[mresseguie]

Jason,

Is there a similar upgrade available for the Evo STA amplifier?

Michael

[rustydoglim]

Yes, it will be late May.  The upgrade from Evo STA or Evo Two to SE will be pretty much parts + labor cost.  We want our customers to continue to benefit from our R&D.

[muellec3]

Yes, it will be late May.  The upgrade from Evo STA or Evo Two to SE will be pretty much parts + labor cost.  We want our customers to continue to benefit from our R&D.

@rustydoglim: can you share any news about this upgrade? I am highly interested.
Chris

[rustydoglim]

Evolution STA-SE hasn't been released yet, estimate in July.
For Evolution Two to Two-SE upgrade, please email sales@nuprimeaudio.com and let us know where you are located.

[alexreusch]

Any plans for an Evo Three?

[mresseguie]

Jason,

I find myself in a conundrum. On the one hand I am curious about the soon to be available upgrade to my EVO-STA while on the other hand I really like how it sounds already. By any chance, could I stop by the Taipei shop or a dealer in Taoyuan or Taipei to compare the two amps side by side?

Michael

[rustydoglim]

I find myself in a conundrum. On the one hand I am curious about the soon to be available upgrade to my EVO-STA while on the other hand I really like how it sounds already. By any chance, could I stop by the Taipei shop or a dealer in Taoyuan or Taipei to compare the two amps side by side?

It’s best to wait for the final version of the Evo STA-SE, which is expected to launch in late July. As much as you may enjoy the current Evo STA, the SE upgrade brings a significant leap in performance—we believe it has the potential to surpass even the best Class A amplifiers.
If you’re in or visiting Taipei, you’ll be able to bring your Evo STA to our factory for the upgrade later. The cost will be modest and well worth it.
Although we could release the Evo STA-SE sooner, our production pipeline is currently full. It’s waiting on the new ultra-low-noise GaN power supply, but the IDA-9 has higher production priority at the moment.

While GaN power supplies are not new—many high-performance AC chargers and adapters use GaN devices—adapting them for high-end audio is a different challenge. We must not only scale it to 1000W, but also bring the noise level down to match the best linear power supplies. That’s no small feat.

Any plans for an Evo Three?

No.  We just introduced Evo Two-SE.  A customer in Australia has bought a pair for his high end speakers (> $100K a pair) and said that this is the best amp he has ever heard.

[mresseguie]

It’s best to wait for the final version of the Evo STA-SE, which is expected to launch in late July. As much as you may enjoy the current Evo STA, the SE upgrade brings a significant leap in performance—we believe it has the potential to surpass even the best Class A amplifiers.
If you’re in or visiting Taipei, you’ll be able to bring your Evo STA to our factory for the upgrade later. The cost will be modest and well worth it.
Although we could release the Evo STA-SE sooner, our production pipeline is currently full. It’s waiting on the new ultra-low-noise GaN power supply, but the IDA-9 has higher production priority at the moment.

While GaN power supplies are not new—many high-performance AC chargers and adapters use GaN devices—adapting them for high-end audio is a different challenge. We must not only scale it to 1000W, but also bring the noise level down to match the best linear power supplies. That’s no small feat.
No.  We just introduced Evo Two-SE.  A customer in Australia has bought a pair for his high end speakers (> $100K a pair) and said that this is the best amp he has ever heard.

My Evo STA is still in the US, but I may bring it to Taiwan (to stay) this winter.

IDA-9 'sounds' interesting. Can you tell us anything about it? Watts/channel? DAC included? Headphone socket? 

Michael

[rustydoglim]

At first glance, the IDA-9 may appear to be just an “upgraded” IDA-8, but in terms of sound quality and power, the improvement is nothing short of remarkable.Priced at $1,399 USD, the IDA-9 delivers a powerful 200W x 2 @ 8 ohms and 250W x 2 @ 4 ohms (RMS).
Even more impressive: it outperforms the award-winning ST-10 in sound quality.

Basically a reference class integrated amp at budget price.

[mresseguie]

Jason,

Thank you. I'll keep it in mind for future needs. Does it include a DAC? This is different from the previously mentioned IDA-32, correct?

Michael

[rustydoglim]

The IDA-9 was developed using the IDA-8 as a foundation to optimize time-to-market and cost. What we didn’t anticipate was that it would exceed our performance expectations by a significant margin.

The originally mentioned IDA-32 is now called IDA Fusion-10 with a drastically different design using Fusion-X platform.