Hypex NCx500 Class D Amplifier Review

[sandeep_s300]

Received today my two mono hyped bcx500 build by Buckeye . Last month I bought the 3 channel version which is now going to power my center speaker and rear surrounds . The monos will be replacing my Apollon hypex ncx500 stereo , which earlier replaced the Benchmark AHB2 pair.

How do we determine which gain option to choose ? Buckeye and Apollon both provides gain toggle switch at the rear.
My Marantz HT processor (for movie) has 2.2V XLR out while my eversolo A8 (for music) has 4.2v XLR out .

 

[da Choge]

The monos will be replacing my Apollon hypex ncx500 stereo

Why did you replace your Apollon; potentially more headroom/channel separation with the Buckeye monos? or did you have issues with the Apollon?

 

[amper42]

Received today my two mono hyped bcx500 build by Buckeye . Last month I bought the 3 channel version which is now going to power my center speaker and rear surrounds . The monos will be replacing my Apollon hypex ncx500 stereo , which earlier replaced the Benchmark AHB2 pair.

How do we determine which gain option to choose ? Buckeye and Apollon both provides gain toggle switch at the rear.
My Marantz HT processor (for movie) has 2.2V XLR out while my eversolo A8 (for music) has 4.2v XLR out .

Set the Hypex amps to high gain when used with the Marantz. That will offer a better match with the internal Marantz amps should you use them for surrounds.

 

[bikenutty]

Received today my two mono hyped bcx500 build by Buckeye . Last month I bought the 3 channel version which is now going to power my center speaker and rear surrounds . The monos will be replacing my Apollon hypex ncx500 stereo , which earlier replaced the Benchmark AHB2 pair.

How do we determine which gain option to choose ? Buckeye and Apollon both provides gain toggle switch at the rear.
My Marantz HT processor (for movie) has 2.2V XLR out while my eversolo A8 (for music) has 4.2v XLR out .

Seems you'll either need to flip the gain switch or decide which of the settings to use, seems the Buckeye high gain may be best for the HT and be careful with the volume with the A8? I chose medium for my Anthem AVM70 and limit the max volume to -1db in the settings. I've never taken it to that level as it's just too loud at that point.

 

[grobalt]

Marantz should deliver XLR default 4V .. did you check?

 

[sandeep_s300]

Why did you replace your Apollon; potentially more headroom/channel separation with the Buckeye monos? or did you have issues with the Apollon?

No issues . In fact that’s the amp that made no difference in compare with AHB2 as mono . My speaker cables are short because they are expensive to go any longer , that’s why mono setup was my option . Buckeye mono pair was cheaper than Apollon or Nord .

 

[sandeep_s300]

Set the Hypex amps to high gain when used with the Marantz. That will offer a better match with the internal Marantz amps should you use them for surrounds.

Will try that . I set medium gain for everything at the moment . I noticed that audessey had put the surround left and right as +db gain whereas the fronts are in -db . Maybe because the surrounds are m&k s150T which are 4ohm 200w speakers whereas the fronts are 8ohm 380w revel performaBE speakers

 

[amper42]

Will try that . I set medium gain for everything at the moment . I noticed that audessey had put the surround left and right as +db gain whereas the fronts are in -db . Maybe because the surrounds are m&k s150T which are 4ohm 200w speakers whereas the fronts are 8ohm 380w revel performaBE speakers

It's because the Revel F328Be or F228Be Fronts (whichever you have) offer a high sensitivity of 91/90db whereas the m&k s150T has 86dB sensitivity. Audyessey compensates for the differences between speaker gain (and amp gain if using external amps).

 

[sandeep_s300]

It's because the Revel F328Be or F228Be Fronts (whichever you have) offer a high sensitivity of 91/90db whereas the m&k s150T has 86dB sensitivity. Audyessey compensates for the differences between speaker gain (and amp gain if using external amps).

Yep- so I guess the s150T would be better off at high gain while the fronts 228be and c426be can stay on medium gain .

 

[amper42]

Yep- so I guess the s150T would be better off at high gain while the fronts 228be and c426be can stay on medium gain .

It's up to you but if it were me I would leave the external amps in high gain and let Audyssey do its magic with the gain setup. That's what it made for.

 

[sandeep_s300]

It's up to you but if it were me I would leave the external amps in high gain and let Audyssey do its magic with the gain setup. That's what it made for.

My concern is about higher gain = higher chance of distortion , noise , if that’s in audible range .

 

[amper42]

My concern is about higher gain = higher chance of distortion , noise , if that’s in audible range .

You will never hear a difference in distortion and the amps will be closer gain matched which typically is a benefit for AVR performance.

 

[DonH56]

My concern is about higher gain = higher chance of distortion , noise , if that’s in audible range .

You are trading for higher distortion and noise from the AVR. I suspect that is not a win, pushing the AVR to max output and pushing its noise through the amp.

 

[sandeep_s300]

You are trading for higher distortion and noise from the AVR. I suspect that is not a win, pushing the AVR to max output and pushing its noise through the amp.

