The Aleph J's emphasizes midrange, bass and highs.....
You seem to be focused on balance of frequencies.
You don't know your loudspeakers' balance......
I am sorry, for my this "review" is completely useless
I´m sorry but all your posts in this thread is completely useless including this post
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I've just spend quite a while trying a design based on that profile. The only problem is the height is 2mm short of the 50mm minimum unless insulation is used (I'm not sure what that involves). All was going fairly well until I added 4mm top and bottom panels and unless I've made a mistake, the cost for 2 units came to about 550 Euros! Still working it all out and completing the CAD designs will help me no doubt.
They should, since they are a clone of the Pop box =)
And about that. You are over interpreting what I wrote. When I wrote that it was like EQ I meant as a metafor, as in the bass and high frequencies were less noticable than the midrange when playing complex music, not that I could make them sound the same by adjusting EQ. The big difference was that more instruments could be heard at the same time, the difference was smaller on less complex signals.
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I've just spend quite a while trying a design based on that profile. The only problem is the height is 2mm short of the 50mm minimum unless insulation is used (I'm not sure what that involves). All was going fairly well until I added 4mm top and bottom panels and unless I've made a mistake, the cost for 2 units came to about 550 Euros! Still working it all out and completing the CAD designs will help me no doubt.
try some kevlar tape on the opposite surface, probably better than teflon tape as it doesn't puncture as easily. Don't really know if that makes it legal, but I bet it does.
Alan Garren
try some kevlar tape on the opposite surface, probably better than teflon tape as it doesn't puncture as easily. Don't really know if that makes it legal, but I bet it does.
Alan Garren
OllBoll,
When comparing two amplifiers, it must be completely clear that the amps are able to drive the loudspeakers used, without loosing some of their inherent qualities (the amps that is).
The problem I have with your review is that I doubt that the Aleph J, which has quite a reputation for sound quality, is capable to drive your speakers without loosing some of it's qualities.
Speakers are bass reflex; how is the impedance curve (parallelled tweeters)? Efficiency?
You compare:
Aleph J - 25 watt, low damping factor, single ended, with
Ncore - 200 watt, high damping factor (capable to drive about everything).
Based on your comments I have doubts with the Aleph J - speakers combination.
Therefore for me it is impossible to draw any usefull conclusions. When it sounded rude, it was not meant that way. Your contribution is appreciated nonetheless.
When comparing two amplifiers, it must be completely clear that the amps are able to drive the loudspeakers used, without loosing some of their inherent qualities (the amps that is).
The problem I have with your review is that I doubt that the Aleph J, which has quite a reputation for sound quality, is capable to drive your speakers without loosing some of it's qualities.
Speakers are bass reflex; how is the impedance curve (parallelled tweeters)? Efficiency?
You compare:
Aleph J - 25 watt, low damping factor, single ended, with
Ncore - 200 watt, high damping factor (capable to drive about everything).
Based on your comments I have doubts with the Aleph J - speakers combination.
Therefore for me it is impossible to draw any usefull conclusions. When it sounded rude, it was not meant that way. Your contribution is appreciated nonetheless.
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Ken Kantor knows driver and loudspeaker system design better than most. I had the great pleasure to attend an AES meeting at which Ken spoke and demonstrated with several drivers and proprietary test gear.
IIRC, before testing T/S parameters, Ken burns in woofers and mid-bass drivers for 1/2 hour, 5VAC, and about a 1/4 octave above the driver's specified Fs. IMO Ken spends 30 minutes because 30 minutes is necessary for accurate T/S specifications, and no other reason.
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The speakers are of 90 db efficiency 8 ohm nominal, with no evil impedance drops as far as I know. The tweeters are series parallel so those shouldn't present a problem. Impedance is something I should be able to measure though and can probably do that sometime in the near future, maybe tomorrow unless I'm lazy
.FWIW, I had a very similar observation when comparing an expensive, high quality Class D amp to my Ncores on my 95db efficient speakers. Both amplifiers were more than capable of driving my speakers which are an easy load with benign impedance curve. Yet....the Ncores were notably more accurate across the frequency range which allowed minute and delicate details to be rendered while playing very complex passages. All this while maintaining a balanced energy balance where neither leading or trailing edge transients were accentuated or truncated. This difference was noticeable on everything I played, but was most obvious on complex material.
Lastly, another thing that stands out for me with the Ncores is how good and resolved they sound at low volume.
