Just ordered an HD AVA

WhatIsHiFi · « **Reply #20 on:** 10 Aug 2018, 12:18 am »

Quote from: rustydoglim on 9 Aug 2018, 07:13 pm

nuoem.com is a site providing service to NuPrime factory and others.
Therefore you are ordering directly from NuPrime, as safe as it can be .
Products get listed on nuoem.com when they are under clearance, the end of a product lifecycle. Standard warranty coverage and support from Nuprime.

@rustydoglim Thank you! Really appreciate it if you could share your knowledge on the below:

Does AVA incorporate similar tech as :
1. Switch-Mode Power Supply (SMPS) technology as IDA-16.
2. Cross-Matrix Array (CMA) capacitor bank

Do the RCA inputs go through the IDA-16 AMP module?

Finally (please forgive me if this is a dumb question) Apart from 200 WPC is the AVA more similar to the IDA-8 than IDA-16?

Thank you for your time.
Ami

envydd · « **Reply #21 on:** 10 Aug 2018, 04:12 pm »

Would love to know the answer too although my gut says the analog in goes to the IDA16-like amp module directly without the DSP etc - do we need to enable any bypass in the config?

I am guessing for the optical/coax input, it will go to the AV DAC instead of the DAC10 module?

Quote from: WhatIsHiFi on 10 Aug 2018, 12:18 am

@rustydoglim Thank you! Really appreciate it if you could share your knowledge on the below:

Does AVA incorporate similar tech as :
1. Switch-Mode Power Supply (SMPS) technology as IDA-16.
2. Cross-Matrix Array (CMA) capacitor bank

Do the RCA inputs go through the IDA-16 AMP module?

Finally (please forgive me if this is a dumb question) Apart from 200 WPC is the AVA more similar to the IDA-8 than IDA-16?

Thank you for your time.
Ami

rustydoglim · « **Reply #22 on:** 11 Aug 2018, 05:28 pm »

Quote

Does AVA incorporate similar tech as :
1. Switch-Mode Power Supply (SMPS) technology as IDA-16.
2. Cross-Matrix Array (CMA) capacitor bank

Do the RCA inputs go through the IDA-16 AMP module?

1. SMPS effect is secondary in this case and obviously they are not the same due to different power requirements.
2. Capacitor arrays are also not the same.
RCA inputs have to go through A2D and digital switch before the amp module.

The closes path for HD-AVA to be similar to IDA-16 is from USB input.

envydd · « **Reply #23 on:** 11 Aug 2018, 05:54 pm »

Jason, thx ... this was something I wanted to ask for a while. I am guessing the optical/coax also goes via the A/D. That explains why my linux Daphile box via USB sounds much better with my AVA.

rustydoglim · « **Reply #24 on:** 13 Aug 2018, 03:52 pm »

No, optical/coaxial is digital, it goes into multi-channel DAC in the AVP section.

envydd · « **Reply #25 on:** 13 Aug 2018, 04:30 pm »

Thx, so the only input that goes into the DAC10 DAC is the USB? Wow!

WhatIsHiFi · « **Reply #26 on:** 14 Aug 2018, 03:39 am »

Quote from: rustydoglim on 11 Aug 2018, 05:28 pm

1. SMPS effect is secondary in this case and obviously they are not the same due to different power requirements.
2. Capacitor arrays are also not the same.
RCA inputs have to go through A2D and digital switch before the amp module.

The closes path for HD-AVA to be similar to IDA-16 is from USB input.

Thank you Jason. How about WiFi (Airplay, DLNA & Miracast)? How are the inputs through these routed into the AMP?

WhatIsHiFi · « **Reply #27 on:** 16 Aug 2018, 04:25 pm »

I've been auditioning the IDA-8 on KEF LS50s and really like the sound. Except that the mid-range feels somewhat flat for a few recordings.

Considering that I will be upgrading the speakers to Magnepans 1.7i -Any opinions on whether the HD-AVA would be better or more future proof?

RafaPolit · « **Reply #28 on:** 16 Aug 2018, 07:30 pm »

I really don't think that buying a discontinued on-clearance-sale product would classify as 'future proof'. But on your LS50s you have, perhaps, the one speaker that is reportedly problematic with the 'NuPrime sound' of newer amps (specially the STA-9: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=153574.msg1641869#msg1641869). Perhaps IDA-16 is the safer choice here? Perhaps an ST-10? (a bit above the current AVA price tag).

Certainly NOT the STA-9 unless you plan on changing speakers right away.

At any rate, your current KEF speakers enjoy wide renown. So perhaps keep them a while and find the correct matching AMP and then see if you want to upgrade those?

envydd · « **Reply #29 on:** 16 Aug 2018, 10:23 pm »

Future proof is a hard question and depends on your needs. Will it sound good? Yes it will. I use an HDAVA with LS50 and its very neutral, much better than the IDA-6 I have (dont have the IDA-8). It has more digital and analog inputs than I will ever need so it is future proof.

