Buckeye Amps: Hypex NCx500 Official Thread

[chingaling]

I got my tracking number last night. Only a couple days now.

 

[MusicMan77]

I got my tracking number last night. Only a couple days now.

Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue.

 

[theblackangus]

WooT!!! Delivery scheduled tomorrow!

 

[chingaling]

Well there she is. I got the rack mount version.

 

[Matias]

The rack version looks pretty cool, like a stealth mode, very discreet and understated.... Until the music turns on.

 

[Julf]

The rack version looks pretty cool, like a stealth mode, very discreet and understated.... Until the music turns on.

Quite the opposite of the Macintosh in the same rack...

 

[chingaling]

Well I have to say this for first impressions. It’s really really good. Honestly after room correction and DSP it’s pretty indecernable between the Mac452 and NCx500 with my house curve. Straight up no DSP the Mac has the obvious warm house sound and the NCx500 is very clean and clear. They both seem equally clean crisp and clear and have exceptionally dark backgrounds. I mainly listen to Classic Rock Grunge Country and Electronic.
Remember now, these are first impressions and I haven’t really listen to many albums yet but this NCx500 just walks away from the Mac when listening to Electronic music. It’s just razor sharp and super detailed. I’m excited to compare a few more albums tomorrow. I’m off to work now and going to leave it burn overnight and give it another demo tomorrow.

 

[theblackangus]

This one is for @ryanosaur ...

 

[ryanosaur]

This one is for @ryanosaur ...
View attachment 290822

Dude.
Sweet.



I've corrupted another. Mwah-ha-ha-haaa!

Looks like it may be a good match, too:

 

[theblackangus]

I have been waiting to drop that on you since I ordered! =)
Now I need to get a pre-amp/DAC....

Anyone have advice on the RCA to XLR pin out needs for this?
I will have to use that until I get a new front end.

 

[ryanosaur]

I have been waiting to drop that on you since I ordered! =)
Now I need to get a pre-amp/DAC....

Anyone have advice on the RCA to XLR pin out needs for this?
I will have to use that until I get a new front end.

I don't think Hypex does anything tricky with their pins... If you can download their data sheet they will give a recommendation there if they hold true to previous modules..

 

[ryanosaur]

Anyone have advice on the RCA to XLR pin out needs for this?

Unless they changed it... Pin 2 is +, Pins 1,3 should be - from the RCA. That's on the Hypex side. @Buckeye Amps should be able to confirm if you need to convert from RCA.

(Pin 1 is shield to GND on the Input side.)

 

[Buckeye Amps]

I have been waiting to drop that on you since I ordered! =)
Now I need to get a pre-amp/DAC....

Anyone have advice on the RCA to XLR pin out needs for this?
I will have to use that until I get a new front end.

The absolute best/correct way is a for the RCA tip to go to Pin 2, the Shield to go to Pin 1, and a second wire that goes from the ground of the RCA to Pin 3 of the XLR

 

[tprevett]

I’ve been agonizing over a preamp for my pair of monoblocks on order. Was looking at the Schiit Freya S. But the more I think of it.. I don’t need all of those analog inputs. Is the Topping D70 pro Sabre’s 4/5 volt XLR out okay for the NCx500? And what buffer settings should I use?

 

[Wisehybred]

I’ve been agonizing over a preamp for my pair of monoblocks on order. Was looking at the Schiit Freya S. But the more I think of it.. I don’t need all of those analog inputs. Is the Topping D70 pro Sabre’s 4/5 volt XLR out okay for the NCx500? And what buffer settings should I use?

I would be curious to know as well as I am in the market for either the ncx500 or 1ET7040SA monos.
I was looking at the topping pre90 or the new s70 pro, both seems like valid options with nice volume controls but impedance matching may be a problem with class D Amps at 47 ohms? If someone could correct me that would be great! My understanding is you want to have at least 10x difference in impedance from output to input with preamp and amp. Topping preamps are all around 50ohms balance output and most class d amplifiers are 47ohms. I could be very wrong and need more education.

 

[Matias]

I’ve been agonizing over a preamp for my pair of monoblocks on order. Was looking at the Schiit Freya S. But the more I think of it.. I don’t need all of those analog inputs. Is the Topping D70 pro Sabre’s 4/5 volt XLR out okay for the NCx500? And what buffer settings should I use?

I would be curious to know as well as I am in the market for either the ncx500 or 1ET7040SA monos.
I was looking at the topping pre90 or the new s70 pro, both seems like valid options with nice volume controls but impedance matching may be a problem with class D Amps at 47 ohms? If someone could correct me that would be great! My understanding is you want to have at least 10x difference in impedance from output to input with preamp and amp. Topping preamps are all around 50ohms balance output and most class d amplifiers are 47ohms. I could be very wrong and need more education.

If you don't need additional analog inputs and just want a great DAC with a great preamp feature, the RME ADI-2 DAC is killer. Yes, not so cheap as the regular SMSL/Topping DAC of the month, but it is an excellent device built to last with tons of features. Highly recommended.

 

[MusicMan77]

Tomorrow is the big day! Super stoked!!

 

[Wisehybred]

If you don't need additional analog inputs and just want a great DAC with a great preamp feature, the RME ADI-2 DAC is killer. Yes, not so cheap as the regular SMSL/Topping DAC of the month, but it is an excellent device built to last with tons of features. Highly recommended.

Its volume control works in the digital domain. Do you like that?

 

[Julf]

Its volume control works in the digital domain. Do you like that?

Anything wrong with that?

 

[Matias]

Its volume control works in the digital domain. Do you like that?

It is a hybrid design called AutoRef, in which the big chunks of volume is set by gain (analog) and the fine tuning is digital, so that SINAD is kept high through all volumes. And it works automatically, just turn the knob and it does its thing. More info here.