New B&O ICE Power 1200AS2 Module @ Nord: 600W into 8Ohms 1200W into 4Ohms

[Phil A]

Hi



Ric Schultz - how is your work going? Are you finished? Can you share with us what you got please?

I can answer that one. My amp will be the first one. I spoke to Ric on Thursday and hoping my amp goes out this week. If I don't hear about shipping by the end of this Thursday, I'll give him a call.

[daspringham]

If you're asking which ones I've used that throw a better sound stage I can answer that.

A friend brought over some 845 based amps, I can't recall the brand right now. These threw the biggest soundstage I have ever heard and sounded magical but they were a just little dark for my liking and not as quiet. In fact the noise floor wasn't that great. My Butler 2250 throws a huge soundstage and sounds very similar to the 1200as2 in tone but it's not as quiet either. I would say it is at least as big, maybe a little bigger than the 1200as2. The other amp is also a friends amp, the Don Sach Kootanay 200 which also threw a huge soundstage in my room. That amp I would be hard pressed to find flaw with and it may be better than the 1200as2. But since it isn't mine I haven't had a lot of time with it. The worst amp for soundstage I have heard in my system is the Crown XLS1500. This amp is classic class D in that it has a somewhat harsh top end, it's thin sounding and the soundstage is very small. In fact it wins for the smallest soundstage I've heard in my room to date.

I've got a Don Sachs Kootenay 120 as referred to above by Greg F as well as a Mivera 1200AS. The Kootenay is an excellent amp that has received almost universal praise from it's owners. For a medium power KT88 design the Kootenay is extremely extended at both end of the spectrum, quiet, transparent/detailed and provides an enveloping soundstage. It has wonderful tone with it's 6SN7 input tubes and is thoroughly enjoyable. I purchased it after owning the Mivera for a short time and initially thought is was noticeably superior to the 1200AS, especially in the "presence" factor.

However, I decided to try a different power cord configuration with the Mivera and the net result was startling. The vocal reproduction (which I use to judge amplifier presence) on my Harbeth 40.1's really jumped a notch. In fact it is now at the level where it is within spitting distance of the Kootenay. The Sach's may have a "slight" bit more presence/palpability/wetness but it's extremely close. The soundstage width and depth of the Mivera is right on par with Kootenay along with detail and transparency - actually the notes from the 1200AS seem to jump out a little more coming from that absolute black background that the Class D's are known for.

At this point I would have a hard time deciding which amp I enjoy more. The fact that in my system they are that close may be somewhat surprising to the Class D detractors. Ultimately with it's high efficiency, low heat production and ability to be left on 24-7 in preparation for immediate musical enjoyment I find myself playing the 1200AS more often without the feeling of missing out on any tube goodness.

It's worth noting that I'm fronting both amps with a Vinnie Rossi LIO with the latest DAC and DHT preamp stage utilizing premium 300b's (Takatsuki). I think this may have a lot to do with the ultimate performance of the 1200AS. The DHT stage (no output transformers and extremely clean regulated power supplies) is extremely holographic with heavenly tone and great bandwidth and it seems that the Icepower amp is simply and accurately passing along what it sees at it's input (XLR connection). Seems to me to be an ideal setup.

On another note, I did have the NORD ONE SE UP NC500 monoblocks and sold them in favour of the Icepower. During the time I had the Nord's I was never able to achieve the level of midrange (ie vocal) presence that I'm getting with the Mivera. Seems to be a real nice compliment to the big Harbeths.

By the way, I'm using Moray James power cables but I'm sure that there are a plethora of premium cable brands that could unleash the real potential of the 1200AS. It does reinforce, however the influence of mains cable.

That's my story...

Cheers,
Dave

[joeinid]

Welcome to the forum Dave, thank you for joining.

[Village Tricycle]

I've got my own builds of a 1200AS2, a Hypex NC500 with 'stock' (OEM) buffers and an SMPS3K700 power supply, a Hypex NC502MP and two PS Audio 'monoblock' amps built with Icepower 700AS1s.

I just completed the 1200AS2 today using a Ghent chassis and Ghent supplied wiring harnesses/wires (he screwed up and got the left channel's input wiring harness pinout wrong), so I've only listened to it for about 45 minutes. Sounded good right out the gate.

Be happy to entertain any comparison requests and if you're in Austin, TX might even be able to arrange some listening tests with one of the two systems in my home.

[Village Tricycle]

I honestly doubt that there are any benefits to using boutique expensive power cables with a switch mode power supply. The biggest trace in the PCB couldn't be even equivalent to 12AWG. I've swapped a few in and out and noticed nothing. Absolutely no difference using my PS Audio DirectStream (sr.) DAC and JBL Project Array 1400s connected with Canare 4S11 cables.

[joeinid]

Welcome to the forum, thank you for joining.

[Village Tricycle]

Can anyone share the retail price for their IcePower 1200AS2 amps? I see that Nord's page is not up yet and from what I hear Minerva was "blowing out" some of these things last year, but I cannot find any current listing.

