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

[boXem]

Congrats Boxem Audio for the release of the new amps. I just had a look on the 4614/N1 web page. I noticed a typo error (in bold in the following text:
Arthur 4614/N1 main technical characteristics are:
- Very low distortion at any audible frequency, allowing a perfect reproduction of the music as recorded
- Very low noise, silences are... silent
- Flat and load independent frequency response, whatever the speakers the amplifier will reproduce bass, medium and highs the same way, with the same fidelity to the artistic work
- Low output impedance (aka high damping factor), firmly driving the lowest bass
- High efficiency, electricity is used for music reproduction, not heating the room

In order to achieve these characteristics, we have chosen the nCore amplification technology from Hypex.

Arthur 3109/N1 can deliver up to....

Sounds like an Arthurs mix-up

Corrected. What would I do without you guys? Thanks!

 

[ririt]

Proud to be a kind of Boxem Audio’s guardian angel!

 

[vitalii427]

What will be the price of Purifi stereo amp?

 

[boXem]

What will be the price of Purifi stereo amp?

Not finalized yet. Somewhere between 1.4 and 1.6 k€ VAT excl.

 

[patheems]

My first post on this forum and I’m glad it’s in this thread, which I stumbled on tonight. Congrats to @boXem | audio for entering the amplification market in the EU!

I’m currently searching for some new amplifiers and maybe Boxem | audio can be a nearby choice for me (Netherlands).
Last couple of weeks I’ve been reviewing and reading a lot on Emotiva amplifiers. Due to their Emobucks offering I was tempted to buy 2 XPA HC-1 and a XPA-11 Gen3 but thanks to a review of @amirm and a lot of reactions on Emotiva’s own forum I’ve decided to put that on hold.

I own 2 JBL Synthesis S4S subwoofers and I’m wondering if I can drive those with 2 Arthur 4614/N1. I also read somewhere that a Class D amplifier not always is the best option to drive a passive subwoofer. Can you @boXem | audio give some advice on this?

 

[spacebar]

Just read the Arthur review and I must say that the internals looks beautiful. Also I like that you follow EU power rules. I see that a lot of brands don’t bother. Looking forward to seeing the internals of the purifi product.

One question tho, do you offer special delivery with Millennium Falcon?

 

[boXem]

My first post on this forum and I’m glad it’s in this thread, which I stumbled on tonight. Congrats to @boXem | audio for entering the amplification market in the EU!

I’m currently searching for some new amplifiers and maybe Boxem | audio can be a nearby choice for me (Netherlands).
Last couple of weeks I’ve been reviewing and reading a lot on Emotiva amplifiers. Due to their Emobucks offering I was tempted to buy 2 XPA HC-1 and a XPA-11 Gen3 but thanks to a review of @amirm and a lot of reactions on Emotiva’s own forum I’ve decided to put that on hold.

I own 2 JBL Synthesis S4S subwoofers and I’m wondering if I can drive those with 2 Arthur 4614/N1. I also read somewhere that a Class D amplifier not always is the best option to drive a passive subwoofer. Can you @boXem | audio give some advice on this?

Hi @patheems ! Welcome on board and thank you very much for the nice words!

A pair of Arthur 4614/N1 seems to be quite well fitted with your S4S. 500 W @ 4 Ohm will give you 112 dB @ 1 m, which, in my book, is more than enough in a home environment. The ultra low output impedance will ensure an excellent control of the speaker.

Concerning what you read, my personal take on this is that there are various topologies for class D with various characteristics and that generalizations on class D, like most generalizations, are wrong. Speaking of what we sell, as I just wrote, the ultra low output impedance makes our amplifiers perfect fit for subs. I also strongly encourage people buying our amplifiers for subwoofer applications to try them with their other speakers. Most of them are nicely surprised .

 

[boXem]

One question tho, do you offer special delivery with Millennium Falcon?

Well, since EU mandated the electrification of all the YT-1300 light freighters, we use it only for deliveries less than 100 km away from our facilities, when a 10 GW charge point is available

 

[patheems]

Hi @patheems ! Welcome on board and thank you very much for the nice words!

A pair of Arthur 4614/N1 seems to be quite well fitted with your S4S. 500 W @ 4 Ohm will give you 112 dB @ 1 m, which, in my book, is more than enough in a home environment. The ultra low output impedance will ensure an excellent control of the speaker.

Concerning what you read, my personal take on this is that there are various topologies for class D with various characteristics and that generalizations on class D, like most generalizations, are wrong. Speaking of what we sell, as I just wrote, the ultra low output impedance makes our amplifiers perfect fit for subs. I also strongly encourage people buying our amplifiers for subwoofer applications to try them with their other speakers. Most of them are nicely surprised .

Thanks @boXem | audio for the advice and I'll be waiting for 2021 to get those at home. Just ordered two of those 4614/N1's, in satin black and boXem orange...and also requested to get the 'Hancrafted' typo on the boxes...pure authenticity .

