Reasons to go with Purifi 9040s over Nilai

[blackiridium]

Hi everyone, I'm in the system building stage and have figured out the speakers; ATC SCM20s and DAC, MiniDsp HTx. I'm now trying to finalize my amp selection. Initially I was looking at the new Nilai DIY amp. I've been researching the new Purifi 9040 modules and their efficiency and lower heat levels speak to me. The amp is going to be inside a closed cabinet so heat management is going to be an issue. This was the original reasoning for my choosing the Nilais over the Ncore modules. I wanted to get other people's feedback on this choice.
My other predicament is whether to go with monoblocs or a dual mono or stereo option. There is a bit of a WAF factor here. I was thinking that I *might* add a sub later down the line and if I went with monoblocks now, it would mean three amps in the future.
Lastly, I've been debating between manufacturers. Buckeye seems to be great. I'm just not a huge fan of their cases. Nord seems to have really nice aluminum cases with good heat management. The other brands are out of budget.
I'd love anyone's feedback on my options here or any comments and/or suggestions.

 

[sarieri]

Silicons are not human body. It can endure much higher temp. Read through Ncore module’s manual and you will find Hypex recommend heatsink of 2.5mm thickness for Ncx500 no fan needed.
Dual mono and stereo depends on how much power/continuous power you need.

 

[blackiridium]

Silicons are not human body. It can endure much higher temp. Read through Ncore module’s manual and you will find Hypex recommend heatsink of 2.5mm thickness for Ncx500 no fan needed.
Dual mono and stereo depends on how much power/continuous power you need.

Thanks. I understand the Nilai has even better thermal characteristics from the ncx500 model? The question then is whether to go with the Nilai or the Purifi 9040s

 

[Buckeye Amps]

Thanks. I understand the Nilai has even better thermal characteristics from the ncx500 model? The question then is whether to go with the Nilai or the Purifi 9040s

You will not hear a difference between them in terms of what others might advertise as "sonic signature" or a whole host of other adjectives that could be though up.
Both are going to be transparent/neutral (flat response, imperceptible distortion and noise floors).

It mainly comes down to if you need (or, as others sometimes decide, want) the extra power and current of the 9040 over the Nilai.

 

[blackiridium]

I’ll be using a pair of ATC Scm20 bookshelves.

 

[Koeitje]

Its not going to matter. If you want the best possible sound quality for your money I'd go with better speakers instead (if you haven't bought them yet)

 

[blackiridium]

I already ordered the speakers

 

[Sokel]

There's a nice paper by Hypex about it,here's some parts of it:






Full paper with the calcs needed for 1/3rd and 1/8th of rated power examples here:

https://www.hypex.nl/media/b8/33/ac/1686146768/AN_Thermal_design.pdf

 

[Koeitje]

I already ordered the speakers

Then just pick the cheapest of the two amps. All amps sound the same when operated within their limits, and both your options will easily drive these speakers.

 

[EdW]

The purifi amp is clearly in a different quality league than the ATC SCM20 loudspeaker. As is, to a slightly lesser extent, the Nilai
I cannot see any detailed measurements on the web for the ATC speaker bar one comment that the impedance minimum is 5.5 ohm so the rather weaker current drive capability of the Nilai amp should be fine if this is the case. Nevertheless I’d go for the mono amps with better current delivery than the power supply limited stereo amp

 

[JustJones]

The Purifi 400a, Hypex NCx500 would be enough Amp for those speakers from looking at their specs. I'd probably save a few $$ and go with the older NC502MP but I'm naturally cheap.

 

[blackiridium]

Well the dual mono Nilai is about 1800 Euros, in terms of USD, I could get a newer purifi 9040 for a few hundred more

 

[JustJones]

There is a bit of a WAF factor here. I was thinking that I *might* add a sub later down the line and if I went with monoblocks now, it would mean three amps in the future.

There might be a few consumer subwoofers that still have outboard amps ( like the old NHT subs) but most are built in the subwoofer cabinet now.

 

[terryforsythe]

All amps sound the same when operated within their limits

That has not been my experience. I have heard tube amps with pathetic bass response and too much harmonic distortion for my taste.

That being said, once you get into good solid state amps, they do start to sound the same, i.e., transparent.

 

[Verig]

Take either, you won't be taxing the amp so much for it to matter that much. Stereo is fine, I don't see a reason for monos.

I'd say you will get a sub later. SC20's don't have anything I'd call bass, they drop off at 60Hz. You can play them loud for sure, my friend had them for a while, but for actual bass they need a sub.

impedance minimum is 5.5 ohm so the rather weaker current drive capability of the Nilai amp should be fine if this is the case.

8 nominal and 5.5 minimum. Very easy. Either amp can provide this without even noticing. They're very inefficient though, around 82 if I remember correctly, but that's not a problem either for the amps we're looking at.

Edit: They've made SCM20 for 35(?) years and I'm not sure how many versions exist so a new version could be slightly different.

 

[Buckeye Amps]

With those speakers, I would save a bunch of money and get a 2ch Hypex NC252MP or NC502MP.

 

[blackiridium]

With those speakers, I would save a bunch of money and get a 2ch Hypex NC252MP or NC502MP.

So heat in a completely enclosed cabinets won’t be an issue with these versions?

 

[restorer-john]

So heat in a completely enclosed cabinets won’t be an issue with these versions?

It's a recipe for premature failure. The NC-252MP runs quite warm at idle and it needs adequate heatsinking to ambient air. At elevated levels, even more so.

 

[blackiridium]

It's a recipe for premature failure. The NC-252MP runs quite warm at idle and it needs adequate heatsinking to ambient air. At elevated levels, even more so.

This was the reason I preferred Purifi as they tend to be very heat efficient

 

[restorer-john]

This was the reason I preferred Purifi as they tend to be very heat efficient

If you are mounting the amplifier/s thermally coupled to an aluminium plate with finned vertical heatsinks to the outside/ambient air on the rear of the speaker/s you may be able to operate them somewhat reliably. The power supplies would also need effective coupling to such a heatsink and the outside/ambient air.

Placing any heat producing components in a sealed box is not sensible.