Sold my Nord Three 1ET7040SA Monos — Upgrading to 1ET9040BA MB MKII Flagship

[Redacted]

Some people get more of a thrill with the purchase process, especially so with increasing price, than they do by just playing music, or driving the car, etc. I have heard gamblers get a buzz with a big stake, and some like buying big brand luxury fashion clothes.

That's all fine - people should do what they want with their own money in the pursuit of happiness.

What I'm less keen on, and it's very true for audio kit buyers, is the endless steam of ridiculous adjectives, and cliché phrases, all cut and pasted from the 'net, which are used to described largely non-existent or very daft things.

 

[Marin]

Some people get more of a thrill with the purchase process, especially so with increasing price, than they do by just playing music, or driving the car, etc. I have heard gamblers get a buzz with a big stake, and some like buying big brand luxury fashion clothes.

That's all fine - people should do what they want with their own money in the pursuit of happiness.

What I'm less keen on, and it's very true for audio kit buyers, is the endless steam of ridiculous adjectives, and cliché phrases, all cut and pasted from the 'net, which are used to described largely non-existent or very daft things.

I couldn't agree more...

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

They will!

When, dear soothsayer?

 

[Cpopovic]

Good luck hearing a difference!

I appreciate the skepticism, and honestly I was in that camp initially. A few days ago, I reported only minor differences between the 7040 MKII and the 9040 MKII monos, but that was before I decided to open the monos and change the settings.
The 9040 MKII has four selectable gain settings on the onboard buffer, with the factory default at 29.0 dB. The previous 7040 MKII monos did not have a gain switch at all, so this was a new variable to work with. Dropping the 9040 first to 23.8 dB and then to 14.4 dB made a very obvious difference in my system, with a lower noise floor, better control, and a more relaxed presentation.
As a small corroborating data point, a friend who heard the same system last weekend before the gain change came by again this morning and immediately said everything had “locked in” better, with a more open soundstage, stronger imaging, and a more effortless flow. He’s very honest and straight with his impressions, so I value that feedback.
So while I’m not claiming this is universal, in my setup the gain setting is clearly not a minor tweak — it changes the amp’s behavior in a meaningful way.

 

[Redacted]

When, dear soothsayer?

About 3:15pm
Dodgy UK gear!
[I'm only messing with you!]

 

[amper42]

I don't know, I admit that I am human and that it is natural for us to strive for better, greater, more perfect? things.
And I'll be the first to say that when I was buying a car, the first thing I looked at is how much ponys are under the hood.
But somehow, as I get older, I start to get offended by fabrications like "dynamic resolution".
Especially on this site guided by science...
I believe the OP is happy and satisfied with his purchase and his speakers cost 20 times more than my Elac debut F5(frist edition) towers... so I couldn't be more happier that his self estime is bosted by 1000 and is a happy camper for a long time...or he better be.
But Paradigm founder have 1000 watts amplification(2000 peak) for Bass section until 350 Hertz or so...
That leaves one 6" inch middle and 1" inch twitter per side...
Speakers are 4 Ohms load so isn't 650 watts of power per side to mucho???
And isn't snake oil terms the reason we believe that we need that kind of power for home speakers???

Some think you can never have too much amp power. Others who watch the Kill-a-Watt readings on their amp power draw realize that much less power is needed than they originally thought. The truth is somewhere in between. For 99% of listeners, they will not hear a difference between the Purifi 1ET9040BA and the Purifi 1ET6525SA under level-matched conditions. Knowing which amp is playing in a blind test between these two is amazingly difficult.

The 9040 offers about 3dB more "headroom" than the 6525. In a very large room with insensitive speakers, this extra power might prevent momentary clipping during extreme power peaks. But as someone with several 1ET6525SA amps, I have never heard anything but clarity from them with quality speakers. The 9040 is a great design, but at more than twice the price of the 1ET6525SA for a stereo system, it's not as good a value.

 

[Cpopovic]

I don't know, I admit that I am human and that it is natural for us to strive for better, greater, more perfect? things.
And I'll be the first to say that when I was buying a car, the first thing I looked at is how much ponys are under the hood.
But somehow, as I get older, I start to get offended by fabrications like "dynamic resolution".
Especially on this site guided by science...
I believe the OP is happy and satisfied with his purchase and his speakers cost 20 times more than my Elac debut F5(frist edition) towers... so I couldn't be more happier that his self estime is bosted by 1000 and is a happy camper for a long time...or he better be.
But Paradigm founder have 1000 watts amplification(2000 peak) for Bass section until 350 Hertz or so...

Paradigm Founder 120H loudspeaker Specifications | Stereophile.com

Sidebar 1: Specifications Description: Three-way hybrid floorstanding speakers with active bass, port-loaded bass enclosure. 1" (25mm) aluminum-magnesium-ceramic-dome tweeter; one 6" (152mm) midrange driver with aluminum-magnesium cone; three 8" (215mm) high-excursion carbon-cone woofers...

www.stereophile.com

That leaves one 6" inch middle and 1" inch twitter per side...
Speakers are 4 Ohms load so isn't 650 watts of power per side to mucho???
And isn't snake oil terms the reason we believe that we need that kind of power for home speakers???

I get the skepticism — I’m usually the first to cut through the marketing hype, and I’ll buy quality gear used whenever I can.

