HypeX/PuriFi amplifier products available in the USA?

[echopraxia]

Apologies if this topic has been rehashed before, but I didn't find any specific threads with this topic as far as I can know (though some discussion in comments here and there).

It looks like most HypeX/PuriFi amp products of reasonable performance and price are located outside the US. Is there a competitive and highly trusted brand that distributes in the US, that I'm not aware of? Many of the companies outside the US do ship internationally, which is nice, but I just wanted to check if there isn't something I'm missing here first before ordering from them. (More local distribution is often preferred because it makes purchasing/shipping/warranty/etc. easier.)

Later Edit: Check out my conclusions here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ble-quality-build-and-customer-service.15220/

 

[ta240]

I don't know how they measure but they are based in Ohio: https://vtvamplifier.com/

Not US based but they participate on here which would seem to help with customer service: https://www.marchaudio.net.au/

 

[echopraxia]

I don't know how they measure but they are based in Ohio: https://vtvamplifier.com/

Not US based but they participate on here which would seem to help with customer service: https://www.marchaudio.net.au/

Thanks. Yeah I am aware of VTV, but looking at this, I'm hesitant about their quality:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-its-all-amirs-fault.13195/page-2#post-394511
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-its-all-amirs-fault.13195/page-2#post-394516
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-its-all-amirs-fault.13195/page-2#post-394521
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-its-all-amirs-fault.13195/page-3#post-394590

Later Edit: Check out more confirmation of VTV’s horrible build quality and customer service here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ble-quality-build-and-customer-service.15220/

 

[echopraxia]

Even the Nord One NC500 that Amir tested here had the polarity of one of the outputs cross-wired!
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-and-measurements-of-nord-one-nc500-amp.7704/

To people building non-DIY Hypex units: You had ONE job -- assemble these components with fewer embarrassing cross-wiring errors than the average DIY'er

It's really sad how hard it is to apparently find such a thing. Maybe I'll just end up DIY-ing it, so I'll only have myself to blame. But I would like to avoid that if possible

 

[ta240]

yikes, I hadn't seen that thread; that is not good.

 

[CDMC]

Thanks. Yeah I am aware of VTV, but looking at this, I cannot trust them:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-its-all-amirs-fault.13195/page-2#post-394511
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-its-all-amirs-fault.13195/page-2#post-394516
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-its-all-amirs-fault.13195/page-2#post-394521
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-its-all-amirs-fault.13195/page-3#post-394590

That said, yes, it does look like March Audio is very trustworthy They're my top candidate I'm looking at so far if I end up ordering from outside the US.

Do keep in mind the VTV did respond that they corrected the Pin 1 issue: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?posts/403237/

 

[echopraxia]

Do keep in mind the VTV did respond that they corrected the Pin 1 issue: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?posts/403237/

Thank you, good point! I hadn’t read far enough to see that. It’s still a little sketchy, but I’m glad they responded with a fine explanation for the duct tape and admitted that the XLR wiring issue has since been fixed.

I will likely revisit them and see how their offerings compare to others. I assume you’ve been happy with your VTV amp so far?

 

[CDMC]

Thank you, good point! I hadn’t read far enough to see that. It’s still a little sketchy, but I’m glad they responded with a fine explanation for the duct tape and admitted that the XLR wiring issue has since been fixed.

I will likely revisit them and see how their offerings compare to others. I assume you’ve been happy with your VTV amp so far?

It is fabulous. When I play music through it angels descend from heaven.

Seriously though, it works well, is dead silent, runs cool, and sounds good. I believe it sounds clearer than the Parasound Amp 3 it replaced, but it could just be the extra power or my brain fooling me.

 

[jae]

Go with the Purifi. VTV has one

 

[echopraxia]

Go with the Purifi. VTV has one

Yeah I just started reading about the PuriFi. Still need to learn more to justify why to compromise some power output for the same price though, but being designed by the HypeX designer certainly gives it credibility. Any quick summary you’d recommend? Otherwise, I’m catching on the threads around here.

 

[Promit]

Honestly, VTV’s own pictures of their amp look like someone doing a DIY build for the first time. I’m not inclined to give them money versus just waiting for an Audiophonics build from France.

