Is the Makua input stage not based on this white paper
http://www.hypex.nl/docs/papers/The G Word.pdf
which is the same design as the recommended input stage in the NC500 data sheet?
Well, my Nord showed up today from Boggit. I got the nc500 stereo with both the Burson, and also got the sparkos so I could try both. Currently the Burson is in it.
My wife and I listened to a couple tracks on the old system, both cd and vinyl, then I swapped out the power amp for the Nord.
Holy Sh1t! We were both stunned by the improvement. It is very detailed, and I would also say pretty neutral. If you are on the fence, buy one. I was worried getting one w/o a demo, and I'm very glad I took the leap.
My system is as follows: this may help others to gauge my impressions, as it's not Ipod through Polks.
Source: Muse Polyhymnia cd, Acoustic Signature wow xl w/ ortofon bronze
Power: Classe CP 50 pre, Boozehound Laps phono pre w/ battery power, Nord ncore 500 (replacing Classe CA 200)
Speakers: Aerial Acoustics 6, PSB subsonic 3 sub
Cables: Cardas Cross and Golden cross, balanced CD to pre and pre to power, biwire spades for speakers
I have recently heard Bel Canto, Joseph Audio, Aerial 7ts, Ayre systems. I think the Nord would run just fine in this company. It's also 1/3 the price or so, so this is an absolute bargain. If you have bright speakers or source components, this amp is not going to "balance out" your system, it will make you start shopping for better components.
I live in the Chicago burbs and could possibly be bribed with a bottle of wine to give a listen
Colin was very gracious with my questions, and he also had to kick in a little extra for shipping for some reason his carrier was unhappy with my zip code for some reason.
My wife and I listened to a couple tracks on the old system, both cd and vinyl, then I swapped out the power amp for the Nord.
Holy Sh1t! We were both stunned by the improvement. It is very detailed, and I would also say pretty neutral. If you are on the fence, buy one. I was worried getting one w/o a demo, and I'm very glad I took the leap.
My system is as follows: this may help others to gauge my impressions, as it's not Ipod through Polks.
Source: Muse Polyhymnia cd, Acoustic Signature wow xl w/ ortofon bronze
Power: Classe CP 50 pre, Boozehound Laps phono pre w/ battery power, Nord ncore 500 (replacing Classe CA 200)
Speakers: Aerial Acoustics 6, PSB subsonic 3 sub
Cables: Cardas Cross and Golden cross, balanced CD to pre and pre to power, biwire spades for speakers
I have recently heard Bel Canto, Joseph Audio, Aerial 7ts, Ayre systems. I think the Nord would run just fine in this company. It's also 1/3 the price or so, so this is an absolute bargain. If you have bright speakers or source components, this amp is not going to "balance out" your system, it will make you start shopping for better components.
I live in the Chicago burbs and could possibly be bribed with a bottle of wine to give a listen
Colin was very gracious with my questions, and he also had to kick in a little extra for shipping for some reason his carrier was unhappy with my zip code for some reason.
Last edited:
At one stage he was using something that he called “Intelligent Power Transistor with Gain” and they were LM3888 - his amps were basically lots of paralleled 'gainclone' chips.
Remember that BS comment, Jan?
Ahem!
I got the Nord One UP amps and I been listening to them past 9 hours. I'll write something about them later this week or next week. They are with the Burson opamps at the moment. What is interesting, is that when got them (beer cold, as it is winter), they sounded quite different than they are are now.
There must have been almost 90 degree phase difference between the channels. I tried 180 degree phase shift with one channel and it did almost nothing?! Low frequencies were were suffering from this and the sound staging didn't work very well, and you can believe, there certainly was a "difference" in the sound. After about 6 hours of playing everything had stabilized to normal operation according to the phase test. But there still might be some subtle changes during following days.
I was a bit worried at first, but now its good times again.
There must have been almost 90 degree phase difference between the channels. I tried 180 degree phase shift with one channel and it did almost nothing?! Low frequencies were were suffering from this and the sound staging didn't work very well, and you can believe, there certainly was a "difference" in the sound. After about 6 hours of playing everything had stabilized to normal operation according to the phase test. But there still might be some subtle changes during following days.
I was a bit worried at first, but now its good times again.
Last edited:
The Sparkos are delivered later. It seems Mr Sparko is a busy dude.
I am pretty sure, it was the cold that made something act weirdly or maybe it's part of the burn-in of the opamp or the amp itself (never experienced that dramatic difference before). I haven't even moved the amps since i turned them on. I'll check the Bursons are properly seated tho. Everything is fine now and getting better hour by hour.
I am pretty sure, it was the cold that made something act weirdly or maybe it's part of the burn-in of the opamp or the amp itself (never experienced that dramatic difference before). I haven't even moved the amps since i turned them on. I'll check the Bursons are properly seated tho. Everything is fine now and getting better hour by hour.
Last edited:
Pasted from other thread...
Me // Have had these nc500 ON solidly for 5 days now...
I am starting to think there may be a little something regarding Burn-in and being ON for a period of time because the midrange seems a little warmer and interesting now, not so recessed as initially thought i.e. Vocals seemed to be behind my speakers, almost in the distance...and I was not that impressed, being honest.
Treble still sounds much the same though, can be etchy with my current Source, but at least now I prefer these nCore to my TAG McLaren amplifiers as the image seems wider and more life-like too, notably when I crank them up (thank Goodness for that)!!!
Report Post
Me // Have had these nc500 ON solidly for 5 days now...
I am starting to think there may be a little something regarding Burn-in and being ON for a period of time because the midrange seems a little warmer and interesting now, not so recessed as initially thought i.e. Vocals seemed to be behind my speakers, almost in the distance...and I was not that impressed, being honest.
Treble still sounds much the same though, can be etchy with my current Source, but at least now I prefer these nCore to my TAG McLaren amplifiers as the image seems wider and more life-like too, notably when I crank them up (thank Goodness for that)!!!
Report Post
I am really struggling to imagine any mechanism that would cause a phase shifty that changes over time or temperature. Lots of other parameters maybe, but phase shift? Do you have access to an oscilloscope?
How cold were these amps? Around 1 degree Celsius, a lot of metals expand/contract! This was learned at School, during experiment the Teacher dropped a metal ball on string through a loop into an ice-bucket. After the ball was cold enough, we were told to pull it back up, but could not pull this ball back up because it had expanded and did not fit through the loop again.
No way to prove Amps being this cool affects things audibly, without tools...but I don't brandish you as a liar Sir ;-)
No way to prove Amps being this cool affects things audibly, without tools...but I don't brandish you as a liar Sir ;-)
Wonder if a pin or something was not making good contact at such a low temperature? Possibility
Solder joints and connectors might suffer from cold, but around freezing is still not very cold - -40C is another story...
My suggestion is to mount a slow fan between SMPS and amp board.
This way you cool the SMPS and transfer some of it's heat to the amp board making it sound "warmer", more tube/valve like (whatever that may be....)
Nonononono. To get the proper audiophile cred, you need to use a large, "aircraft-grade" (whatever that is) machined aluminium case, put in at least 40 kg of lead weights, and a 250W electric heater...
Maybe condensed water could do things like this? Well, i am just happy the problem went away, and i am not going to try to reproduce it.
I cannot be sure, the problem was 90 degree phase shift, but again my imagination struggles to find any other reason for the problem, especially with mono block amps.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.