Hypex nc252, advice.

[Kegemusha]

Hi, I am looking for an amp, the one I have, not so good, will be moved to the desk, and for what I can see the hypex nc252 will be more that enough for me both in term of budget and watts. I have 4 Ohm speakers.
I live in EU and I can't buy from outside, I will need to pay import taxes.

I saw the Audiophonics ones, but there are other manufacturers having the amp at some hundreds of € more, what would be the advantages? is a lot of price difference there.
Will I notice an audible difference from some other manufacturer, for example NORD or IOM, to the Audiophonic's one?

I had a class AB amp here for 4 months and I see no how good it sounded (and how bad my old amp sounds now ), will an Hypex amp have that sharp high freq sound that some class D can have?

I read so many good thing about the Hypex but also that some could be sharp sounding at high freqs.
Thanks for any advice.

 

[Kegemusha]

I have an old peachtree amp from 2014, is a class D amp, and I can hear the harshnees on the highs, but this amp is not good sounding at all IMO that is why I have it for now as a pre amp.
Maybe the moderns class D, do not have that issue now.

But from a youtube review (I know, are his opinions):

 

[Semla]

Audiophonics is the least expensive solution in the EU. Beyond that, you pay for extra features and different cases. Boxem has auto on/off and a clipping indicator, Nord has 12V trigger and RCA + XLR inputs, IOM sells a model with big VU meters... I'm sure I am overlooking a lot of things. Only you can decide whether a different case and extra features are worth the premium. They all measure a bit differently depending on implementation but probably not audibly so.
You could DIY with an NC400 board, but that is not going to be less expensive.

 

[kokoon]

I know it's not very helpful, but I got the Audiophonics nc252 a couple of weeks ago to replace a pretty solid entry class-AB integrated (Yamaha A-S500) and I can say the Ncore sounds beautiful. My speakers aren't very sensitive (Harbeth P3ESR, 83.5dB) and the nc252 is driving them nicely. It does get hot though, not too much, but hot for sure - maybe a nc500 (or nc400, or even purifi) would be an even better match. Not for this money though, I think what I got is really good.

 

[kokoon]

Audiophonics is the least expensive solution in the EU. Beyond that, you pay for extra features and different cases. Boxem has auto on/off and a clipping indicator, Nord has 12V trigger and RCA + XLR inputs, IOM sells a model with big VU meters... I'm sure I am overlooking a lot of things. Only you can decide whether a different case and extra features are worth the premium. They all measure a bit differently depending on implementation but probably not audibly so.
You could DIY with an NC400 board, but that is not going to be less expensive.

Audiophonics also has a 12V trigger, I'm using it.

 

[Staki]

I recently got an NC252 amp from https://boxem-audio.eu, Arthur 3409/N2. Indeed it costs quite a bit more than the Audiophonic and I was aware of that when I bought it. Here are the factors that informed my decision (which I'm very happy with):

• very high build quality, see for instance this thread for a review of the smaller model 2408
• a couple of nice additional features, automatic on/off (super nice) and clipping indicator
• exceptional support from the owner @boXem | audio , who is a fellow ASR member. We are talking about "phonecall within 30 min after an email reporting an issue with an apology that the call could not come sooner" support level.

Apart from that, I seriously doubt there will be any audible difference btw various competent NC252 builds.

 

[JSmith]

As mentioned, one thing Nord has is the XLR/RCA switch... however after seeing a review of one model here by Amir, one channels output was wired incorrectly which doesn't fill me with confidence. I'd like this function to be able to connect a phono pre-amp on occasion, if I feel like dusting off the ol' vinyl spinner. I know I can run an RCA to XLR, but would mean unplugging etc.

@boXem | audio have you considered a solution to this possibly in a future release? Not a dealbreaker at this point... just a thought.

