[Nick77]

Im an official Hypex owner and fanboy now! 

Not quite ready for prime time Ncore purchase so I decided to try the UCD series. Bought a pair of UCD180HG HXR modules and SMPS400/180 power supply.

Work in progress.......

[Nick77]

How does it sound?

I purchased the stock Hypex UCD signal cable and SMPS cable set for ease of setup. After building the amp, the initial fire up was less than impressive and missing dynamics. Ive experienced break in more than once with both electronics and speakers so I gave it some time before passing judgement. Fortunately it opened up real nice after a day or two and yielded a nice neutral presentation. So  neutral in fact it was a tad lifeless, same experience I had with the sample Ncore audition.

I used premium parts to build so I could achieve the most out of the modules. Cardas binding posts, gold IEC, CMC RCA and GR hookup wire where needed. These were things lacking in the Ncore sample model I auditioned, that I was hoping would make up the difference between being just neutral and a tad lifeless.

When building the amp with stock cables i was unimpressed with size and quality so I later replaced IEC power cable with some 12awg upocc Neotech wire and the rest with Cardas litz hookup wire. The stock input signal cable appears to be tinned copper at best and not at all transparent. I replaced with some Neotech litz cryo cable and transparency was increased dramatically. I also swapped out the stock fuse with a Create Audio Nano fuse.

Now its a different anaimal, dynamics and transparency in spades. I moved from the SDS254 with 60k in Panasonic caps which had dynamics galore, and at first I almost questioned the UCD upgrade but could sense it was more resolute but reserved. I am now glad i made the upgrade to the Hypex units after some minor tweaking. The $10 stock signal cable and power cables appear to be  a bit of a bottleneck for sure.

Now it has a lot of the traits of Ncore, and will tide me over till I can get my hands on a couple of those NC modules. 

[Nick77]

I really think the UCD modules fly under the radar, anyone else enjoying this series? I know there used in a number of commercial offerings for roughly 2k.

[Julf]

Now its a different anaimal, dynamics and transparency in spades.

Dare I ask if your comparison was an A/B one? Blind or sighted?

[Nick77]

Dare I ask if your comparison was an A/B one? Blind or sighted?

No Sir, your mileage may vary but I wanted to share what worked for me. I have quite a bit of experience voicing my system to my ears and liking. I also run a Yamaha LS9 sound board and mix live bands so I have a keen ear for changing the sound for the better. I can readily detect changes in cabling "of course if you believe in such a thing". Haha

[Julf]

No Sir, your mileage may vary but I wanted to share what worked for me.

Fair enough, and appreciated - just helps the rest of us to put it in perspective.

[Nick77]

What no greetings? Is this Ncore circle only? 

[jtwrace]

Nice job.   

[DS-21]

I really think the UCD modules fly under the radar, anyone else enjoying this series? I know there used in a number of commercial offerings for roughly 2k.

I use a pair of UcD180-OEM's in a commercial design (Pro-Ject Amp Box SE) in my desktop system.



They're fine. They have no sound of their own. They also run cool, have very low noise, and no turn on/turn off thump. The little box looks good on my desk.

I don't know or care what kind of wire is inside, because it matters not at all.

[poseidonsvoice]

I use a pair of UcD180-OEM's in a commercial design (Pro-Ject Amp Box SE) in my desktop system.



They're fine. They have no sound of their own. They also run cool, have very low noise, and no turn on/turn off thump. The little box looks good on my desk.

I don't know or care what kind of wire is inside, because it matters not at all.

You probably have the best desktop system out there with the UCD's driving the speakers!

Best,
Anand.

[Nick77]

I don't know or care what kind of wire is inside, because it matters not at all.                                                                           

For good reason, its no slouch in stock form. Mine is in my main rig so Im looking to get the most out of it. 

[DS-21]

You probably have the best desktop system out there with the UCD's driving the speakers!

The UcD's don't sound any different from something like a Parasound Zamp v3. The little Pro-Ject amp looks better on my desk, though.

However, if I do say so myself the system is honestly the finest desktop system I've yet heard. The reasons are speaker placement and speaker measurements:



It was also really surprising to me how much better they sounded when raised off the desk. I expected greater clarity, but the subjective difference was more pronounced than I expected. Speaker stands are a pair of $5 Ikea table-top brackets and four blobs of Blu-Tack per side.

For good reason, its no slouch in stock form. Mine is in my main rig so Im looking to get the most out of it. 

Playing with mere wires won't get any more out of it, of course. Hooking it up to speaker with performance like the ones above will get the most out of it, regardless of the wires used.

However, if I were building a DIY amp, I'd ditch the sorry binding post kludges and use Speakon terminals. Speakons don't sound any different from any other terminal (anyone who thinks they hear differences in mere wire terminals is probably deaf-in-fact) but they're massively superior in every practical respect.

[poseidonsvoice]

Nick77 has a pair of Pi4's so he is in good hands. I use Speakons on several of my Geddes speakers for the reasons you mentioned, and of course, their reliability.

Best,
Anand.