ICEpower Conductor

[Matias]

New tech from ICEpower announced.

The prototype is already around SINAD 102 (1kHz 5W into 4 ohms) with ~300W (1% THD+N of 1kHz into 4 ohms) and no rise around the knee. And with 6.67 kHz riding along with the 1 kHz, the old limitations of HCOM seem to have been solved.

The Hunt for Better Audio - ICEpower

icepoweraudio.com

 

[maty]

PHASE: 15º at 20 kHz, much better than before but...

PS: the phase is important to me (this week I linearized the phase of my KEF Q100 coaxial modified with the help of rePhase: I notice the difference and... I like more the the sound!).

 

[Anthony LoFi]

New tech from ICEpower announced.

The Hunt for Better Audio - ICEpower

icepoweraudio.com

Hi M,
Good thread.
Biquads !
Is this a first ?, Im not a amp tech so may wait until more knowledgeable heads comment.
Class D is getting so good technically, has so many advantages over transformer supply based designs, just for size and heat for e.g.
They are only getting better as each major design team go for the extremes in meeting crucial specifications.
Similar to the way we have seen DAC/ADC technology get so good (SINAD) in such a short time.
And at prices most hobbyists can afford.
Lifes good.

 

[Matias]

IMO this is almost NCoreX and Eigentakt level, tiny bit more IMD but still excellent.

Can't wait for them to refresh the 125ASX2 module, which AFAIK was very popular. Hopefully keeping the same board size, holes and pins for compatibility, allowing the end user to upgrade and manufacturers to just order the new part without adapting designs, like Hypex NCx500 OEM was to NC500 OEM.

 

[Sokel]

6.6Khz is even lower than 1Khz on the chart.
I suspect I'll have to pull couple of plugs off my 300a2,snap Conductor in and be done with it (gain is similar).

 

[Matias]

Hi M,
Good thread.
Biquads !
Is this a first ?, Im not a amp tech so may wait until more knowledgeable heads comment.
Class D is getting so good technically, has so many advantages over transformer supply based designs, just for size and heat for e.g.
They are only getting better as each major design team go for the extremes in meeting crucial specifications.
Similar to the way we have seen DAC/ADC technology get so good (SINAD) in such a short time.
And at prices most hobbyists can afford.
Lifes good.

I don't know about biquads, so can't comment on that.

But AFAIK ICEpower is very popular outside of the audiophile niche. Think of guitar or bass amplifiers, PA amplifiers, etc. When they eventually upgrade their amps to this new Conductor tech, there is an entire industry that is going to benefit. High performance class D used on live amplified sound, that is going to be awesome.

 

[TNT]

PHASE: 15º at 20 kHz, much better than before but...

View attachment 294191

PS: the phase is important to me (this week I linearized the phase of my KEF Q100 coaxial modified with the help of rePhase: I notice the difference and... I like more the the sound!).

So why didn't you also include the amp phase deviation into your compensation?

//

 

[maty]

Months ago I also tried to linearize the phase of the KEF Q100. At first I liked it but soon I preferred to go back to the previous one. I think it took about 20 minutes to generate the file. I commented about it in my own thread on Twitter.

I like more the old impulse-Junio-2020-mono / stereo

https://twitter.com/x/status/1670837150324080643

 

[mocenigo]

Any updates on this tech?

 

[Matias]

Any updates on this tech?

AFAIK only applied in a silent revision of the 125ASX2.

ICEPower 125ASX2 Class D Amplifier Review

This 125ASX2 was hugely popular, can't wait for ICEpower to refresh it with their latest and greatest tech to reduce noise and distortion even further, hopefully keeping the same board size and connections so that it becomes a plug n' play swap upgrade.

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[mocenigo]

Any updates on this tech?

AFAIK only applied in a silent revision of the 125ASX2.

ICEPower 125ASX2 Class D Amplifier Review

This 125ASX2 was hugely popular, can't wait for ICEpower to refresh it with their latest and greatest tech to reduce noise and distortion even further, hopefully keeping the same board size and connections so that it becomes a plug n' play swap upgrade.

www.audiosciencereview.com

Thank you very much. I missed it. Clearly, they haven’t been able yet to improve it beyond Hypex and Purifi from the SINAD point of view, but if the other properties are there — such as a wider bandwidth — this is a very good improvement. More competition is good. A bit weird that it was a silent update…

 

[TNT]

Has anyone got their hands on one of the Conductor version?

//

 

[Sam Ash]

New tech from ICEpower announced.

The prototype is already around SINAD 102 (1kHz 5W into 4 ohms) with ~300W (1% THD+N of 1kHz into 4 ohms) and no rise around the knee. And with 6.67 kHz riding along with the 1 kHz, the old limitations of HCOM seem to have been solved.

This is very interesting...

 

[Rodo]

Update:

50ASX2 – 125ASX2 – 700AS1 – 700AS2 updated to "conductor" topology, more modules will follow.

From icepower blog
Youtube video, also embedded in blog.

Right now, only 125ASX2 has the updated datasheet, as found from members sometime ago.

 

[Matias]

Yes, they announced today what users found out 6 months ago... great job announcing, perfect timing!

 

[Rodo]

Better late than never! Their PR is a little bored. Their delay maybe concerns their supply chain. First testing the market with a silent introduction of their new topology in one of their best selling modules and then expand. Also as mentioned in news they prioritize support for their existing customers. So getting rid from stock, have a good feedback from a pilot module and continue with updatin their existing line module form factor took them half a year. Not that bad. Next step could be their presence in forums like this as their OEM only days are gone and I am sure they take a lot of feedback from forums now.

 

[valerianf]

The first datasheet is announcing nice performances: no load dependency, low distortion including in the high frequencies, low noise floor.
Let us see what the more powerful units will be cable of.

 

[voodooless]

It’s indeed strange marketing. You’d think that for such a big improvement they would introduce a line of new models? That would also offer opportunities fora price hike…

 

[Sokel]

Next step could be their presence in forums like this as their OEM only days are gone and I am sure they take a lot of feedback from forums now.

Judging by their language at the original Conductor introduction article they must be well into forums, just silently
For us previous costumers it's nice to have the opportunity to upgrade 300a2's* for example for beer money and with no hustle at all as the new ones should fit the older.

*I'm sure it will be inaudible, improving -100dB THD+N at 1kHz to a couple dBs lower don't say much but go higher and the (psychological) itch is there.
No load dependency on the older Edge versions (like the 1200as2,300a2, 400a2, etc) too and as far as it goes for driving we have this reassurance at least:





Let's wait and see...

 

[Matias]

It’s indeed strange marketing. You’d think that for such a big improvement they would introduce a line of new models? That would also offer opportunities fora price hike…

Thankfully they upgraded the current line so that manufacturers and end uses can just swap. IMO it was a great decision. These should be as modular as possible and replaceable like Lego bricks.