 

[AHo]

Hi, another first post here

I'm searching for a power amplifier to maybe drive a pair of Jern 14 speakers and the Arthur's seem like good candidates.

The auto on/auto off function sounds really convenient, I just wonder how sensitive it is. Will it wake up the amp on a tiny bit of noise after the DAC is switched on, or will the first second of the first song be lost? How does it work in practice?

 

[VintageFlanker]

The auto on/auto off function sounds really convenient, I just wonder how sensitive it is. Will it wake up the amp on a tiny bit of noise after the DAC is switched on, or will the first second of the first song be lost? How does it work in practice?

It is very sensitive. Only a few mV wake the BoXem up. No pop noise with my review sample. Of course, it cannot turn on instantaneously. I'd say at least 5 seconds for been ready to playback.

 

[AHo]

so, is it like: you turn on the DAC, put the CD in the player and in the couple of seconds that takes, the Amp has powered on in time for the music to start?

 

[VintageFlanker]

so, is it like: you turn on the DAC, put the CD in the player and in the couple of seconds that takes, the Amp has powered on in time for the music to start?

It depends. If the DAC already generate a slight pop when turned on, it will be sufficient to wake up the Arthur meanwhile. Edit: I stand corrected (see answer from BoXem)

 

[boXem]

Hi, another first post here

I'm searching for a power amplifier to maybe drive a pair of Jern 14 speakers and the Arthur's seem like good candidates.

The auto on/auto off function sounds really convenient, I just wonder how sensitive it is. Will it wake up the amp on a tiny bit of noise after the DAC is switched on, or will the first second of the first song be lost? How does it work in practice?

Hi! Welcome on the forum! The auto on/off function is very sensitive (less than a mV) but a little time is needed for filtering (not to power on the amplifier when you switch on the light) and initialisation of the amplifier itself (1.5 s).
I would not take the pops emitted by the upfront electronics as a wake source since these are quite often created by DC voltage which is filtered out by the audio sense mechanism.
Since I am a bad salesman, I would say, be ready to loose between 1.5 to 5 seconds from the first song you play. If this doesn't happen with your system that will be good news.

Thanks @VintageFlanker, you are so fast

 

[AHo]

ok, thanks VintageFlanker and boXem. I don't think telling correctly what your product can and cannot do makes you a bad salesman. You've correctly argued the alternatives have their limits too.

 

[Harmonie]

so, is it like: you turn on the DAC, put the CD in the player and in the couple of seconds that takes, the Amp has powered on in time for the music to start?

Though I have no Artur or boXem amps, I can give you the experience with my amps that wake up a few seconds after:
All you have to do once you heard the click of all your amps on, is push on your CD player the same track again and there you go and enjoy the music from it's first note

 

[boXem]

ok, thanks VintageFlanker and boXem. I don't think telling correctly what your product can and cannot do makes you a bad salesman. You've correctly argued the alternatives have their limits too.

Well, me neither. There is nothing worse than a disappointed customer.

 

[Geert]

You are spot on with the use case DAC -> power amp.

For this scenario it would be nice if your amp's would have a volume control (maybe as an option). This would allow the user to set a maximum volume so you don't need to use very high attenuation with the DAC's software volume, and your speakers don't catch fire if you make a mistake with the software volume. These class D modules are far to powerful for average use anyway (certainly with DAC's that have a very high output voltage). I know a lot of people want this feature, it would be a real game changer. I guess even a stepped attenuator with a very limited number of steps would do.

 

[boXem]

For this scenario it would be nice if your amp's would have a volume control (maybe as an option). This would allow the user to set a maximum volume so you don't need to use very high attenuation with the DAC's software volume, and your speakers don't catch fire if you make a mistake with the software volume. These class D modules are far to powerful for average use anyway (certainly with DAC's that have a very high output voltage). I know a lot of people want this feature, it would be a real game changer. I guess even a stepped attenuator with a very limited number of steps would do.

I get what you mean. I see two solutions for this:
- the sophisticated one you mentioned, but the cost is quite important and it's getting close to an integrated amplifier
- a 3 positions gain switch like the one we will introduce on the Purifi variant. Choosing low gain from a 4 V XLR output or medium gain from a 2 V RCA would do the trick.

 

[Geert]

I get what you mean. I see two solutions for this:
- the sophisticated one you mentioned, but the cost is quite important and it's getting close to an integrated amplifier
- a 3 positions gain switch like the one we will introduce on the Purifi variant. Choosing low gain from a 4 V XLR output or medium gain from a 2 V RCA would do the trick.

I understand the cost issue, that's why I mentioned you might offer it a s an option.

I was hoping for more than 3 attenuation positions, and have the control on the front of the unit so you can easily adapt the volume when needed (and grab it when things go wrong). A 3 position switch on the back is nice to align the amplifier gain with the DAC, but you can't call that a volume control.

Most professional amp's have a volume control, for good reason. The audiophile world dismissed it because they're afraid it has a disastrous effect on sound quality, but with the rise of streamers and DAC's without pre-amp, and apps to control volume I think there's a demand for it now.