I wouldn't call a bright LED an obvious flaw. Be thankful that they included one at that price.
I think it's a very, VERY attractive proposition and think i might get one for myself. Would be my very first Class D.
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Impressions and internal photos of the Audiophonics MPA-S250NC
- Thread starter ferongr
- Start date
I think it's a very, VERY attractive proposition and think i might get one for myself. Would be my very first Class D.
MakeMineVinyl
Major Contributor
Actually, no. Adding these features above the most basic ones performed by the microcontroller ($1.50 part mounted on a PCB which is already there) such as turn-on surge sequencing and handling the trigger, costs nothing. Its just programming. I think you're trying to make a lot more of the cost to do what we're doing than is actually true. Me writing 10 lines of code costs the same as me writing 10,000 lines of code in our context. Including more capabilities and diagnostics adds value but doesn't add more cost. That's the point.
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I see. I was under the assumption that adding actual parts, writing the code, QA testing and all that, would add a considerable amount of cost, as it does in many industries. It's probably a smaller scale that you operate at and that offers some relief from regulations and so on.Actually, no. Adding these features above the most basic ones performed by the microcontroller ($1.50 part mounted on a PCB which is already there) such as turn-on surge sequencing and handling the trigger, costs nothing. Its just programming. I think you're trying to make a lot more of the cost to do what we're doing than is actually true. Me writing 10 lines of code costs the same as me writing 10,000 lines of code in our context. Including more capabilities and diagnostics adds value but doesn't add more cost. That's the point.
Anyway, added value without much more cost is always welcome.
MakeMineVinyl
Major Contributor
While we're 'large' for an audio manufacturer, in the realm of overall manufacturing, we're small.I see. I was under the assumption that adding actual parts, writing the code, QA testing and all that, would add a considerable amount of cost, as it does in many industries. It's probably a smaller scale that you operate at and that offers some relief from regulations and so on.
Anyway, added value without much more cost is always welcome.
The nice thing about microcontrollers is that there's usually not any need for extra parts beyond those which would be there anyway if there wasn't a microcontroller, so there's no cost penalty beyond the rather trivial cost of the processor, but there can be a huge increase of capabilities. For instance, the diagnostics store faults in memory so that owners can tell the factory what the nature of a problem is on a very granular level. This can avoid having to send back an entire power amplifier.
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Ordered one. I'll blame OP if it doesn't beat my Yamaha amp.
Got mine, RCA as well.I received my MPA-S250NC (with the RCA config, deal with it
Same, it's now almost march 2022, quality seems to be consistent.
Do these have a name or known maker? I like them, would like to buy a bunch.
Yeah, first time i could hear my preamps (Yamaha A-S 1200, pre-out, speakers off) volume switching. The Yamaha measures a variable resistor and switches preamplification electronically. Before, it was drowned in the amp sections hiss. Of course you have to glue your ear to the tweeter and turn everything up to the max, so nothing of meaning while listening to music. Still, interesting.
I have measured the case. Ambient is 21°C, standby is 21 as well, idle is 31.1 and playing moderately loud is 31.9, dropping quickly to 31.1 again. Measured the enclosures top, halfway between the cooling openings and the front.
Right, has no sound i could detect either. Also, there is no audible hiss at all, unlike my Yamaha A-S 1200 amp section (turned to full power, ear on the tweeter).
BTW, i'm sending mine back. Makes no audible difference to me, and i really don't need that much power, so there is no need to keep it around.
If i had nothing and would have to buy something anyways, this amp would be on top of the list. Add a MiniDSP SHD or Flex, a RPi with Moode as streamer, and you have a very small, high value, high quality system.
Alou
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Hello to all,
i ordered one xlr version, and it arrives super fast in 2days within EU to replace a a pair of populse t150ce i use in my office.
Audiophonics service is excellent and the reply extremely fast!
But i was so so disappointed with the amp in terms of sound quality and music reproduction!The amp is super clean ,no noise no hum ,no sound hiss coming from tweeters even at point blank but its not for music .At least compared to the poppulse and and old Sony Balanced Studio amp i use from the 90's. This is my second attempt to buy new gen chip amps .2 years ago i got an edge 3200 and the sound was also very bad and without detail.Reading so much about hypex all these time i said to try the 252 module,I don't need any more power than 100-130 watts ,i drive an renovated and upgraded pair of Transmission line speakers form the 70's (Rated 40watt rms ,90 peak ) ,rare and precious their sound is just magic.
So i got the MPA-S250NC hooked up with dx7 pro via xlr and firwst thing i notice was that the power sensitivity was about -10-12 db lower ,volume on the dx7 was around -40db when the sound was at normal playback in the room and now it goes all the way up to -28 to start playing at room levels ,i am speaking room levels not very loud. Its like i got an RCA (-10db version) which i didnt. Then comes the sound ,everything is clean ,sharp but no detail ! Timing is fine but no muscle on the vocals, drums sounds like beating pots, sound is very detailed but instruments have flat character and dull gray sound. The worst is on the highs no separation sounds like someone has placed a compressor! I am music producer ,not my main profession, but i listen to my tracks and on the highs it gets very very compressed almost hearing sibling . To be honest its the cleanest amp i ever hears but musically its not there. After 1 hour of playback it was not a pleasure anymore since i was looking for details that i know they are there but coudnt listen to them .They were all muffled like a soup!
