heard between tubes and SS in my systems.  My speakers have dual 12 inch bass drivers per side and both amps just pound in the low registers, the Ncores a bit leaner and cleaner and I pushed them ear hurtin' hard and they just kept their composure and played the music louder as it should be.  The Cherry pounds a little harder and when pushed just keeps on pounding harder as if plenty of reserve is on tap. I could not get the Ncores to duplicate that to the same degree but then again in the different room and set up such a thing could be too much. The Ncores and Cherry seemed to sound pretty similar all in all and it may be a system synergy thing as to which one might fit best for people.  If I did not own a Cherry amp, I would likely buy a Ncore, possibly bridge it and ride off into the sunset.  It did pretty much everything I'd need for sound and practicality and mated well with my system.

Thanks Jason for squeezing me on tour and extending yourself in this way to allow us to spend some personal time with some really fine amps and for many could be the last amp they need to buy.

[jackman]

Launche- great review.  I respect your opinion and look forward to hearing the Cherry amp.  It's great to see a person with the guts to post his true impressions.  You have a very impressive system.

Cheers
Jack

[gprro]

Yeah nice review, good to meet you over at Rich's also! On the limited back to back comparison I was liking the cherry also. It had a fatter tone to it compared to the ncore, but I like it! Sounded more realistic on the set up we were using at that time.

[mgalusha]

Launche- great review.  I respect your opinion and look forward to hearing the Cherry amp.  It's great to see a person with the guts to post his true impressions.  You have a very impressive system.

Really? You think every other person who posted in this thread didn't post their actual impressions. Wow, your life must really suck that you have so little faith in humanity.

[Turk]

Gee, the jigs up, all 400 people posting about ncore conspired to hear the same thing.  Mass hysteria or black helicopters?

[zybar]

Gee, the jigs up, all 400 people posting about ncore conspired to hear the same thing.  Mass hysteria or black helicopters?

Actually, it was the nice cash payment!   

I just checked FedEx and I will have my amps tomorrow.   

George

[Rclark]

Really? You think every other person who posted in this thread didn't post their actual impressions. Wow, your life must really suck that you have so little faith in humanity.

 Exactly. What I got out of it is that the Cherry is potentially one of the very few amps that can hang, provided the reporting was accurate, not that everyone else was lying.

 

[Tyson]

Launche- great review.  I respect your opinion and look forward to hearing the Cherry amp.  It's great to see a person with the guts to post his true impressions.  You have a very impressive system.

Cheers
Jack

I'm sad that my review in this thread didn't get any props from you

[zybar]

Exactly. What I got out of it is that the Cherry is potentially one of the very few amps that can hang, provided the reporting was accurate, not that everyone else was lying.

Let's try and refrain from hyperbole.

I am sure that there are more than "a few" amps that can "hang" with the Ncore amps. 

George

[roscoeiii]

Really? You think every other person who posted in this thread didn't post their actual impressions. Wow, your life must really suck that you have so little faith in humanity.

C'mon now. I know for a fact that jackman is mighty psyched to listen to these amps while I have them on the tour. We can all learn what he thinks from direct experience after this week.

I don't think we need to worry about the ncores. They seem to be mighty impressive amps. And I can see how it might be good to hear why someone prefers something else after direct comparison. Especially if the listener does as nice a job as launche explaining why.

No reason why we should expect everyone to prefer ncores. And mighty surprising how many have loved the ncores after directly listening to them, considering the wide variations in taste that people have for audio equipment and considering the importance of system synergy.

Off to walk the dog. Then time to fire up the ncores!

[Rclark]

Let's try and refrain from hyperbole.

I am sure that there are more than "a few" amps that can "hang" with the Ncore amps. 

George

 I'm sure you're quite right.

[bhakti]

No reason why we should expect everyone to prefer ncores. And mighty surprising how many have loved the ncores after directly listening to them, considering the wide variations in taste that people have for audio equipment and considering the importance of system synergy.

Well said!  This is what surprises me the most - that they seem to play so well in so many different systems.  I guess time will tell if they can continue to appeal to such a wide spectrum of tastes in so many varied systems.

[jackman]

I'm sad that my review in this thread didn't get any props from you

Jeeze- Can't a guy compliment someone without getting attacked?  You know i loved your review!  I enjoy all of your reviews. Also, when I responded to launche's post, I had just returned from a couple Sangrias in a nice little restaurant in Madrid. Was feeling good and wanted to share the joy. Please factor that into my comments.

I didn't mean anything against anyone in this thread or on this site when I posted my comments.  Been on the beach in the tiny coastal Spanish town of Moncofa all week looking at some lovely Spanish _itties, on the beach. Audio is the last thing on my mind!  Even the Ncore can't compete with _itties on a Spanish beach.

Cheers everyone. I'm back in the states on Thursday and look forward to hearing the Ncore at Roscoe's place soon.

Jman

[Tyson]

Dude, I'm just messin' witcha

[jackman]

Dude, I'm just messin' witcha

Me too but it's a hassle to put smily faces in my message  cuz I'm using an iPhone.  Not kidding about the sangrias.  It's late here and I'm going to bed.

Cheers!

J

[mgalusha]

No reason why we should expect everyone to prefer ncores. And mighty surprising how many have loved the ncores after directly listening to them, considering the wide variations in taste that people have for audio equipment and considering the importance of system synergy.

No argument about expecting everyone to like them, I said as much in the very first post; it's the implication that ~30 other folks are all full of shit and not offering their honest opinions.

[jtwrace]

OK guys.  Let's get back onto listening impressions.  It's very important to note that every person that has received these amps or that I've had any contact with that's heard them knows that I've asked for one thing specifically.

Honest feedback.

Let's keep it that way and get back to the listening impressions.   

[OzarkTom]

I believe I read somewhere that Jason said, not everyone was going to prefer the Ncores.

[zybar]

I have been listening to my "new" Ncore amps for the past few hours and it is like welcoming home an old friend!

They sound just like they did during the tour and I am enjoying them across lots of different artists (Rush, Natalie Merchant, Nora Jones, Beastie Boys, Charlie Hunter, and Ben Harper to name a few).

I'll try and snap a picture later.

George