[OzarkTom]

I don't envy the people with mega dollar tube amps right now. There will be denial and backlash.

So when you get yours, can I try them?

[James Romeyn]

Bruno and this Ncore thing has ruined almost a whole week for me!  But at least there appears to be a light at the end of the amplifier tunnel. 

Still looking for one chassis for 3x NC400 amps and 3x SMPS600 in case you trip over one.

I don't know about you guys, but I've been troubled about amps my entire audio life more than any other component, far more than speakers, sources, etc.  Possible exception is solving bass mode issues, but that's been well fixed for me for some time.

Problem is I have personal experience with some of the best amps extant...two favorites I left out earlier are Mark Levinson by Harman, and Krell Evo.  As reported earlier, I heard (for the first time, both amps) at 2012 CES the ModWright 150SE (insanely good on Audiomachina speakers) and the Aesthetix hybrid monos (also met the designer, very nice guy) powering one of the best speakers in the world, the Vandersteen 5A Carbon.

Once you get tuned in to the difference, it's hard to go back.  If the Ncore gets you moderately close to the above performance, as mentioned, go "short" on used high-end amps.   

 

[OzarkTom]

Bruno and this Ncore thing has ruined almost a whole week for me!  But at least there appears to be a light at the end of the amplifier tunnel. 

Still looking for one chassis for 3x NC400 amps and 3x SMPS600 in case you trip over one.

So are you running the Ncores in your system now? I noticed a few on DIY was buying their chassis's from this place in the UK, even Americans.

http://www.modushop.biz/ecommerce/cat147_l2.php?n=1#6

You might also look on Ebay and find a broken amp cheap to get a chassis.

[James Romeyn]

No...coming!  A friend visits the Netherlands now and may pick them up.

Thanks for the chassis tip, sweet.   

[timind]

You might also look on Ebay and find a broken amp cheap to get a chassis.

Ha, I tried that for a pair of the ICE 125ASX2s I have. Got the "for parts only" amp and it worked perfectly. The seller had it set to turn on with a trigger which I switched to normal. Can't see scrapping a perfectly good amp.

[Rclark]

So when you get yours, can I try them?

I dont think anyone will see me for a few days when that happens. You guys will of course.

[*Scotty*]

doug,from the NC 400 datasheet I downloaded from the Hypex website the minimum rail voltage recommended is 35volts and the maximum is 75volts. Your supply should be between these upper and lower limits and be capable of suppling 24 amps continuously. Here is the link http://www.hypex.nl/index.php?option=com_weblinks&view=weblink&id=106&catid=42
Scotty

[JDUBS]

I don't envy the people with mega dollar tube amps right now. There will be denial and backlash.

Why?  Do you work for Hypex?  It sounds like you do.

-Jim

[Rclark]

I wish! Then I wouldn't have to wait.

Just seems logical to me is all. Already had a bit of it here in this thread.

[doug s.]

doug,from the NC 400 datasheet I downloaded from the Hypex website the minimum rail voltage recommended is 35volts and the maximum is 75volts. Your supply should be between these upper and lower limits and be capable of supplying 24 amps continuously. Here is the link http://www.hypex.nl/index.php?option=com_weblinks&view=weblink&id=106&catid=42
Scotty

scotty, i have seen that.  but, the 24a indicated (sec 4) is the amp's output, not its input.  in sec 5, its signal stage supply current is shown as only 40ma, and its drive supply current is shown as only 70ma.  and, according to the recommended scms600 p/s specs, (link posted earlier), the scms600 outputs nowhere near that current - 0.5a/rail; and max 7a output short-circuit current, rail-to-rail.  (not sure what that means...)  also, it talks about euro woltages from 180-264; typ 230vac...  so, i am a bit confused, not being an ee...      

doug s.

[*Scotty*]

Doug, those uncertainties are the reason I would build a nice noise free linear power supply with about an 800 watt toroid and some Jensen 4 pole caps, 10,000 uF 80volts. A $60 Par-Metal case and you're home free.
The biggest bite comes from the $78 apiece cost of the Jensen power supply caps.
Scotty

[James Romeyn]

Why?  Do you work for Hypex?  It sounds like you do.

-Jim

Per the DIY thread owners of:

Atma-Sphere 60W OTL (appropriate speaker load), same user owns Clayton SS pure class A
Another A-S OTL owner (forgot model, ditto appropriate speaker load)
Accuphase
Other nice makes/models


...prefer their new Ncore not by small margins. 