Also for their price i expected them to sound proper. Also the Edge i tried was ICE power base and was similar ,even worse so to speak. I am surprised that my old Poppulse t150cd a simple Chinese amp sounded and still sound better then my Mark Levinson and Bryston amps and the hypex. Actually the difference is day and night!
So i try to find one now used or new and they disappeared.One of the two (they are bridged to mono) blows the fuses upon power on with out any connections. I might be something simple but i no loner have equipment to check besides an ohm polymeter.
I really don't know what to do now ,return it ? There are no defaults its just the way it sounds,i guess all these new chip amps are good for PA perhaps but not for music.I had very high hopes after reading all the articles here but no they don't produce what i expected.
I will listen for a couple of days but i guess it would go back and i one again run out of options for a quality budget amp! No Ice power No hypex.
Any tips ? Return it and get what ?
i ordered one xlr version, and it arrives super fast in 2days within EU to replace a a pair of populse t150ce i use in my office.
Audiophonics service is excellent and the reply extremely fast!
But i was so so disappointed with the amp in terms of sound quality and music reproduction!The amp is super clean ,no noise no hum ,no sound hiss coming from tweeters even at point blank but its not for music .At least compared to the poppulse and and old Sony Balanced Studio amp i use from the 90's. This is my second attempt to buy new gen chip amps .2 years ago i got an edge 3200 and the sound was also very bad and without detail.Reading so much about hypex all these time i said to try the 252 module,I don't need any more power than 100-130 watts ,i drive an renovated and upgraded pair of Transmission line speakers form the 70's (Rated 40watt rms ,90 peak ) ,rare and precious their sound is just magic.
So i got the MPA-S250NC hooked up with dx7 pro via xlr and firwst thing i notice was that the power sensitivity was about -10-12 db lower ,volume on the dx7 was around -40db when the sound was at normal playback in the room and now it goes all the way up to -28 to start playing at room levels ,i am speaking room levels not very loud. Its like i got an RCA (-10db version) which i didnt. Then comes the sound ,everything is clean ,sharp but no detail ! Timing is fine but no muscle on the vocals, drums sounds like beating pots, sound is very detailed but instruments have flat character and dull gray sound. The worst is on the highs no separation sounds like someone has placed a compressor! I am music producer ,not my main profession, but i listen to my tracks and on the highs it gets very very compressed almost hearing sibling . To be honest its the cleanest amp i ever hears but musically its not there. After 1 hour of playback it was not a pleasure anymore since i was looking for details that i know they are there but coudnt listen to them .They were all muffled like a soup!
Also for their price i expected them to sound proper. Also the Edge i tried was ICE power base and was similar ,even worse so to speak. I am surprised that my old Poppulse t150cd a simple Chinese amp sounded and still sound better then my Mark Levinson and Bryston amps and the hypex. Actually the difference is day and night!
So i try to find one now used or new and they disappeared.One of the two (they are bridged to mono) blows the fuses upon power on with out any connections. I might be something simple but i no loner have equipment to check besides an ohm polymeter.
I really don't know what to do now ,return it ? There are no defaults its just the way it sounds,i guess all these new chip amps are good for PA perhaps but not for music.I had very high hopes after reading all the articles here but no they don't produce what i expected.
I will listen for a couple of days but i guess it would go back and i one again run out of options for a quality budget amp! No Ice power No hypex.
Any tips ? Return it and get what ?
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It is not up to you to decide if you're subjected to bias or not.
My two cents, but I see plenty in your subjective evaluation.Besides, what does that mean anyway?
cybernaut667
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If you're in Europe I willing to buy it
Alou
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First i meant to say " sound is very detailed is not detailed but instruments have flat character and dull gray sound....Sorry typo mistake.
Its very simple ,you have the same set up and you only replace an amp ,sound is not the same anymore its missing detail.
Maybe its not for me. Same thing was with the ICE power amp. Thats all. Ι Just wonder why such a good spec amp does not sound as good as i thought for me. Sound is also personal.
Yes i am in Europe and in the EU. This is my second day of listening but its still sounds the same so far .
Its very simple ,you have the same set up and you only replace an amp ,sound is not the same anymore its missing detail.
Maybe its not for me. Same thing was with the ICE power amp. Thats all. Ι Just wonder why such a good spec amp does not sound as good as i thought for me. Sound is also personal.
Yes i am in Europe and in the EU. This is my second day of listening but its still sounds the same so far .
cybernaut667
Member
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Sound is not personal.
Music taste, yes, of course,
preferences in production maybe,
but that's another thing..
measurements are not personal.
It is what it is
Music taste, yes, of course,
preferences in production maybe,
but that's another thing..
measurements are not personal.
It is what it is
Alou
Active Member
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I wont argue with you in fact i agree but you either like how something how it sounds or you dont.
But that's not the topic here , anyway its getting out of subject and perhaps i was misunderstood so ,
i will just try to listen to it for a few more days and decide.
Thanks for your replies.
But that's not the topic here , anyway its getting out of subject and perhaps i was misunderstood so ,
i will just try to listen to it for a few more days and decide.
Thanks for your replies.
cybernaut667
Member
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Ok friend ! but the thing is that a good amplifier shouldn't sound like nothing more except what you ask it to amplify. The music. Or something.
There is no such thing as "how it sounds like".
Still, let me know if you decide to sell it
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