Is Hypex reliable? That is the question!

[Sokel]

Although I agree that the NC252MP has what seems to be a design weakness, probably exasperated by bad thermal.management, this should not drive conclusions on the entire Hypex range. We have sold hundreds on SMPS1200 and did not see single problem.
On a more general note on reliability, part of Hypex customer base is DIYers and ex-DIYers whose precautions against ESD during assembly may not be optimal. This clearly impacts long term reliability.

OEM modules are not suppose to be sold to diyers, isn't that the case with this ones?
Agreed about ESD protections measures, etc of course, although (I think! ) I have seen some of them are pre-certified (like ANSI/ESD-S20.20-2014) for that?

 

[boXem]

OEM modules are not suppose to be sold to diyers, isn't that the case with with this ones?

Indeed, but they are also sold to ex-diyers who decided to make a business out of this. NAD, TEAC and others use Hypex stuff in huge quantities and I do not see horror stories about the reliability of these brands.

 

[Sokel]

NAD, TEAC and others use Hypex stuff in huge quantities and I do not see horror stories about the reliability of these brands.

To tell the truth neither do I apart from the known ones around and a particular one my installers told me about one who was outputting DC for so much time that the ring around the speaker's woofer turned to charcoal. It was a surround speaker and they noticed it from the smell, amp didn't even shut down.

I suppose this is something a lot of amps could do though, at least the ones without DC sens or protection at the output.

 

[somebodyelse]

On a more general note on reliability, part of Hypex customer base is DIYers and ex-DIYers whose precautions against ESD during assembly may not be optimal. This clearly impacts long term reliability.

Not just ESD - sometimes just careless connection. They repaired a friend's UCD180s after he messed up. The UCDs had a more solid connection to the heatsinks, but incorrect usage could still mess them up quickly. I bought them from him a bit after that, and they've now been flawless for 7 years - another 13 to make it to the proposed 20 years.

 

[pma]

The modules are also sold to OEM assemblers and their number has increased because of easy assembly. A case, amp module, SMPS module, wires. You do not need to know much about circuit design and analysis and you do not need to have much production and testing equipment to become an OEM assembler.

BTW, this is the post where @restorer-john described the Nc252mp design issue:

Class D amp long term reliability

Inexpensive today? A little over ten years ago Yamaha produced their NS-1000 speakers for $1000 a pair, and sold many. Today their replacement for the NS-1000 is their NS-5000 for $15,000 a pair, which granted their replacement is quite higher performance, but it sure doesn't seem to me like...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Buckeye Amps]

Having built and shipped close to 5k orders of amplifiers that almost predominantly use some form of Hypex product (whether it be NCORE, NCOREX, or their SMPS lineup), we have not encountered any remarkable/significant failure rate to date.

 

[sigbergaudio]

We've used them since 2020, had zero production related failures.

Had three amps where the surge arresters across the main filter caps have been triggered due to surge on the power grid due to thunder or similar issues. This can be repaired without replacing the full modules on the amp.

One was repaired by Hypex since that customer was actually in the Netherlands, the others locally here in Norway.

 

[Scrivs]

I have two NC252MP, they have build dates of 2019 and 2020.

Both failed around the 5 year mark, both with the same problem--Neither will come out of standby. When AC is applied, there's only one relay click, the output relay won't close.

No physical damage/burnt components on either board (aside from the alu plate warping the PVB).

FWIW, I have eight ICEpower boards going back to 2015. ALL of which are 100% functional, and, to my ears are indistinguishable from the Hypex. Hypex=Over-hyped in the real world (in my own experience).

The Icepower boards are also populated with higher quality parts across the board ime.

 

[wwenze]

Well it didn't fail during warranty period, so it's still true the shops have no returns.

 

[boXem]

Curious to understand why people would try to repair stuff themselves after warranty elapsed without even talking to the seller.
Also curious to understand why the moto is always "my Hypex amp failed once again" and never "my insert_whatever_brand_using_hypex_modules_here failed once again".
And to completely satisfy my curiosity, how is that the word following "Hypex" is always "NC252MP" and people just stop reading at Hypex?

