Hypex Ncore

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I have 8 channels of Hypex amplifers (NC400 and UCD400) i use in an active speaker setup. The amplifiers are in 4 separate stereo enclosures. These are all connected to a Belkin power strip. The srip also powers my DAC.
The strip has some kind of built in spike suppressor.

My question is if all the SMPSs drawing power from this power strip with suppressor can affect performance of these amps in any way? Will i be better off using a plain power strip without any spike suppression filters?

other recommendations are appreciated.

thanks
 
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I have 8 channels of Hypex amplifers (NC400 and UCD400) i use in an active speaker setup. The amplifiers are in 4 separate stereo enclosures. These are all connected to a Belkin power strip. The srip also powers my DAC.
The strip has some kind of built in spike suppressor.

My question is if all the SMPSs drawing power from this power strip with suppressor can affect performance of these amps in any way? Will i be better off using a plain power strip without any spike suppression filters?

other recommendations are appreciated.

thanks

Anyone?
 

TNT

Member
Joined 2003
Paid Member
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

Beware of that the output is differential. If you ground any of the two output leads, the amp will probably burn.

//
 
Iscream,

Your eyes are not your ears and unfornatully there is not whole protocol to read specs and claim an amp is better (at ears) than an other: it is more complicate (again : unfornatully ! Of course we don't speak about to marry 83 dB sensivity speakers with 2 W DHT amps when we talk about complicate things here ! Some believe their eyes are better than there ears and vice versa : without listening so much real not amped music very often !)

NC500 : seems to be better at ears without knowing why : some nice distors from the different buffers and bad buffers PCBs and its powersupply : surely ! How to know it will be nice in your system.... as it pushs in it some nice distrors (colours !) ... whivch are maybe not the ones your systems/rooms (to be very short) needs!

NC400 : better spec, but most seem to find it... dry and too damped ! But : what are the sources, the speakers from these testimonials ????

From all the tstimonials I readed the purchasers of NC500 have very simple hifi I could call : casual (the nice little English speakers with the bad sources which call for a lot of works on the cables and the amp to find an acceptable equilibrium ! And I don't say English speakers are all bads, there are some fabulous and a lot not so good, same here and elswhere !)

There is no doubt than the power supply smps tipology makes a lot... Hypex is not alone about this choice !

My thoughts : some of the testimonials here are made with bad sources : you will win more on working on your sources than on the amp even if you have a bad speaker !

beware to the mirages and the business here some are pushing very far!

PS : I listen everydays : american speakers (and have som eenglish Kef ref & Proac as well) with an English smps amp (Chord) ! For what it worths !
 
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Some pretty serious signatures here!

Triode Corporation TRX-M845 Monoblocks, Ayre VX-5 Twenty, Ayre MX-R Twenty monos, Accuphase A-36, Jolida Fusion 3502, Cary 300B SE, JBL 4367, Sonus Faber Stradivari, Klipsch Palladium P17-b, Klipsch RP-160M, Klipsch RB-75, KEF LS50, Nord One UP NC500MB monos, Lumin S1, Carver VTA20S, Manley Steelhead, ModWright Ultimate Sony XA-5400ES, ASL Wave monos, Kimber RCA and XLR cable, VPI Classic 3, VPI SDS, Lyra Kleos, Burmester 948, Metric Halo LIO-8.

Main system: VPI Prime, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Ortofon Quintet Black, LKV Research Phono 2SB, Aurender N10, T&A DAC8 DSD, Audio Research REF5SE, Audio Research REF75, Nord One 994 monos, , Von Schweikert VR5 Anniversary MKII, Neotech and Furutech cabling and connectors.
Backups: Aurender N100H, Schiit Yggydrasil, Line Magnetic LM502ca, Gustard X20U
Audio Research LS27, BAT VK50SE, Hattor passive, Parasound P5, BAT VK3i, Anodyne hybrid mono amps, Rogue ST100, Hypex Ncore NC400, Parasound A21, Joseph Pulsars, KEF LS50, 2-SVS SB13-Ultra

HQPlayer running on a custom built C.A.P.S. Pipeline with a JCAT USB card, both the PC and JCAT powered by an HDPLEX Power Supply. Modified Gustard X20U DAC powered by the HDPLEX PS, Bent TAP Passive Preamp, NORD One Up NC500 monos, DIY'd Texas Revelator Towers (TRT's) from Selah Audio(see avatar), Planus II speaker cables from MG Audio, Furutech XLR's, P.I. Audio UberBuss, Empire 598 TT