 

[muad]

I realize Audiophonics is in France. But they seem to be the best bang for the buck, with excellent support as well. I would go with them if I was trying to save some cash or March audio if I had the extra money.

 

[echopraxia]

I’m also trying to decide whether I should go with the ~400W Purifi, or ~700W HypeX NC1200.

To be specific, I’m looking to get the best amp setup for Revel Salon2’s I have coming. Since they extend down to 20hz, they’re going to need a lot of power. Though I can‘t find much documentation on exactly how much is needed.

I suppose another high power option would be to bi-amp: Purifi for HF and a cheaper HypeX NC500MP for the LF?

 

[Matias]

I’m also trying to decide whether I should go with the ~400W Purifi, or ~700W HypeX NC1200.

To be specific, I’m looking to get the best amp setup for Revel Salon2’s I have coming. Since they extend down to 20hz, they’re going to need a lot of power. Though I can‘t find much documentation on exactly how much is needed.

I suppose another high power option would be to bi-amp: Purifi for HF and a cheaper HypeX NC500MP for the LF?

Purifi is working on new amp modules with higher power (source: this month's Audioxpress magazine Purifi's factory tour article). So you might want to hold on to that. In case you want your amp now, in your place I would choose the NC1200.

In my case I also drive current hungry Thiel CS3.7s with NC500 and I am just waiting for the new high power Purifi modules to upgrade.

 

[echopraxia]

Purifi is working on new amp modules with higher power (source: this month's Audioxpress magazine Purifi's factory tour article). So you might want to hold on to that. In case you want your amp now, in your place I would choose the NC1200.

In my case I also drive current hungry Thiel CS3.7s with NC500 and I am just waiting for the new high power Purifi modules to upgrade.

I wonder how long it will be before those come out? Maybe I should just see if I can get by with my existing relatively low quality amps and keep using subs crossed over at 80 hz or so.

Then again, if I get an NC500 or NC500MP, I could always move it to another pair of speakers when I upgrade the Salon 2’s to whatever high power option Purifi releases.

 

[CDMC]

The current Purifi offering should be more than enough power for the Salon2 2 speakers. From the Stereophile measurements:

"My estimate of the Revel Ultima Salon2's voltage sensitivity was 86dB(B)/2.83V/m. This is slightly lower than the specified 86.4dB but within experimental error of that figure. The speaker's impedance (fig.1) drops to between 3 and 5 ohms between 17Hz and 600Hz, but as the electrical phase angle is generally low in this region, the Salon2 should not be hard for the partnering amplifier to drive."

Running that through the home theater calculator (which Floyd Toole says underestimates volume) I come up with 107 db at a 12 foot listening distance (105 db at 15 feet) with the 450 watts available from the Purifi into 4 ohms. This comfortably exceeds the very loud THX/Dolby specifications for home theater (105db for very large rooms). Even if Purifi comes out with a new amp that is double the power, you would only be picking up 3db that is highly unlikely you would ever get close to using.

 

[echopraxia]

The current Purifi offering should be more than enough power for the Salon2 2 speakers. From the Stereophile measurements:

"My estimate of the Revel Ultima Salon2's voltage sensitivity was 86dB(B)/2.83V/m. This is slightly lower than the specified 86.4dB but within experimental error of that figure. The speaker's impedance (fig.1) drops to between 3 and 5 ohms between 17Hz and 600Hz, but as the electrical phase angle is generally low in this region, the Salon2 should not be hard for the partnering amplifier to drive."

Running that through the home theater calculator (which Floyd Toole says underestimates volume) I come up with 107 db at a 12 foot listening distance (105 db at 15 feet) with the 450 watts available from the Purifi into 4 ohms. This comfortably exceeds the very loud THX/Dolby specifications for home theater (105db for very large rooms). Even if Purifi comes out with a new amp that is double the power, you would only be picking up 3db that is highly unlikely you would ever get close to using.

What frequency spectrum are we talking about here though? Is this really 107db at any frequency? I guess I just have a hard time believing the Salon 2's can achieve 20-30hz >100db at 12 feet with 'only' 450 watts into the 4 ohms in that region.

P.S. Maybe you are right... apparently my Rythmik F12's have "only" 370 watt amplifiers! My dual F12's are capable of more than enough bass power for me.