Can we please keep snake oil related topics like these out of the thread?
There are already too many more or less off topic posts which do not contribute to the transparency.
Hmmm, snake oil you say. Once the earth was considered flat but some became wiser at first, and then others followed.... Who are we to judge what is snake oil and what isn´t?
Furthermore why are we suddenly to keep "snake oil related topics" out of the thread??? Please read this in relation to the above question...
I would propose some humility to be in order as the only thing that we can be sure of is that we WILL become wiser. I am not claiming that good cables necessarily need to be expensive, but cables certainly matters. I guess that no one would actually argue against that any more. Once it was the common belief, and it probably still is among most not-hifi-enthusiasts. -Yes the earth is probably more round than flat -at least to most people ;-)
There probably still is more between heaven and earth than what we currently "know" and especially more than what we can measure in a meaningful way. Which is only one way of knowing among other ways, if I may add. Our ears surely continually indicates that.
Peiter, this is not specifically directed to you.
BTW Peiter, was it you who mentioned the Metrum NOS mini dac earlier? It really got me interested as it seems to be quite without competition in its price range. Was it the octave, if I remember correct?
best,
I don`t understand this at all
My experience (35years) with audio amplifiers has always been without any exception, that they all get better after a certain amount of
breaking in !
I doubt that the NC400 is any different !
Some amps reach their optimal potiental within a few days and some don`t. But I do believe that a breaking in period is absolutely nessesary !
The audio components need some amount of time to settle in and reach their peak level
I`ve tried these class D amps in my own setup :
Acoustic Reality amp EAR 2 with Ice power A500.
Hypex UCD400.
Lyngdorf SDA2175.
LC Audio Zappulse 2.3SE.
Regards Gonzax
PS: review to come at the end of this weekend
Gonzax, I am looking forward to that review!
I also have an AR EAR 2 -Its cable connectivity is horrible and have caused my hair to grow thin and grey before age, but it does perform quite well
Would you be so kind to report how you found the EAR 2 to perform in comparison to the UCD400 (linear/SMPS PS?) and more importantly how the NCORE compares against these two amps?
BTW, are you by any chance living close to Copenhagen, if I may be so bold to ask?
Best,
I am considering using two nCores per 2-way speaker. This would be configured as one nCore driving the passive LF network independently and second nCore driving the passive HF network independently. Both amp inputs would see a full range signal.
Can the two amp inputs just be paralleled directly at the amps or would this somehow cause problems with the floating inputs? I would be using a single ended source via RCA on the preamp with pins 1-3 jumpered and balanced cable (3 + shield) to an XLR end at the amps with an XLR Y to both amps.
Tom
Can the two amp inputs just be paralleled directly at the amps or would this somehow cause problems with the floating inputs? I would be using a single ended source via RCA on the preamp with pins 1-3 jumpered and balanced cable (3 + shield) to an XLR end at the amps with an XLR Y to both amps.
Tom
Feels kinda excessive :O
If you used active crossovers then sure but unless you do that it's probably just overkill. Test it yourself before: Buy 2 NCores and drive each crossover part with one NCore and then compare when having a single NCore driving both drivers, if you hear a big difference enough that you feel 2x Ncores more is worth it then by all means go for it =)
No such thing as overkill
That's what I have in mind but I'm going to use the passive XO's so was concerned about creating problems on the inputs. With most amps, it's not a problem but I wanted to be sure since I don't know much about these.
Juhleren,Excellent post.
I believe there are three reasons why some people don't or won't hear a difference in break in and in cables while other claim to hear a difference.
1. - Some people simply don't hear as well. When Chuck Yeager was flying fighters, he credits his superior eyesight with making him more effective than other pilots. He could simply see enemy planes further out than most of his teammates. If it weren't for the fact that the enemy planes eventually got closer and his teammates could finally see them, I am sure some of his fellow pilots would have called B.S. had the enemy planes never materialized by turning back. Humans tend to disbelieve what we can't hear or see. I have had non-audiophile friends who have listened to my system who say that the sound is coming directly from the speakers while other non-audiophile friends have been stunned at the width, depth and separation of the soundstage saying that they had no idea such an illusion was possible with a stereo system. Same system - different people.
2. - Some believe that if it can't be measured it can't be heard and that potentially prejudices the listeners experience. Just the same as some listeners wanting to hear a difference because they paid mega bucks for a cable. No difference, just different mental agendas.