 

[Scrivs]

For the sake of transparency, I bought the modules within the same year on eBay, so read into that what you will. They were both new, and included the invoice from
Hypex,(to original purchaser) which funnily enough, had no $ amounts on it. Same with two NC500s I bought the same way.

Anyway, I might start a separate for it, but it's clear why these modules fail the the way they do- PCBs warp over time-in the same area. This puts mechanical stress on the p
PS switching MOSFETs, which, along with the cold solder joints, causes intermittent, or failed connections.

From my N=2, both warped underneath the stby transformer, which is where the MOSFETS are soldered in by hand, then pushed flush against the board, sandwiched by a silicon heat spreader to the basoplatin. The alu base stays flat, while the board takes up the resulting mechanical stress.

This manifested itself in two different ways on my modules.
1. The PS MOSFETS had completely departed the PCB, and were just sitting on the heat pad (see images).
Good news is no magic smoke came out. Cool. Will digikey later.2. Bad news for board two. All the magic came out of both PS MOSFETS. Also vaporized was R277 and a bevy of extremely tiny SMD components associated with aforementioned MOSFETS (See pictures).

 

[wwenze]

Well, it's good news that the capacitors are not the bottleneck, thus a good cost optimization.

I won't be entirely sure of the failmode of #2 (as in, not blaming it on the board flexing). But bad contact of those components or overheat of those components can do that damage, altho so is switching failure. What components are testing good/bad out of circuit?

 

[Scrivs]

The MOSFETS that simply fell off are in the area under the standby xfrmr that always warps. Ill take pics later. Going to sleep meow

 

[Postlan]

My 5 years old NC252MP is dead. I suddenly saw sparks coming out of the NC252MP case. I opened it up to take a look inside, and found that the top of one 470uF capacitor was bulging, and the MOSFET on the back side had turned completely black. I replaced burned MOSFET and all the capacitors, still no sound.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

Surprised?

 

[Greenman]

I guess with new (relatively) technology it takes a while in the real world to eek out all the different failure modes when subject to end user environments/loads/missuse etc. I wonder if we had the same with transistor amps in the 60s?. Hopefully when quality manufacturers/builders see these failure modes they feed back and work with Hypex/Purifi/etc to refine the designs. When designed and built well I can see no reason why these products shouldn’t be just as reliable as Classic A/B amps…. I’ve had my current Naim amps for 30 years of regular daily punishment with no faults whatsoever (just a couple of recaps). Class D should be subject to lower thermal extremes so should be possible to make reliable.

 

[sigbergaudio]

The problem is mostly poorly designed products with regards to thermal handling, rather than necessarily the amplifier modules themselves. Class AB amplifiers in old subwoofers died all the time as well.

Class D is often packaged into very small cases.

 

[Chr1]

Surely if failure is caused by warping of the modules PCB due to incorrect thermal coupling, and then the consequent failure of its components, it is down to poor design of the module itself though.

 

[somebodyelse]

Surely if failure is caused by warping of the modules PCB and then the consequent failure of its components, it is down to poor design of the module itself though.

Unless the warping is accelerated by, or only occurs if, there is inadequate heatsinking and/or ventilation. So far we have isolated anecdotes, and aren't likely to get much more unless a manufacturer is prepared to share failure stats.

 

[Chr1]

Indeed. It would be good to know. My feeling is that many failures will occur after the warranty period, but still earlier than is reasonable for the life expectancy of a decent modern amplifier.

Regarding amplifier modules within active speakers: Having read enough reports of failures, I was sure to only buy proven designs. Neumann KH310s and BK XXLS400FF subwoofers. Both with time proven reliable A/B amplification.
However, as previously stated here, it is not so much the class of amplification that is relevant when it comes to reliability. More the actual design, particularly the relevance of proper thermal management.