I used to just buy and sell at will; unfortunately these Hypex are hard to demo so relying on more User input before taking a risk
Bavmike, do you ever sleep!! Hehe
There's no risk. As I've said many times you can make them sound any way you want with the buffer.
Just reading some threads before bed.
An American OEM that had bought an nc1200 (but didn't go through with manufacturing in the end) module; compared to the nc400 he had a year later, apparently forgotten he even had the module, said there was 'more' of everything with the flagship nCore ...mids notably
Let's hope the nc500 has this, or bridges the gap ;-)
Looking forward to more real world user experiences
Not sure about how to interpret the "a year later" part. Did he do an A/B (level matched? I assume there was no ABX), or were the listening sessions done a year apart?
IIRC he had the nc1200 module sitting about for a year, then decided to stop being lazy and he put it together to try it out ...I think his words were along the lines of 'sorry but nc1200 is not just more power, but expressed more of everything' but still didn't want to sell Hypex
I would be inclined to believe this as all reports seem to indicate this so far
I would be inclined to believe this as all reports seem to indicate this so far
Did he level-match the amps? His comment sounds like the typical response to a slightly louder amp (it doesn't necessarily sound "louder'). That might be an issue with several of the nc400 vs. nc1200 tests.
So all your saying is he preferred the sound of the LM4562 IC opamp over the discrete opamp in the NC400.
hypex ncore
Not sure why everyone has a hard time grasping that IC opamp based buffers sound different than discrete.
If the exact same buffers were used on all 3 Ncore amps, you would probably only be able to tell the sound apart at higher listening levels where more power is required, and the lower powered modules start to strain. Perhaps in the dynamics department as well. But tonally, would be identical.
Not sure why everyone has a hard time grasping that IC opamp based buffers sound different than discrete.
If the exact same buffers were used on all 3 Ncore amps, you would probably only be able to tell the sound apart at higher listening levels where more power is required, and the lower powered modules start to strain. Perhaps in the dynamics department as well. But tonally, would be identical.
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Not even that - he preferred the sound of one specific nc1200-based system over one specific nc400 system under some specific, but unknown to us, circumstances, possibly because of a difference in loudness. That is all we can conclude.
I doubt it was just loudness. The LM4562 sounds quite a bit different than the NC400's discrete buffer.
Many people are saying they like the sound of the NAD M22 more than the NC400 as well. It uses buffer less NC400's with LM4562 based buffers.
...and you believe that OpAmps and Resistors are colourless so it all sounds the same anyway, irrespective of input buffer
I don't believe the nc400/500/1200 all sound the same with only MAX power differentiating them
Hypex wouldn't be so foolish or non-business savvy ;-)
The only way to tell if they all sound the same would be to get the OEM versions of the 400, 500, and 1200, and hook the exact same input buffer into all 3.
...and you believe that OpAmps and Resistors are colourless so it all sounds the same anyway, irrespective of input buffer
No, resistors actually used to be colour-coded...
The foolishness or business savvy of Hypex has no effect on sound waves - it is a typical case of confirmation bias. "From a business point of view Hypex must have made them sound different, so they sound different".
And yes, different input stages *can* definitely sound different. Two identical amplifiers can also sound different if one is slightly louder than the other. In absence of more information, we can't rule out either scenario.
Haven't many of the people walking away commented that the nc400 is too transparent?
There is no perfect amp - except the one you happen to like.
Julf,
What are the technical aspects that play into input stages sounding different?
I can imagines an opamp manufactured on standard Si might have passive components which might be a compromise when compared to thier best discrete counterparts.
But what are other measurable/non-measurable effects involved in your opinion?
Has any one considered a THAT based balanced input buffer for Ncore line?
thanks
Jp
What are the technical aspects that play into input stages sounding different?
I can imagines an opamp manufactured on standard Si might have passive components which might be a compromise when compared to thier best discrete counterparts.
But what are other measurable/non-measurable effects involved in your opinion?
Has any one considered a THAT based balanced input buffer for Ncore line?
thanks
Jp
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