3. - There is the possibility that break in and audible differences in cables that measure the same simply don't exist.
Clearly, no one is going to change their mind on break in or cable sonics based on what is said in this or any other thread. We've heard it all before.
In the meantime, hopefully we will all agree that listening to the NCore and it's fabulous measurments are as good we had anticipated it to be.
(Ironically, some will continue to that argue that Class D will never sound as good as Class A, but that's another kettle of fish althogher.)
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tell me about it... so I can't be sure of break in when using my own ears but I should trust someone from a discussion group I don't even know? gee, that's a bit extreme, isn't it?
as for cable talk... damn, it's not that no thread can do without it, looks like that no thread can do without the flat earth analogy
not saying that cables don't make a difference but it's the last thing I want (or need) to read here.as for the Aleph J... well, most class A amps I've heard emphasized the bass by no small amount. I guess it has to do with low damping factor. yet some like that kind of sound, they call it "full sound" (I'd recommend a good EQ if that kind of emphasis is all they're after).
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Peiter,
You seem thrilled about the Octave, and after some reading around you clearly don´t seem to be alone
Though most reports are surely impressive, I still am not too comfortable with the NOS dac tendency for HF roll off. Metrum claims that they have compensated a little for for this in their processing technique. How would your describe the experienced balance of the octave in your system? And do you feel there are any cons regarding its sound, that one should be aware of?
Sorry everybody for this seemingly off topic question, but for a future ncore build to make sense, one surely needs a dac worthy of what Bruno has created
-Peiter if you prefer (for avoiding too much off topic discussion), then please feel free to pm me with your answer.
Personally I feel that it can be difficult maintain a clear view of what is within and what is outside the topic of the thread...
cheers,
You seem thrilled about the Octave, and after some reading around you clearly don´t seem to be alone
Though most reports are surely impressive, I still am not too comfortable with the NOS dac tendency for HF roll off. Metrum claims that they have compensated a little for for this in their processing technique. How would your describe the experienced balance of the octave in your system? And do you feel there are any cons regarding its sound, that one should be aware of?
Sorry everybody for this seemingly off topic question, but for a future ncore build to make sense, one surely needs a dac worthy of what Bruno has created
-Peiter if you prefer (for avoiding too much off topic discussion), then please feel free to pm me with your answer.
Personally I feel that it can be difficult maintain a clear view of what is within and what is outside the topic of the thread...
cheers,
I've gotten a few, nice days with my NCores and must say I'm very happy with the purchase.
What suprised me the most was how detailed they are, you can hear everything that's going on and placing the instruments are very easy. Even compressed and loud recordings sound OK.
I read a bit acout class D before I got these and was worried the bass would sound harsh and sterile, but that was not the case. Loads of power in the bass and no problems with sterile and boring sound.
As far as I can hear, the only thing my A-60 has going on is that it's a bit warmer, but that's barely noticeable anyway.
What suprised me the most was how detailed they are, you can hear everything that's going on and placing the instruments are very easy. Even compressed and loud recordings sound OK.
I read a bit acout class D before I got these and was worried the bass would sound harsh and sterile, but that was not the case. Loads of power in the bass and no problems with sterile and boring sound.
As far as I can hear, the only thing my A-60 has going on is that it's a bit warmer, but that's barely noticeable anyway.
Gonzax, I am looking forward to that review!
I also have an AR EAR 2 -Its cable connectivity is horrible and have caused my hair to grow thin and grey before age, but it does perform quite well
Would you be so kind to report how you found the EAR 2 to perform in comparison to the UCD400 (linear/SMPS PS?) and more importantly how the NCORE compares against these two amps?
BTW, are you by any chance living close to Copenhagen, if I may be so bold to ask?
Best,
Hi Juhleren
First off I`ll have to say that it is not my amp, the Ncore it belongs to ZAP4EVER but we are assembling it together I´m sure ZAP4EVER will join the discussion again after this weekend
Your absolutely right about the cable connectivity of the Ear Two
I,ve been cut a few times, by those very sharp and pointy spike feet Because you have to put the amp upside down, when you plug in the cables ! They should have made the connections with a small piece of cable sticking out.I ´ve had The Ear Two Ice Power, Hypex UCD400,LC Audio Zappulse 2.0-2.3SE,Bertram Beast Ice Power A and now it`s time to try out the Ncore NC400 .
Actually my present amp is a Solid State
I live in Måløv/Ballerup
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