Apollon Hypex NC2K Monoblock Amplifier Review

[amirm]

Wow. That performance is rather astounding for the amount of power it provides. I am curious about the power consumption though.

Idle power consumption seems very low seeing how the case temp does not change. And you only need power during peaks so I don't think power consumption is an issue.

 

[amirm]

Testing of the second sample

The owner had purchased a pair of these and asked me to quickly test the second one to see if it matches the first. I thought I start by running a warm up test:

Maybe I was wrong thinking the other one was at 103 dB SINAD when cold as this one is quite stable and ever so slightly getting better.

Next and last I ran a power test:

On the first run the line in blue was a good few dBs above red past 20 or so watts. I tightened my locking banana jacks and that got me the curve you see above. At low distortions and high powers it is critical to get a super solid connection to the speaker terminals.

Now I need to pack this second one and ship both as we have so many large boxes in our living room that we can't walk in there!

 

[jomark911]

Oh man I wish I had the cash to send my sansui's in for testing.
That is c2301 , b2301, b2302, au-x911dg, and some others.

 

[audioBliss]

...
On the first run the line in blue was a good few dBs above red past 20 or so watts. I tightened my locking banana jacks and that got me the curve you see above. At low distortions and high powers it is critical to get a super solid connection to the speaker terminals.

...

I would love to see a test of the Wago 215-212 banana plug. Looks like shit but the spring loaded knives that cut into the copper of the cable as well as spring loaded pin is genius imo. I bet you won't have issues with those. It's also the reason I never understood spades as these also rely on you screwing something down on them that becomes loose with time.

 

[Xyrium]

I am probably missing your point here, sorry, but from Amir's graphs I understand that sinusoidal power is 1.8KW/4 Ohms @1% THD+N continuous power while peak power is almost 2.3KW. Am I missing something?

However, https://www.hypex.nl/documenten/download/2196 shows Hypes own measurements too.

It was merely a quip at a few past measurements and discussions regarding what the "assembly companies" post in their specs vs Hypex sheets.

 

[jomark911]

I wonder.?

 

[CDMC]

I remember when that used to be considered a lot...

My wifes SUV has that and will click off high 13s all day long, just punch it and try not to spill your latte. Nothing like 13s in live axle cars with crappy tires.

 

[jasonhanjk]

Put your loads in water for slightly prolong measurements.

 

[sam_adams]

Member notnyt over on AVS Forum has a discussion on testing high power amplifiers. The first post shows the load rig he came up with to do his testing.

 

[sarumbear]

If anything that wire is more of a concern...

Have you checked the wire gage on a 3kW kettle?

 

[Aerial Acoustic Guy]

Yeh, there is a screw loose underneath that I noticed when I carried it to take a picture of it. I have owner's permission to do a teardown so that will come soon.

Hi Amirm, What are your thoughts about the Sparkos SS2590 input buffers? I am considering an Apollon Hypex NC1200 based amp, but I am undecided whether or not to purchase separate input buffer or use the built in input buffer? Thanks

 

[Matias]

Hi Amirm, What are your thoughts about the Sparkos SS2590 input buffers? I am considering an Apollon Hypex NC1200 based amp, but I am undecided whether or not to purchase separate input buffer or use the built in input buffer? Thanks

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-opamp-review-sonic-imagery-vs-sparkos.10325/

 

[Apollon Audio]

Hi Amirm, What are your thoughts about the Sparkos SS2590 input buffers? I am considering an Apollon Hypex NC1200 based amp, but I am undecided whether or not to purchase separate input buffer or use the built in input buffer? Thanks

The built in input buffer has a bit higher distortion. Measured @ 5watts and 4Ohm the NC1200 with built in input buffer has around 0.001% THD+N. With our custom input buffer the NC1200 has around 0.0005% THD+N. The difference is not because of Sparkos or Sonic Imagery op amps but because of a bit better designed input buffer. With stock buffer you can’t get such low THD+N measurements from the NC1200.

 

[EJ3]

Passively cooled Amir was talking about. No fans to make noise.

Would louvering the box allow us to hit 2Kw? Yes, it's great, but for the amount of money the high frequency linearity should be there AND a WATT METER to go, PLEASE.

 

[restorer-john]

The built in input buffer has a bit higher distortion.

Your Averlab results above show the built-in buffer to have lower distortion.

The Sparkos (green trace) has significant 2nd and 3rd harmonics whereas the built-in buffer only appears to have 3rd (unless the 2nd is buried under the green trace- I can see a tiny bit of a blur, but lower in amplitude than the sparkos (green))

The overall noise (N) floor of the stock buffer appears to degrade the resultant number, not the distortion (THD).

 

[Matias]

Forgot to add this as it is very relevant to the thread.

 

[CDMC]

Forgot to add this as it is very relevant to the thread.

View attachment 89162

He pulled the speaker cable during a transient.

 

[Universal Cereal Bus]

Indeed, It’s almost scary tough, For some of us this is a great hobby to « compare « stuff. And this is the very relevance of a forum like this. Just feels a bit odd, that we’re heading into a place where the tag on the front panel don’t mean anything anymore. It makes me also wonder, did THX drop the ball with their licence based business model, versus the OEM one of Putzeys? I believe that as of today The AHB2 is the only power amp using thx IP/module, right?

Hey @PeteL, remember when you wondered whether THX made a mistake not selling OEM amp [edit: PSU at issue] modules??? Guess who isn't being questioned about caps now! Man, those were simpler times (i.e., last week).

 

[l1tmn]

What kind of loads are used in the dummy load test?

Is it an electronic load or a resistor?

 

[amirm]

Very low distortion resistors. Electronic loads are not appropriate for this use and would be super expensive and huge with these powe ratings.