Say "Hello!" to boXem | audio Arthur series, Hypex and Purifi based power amplifiers

[Archsam]

Hi Fred,

Thanks for your time in replying, much appreciated.

Will you be offering mono amps in the future? The more I look into things the more I am leaning towards a pair of higher power monos like the NC400. Truth is I have a pretty good Yamaha integrated already, so it only make sense to move up to more power, instead of going with a Hypex nCore NC252MP which really isn't doing anything different than my Yamaha.

 

[solderdude]

At first glance I thought: did Alan change his logo ?

 

[boXem]

Hi Fred,

Thanks for your time in replying, much appreciated.

Will you be offering mono amps in the future? The more I look into things the more I am leaning towards a pair of higher power monos like the NC400. Truth is I have a pretty good Yamaha integrated already, so it only make sense to move up to more power, instead of going with a Hypex nCore NC252MP which really isn't doing anything different than my Yamaha.

Hi Archsam, you welcome.
Next amp offers a more power but will stay stereo. It will be based on Purifi 1ET400 in a configuration close to the one tested here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...easurements-of-purifi-1et400a-amplifier.7984/
As you may have heard, Purifi has a high power amp module in preparation, our chassis is ready to receive it, this time in a monoblock configuration. But wont be cheap...
Our chassis is also ready to receive more variants especially in mono: NC250MP, NC500MP, NC1200. I don't really see a case for the 2 first, the NC1200 would need a new interface board, could be interesting for a less expensive high current monoblock if there is demand.
In any case, becoming 'yet another amp builder' is not how I see the company evolving now. Since only idiots do not change their mind, time will tell.

 

[boXem]

At first glance I thought: did Alan change his logo ?

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I had the same feeling yesterday when I uploaded the logo. And the smaller the worse the confusion.
We have a variant with white background / grey lettering, I will use this one not to take the risk being confused with March. One should have in mind that our products are much better! (just kidding Alan )

 

[bluefuzz]

We have a variant with white background / grey lettering, I will use this one not to take the risk being confused with March. One should have in mind that our products are much better!

I don't have any comment about your amps other than that good Hypex/Purifi amps are always welcome. I do also rather like the design of the amps as such. Nice to see a colourful option. However, speaking as a graphic designer, that logo really is an abomination! Especially at the too large size engraved on the front panel. It just reeks cheap 'n' cheerful ChiFi rather than exclusive European engineering. Lazily using one of the most utilitarian Windows standard fonts (Verdana) in a seemingly random arrangement of size and weight just does not signal quality at all. And what's with the Capital X in the middle? Perhaps it's supposed to be pronounced Bo-Zem?

I wish you well with your amps but please get a competent designer to design a decent logo for them. And, I would seriously reconsider the name of the brand too, to be honest. My first thought was 'do they sound boxy too ...?' which is perhaps not the impression you want a quality audio product to make ... ;-)

 

[boXem]

I don't have any comment about your amps other than that good Hypex/Purifi amps are always welcome. I do also rather like the design of the amps as such. Nice to see a colourful option. However, speaking as a graphic designer, that logo really is an abomination! Especially at the too large size engraved on the front panel. It just reeks cheap 'n' cheerful ChiFi rather than exclusive European engineering. Lazily using one of the most utilitarian Windows standard fonts (Verdana) in a seemingly random arrangement of size and weight just does not signal quality at all. And what's with the Capital X in the middle? Perhaps it's supposed to be pronounced Bo-Zem?

I wish you well with your amps but please get a competent designer to design a decent logo for them. And, I would seriously reconsider the name of the brand too, to be honest. My first thought was 'do they sound boxy too ...?' which is perhaps not the impression you want a quality audio product to make ... ;-)

Thanks for being so direct

On the logo design by itself, nothing to add other than everything is done in house and that the font is not Verdana. When I can feed myself with my work, I will think about hiring a graphic designer. Before that there are much higher priorities.
About the size on the face plate, I tend to disagree with you. There needs to be something to fill that dull flat plane, that is the role of the engraving. Other solutions would have been even more expensive.
For the name, I hear what you say, but I know a company called Schiit which is rather successful...

 

[Matias]

To me boXem reads like "box 'em" => "box them". I pity your competitors, they are in for a fight!

 

[boXem]

To me boXem reads like "box 'em" => "box them". I pity your competitors, they are in for a fight!

