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Review and Measurements of Hypex NC400 DIY Amp

landco

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Maybe the lesson is that even if class D amps are very efficient, they still generate some heat, and need decent air circulation?

DIY Kit-set - it is, in fact, the finished product from the manufacturer. If there is a problem - then it is fault of the manufacturer. If the manufacturer is mistaken in such basic things as housing, cooling - can we trust Hypex Electronics in general?
 

Julf

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DIY Kit-set - it is, in fact, the finished product from the manufacturer. If there is a problem - then it is fault of the manufacturer. If the manufacturer is mistaken in such basic things as housing, cooling - can we trust Hypex Electronics in general?

I didn't see any indication that jmmaher was using the hypex enclosure.
 

Killingbeans

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The Hypex enclosure was introduced relatively recently. It's €165 (some would say that's expensive), and it's for monoblocks only. It's natural to seek other solutions.
 

ironhorse128

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Hypex NC400 amp is a completely redundant solution. You do not need to spend so much of your money to get quality sound in class D.

Graphs and figures in the review are only good for measuring devices, but not for human ears, even if we got much worse result, our ears can not distinguish the difference.

Such high power is not needed for a good home acoustics. Good acoustics works fine, consuming only 5-10 watts.

What would you suggest as a cheaper alternative to the NC400 that would still provide good quality sound for reasonable sound levels? I am in the market for a new amp.
 

Julf

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Very logical assumption - why buy housing somewhere else when the manufacturer offers ready?

Not really a very valid assumption. I didn't use the hypex enclosure (because I didn't want monoblocks), and I have not had heat issues.
 

Willem

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I fear that landco is distributing fake news. Hypex is a much respected company and their products measure exceptionally well. It is not surprising that their OEM products are used by major companies. Fortunately for the consumer Hypex modules are quite affordable - one might even say a bargain.
Apart from their excellent measurements they also are also energy efficient and that matters in this day and age.
 

Julf

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landco

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What would you suggest as a cheaper alternative to the NC400 that would still provide good quality sound for reasonable sound levels? I am in the market for a new amp.

As I said, NC400 - is redundant solution. When you are in search of minimal distortion from your amplifier, you must not forget that the main source of distortions - your speaker system - 1% 2% 3% ... even if you have good speakers.

But this fact prefer to forget brands like HYPEX. All these results of laboratory measurements - no more than a marketing ploy.

If you are not satisfied with ready-made solution and you want to build your own power - turn your attention to IRAUDAMP7S from Infineon Technologies, this solution is significantly cheaper, so, I repeat, you will not hear any difference in the sound.

As for my personal preference, HYPEX I do not like, because, in addition to amplifiers, they trade audiophile cables 200-300 dollars. It seems to me a serious chip manufacturer will not trade audiophile cables :)

Therefore, in my personal taste, Infineon Technologies - this is much more of a company in terms of technology than HYPEX. Earlier Infineon Technologies company was a division of Siemens AG Semiconductor Group.

P.S. More information about the amplifiers based on IRAUDAMP7S you can look at the channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yDSO46soRXRvQyhOfKr9Q/videos

P.P.S. If you want the finished product for a low price, I recommend to pay your attention to the second-hand market of amplifiers class D, eg, Denon DRA-F107, Denon DRA-F109. On paper, the characteristics of the chip is lower than the NC400, but in practice you hardly hear any difference :) for $ 100-150 is a very good offer
 
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March Audio

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As I said, NC400 - is redundant solution. When you are in search of minimal distortion from your amplifier, you must not forget that the main source of distortions - your speaker system - 1% 2% 3% ... even if you have good speakers.

But this fact prefer to forget brands like HYPEX. All these results of laboratory measurements - no more than a marketing ploy.

If you are not satisfied with ready-made solution and you want to build your own power - turn your attention to IRAUDAMP7S from Infineon Technologies, this solution is significantly cheaper, so, I repeat, you will not hear any difference in the sound.

As for my personal preference, HYPEX I do not like, because, in addition to amplifiers, they trade audiophile cables 200-300 dollars. It seems to me a serious chip manufacturer will not trade audiophile cables :)

Therefore, in my personal taste, Infineon Technologies - this is much more of a company in terms of technology than HYPEX. Earlier Infineon Technologies company was a division of Siemens AG Semiconductor Group.

P.S. More information about the amplifiers based on IRAUDAMP7S you can look at the channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yDSO46soRXRvQyhOfKr9Q/videos


If I wanted a load dependant frequency response I would buy a valve amp.

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lots of aspects of its performance are unimpressive

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March Audio

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Haha, good joke. Valve amp - only for lovers of vintage

No joke, valve amps have load dependant frequency responses due to their generally high output impedance.

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If the above is what the IRAUDAMP7S does with a resistive load then I would be fascinated to see how it performs with a varying reactive load a\such as a real speaker.
 
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landco

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lots of aspects of its performance are unimpressive

There is a technique in such a phrase as "necessary and sufficient". Such a performance is sufficient for high-quality sound. Is no longer required, your ears will not feel the difference!
 

March Audio

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There is a technique in such a phrase as "necessary and sufficient". Such a performance is sufficient for high-quality sound. Is no longer required, your ears will not feel the difference!

Yes but there are limits to that. This device IMO does not reach the necessary levels of performance/transparancy.

Please send an amp in for testing by Amir
 

Julf

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If I wanted a load dependant frequency response I would buy a valve amp.

Typical of older generation class D designs that don't include the output filter choke/inductor in the feedback loop.
 

landco

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Please send an amp in for testing by Amir

As I wrote above, laboratory tests are meaningless, because all the results are far below the level of human hearing. Amir needs to be done blind listening test with different acoustics and amplifiers :)
 

Julf

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As I wrote above, laboratory tests are meaningless, because all the results are far below the level of human hearing. Amir needs to be done blind listening test with different acoustics and amplifiers :)

That is a good discussion to have, but totally unrelated to Hypex, class D or anything else in the thread topic.
 

Willem

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Landco, you just found what I think is their most expensive interlink cable. Most of them are below 100 euro, and that is not idiotic for a well made signal cable.
I agree that amplifiers can be cheap, and there are clearly cheaper offerings (I recently bought a 2x250 watt Yamaha P2500s for my son for 300 euro) but these Hypex amplifiers are very competitively priced top of the bill products with high power output. Perhaps surprisingly, the market for very good powerful amplifiers is quite thin if you want to avoid audiophile rip offs.
The alternative that you showed is in fact a good example of the value of measurements, as that amplifier clearly is not a straight wire with gain. There are limits to how low in quality you can go before it becomes audible, and I do not want to waste the quality of my expensive speakers by a substandard power amplifier.
If you have followed some of my posts, you will have seen that for many small to medium sized rooms I have often advocated the cheap (300-600 euro) Yamaha integrated amplifiers. But they only go up to about 2x100 watt. If you need more because you are playing dynamic music in a large room and have inefficient speakers (all three apply in my case) you will need more powerful amplification. My own 2x140 watt Quad 606-2 and 400 watt subwoofer are borderline enough - hence my interest in thse Hypex amplifiers.
 
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