I have been shopping for an amp and came across this site which looks interesting.
https://www.kjfaudio.com/hypex-amplifiers/
You have up to 4 slots to populate the Amplifier with (up to 8 channels) with the following amplifier modules:
NC122MP
NC250MP
NC252MP
NC500MP
NC502MP
NC100HF
It looks to have come from a successful kickstarter campaign (link). Looks to have been a really well thought out product offering something different. Being able to mix modules and do it in up to 8 channels provides some interesting options for those with active speakers, wanting 1 amp for both main speakers and a sub, or an 8 channel home theater amp. While shipping doesn't show up as an option to the U.S. yet, I chatted with them and they can do it and will provide a shipping quote for U.S. customers.
Some more interesting info.
"Built around a single circuit board containing all of the connectors and electronics the microprocessor-controlled circuit provides all the back panel Inputs and house keeping duties required by the amplifier modules and provides a simple user interface. Each amplifier module provides feedback about it’s status to the housekeeping board, electrical status, temperature, DC detection, and clipping are all monitored, recorded and presented to the user. Error states are displayed on the RGB LED ring around the single push button on the front of the case and modules are shut down under extreme conditions.
The controller also controls the on board dual near silent 120mm PWM fans. 6 x 500 Watt amps or 8 x 250 Watt amps can pull a lot of current! Class-D amps are magnitudes more efficient than Class-A some heat is still produced which needs to be controlled. A lot of manufactures ignore this because of the efficiencies of class D amplifiers and for the most part that is OK, I wanted to ensure cool running in as many environments as possible. Due to keeping the costs affordable, huge heat sinks were out, we decided on 2 large silent pulse width-controlled fans. The internal temperature of the amplifiers is fed back to the microprocessor which in turn can regulate thermal limits. If the amplifiers start operating above their nominal range the microprocessor starts turning the fan slowly enough that they are inaudible, pushing the volume and potentially the temperature even higher, the fans speed up to compensate, even at full RPM they are <20dbA. They are electrically isolated from the rest of the system so as not to interfere with delicate audio signals in the rest of the amp.
The amplifier modules are fully differential (balanced) and so it is possible to connect both fully balanced sources or single ended sources. I looked at the engineering of the competition and almost without exception they provide both an XLR for balanced connections and a phono for single ended connections, however, you can only use one at a time so there is a switch provided to switch to one or the other. I didn’t want a switch in the signal path on this amp so I decided to use the much more modern combo connector from Neutrik which can provide either a balanced or single ended connection via gold plated pins directly to the gold traces on the PCB. Balanced connection is achieved via the tried and tested (AES 48 compliant) XLR cables and single ended sources via a phono to XLR cable, which will provide a shielded cable run or any unbalanced cable with a ¼ inch TR (tip/ring) connector one end, which will also insert directly into the combo connector. OK, your posh audiophile cable with solid silver phono plugs either end will be redundant, but you’ll be using high quality well designed industry standard connectors instead. "
https://www.kjfaudio.com/hypex-amplifiers/
You have up to 4 slots to populate the Amplifier with (up to 8 channels) with the following amplifier modules:
NC122MP
NC250MP
NC252MP
NC500MP
NC502MP
NC100HF
It looks to have come from a successful kickstarter campaign (link). Looks to have been a really well thought out product offering something different. Being able to mix modules and do it in up to 8 channels provides some interesting options for those with active speakers, wanting 1 amp for both main speakers and a sub, or an 8 channel home theater amp. While shipping doesn't show up as an option to the U.S. yet, I chatted with them and they can do it and will provide a shipping quote for U.S. customers.
Some more interesting info.
"Built around a single circuit board containing all of the connectors and electronics the microprocessor-controlled circuit provides all the back panel Inputs and house keeping duties required by the amplifier modules and provides a simple user interface. Each amplifier module provides feedback about it’s status to the housekeeping board, electrical status, temperature, DC detection, and clipping are all monitored, recorded and presented to the user. Error states are displayed on the RGB LED ring around the single push button on the front of the case and modules are shut down under extreme conditions.
The controller also controls the on board dual near silent 120mm PWM fans. 6 x 500 Watt amps or 8 x 250 Watt amps can pull a lot of current! Class-D amps are magnitudes more efficient than Class-A some heat is still produced which needs to be controlled. A lot of manufactures ignore this because of the efficiencies of class D amplifiers and for the most part that is OK, I wanted to ensure cool running in as many environments as possible. Due to keeping the costs affordable, huge heat sinks were out, we decided on 2 large silent pulse width-controlled fans. The internal temperature of the amplifiers is fed back to the microprocessor which in turn can regulate thermal limits. If the amplifiers start operating above their nominal range the microprocessor starts turning the fan slowly enough that they are inaudible, pushing the volume and potentially the temperature even higher, the fans speed up to compensate, even at full RPM they are <20dbA. They are electrically isolated from the rest of the system so as not to interfere with delicate audio signals in the rest of the amp.
The amplifier modules are fully differential (balanced) and so it is possible to connect both fully balanced sources or single ended sources. I looked at the engineering of the competition and almost without exception they provide both an XLR for balanced connections and a phono for single ended connections, however, you can only use one at a time so there is a switch provided to switch to one or the other. I didn’t want a switch in the signal path on this amp so I decided to use the much more modern combo connector from Neutrik which can provide either a balanced or single ended connection via gold plated pins directly to the gold traces on the PCB. Balanced connection is achieved via the tried and tested (AES 48 compliant) XLR cables and single ended sources via a phono to XLR cable, which will provide a shielded cable run or any unbalanced cable with a ¼ inch TR (tip/ring) connector one end, which will also insert directly into the combo connector. OK, your posh audiophile cable with solid silver phono plugs either end will be redundant, but you’ll be using high quality well designed industry standard connectors instead. "
