Comparing Cherry Amps to ncore

gprro · « **Reply #60 on:** 26 Jun 2012, 11:14 pm »

Quote from: Barry_NJ on 26 Jun 2012, 07:39 pm

And another comment/er from that session...

Hey, that was my quote

! If anything, playing with a bunch of very good equipment all day, you learn system compatibility/synergy is super important, and in home auditions are best if you can do it. On a source or speakers that were darker or rolled off, or fatter, the ncore probably would have sounded more natural. Late at night we were wondering if there was some voicing in the cherry to fatten it up a little, or a very slight roll off on top to possibly( note possibly here, not saying this is happening) pretty up any stereotypical "digital" amp sound. I will say i was impressed by both as digital amp technology. The cherry did have some nice tube like tone-in a good way, great bass, though it was missing a little of that pocket of air in the soundstage or feel of bringing the actual venue into your space that only the tubes did that day. Nice time for digital amps I guess...Actually wish we could have spent more time with the ncores. I think with vinyl and the arc pre they would have been awesome-er.

launche · « **Reply #61 on:** 27 Jun 2012, 03:56 pm »

I won't get much into the "air" thing or maybe a sense of space and ambiance etc... For me so many factors come into play for those things to manifest themselves well. Personally, after hearing a very well tuned system incorporating Maggie 20's and dorm refrigerator sized amps in a large room with very high ceilings (as many of us I'm sure have) I pretty much shelved the whole idea of significant "air, space, ambiance, sound staging etc..." in my own systems unless I had similar room conditions. By comparison most everything else I've heard in most normal listening environments is an undeniable and unavoidable compromise. So I don't really have those things as serious system goals or speak of it with any real meaning except as a point of notation and general context.
I'm a bass guy (which is no easy task either) but not an obnoxious bass guy. I like the music to be presented with a solid foundation if intended but I don't need my room shuddering or dry wall flexing. I can't help it when I listen to most music my natural tendency is to want to feel grounded and tap into the pulse of the music. The Cherry does fine with air in my systems but it's not its standout feature. The tonal palette is shifted slightly lower, comes off as a little less detailed or resolving than the hyper-detailed type of amp. All good things for my ears. Some amps may lean toward being light, airy and you can marvel at all the sparkles and ambiance in the presentation. The Cherry seems to have a slightly lower sense of gravity and seems to help the system catch onto a groove/bass line, lay it down like a warm blanket and let you ride the rhythm of the music first and foremost. Maybe instead of illuminating the air up there as much it draws attention to the potential rhythmic flow and bass textures. Everything else is there and blended well to paint a whole sonic picture without the inclination to pick apart the sound.

I also found in my system the Cherry to present a higher sound stage vs the Ncore which brought things lower and into a bit tigher focus.
Again these are just fun impressions and nothing to be taken as gospel. Audio is not my profession so I don't take it that seriously, I get just as much satisfaction listening in my car or Ipod. For any hobbyist looking to spend these insane prices on hi-fi gear I feel it helpful at times to add to the community. For small vendors who don't want or can't spend on fancy marketing I feel it helpful to share some thoughts.

Cheeseboy · « **Reply #62 on:** 27 Jun 2012, 04:39 pm »

And I love the quote. It nails the Cherry well.

It's all about synergy. System Synergy, Room Synergy and Significant Other Synergy.

I know my system can sound very close to what was described. Maggie 20's, great room and amps the size of texas. Everytime my wife travels the speakers get pulled out into the room, the room treatments come out of the garage, one of the chairs goes into the garage and then that magic sound can happen.

Parttime Synergy

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #63 on:** 27 Jun 2012, 05:07 pm »

Very nicely written launche. If anything, you definitely have a great choice of words and prose to engage your reader - I can practically hear through your well delineated descriptions. Maybe a 6moons career?

Thanks,
Anand.

jtwrace · « **Reply #64 on:** 27 Jun 2012, 05:11 pm »

Quote from: poseidonsvoice on 27 Jun 2012, 05:07 pm

Very nicely written launche. If anything, you definitely have a great choice of words and prose to engage your reader - I can practically hear through your well delineated descriptions. Maybe a 6moons career?

Thanks,
Anand.

I agree and he's a super cool guy.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=86403.msg958393#msg958393

Cheeseboy · « **Reply #65 on:** 27 Jun 2012, 09:26 pm »

Wow, that is another great write up. I have to agree with the points he is making about "Everyman Audio". Later in the thread someone make a reference to the GR Research Super V and the GedLee speaker set up. If one can take the room out of the equation with a system approach like these then audiophile sound just might be attainable for all. I have heard what open baffle bass does in minimizing room effects in the low end via the Super V. This write up made me want to hear a GedLee swarm bass system. It resonated with me greatly.

AmpDesigner333 · « **Reply #66 on:** 3 Jul 2012, 04:42 pm »

Quite possibly the best summaries so far ....

by AC member "launche":
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=105310.msg1104756#msg1104756

"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"

by AC member "gprro":
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=105310.msg1105160#msg1105160

"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"

by AC member "Rclark":
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=105310.msg1105201#msg1105201

"the Cherry is potentially one of the very few amps that can hang"

jtwrace · « **Reply #67 on:** 3 Jul 2012, 05:10 pm »

Quote from: AmpDesigner333 on 3 Jul 2012, 04:42 pm

by AC member "Rclark":
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=105310.msg1105201#msg1105201

"the Cherry is potentially one of the very few amps that can hang"

Yeah, too bad he has never heard either amp....

