Hypex Ncore NC252MP market overview

[doug2761]

Rather an elitist and discriminatory approach for this day and age, is it not?

Yes, it is not. It's absurd to require all manufacturers to sell to any and all buyers. To do so would obligate the manufacturer to operate a distribution network to support N numbers of consumers, support those consumers (returns, warranties, tech support), comply with a variety of regulations that differ between consumers, retailers, and wholesalers. It's far more manageable to to sell through a distribution network to qualified buyers that are capable of implementing a full solution. Easier to manage a couple hundred customers than the mass of consumers.

Where you can buy modules direct, once you add up all the parts to buy at retail you get to pretty much the same cost less shipping that you can buy a completed amp. Not seeing how that's elitist or discriminatory at all. It makes sense.

 

[juliangst]

Soundimports who have a wide range of DIY stuff and import minidsp devices also have a new range of prebuilt Ncore and ICEpower amps like this NC252:

SoundImpress HY252-2CH Stereo Verstärker | Ncore® | Powered by Hypex kaufen

Bestellen Sie den HY252-2CH online bei SoundImports ✓ Versand am selben Tag ✓ Kostenloser Versand

www.soundimports.eu

I like this case design a lot more than the slim and long Audiophonics case but it’s hard to justify spending 100€ more for a different case with no front power button and not trigger input

 

[Matias]

Soundimports who have a wide range of DIY stuff and import minidsp devices also have a new range of prebuilt Ncore and ICEpower amps like this NC252:

SoundImpress HY252-2CH Stereo Verstärker | Ncore® | Powered by Hypex kaufen

Bestellen Sie den HY252-2CH online bei SoundImports ✓ Versand am selben Tag ✓ Kostenloser Versand

www.soundimports.eu

I like this case design a lot more than the slim and long Audiophonics case but it’s hard to justify spending 100€ more for a different case with no front power button and not trigger input

Nice find! There is also NC502MP in this Ghent-like case.

Order SoundImpress HY502-2CH Stereo Amplifier | Ncore® | Powered by Hypex

Buy the HY502-2CH online at SoundImports ✓ Same day shipping ✓ Low shipping rates

www.soundimports.eu

 

[BeeKay]

And there is a NC252MP in Buchardt’s I150 integrated amp. Just a bit expensive if you need the module only

I150 Integrated Amplifier

Integrated amplifier

buchardtaudio.com

 

[CleanSound]

I did a DIY route on the Hypex NC400, dual mono, totally not worth it at all.

1) Most DIY cases out there are pretty ugly for my personal taste.

2) No advance features like remote trigger, signal sensing. I had to install a remote WiFi power relay switch with a power supply for it to be able to remote on/off.

3) Didn't really save all that much money, in fact after the custom WiFi power control and soon to be sand blasted (because silver is only silver front plate, not the entire case), it costs more than buying it from an assembler.

I did a lot of research lately, the best option for me is either Nord or Apollon because I want the full 440/450mm wide case to actually match what's in my rack. Their casework is actually good looking. All the other manufacturers are using the small cases and looks pretty standard plain Jane you get off the shelf. Apollon looks the best, but more expensive. Nord is probably the winner for me, also emailed with Colin to ask some questions, his customer service won me over, he's polite, humble, helpful and patient, unlike some others I have experienced so far.

 

[Count Dacula]

I ordered a Nord NC 252 MP VL. Pretty much a steal, and it's plenty of power for my Q350s.

NORD VALUE-LINE Archives

nordacoustics.co.uk

 

[yllanos]

I did a DIY route on the Hypex NC400, dual mono, totally not worth it at all.

1) Most DIY cases out there are pretty ugly for my personal taste.

2) No advance features like remote trigger, signal sensing. I had to install a remote WiFi power relay switch with a power supply for it to be able to remote on/off.

3) Didn't really save all that much money, in fact after the custom WiFi power control and soon to be sand blasted (because silver is only silver front plate, not the entire case), it costs more than buying it from an assembler.

I did a lot of research lately, the best option for me is either Nord or Apollon because I want the full 440/450mm wide case to actually match what's in my rack. Their casework is actually good looking. All the other manufacturers are using the small cases and looks pretty standard plain Jane you get off the shelf. Apollon looks the best, but more expensive. Nord is probably the winner for me, also emailed with Colin to ask some questions, his customer service won me over, he's polite, humble, helpful and patient, unlike some others I have experienced so far.