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This is much better
In fact there is a story behind the name: for 20 years I have been working in embedded electronics. Said differently something that nobody is aware of located in boxes that nobody sees. After a few years I was tired trying to explain my job without being understood, so I started to to answer "I am doing boxes" to the job question.
When I had to find a name for my company, this came back: we are doing boxes, we are called boXem. With a capital X for the symetry, something highly appreciated by engineers and visibly much less by graphical designers

 

[bluefuzz]

Thanks for being so direct

And thanks for not taking offence - as certainly none was intended.

I will think about hiring a graphic designer. Before that there are much higher priorities

Well, while I'm sure everyone here at ASR would agree the engineering / technical aspects are the most important, that's not how audio equipment is sold in the real world. Looks matter. And a humble logo sets the tone, so to speak, for the whole 'brand'. Better to just write the name of the company in a discreet unobjectionable typeface than try to 'design' something and fail miserably.

I'm sure you would be rightfully suspicious of an amplifier designed by a graphic artist ... ;-)

As to the name, that's fine there's a story to it. So tell that story on the website so that us punters understand it.

With a capital X for the symetry, something highly appreciated by engineers and visibly much less by graphical designers

But it's not even properly centred!

 

[a2lowvw]

Any plans to send samples to Amir for testing? You know that will help with sales

 

[boXem]

Well, while I'm sure everyone here at ASR would agree the engineering / technical aspects are the most important, that's not how audio equipment is sold in the real world. Looks matter. And a humble logo sets the tone, so to speak, for the whole 'brand'. Better to just write the name of the company in a discreet unobjectionable typeface than try to 'design' something and fail miserably

Not saying that a professional wouldn't do better, even less that graphical communication is useless. Just that capital allocation is a problem for very small companies and that choices need to be made.
I see enough startups that spend so much in communication that nothing remains for the product, making them empty shells just good at fund rising. Not my cup of tea.
Look at our competitors, at the exception of Audiophonics, clearly none of them paid a graphical designer, but they seem to sell.
So first we meet our customers, then we start thinking about growth and everything needed for it, including having a proper graphical communication executed by professionals.
As a side note, I believe that we (you, me, any professional) have a tendency to overestimate the importance of our role, and underestimate what the others do. So maybe we can conclude that I underestimate the importance of graphical communication as much as you overestimate it .

Any plans to send samples to Amir for testing? You know that will help with sales

Not sure that there is value added for another NCxxxMP test, they basically all measure the same, except the ones that are completely screwed. Not sure either than being in the upper midfield, like all NCxxxMP, really helps sales.
I prefer waiting to have something more interesting to measure, where in example the input buffer or the supplies are not a common design.
Now if somebody buys one of our NCxxxMP based offering and wants it to be measured, I am perfectly fine for covering the extra cost for the shipping to @amirm .

 

[Thomas savage]

Not saying that a professional wouldn't do better, even less that graphical communication is useless. Just that capital allocation is a problem for very small companies and that choices need to be made.
I see enough startups that spend so much in communication that nothing remains for the product, making them empty shells just good at fund rising. Not my cup of tea.
Look at our competitors, at the exception of Audiophonics, clearly none of them paid a graphical designer, but they seem to sell.
So first we meet our customers, then we start thinking about growth and everything needed for it, including having a proper graphical communication executed by professionals.
As a side note, I believe that we (you, me, any professional) have a tendency to overestimate the importance of our role, and underestimate what the others do. So maybe we can conclude that I underestimate the importance of graphical communication as much as you overestimate it .

Not sure that there is value added for another NCxxxMP test, they basically all measure the same, except the ones that are completely screwed. Not sure either than being in the upper midfield, like all NCxxxMP, really helps sales.
I prefer waiting to have something more interesting to measure, where in example the input buffer or the supplies are not a common design.
Now if somebody buys one of our NCxxxMP based offering and wants it to be measured, I am perfectly fine for covering the extra cost for the shipping to @amirm .

Your getting ASR'd .., they want it for nothing and come at you moaning about everything under the sun ha ha

Totally agree regards us measuring your offerings , if you do get some unique bits of electronics in there it would be great to see a product measured though. Look forward to that !

Congratulations again mate !

 

[voodooless]

At first glance I thought: did Alan change his logo ?

