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Class D monoblocks, which one?

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birkbott

birkbott

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Puska

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Well, I was fuelled by this reviews about m700.
NC400 delivers clean, deteiled, transparent, wide open sound. Everything is close to you, like you are sitting in front row.
M700 had a wail and the bass was Pre emphasized. By far less detailed and clean.
 

Xyrium

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birkbott

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Though you seem set on the PA-1, I'll throw this out there. I have no horse in this race, nor have I used either vendor.

NC500MP
https://vacuumtubevalues.com/produc...complete-amplifier-module-with-integrated-ps/

and this case kit
https://www.ghentaudio.com/kit/2180a-1.html

That said, I like what the PA-1 has to offer, I'm looking forward to hearing your opinions once you get a solution in house...

Do you know if the NC500 has the same performance as the NC400? Is the main difference between the two the integrated power supply?
 

Xyrium

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Do you know if the NC500 has the same performance as the NC400? Is the main difference between the two the integrated power supply?

I believe the 400 is measurably superior, but that's only based on my memory. Either would exceed the performance of the Icepower modules, IMO.


Apollon is fairly well regarded, but the price for an assembled product from them, or Audiophonics will far exceed that of the DIY route. That said, you're paying for a fully assembled product (if you can connect Lego bricks, you can assemble one of these yourself with the solderless kits), with a warranty.

The Icepower modules are still quite good for the price of an assembled product with a warranty, but it's close once you enter DIY with Hypex.
 
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birkbott

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I do want to try the NC400 DIY amps but in the interest of time and $$ I have ordered the Emotivas. If they can’t compare to the Vidar I’ll return them and try the NC400.

In lieu of the built in DSP on the crown I have also ordered a Loki from Schiit to use as a high pass for my mains. I also have some room boom in the 100-200hz range so I should be able to tweak that as well.

Will post first impressions when I receive them.
 

Koeitje

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I believe the 400 is measurably superior, but that's only based on my memory. Either would exceed the performance of the Icepower modules, IMO.



Apollon is fairly well regarded, but the price for an assembled product from them, or Audiophonics will far exceed that of the DIY route. That said, you're paying for a fully assembled product (if you can connect Lego bricks, you can assemble one of these yourself with the solderless kits), with a warranty.

The Icepower modules are still quite good for the price of an assembled product with a warranty, but it's close once you enter DIY with Hypex.
Hypex from audiophonics is just as expensive as building them yourself...
 

daftcombo

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Thanks for pointing this out, @Matias. It would appear to be an extraordinary offer - a purifi amp for the same price as they are selling the stereo version of the NC400 (with the same smps). I don't think that power supply should be a problem, but perhaps they will offer monoblocks with the 600 smps, as they did for the NC400. I would have expected the purifi amp module to be much more expensive than the NC400, for them to acquire, and therefore for the customer.
Very good specs but not THAT much clean power under 8 ohm, it seems.
 

rodtor

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Very good specs but not THAT much clean power under 8 ohm, it seems.
Thanks for your input, @daftcombo. Is there something in the Audiophonics sales information that suggests this to you, or is it a limitation you see in the purifi amp? The two purifi amps tested by Amir measured well.
 

Matias

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daftcombo

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Thanks for your input, @daftcombo. Is there something in the Audiophonics sales information that suggests this to you, or is it a limitation you see in the purifi amp? The two purifi amps tested by Amir measured well.
Seing from the graph:

1582309335236.png
 

rodtor

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The entry level Nord amp based on Purifi also has great price (£979.00 + VAT).
https://www.nordacoustics.co.uk/product-page/nord-three-1et400a-stereo-amplifier
Yes, these two are now close rivals for this category of inexpensive purifi amps. You've mentioned, @Matias, that you think the Nord has an especially good opamp. For its part, the Audiophonics one has a pass through option that could be used with a DAC with high voltage output. The RME presumably could work with this. Amir's first purifi achieved 108 SINAD with this configuration, compared to 104 with a 2 volt input. We might not notice the difference, but still nice to have.
 

rodtor

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OK, @daftcombo, but do we have anything that measures better, other than the Benchmark? Most specs I've seen seem to give 8 ohms a slight edge in SINAD.
 

rodtor

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Certainly another great option, with a bit more power. I believe this is the OEM Hypex NC 500. If you look at the Hypex data sheet for this one, I think you will find that it has very good SINAD, but not quite to the purifi's level. So, you lose a bit there, but gain something in power, and also save some money. To me, those appear to be the tradeoffs.

Edit: I was mistaken above about the NC 500 version used in this Audiophonics amp. It is the less expensive, and slightly lower-performing MP version. Nord uses the OEM amp in its NC 500 amps.
 
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birkbott

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I got the Emotivas last night. Really nice packaging and a 6’ power cord which is great.

I did notice some hum if i put my ear right up to the speaker, about the same level as the crown. I keep forgetting to check the Vidar but I remember it being almost dead quiet. I am using monoprice rca to xlr cables so maybe that’s part of it.

However the sound when playing is much better than the Crown. Seems to be on par with the Vidar but I need to do more listening to know for sure. I’m impressed with the look and build quality and the sound so far.
 

Xyrium

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Congrats man, I'm sure they'll work out. The hum is disconcerting, I'll admit. Many moons ago, I had an Odyssey Audio Stratos Plus amp that hummed. I couldn't stand it, and sent it back. They replaced the xformer and it was GTG afterwards. That's some solid service IMO.

So, if you're listening nearfield, perhaps it will become annoying. If not, then try to forget you ever heard it. :)
 
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