Oh, think I just answered my own question… I gather this is the reason why not then and maybe another reason to steer away from the Nord solution;

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-versus-xlr-rca-converters.10104/#post-275075

According to Hypex, XLR inputs are "vastly preferred" (see section 9.4 of the NC400 documentation), even when you are feeding the NC400 with unbalanced signals. Section 9.5 describes the "acceptable unbalanced setup", which describes their recommendations on how to put unbalanced RCA inputs in the amplifier box.
https://www.diyclassd.com/img/upload/doc/ncore/nc400/Documentation/NC400_04xx.pdf

By using switchable RCA connectors on the amp the ground noise currents still flow in the shield of the cable, which is also the low signal conductor and hence will modulate the signal. Its the fundamental flaw of single ended RCA interconnections.

If you use an XLR to RCA cable and terminate the screen wire to the RCA low at the far source end, then those ground noise currents flow in the third screen wire and leave the signal on the other two wires unmolested.

So when will Amir get a boXem Arthur for testing?



JSmith

 

[Kegemusha]

I recently got an NC252 amp from https://boxem-audio.eu, Arthur 3409/N2. Indeed it costs quite a bit more than the Audiophonic and I was aware of that when I bought it. Here are the factors that informed my decision (which I'm very happy with):

• very high build quality, see for instance this thread for a review of the smaller model 2408
• a couple of nice additional features, automatic on/off (super nice) and clipping indicator
• exceptional support from the owner @boXem | audio , who is a fellow ASR member. We are talking about "phonecall within 30 min after an email reporting an issue with an apology that the call could not come sooner" support level.

Apart from that, I seriously doubt there will be any audible difference btw various competent NC252 builds.

I am considering the Boxem as well, I like the clipping feature but with shipment and all, sadly it gets expensive for me.

 

[boXem]

I am considering the Boxem as well, I like the clipping feature but with shipment and all, sadly it gets expensive for me.

Where are you shipping making it "that" expensive?

 

[somebodyelse]

As mentioned, one thing Nord has is the XLR/RCA switch... however after seeing a review of one model here by Amir, one channels output was wired incorrectly which doesn't fill me with confidence.

I don't remember whether this was actually a mistake, or whether the hot and cold inputs on that channel were also reversed so that phase was maintained. That way when there's high power demand from in-phase low frequencies the channels draw from opposite psu rails rather than the same one. The output wiring is clear in the photos, but the input connection is hidden under black heatshrink.

Edit: I'm clearly wrong since that amp is using separate PSUs for left and right.

 

[VintageFlanker]

• very high build quality, see for instance this thread for a review of the smaller model 2408
• a couple of nice additional features, automatic on/off (super nice) and clipping indicator
• exceptional support from the owner @boXem | audio , who is a fellow ASR member. We are talking about "phonecall within 30 min after an email reporting an issue with an apology that the call could not come sooner" support level.

Well, you saved me typing.

will an Hypex amp have that sharp high freq sound that some class D can have

had back in the days*

Short answer: Nope.

 

[Kegemusha]

Where are you shipping making it "that" expensive?

Dont get me wrong, I hope I could get your amp, but Zone 5 could give a 58 to 62 Euro more (if I read it right in your page), and I need also to buy a DAC, so I need to keep a buget.

 

[Chrise36]

Audiophonics is good enough. You should be aware that hypex modules might interact with a dac if it is has not good filtering and also are very sensitive to dc and need the cleanest possible ac.Also there are concerns about the caps and their longevity.

 

[boXem]

Dont get me wrong, I hope I could get your amp, but Zone 5 could give a 58 to 62 Euro more (if I read it right in your page), and I need also to buy a DAC, so I need to keep a buget.

This is with UPS. We also offer DHL which is usually cheaper in EU. If you wish you can PM me.

 

[JSmith]

I don't remember whether this was actually a mistake

From what I read Amir had to connect it correctly prior to testing...



JSmith

 

[ReciprocalSpace]

In the US and went with Buckeye after reviewing Audiophonics, Nord, VTV, Boxem, March, etc. etc. Though KJF Audio out of the UK I think is a great lesser known option, like the included fans in the case, customizability, etc. https://kjfaudio.com/about-us/