Agree, but I guess when used with my eversolo a8 for 2 channel listening through the mono amps , low gain on amp and -10db on A8 results in best performance . In my current small room I can’t go pass -15db in eversolo , this is where test tone sits at 85db spl .

Amir found better dynamic range above between -10db to 0db range .

Eversolo DMP-A8 Balanced Streamer/DAC Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Eversolo DMP-A8 balanced DAC, Streamer, HDMI ARC, and Analog/digital Preamplifier with DSP support. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $1,980. The DMP-A8 is stylish and functional in every sense of the words. Running Android with a...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[dan_uk]

No issues . In fact that’s the amp that made no difference in compare with AHB2 as mono . My speaker cables are short because they are expensive to go any longer , that’s why mono setup was my option . Buckeye mono pair was cheaper than Apollon or Nord .

Which country are you based in, US?

 

[sandeep_s300]

Which country are you based in, US?

AU

 

[amper42]

Agree, but I guess when used with my eversolo a8 for 2 channel listening through the mono amps , low gain on amp and -10db on A8 results in best performance . In my current small room I can’t go pass -15db in eversolo , this is where test tone sits at 85db spl .

Amir found better dynamic range above between -10db to 0db range .

Eversolo DMP-A8 Balanced Streamer/DAC Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Eversolo DMP-A8 balanced DAC, Streamer, HDMI ARC, and Analog/digital Preamplifier with DSP support. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $1,980. The DMP-A8 is stylish and functional in every sense of the words. Running Android with a...

www.audiosciencereview.com

You may be trying to overthink the importance of using the low/medium gain setting on the amp. My guess is if you switch between high gain and a lower gain setting on the amp and adjust to volume match you won't hear any difference in the quality of the music. Small differences in measurements don't always translate into an audible difference in sound. There is value in using class D amps in high gain mode which is typically still less gain than most AB amps.

If you can hear a difference between Low/Medium/High gain settings then use the one you like best. But don't expect an amp setup in low/medium gain to noticeably impact audible distortion. The lower gain settings simply require additional gain from the pre-amp. In some cases, the pre-amp can accommodate the need gracefully. In other cases, it may simply create a gain starved, under powered setup.

 

[sandeep_s300]

You may be trying to overthink the importance of using the low/medium gain setting on the amp. My guess is if you switch between high gain and a lower gain setting on the amp and adjust to volume match you won't hear any difference in the quality of the music. Small differences in measurements don't always translate into an audible difference in sound. There is value in using class D amps in high gain mode which is typically still less gain than most AB amps.

If you can hear a difference between Low/Medium/High gain settings then use the one you like best. But don't expect an amp setup in low/medium gain to noticeably impact audible distortion. The lower gain settings simply require additional gain from the pre-amp. In some cases, the pre-amp can accommodate the need gracefully. In other cases, it may simply create a gain starved, under powered setup.

We learn something everyday .

Tried all gain settings and when db matched , no audible difference . Played 16bit to dsd, still no difference . The difference I found is from stereo to mono

 

[DonH56]

Agree, but I guess when used with my eversolo a8 for 2 channel listening through the mono amps , low gain on amp and -10db on A8 results in best performance . In my current small room I can’t go pass -15db in eversolo , this is where test tone sits at 85db spl .

Amir found better dynamic range above between -10db to 0db range .

Eversolo DMP-A8 Balanced Streamer/DAC Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Eversolo DMP-A8 balanced DAC, Streamer, HDMI ARC, and Analog/digital Preamplifier with DSP support. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $1,980. The DMP-A8 is stylish and functional in every sense of the words. Running Android with a...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Distortion will be lower from the source (Eversolo) when it is delivering less signal, which would require higher gain from the amplifier. Source noise will also be amplified more, but if you are not hearing excessive noise, high gain will provide better performance.

I suspect you won't be able to tell given you are not near the limits of the source (or presumably the amp), but unless noise is objectionable I would err on the side of higher gain to ensure the source does not clip. Peak-to-average for well-recorded music runs around 17 dB so at -15 dB you could be clipping on louder passages.

Optimizing a gain chain for performance based upon distortion and noise gets complicated. I have a thread on it here that is just scratching the surface, but is still a long read if you have never worked it out.

The Signal Chain: How do noise and distortion propagate through my system?

This article is to explore how noise and distortion change through our system, and how different components can influence the final output. A common question is “If I have DAC A, preamp B, and amp C, where should I set the volume and gain controls for the best performance?” Usually this...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[YSDR]

Distortion will be lower from the source (Eversolo) when it is delivering less signal

Really? It seems the best performance from the Eversolo (or other technically decent DACs) comes when its output is near the rated maximum.



https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...lo-dmp-a8-balanced-streamer-dac-review.55826/

The max output is 4.4V on XLR. Of course that's not enough to get max output from a bufferless NCx500, but high enough for typical domestic listening levels and if there is a situation where it is not enough, you just have to turn on the buffer and you are done.