Apollon Purifi vs Hypex

[Oski1928]

Hi all, quick question. I’m looking at two amps from Apollon. The Purifi 1ET7040SA DM Luc Dual Mono Amplifier and the Hypex NCx500 DM Lux Dual Mono Amplifier.

The Purifi is power rating is 250/500/950 watts at 8/4/2 ohms.

The Hypex power rating is 380/700/700 watts at 8/4/2 ohms.

Do people have a preference between these brands at this point? How do you all decide between who to go with. Is one brand proven to have better longevity or QC? Just looking for information to help differentiate between the two brands.

In regards to power the Hypex seems to have more on tap between 4-8 ohms and then runs out of steam but maintains itself at 2 ohms. The Purifi on the other side seems to be doubling down each time impedance is halved with less power being available at 4-8 ohms. Any preference that people have here?

 

[boxerfan88]

Doubling down is supposedly the more “accurate” behaviour…

 

[Oski1928]

Doubling down is supposedly the more “accurate” behaviour…

I have read commonly in the past that doubling down is something to look for in good amplifier design.

 

[Matias]

Power aside they are very very close in measurements like THD+N curves and IMD, with the Purifi having the slightest edge over the Hypex. I never heard them side by side but most would probably say that the difference is small, if audible at all. Still I would choose the 7040.

 

[boxerfan88]

Ya.

Power formula. P = (V)2 / R

Good amplifier will maintain V at whatever amplified voltage it is supposed to be at, irrespective of load. Based on this requirement, if R halves, the amplifier will give whatever current that is needed to maintain V, and therefore P will double.

 

[Oski1928]

Power aside they are very very close in measurements like THD+N curves and IMD, with the Purifi having the slightest edge over the Hypex. I never heard them side by side but most would probably say that the difference is small, if audible at all. Still I would choose the 7040.

yea I do not expect any audible differences between the amps, so that is why I am trying to find where differences may exist.

 

[Oski1928]

Ya.

Power formula. P = (V)2 / R

Good amplifier will maintain V at whatever amplified voltage it is supposed to be at, irrespective of load. Based on this requirement, if R halves, the amplifier will give whatever current that is needed to maintain V, and therefore P will double.

thank you

 

[goryu]

A lot has to do with the power supply limiting out, not the amp module. What is the minimum load of your speakers? If it doesn't dip down to 2 ohms, you will actually be getting less power out of the Purifi. Both of these amps are using the same power supply I believe so they will have the same current limits. The Hypex actually is rated down to 1 ohm loads, I don't believe the Purifi is spec'd that low.

 

[Oski1928]

A lot has to do with the power supply limiting out, not the amp module. What is the minimum load of your speakers? If it doesn't dip down to 2 ohms, you will actually be getting less power out of the Purifi. Both of these amps are using the same power supply I believe so they will have the same current limits. The Hypex actually is rated down to 1 ohm loads, I don't believe the Purifi is spec'd that low.

the minimum impedance of my speakers is listed at 3.9 ohms though I have seen measurements claiming 3.8 is more realistic. Regardless I know my speakers do not represent a load lower than 4 ohms. They are Focal Bookshelf speakers. I really have fallen in love with Focal speakers. While I have no current plans of changing my speakers upgrading in the future cannot be rules out. If I were to do so, Focal Towers would probably be my move and many of the Focal tower offerings have quite low minimum impedances.

 

[JPA]

I've been considering the same two monoblocks, except in the cheaper non-Lux versions.

The power ratings you quote are from the manufacturers, and assume the amps contain power supplies that can drive the amps to their full rated power. Apollon uses the Hypex SMPS1200A700 power supply for both amps. Based on comments Dylan of @Buckeye Amps has made, I don't think the Hypex power supply is sufficient to drive either amp to its full rated power, so you should take Apollon's power numbers with a grain of salt. Dylan has switched to the new Micro Audio SMPS1k-PFCR2 power supply for the Purifi amp. He says it will drive the amp to full power.

I asked Apollon if they had plans to offer the Purifi amp with the Micro Audio power supply. Here's their answer:
"We can make the Purifi 1ET7040SA with a Micro Audio psu. Have you also considered the new Hypex NCx500 which has lower distortion, quite better signal to noise ratio, dynamic range, crosstalk and more power than the 7040. It is also cheaper."

I didn't ask about using the Micro Audio power supply in the Hypex amp, but I assume Apollon would also be willing to do that. I'll have to check.

 

[Oski1928]

I've been considering the same two monoblocks, except in the cheaper non-Lux versions.

