Two new mono amps: NuPrime Evolution Two and AMG One

rustydoglim · « **on:** 21 Dec 2022, 08:25 pm »

The Evolution Two is a mono amplifier (RMS Power 300W@8 Ohm, 600W@4 Ohm) that offers a breakthrough in distortion reduction and it is the most powerful, dynamic, natural and detailed amplifier in all Nuprime series. This is the "powered up" version of the Evolution STA. I think it can rival any Class A amp on the market at any price. https://nuprimeaudio.com/product/evolution-two/

The AMG One is literally a mini version of the Evolution Two. https://nuprimeaudio.com/product/amg-one/

Both amps are shipping now.

Note that AMG One and AMG STA are two amps with different sound characteristic. You will like either one, but not both.

I.Greyhound Fan · « **Reply #1 on:** 21 Dec 2022, 11:17 pm »

Interesting amps.

I find that Nuprime website confusing and difficult to follow.

AllanS · « **Reply #2 on:** 22 Dec 2022, 05:10 am »

Quote from: I.Greyhound Fan on 21 Dec 2022, 11:17 pm

Interesting amps.
I find that Nuprime website confusing and difficult to follow.

The organization isn’t the greatest but I’m intrigued enough by the products that I’m getting comfortable with the site.

rustydoglim · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 Dec 2022, 08:05 pm »

Quote from: I.Greyhound Fan on 21 Dec 2022, 11:17 pm

Interesting amps.

I find that Nuprime website confusing and difficult to follow.

It will help me improve the website if you can tell me how you find it confusing.
You can either find products by Category or list all products at the top-level menu.
Or, at the bottom of the home page, you move your mouse pointer over the image to choose the categories.

We find audio products either by category or by the entire list. Or if you are an existing customer, you would look at the new products.

How about other people? Do you find the website confusing? How would you suggest improving it?

Thanks.

I.Greyhound Fan · « **Reply #4 on:** 23 Dec 2022, 02:56 am »

When you go to the amplifier and preamp section above the name of each piece is says in grey letters amplifier and preamp. At first it was hard to tell if it was an amp or preamp. The same issue is with DAC's and DAC's with headphone sections. It is not just me, I asked someone else. Just get rid of the grey lettering.

Amplifiers should be separate from Integrated amps and preamps should have their own section.

AllanS · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 Dec 2022, 04:51 am »

My experience is the same as I.Greyhound’s. You have to be familiar with the products or willing to invest the time to become familiar to understand what is what.
I also think you have an opportunity to expand the recommended systems section to identify components by series that are designed to go together and help users understand how to pair components in a series to build a system that meets their needs.
Paired with the Amp Comparison and Sonic Characteristics section you’d be able to provide valuable guidance.

rustydoglim · « **Reply #6 on:** 23 Dec 2022, 08:43 pm »

Thanks for your feedback. We will get rid of the gimmicky mouse-over-image category selection on the home page.
And offer more system combinations and recommendations.

alexreusch · « **Reply #7 on:** 25 Dec 2022, 11:30 am »

Quote from: rustydoglim on 21 Dec 2022, 08:25 pm

The Evolution Two is a mono amplifier (RMS Power 300W@8 Ohm, 600W@4 Ohm) that offers a breakthrough in distortion reduction and it is the most powerful, dynamic, natural and detailed amplifier in all Nuprime series. This is the "powered up" version of the Evolution STA. I think it can rival any Class A amp on the market at any price. https://nuprimeaudio.com/product/evolution-two/

The AMG One is literally a mini version of the Evolution Two. https://nuprimeaudio.com/product/amg-one/

Both amps are shipping now.

Note that AMG One and AMG STA are two amps with different sound characteristic. You will like either one, but not both.

What's the reason for moving from 700KHz to 650KHz switching Class-D module and from 1MΩ input impedance to 47K Ohms? Is this not a clear step backwards from Evolution One to Evolution Two?

rustydoglim · « **Reply #8 on:** 25 Dec 2022, 09:42 pm »

Quote from: alexreusch on 25 Dec 2022, 11:30 am

What's the reason for moving from 700KHz to 650KHz switching Class-D module and from 1MΩ input impedance to 47K Ohms? Is this not a clear step backwards from Evolution One to Evolution Two?

Evolution STA and Evolution TWO have a different design than Evolution One. It is NOT a step back (why would we do that, lol).
Nuprime might be the ONLY high-end audio amplifier company in the world that is continuously innovating in variants of Class-D designs.
The changes from one design to another are not something I can easily explain in a forum, even if I know how.
Let's put it this way, when we introduced Evolution One, the design was a breakthrough in 1MOhm input impedance for Class-D amp. The result speaks for itself. The innovation was passed down to AMG series. A few years have passed and our chief engineer continues to explore more advanced design. So that resulted in Evolution STA with different design than Evolution One. While it was in the same level as Evolution One but that design has potential to take it further.
And then came the Evolution Two with monster power.

