Apollon NCx500ST Stereo Amplifier Review

[Garlic]

Very happy customer here of an Apollon NCX500ST.
Great unit, perfect build quality and shipping (to France) was a breeze.
It makes a great addition to my Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 adding quite a bit of power and drives my Mission 700s flawlessly.

I highly recommend !

 

[fadetoblackbs]

Hi, anybody knows where can I find this chart with the updated ranking? This one is one year old.
Thanks =)

 

[fadetoblackbs]

Does this Amp turn on when it receives a sound signal over the RCA connector or would I need to use the 12V Trigger if connected to the Pre-Outs of an AVR?
Thanks =)

 

[IanForumUser]

You'll need to use the 12v trigger - there's no signal-based auto on with this unit (personally I'd prefer the latter, but the trigger works fine).

 

[fadetoblackbs]

In case someone needs info about Apollon ncx500 volt(s) for every gain:

12.8dB = 11.5Vrms
20,5dB = 4Vrms
27,5dB = 2,4Vrms
29dB = 2Vrms

I am thinking about connecting a Stereo NCx500ST Amp to the preouts of my AVR - If I understand the attached screenshot from my AVRs User Guide right, I can get 1V from the preouts. What gain should I choose on the Apollon Amp in this case?

Since I only have RCA preouts in the AVR, does it make sense to connect them to the unbalanced input of the Amp using an adapter / special cable (if that exists?)

It would be great if possible, to have an automatic switch between the RCA and the unbalanced input of the Amp based on the incoming signal. That way I could connect the AVR to the Amp over RCA for "normal" Home Theatre use and connect a Preamp with a good DAC and unbalanced cables to the Amp for a hopefully "better Stereo listening experience" =)

 

[fadetoblackbs]

Does this Hypex Apollon amp come with a ground lug?
I need that feature to avoid ground loops that generate hum/buzz sound in my installation.
My current NAD has it (attached picture) and that helps me to avoid buzz sounds.

 

[IanForumUser]

Does this Hypex Apollon amp come with a ground lug?
I need that feature to avoid ground loops that generate hum/buzz sound in my installation.
My current NAD has it (attached picture) and that helps me to avoid buzz sounds.

Your NAD is likely a class 2 device. The Apollon is class 1 and therefore is grounded via the three pin IEC.

 

[fadetoblackbs]

Your NAD is likely a class 2 device. The Apollon is class 1 and therefore is grounded via the three pin IEC.

Well my NAD is also grounded through the power cable here (Europe). I have the 3 pins already in almost every device here at home, including the NAD.
The problem is, without connecting the NAD to my AVR using both ground lugs, I have this annoying hum/buzz because of the ground loop.
If the Apollon Amp does not have this ground lug I show in the picture, I will ask them if they can add it and explain thr reason.