I just built mine yesterday as a hobby project and have listed it for sale on Craigslist, but I'm not sure if forum rules allow me to post a link. I have priced mine at $1000 which is exactly my cost MINUS shipping. I'm using a Ghent solid aluminum chassis and stock Icepower and Ghent internal wiring/harnesses. May upgrade the AC mains leads to a heavier gauge just for peace of mind, but it works great now - it's been tested and burned in for about 3 hours, continuing to improve with time.

Anyway just wondering if my price is too high for the market as again I'm selling at less than my cost - I just have too many amps sitting around (including a yet to be built Hypex NC502MP that I am also probably going to sell).

Any input appreciated!

P.S. I am having trouble uploading reasonably sized files but can add pics if any interest.

[Jack]

That's close to the price of Mike's last batch built with the Ghent cases. The Nord prices have been up for months.

https://www.nordacoustics.co.uk/prod...00as2-in-black

[Village Tricycle]

That's interesting about Nord because this is the page that is linked on his Products listGdmnit....I can't include a link until I've made 10 posts). I will see if I can find a way to do this...

Nothing about pricing or options - so maybe something is wrong with my browser. I've been checking in for a few months, and before today I encountered an "Coming Soon" banner, but never any pricing. Your link does work, but I wonder - how did you navigate there from his main page?

[Village Tricycle]

ww w . nordacoustics DOT co DOT uk/nord-two-ice-power-1200as2-power-am

Remove spaces here and replace dots with "."

No pricing, options or other specifics provided.

[Village Tricycle]

WTH is wrong with the software here? I've tried several times to upload an image or just to edit and when I do nothing happens. Here's what I see at Nord's page for the 1200AS2. I can't even post a pic OR link until after 10 posts? LOL.....guess you'll just have to take my word for it. LOL

On second viewing there are 1200AS2 prices up above in the screen shot I posted, but I guess I didn't think to look there. I did check out his product page and wow looks like he's using even thinner gauge wire for the AC mains internally than I am, so I don't feel bad anymore. Guess I'll leave mine as is with 12AWG...his looks like 14 at most.

[Mike]

WTH is wrong with the software here? I've tried several times to upload an image or just to edit and when I do nothing happens. Here's what I see at Nord's page for the 1200AS2. I can't even post a pic OR link until after 10 posts? LOL.....guess you'll just have to take my word for it. LOL

On second viewing there are 1200AS2 prices up above in the screen shot I posted, but I guess I didn't think to look there. I did check out his product page and wow looks like he's using even thinner gauge wire for the AC mains internally than I am, so I don't feel bad anymore. Guess I'll leave mine as is with 12AWG...his looks like 14 at most.

Yes, you have to get to 10 posts before posting a picture. It’s a rule we have in place to cut down on spammers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Matias]

890 euros for an Apollon
https://www.apollonaudio.com/apollon...sed-amplifier/

[daspringham]

I can answer that one. My amp will be the first one. I spoke to Ric on Thursday and hoping my amp goes out this week. If I don't hear about shipping by the end of this Thursday, I'll give him a call.

Any updates on this yet Phil?

[Phil A]

Any updates on this yet Phil?

Spoke to Ric yesterday (as well as last Thursday - he called yesterday to see if I saw the updated picture on his website of the inside which he told me he'd do over the weekend). I'm hoping to get a shipping notice today or tomorrow (there is a 3 hour time difference). The pics on the website are of my amp. He corrected the date at the top of the amp page (had 2018 - I told him about it yesterday). He covered his proprietary stuff with a piece of felt in the picture (as described in the caption above it),

[Matias]

By the way, Apollon also has a dual mono 1200AS based amplifier. They list it as multichannel, with 4 channels available. But if one uses only channels 1 and 3 and leave channels 2 and 4 unused, it is the same thing: one channel per module, dual mono. Perhaps there is the option to order without the additional connectors and binding posts, stereo only, but then lose the flexibility of using 4 channels in the future. Anyway, cool 1200W in 4 ohms per channel and complete separation without being monoblocks. Or just buy 2 stereo units and use only 1 channel as a monoblock.

https://www.apollonaudio.com/icepowe...-fi-amplifier/

[Tipsy]

anyone used/heard new Bruno Putzey's Purifi 1ET400 amp module?
Does it stack up well to 1200AS2?

[boggit]

Indeed, we thought our MKII NC500 much better than the 1200AS2 though on value they win.
The Purifi 1ET400A is very good has a certain naturalness about it.
We just obtained 20 pre mass production made locally in Denmark prior to large quantaties from far east, they come at a slight premium.
Now live on our website available to order.

[mocenigo]

It is always a pleasure to see how Apollon assemble their wares, even though in this case it is "just" a board in a case, there is some elegance.

[Tipsy]

guys,
anyone has done passive bi-amping (so two 1200AS2 stereo modules like the Apollon above + keeping passive crossovers in the speakers + using Y-spliter on the balanced XLR cables with signal out of the preamp) with 1200AS2?
Was the sound quality improvement really audible and worth it?

Please advise, especially if you have actually physically done it and tested one 1200AS2 vs biamped two 1200AS2 on a pair of passive speakers.

thanks