Apollon NCx500ST Stereo Amplifier Review

[Mart68]

Thanks. Was that all import tax or was some of it made up of Vat. At 1090 euros (£904) you would expect to pay £180 vat so an extra £38 would be great assuming it is the case but adding an extra £180 on top of the £218 would make me possibly consider a Nord or importing one into Ireland .

You pay VAT on the shipping charges too, don't forget.

 

[IanForumUser]

You pay VAT on the shipping charges too, don't forget.

Good point. Shipping to UK was €87.

 

[mike70]

We all have different taste everyone is different thats way i wrote "my ears".
I know the Bryston sound.

So, you don't need a 4k amplifier ... you need a 1k amplifier (at best) and an equalizer or decent tone controls.

You're paying 3k for a EQ curve ... everyone have different taste, I agree.

 

[Scoobz1]

I don't have breakdown, so that was the total of VAT, import and UPS process fees. Exchange rate might have been different in January too. I considered Nord or course, but I needed the variable gain offered by Apollon, and frankly just preferred the aesthetics and general build quality of Apollon. The closest Nord equivalent was more expensive, regardless of the import charges with Apollon.

That's were i have got to. It would appear that therre is no import duty

I don't have breakdown, so that was the total of VAT, import and UPS process fees. Exchange rate might have been different in January too. I considered Nord or course, but I needed the variable gain offered by Apollon, and frankly just preferred the aesthetics and general build quality of Apollon. The closest Nord equivalent was more expensive, regardless of the import charges with Apollon.

Just spent a bit of time researching import duty and from what I can tell it is 0 on an amp from the uk. So will have to decide which one is for me -agree with your logic for going with the Apollon over the Nord (plus I have a Nord already - 3 channel which is a bit too big for where I now want to place it )

 

[Sparky]

You were told that is what you would hear - and so you did.

This is exactly how perceptive biases work.

This! This short sentence should be a lightbulb moment for a lot of people. Nicely put bud.

 

[fadetoblackbs]

I will connect this Amp to my AVR and was wondering if I should use/buy a RCA-RCA cable or a RCA-XLR cable (since my AVR has only RCA-Preouts and the Apollon can handle both options for the Input).
What are your thoughts on this situation?
Thanks =)

 

[IanForumUser]

I will connect this Amp to my AVR and was wondering if I should use/buy a RCA-RCA cable or a RCA-XLR cable (since my AVR has only RCA-Preouts and the Apollon can handle both options for the Input).
What are your thoughts on this situation?
Thanks =)

Probably easiest just to use RCA>RCA than buying a pair of cables with a fairly niche application. Obviously there's a clear advantage to using XLR>XLR, but if there's a technical advantage in using RCA>XLR over RCA>RCA I'd like to know too because I could do that from my preamp.

 

[Matias]

Best to use RCA-XLR using the correct cable type. Search and you will find how they should be built and what brands are recommended.

 

[fadetoblackbs]

@IanForumUser: I will have to buy this cable anyway and will only use it for this connection/scenario (AVR-Amp) so I can choose whatever makes more sense as they also cost more or less the same...

 

[IanForumUser]

Best to use RCA-XLR using the correct cable type. Search and you will find how they should be built and what brands are recommended.

Matias, do you have time to briefly explain why that is? I'm learning a lot from ASR but I can't figure out how/why XLR in from RCA out would offer improvements (unlike the clear benefit of XLR>XLR of course).

 

[Matias]

RCA to XLR Cable ("pseudo-balanced") to buy ?

just a short question here: I want to buy (not DIY) RCA to XLR (male) cables in the ("pseudo-balanced") fashion that Hypex and others recommend (see picture below). I want to buy ready made / 'off the shelf' cables (of several different lenght) that are of very good* "mechanical" quality, *by...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Edit: and mine.

Good quality RCA > XLR cables

So when making a RCA > XLR cable, is it better to connect pin 1 and 3 at the RCA side (ie, attach both to the RCA shield), or jump them on the XLR side? 'P48' in post #41 details the best connection method.

