Apollon NCx500ST Stereo Amplifier Review

[Billy Budapest]

I remember years ago when Muses opamps were all the rage.

MUSES Official Website | Nisshinbo Micro Devices

The thrust and goal of the MUSES brand is to give music fans the finest sound with our ground-breaking technology

www.nisshinbo-microdevices.co.jp

“CONCEPT~Offering "Real Pure Sound" of heartquake

There are a few Semiconductor Devices that are required for precise transmission of the audio signals in audio appliances. They are very important components that affect the value of audio appliances. Pursuing the numbers shown in the catalogue would be one of the guideline choosing Semiconductor Device in the market. On the other hand, what we have been searching for is more than just spec numbers, but having an effect on all the music fan' emotion. Needless to say the superior audio characteristics are developed for the needs of listeners with no price-point engineering, no mass production lines and the heart of engineering. For all music fans all over the world, the ultimate Semiconductor Device was born.”

 

[Mnyb]

FYI the owner got the amp, took it apart, and realized that it had Sonic Imagery opamps even though he ordered the regular ones. I updated the review to reflect this.

So these performs very good then , good to know .

Wonder if you ever get an amp with the sparks option to measure ?

 

[bmwr75]

The amp came today. Ordered Wednesday, September 13. and arrived today, Tuesday, September 19. Made the trip from Slovenia just fine. Great service from Apollon Audio.

I thought Class D amps ran cool. This one has been driving Dahlquist DQ-10 speakers, which are power hungry. It has probably been on for 4 hours and the case is warm. Warmer than I was expecting. Nowhere near as hot as Class A amps though.

 

[Dougey_Jones]

The amp came today. Ordered Wednesday, September 13. and arrived today, Tuesday, September 19. Made the trip from Slovenia just fine. Great service from Apollon Audio.

I thought Class D amps ran cool. This one has been driving Dahlquist DQ-10 speakers, which are power hungry. It has probably been on for 4 hours and the case is warm. Warmer than I was expecting. Nowhere near as hot as Class A amps though.

Mine run warm as well, Apollon advised that it’s normal.

 

[musicforcities]

Why would I get the recently reviewed NAD purifi based amp that costs over twice this but seems no better in any meaningful performance spec? And worse in many. Or am I missing something? I mean the mainline NAD case is blah and if past is prologue the components and construction inside will be at best just ok, at worst, filled with junk capacitors, have thermal issues due to bad pcb layouts and thin as tissue traces?

 

[musicforcities]

Mine run warm as well, Apollon advised that it’s normal.

The amp came today. Ordered Wednesday, September 13. and arrived today, Tuesday, September 19. Made the trip from Slovenia just fine. Great service from Apollon Audio.

I thought Class D amps ran cool. This one has been driving Dahlquist DQ-10 speakers, which are power hungry. It has probably been on for 4 hours and the case is warm. Warmer than I was expecting. Nowhere near as hot as Class A amps though.

Ncore Class D is far more efficient and that translates into less electricity wasted as heat, yet the greatest difference will be
at idle or low loads, when class AB will be very inefficient. But under more intense use, all circuits will produce heat of course, it’s just that good class d converts a far greater proportion of power consumption from the wall into watts/voltage going to the speaker relative to the amount wasted as heat.

And this amp has a lot of power in a relatively compact case (check out the size of an 300w ab amp with its huge heat sinks ) and a robust internal power supply. And most of the heat is dissipated into the air or small local heat sinks. So yeah, the case will get warm as the heat rises and you are cranking this baby into some harder to drive or at least power needing speakers.

might interesting to measure how many watts you are drawing from the wall outlet.

 

[Dougey_Jones]

Why would I get the recently reviewed NAD purifi based amp that costs over twice this but seems no better in any meaningful performance spec? Or am I missing something? I mean the mainline NAD case is big standard and if past is prologue the components and construction inside will be at best just ok, at worst, filled with junk capacitors, have thermal issues due to bad pcb layouts and thin as tissue traces?

Lol, we had this same discussion in the last NAD review thread. Consensus was that you’d have to have a screw loose to make that purchase vs better quality as half the price.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Lol, we had this same discussion in the last NAD review thread. Consensus was that you’d have to have a screw loose to make that purchase vs better quality as half the price.

If something breaks with an NAD, you won’t have to ship it back overseas—I am sure NAD has authorized service providers everywhere they sell. That’s an upside.

 

[Dougey_Jones]

If something breaks with an NAD, you won’t have to ship it back overseas—I am sure NAD has authorized service providers everywhere they sell. That’s an upside.

I’m having a miserable time getting service for my Onkyo RZ50, and I’m pretty sure they ship more units than NAD.

The current situation is that I have to pay shipping and handling to another state and if they can’t reproduce the problem I pay for their time. And that’s on their RZ line with extended warranty.

Do you think NAD is better or more convenient?

 

[Labjr]

Ncore Class D is far more efficient and that translates into less electricity wasted as heat, yet the greatest difference will be
at idle or low loads, when class AB will be very inefficient. But under more intense use, all circuits will produce heat of course, it’s just that good class d converts a far greater proportion of power consumption from the wall into watts/voltage going to the speaker relative to the amount wasted as heat.