Try Audiophonics

 

[CleanSound]

Try Audiophonics

This is the only NCx500 I saw: https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/powe...lass-d-ncore-ncx500-2x600w-4-ohm-p-17591.html

It's advertised as "Dual Mono" but there is only one power supply, so not sure how that this is categorized as dual mono.
There is no auto signal turn on feature.
The case work looks really nice, but it's 413mm, I guess it's close enough to 430. But it's not offered in silver, that's a deal breaker for me.

But it is cheaper by $130USD compared to an equivalent configured Nord. If this meets the need for others, this is a good buy, but just doesn't meet what I am looking for.

 

[Ron Texas]

Most of the choices are sold by European companies. That would make Buckeye a logical choice for those of us in the USA.

 

[TheBatsEar]

But it's not offered in silver, that's a deal breaker for me

I was thinking about getting some modules and hacking them into a nice old school amplifier or maybe tape deck. I have two of these, one is mint, but the other has some defective ICs and is beyond repair:

I would obviously prefer the NC252MP, as they are small and cheap, but sadly they don't get sold to DIY folk.

The NC400 is a bit pricey i think, it doesn't offer that much over the NC252MP in terms of audio quality.
If the NC400 is like the NC252MP, there should be a pin for a trigger, just hook any old 3 to 12v voltage to it and off you go. I think there is also a pin for signal sensing, but i'm not sure anymore.

 

[CleanSound]

Most of the choices are sold by European companies. That would make Buckeye a logical choice for those of us in the USA.

I would generally agree. A Buckeye, two channel NCx500, albeit with one power supply, is only $1095, that is cheaper than the equivalent $1560 Nilai500DIY from Hypex directly.

Honestly, I just don't see how DIY is worth it. I made the mistake of not taking everything into account and brought a NC400 DIY kit on impulse and now regret it.

But the Buckeye's case work. . .well, needs a little bit of work, no pun intended. For those who don't care about the looks and lives in the US, Buckeye is a great option (at least based on what I am seeing). But I get the sense that, there are tons of potential customers who cares A LOT about the case work and are willing to pay extra for a nice looking case (or maybe just me).

Calling all Scandinavian Class D modular amp assemblers/manufactures around the world, offer a line up with amazing looking case work, many of us have our HiFi equipment in a living space, having good aesthetics gives us pride of ownership!

 

[CleanSound]

I was thinking about getting some modules and hacking them into a nice old school amplifier or maybe tape deck. I have two of these, one is mint, but the other has some defective ICs and is beyond repair:

I would obviously prefer the NC252MP, as they are small and cheap, but sadly they don't get sold to DIY folk.

The NC400 is a bit pricey i think, it doesn't offer that much over the NC252MP in terms of audio quality.
If the NC400 is like the NC252MP, there should be a pin for a trigger, just hook any old 3 to 12v voltage to it and off you go. I think there is also a pin for signal sensing, but i'm not sure anymore.

Based on my personal experience doing exactly what you want to do, I honestly don't recommend it. . .at all.

I disassembled a Yamaha CR-600 that I brought for $120 and try to fit some off the shelf Class D parts in there. No mas, project abandon. Here's why: How do you fit and integrate all the existing controls, button, knobs, meters to the amp modules? Most of these parts, if not all, are out of production, you have to spend a lot of time custom fabricating and integrating. To do a good job, you will possibly need access to 3D printers, CNC machines to create new parts. And if you want the inside to look good, you may have to print some custom PCB boards, which means you would need CAD software, at least SPICE is open source (geesh, I'm dating myself).

If you really want to do it and stick to it, this would likely turn out to be one expense hobby project and time suck. And if you still want to do it and actually get it done, please share with me the results, you will inspire me and I might just try again.

 

[yllanos]

This is the only NCx500 I saw: https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/powe...lass-d-ncore-ncx500-2x600w-4-ohm-p-17591.html

It's advertised as "Dual Mono" but there is only one power supply, so not sure how that this is categorized as dual mono.
There is no auto signal turn on feature.
The case work looks really nice, but it's 413mm, I guess it's close enough to 430. But it's not offered in silver, that's a deal breaker for me.

But it is cheaper by $130USD compared to an equivalent configured Nord. If this meets the need for others, this is a good buy, but just doesn't meet what I am looking for.

I think they advertise as mono because there are two mono amp boards on it.

I know they have some custom options. It wouldn't hurt to give them a call.

 

[chych7]

Most of the choices are sold by European companies. That would make Buckeye a logical choice for those of us in the USA.