Quote from: Rclark on 26 Jun 2012, 08:36 pm

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.

fredgarvin · « **Reply #68 on:** 3 Jul 2012, 05:37 pm »

Gotta love those Cherries! And more Cherry to come.

jtwrace · « **Reply #69 on:** 3 Jul 2012, 05:39 pm »

Quote from: fredgarvin on 3 Jul 2012, 05:37 pm

How nice of you to drop in.

My pleasure.

fredgarvin · « **Reply #70 on:** 3 Jul 2012, 05:43 pm »

Keep those plums coming, Cherry lovers!

AmpDesigner333 · « **Reply #71 on:** 3 Jul 2012, 09:08 pm »

Quote from: jtwrace on 3 Jul 2012, 05:10 pm

Yeah, too bad he has never heard either amp....

Really? Do you know that for sure? I'm surprised to hear this. No pun intended....

Rclark · « **Reply #72 on:** 3 Jul 2012, 10:12 pm »

Sorry to let you down, but don't skim when you read!

full sentence "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."

I have to buy one piece at a time, I'm not yet packing the bankroll of these other guys. New preamp, HTCoz case, Ncores, in that order.

...but since you do have everyone's attention, and a new amp coming out, and you clearly want to be seen as competitive to the Ncore, might as well bring everything to the table and show us all the obligatory performance specs and charts, and tell everyone what your goals are sonically. Is this a flavored piece (pun intended) or straight wire?

Cheeseboy · « **Reply #73 on:** 4 Jul 2012, 07:38 pm »

So I'm still in the dark here. Have you heard either of these amps?

jackman · « **Reply #74 on:** 4 Jul 2012, 08:09 pm »

Quote from: AmpDesigner333 on 3 Jul 2012, 09:08 pm

Really? Do you know that for sure? I'm surprised to hear this. No pun intended....

I'm sure you are a great amp designer but I'd strongly advise to stay far away from anything written by Rclark about your products (or any product or subject for that matter). This guy wets his panties over every hot and trendy new product (see the Optomom preamp thread). He is frequently known to have strong opinions and even argue about products he has never heard. I would avoid the likes of Rclark like the plague. Run away, don't walk.

Cheers

Jack

Rclark · « **Reply #75 on:** 4 Jul 2012, 08:15 pm »

The Octocoupler is an awesome product. You're still welcome to borrow it and try it out. Not exactly sure why you have such a hard on for that topic.

I think if you've seen my recent reviews you know that I'm pretty darned honest.

And.. didn't get asked to be misquoted and dragged into this thread just to go through this crap all over again.

I want the Ncores! So what? Who doesn't?

Meh.

Anyway, my questions still stand, despite this diversion. Now that we're here. Measurements?

jackman · « **Reply #76 on:** 4 Jul 2012, 09:12 pm »

It appears he cut and pasted your actual quote. I'm not sure if that qualifies as misquoting. Anyway, if he followed your posts, the guy probably assumed you actually heard the Ncore because you have posted so much "stuff" about the amp and have such a strong opinion about it. I've never seen a person get so worked up about something he has never heard. It's even more rediculous than a person annointing a preamp as a "world beater" because it bested the digital volun control of his entry level DAC.

For the record, I've already listened to the optocoupler in my system and did not feel it was in the same league as my current preamp. Just an opinion, but it's based on actual listening, not wild conjecture and assumptions. I've also listened to the Ncores and thought they sounded good. Will post in the listening impressions thread when it's unlocked. I look forward to an Ncore Cherry comparison.

Cheers

Jack

Rclark · « **Reply #77 on:** 4 Jul 2012, 09:29 pm »

well, he clearly cut and pasted, and then cut some more, if you read my entire post from which it was taken. I'm very careful these days to use language that is clear. I'm just an enthusiast talking about hardware I will soon own. I don't have a hifi shop close by, and none of my friends are into stereos, yet, so this is my source of information and conversation.

Interesting note on the opto, I've only had a few different pre's to compare it to so far. Sept I'll have a 4th, when it launches. If it gets beaten I may try and keep it is as a gain control. And it wasn't me who said that, the Opto was compared to more than a few.

I look forward to a comparison of Ncore and Cherry as well, the more I get into this hobby, the more I'm willing to spend.

However, I would expect that any amp now is going to have to publish the same measurements. I wouldn't feel happy anymore with subjective only accounts, considering the measurements shown with Ncore.

Barry_NJ · « **Reply #78 on:** 4 Jul 2012, 09:36 pm »

I don't listen to measurements, so while they should be relatively good, I still make a purchasing decision based on how a product sounds, preferably in my system...

Rclark · « **Reply #79 on:** 4 Jul 2012, 09:50 pm »

Absolutely, ultimately that is the best way. Enjoy the 4th! It is a stunning day here, and time to go play outside.