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Amir’s review of the Freya S here will have the info.
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VTV Purifi 1ET400A updates
- Thread starter Rugger
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Amir’s review of the Freya S here will have the info.
Amir reviewed the Freya S, which is solid state.
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He didn’t also review the Freya+ separately?
I can't speak to the possible technical reason, but I'm not fond of the Hypex buffers that I ordered with my VTV Purifi amplifier.
To begin, my VTV Purifi looked exactly like Ruggers and I agree with him regarding the construction quality, etc. Likewise I'm no technical guy either, maybe less so.
To my ear, (sorry, subjective), the amp showed amazing resolution and dynamics, however on loud passages high pitched instruments such as brass, violins, some woodwinds produced a lot of "glare", by which I mean a brightness and harshness that was unnatural. I have ordered VTV's own buffers and selected the Sparkos SS3602 op amps. I'll see how those sound by comparison.
My repo chain consisted of FLAC files, mostly 16/44.1; Foobar2000 with mild equalization using the Graphic Equalizer component; Topping D90 DAC; Freya + in 'Passive' mode; VTV Purifi with Hypex buffer; Zaph Audio ZRT speakers.
My search fu didn't bring anything. Since the personal interest I have for tubes is close to 0 I have to admit that the search was quick
I highly doubt the stock VTV buffer is the stock purifier eval buffer.
I went through exactly the same experience. I bought a VTV Purifi stereo amp with stock Hypex buffers and found the top end to be harsh sounding. I consulted with Warren (of VTV) and updated the buffer to Sparkos SS3602. It smoothed out the harshness and made the sound very enjoyable. I swapped between the buffers a few times and the difference was very noticeable. The downside is that choosing any of VTV custom buffers bumps up the price considerably.
In the end, I decided that my system was still in flux and I wasn't ready to settle on an amp yet. I returned the amp during the trial period but may end up going back to VTV, perhaps for monoblocks. Warren was a pleasure to work with, always responsive and helpful. When I told him that I decided to return the amp, his response was a simple one-liner, "No problem, just ship it back to this address...".
countbasey
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just to play devils advocate perhaps the original buffers exposed something to you already in the system and that the sparkos hide that element through distortion which is why you found them preferable?
It is interesting to hear two forum members say that they found the stock Hypex buffer harsh sounding. How would the stock Purifi EVAL1 buffer compare to the stock Hypex buffer - have there been reports of a harsh top end on the EVAL1 or has anyone compared the Hypex & Purifi boards directly to compare?
Edit: could it potentially have something to do with that lack of input filtering as discussed on the previous page..?
Edit: could it potentially have something to do with that lack of input filtering as discussed on the previous page..?
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- Thread Starter
- #30
I have not experienced the harshness up top but I don't really have an AB comparison either, when I order the 2nd amp I will definitely get a different buffer board and try it out. One amp will only be powering the woofers up to 800hz so none of that harshness should come though and we can AB test on the horns for science and sfuff!
neurochrome has an interesting option for a buffer board that would allow selectable gain with a simple 3 mode switch. $250 for 2 of them.
discussion here https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendor-s-bazaar/351387-purifi-1et400a-hypex-nc500-input-buffer.html
buy here https://neurochrome.com/products/purifi-1et400a-hypex-nc500-input-buffer
neurochrome has an interesting option for a buffer board that would allow selectable gain with a simple 3 mode switch. $250 for 2 of them.
discussion here https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendor-s-bazaar/351387-purifi-1et400a-hypex-nc500-input-buffer.html
buy here https://neurochrome.com/products/purifi-1et400a-hypex-nc500-input-buffer
Thanks for sharing, but gather this only applies to the NC family Hypex modules? Do you need to filter MP family amps as well?
Sebastijanovski
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Could you name a couple of song where you found this particularly noticeable? I'd like to see if I can reproduce it on my sistem. I also usa a D90, then into Freya S and a Purifi Eval1 based DIY build, so quite similar electronics.
Cheers,
Seb
The electronics appear to be quite different between the Purifi Eval1 board and the Hypex buffer board. I wouldn't expect them to sound the same.
Purifi Eval1 board (stereo)
Hypex buffer board (mono)
The treble harshness I heard with the Hypex buffers is immediately apparent on recordings with brass and orchestral strings. Here are a couple of examples but the harshness shows up easily in classical recordings.
- Thread Starter
- #35
I ran an A/B test with my admiralty not very awesome setup. I have a Sonos amp running to one speaker and the MiniDSP SHD/VTV purify amp running to the other. Just switching back and forth using my computer output.
1. It's crazy how much better the sound is out of the MiniDSP SHD/VTV purify amp
2. I ran the tracks above and a bunch of other brass tracks, mostly military stuff since I have heard a lot of live renditions of Taps, Reveille, etc.
If anything the VTV amp was a little bit smoother but that might just have been the higher quality DAC in the SHD vs. whatever trash in my computer. That Chicago symphony brass section album was mixed pretty hot, they definitely didn't hold the highs back. That being said standing in front of a non muted trumpet is jarring, if the musician is playing at full clip certain notes make me wince because they are so bright and loud. They might just be producing an accurate replication of this sound and perceived "smoothness" could be from something in the chain taming the top end.
disclaimer- I have no actual idea what I'm talking about so lick a salt lamp or something when you read my comments.
