Hyperion APR-16 AV Processor Review

[PGAMiami]

Well someone asked so I answered, and anyway, all ART licensed devices should operate the same. If the Hyperion is noncompliant in some respect that should be reported as a bug.

@peng thinking about it, I'm not sure about the second use application (importing a Dirac filter and then engaging ART.) I'm going to inquire, I just would like to know, because the second use case would break the Dirac filter so it may not be possible. I have the info somewhere. I will look.

My APR16 may have been one of the first handful delivered. It had a few firmware bugs that I reported and a defective hdmi card that they very quickly replaced. Customer service is very responsive, but I ended up returning the unit. I believe AVPro wants to get this right but it may take a few iterations. AVPs are complex. I got spoiled with Denon and Marantz reliability.

Maybe the problem with Dirac was specific to my unit. Who knows. But if it wasn’t at a minimum you would have expected Dirac would have caught this during their certification. It was very obvious as the sweep measurements sounded very different vs when I conducted them on my Denon. And the Dirac algo also wouldn’t see the full bandwidth of my speakers.

 

[PGAMiami]

APR16 and the Tide16 came out at around the same time, this thread is an actual Amir review thread snd yet the Tide thread has 118 pages and this has barely 17 …

 

[BJL]

The Hyperion is $8000. The Tide is $3500 plus.VAT or US tariff.

 

[jhaider]

It's amazing how close you can get to perfection without a pro calibration using Dirac ART on a Denon receiver, and how accommodating it is to various room
shapes, non matching subs, etc I would expect it only gets better with a Tide16

As to the last point, why?

 

[PGAMiami]

As to the last point, why?

If the Tide perform to spec these are better than the 3800h and even the 4800h. It also has balanced outputs which offer more secure and potentially better SNR and hum rejection than RCAs.

 

[PGAMiami]

The Hyperion is $8000. The Tide is $3500 plus.VAT or US tariff.

If one shops around the price difference is much less. I see one APR16 in a sealed box for $6000 including ART on AVSForum. Yes it’s more than a Tide16, but you get product supported by a US manufacturer, better HDMI switching, Dante, more advanced DACs …. Seems the price difference is justified, particularly so since the APR16 is the best performing AVP to date tested by Amir. But for whatever reason interest seems low.

 

[EWL5]

The Hyperion is $8000. The Tide is $3500 plus.VAT or US tariff.

Interest tends to wane when a compared product is some multiplier of another product.

I wonder why the comments on a Rollsy Royce or Bentley site are so much fewer than a Mercedes site?

 

[Littletycoon]

If one shops around the price difference is much less. I see one APR16 in a sealed box for $6000 including ART on AVSForum. Yes it’s more than a Tide16, but you get product supported by a US manufacturer, better HDMI switching, Dante, more advanced DACs …. Seems the price difference is justified, particularly so since the APR16 is the best performing AVP to date tested by Amir. But for whatever reason interest seems low.

Price. If you don't need Dante why pay more than for a tide, denon or marantz with comparable capabilities. There is not much value in better HDMI switching, more advanced DAC, etc.

 

[Mort]

But for whatever reason interest seems low.

Because most other consumers don't value what you do.

 

[BJL]

If one shops around the price difference is much less. I see one APR16 in a sealed box for $6000 including ART on AVSForum. Yes it’s more than a Tide16, but you get product supported by a US manufacturer, better HDMI switching, Dante, more advanced DACs …. Seems the price difference is justified, particularly so since the APR16 is the best performing AVP to date tested by Amir. But for whatever reason interest seems low.

The Hyperion would have been my choice, if the Tide16 did not exist. However it is much more expensive. Outside of the odd secondary market deal from a private seller, the Hyperion is incomplete, you still need to purchase a license from Dirac ($799 in the US.)

Edit: Upon reflection, inclusion of Dante input could be quite useful. [was Dante is interesting I suppose, but not for me] or I would guess, most home audio users. More advanced DACs etc are fine, but the Tide specs are stunning, and based on the company's track record, will most likely be confirmed in bench testing.

The Tide is also more compact, physically (the APR16 is about 18x18x5.25", the Tide 18x10x5.25") and it has a lovely front panel OLED with a 16 channel VU meter. True, product support is in Hong Kong, but they do respond to support requests reasonably well.

I'm sure that the APR16 is a fine audio component, but while perhaps justifiable, the price is not right. For most people I believe, even the Tide is quite expensive, meaning that the APR16 is out of reach for all but a few high income folks. Saving a net $4500 (including the China/US tariff) was my deciding factor and I'm sure is a significant reason for the high interest in the Tide vs. the APR16 on this website.

 

[PGAMiami]

The Hyperion would have been my choice, if the Tide16 did not exist. However it is much more expensive. Outside of the odd secondary market deal from a private seller, the Hyperion is incomplete, you still need to purchase a license from Dirac ($799 in the US.) Dante is interesting I suppose, but not for me or I would guess, most home audio users. More advanced DACs etc are fine, but the Tide specs are stunning, and based on the company's track record, will most likely be confirmed in bench testing.

