Good point, before putting ANY device in my audio system I do check several points and of course I checked that no oscillations were present with a 200 MHz digital scope along with differential probes and amp loaded/unloaded
Excellent! That is a good procedure to follow - I did the same, as well as measuring the DC offsets.
Great - funny enough, the devices I use for measurement were probably designed by those same guys (together with the Technical Research Centre of Finland) for the BeAware EU program...
nCore vs UdC for nearfield monitors
I am considering building my own new near field monitors for my music playing and mixing and have a few questions. How much difference in there between nCore's, UdC's, UdC's with HxR cards installed and also between linear power supplies and SMPS's when used with Hyppex class D amps. I noticed Hypex had some decent deals on some Toroids that would work for the UdCs or the nCores. I would be putting the amplification in the Speakers. I wish the 2.4 Plate amps had a bigger SMPC, I don't get it, 2 x 400 Watt amp modules and a 4-500 Watt power supply.
Thanks,
Brian
I am considering building my own new near field monitors for my music playing and mixing and have a few questions. How much difference in there between nCore's, UdC's, UdC's with HxR cards installed and also between linear power supplies and SMPS's when used with Hyppex class D amps. I noticed Hypex had some decent deals on some Toroids that would work for the UdCs or the nCores. I would be putting the amplification in the Speakers. I wish the 2.4 Plate amps had a bigger SMPC, I don't get it, 2 x 400 Watt amp modules and a 4-500 Watt power supply.
Thanks,
Brian
I think most of us are of the opinion that at least the nCores work best with the SMPSs that are designed for them. To give the same kind of current capability as the hypex SMPSs, you need really big and bulky toroids.
Here's a few points made by Bruno earlier in this thread:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/190434-hypex-ncore-153.html#post2857979
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/190434-hypex-ncore-246.html#post2914326
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Hi,
Could you explain, please, what is wrong on this picture with the output leads?
Thanks in advance [emoji3]
I'm note sure how much the on board buffers dissipate but it shouldn't be much considering the small current draw of the buffer. The on board VDR supply however will make quite a difference on power/heat. NC400 has them build in but I'm not sure about the NC1200...
Many good questions!
On the last Q, think of Class D amps and their matching with 'adequate' power supplies as a trade off between likely use scenarios and unlikely use scenarios. Even highly compressed program material will still hit peak voltage limitations before average current demand makes such a supply the bottleneck. If you look at Hypex 400W SMPS it can deliver 600W peaks but 'only' about 1/3 of that continuously. 400-500VA toroids are typically rated for continous conditions (which means plenty). Their limitations have more to do with peak delivery which is why sufficient supply rail capacitance is needed.
On the SMPS vs linear:
I have tried both linear and SMPS for my UcD180HxR amp. Both can be VERY good but I do find them to sound differently form one another. It's a difficult call to pick a preference since they have each their strengths. The SMPS is clean, clear, quiter, more extended and dynamically 'rigid' whereas the linear is more forgiving and adds a hint of warmth and umph in the lows together with slightly more presence in the top end, all of which makes it more similar sounding to the characteristics of linear class AB amps. I consider the SMSP 'technically' better but if that is not what you ultimately want and prefer to build a tweakable linear supply then that's the way to go.
If you choose Hypex SMPS (which makes a lot of sense to do) then definitely buy UcD with HxR. That's the consensus that I have picked up which is based on that HxR is effectively mitigating any switching noise from the SMPS. Also Hypex make/tweak their SMPS to work well with their amps
As for UcD vs ncore I haven't done a direct comparison although I have heard both. My sense is that a good UcD build will NOT be the bottleneck in most systems and that the extra outlay for ncore should be carefully considered against investments elsewhere in the system: digital source, DAC/turntable, PU, RIAA, speakers and cables etc.
If you have the money and just want to know that you got the 'best', then no doubt go with ncore. If you have a system budget and look for most bang for the buck a UcD180/SMPS like mine can get you VERY far for a lot less...
Hope this helps,
cheers
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Probably that Bruno's advice is to have the speaker leads connected to nc400 so that they leave the nc400 terminals facing each other which makes for the tightest possible twist. All in the name of avoiding EMI noise -especially from the on board output inductor placed near the terminals.
cheers,
As Juhleren wrote, the speaker cables should leave the screw terminals going *towards* each other (so that the twist can start immediately), instead of away from each other (forming a big untwisted loop).
Again, the whole idea is to minimize the area of the untwisted loop formed by the speaker cables.
The NC1200 seems to have them built in, but selectable/bypass-able with jumpers.
Indeed. The SMPS600 provides something like 250W of continuous (as in "can go on forever"). A 500 VA toroid provides more continuous power (as long as your filter caps keeps ripple under control), but is current-limiting at peak power. So do you want to optimize for peaks, or are you usually playing highly compressed music at full power?
Yes, that is the problem with subjective preferences - systems that are technically inferior might subjectively sound better, because we prefer certain kinds of coloration and distortion.
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(10th of February)
Is this voltage drop phenomenon the only opportunity for crosstalk between modules using a common power supply?
I am considering using a pair of nc400 on a single SMPS600, powering a woofer with one and a compression driver with the other.
I am concerned the very different efficiency and power levels might favor crosstalk problems between the two drivers...
The only common connection between the two amps is the power supply. If the power supply voltage stays constant, it is as if the other amp wasn't there at all - no difference.
Even if there was some crosstalk (unlikely), it shouldn't be an issue, as the speakers have different frequency ranges.
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