AUDIOPHONICS MPA-S250NC Amp Review

[jeffme]

At the risk of asking a rookie question, is there any sort of autosensing trigger or is that lowbrow / less performant?

The use case I have in mind is just Wiim / e50 / this amp, but it'd be nice not to have to hit the power button / hear a loud popping sound every time you start streaming. Or, have I missed something?

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Absolutely. I have it and be really happy with it. But is an other price category

Same here. Fact is, if it were all I could afford, I think I would be very happy with this little amp. Just a great little performer at a great price. Add this to a good l.t. $200 DAC with a volume and a remote, or an Rpi4 with DAC hat, and you would have something you could keep for years and never be dissatisfied with even once.

 

[Acerun]

At the risk of asking a rookie question, is there any sort of autosensing trigger or is that lowbrow / less performant?

The use case I have in mind is just Wiim / e50 / this amp, but it'd be nice not to have to hit the power button / hear a loud popping sound every time you start streaming. Or, have I missed something?

Does the E50 have a trigger out?

 

[VintageFlanker]

Edit: I have the XLR version. Thanks @VintageFlanker. And perhaps it's the 252 I have in fact...

You know, they changed names for the all range and offered new chassis back in 2020-2021. Before, it was called "MPA-S252NC", and was basically the same amp.

 

[Acerun]

That's good for you. But most reviews show it so it is a thing. And maybe trigger on is different than using the switch.

That must be it because I don't hear a pop on trigger, and I am triggering three at once.

 

[jeffme]

Does the E50 have a trigger out?

Unfortunately, no.

Good news... I just realized that the Wiim Pro has a 12V trigger output!

That said... autosensing removes a cable requirement, no?

 

[Joe Smith]

Glad to see an option in this price range with 1) RCA inputs and 2) a front panel power switch. May invest in one of these down the road. Those were my two issues about buying a Buckeye amp, frankly.

 

[charlielaub]

Very informative graph !
Well done !

(I'd be very curious to see the same at, say, 10kHz and 20Hz, though.)

I'm not quite onboard with the plot:

@Amir It would be much more informative if you labeled the y-axis (unless I missed that somewhere...) or provided the info in a subtitle. Is that Watts? At a fixed input level? Over 20-20k or only at one frequency? Etc.

Perhaps the plot is suggesting that the amp is capable of producing about 35 bananas per second... Yum! This would be a very useful feature if you have a family to feed AND want a great amplifier as well.

 

[Joe Smith]

Current price on their website is just under 500 euros, so that puts base cost of this in the US very close to a Buckeye build, within $40. Less than shipping, probably.

 

[amirm]

I'm not quite onboard with the plot:

@Amir It would be much more informative if you labeled the y-axis (unless I missed that somewhere...) or provided the info in a subtitle. Is that Watts? At a fixed input level? Over 20-20k or only at one frequency? Etc.

Perhaps the plot is suggesting that the amp is capable of producing about 35 bananas per second... Yum! This would be a very useful feature if you have a family to feed AND want a great amplifier as well.

Will do. For now it is voltage.

 

[KSTR]

In THD+N VS Power, yes.

Still, Max/Peak Power underperforms compared to some other NC252MP:
View attachment 290368
Same module in IOM nCore Pro:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...d-measurements-of-iom-ncore-pro-pwr-amp.8979/
View attachment 290364
Same module in Cambridge Evo150:

SoundStageNetwork.com | SoundStage.com - Cambridge Audio Evo 150 Streaming Integrated Amplifier Measurements

www.soundstagenetwork.com

View attachment 290366

Indeed that is quite a bit more difference than what one would expect for normal product and measurement rig tolerances. 1.17x power means 9% more voltage. As far as I can see the module has regulated secondaries so mains voltage differences should not affect general tolerances.

 

[FTB]

As a french person I know Audiophonics since the beginning, it's great to see today how good their own products are.

 

[xaxxon]

Seems like putting up a bunch of amps that are all the same on the inside on the charts just muddies the water. We need a master-level "here is how an ncore 252 should perform" review and then "here is a list of 252 amps that come acceptably close to this". We need that for each of the main DIY-ish amp internals makers.

 

[pma]

Will do. For now it is voltage.

It should stay in Volts! It is correct. Because you have complex load and the power would differ according to impedance just used. We cannot calculate power into 4ohm/+60deg is if it was 4ohm. Voltage representation is correct!

 

[CrustyToad]

Thanks for the review amirm
Really good value on the EU side
Something like this (or the 502mp) is on my radar for the near future

 

[Thomas_A]

I wonder about the trigger - does it "pop" when going through an AVR to activate by 12V?

 

[Overseas]

What would be a legit preamp for this, in Audiophonics offer, just to avoid any possible issues with DACs variable volume output?

 

[Purité Audio]

Why would you need a preamp?
Keith

 

[Talisman]

Why would you need a preamp?
Keith

Because it's a power amp, not an integrated amp.
Or was your question assuming you had to use a dac as a pre? I wouldn't trust them, but everyone is free to do as they wish

 

[Tangband]

Thanks @amirm.

Exactly as expected performance (all-integrated NC252MP module) from a bargain classic !

Yes , very good indeed.

What would be a legit preamp for this, in Audiophonics offer, just to avoid any possible issues with DACs variable volume output?

My suggestion after recomendation from some audio-people I trust: Topping e50 as dac/pre , and buy the balanced version of NC252MP from audiophonics ( the same price as rca ) .

This is probably the kit I would buy If spending below 1000 dollars.