I got my Hypex stuff yesterday. I was surprised how quickly I had the box in my hands after placing the order Saturday afternoon.
I feel like I've had my pockets picked though. First Paypal didn't use the same conversion rate that Hypex was showing on their web site, so the total was almost $50 more than I thought it was going to be. Then I had to pay the $75 "brokerage fee" to UPS. Then I looked at my bank account and saw that my bank has charged me $60 as an "international transaction fee".
So the whole thing has cost me almost $200 more than I expected when I decided to place the order. Seems kind of ridiculous to me.
Oh well, at least I'm pretty confident these will sound great.
-Chris
I feel like I've had my pockets picked though. First Paypal didn't use the same conversion rate that Hypex was showing on their web site, so the total was almost $50 more than I thought it was going to be. Then I had to pay the $75 "brokerage fee" to UPS. Then I looked at my bank account and saw that my bank has charged me $60 as an "international transaction fee".
So the whole thing has cost me almost $200 more than I expected when I decided to place the order. Seems kind of ridiculous to me.
Oh well, at least I'm pretty confident these will sound great.
-Chris
The UPS brokerage fee you can do nothing about, except ask for normal post shipping perhaps. The postal services will most likely also charge you for customs brokerage, but it generally will be less than what the big courier companies charge.
Secondly, if you attach a credit card to Paypal then your card will be charged the amount of the procurement. Whatever forex is applicable will be done by your credit card. Usually, that works out to be less expensive than using the Paypal-to-bank option.
But now you got the gear. Good luck with the build!
Secondly, if you attach a credit card to Paypal then your card will be charged the amount of the procurement. Whatever forex is applicable will be done by your credit card. Usually, that works out to be less expensive than using the Paypal-to-bank option.
But now you got the gear. Good luck with the build!
If you are in California, you will also be soon hit with use tax for the imports.
With regards to the placement of the modules and power supplies, here're two pictures of my system:
The base plate is 10mm thick aluminium. I wired the drivers directly to the amps to minimise the contact resistance and preserve the benefits of the extremely low output impedance of the NCore modules as much as possible. It also saves me the hassle of figuring out what connector to use and no connector is as good as no connector.
The system is totally quiet, you need to press your ear against the mid to be able to hear a faint noise and it's just noise. There's no hum, whistling or popcorn noise at all.
In case you're wondering why the amp for the tweeter has a separate power supply, the tweeter is a direct drive ribbon with a 2Ω series resistor.
regards,
Gerrit
The base plate is 10mm thick aluminium. I wired the drivers directly to the amps to minimise the contact resistance and preserve the benefits of the extremely low output impedance of the NCore modules as much as possible. It also saves me the hassle of figuring out what connector to use and no connector is as good as no connector.
The system is totally quiet, you need to press your ear against the mid to be able to hear a faint noise and it's just noise. There's no hum, whistling or popcorn noise at all.
In case you're wondering why the amp for the tweeter has a separate power supply, the tweeter is a direct drive ribbon with a 2Ω series resistor.
regards,
Gerrit
Thank you
The full story can be found in this thread: The Totem of Tone, an active 3-way dipole and active subwoofer
regards,
Gerrit
Very nice! And I really like your no-nonsense approach to stuff like using the DLCP analog input...
I never have Paypal or other trading plattforms currencies converted. They are charging (for the customer) disadvantegous exchange rates (and hidden) commissions for that comfort feature. Their actual exchange rate is not transparent either. I let the credit card company do it, which is more decent. I saved quite a bit of money this way.
The logistics companies seem to charge quite a bit for their customs service too. Have heard it several times now from people in the states...
Thank you
I have a lot of material on Blu-ray, DVD audio and SACD and I couldn't figure out how to decode and split multichannel (e.g. DTS HD Master 5.1) into separate S/PDIF streams so I decided to test if I using the analog input was OK. My Oppo BDP-105 has separate analog unbalanced and balanced outputs, so I was able to compare the direct unbalanced output with the balanced output with the DLCP inserted. I even used the digital attenuation in the DLCP to match the levels to within 0.1dB. I could not hear any difference so I decided to keep it simple and just use the analog input.