I'm absolutely up to trying something different and ill A/B them. I will need another amp. I would love some suggestions.
needs to be able to power a D2430K (16 ohm & 104db 2.83V/1M on the 4367 horn) in an M2 Waveguide to 114db or so ( 94db +20db headroom, my couch is 7M away) I estimate ill need about 5W but let's shoot for at least 10W into 20 ohms in case the M2 waveguide is a little less sensitive and I end up having to Lpad filter hiss out. (JBL specs an amp that will put out 400W into their LPad filtered D2430K @20 ohms....wut lol).
I need it to be relatively quiet as I do not intend to put a Lpad in between the Amp and the CD and don't want to deal with Hissing issues.
Also must have balanced XLR input and be about USD$1000.
That was a lot... amp suggestion recap
Must do at least 30W into 8 ohms
Must have a relatively low noise floor
Must have balanced input
Ideally, it would make 200-250W into 8 ohms so that I could use it to power the 2216N woofers if I wanted to.
Must be less than $1000
1. It's crazy how much better the sound is out of the MiniDSP SHD/VTV purify amp
2. I ran the tracks above and a bunch of other brass tracks, mostly military stuff since I have heard a lot of live renditions of Taps, Reveille, etc.
If anything the VTV amp was a little bit smoother but that might just have been the higher quality DAC in the SHD vs. whatever trash in my computer. That Chicago symphony brass section album was mixed pretty hot, they definitely didn't hold the highs back. That being said standing in front of a non muted trumpet is jarring, if the musician is playing at full clip certain notes make me wince because they are so bright and loud. They might just be producing an accurate replication of this sound and perceived "smoothness" could be from something in the chain taming the top end.
disclaimer- I have no actual idea what I'm talking about so lick a salt lamp or something when you read my comments.
I'm absolutely up to trying something different and ill A/B them. I will need another amp. I would love some suggestions.
needs to be able to power a D2430K (16 ohm & 104db 2.83V/1M on the 4367 horn) in an M2 Waveguide to 114db or so ( 94db +20db headroom, my couch is 7M away) I estimate ill need about 5W but let's shoot for at least 10W into 20 ohms in case the M2 waveguide is a little less sensitive and I end up having to Lpad filter hiss out. (JBL specs an amp that will put out 400W into their LPad filtered D2430K @20 ohms....wut lol).
I need it to be relatively quiet as I do not intend to put a Lpad in between the Amp and the CD and don't want to deal with Hissing issues.
Also must have balanced XLR input and be about USD$1000.
That was a lot... amp suggestion recap
Must do at least 30W into 8 ohms
Must have a relatively low noise floor
Must have balanced input
Ideally, it would make 200-250W into 8 ohms so that I could use it to power the 2216N woofers if I wanted to.
Must be less than $1000
Your comment about harshness in case of the Hypex with orchestral brass and strings is exactly right, IMO. At least I had the exact same impression with Hypex. I have VTV buffers on the way equipped with Sparkos SS3602 op amps; I'll see if that improves the situatlon.The electronics appear to be quite different between the Purifi Eval1 board and the Hypex buffer board. I wouldn't expect them to sound the same.
Purifi Eval1 board (stereo)
View attachment 95158
Hypex buffer board (mono)
The treble harshness I heard with the Hypex buffers is immediately apparent on recordings with brass and orchestral strings. Here are a couple of examples but the harshness shows up easily in classical recordings.
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Sebastijanovski
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The electronics appear to be quite different between the Purifi Eval1 board and the Hypex buffer board. I wouldn't expect them to sound the same.
Purifi Eval1 board (stereo)
View attachment 95158
Hypex buffer board (mono)
The treble harshness I heard with the Hypex buffers is immediately apparent on recordings with brass and orchestral strings. Here are a couple of examples but the harshness shows up easily in classical recordings.
Thanks for that, was fun listen! I don't listen to much classical music, now I think I should start.
What I meant by the electronics being similar was aimed the rest of the system. My thoughts being that that would isolate the buffer, i.e. Hypex vs. Purifi.
I had a good listen, but just on YouTube unfortunately, so you make your mind up about that. I couldn't hear anything I would characterize as harshness in the treble, but than again, my ears aren't used to this kind of music.
Cheers,
Seb
Yep
Just to clarify as I checked with Hypex support. The MP family amps do have RF filtering on the audio inputs as does the NC1200.
NC500 does not have filtering either with or without the (supplied) buffer on the eval board.
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- Thread Starter
- #39
Just to clarify as I checked with Hypex support. The MP family amps do have RF filtering on the audio inputs as does the NC1200.
NC500 does not have filtering either with or without the buffers on the eval buffer board.
awesome. I think I will pick up one of VTVs 502MP amps and can do an A/B against the Puirifi
Might consider Buckeye Amps. If you need the trigger, his is a bit less expensive. Otherwise, probably a wash.
In either case, would ask for latest version as it has improved power down handling.
