[targa02]

Hi All,

Please bear with me as I give my impressions of the NS-40. 

First please let me say Blair is very eager to share his considerable knowledge and is a gentleman.  I am currently using the NS-40 with the following ancillary equipment: PI Audio RevBuss>>Stock 2009 Mac Mini>>Tranquility DAC>>NAD T754 HTR>>Zu Druid MkIV 08 with Mojo Audio power cords, Morrow Audio ICs and very generic speaker cables.  I know, what the heck is the NAD doing in there as a pre?  Long story that I won't get into now, but it is about to be replaced. 

Unpacking the amp I was impressed by the quality of the paint job.  I do like the face plate, but I wish it was smaller so the paint job was visible from the front.  The chassis feels very solid.  Mine is equipped with DC filament upgrade.  The power switch and impedance selector are on the rear of the chassis, which makes for a cleaner look, but makes it difficult to place the amp in close quarters. 

Listening impressions: First off it is very quiet.  The Druids are very efficient and I can only hear noise thru them when my ears are 2 feet away from the drivers.  This is my first all tube amp and I was expecting to lose some of the speed and clarity that I was used to with a Class D amp with a linear power supply I had been using.  Funny thing is that the NS 40 loses no detail compared to the Class D amp.  The highs are clear, lots of bass and the midrange is what you would expect from a great amp and Zu Druids - wonderful!  I listened to music for 6 hours straight last night (wife is out of town).  I was so enthralled that I considered sleeping on the couch with the music playing as I was enjoying myself so much.  Isn't that the highest compliment one can pass on regarding audio equipment?  So engaging that you do not want to turn it off.  The only somewhat negative comparison to the Class D amp is when I bypassed the NAD and ran PureMusic software directly from the Tranquility to the amp.  The Class D sounds much better without the NAD in the way.  The NS 40 sounds a little to lean to me in this set up.  I purchased a Prism Orpheus which I hope to have set up this weekend and will post impressions once installed.

Thanks Blair for a wonderful product! 

[Niteshade]

Thank you for your review!

If there are any questions about this model, I am happy to answer them. The NS-40 is designed to be a "giant killer" of sorts since it works well with low or high efficiency speakers. She's got backbone and not at the expense of articulation.

A pet peeve of mine has always been expensive tubes. I like designing amps that can utilize modern tubes and perform exceptionally well with them. The good news: For those of us who collect tubes and enjoy vintage renditions, the NS-40 will gladly accept them AND be gentle while providing full output.

So people know: This is the same amp model that will go on tour in January!

[Niteshade]

This is going to tie two topics together: The design of an EL84 superamp and the NS-40. I have a couple of Baldwin transformers designed for GIANT EL84 amplifiers- three channels, with 12 EL84's, to be exact. 

I can make a NS-40 based on this transformer and 4 EL84's per side. The sound quality will be amazing. Price: $1650.00 and that includes the above shown faceplate. The output transformers will be the same as shown above. They are **perfect** for this setup and have superb tone.

Standard features:
1. Variable feedback
2. Tunable Biasing
3. 40 watts/channel into 4 to 16 ohm loads
4. Speaker compatibility: 87db on up. (VR-2 tested as well as Klipsch RF-83!)
5. Frequency response: 20-20,000hz
6. Color: Anything you want. Please check the Niteshade web site's color wheel
7. Dimensions: 17x10x7 @ 50lbs
8. Tubes: 8 El34's and two 6SN7's

Shipping is FREE for the Lower 48.

[bchristmas]

Hello Blair,

Glad to hear that you are planning on releasing an EL84 amp.  I will be picking up a pair of Klipsch Forte II's and since they are pretty efficient, will you have an iterration of a smaller output EL84?

Thanks,

Bernard

[Niteshade]

Yes! I plan on making a NS-20 that uses two El84's per side. Another that will be in the works is a NS-40-84 that uses four EL84's per side. A SEP15 that uses three EL84's in parallel can be made as well that produces 15 watts per channel, class A.

[bchristmas]

Blair,

I like the idea of a SEP El84  .  I am trying to decide between modding a Magnavox EL84 PP or trying one of your EL84 iterations.  So I will continue to watch your forum and website.

Keep up the good work, so far you are looking quite impressive 

Bernard

[Niteshade]

I was just thinking about this. I have a Magnavox EL84 push pull as well as a 6V6 model. They sound great! These models provide a stereotypical tube sound: Very warm, soft and around 15 watts/channel. Their representation of the top is is smooth and compliments the bottom end. Their frequency response is in the neighborhood of 80 to 15k- well rounded & easy to listen to.

Improvement list:
1. Better phase splitter (If really motivated!)
2. Check for degrading resistors & capacitors
3. Check screen supply voltage and adjust for best sound w/ least amount of heat output
4. OR: Convert to DC biasing for some more oomph & modify everything else accordingly

That's a short list of inexpensive upgrades. Replacing the phase splitters could be a pain due to how the leads are wrapped around the tube socket lugs. At least check for damaged resistors in the existing phase splitter. My 6V6 model has a noisy carbon comp. resistor somewhere. Been waiting for it to totally give up!

Blair,

I like the idea of a SEP El84  .  I am trying to decide between modding a Magnavox EL84 PP or trying one of your EL84 iterations.  So I will continue to watch your forum and website.

Keep up the good work, so far you are looking quite impressive 

Bernard