Although it's still cheaper to have it imported from Europe for some of the models, especially with the current exchange rate.

Audiophonics NC252MP shipped from France to the US: $500

Buckeye NC252MP: $575

 

[Sokel]

I would generally agree. A Buckeye, two channel NCx500, albeit with one power supply, is only $1095, that is cheaper than the equivalent $1560 Nilai500DIY from Hypex directly.

Honestly, I just don't see how DIY is worth it. I made the mistake of not taking everything into account and brought a NC400 DIY kit on impulse and now regret it.

But the Buckeye's case work. . .well, needs a little bit of work, no pun intended. For those who don't care about the looks and lives in the US, Buckeye is a great option (at least based on what I am seeing). But I get the sense that, there are tons of potential customers who cares A LOT about the case work and are willing to pay extra for a nice looking case (or maybe just me).

Calling all Scandinavian Class D modular amp assemblers/manufactures around the world, offer a line up with amazing looking case work, many of us have our HiFi equipment in a living space, having good aesthetics gives us pride of ownership!

Premium line Apollon has full size nice ones but I don't know if they put Hypex in it,it's intended for the 7040 Purifi.

(and it reaches 5K$)

 

[Ron Texas]

Although it's still cheaper to have it imported from Europe for some of the models, especially with the current exchange rate.

Audiophonics NC252MP shipped from France to the US: $500

Buckeye NC252MP: $575

If something goes wrong it will be easier to have Buckeye fix it.

 

[CleanSound]

Premium line Apollon has full size nice ones but I don't know if they put Hypex in it,it's intended for the 7040 Purifi.

(and it reaches 5K$)

They have a dual mono NCx500, starts at $2,520USD, not cheap, but in the world of high end HiFi, not bad at all. Compare it with a Benchmark ABH2, which is $3,500 with less power. The Apollon is a little bit more expensive than the Nord equivalent, but Apollon doesn't have the auto sensing power on feature, that Nord is going to come out with this option soon.

And just look at this beauty, easily the best looking Class D amp.

One moment, please...

 

[Sokel]

They have a dual mono NCx500, starts at $2,520USD, not cheap, but in the world of high end HiFi, not bad at all. Compare it with a Benchmark ABH2, which is $3,500 with less power. The Apollon is a little bit more expensive than the Nord equivalent, but Apollon doesn't have the auto sensing power on feature, that Nord is going to come out with this option soon.

And just look at this beauty, easily the best looking Class D amp.

One moment, please...

Yes,that one does it.
Haven't seen it in person but looks really nice.
The one I have seen and it's really nice too is Audiophonics Purifi with the heatshinks (I like black stuff) but the Apollon one sure looks nicer to me.

 

[CleanSound]

I think they advertise as mono because there are two mono amp boards on it.

I know they have some custom options. It wouldn't hurt to give them a call.

Base on the description and picture it seems pretty clear that it's two NCx500 modules and 1 power supply and there is no option to configure it with two. Of course I can be wrong.

I personally don't need to verify with them because it doesn't have the color I want anyway. But for those who are interested, they definitely should clarify with the manufacturer, the case work looks pretty slick and price seems decent.

But when an amp is listed as dual mono, the social understanding in this hobby (at least my own understanding) is that it is two mono amps in one housing. Which implies, you can physically separate the amps into two cases as if you have two mono amps, you cannot do that with one power supply. Another example would be Musical Fidelity, they advertise their amps as dual mono, but when you open the thing up, it's one toroidal transformer, they state that they have two secondary windings in the one transformer, one winding for each amp and therefore it is "dual mono." Regardless, that's a bit disingenuous in my opinion.

 

[Count Dacula]

So many things are right about this, including a high WAF.

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Based on my personal experience doing exactly what you want to do, I honestly don't recommend it. . .at all.

I disassembled a Yamaha CR-600 that I brought for $120 and try to fit some off the shelf Class D parts in there. No mas, project abandon. Here's why: How do you fit and integrate all the existing controls, button, knobs, meters to the amp modules? Most of these parts, if not all, are out of production, you have to spend a lot of time custom fabricating and integrating. To do a good job, you will possibly need access to 3D printers, CNC machines to create new parts. And if you want the inside to look good, you may have to print some custom PCB boards, which means you would need CAD software, at least SPICE is open source (geesh, I'm dating myself).

If you really want to do it and stick to it, this would likely turn out to be one expense hobby project and time suck. And if you still want to do it and actually get it done, please share with me the results, you will inspire me and I might just try again.