hypex ncore

[Bruno Putzeys]

Originally Posted by Omholt

Or if class D will ever quite get there.

I'm quite confident you'll find it has...

[mr_push_pull]

Originally Posted by arend-jan

the highs sounded a bit dirty/aggressive.

interesting, the UCDs never gave me that impression, quite the opposite.

[arend-jan]

Originally Posted by mr_push_pull

interesting, the UCDs never gave me that impression, quite the opposite.

Yes I think it is a combination with the Quad ESL that causes this, as it has a scary low input impedance + significant phase shift above 10kHz. When listening with the UcD I had a 1 ohm series resistor that solved the emphasis on the highs. Interesting enough this resistor is not needed nor wanted with the NCore.

[earflappin]

Bruno, do you believe incremental sonic benefits would be gained vertically biamping 95db 2 way monitors versus a single biwired stereo amp configuration? Thanks.

[earflappin]

Originally Posted by arend-jan

OK I'd like to share my first impressions of the ncore amplifier.

Setup is a Tentlabs DIY CD player + Tribute autoformer volume control + NCore into a pair of mint Quad ESL 57 electrostatic loudspeakers (fully refurbished). An all dutch setup as it appears. Previous amplifiers auditioned in this setup are, amongst others, Marantz 8b, Lynn Olson's Karna (PP 300B), SE 300B, PP 6V6, SE GM70, Marantz pm80, and Hypex UcD400.

The first two things I noticed are sound stage and details,details,details. Sound stage is big, stable and has good depth. The music is 'in the air' and does not collapse into the speakers during difficult passages. With details I'm not referring to 'hearing sounds that you never noticed before', but more like everything is better defined. Sounds are more easily recognizable and on several occasions I had the 'aha, so that's what that sound is' experience. Studio effects like artificial refurb stand out more as you can hear deeper into the background. Complex orchestral works do not become a garbled mess, you can still follow each melody and instrument without effort, or just sit back and enjoy.

Compared to the Hypex ucd I would not call the NCore a small improvement. From my experience with the UcD there was a hint of glare in the mids and the highs sounded a bit dirty/aggressive. Not anymore with the NCore. The highs sound natural and clean. No smearing, sibilance or harshness at all.

I've owned the Tentlabs CD player for 3 years now so I know this player well. What I like about it is the low coloration, cleanness and naturalness. It does not have that digital restless and dirtiness to it. The NCore amplifier for me is the perfect match as it has the same qualities.

So far the NCore has made an extremely positive impression!

Arend-Jan, thanks for sharing your impressions. Mine were quite similar, although your speakers present a much more difficult load. I hope the guy with the expensive Accuphase Class A posts more of his impressions.

[Bruno Putzeys]

Originally Posted by earflappin

Bruno, do you believe incremental sonic benefits would be gained vertically biamping 95db 2 way monitors versus a single biwired stereo amp configuration? Thanks.

You mean biamping speakers with passive crossovers? The better an amplifier is, the smaller the benefit of biamping. But if you are curious to play around with a few things, try biwiring. Let both cable runs start at the NC400's screw terminals. My guess is that this should be as good as biamping, considering the low output impedance of the amp.

[Bruno Putzeys]

Originally Posted by arend-jan

Yes I think it is a combination with the Quad ESL that causes this, as it has a scary low input impedance + significant phase shift above 10kHz. When listening with the UcD I had a 1 ohm series resistor that solved the emphasis on the highs. Interesting enough this resistor is not needed nor wanted with the NCore.

Which UcD400 were they? I'm told a recent Tentlabs implementation proved quite capable for your speakers at the ETF.

[3lviz]

Further impressions of nCore vs UCD-400HG HxR:

The first impressions of nCore was the sound is more solid (esp. mids, highs better articulated) compared to UCD but other than that there was not much difference. That statement is still true.

However, i figured that if the there is not much difference, there could be a limiting factor other than my ears. I changed spikes under the speakers and added weight in the speakers' sand chambers. With UCD modules resulted in a bit too harsh/bright/small/"pointy" (hard to define the correct adjective) sound image to my ears and i soon reverted back to more "relaxed" speaker mounting. But, now, with nCore modules, the sound picture only gets better and more solid with kind of changes described. The warmth/smoothness stays with certain recordings, but theres only more resolution.

Like with many things in hifi, after certain point the improvements only create potential for better sound. If the improvement is not given opportunity to implement itself, it's not a real improvement.

I am slowly starting to love nCore and i am excited of what it can provide for me in the future. There seems to be more potential than in UCD modules.

[arend-jan]

Originally Posted by Bruno Putzeys

Which UcD400 were they? I'm told a recent Tentlabs implementation proved quite capable for your speakers at the ETF.

Very much true. At ETF we had the 1 ohm resistor in place. Without it the highs were just too much and sounded tiring. I observed a similar effect two years earlier with the hybrid amp. That's what inspired me to do the experiment with the series resistor at this ETF. I don't know which exact module was in there but you probably do.

[Bruno Putzeys]

UcD400HG + SMPS400 + Tentlabs shunt regulators.