The power ratings you quote are from the manufacturers, and assume the amps contain power supplies that can drive the amps to their full rated power. Apollon uses the Hypex SMPS1200A700 power supply for both amps. Based on comments Dylan of @Buckeye Amps has made, I don't think the Hypex power supply is sufficient to drive either amp to its full rated power, so you should take Apollon's power numbers with a grain of salt. Dylan has switched to the new Micro Audio SMPS1k-PFCR2 power supply for the Purifi amp. He says it will drive the amp to full power.

I asked Apollon if they had plans to offer the Purifi amp with the Micro Audio power supply. Here's their answer:
"We can make the Purifi 1ET7040SA with a Micro Audio psu. Have you also considered the new Hypex NCx500 which has lower distortion, quite better signal to noise ratio, dynamic range, crosstalk and more power than the 7040. It is also cheaper."

I didn't ask about using the Micro Audio power supply in the Hypex amp, but I assume Apollon would also be willing to do that. I'll have to check.

Very interesting response, thank you for sharing.

 

[dom_st]

I am also about to pull the trigger on one of the Apollon amps.

Going back and forth between
Hypex NCx500 ST NCOREx Stereo
Purifi 1ET400A ST Stereo Amplifier

Power wise they both would be sufficient.

But now we also have the Nilai amp, which seems to be not available at the moment from Apollon?

Basically there are at least three class-D amplifier options, from the same manufacturer which seem to perform quite similar but are still different.
So we have the explanation from Apollon where NCx seems to be benefitial to use but what´s whit the Nilai ... if someone would like to elaborate?

I watched a youtube video where a Hypex sales guy mentions "better loop gain, better THD, everything is improved and it runs cooler and sounds better" on the Nilai.

EDIT: Just to be future proof, as i don´t want to buy a end of life amp, i´d probably prefer a newer solution, any ideas on that?

 

[Sokel]

Another thing to consider is their I/O protection schemes.
Traditionally Purifi was better at it in the past but I don't know if that has changed with the new Hypex modules.

For example the xxx MP series allowed a good 12VDC input before they shut,which is no good.
I would ask about such protections if I were you.

 

[JustJones]

The Nilai is marketed towards DIY here's a review of a mono amp built by a member.

I am also about to pull the trigger on one of the Apollon amps.

Going back and forth between
Hypex NCx500 ST NCOREx Stereo
Purifi 1ET400A ST Stereo Amplifier

Power wise they both would be sufficient.

But now we also have the Nilai amp, which seems to be not available at the moment from Apollon?

Basically there are at least three class-D amplifier options, from the same manufacturer which seem to perform quite similar but are still different.
So we have the explanation from Apollon where NCx seems to be benefitial to use but what´s whit the Nilai ... if someone would like to elaborate?

I watched a youtube video where a Hypex sales guy mentions "better loop gain, better THD, everything is improved and it runs cooler and sounds better" on the Nilai.

EDIT: Just to be future proof, as i don´t want to buy a end of life amp, i´d probably prefer a newer solution, any ideas on that?

Hypex Nilai500DIY Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Hypex Nilai500DIY class D amplifier module with PS500DIY power supply. Parts were provided by the company and member @Rick Sykora was kind enough to assemble it: As indicated, the single channel amplifier is on the left and the power supply on...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[restorer-john]

They are Focal Bookshelf speakers.

There is no pair of 'bookshelf' speakers on earth that would need or demand the type of power you are considering.

The Purifi is the unit I would pick, if it were driven by a supply that can provide sufficient power.

The Apollon numbers need to be verified as they are cut and paste module specs last time I looked.

 

[dom_st]

Thank you guys for the quick responses.

Just one minor question (for now haha).

When i look at the frequency response of the two amps.
The NCx starts to "roll off" slowly at around 10kHz whereas the Nilai in this setup goes flat till 25kHz.

Wouldn´t that be considered as a nicer full range coverage 20-20kHz for my golden ears :-D
Or would you guys expect that to be inaudible anyways.

 

[Count Arthur]

That's about -0.3dB at 20kHz - you won't notice.

 

[restorer-john]

Wouldn´t that be considered as a nicer full range coverage 20-20kHz for my golden ears

It depends on whether the response at a few watts differs to the response at higher levels.

 

[restorer-john]

That's about -0.3dB at 20kHz - you won't notice.

It's -0.3dB at just 5W.

 

[Count Arthur]

It depends on whether the response at a few watts differs to the response at higher levels.

Here's the full test: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ollon-ncx500st-stereo-amplifier-review.47701/