We are in the age of chasing THD numbers in electronics. And while it's certaintly good with low distortion numbers, let me explain why using NCx500 modules or any other newer class D modules isn't necessarily an upgrade. And also why Vera Audio hasn't considered several of new class D modules that been released or are about to be released.
Let's look at a THD+N measurement of our Vera Audio P400/1000 with NC500 modules first. Showing both channels in 4 Ohm:
The NCx500 module comes with an integrated buffer, and here's our measurement with it:
As can be seen here, the distortion up till 20W is higher with NCx500. Above that they are very similar and I should mention here that NC500 modules can vary some and lately they have become better as well. Also note that there's less power with NCx500 before the distortion rises. With 0.002% distortion, our P400/1000 with NC500 has an increased output power of about 90W.
So with the standard Hypex buffer, this isn't an upgrade and there's a loss of power. If we however, bypass the internal buffer and use the Vera Audio buffer instead, we acieve better numbers.
While the distortion measurement has improved, we also need to ask ourselves if this an audible improvement. We would need a blind test to verify this, but he chances are probaly very slim for most and have the loss of output power.
We believe if there's desire to hear smaller details as well as possible, the first step would be speakers with lower distortion and acoustic treatment to achieve a clean impulse/ETC response and remove resonances in the time domain of the room. Both of these have a very audible difference. Horn loaded compression drivers of high quality and planar/magnetic drivers achieves something that other speaker drivers don't in this area. Chasing lower and lower distortion numbers from amps, and avoiding upgrading the speakers and not do something about the acoustics could very much be a waste. We need to focus on the bigger areas first.
Vera Audio has emphasized areas like great cooling, long life span, high build quality combined with several nice features in our amps. We also offer 5 years of warranty. And our amplifiers have extremely low distortion. Chasing even lower numbers here is not the way to go in our opinion.
That being said, if someone wanted us to still build the P400/1000 with the NCx500 modules combined with our own developed buffer we could certainly do it. They fit right in the present chassis. Perhaps it gives some an ease of mind, knowing the distortion numbers are better. But don't expect to hear a difference in a blind test. Upgrading to for example the coming Vera Audio Coherence 12 speaker will give you much more insight into the recordings. A super clean wavefront with a diffraction free cabinet and drivers with very low IMD.
Let's look at a THD+N measurement of our Vera Audio P400/1000 with NC500 modules first. Showing both channels in 4 Ohm:
The NCx500 module comes with an integrated buffer, and here's our measurement with it:
As can be seen here, the distortion up till 20W is higher with NCx500. Above that they are very similar and I should mention here that NC500 modules can vary some and lately they have become better as well. Also note that there's less power with NCx500 before the distortion rises. With 0.002% distortion, our P400/1000 with NC500 has an increased output power of about 90W.
So with the standard Hypex buffer, this isn't an upgrade and there's a loss of power. If we however, bypass the internal buffer and use the Vera Audio buffer instead, we acieve better numbers.
While the distortion measurement has improved, we also need to ask ourselves if this an audible improvement. We would need a blind test to verify this, but he chances are probaly very slim for most and have the loss of output power.
We believe if there's desire to hear smaller details as well as possible, the first step would be speakers with lower distortion and acoustic treatment to achieve a clean impulse/ETC response and remove resonances in the time domain of the room. Both of these have a very audible difference. Horn loaded compression drivers of high quality and planar/magnetic drivers achieves something that other speaker drivers don't in this area. Chasing lower and lower distortion numbers from amps, and avoiding upgrading the speakers and not do something about the acoustics could very much be a waste. We need to focus on the bigger areas first.
Vera Audio has emphasized areas like great cooling, long life span, high build quality combined with several nice features in our amps. We also offer 5 years of warranty. And our amplifiers have extremely low distortion. Chasing even lower numbers here is not the way to go in our opinion.
That being said, if someone wanted us to still build the P400/1000 with the NCx500 modules combined with our own developed buffer we could certainly do it. They fit right in the present chassis. Perhaps it gives some an ease of mind, knowing the distortion numbers are better. But don't expect to hear a difference in a blind test. Upgrading to for example the coming Vera Audio Coherence 12 speaker will give you much more insight into the recordings. A super clean wavefront with a diffraction free cabinet and drivers with very low IMD.