The Tide is also more compact, physically (the APR16 is about 18x18x5.25", the Tide 18x10x5.25") and it has a lovely front panel OLED with a 16 channel VU meter. True, product support is in Hong Kong, but they do respond to support requests reasonably well.

I'm sure that the APR16 is a fine audio component, but while perhaps justifiable, the price is not right. For most people I believe, even the Tide is quite expensive, meaning that the APR16 is out of reach for all but a few high income folks. Saving a net $4500 (including the China/US tariff) was my deciding factor and I'm sure is a significant reason for the high interest in the Tide vs. the APR16 on this website.

I agree, the APR-16 is a well put together product, but it's in a tough spot pricing wise. Tide16 offers much more value and the performance should be essentially the same. Marantz has more features, three price points and just works. Storm and Trinnov have much more brand recognition. Still I'm surprised with how little interest there is in the APR-16.

 

[peng]

If one shops around the price difference is much less. I see one APR16 in a sealed box for $6000 including ART on AVSForum. Yes it’s more than a Tide16, but you get product supported by a US manufacturer, better HDMI switching, Dante, more advanced DACs ….

Better HDMI switching is of value, but is it a problem with the Tide? Dante has no value for those who don't need/use it, I would guess there are many more AVP users who don't need/use Dante than those who to. More advanced DAC is of good value to people like me, who just want the better/best DAC.

Seems the price difference is justified, particularly so since the APR16 is the best performing AVP to date tested by Amir. But for whatever reason interest seems low.

Price difference vs justification is largely subjective so no arguments from me. As to best performing AVP, I think that is questionable, in terms of single point SINAD, yes but it is really practically the same as the AV10 so likely the cheaper AV20 too, I skipped the Anthem AVM90 that has similar SINAD but no Dirac so..

And that's before the Tide gets on Amir's test bench, once that happens, the APR16 may keep its position but may get dethroned too, as the Tide 16 has lower grade DAC IC, but miniDSP's own measurements show >118 dB SINAD (single point, 1 kHz test only), that's believable because they obviously save a few dollars on the DAC IC, but spend much more on the quad differential implementation scheme so the >118 dB SINAD is theoretically possible, though we have to see the test results.

If I need Dante, that I don't and/or I need output voltage higher than 4 V maximum, that I also don't, then I guess my choice would be the APR16 even for the much higher cost, otherwise I can easily understand why more people on those two threads seem to be considering the Tide 16, as that means thousands can be spent on things that matter more to them.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I agree, the APR-16 is a well put together product, but it's in a tough spot pricing wise. Tide16 offers much more value and the performance should be essentially the same. Marantz has more features, three price points and just works. Storm and Trinnov have much more brand recognition. Still I'm surprised with how little interest there is in the APR-16.

But the anticipated DPR-16 might be more relevant.

 

[jhaider]

If the Tide perform to spec these are better than the 3800h and even the 4800h. It also has balanced outputs which offer more secure and potentially better SNR and hum rejection than RCAs.

I’ll give you balanced outputs, which may be an advantage depending on other factors.

Otherwise, “better” is a paper advantage not a real, audible one. OTOH, one may even reasonably say Tide16 is “much worse” due to missing Auro.

 

[welwynnick]

Otherwise, “better” is a paper advantage not a real, audible one. OTOH, one may even reasonably say Tide16 is “much worse” due to missing Auro.

Better not buy one then.

 

[PGAMiami]

The 3800h performed so poorly in Amir’s tests that he couldn’t recommend it In contrast if the Tide 16 performance matches the specs (reasonable bet given the history of minidsp) then it may be one of the best performing AVPs ever. If that doesn’t matter to you then I agree with the prior post. Don’t buy one.

 

[TimoJ]

The 3800h performed so poorly in Amir’s tests that he couldn’t recommend it In contrast if the Tide 16 performance matches the specs (reasonable bet given the history of minidsp) then it may be one of the best performing AVPs ever. If that doesn’t matter to you then I agree with the prior post. Don’t buy one.

One of the best performing AVPs when used as a 2-channel DAC with everything bypassed. Other performance remains a mystery, as does that of every other AVP measured here.

 

[welwynnick]

One of the best performing AVPs when used as a 2-channel DAC with everything bypassed. Other performance remains a mystery, as does that of every other AVP measured here.

OK, but the APR-16 was significantly better in every respect. Not just the single SINAD figure.

 

[Mort]

OK, but the APR-16 was significantly better in every respect. Not just the single SINDA figure.

I bet you couldn't audibly discern the difference.

 

[welwynnick]

I bet you couldn't audibly discern the difference.

The difference between stereo DACs is audible, so AVRs even more so.