What do I miss in the HDAVA? Two things 1) up-conversion (its debatable if it helps in general but I have seen that it does for bad recordings based on my experience with Audirvana+) and 2) I2S input (for connecting stuff like CDT-8.

Quote from: RafaPolit on 16 Aug 2018, 07:30 pm

I really don't think that buying a discontinued on-clearance-sale product would classify as 'future proof'. But on your LS50s you have, perhaps, the one speaker that is reportedly problematic with the 'NuPrime sound' of newer amps (specially the STA-9: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=153574.msg1641869#msg1641869). Perhaps IDA-16 is the safer choice here? Perhaps an ST-10? (a bit above the current AVA price tag).

Certainly NOT the STA-9 unless you plan on changing speakers right away.

At any rate, your current KEF speakers enjoy wide renown. So perhaps keep them a while and find the correct matching AMP and then see if you want to upgrade those?

WhatIsHiFi · « **Reply #30 on:** 17 Aug 2018, 02:20 am »

Quote from: envydd on 16 Aug 2018, 10:23 pm

Future proof is a hard question and depends on your needs. Will it sound good? Yes it will. I use an HDAVA with LS50 and its very neutral, much better than the IDA-6 I have (dont have the IDA-8). It has more digital and analog inputs than I will ever need so it is future proof.

What do I miss in the HDAVA? Two things 1) up-conversion (its debatable if it helps in general but I have seen that it does for bad recordings based on my experience with Audirvana+) and 2) I2S input (for connecting stuff like CDT-8.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

After some introspection I have distilled my confusion into a single line: "Would HD-AVA sound better than IDA-8 on KEF LS50s + KUBE-1?" And I listen to various kinds of music.

This considering (from what I've gleaned through various sources) that the HD-AVA USB DAC is same as DAC-10 and it uses the same AMP module as the IDA-16.

Your thoughts please?

JackD · « **Reply #31 on:** 17 Aug 2018, 03:16 am »

If it works then yes it is better than the IDA-8 which I found can be much to warm on some speakers. The extra power won't hurt either. I have had an IDA-8 since it was released (long since boxed up) and moved to the DAC-10/ST-10 and there is no comparison so if the HD AVA is just part of the way to the 10 combo it is better.

envydd · « **Reply #32 on:** 17 Aug 2018, 08:06 am »

Between the Ava and the ida8 I picked the Ava without listening. My reasons - same price, dac10 and ida16 guts and lots of inputs

If the Ava was 2x ida8 I would have taken the ida8 or moved up to dac10/sta10 which is 3x the cost of the ida8

rustydoglim · « **Reply #33 on:** 20 Aug 2018, 07:13 am »

With USB as input, the DAC and amp inside HD-AVA is better than IDA-8.

WhatIsHiFi · « **Reply #34 on:** 20 Aug 2018, 02:15 pm »

@JackD, @envydd, @rustydoglim: Thank you for sharing your opinions - I have placed an order for the HD-AVA with NUOEM. Will keep you posted on my experience.

BTW - Does anyone have a free- shipping coupon code for NUOEM?

rustydoglim · « **Reply #35 on:** 22 Aug 2018, 04:11 am »

There is no free shipping from NUOEM, the site's purpose is to provide services for manufacturers. It is not a general purpose retail store.

envydd · « **Reply #36 on:** 22 Aug 2018, 05:54 am »

As good as the Ava is (for my simple use case with a ls50), I hope nuprime releases a evo influenced mid fi ida32 as Jason has mentioned before. Would be a good reason to upgrade!

WhatIsHiFi · « **Reply #37 on:** 27 Aug 2018, 10:12 pm »

Received my NuPrime HD-AVA today morning and preparing for an overnight listening session

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WhatIsHiFi · « **Reply #38 on:** 28 Aug 2018, 05:36 am »

I notice a hum/low tone crackle on my speaker when connected to the HD-AVA and not playing anything. This is not present/ audible with the IDA-8. Has anybody else encountered this issue?

Please excuse the quality of the video - was too sleepy to do a good job. https://youtu.be/7FtUFv48nA0

Will try to post a better link of the noise tomorrow using TASCAM to record. Appreciate any suggestions/ feedback.

Thanks,
Ami

envydd · « **Reply #39 on:** 28 Aug 2018, 04:38 pm »

Sorry to hear your crackle etc. I have not experienced this. For me, I can hear a very faint buzz if I put my ears 1" away from my coaxial drivers. Was told it could be some line noise but I never bothered to filter it (lack of time!), its also present with my IDA6. So I assumed its my line or a characteristic of NuP.

Did you check your connections/banana plugs etc. I have seen loose connections doing funky things