And this amp has a lot of power in a relatively compact case (check out the size of an 300w ab amp with its huge heat sinks ) and a robust internal power supply. And most of the heat is dissipated into the air or small local heat sinks. So yeah, the case will get warm as the heat rises and you are cranking this baby into some harder to drive or at least power needing speakers.

might interesting to measure how many watts you are drawing from the wall outlet.

Never crossed my mind. I listen to music for enjoyment.

 

[musicforcities]

If something breaks with an NAD, you won’t have to ship it back overseas—I am sure NAD has authorized service providers everywhere they sell. That’s an upside.

On the other hand, I could just replace the entire amp and still be at the cost of one NAD C298. ;-).

This amp uses standard hypex modules. So I don’t know that one would have to ship it overseas anyway. Should be serviceable in NA. Warranty service maybe easier. But the issues I have had with NAD tend to happen after warranty…blown or swollen caps, transistors too close to 2w resistors that run hot at idle, etc. don’t me wrong, I like the way they work. When they work.

I just think one is paying a premium for the name that has not been a premium brand in the past and I’m not convinced it is today in anything but marketing, and it’s dealer network and for them custom re-engineering hypex or purify tech, which makes sense if that was the way to get higher power and or performance, but it seems like that may no longer be necessary for most practical uses.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Do you think NAD is better or more convenient?

It would be more convenient and less expensive for me than shipping an amp back to Slovenia. International shipping is always a hassle and always expensive in my experience.

 

[Billy Budapest]

On the other hand, I could just replace the entire amp and still be at the cost of one NAD C298. ;-).

This amp uses standard hypex modules. So I don’t know that one would have to ship it overseas anyway. Should be serviceable in NA. Warranty service maybe easier. But the issues I have had with NAD tend to happen after warranty…blown or swollen caps, transistors too close to 2w resistors that run hot at idle, etc. don’t me wrong, I like the way they work. When they work.

I just think one is paying a premium for the name that has not been a premium brand in the past and I’m not convinced it is today in anything but marketing, and it’s dealer network and for them custom re-engineering hypex or purify tech, which makes sense if that was the way to get higher power and or performance, but it seems like that may no longer be necessary for most practical uses.

I’m not saying that the NAD is a good value. What I am saying is that your servicing options in North America are going to be much better (easier, cheaper) with NAD than with Apollon, unless Apollon teams up with local service centers to provide warranty and after-warranty repairs.

 

[mocenigo]

Tidy construction but those silly discrete opamps give me pause.

Actually, the complete amplifier with the SI opamps perform on par with the one using the OPA1656 on most of the output range and are better in the 200-400W. May be not audible but this is a case of a very well designed discrete opamp, and it shows in the measurements. Apparently the Weiss op-amps are even better.

I have had Hypex NC500 monoblocks by Apollon and with the SI opamps it performed splendidly.

 

[Matias]

Part of the beauty of these amps is the highly modular nature of the build. If anything goes wrong, and through self tests and communication with the manufacturer it can be diagnosed as a faulty part, he can ship just the replacements part and the customer changes DIY. To me this is a big plus, not having to depend on service availability. I have had my share of bad experiences that way, no more for me. Replacing parts by easily unscrewing and plug and play is a blessing imo.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Actually, the complete amplifier with the SI opamps perform on par with the one using the OPA1656 on most of the output range and are better in the 200-400W. May be not audible but this is a case of a very well designed discrete opamp, and it shows in the measurements. Apparently the Weiss op-amps are even better.

I have had Hypex NC500 monoblocks by Apollon and with the SI opamps it performed splendidly.

Yes, already addressed earlier in the thread—although Weiss opamps won’t be able to fit into the space in this model.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Part of the beauty of these amps is the highly modular nature of the build. If anything goes wrong, and through self tests and communication with the manufacturer it can be diagnosed as a faulty part, he can ship just the replacements part and the customer changed DIY. To me this is a big plus, not having to depend on service availability. I have had my share of bad experiences that way, no more for me. Replacing parts by easily unscrewing and plug and play is a blessing imo.

If that is possible and allowed by the manufacturer, it would be helpful, but return shipping of any defective part from the U.S. to the EU is going to be relatively expensive no matter what.

 

[Matias]

If that is possible and allowed by the manufacturer, it would be helpful, but return shipping of any defective part from the U.S. to the EU is going to be relatively expensive no matter what.

If needed. Possibly not even have to ship back. But that is speculation on my part, better to ask Apollon directly how this works and how the issues have been dealt, the majority.

 

[Rottmannash]

Yes, already addressed earlier in the thread—although Weiss opamps won’t be able to fit into the space in this model.

Didn't the VTV Purifi with Weiss op amps measure worse than the eval buffer?

 

[Tom22]

might interesting to measure how many watts you are drawing from the wall outlet.

I measured 23 Watts, driving my ML electrostats (lowest gain)…yes the amp runs warm (peak 40 degrees Celsius) but this seems not an issue. Love it so far!

My Denon posted above (#85) draws around 100 Watts.