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How Much Improvement by Upgrading Amp?
- Thread starter Tomino
- Start date
If you are on a budget, the older Hypex amps are just fine. If you want to brag about having the newest amp, that is something else.
I don't think there is an audible difference between a well build Ncore and a Purify amp in allmost any case.
The Ncore is about as good as an amp can get, significantly better than the older Hypex stuff. When, in maybe a years or so, the next generation Purify amp is anounced, it will get even harder to show any difference. Probaply they will use some newer transistors in the future. Better? No, just new.
The quantum leaps in amp building are a thing of the past. There will be new parts, new ideas etc. but no real audible improvements in the future. Remeber, there are still some A and A/B, even chip-amps, that sound no worse than the best D-amps.
It is just the restless soul of marketing, that, from time to time, some changes (optical?) are made, to make a product look new, "updated" and still SOTA. Even if no objective improvements to it's function are present. The car industry is a nice example for this, you will not find any new automobile that objectively brings you better, cheaper, safer or more environmentally friendly from point A to point B than a car from 2005 did. In fact the opposite may be true.
Back to amps, even one of the mentioned small 50-100$ offers with a TPA3255 should not sound worse in comparison, if you give them a 48V/10A power supply.
The undersized PS is the main problem of your AVR as well, so if you repeat that with a 3255, the result should be identical.
I don't think there is an audible difference between a well build Ncore and a Purify amp in allmost any case.
The Ncore is about as good as an amp can get, significantly better than the older Hypex stuff. When, in maybe a years or so, the next generation Purify amp is anounced, it will get even harder to show any difference. Probaply they will use some newer transistors in the future. Better? No, just new.
The quantum leaps in amp building are a thing of the past. There will be new parts, new ideas etc. but no real audible improvements in the future. Remeber, there are still some A and A/B, even chip-amps, that sound no worse than the best D-amps.
It is just the restless soul of marketing, that, from time to time, some changes (optical?) are made, to make a product look new, "updated" and still SOTA. Even if no objective improvements to it's function are present. The car industry is a nice example for this, you will not find any new automobile that objectively brings you better, cheaper, safer or more environmentally friendly from point A to point B than a car from 2005 did. In fact the opposite may be true.
Back to amps, even one of the mentioned small 50-100$ offers with a TPA3255 should not sound worse in comparison, if you give them a 48V/10A power supply.
The undersized PS is the main problem of your AVR as well, so if you repeat that with a 3255, the result should be identical.
- Thread Starter
- #43
Update, for the benefit of anyone who might be considering a similar move. I upgraded with the following:
The impact of reduced distortion/noise is harder for me to gauge. I haven't attempted A/B tests, and may never do so. But for example, I use the "Roxanne Tango" track on Moulin Rouge as a test track for separation of voices. I feel that with the new amp, the chorus that comes in at the crescendo of the song sounds like a chorus, not just an undifferentiated sound. Likewise, symphonic music has better separation and "soundstage."
So I'm very pleased with the upgrade, and very happy with my Buckeye Amp. Listening to "Waiting for Columbus" as I write this. Sounds better than ever.
- A 2-channel, 500W, Hypex nc502mp class D amplifier from Buckeye Amps
- An SMSL dl100 DAC, to accommodate the balanced connectors on the amp
- A NEOHIPO ET30 switcher, to use the same speakers for music and TV, with different amplification
The impact of reduced distortion/noise is harder for me to gauge. I haven't attempted A/B tests, and may never do so. But for example, I use the "Roxanne Tango" track on Moulin Rouge as a test track for separation of voices. I feel that with the new amp, the chorus that comes in at the crescendo of the song sounds like a chorus, not just an undifferentiated sound. Likewise, symphonic music has better separation and "soundstage."
So I'm very pleased with the upgrade, and very happy with my Buckeye Amp. Listening to "Waiting for Columbus" as I write this. Sounds better than ever.
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