Barryfromholland
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And they well deserve that
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Audiophonics HPA-S400ET Review (Stereo Amplifier)
- Thread starter amirm
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beagleman
Major Contributor
What about this in standard form for $1109??
AudioSceptic
Major Contributor
First harmonic of 8 kHz is 16 kHz. How many of us can hear 16 kHz?
I reached Audiphonics and the answer is "no". There is no clipping indicator by default on this amplifier.
That would be the norm on most Purifi-based amps. Unlike the Hypex modules, the Purifi 1ET400A does not have a clipping indication on its simple hardware interface.
To get a clipping indication you'd have to have a microcontroller controlling and monitoring the modules over their full-featured I2C interface, and the only amp I'm aware of that does that is the very-expensive Vera Audio.
AudioSceptic
Major Contributor
Rocking? You need to adjust the feet or put it on a flat surface! ;-)
950W, best case scenario (not with Hypex SMPS). Ask @boXem | audio about it.
It doesn't suggest any such thing. It just is presented as evidence that there's lower distortion, nothing more, nothing less. What you're attributing to magic of balanced connections is quite commonly nothing more than a result of the design of the equipment.
Most equipment on the market does not have the same output circuit for balanced or unbalanced connections. Outputs from DAC chips are typically balanced and amplified / treated independently from each other. To give an unbalanced RCA output it is very common that an additional line level amplifier stage is used to combine the DAC's outputs. That can cause RCA outputs to measure increased distortion.
It has nothing to do with anything cancelling. Distortion effects do not cancel because harmonic distortion is differential and not common mode in nature to the +ve and -ve signals.
In mono configuration, the 950W should be reached even with a Hypex SMPS. The caveats with the Hypex SMPS are about powers that are voltage limited (8 Ohm)
But I could swear they're moving. Even my wife saw it!Whatever you heard in those shops, listening to different amps, could better be explained by blood pressure, caffeine intake or glucose level. Your ear is not a reliable instrument, it's prone to misinterpretation of reality, just like your eyes:
View attachment 194553
Only through measurement (put your mouse pointer on one of the rings) will you be able to get a glimpse of reality (the rings don't move about).
There is no scenario where you are able to reliably detect a difference between NAD C298 or HPA S400ET by ear. Anyone telling you differently, is likely talking out of their butt.
Pick your purchase based on a few key performance indicators, like power and SINAD, then looks, features and price, because these almost state of the art devices have objectively no sound of their own. Acting as if they had will just cost money and annoy a lot of ASR people.
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There's always folks looking for bottom dollar bang-for-the-buck. I do it myself, sometimes. However, when making comparisons, one has to factor in the total package. If you live in France, or possibly the EU, this item is a no-brainer. Like Topping would be, if you live in Shenzhen. If you live the the US, other things come into play.
Dealer/factory support is one not insignificant consideration. I can't speak for others, but once a product passes a few hundred dollars, I'm investigating the support angle. What would this item cost if the manufacturer set up a support channel in the US? With a local presence, including tech support and a local phone number, a warehouse, and a few employees to load the trucks, an accountant, and all the rest..., what is that going to add to the cost?
Warranty on the item is two years, versus five for Benchmark. You may never need that. But if you do...
From their site: Our customer service is available from Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm to answer your questions by mail. I presume they mean email. Can you pick up the phone and speak with them, in a language both ends of the line understand? Something to consider.
Shipping. I went to their site, and shipping charges were not clearly defined. The item is evidently backordered, with build times listed from one to four weeks. This is pretty typical of electronic gear, these days. Two years ago I had to wait several weeks for my AHB to arrive. Who knows how it is today? With conditions as they are, how will shipping be in a month?
So it is not even clear when you will receive your item, or how it will be shipped, and the cost of shipping. I presume that if you go through their checkout process all this would be made clear. However, my guess is that you are looking at a Ben Franklin to ship this thing, insured.
What if you don't like it, after your demo? Do they offer a 30 day demo? Will they accept returns, and who is paying for that?
Look, this item appears to be great value--under the right circumstances. However, if your particular circumstance are different than the 'right' circumstances, then the deal might not be as good as the bottom line retail list price might suggest.
No doubt, it is a very good amp but I am a bit peeved with amp manufacturers who build low gain amps. They can usually claim very good noise figures but in reality they are simply passing the problem on to the DAC and/or preamp.
The other way around is true too though. Balanced connections are great, I wouldn't say that everybody "needs" it. And yes some manufacturers will also try to convince you of that. If you have no issues in your system it's also likely that you will not hear a benefit. It's great but not an absolute must. Many of us have many unbalanced sources to start with. Personally I have a balanced preamp and power amp, many unbalanced sources, a SUB with only RCA in. but lately I wanted to add DSP in the chain. And I felt the balanced options where not worth the premium for me. and you know what there is nothing balanced in my system anymore. It sounds very good, no noise no hum no audible distortion and the benefit of room correction.
Need is a strong word. if there is no audible problems to start with, RCA connections are totally fine, at some point it's cost vs benefit. And yes, I know that's not what the OP meant but balanced connections may perform better, but converting unbalanced to balance can also increase distortion in some cases if transformers are used. It's not the end of all.
AudioSceptic
Major Contributor
But could she see it from the kitchen?But I could swear they're moving. Even my wife saw it!
On their website their seems to be three different versions of this amp. They are all called the HPA-s400 but there is the ET, the ET Sparkos Edition, and the NC Ncore.
I think the way I wrote this may be a little confusing, but if you went to their website to see the products I’m talking about, I believe it should be understood.
Can anyone explain the difference between these 3 products to me? I have some understanding of the differences but not completely. Thank you.
I think the way I wrote this may be a little confusing, but if you went to their website to see the products I’m talking about, I believe it should be understood.
Can anyone explain the difference between these 3 products to me? I have some understanding of the differences but not completely. Thank you.
I think low amplifier gain is a good trade off as it is easier to build a lower noise DAC and all upstream noise will be multiplied by the amplifier so better to keep the amplifier gain low as practicable.
Personally I wish manufacturers used lower gains especially on equipment with balanced inputs. 20 dB of gain (medium gain setting here) is perfect for 4 V input, can drive to full power with a little room to spare.
I think part of the resistance to using lower gain is that to an uneducated consumer it does not sound as loud with the same input which they attribute to being less powerful.
Michael
Yes! She's a trained viewer and ran right in asking if I'd changed something with my monitor. Mind you, I hadn't said anything. Incroyable! Étonnante!
The HPA-S400NC one is using a Hypex NC400 module, so it's different tech. Name's similar because it's still a stereo nominal 400W-per-channel power amp.
The Sparkos edition replaces the LM4562 op amp ICs and whatever voltage regulators the basic version uses with discrete Sparkos modules. Amir tested Sparkos op-amp replacements in another amp and found no benefit. I would imagine you'd find the same for the voltage regulators.
Audiophonics don't even attempt to make a claim of a spec difference - I think they're just reprinting Purifi's own module specs for both amps?
So don't bother with that - as long as the basic version is competent, as it seems to be, it will work fine, and it does - great, even. And there's no reason to suspect replacing the bits will improve anything because there's nothing wrong with the bits being replaced.
If you wanted a "super" Purifi design, rather than a competent one, you'd have to look at something like the Vera Audio where some real work has been done to measure and optimise and tune. Not just swapping bits and not even publishing results...
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