[zeke]

Based on the their performance, I would say they are a steal.

Most juries have 12 members. If you do some research, you can easily find at least 12 extremely positive reviews by people that have heard the ncore. In fact, I would challenge you to find one person that hasn't liked them. Nearly everyone I can find that has heard them has bought them...

No one is stopping you from buying all the used amps you want....bon appetite....

My post is about cost, not performance. I don't really care if they sound good, bad, or inbetween. But i hope they sound great, so i can enjoy them too when i am able to check them out later.

[James Romeyn]

Does anyone else think $2000 is very expensive for diy audio? I thought switching amps were usually low cost.

Yes, but per user feedback, not this particular DIY amp.  Your question is misleading.  One could easily spend much less than $2k.   

[I can buy lots of great used/new amps of any type for that money.

Yes, you can, and should if you so desire.  Has anyone attempted to stop you?  Your term "great" describes performance, not cost. 

I think the jury is still out that the ncore is equal to many amps double or triple their cost.

zeke

You are either in denial or simply need to continue reading.  There's about 500 user pages on Ncore. 

[James Romeyn]

There would be a great benefit to create a lower powered amp....

Except for some small problems: it definitely appears no one has built nor heard DC powered Ncore.  Until then, and until it is A-Bd against Bruno's SMPS600, your statement seems untested and possibly misleading.

One user said Ncore is dead silent on speakers with 108 dB sensitivity.  Such performance being rare to unknown prior to Ncore, one might suspect changing Ncore from AC to DC PS to benefit less if at all vs. amplifiers in general.

 

[Tyson]

I WANT A DC POWERED NCORE THAT IS LOW POWERED.  AND COMPLETELY ENCASED IN SILICON GEL.  I'VE NEVER HEARD IT BUT I KNOW THAT THIS WILL MAKE IT BETTER!!!!!!!!

[James Romeyn]

In my 28 years as a fireman, I definitely noticed that bowline knots tied by left-handed persons were significantly tidier and easier to use than the same knots tied by right-handed persons. 

Similarly, underhanded clove hitch knots were more reliable than the same knots tied overhand. 

(sarc/off)

[zeke]

Yes, but per user feedback, not this particular DIY amp.  Your question is misleading.  One could easily spend much less than $2k.
 
Still think it is expensive -- just my opinion. Obviously, most don't as they are ordering them. 


Yes, you can, and should if you so desire.  Has anyone attempted to stop you?  Your term "great" describes performance, not cost.
 
I hope no one attempts to stop me -- lol.  I hope to continue trying lots of gear as i have been doing for many years. Yes, there are lots of great sounding amps for $2k. Don't know whether they sound better(imo) than ncore as i haven't heard it.

You are either in denial or simply need to continue reading.  There's about 500 user pages on Ncore.

I am not in denial. I look forward to trying the ncore -- looks like it will be awhile tho.

Sorry -- the quotes and my replies didn't get divided up as i thought they would.

[wushuliu]

I am still shaking my head over the schiit bifrost hysteria. Part of the reason I like the Classdaudioamps is that not *everybody* goes gaga over them - there are some who say well eh, I don't get it. For some reason that makes me fee better about my own admittedly high opinion of them. If the Ncores are indeed beyond awesome I am willing to wait for Bruno's next version which will no doubt be beyond awesomer.

[wushuliu]

In my 28 years as a fireman, I definitely noticed that bowline knots tied by left-handed persons were significantly tidier and easier to use than the same knots tied by right-handed persons. 

Similarly, underhanded clove hitch knots were more reliable than the same knots tied overhand.

Well James, you turned me on to the Pioneer D912 which has been quite a blessing in my meager listening space that must be tailored to She Who Must Not Be Irritated. So if you give thumbs up to the Ncore, I'll be there for when they fall off the FOTM truck.

[Big Red Machine]

Tom is bringing his Ncores by tonight so we can try them out on the SoundScapes.

[Nick77]

Tom is bringing his Ncores by tonight so we can try them out on the SoundScapes.

Rutrow, Samsons on the block. 

Very interesting...........

[WGH]

Tom is bringing his Ncores by tonight so we can try them out on the SoundScapes.

   Now we're gettin' somewhere.

[OzarkTom]

Except for some small problems: it definitely appears no one has built nor heard DC powered Ncore.  Until then, and until it is A-Bd against Bruno's SMPS600, your statement seems untested and possibly misleading.

One user said Ncore is dead silent on speakers with 108 dB sensitivity.  Such performance being rare to unknown prior to Ncore, one might suspect changing Ncore from AC to DC PS to benefit less if at all vs. amplifiers in general.

 

Surely you have heard battery powered products in your system? Surely you have heard Danny Ritchie's GR Research system that he takes to the shows? His system gets some of the highest praise from all the audio reviewers.

