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boXem ARTHUR 2408/N2 Review (Stereo Amplifier)

Rate this amplifier:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 1 0.4%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 9 3.8%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 141 59.2%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 87 36.6%

  • Total voters
    238

amirm

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the boXem ARTHUR 2408/N2 stereo class D amplifier. It was kindly sent to me by a member and costs €649.00 Tax excluded (US $735).
boXem ARTHUR 2408 N2 Review Class D Stereo Amplifier.jpg


I really like the differentiated look of the unit with custom front panel and white case which you can see better in this shot:

boXem ARTHUR 2408 N2 Review back panel Class D Stereo Amplifier.jpg

Notice the ultra high quality and large binding posts and nice power switch. Input is only balanced XLR as you see. I believe the heart of the unit is Hypex NC122MP.

boXem ARTHUR 2408/N2 Measurements
The unit stabilized quickly with its performance hardly changing (I optimized the cabling after this measurement so don't worry about channel difference):
boXem ARTHUR 2408 N2 Measurements Warm up Class D Stereo Amplifier.png


Here is our dashboard:
boXem ARTHUR 2408 N2 Measurements Class D Stereo Amplifier.png


This level of distortion and noise (SINAD) nicely landed the amp into our "excellent" category:

Top 20 stereo amplifier review.png


Signal to noise ratio was excellent, achieving better than CD dynamic range at just 5 watts of output:
boXem ARTHUR 2408 N2 Measurements Dynamic Range Class D Stereo Amplifier.png


Typical of Hypex amplifiers (in a good way) is lack of load impedance dependency which plagues many budget class D amplifiers:
boXem ARTHUR 2408 N2 Measurements frequency response Class D Stereo Amplifier.png


The 2408/N2 achieved one of the lowest crosstalk I have measured:

boXem ARTHUR 2408 N2 Measurements Crosstalk Class D Stereo Amplifier.png


Multitone results are very good as well:

boXem ARTHUR 2408 N2 Measurements Multitone Class D Stereo Amplifier.png


Let's see how much power we have:
boXem ARTHUR 2408 N2 Measurements Power into 4 ohm Class D Stereo Amplifier.png


Not a ton but it is above average as far as noise and distortion. Allowing a bit more distortion we get:

boXem ARTHUR 2408 N2 Measurements Max and Peak Power into 4 ohm Class D Stereo Amplifier.png


Which is right on the money as far as company specifications. Here is 8 ohm performance:

boXem ARTHUR 2408 N2 Measurements Power into 8 ohm Class D Stereo Amplifier.png


Checking for frequency dependence we see well behaved response:

boXem ARTHUR 2408 N2 Measurements Power vs frequency vs distortion into 4 ohm Class D Stereo A...png


But note the loss of power with 20 Hz input.

Finally, here is the switching and ultrasonic performance:


boXem ARTHUR 2408 N2 Measurements FFT switching frequency Class D Stereo Amplifier.png


I checked the unit for temperature after all the test and could barely feel any rise above room temp on any of the surfaces.

Conclusions
The Arthur 2408 comes in an attractive and differentiated package with very high quality connectivity. Measured performance is hugely above average although not state of the art. I could not find any weakness in its performance no matter which way I measured it -- a sign of excellent engineering. The cost is up there though for the level of power you get. Seeing how company is represented here (@boXem | audio), support should be easy as well.

I am happy to recommend the boXem ARTHUR 2408/N2.

EDIT: teardown is also available: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...em-arthur-2408-n2-teardown-class-d-amp.29135/
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
 
Last edited:

peniku8

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I believe the heart of the unit is Hypex NC252MP.
Should be the NC122MP, in which case your measurements coincide with mine (1%THD):
grafik.png.149e8aaadf5e042a811dc725beb054e3.png

I could not see reduced power at 20Hz thou, it only lost a bit below 10Hz in my tests. And yea, no burst power to speak of. Still, it's a great clean amp, I use the FA123 plate amps, which are based on these modules and love them. The dsp is a bit noisy, but that's only really an issue when driving high sensitivity drivers near field.
 

peniku8

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Could only see a real reduction at 8Hz in my tests:
grafik.png.e0fa4538382fc06eb373a975b05f0b02.png
 

peniku8

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Great - I do like how well they have done the outside, so hopefully the inside is just as nice.

Could you test it on 2 Ohms?
Refer to one post above yours ;)
 

Madjalapeno

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Looks like @VintageFlanker has already done a review and teardown.

 

martijn86

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These also come in Boxem Orange. I came across them only after I bought my Audiophonics NC250MP. The Boxem package is a little more attractive in my opinion but lacks a trigger input. Hypex though, it just doesn't disappoint, ever. It's almost boring as a gear-head. I've got 99 problems but my amp ain't one!
 
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amirm

amirm

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enricoclaudio

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Another excellent Hypex based amp. Hypex excellent performance and reliability are the main reasons we at Rythmik Audio decided to use Hypex UcD amp modules in most of our lines of subwoofers. Only a few remain with Class A/B and Class H amps but most likely we would be transitioning to all Hypex in the next couple of years. Thanks for the excellent review, @amirm !!!
 

Vini darko

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Thanks for the review amir , you're right the landscape has changed. The pa5 asks serious questions of this amp.
 

enricoclaudio

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I see there is a Wake labeled on input B. Does the amp goes to standby when no signal and wakes when signal is detected? Like an Auto-ON function I mean to say.
 

H-713

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Are the binding posts the standard spacing for dual banana plugs?
 
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