Thank you
The subwoofer with amp:
To power on the system I build a simple switch box with three softstart units as I found that switching on three SPMS modules simultaneously trips the circuit breaker in my house.
The NCore modules get the amp-on signal from the DLCP, this provides for a click and pop free startup and shutdown. Well, actually there's a lot of clicking going on at startup but that's because of all the relais in the power supplies. I like the steampunk feel of it
In case you're wondering, the Furutech mains cable is leftover from my audiophile days. Nowadays I just use decent mains (Belden) and signal (Mogami) cable with Neutrik connectors.
regards,
Gerrit
Gerrit,
I had the same issue with the Oppo and I ended up getting a $ 50 thingy that gets on the Oppo HDMI output, passes through the HDMI but extracts the digital stereo audio PCM from the stream.
The law says they are not allowed to send out the digital stereo from SACD, DVD etc, but it is on the HDMI out and can be simply extracted.
That works, so I CAN use the digital input of my digital xover.
Not saying it makes a lot of difference, but it is possible with this little gizmo.
BTW Your metal work looks professional. Did you do that yourself also?
Jan
I had the same issue with the Oppo and I ended up getting a $ 50 thingy that gets on the Oppo HDMI output, passes through the HDMI but extracts the digital stereo audio PCM from the stream.
The law says they are not allowed to send out the digital stereo from SACD, DVD etc, but it is on the HDMI out and can be simply extracted.
That works, so I CAN use the digital input of my digital xover.
Not saying it makes a lot of difference, but it is possible with this little gizmo.
BTW Your metal work looks professional. Did you do that yourself also?
Jan
Use your soundcard as an oscilloscope!? Fins some free or trial software to go along.
//
//
Hi Julf
Nobody local that I know of has an Osciliscope, unfortunately...I would love to have this tested :-(
Safe to say that SGK (many thanks again) already re-built most of my nCore, twisting all the wires properly and patching up other bits he could see were poorly finished...but it still has the same, or similar sonic signature.
Reason I was goading a response as to what this interference/noise from untwisted wires sounds like, is trying to understand if this could be some form of noise affecting my nCore?
It has been said the AUDIOLAB MDAC sounds better outside of its aluminium case (sounds harsher/colder the closer they lower the mainboard to the casing) - the Designer himself stated there may be some RFI refelctions, affecting some circuits? Guess one day I need to find the time and space to run this amp naked, outside of the box.
Other Amps I've tried it against so far are SGK's KRELL 200W (didnt have long to listen but my initial thought was it sounded brasher vs his KRELL), TAG McLaren 60P (60w), 100X5R (100w Monblocks), 250MR (250w Monoblocks) and an ARCAM Stereo 80w. Various 'DACs' and Speakers in these setups also.
It's a similar observation each time so far - my nCore brings out the brashest, most unpleasant sounding high frequencies.
I did a week's swap with my friend who has the TAG McLaren F1 Speakers, for his TAG 250MR ...funny enough I started enjoying my music again, which became less fatiguing and there was just more depth to the sound-stage...no other way to describe it.
Ricky was also happy to have his 250MRs back again as his comments regarding my nCore were ... "Great Bass, but the rest sounds like toast, with no butter" (quite an accurate analogy if I may say so)
Has anyone else noticed similar to what I am describing? ...I was very keen to visit SebbyP to listen on his Phison DAC but he has gone a bit quiet - no offence intended if you are busy Sebby, just seem to have lost contact..cest la vie
Hi Julf
Nobody local that I know of has an Osciliscope, unfortunately...I would love to have this tested :-(
Safe to say that SGK (many thanks again) already re-built most of my nCore, twisting all the wires properly and patching up other bits he could see were poorly finished...but it still has the same, or similar sonic signature.
