Hypex Ncore

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interesting solid aluminum Ncore build: link

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If...

Why are all these guys separating the PSU areas from the nCore modules? Does this have any sonic advantage....!?

One goes with a machined from billet style chassis construction there is no reason not to do this, so why not. A chassis like this offers real isolation from any RF field broadcast by the SMPS, much more isolation than a thin piece of metal offers.
 
One goes with a machined from billet style chassis construction there is no reason not to do this, so why not. A chassis like this offers real isolation from any RF field broadcast by the SMPS, much more isolation than a thin piece of metal offers.

I do agree
in this case having no walls between PSU and modules means more machining hours so why not to do this
 
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Aesthetics

to really separate and control the emissions between the psu and the amp you want to run the power leads thru filters between the physical sections. The typical device for this is called a feed-thru. Its basically a wire running thru a cap (ceramic) to ground, forming a hf shunt to ground.

But that is for voltage fields only, magnetic fields are also of interest. Usually the square law diminishes them enough anyway to be of negligible consequence.

and then the question is if any of this is of sufficient level to be audible.

Cheers
Alan
 
I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to Gerrit's system a while ago when I was picking up some second hand drivers at his place.

One word: Stunning (full stop).

His attention to detail is exceptional and so are his technical skills and knowledge (do read the totem of tone thread he linked, very informative).

Every part of his system is there for a reason (a good one, pure physics/measurements, no nonsense).

Personal (subjective) opinion - best system i've ever heard.


With regards to the placement of the modules and power supplies, here're two pictures of my system:

View attachment 558811

View attachment 558812

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
 
I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to Gerrit's system a while ago when I was picking up some second hand drivers at his place.

One word: Stunning (full stop).

His attention to detail is exceptional and so are his technical skills and knowledge (do read the totem of tone thread he linked, very informative).

Every part of his system is there for a reason (a good one, pure physics/measurements, no nonsense).

Personal (subjective) opinion - best system i've ever heard.

Thank you very much, you're making me blush :)

The NCore amps provide for an enormous headroom thus the system never sounds strained in any way right up to the limit.
I also really like the high efficiency as this makes it possible to construct very compact amplifiers that can be easily integrated in an active loudspeaker. Even when playing music very loud for a prolonged period the temperature never rises above 45 degrees Celsius.

regards,

Gerrit
 
"True balanced configuration cancels even harmonics (warm sound) but does nothing to odd harmonics (bright sound)."

Do you Gents think there is any merit to this statement? Could XLR connections enhance sibilance?

Ok well I got this from someone I trust!

"Its total rubbish - A balance circuit only "cancels" its own even order distortion just as a balanced connected load would - but a good design will have no distortion to cancel anyway...

A balanced circuit does not cancel any external signal or distortion as a circuit cannot distinguish between the two (A balanced circuit can only reject / attenuate unwanted Common Mode signals)."
 
Update:

I tried as close a blind test as i could perform between the NC400 and Arcam.
One driving mid/tweeter on the left speaker and the other driving them on the right speaker.

I moved both speakers to the center of the room and abutted them side-by-side. Then routed left channel of music to both. Then i requested my wife to randomly mute and unmute one of the two speakers as a familiar music was playing and i was listening from a distance with eyes closed.

I cannot tell any difference between the two amps. So likely there is nothing seriously off in the way i assembled the modules.

But i continue to see elevated distortions on my measurement of the raw drivers on the speakers, when compared to measurement of those drivers available on the internet.

Something in the measurement chain is the culprit but i haven't located it. It could explain my unhappiness with the mid/high on certain types of music (any music that is fast and has a wide spectrum of frequencies playing together)

Want to measure the distortions on the amp outputs. Is this doable using simple setups available?
 
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)

I was reading the NC500 thread last night and realized that you're probably running one of those rather than the NC400. Are you able to switch op amps to see if you find something you like better?

Have you had a chance to compare your NC500 back to back with a NC400, using the "perfect" input buffer?
 
Update:

I tried as close a blind test as i could perform between the NC400 and Arcam.
One driving mid/tweeter on the left speaker and the other driving them on the right speaker.

I moved both speakers to the center of the room and abutted them side-by-side. Then routed left channel of music to both. Then i requested my wife to randomly mute and unmute one of the two speakers as a familiar music was playing and i was listening from a distance with eyes closed.

I cannot tell any difference between the two amps. So likely there is nothing seriously off in the way i assembled the modules.

But i continue to see elevated distortions on my measurement of the raw drivers on the speakers, when compared to measurement of those drivers available on the internet.

Something in the measurement chain is the culprit but i haven't located it. It could explain my unhappiness with the mid/high on certain types of music (any music that is fast and has a wide spectrum of frequencies playing together)

Want to measure the distortions on the amp outputs. Is this doable using simple setups available?

Hopefully one of the electronics engineers will chime in here but, from what I've read, the NCore amps have better specs than most amateur measurement setups. So the noise and distortion end up being more from the measurement equipment than the amplifier.

Somewhere back in the thread, someone posted measurements done with a well respected (EMU 404) sound card. But it turned out that the posted measurements lined up with those of the sound card. The setup didn't have the resolution to measure the amplifier performance.

I started reading in the equipment & tools forum over the weekend to see what it would take to do this kind of measurement. My multi channel DAC is going to be the weakest link in my chain but I don't know if it will be weak enough to make an audible difference. I was hoping a fairly entry level digital scope would do the job but it seems an actual audio analyzer is needed.

-Chris
 
I was reading the NC500 thread last night and realized that you're probably running one of those rather than the NC400. Are you able to switch op amps to see if you find something you like better?

Have you had a chance to compare your NC500 back to back with a NC400, using the "perfect" input buffer?

Hi iScream

I would love to do an nc400 vs my stock nc500 comparison. I've not come across anyone local to West London yet to do this with.

I'm not convinced changing for random OpAmps is the solution...if the base of the amp module with recommended defaults is somehow noisy, then masking this with OpAmps may actually make things even worse in terms of ultimate transparency - hanging out on these threads has made me weary of pseudoscience and Audiophoolery :)

Someone informed me on here, that discerning anything apart with less than 1% distortion is probably in your head... I will never say never though, but not willing to throw lots of money at my 'problem' anymore, as I won't get it back if I decide to sell
 
I buy the one with rosin in various widths.

Thanks.

After reading some and deciding that 3003 aluminum fit my needs better than 6061, I ended up ordering a few squares from amazon. Got some aluminum rod too.

You guys think you're all fancy with your CNC machining. Well mine will be brazed together by hand. Now that's craftsmanship. :D

If it doesn't look too awful I might even post a picture when I'm done.

-Chris
 
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