These speakers were actually bought after my original pair was damaged during an international move, and the replacement was fortunately covered by the insurance settlement.

That said, this is still an active design, so the power figures need to be read in context, not like a normal passive speaker load. Big power numbers are easy to market, but sometimes headroom, control, and lower strain genuinely matter.

 

[Redacted]

Some think you can never have too much amp power.

It's usually speakers that start getting upset first when you crank the volume - many people won't have speakers that can handle say 500W without going pop, let alone all the distortion at half that power. I have a paltry 75W (and powered subs) and my neighbours 30 yards away (in detached houses) know when I'm at half volume on the dial, and one has been known to sing along.... But next time, I'll get more power - I just like it.

 

[amper42]

I appreciate the skepticism, and honestly I was in that camp initially. A few days ago, I reported only minor differences between the 7040 MKII and the 9040 MKII monos, but that was before I decided to open the monos and change the settings.
The 9040 MKII has four selectable gain settings on the onboard buffer, with the factory default at 29.0 dB. The previous 7040 MKII monos did not have a gain switch at all, so this was a new variable to work with. Dropping the 9040 first to 23.8 dB and then to 14.4 dB made a very obvious difference in my system, with a lower noise floor, better control, and a more relaxed presentation.
As a small corroborating data point, a friend who heard the same system last weekend before the gain change came by again this morning and immediately said everything had “locked in” better, with a more open soundstage, stronger imaging, and a more effortless flow. He’s very honest and straight with his impressions, so I value that feedback.
So while I’m not claiming this is universal, in my setup the gain setting is clearly not a minor tweak — it changes the amp’s behavior in a meaningful way.

The gain switch can certainly change the sound. I found moving from 29dB to 14dB made the speakers less dynamic and if used in a AVR setup with other Denon amps it's wasn't a good match at all.

If you have a strong DAC/Preamp in a stereo only configuration that offers lots of gain and XLR out you can still get the amp to kick with a 14dB gain setting. However, 14dB is an entirely different animal. Your volume control setting has to be much higher on the preamp. To me, the low gain option offers less dynamic punch even with the preamp turned up significantly. But, if you like it - stay at 14dB. After a month at low gain, I increased the gain and never looked back.

 

[Ropeburn]

Fun fact: Nord amplifiers sound best when you feed them with appropriate instruments

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

About 3:15pm
Dodgy UK gear!
[I'm only messing with you!]

No mate, it can't fail till it's turned on! And that's ain't happening today. Too much footie to watch.

 

[Billy Budapest]

A pedestrian SMPS1200, like all Nord Purifi builds. Pedestrian but very good, we use it too.

Regarding BoXem, any thought to using a different power supply for 1ET9040BA builds to allow them to reach their full power output?

 

[Billy Budapest]

Fun fact: Nord amplifiers sound best when you feed them with appropriate instruments

View attachment 531321

Wrong Nord! lol!

 

[boXem]

Regarding BoXem, any thought to using a different power supply for 1ET9040BA builds to allow them to reach their full power output?

I have a lot of thougts. Not always clever ones.
A linear PS would be cool in example. Big transformer, lots of caps. Needs some development time, a new chassis (we design our own chassis). Is quite deep in the to do list.

 

[mdunjic]

Some think you can never have too much amp power. Others who watch the Kill-a-Watt readings on their amp power draw realize that much less power is needed than they originally thought. The truth is somewhere in between. For 99% of listeners, they will not hear a difference between the Purifi 1ET9040BA and the Purifi 1ET6525SA under level-matched conditions. Knowing which amp is playing in a blind test between these two is amazingly difficult.

The 9040 offers about 3dB more "headroom" than the 6525. In a very large room with insensitive speakers, this extra power might prevent momentary clipping during extreme power peaks. But as someone with several 1ET6525SA amps, I have never heard anything but clarity from them with quality speakers. The 9040 is a great design, but at more than twice the price of the 1ET6525SA for a stereo system, it's not as good a value.

1ET9040BA can also deliver up to 40A of current into very demanding loads … not sure about 1ET6525SA though. But as an owner of 1ET9040BA mono blocks, I am sure that I would be happy with 1ET6525SA amps too

 

[Matias]

1ET9040BA can also deliver up to 40A of current into very demanding loads … not sure about 1ET6525SA though.

It's right there on the name.
9040 = 90 volts, 40 amps
6525 = 65 volts, 25 amps

 

[Billy Budapest]

Congrats on your amp! And a very nice choice too. Always curious to read impressions of upgrades between high end class D amps.

Nice build. Power supply heatsink making contact with the chassis heatsink. Short inner cables for AC, DC, line level and speakers. The premium SE case is just cherry on top.

I spy silly discrete opamps. Lol!

 

[mdunjic]

It's right there on the name.
9040 = 90 volts, 40 amps
6525 = 65 volts, 25 amps

Yep exactly … I have learned something new today … naming these things ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE! Thank you

 

[Paul7777x]

Yep exactly … I have learned something new today … naming these things ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE! Thank you

Me too; can’t believe I didn’t know that.

I really should have

 

[Billy Budapest]

Speaking with a forum member, I have *somewhat* reevaluated my stance on discrete opamps and admit they can make sense in certain situations. Putzeys seems to agree with this too. His rationale makes sense, albeit he is speaking about bespoke opamps designed by Purifi for a specific application in a specific circuit:

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