If we have to pick on Evolution One, it is too clean and detailed. So for the past few years, we have been exploring how to maintain the level of Evolution One while adding a little more class-A texture to the sound. At the 9 series level, it is much easier to do because there is always some trade-off. But at the highest level, there can be no trade-off. There is no assurance that you will like Evolution Two over Evolution One, if you compare the two. But with Evolution Two design, we are able to take it to such high power without sacrificing sound characteristic.

seikosha · « **Reply #9 on:** 25 Dec 2022, 09:56 pm »

I understand alexreusch’s question though. When the Evolution One was introduced, Nuprime touted that 1 million ohm input impedance specification as an absolute breakthrough in amp design and now based on your latest post, it seems like Nuprime doesn’t view it as a big deal anymore. That creates confusion.

rustydoglim · « **Reply #10 on:** 26 Dec 2022, 06:05 am »

Quote

I understand alexreusch’s question though. When the Evolution One was introduced, Nuprime touted that 1 million ohm input impedance specification as an absolute breakthrough in amp design and now, based on your latest post, it seems like Nuprime doesn’t view it as a big deal anymore. That creates confusion.

I think you guys are drawing a very wrong conclusion. Did we ever say that 1M ohm input impedance wasn't a big deal? In high tech industry, every breakthrough is a big deal. But we continue to advance the state of the art.
Evolution STA and Evolution Two have an innovation that is also a breakthrough, and that is called the "Only Distortion Cancellation (ODC)". This ODC design isn't compatible with the 1M ohm design. With ODC, the distortion was reduced by an order of magnitude, and we are able to increase the amp's RMS power significantly.
In Evolution One, we have done all we can to push the limit.
In Evolution STA and TWO, we can take the super high-end audio further. Keep in mind that we are putting out $5K amps that can compete with other amps costing many times over, and that is no easy task. Each improvement is incrementally small at the super high-end audio level.

Furthermore, some innovations are a big deal but not applicable to the super high-end level. In a new entry-level amp that we are shipping in early January, the Nuprime STA-100 ($649) has a major breakthrough that we are introducing in our history. You can read about the Adaptive Voltage Switching Power Supply on the product page: https://nuprimeaudio.com/product/sta-100/.
But at the super high-end level, we have to use a linear power supply. Perhaps someday we can find a way to design an SMPS that surpasses the best LPS; we think that day is still very far away (it may never come).

mresseguie · « **Reply #11 on:** 26 Dec 2022, 07:46 am »

I think I can understand seikosha and alexreusch's being incredulous for a couple reasons - especially if they haven't heard any of the above mentioned amps. That was until I ordered the Evo STA and used it in my main system. Hot damn, but it's a special amplifier! I'm a believer.

AllanS · « **Reply #12 on:** 26 Dec 2022, 02:10 pm »

Quote from: rustydoglim on 26 Dec 2022, 06:05 am

In a new entry-level amp that we are shipping in early January, the Nuprime STA-100 ($649) has a major breakthrough that we are introducing in our history.

I’ve not yet heard any NuPrime gear but am most intrigued because you’re not simply implementing / packaging other’s modules.
The STA-100 caught my attention the other day while perusing the website. Maybe this needs another thread but how would you describe the intended use and sonic characteristics? What is it intended to be paired with? Is it a standalone product or the first in a new series?
I’m contemplating a desktop setup. It’s certainly sized right. A companion headphone amp/preamp/DAC would make for an attractive setup.

rustydoglim · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 Dec 2022, 06:08 pm »

Someone just started an STA-100 topic. I will reply there.

rustydoglim · « **Reply #14 on:** 26 Dec 2022, 06:31 pm »

Since 2014, we have been innovating every two years. If your budget allows, you can have a feast and never get bored or disappointed with our state of the art products and technology.
We also bring innovations to every price points, and challenge ourselves how to raise the bar at every level. In the past few years our attention has been at the super high-end level. Now we are turning toward the entry level.

alexreusch · « **Reply #15 on:** 27 Dec 2022, 06:44 am »

It's not only about the input impedance. You also moved from 700KHz to 650KHz switching Class-D module. When the Evolution One was introduced, you said that your are already working on breaking the 1GHz barrier regarding the switching Class-D module, which would be the next level, now going back to 650KHz does not sound logical to me. So you have been on a wrong route or how what's the reason for the change of direction?

konut · « **Reply #16 on:** 27 Dec 2022, 08:10 am »

Are these Bob Smith designs?

rustydoglim · « **Reply #17 on:** 27 Dec 2022, 03:53 pm »

Quote

Are these Bob Smith designs?

Bob doesn't know how to design a switching amp. We authorised him to provide his shielding upgrade for some customers. And he knows speakers very well, so in the past, he helped with the feedback filter on the NuForce Ref 9.

Quote

You also moved from 700KHz to 650KHz switching Class-D module.

Please, this is irrelevant. Switching frequency is ONLY one of the factors and a switching amp's frequencies vary within a range, especially the SOA (self-oscillating amp), which does not use an external PWM generator.
If we change from 700K to 500K, then that would be significant. Evo Two's design was tuned to run around the 650KHz range as this is the most suitable freq for the specific design. In some designs, higher frequencies cause other problems. In other designs, higher frequencies sounded better.

Yes, we have tried >1GHz design (we tried all sorts of ideas all the time) on GaN devices, and wow, the first impression was super smooth. Wow, very nice. But ....hmmm...something's not right. A very good amp has to sound "right" - with enough details, dynamic, texture, power, speed, and warmth. Sometimes when pushing some of the characteristics to the extreme, we end up with something "off".

Zoonhollis · « **Reply #18 on:** 11 Jan 2023, 02:32 am »

Quote from: rustydoglim on 25 Dec 2022, 09:42 pm

Nuprime might be the ONLY high-end audio amplifier company in the world that is continuously innovating in variants of Class-D designs.

Well, maybe Legacy Audio

rustydoglim · « **Reply #19 on:** 11 Jan 2023, 04:21 am »

Nope, they use ICEpower chips.