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On the fence ready to buy VTV 1ET400A Purifi or VTV NC502MP hypex...?
- Thread starter IowAudio
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Same here.
I haven't owned those exact models but have owned both a Hypex NC252MP and Purifi with VTV buffer and Sparkos SS3602 op amps. Both were very good, but IMHO, the Purifi is significantly better having superior transparency and dynamics. (This judgment is subjective, and as some would say, might only be my imagination 
)
)I haven't owned those exact models but have owned both a Hypex NC252MP and Purifi with VTV buffer and Sparkos SS3602 op amps. Both were very good, but IMHO, the Purifi is significantly better having superior transparency and dynamics. (This judgment is subjective, and as some would say, might only be my imagination
And it wouldn't be hard to imagine the superior transparency that $300 more should get you.
"Only bats can hear the difference."
(half minute laughing at this genial joke and compelling truth)
(half minute laughing at this genial joke and compelling truth)
I dunno. A friend of mine who was an accounting professor just sold his house for like $6 million, so pursuing numbers worked out pretty well for him.
Purifi needs a buffer and most companies try to save money and provide their own buffer which worsens the performance.
nCore does not need buffer, so there is less chance for manufacturers to screw the design. No custom schemes/chips needed.
So, my vote goes to nCore.
Then there r cheap nCore "clones/redisigns" ...
Purifi needs a buffer and most companies try to save money and provide their own buffer which worsens the performance.
nCore does not need buffer, so there is less chance for manufacturers to screw the design. No custom schemes/chips needed.
So, my vote goes to nCore.
Then there r cheap nCore "clones/redisigns" ...
To avoid having the make the buffer choice decision, one can opt for the Eigenkat model such as NAD, VTV's, or DIY though only two channels are offered (except for the DIY route I guess).
Just got my first Buckeye amp, NC502MP. I like it a lot so far, see no reason to buy the much more expensive brand name ones such as NAD and ATI's. The Ghent audio case does look very plain, basic and may not look good enough to some, but for money it looks good enough to me.
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That's why I bought from VTV, got it within a few days and yes it would have cost me much more to buy the parts for DIY even if the PSU was available (it wasn't at the time). Clearly Purifi isn't keen on people building it themselves.
Well, sure, that could be. Or my subjective appraisal could be based on the better objective measurements for the Purifi.And it wouldn't be hard to imagine the superior transparency that $300 more should get you.
@peng - Now that you have both the Purifi from VTV and the NC502MP from Buckeye would you be willing to share which one is your favorite sound wise? Thanks!
Schollaudio
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Get yourself a nice little piece of wood (or whatever) and prop it up in front.Just got my first Buckeye amp, NC502MP. I like it a lot so far, see no reason to by the much more expensive brand name ones such as NAD and ATI's. The Ghent audio case does look very plain, basic and may not look good enough to some, but for money it looks good enough to me.
Again, to me it looks good enough. I actually thought the Ghentaudio cases look better than many brand name power amps. It just look so weird that this 350/500 W NCore amp is so much smaller than all my preamps including my Sonica and HA-1 headphone amps. The VTV Eigentakt amp is at least larger than the Oppos. So when put them side by side it will take some time getting use to.
It is going to take some time to find out if I would actually favor one over the other in terms of "favorite sound wise..". At the moment, my impression is that this thing does not have a different sound than any of my other amps. May be because of the engineer thing, I am biased in the sense that I know specs and measurements are all one needs, anything the ears/brains tell us are not anecdotal, and in a blind listening comparison all such amps will in fact do the same "sound wise".
If you look at the pretty comprehensive ASR measurements (a lot more than just SINAD) will not support any claims of one being more transparent than the other unless those who make such claims did their comparisons in tightly controlled tests and followed DBT protocol.
Regardless, I can certainly post my subjective findings, but it will take at least a few days for me to do some serious music listening using the best media contents I have in my collection.
If the Purifi and the NC502MP are indistinguishable to your ear and feature taste then the NC502MP at 40% less (or more) than the Purifi seems like an easy choice.
My Buckeye NC502MP amps (stock case) are scheduled to arrive mid. Dec. It will be interesting to compare them to my March Audio P452 Purifi amp. My Purifi amp is really clear and powerful. But it makes a soft single "tick" in the speakers when it's first turned on. Do you hear any noise from the Buckeye NC502MP when turned on or off?
That silver front plate is very nice! Congrats.Again, to me it looks good enough. I actually thought the Ghentaudio cases look better than many brand name power amps. It just look so weird that this 350/500 W NCore amp is so much smaller than all my preamps including my Sonica and HA-1 headphone amps. The VTV Eigentakt amp is at least larger than the Oppos. So when put them side by side it will take some time getting use to.
View attachment 165340
Too early for me to say, but I do like the bigger case for the Purifi and it seems to run cooler probably because of that single fact. You can see that its size is comparable to the Sonica DAC's, still much smaller than my smallest preamp.
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