 

[A.West]

ATI offers Hypex based amps, though at a fairly high markup.

 

[echopraxia]

ATI offers Hypex based amps, though at a fairly high markup.

Edit: Thanks! You beat me to it by a few seconds Just posted this at about the same time as your reference:

Another domestic option I found (seems high quality but also very high price premium):
http://www.ati-amp.com/AT54XNC.php

(A) The ATI AT542NC - Stereo amplifier - Total 4x HypeX modules (dual bridged per channel):

• Power for 20hz-20khz at 0.03% THD+N into 4 Ohms: 900 Watts
• Power for 20hz-20khz at 0.03% THD+N into 8 Ohms 500 Watts
• Signal To Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): >123db SNR
• Auto standby and wake features!
• Made in USA, shipped from USA (therefore easier/faster shipping)
• Price (for stereo setup): $2995 USD (though I've heard it can be bought on sale for $2500 currently)

(B) 2x March Audio P701 - Dual monoblock amplifiers - Total 2x HypeX NC1200:

• Power output (at unstated distortion and bandwidth) into 4 Ohms: 700 Watts RMS
• Power output (at unstated distortion and bandwidth) into 8 Ohms: 400 Watts RMS
• Signal To Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): 128db SNR
• Price (for stereo setup): MSRP $2990 USD (on sale now for $2690)

(C) 2x March Audio P451 - Dual monoblock amplifiers - Total 2x Purifi 1ET400A

• Power output (at unstated distortion and bandwidth) into 4 Ohms: 425 Watts RMS
• Power output (at unstated distortion and bandwidth) into 8 Ohms: 227 Watts RMS
• Signal To Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): 131db SNR
• Price (for stereo setup): MSRP $2590 USD (on sale now for $2331)

(D) Audiophonics HPA-S400ET - Stereo amplifier - Total 2x Purifi 1ET400A

• Power output (at unstated distortion and bandwidth) into 4 Ohms: 425 Watts RMS
• Power output (at unstated distortion and bandwidth) into 8 Ohms: 227 Watts RMS
• Signal To Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): 131db SNR
• Price (for stereo setup): MSRP €1490 = $1697 USD

Any thoughts?

Regarding PuriFi, it's clearly a superior amp in terms of quality (if not power), but at this level of exceptional performance from the HypeX modules already, I'm not entirely convinced I'd hear the improvements in harmonic distortion and inter-modulation distortion more than I would the reduced likelihood of the more powerful amplifiers ever clipping on bass-heavy music.

 

[CDMC]

What frequency spectrum are we talking about here though? Is this really 107db at any frequency? I guess I just have a hard time believing the Salon 2's can achieve 20-30hz >100db at 12 feet with 'only' 450 watts into the 4 ohms in that region.

P.S. Maybe you are right... apparently my Rythmik F12's have "only" 370 watt amplifiers! My dual F12's are capable of more than enough bass power for me.

In the bass range, especially deep bass, the output capability will be limited by the maximum excursion of the drivers. Running a quick model on 3 8" drivers (Scan Speak 22w, as they were easily available for specs and if anything have more capability than the SB woofers) shows that at 45 hz, max power is about 400 watts before the drivers exceed their excursion limits (vented enclosure tuned to 27hz). At that point you should be seeing about 112 db of output capability per speaker (115 per pair). Even if the Revel drivers have half the excursion capability, your maximum power will drop to 100 watts, but output will still be about 105db at 45 hz.

Remember that output will be rolling off below 50 hz or so, but room reinforcement will make up for it. So the short answer is that yes, the Salon's in a reasonable sized room will put out more than 100db below 30hz with that much power. Keep in mind 3 8" drivers is nearly the equivalent of a single 15" woofer, but the 15" will generally have more maximum excursion allowing greater overall output.

For better or worse, I have been playing with building car subwoofer enclosures since the 1980s when we had to do the calculations by hand. You should have seen the look of shock when my 16 year old heard the 12" HSU in a sealed enclosure I put in a car he was using after all his friends said it would sound like shit. 115db at 20hz and great transient response that smacks you in the back of the head. Take your 8" long throw JL's with sub 80db/w efficiency and shove them. I can get more output with less power because I am willing to use a larger driver and enclosure. Physics rock.