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[IanForumUser]

RCA to XLR Cable ("pseudo-balanced") to buy ?

just a short question here: I want to buy (not DIY) RCA to XLR (male) cables in the ("pseudo-balanced") fashion that Hypex and others recommend (see picture below). I want to buy ready made / 'off the shelf' cables (of several different lenght) that are of very good* "mechanical" quality, *by...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Edit: and mine.

Good quality RCA > XLR cables

So when making a RCA > XLR cable, is it better to connect pin 1 and 3 at the RCA side (ie, attach both to the RCA shield), or jump them on the XLR side? 'P48' in post #41 details the best connection method.

www.audiosciencereview.com

Superb, cheers.

 

[fadetoblackbs]

As I am based in Europe, I was wondering if this ones would work - I am not able to understand if the "pinning/connectors/wires" are connected right or wrong in this case =(
Any comments or should I ask them directly...? THANKS

Mogami 2549 with Neutrik RCA to Male XLR PAIR Cables

Mogami 2549 RCA to Male XLR PAIR Cable | Custom Cables Professionally Assembled by Hand in Greece | Το απόλυτα εξειδικευμένο Ελληνικό Site κατασκευής καλωδίων ήχου.

www.audiocables.eu

 

[antcollinet]

As I am based in Europe, I was wondering if this ones would work - I am not able to understand if the "pinning/connectors/wires" are connected right or wrong in this case =(
Any comments or should I ask them directly...? THANKS

Mogami 2549 with Neutrik RCA to Male XLR PAIR Cables

Mogami 2549 RCA to Male XLR PAIR Cable | Custom Cables Professionally Assembled by Hand in Greece | Το απόλυτα εξειδικευμένο Ελληνικό Site κατασκευής καλωδίων ήχου.

www.audiocables.eu

We cant' tell from that information. there is nothing telling us how they are wired.

 

[antcollinet]

We cant' tell from that information. there is nothing telling us how they are wired.

@fadetoblackbs This one on Amazon UK has the correct Pseudo balanced wiring. Obviously you'd need two for stereo connections.

Amazon.co.uk

 

[fadetoblackbs]

We cant' tell from that information. there is nothing telling us how they are wired.

I got this information from the supplier - as far as I understand it is the right way:

„2549 consists of 2 wires plus shield.
The way we normally connect these cables (& we don't have any issues) is the following:

XLR side:
Wire No1 (Hot): PIN 2 of XLR
Wire No2 (Cold): PIN 3 of XLR
Shield: Pin 1 of XLR

RCA side:
Wire no1 (Hot): Signal of RCA
Wire no2 (Cold) plus Shield: Joined together at the shield of RCA“

 

[antcollinet]

I got this information from the supplier - as far as I understand it is the right way:

„2549 consists of 2 wires plus shield.
The way we normally connect these cables (& we don't have any issues) is the following:

XLR side:
Wire No1 (Hot): PIN 2 of XLR
Wire No2 (Cold): PIN 3 of XLR
Shield: Pin 1 of XLR

RCA side:
Wire no1 (Hot): Signal of RCA
Wire no2 (Cold) plus Shield: Joined together at the shield of RCA“

Yes, that looks fine - and matches the diagram in my post above.

 

[fadetoblackbs]

Yes, that looks fine - and matches the diagram in my post above.

Thanks. So now we have another supplier for our europe based participants that offers cables with proper wiring =)

 

[fadetoblackbs]

If I understand Amirs statement on the very first post correctly, this means I should aim to use the lowest gain setting on this amp for best results?
"You can see the benefit of low gain in am amplifier for best noise performance especially since the dynamic range of the DAC improves as well with higher output."

 

[antcollinet]

If I understand Amirs statement on the very first post correctly, this means I should aim to use the lowest gain setting on this amp for best results?
"You can see the benefit of low gain in am amplifier for best noise performance especially since the dynamic range of the DAC improves as well with higher output."

Yes - use the lowest amp gain that will allow you to drive the amp to the maximum volume you need.