Good Class D amps ??

[Matias]

Here is also a review of my former W4S STI-500v2 integrated amplifier.

https://hifiwigwam.com/forum/topic/125440-wyred-4-sound-sti-500-v2-integrated-amplifier/

 

I can add that using it in bypass mode and a high end preamp such as the W4S STP-SE stage 2 did wonders to lift the performance. It really is another level in resolution, dynamics and finesse. So there is an upgrade path, buying the integrated first then adding a dedicated high end preamp later.

[Matias]

Please move objective x subjective to another topic... My point was to compare their measurements, not the merits of such comparison. Let us keep talking Good class D here please.

[Matias]

Hypex nCore NC1200 and NC2k are now available for OEMs. 👏

[Matias]

17 hours ago, mocenigo said:

 

I thought the NC1200 was already available to OEMs

I think the NC1200 was available to a select few manufacturers and not even listed under OEM amplifiers on their website.

 

Also with ICEpower introducing their ICEedge 1200AS this could have made Hypex change their minds and add the NC1200 and the new NC2k available on OEM too for competition.

 

In a few months Nord, Apollon, Rouge and others could list them on their product lines.

 

All speculation on my side.

[Matias]

NC1200 and NC2k are now on Hypex website.

 

NC2k is just stupid high powered:

2000W at 2 ohms
2500W at 4 ohms
1600W at 8 ohms

 

NC1200 is the same as NC500 at 8 ohms (400W) and at 4 ohms (700W) but higher current at 2 ohms (1200W instead of 550W).

[Matias]

Bruno has left Hypex a while ago and is now one of the owners of Purify Audio. He is finishing a next generation of class D amplifiers which are superior to nCore: the Eigentakt. More info here:

https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/purifi/

[Matias]

Yes, and the preliminar specs of the Purify 1ET400A module look superior to the Hypex NC400: lower THD and IMD, higher efficiency.

 

2020 will be a very interesting year for class D with a strong new player on the market.

 

Specsheet

https://6moons.com/wp-content/uploads/audioreviews/purifi/1.pdf

[Matias]

NC1200 is a lot more powerful (watts), but distortion is lower on the 1ET400A module.

 

But the 1ET400A is just 1 of the modules. They are probably going to release more modules with different power ratings, variants with/without embedded power supply and buffers, etc. As well as finished products under the Purify brand.

Let's wait and see.

[Matias]

NAD is going first, probably others will follow (Bel Canto? Jeff Rowland? Marantz?).

 

The following is a press release issued by NAD.

Munich High End 2019 | Munich, Germany | 3 May, 2019 – NAD Electronics, the acclaimed high fidelity audio brand with more than 45 years of leadership in performance amplifier innovation, announced that it will be the first international brand to incorporate and launch PURIFI’s new patent-pending class-D technology into its product family. The amplifier circuit, known as Eigentakt (meaning “self-clocking”), is the result of years of research by PURIFI into the self-oscillation behaviours in class-D amplifiers with algorithms that, when applied in control loops, improve existing designs by an order of magnitude or more. The agreement will see the two companies cooperate to adapt the Eigentakt circuit to NAD’s signature design requirements, with the intent to create a new amplifier platform for future, yet-to-be-announced products from NAD.

“The Eigentakt technology is unique,” explains Bruno Putzeys, Co-Founder at PURIFI Audio. “Amplifiers carrying the technology will be exceedingly indifferent to speaker load, volume level, and signal content, resulting in negligible THD and IMD levels, and will feature exceptionally clean clipping.”

According to measurements by PURIFI, the Eigentakt circuit is expected to outperform any audio amplifier known, regardless of technology or class, with THD and IMD quoted as below 0.00017% at all frequencies and power levels, and the frequency response in the audio band remains within +/- 0.01 dB under all load conditions. In addition to its status as a ground- breaking technology, it also represents one of the first products to be commercialized by PURIFI, which was founded in 2014 by industry veterans and renowned audio experts Putzeys, Lars Risbo, and Peter Lyngdorf.