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Quite honestly I fail to comprehend how one can find these things similar while equally claiming to hear the clear difference between two DAC’s with close to 110 SINAD (not implying that you actually claim to be able to do that though )

@boXem | audio Fantastic looking amps BTW! I love the Dutch colored version. BTW, it’s “information”, not “informations” (it already plural). I guess your main language is German?

 

[boXem]

Your getting ASR'd .., they want it for nothing and come at you moaning about everything under the sun ha ha

Totally agree regards us measuring your offerings , if you do get some unique bits of electronics in there it would be great to see a product measured though. Look forward to that !

Congratulations again mate !

Well, that's the game, right?
Thanks!

@boXem | audio Fantastic looking amps BTW! I love the Dutch colored version. BTW, it’s “information”, not “informations” (it already plural). I guess your main language is German?

Thanks for the nice words. I am French, we also add an 's' at the end of information when there is more than one. Interestingly, tThe typo you mention is not mine, but from the CMS used (prestashop, frenches too...), thanks for spotting it.

 

[voodooless]

Would there be room for the NC100HF?

 

[pjug]

Arthur we like you and want to help you

 

[restorer-john]

All the best and congratulations on bringing yet another Hypex to a crowded market.

I have to say, the slightly burnt orange colour looks fantastic. Looks so retro 1970s, like a pair of JBL century L100 speakers with the chocolate block foam grille. Or the new L100 Classics:

It'd look right at home here:

(10 points to the person who can identify the other HiFi apart from the obvious Marantz 7c and the Empire 398 Turntable)

On a technical note, I would like to see proper FTC compliant specifications, not just parroted best case DIN numbers from the Hypex datasheets. As you will no doubt be looking to sell into various world markets, please consider appropriate ratings.

Maximum power? At what THD, frequency range and load?
THD @1W. What spot frequency or frequency range and what load?
CMRR Who cares?
SNR weighted/unweighted with respect to what? Full power at 8R?
Output noise- OK (maybe residual noise)
Frequency Response at what level? 1W@8R?
Gain- OK
Input sensitivity. For full rated power at 4R?
etc.

For the record, power output headline number must be specified as minimum continuous average power with both channels driven into a specified load, across a specified bandwidth (usually for 20Hz-20KHz) at or below a specified THD from 250mW to rated power.

Cherry picking best case THD and power output numbers in a product spec is a definite no-no.

Here's a current example (brand new model McIntosh MA12000 integrated):

Don't be like everyone else. Rate your products like NAD rate their Hypex/Purifi implementations... honestly.

 

[restorer-john]

The spelling on the colour choice should be (UK eng) "oxidised" or (US eng) "oxidized".

 

[Stephen]

Hi BoXem, nice to see a new European brand in the class D amplifier market. I noticed your auto-standby product ability.
I remember the complain of a (NAD?) user about the auto standby: it takes a bit long to switch on, and it becomes irritating after a while.
I hope your technology is instantaneous... wouldn't it be more interesting to make a product that uses very little power while idling?
30w produced at 20 degrees C° is ok, but when the room is already at 30 or 35deg C° it's another matter. In forums you can notice that more and more users ask if it becomes 'hot', and then you can find some electronic boards Infrared picture, questions if the case has enough venting holes, etc.

For myself, even with a high efficiency amplifier I would go for a large case with radiators turned ouside: I want to be able to play loud a 86db efficiency pair of speakers that has an average impedance of 4ohms (down to 2.8 sometimes) at 32 deg C° room temp. without hesitating... (or maybe I want to cook an egg on the amplifier too ;-)

 

[CDMC]

Since the thread is on our products, I can do the salesman

I agree that besides Audiophonics, all offerings are pretty close, which is the reason why we paid some effort differentiating ourselves.
- the case (available in silver btw ) is a matter of taste, so I wont discuss it, even if its objectively beautiful.
- clipping indicator, only another offering has it, and it's more expensive than ours.
- auto on-off, nobody else has it (besides NAD, for much more expensive products). It looks like a minor feature but I think it's life changing. For you, it'as an added comfort, but in case you share your place with other people (kids, partner, friends...) it's a game changer. "Normal" people don't like these procedures with many buttons just to listen some music. This makes the hobby intimidating, and keep them away. In my eyes, being able to share a passion is something quite rewarding.

DIYing an NC400 is not cheap, official pricing is available at diyclassd.com (Hypex DIY site). Wont be cheaper in the US.

I can say that a deciding factor in purchasing my NAD was the autosensing. A clipping indicator would have been nice.