Reason I was goading a response as to what this interference/noise from untwisted wires sounds like, is trying to understand if this could be some form of noise affecting my nCore?
It has been said the AUDIOLAB MDAC sounds better outside of its aluminium case (sounds harsher/colder the closer they lower the mainboard to the casing) - the Designer himself stated there may be some RFI refelctions, affecting some circuits? Guess one day I need to find the time and space to run this amp naked, outside of the box.
Other Amps I've tried it against so far are SGK's KRELL 200W (didnt have long to listen but my initial thought was it sounded brasher vs his KRELL), TAG McLaren 60P (60w), 100X5R (100w Monblocks), 250MR (250w Monoblocks) and an ARCAM Stereo 80w. Various 'DACs' and Speakers in these setups also.
It's a similar observation each time so far - my nCore brings out the brashest, most unpleasant sounding high frequencies.
I did a week's swap with my friend who has the TAG McLaren F1 Speakers, for his TAG 250MR ...funny enough I started enjoying my music again, which became less fatiguing and there was just more depth to the sound-stage...no other way to describe it.
Ricky was also happy to have his 250MRs back again as his comments regarding my nCore were ... "Great Bass, but the rest sounds like toast, with no butter" (quite an accurate analogy if I may say so)
Has anyone else noticed similar to what I am describing? ...I was very keen to visit SebbyP to listen on his Phison DAC but he has gone a bit quiet - no offence intended if you are busy Sebby, just seem to have lost contact..cest la vie
Unfortunately i am experiencing something similar. But i havent yet concluded anything. The setup is 4way active with Seas T25CF001 tweeter and W15CY mid drivers driven by NC400. XO is LR4 at 2k.
There are many variables here, but the XOs, speaker distortions, freq and phase responses (on and off axis) seem to be measuring well. Yet the mid/upper ranges are quite unsatisfactory. Tweeter range does seem harsh to my ears. The music is just not as smooth, fluid, clean or engaging as some other setup i have heard. I understand these subjective words dont mean much at all, but its the best i have at this time. Actually my wife's feedback is very similar though to her i have been strongly defending the setup i have put together
.I will be trying various things to investigate. Any pointers are appreciated, especially things i can do to investigate if the NC400 amps i hooked up are in some form of distress causing them to under perform.
Hi Jojip
Treble is definitely more sandpapery sounding with my nCore than other amps I have...
I have been looking at this on eBay:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172096440934
Neutrik 3 Pin NC3MXX-EMC Male XLR Connector. Silver Connector, Gold Pins.
SGK recommended it be worth a try, these EMC XLRs...just in case some noise is getting in.
I was sold on the nCore after reading from various sources that these amps had Valve-like treble....it's the complete opposite in my experience this far :-(
I need to try this amp out of the case some time in case there are some RFI issues when close to aluminium (may not be an issue but I've come across people insisting on Plywood cases due to such issues with other equipment)
Treble is definitely more sandpapery sounding with my nCore than other amps I have...
I have been looking at this on eBay:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172096440934
Neutrik 3 Pin NC3MXX-EMC Male XLR Connector. Silver Connector, Gold Pins.
SGK recommended it be worth a try, these EMC XLRs...just in case some noise is getting in.
I was sold on the nCore after reading from various sources that these amps had Valve-like treble....it's the complete opposite in my experience this far :-(
I need to try this amp out of the case some time in case there are some RFI issues when close to aluminium (may not be an issue but I've come across people insisting on Plywood cases due to such issues with other equipment)
www.mouser.co.uk
Also, have a think about a simple 100R + 100p filter to pin 1 chassis on each of the inputs (pins 2 and 3)
Also, have a think about a simple 100R + 100p filter to pin 1 chassis on each of the inputs (pins 2 and 3)
- Status
- Not open for further replies.