“Our NAD design team, led by Greg Stidsen, Taresh Vadgama and including the late Bjorn Erik Edvardsen, have maintained a close working relationship with Bruno, Lars, and Peter over the years. Clearly we all share the same commitment to audio excellence so NAD is pleased and proud to be at the forefront of adopting PURIFI’s class-leading technology,” said

Gordon Simmonds, CEO of the Canada-based Lenbrook Group, owners of NAD Electronics as well as other high-fidelity audio brands, Bluesound wireless multi-room and PSB Speakers. “Our teams are already fully engaged in the process of developing a next generation amplifier platform that will feature this circuitry, keeping NAD and our other brands at the forefront of audio technology as it begins to weave into our product roadmap.”

“I have personally been involved with NAD Electronics and have known the Lenbrook team for 40 years,” said Lyngdorf, Co-Founder and Chairman of PURIFI. “NAD is the perfect collaboration partner for this new technology and we look forward to their implementation, as we are sure it will propel the industry’s expectations for high-fidelity amplifiers.”

[Matias]

Does this form factor and pins of the Purifi Eigentakt 1ET400A...

 

...look familiar to the Hypex NCore NC500 OEM??

 

Fingers crossed here for the boards to be pin compatible so that we get the possibility of user replaceable upgrades.

[Matias]

1 hour ago, Ralf11 said:

If these are really an order of magnitude better, will they cost an order of magnitude more?

 

I believe it is more like CPU chips or smartphones: every few years comes a new technology that incrementally pushes the performance, a new family of products is released while keeping more or less the same prices, and previous products lose a little value.

Let's see.

[Matias]

@Curio Class D amps seem to take longer to burn in, so that after some 200+ hours they perform better. 

[Matias]

@Curio 200hs playing music, and not low volume, mid to high. Makes the amp "flex its muscles" and sounds better afterwards. 

[Matias]

March Audio just introduced their NC1200 based monos for $1,395 usd each. Great price for the nCore flagship!

https://www.marchaudio.net.au/product-page/p701-flagship-mono-block-power-amplifier

 

[Matias]

No, it uses the standard opamps and regulators that Hypex provides.

 

More info and pics here

 

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/march-audio-p701-mono-block-power-amp.6862/post-185443

[Matias]

For what I can see the March Audio P701 ($1.9k full price) is pretty similar to the Mola Mola Kaluga ($16k). The former has the standby auxiliary power supply attached to the main SMSP heatsink, while the latter has it in the front of the chassis. 

 

 

 

Nord's NC1200 mono (£ 2k) uses the same large pro opamp options as their NC500 based offerings: Sonic Imagery and Sparkos.

 

 

While Apollon's new NC1200 based monos (€ 1.75k ?) use fancier Weiss OP2-BP op amps for the input buffer and a linear power supply for the input buffer stage and modulator stage.

 

 

[Matias]

Plus the ICEpower 1200AS is also competitive. And my bet is that Purifi will announce a 1200W module soon enough. Market is on fire. 🔥

[Matias]

Kaluga is $8k each btw, no edit button.

[Matias]

Actually Apollon already have 2 models of 8-channel Hypex based amps on their website:

https://www.apollonaudio.com/apollon-ncmp8200-hypex-based-multichannel-class-d-amplifier/

https://www.apollonaudio.com/apollon-ncmp8350-hypex-based-multichannel-class-d-amplifier/

 

And Nord goes even further allowing you to configure your amp on the website (Apollon probably allows this too by e-mail). Just choose your modules!

https://www.nordacoustics.co.uk/product-page/nord-one-mp-ncxxx-4-8-122-500w-custom-configurable-channel-amplifier-black

[Matias]

@photonman congratulations. They take a few hundred hours to break in, longer than usual, so patience in the first couple of months until they sound their best.

[Matias]

I tried going DAC-power amp directly but it sounds thin compared to adding a preamp, which makes the sound more full bodied and dynamic. I wish it was not necessary, would have saved $$$ on cables and the preamp itself, and less rack clutter...

[Matias]

These prices are excellent for the Audiophonics MPA-S252NC.
2x150W @ 8Ω
2x250W @ 4Ω
2x180W @ 2Ω

 

439,00 € tax incl.
365,83 € tax excl.

 

https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/power-amplifier/audiophonics-mpa-s252nc-xlr-class-d-stereo-amplifier-ncore-2x150w-8-ohm-p-14185.html