Maybe every single new Ncore owner will keep their previous amp(s).  It would not be a huge surprise if some new Ncore user sells an amp he used prior. 

My closest relationship to Hypex is I'm of Dutch descent as is Bruno Putzeys (he likely higher percentage than myself).

My friend in the Netherlands now just purchased a Dutch Tent Labs amp, single tube input per channel, transformer coupling, earlier Hypex output.  In direct A-B he said it's "30-40%" better than the Australian Aksa NAKSA 100 now in my possession, one of the best amps I've heard.

Good designs coming from the Netherlands.

Just to put some focus on the difference an amp makes, which I'm sure most readers already know.  My $90 Dynaudio Esotec domes are decent tweeters, though there are definitely better.  The only thing between the domes and the amp is a Dueland resistor and a killer paper-in-oil capacitor.

Among other improvements, the NAKSA 100 makes the treble sound more than 100% better than the YBA.  The upgrade just sounds like a completely different system.   

After bass modes are solved (unless you settle for no deep bass, which is completely fine and often the case) and your source is ironed out, I think many users upgrade speakers way before the preamp/amp should have been replaced.  With an inferior amp you have no idea what the speakers are capable of. 

My 2c.       
[/list][/list][/list]

[Rclark]

see? It's hard to not be excited for these. I always assumed this class of amp would be beyond me. I was gearing up to spend around 2k for a used tube amp and even that, for me, would have been a lot of money.. And still not top performance. Yet now, cake. Bruno says have some cake.

I might just do these first, screw subs.

[Russell Dawkins]

My closest relationship to Hypex is I'm of Dutch descent as is Bruno Putzeys (he likely higher percentage than myself).

I thought Bruno's hometown was Leuven in Belgium.

[yetis]

Still looking for one chassis for 3x NC400 amps and 3x SMPS600 in case you trip over one.

Once you get tuned in to the difference, it's hard to go back.  If the Ncore gets you moderately close to the above performance, as mentioned, go "short" on used high-end amps.   

Are you looking for a dual chassis 3 channel amp with separate power supply ?  I like the sound of that.  Want to make two!?

[OzarkTom]

I might just do these first, screw subs.

Look at what everyone is saying about the bass on DIY.
Get the amps first.

[mhconley]

So are you running the Ncores in your system now? I noticed a few on DIY was buying their chassis's from this place in the UK, even Americans.

http://www.modushop.biz/ecommerce/cat147_l2.php?n=1#6

Actually Modu Shop is in Italy.  I purchased a pair of their Galaxy Maggiorato 230mm x 280mm to house my ICEpower amps.  Really nice stuff.  I sent the front, rear and bottom panels to Front Panel Express for machining.

Martin

[OzarkTom]

Stop the press!

One DIY'er is complanig about a coldness and dryness in the sound with the new Hypex Ncores. He likes the more holographic and detailed part, but not the coldness. That sounds typical of class D amps. I still say you need to get that Ncore on a battery system if possible.

I will watch and see if he can correct that.

[earflappin]

Tom, I saw that post as well.  You can see his latest post below and on the DIY thread.  As the poster noted below, if your current amp is colored the NCORES will sound "dry" initially and it will take a day or two to adjust.  I have the NCORES and have posted my impressions on the DIY thread.

Regarding power, Bruno, the NCORE designer, has posted that the NCOREs are pretty insensitive to the power supply.  What leads you to believe they would sound better on a battery?



Originally Posted by arend-jan 
Or more likely the sound of the Vecteur..

When you are accustomed to listening to a colored device (whichever device it is) your hearing adjusts to it. For example if you listen to speakers with a deep notch somewhere in the frequency band and then switch to a pair of flat neutral speakers, the latter will be perceived as having too much energy at the frequency where the notch previously was.

What I'd propose is to listen to the ncore amplifiers for a couple of days then switch back to the Vecteur for comparison. Give your ears some time to make the switch.


I think you guys are right. The sound keeps getting better by the hour. But the vecteur is a great amp. Here's the only current review i can find. It is a 10 year old amp.

[*Scotty*]

The power supply caps have to break in at the very least. I would discount any reports of this kind of problem unless they come from someone who has had the amps on 24/7 for at least 2 weeks.
 If the amps are any good at all they are going to tell you what is going on upstream of them.
Users may have to re-think their systems composition because it reveals the less than perfect nature of something in the chain ahead of the amp.
Don't shoot the messenger for being a GIGO device.
Scotty