One of the reason, Danny uses all battery powered products except the servo amps. I guess Danny is just being silly about batteries, correct?

I am not the only one that hears distortion from AC powered products.

[maxwalrath]

Besides the obvious "upgrade paths" of using extra fancy wire, IEC connectors and IC / speaker cables...has anyone looked at the NCore and thought about "rolling" the capacitors on top of the module or the power supply? Replacing screws with whatever vibration minimizing screws are out there? Highest quality solder or crimping mechanisms to achieve the best connections? I'm sure someone will try battery power at some point, but that's another complicated can of worms. I feel like these minor tweaks will be tried at some point, I'm wondering if anyone at AC who is handier at DIY than I am has given these any thoughts. I apologize in advance if any of these questions are silly...I don't know anything about DIY. Thanks all for your input and experience about these amps.

[maxwalrath]

Surely you have heard battery powered products in your system? Surely you have heard Danny Ritchie's GR Research system that he takes to the shows? His system gets some of the highest praise from all the audio reviewers.

One of the reason, Danny uses all battery powered products except the servo amps. I guess Danny is just being silly about batteries, correct?

I am not the only one that hears distortion from AC powered products.

I hear where you are coming from...but given that the main advantages I've heard in my admittedly limited experience with DC are silent/black backgrounds and excellent low level detail (qualities the NCores reportedly have), I don't think anyone here has taken that plunge yet. Someone will, and I will be interested in what they have to say. But until someone who has already laid out close to $2k to get the NCores up and running and invest their own time and $$ into creating a proper DC power supply, let's not crucify all the helpful people here who are just getting accustomed to their NCores running off of AC power.

[cab]

Surely you have heard battery powered products in your system? Surely you have heard Danny Ritchie's GR Research system that he takes to the shows? His system gets some of the highest praise from all the audio reviewers.

One of the reason, Danny uses all battery powered products except the servo amps. I guess Danny is just being silly about batteries, correct?

I am not the only one that hears distortion from AC powered products.

Surely you understand that that past performance is no guarantee of future results, nor are gross generalizations across broad product classes certainties....

There are people who have tried these with 100+db sensitive speakers and had 0 audible sound at the speaker. How can that be improved?

I am not saying that somehow battery power can't improve the performance of the Ncore, what I am saying is that it is far from certain that it will....

[cab]

Besides the obvious "upgrade paths" of using extra fancy wire, IEC connectors and IC / speaker cables...has anyone looked at the NCore and thought about "rolling" the capacitors on top of the module or the power supply? Replacing screws with whatever vibration minimizing screws are out there? Highest quality solder or crimping mechanisms to achieve the best connections? I'm sure someone will try battery power at some point, but that's another complicated can of worms. I feel like these minor tweaks will be tried at some point, I'm wondering if anyone at AC who is handier at DIY than I am has given these any thoughts. I apologize in advance if any of these questions are silly...I don't know anything about DIY. Thanks all for your input and experience about these amps.

No doubt it all will be tried as there are those people who are always messing with things.

If you read the comments about such thing by the designer, and listen to the amps, you may well be tempted to leave good enough alone....

[PeteG]

Tom is bringing his Ncores by tonight so we can try them out on the SoundScapes.

I'll be interested to hear how well the Ncore's drives your SoundScapes.

[maxwalrath]

No doubt it all will be tried as there are those people who are always messing with things.

If you read the comments about such thing by the designer, and listen to the amps, you may well be tempted to leave good enough alone....

I hear you, and from what I've been reading here I agree. However, it is in the audiophile's nature to tinker and experiment, so I imagine that people will do just that. Being a non-proficient DIY'er, I'm hoping that those who know what their doing and are in a position to experiment report if there are any possible improvements.

[cujobob]

Surely you understand that that past performance is no guarantee of future results, nor are gross generalizations across broad product classes certainties....

There are people who have tried these with 100+db sensitive speakers and had 0 audible sound at the speaker. How can that be improved?

I am not saying that somehow battery power can't improve the performance of the Ncore, what I am saying is that it is far from certain that it will....

This isn't why people use battery power for the most part. It helps create a blacker background as they say... Not just to eliminate the audible noise heard on a constant basis from high efficiency designs. Battery power is pretty awesome but a bit of a nuisance in some ways too.

[fredgarvin]

"If the Ncores are indeed beyond awesome I am willing to wait for Bruno's next version which will no doubt be beyond awesomer."   

"This isn't why people use battery power for the most part. It helps create a blacker background as they say... Not just to eliminate the audible noise heard on a constant basis from high efficiency designs. Battery power is pretty awesome but a bit of a nuisance in some ways too."

That's why I've preferred batteries. I'm sure people will be trying this soon with their ncore kits.