Main - JVC QL-Y7/Denon Dl-301 Mk II, Classe CDP-5, Auralic Aries, Aqua La Voce S2, Modwright LS-100 with tube phono board, Nord One Up Sparkos, Nola KO's, PC's - Blue Circle, Audio Sensibility & Neotech, IC's & SC's- Audio Sensibility, (2) Blue Circle PLC FX-2's

Family Room - Oppo 83SE, Auralic Aries Mini w/LPS, Nuprime DAC-10 & ST-10, Spatial M3 Turbo S, (2) ACI Force XL's, Cables- Wireworld & Audio Magic & Cullen Cable

In Reserve- W4S STP-SE, Sonic Frontier Line 2 SE+, W4S mAMPS, Music Reference RM-10, Odyssey Audio Kismet, Granite Audio 861's, Mystere PA-11, Job 225, Line Magnetic 502CA, Odyssey Lorelei, Nola Boxer, Vandersteen 2WQ's
 
Fused IEC Mains Inlet with SMPS600?

Hi!

This is my first post to this neverending thread...

For a monoblock amp with NC400 and SMPS600 modules, does the IEC mains inlet connector need to be equipped with a fuse, as seen on the NC400 mono kit available from Hypex?

Since the SMPS600 power supply is already equipped with a fuse on the mains input, why would we need to add a fuse at the mains connector? I'm scratching my head on this one...
 
A fused IEC socket gives you two advantages: convenience and safety. It is easier to change a fuse that is accessible from the outside of the case (provided it blows before the one on the PSU of course), and having one built into the socket will protect you better from any nasty experiences if something goes wrong with the internal mains wiring or power switch.
 
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A fused IEC socket gives you two advantages: convenience and safety. It is easier to change a fuse that is accessible from the outside of the case (provided it blows before the one on the PSU of course), and having one built into the socket will protect you better from any nasty experiences if something goes wrong with the internal mains wiring or power switch.

I only see an advantage if the socket fuse has a lower current rating to account for selectivity. If both fuses are rated the same, and one of them blows, the other one is likely to the point of blowing itself and should be replaced too. Otherwise it may conduct poorly plus blow in short time. This is common fitting practice.

Myself, I omit the socket fuse. Chances of blowing are slim enough as they are. And if and when that happens, I have no qualms opening my DIY amp.
 
Ncore layout question

Apologies if this had already covered (this is a very long thread!), but I'm looking for some layout advice for my stereo NCore build. I bought a case from Ghent Audio and a NC400 - SMPMS1200 connection kit from Hypex, in addition to the NCores and power supply. Ghent provided me with a longer case than the usual Ncore stereo offering - but I'm worried that the orientation of the power cables isn't so great. Specifically, I'm worried about the proximity of the cables from the power supply to the inputs/outputs, and the fact that they pretty much have to make contact with the NCores the way things are currently configured. Any thoughts, suggestions, advice welcome.
 

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If I remember correctly it was suggested that these amps not got through any power filtering or correction device.

However I don't think a couple of movs in parallel would hurt.

Indeed, MOVs in parallel won't hurt, but I would avoid anything with series chokes.

[sorry for being away, but for some reason the forum didn't notify me of new messages, so I assumed the thread was dead]
 
NC500 : seems to be better at ears without knowing why : some nice distors from the different buffers and bad buffers PCBs and its powersupply : surely ! How to know it will be nice in your system.... as it pushs in it some nice distrors (colours !) ... whivch are maybe not the ones your systems/rooms (to be very short) needs!

Which is why I am against the use of "better" when describing subjective preferences. Often it means "more pleasant to me in the current system, in my current listening room, with my music preferences and the mood I happen to be in".
 

TNT

Member
Joined 2003
Paid Member
A wide case would probable have been more ideal doing stereo.

Maybe the best way is to turn each 90 deg so that the nC power connector face each other. This might require some offsetting alongside to accommodate the cables. I would have liked to run the power feeding to them close to that transformer on the board - that means splitting the paths and probably an offset position of the splitting board.

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

That statement talks about balanced amplifier circuits, not connections / differential input stages.

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

No. Balanced/differential connections are less sensitive to noise (whatever connector you use), that's all.
 
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