Nord One Up Ncore NC500 amps, Class D ready for prime time .....

[PLGA]

Hello guys
If it helps someone.
As I said before, I've had both boards (C and D) on my Nord NC500DM stereo and liked more the Sparkos over the SI.

[Matias]

Sparkos over SI is pretty much the consensus here.

[Nikan]

For PLGA
Please write more detail your comparisons of revisions C and D. How big is difference between them with Оp Amps Sparkos SS3602 (Rev.C) and Sparkos SS2590 (Rev.D.)?
I have stereo amplifier like your NC500DM Rev.C and I have both sets of Op Amp SI994 and SS3602.
My obvious choice is Sonic Imagery 994 Op Amp, which in my system sounds much better than Sparkos SS3602 (sound stage is wider and deeper, upp and mid frequencies are "more transparent").
If I change buffer to Rev.D., which Op Amps Sparkos SS2590 or Sonic Imagery 990Enh will be closer in sound to SI 994?
For me, Sparkos SS3602 does not have required sound stage and does not satisfy me.
Thanks, and sorry for my English...

[Mr Underhill]

I have not heard the Sparkos, but my suspicion is that this is not a simple slam dunk. I tried a number of power cables with the Nord and, for once, there was a difference - if subtle. I bought a couple of Supras which added a slightly warmer presentation to the SI Nords.

If I play my system using my Oppo 105D as pre & streamer the result can be lean, however if I feed it with the Linn Klimax & EAR868PL balance is restored.

System Synergy Rules OK.

[joeinid]

There’s no substitute for trying something in your system and listening for yourself. System balance and personal taste are so important. It’s how you like your system, not someone else.

[woodchamber]

Hello, I'm brand new here in this forum. Wow 196 forum pages on this topic. Long story short, the North Amp is total new to me.
What would be the best price - value amp from North? Same the case with the choice of op amp, speaker output wire & 12V trigger
options. I got no clue, sorry for my greenhorn questions.

I'm running here a Stageline STA-2000D with 2x1000W Pascal S-Pro2 Moduls. Pre Amp is a passive Khozmo Acoustic. Speakers are the Achenbach Tricolon with 93db efficiency and max. 500W.

Best regards, and thank you for your support in advance.

Florian

[joeinid]

Welcome to the forum Florian, thank you for joining.

[woodchamber]

Thanks a lot Joe,
I was reading here a little bit more and stumbled over the Apollon NC800 CL. Well for a greenhorn like me, from outside
it looks very similar from the main configuration. Looks interesting to me and maybe not too bad for contacting
someone who speaks my native language..

[joeinid]

I’m not familiar with that one but maybe you could contact Colin from Nord. I’m sure he’d be happy to help you out.

[Matias]

Thanks a lot Joe,
I was reading here a little bit more and stumbled over the Apollon NC800 CL. Well for a greenhorn like me, from outside
it looks very similar from the main configuration. Looks interesting to me and maybe not too bad for contacting
someone who speaks my native language..

I have an Apollon as well. Very nice amp, you won't regret it. Sparkos is more popular on this topic than Sonic Imagery, but this is system dependent.

[IgroDDEv]

I have an Apollon as well. Very nice amp, you won't regret it. Sparkos is more popular on this topic than Sonic Imagery, but this is system dependent.

I do have Apollon NC800SL as well, op amp is SI.
Excellent performance by the way.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[woodchamber]

Well on the Apollon website:

SPARKOS LABS SS2590
LISTENING IMPRESSION AND SOUND CHARACTERISTICS
"...With comparison to the 994ENH Ticha disrecete op amp they are more soft, richer sounding and warm.
They are your perfect choice if you would like to just sit back, relax and enjoy the music as everything
just sounds so pleasing with the Sparkos SS2590 Pro op amp. If your current sound system lacks a
spark of liveliness the Sparkos SS2590 is and ideal choice to bring a bit of warmth into your system."


SONIC IMAGERY 994ENH
LISTENING IMPRESSION AND SOUND CHARACTERISTICS
"...designed for professional audio applications and areas where ultra-low noise, low distortion and highly linear
uncoloured performance is required. It is a perfect choice if you have the professional need to analyse music or
just like to explore the finer details. It will enable you to hear things like “oh the engineer eq’ed the piano too much
or he over compressed the vocals” because they are very linear and analytical. It will make it possible to hear all
the flaws in the mixes in a second."

Intuitiv I would say: take the Sparkos, because on my system the Pascal S-Pro2 Moduls are slightly hard in the high frequencies.
But I also like details. I just got this new Achenbach Tricolon speakers. Compared to my over ten years used Klipsch Cornwall III
there are like studio monitors . Lets see what will happen, time will tell..

Florian

[Mr Underhill]

Hi Woodchamber,

As said already these things are system dependent. I find the Nord One UP with SI opamps to be very transparent, it is the first amp I have had where I can hear subtle differences when I use different power cables. In my case I use either the Oppo 105D or Linn Klimax > EAR868, the difference in presentation between these is marked, and I enjoy both. I did use the Hatton Passive into the Nord which to me sounded like a slightly beefed up version of the Oppo. Ultimately the only way you will know is to try it, I am happy with the Nord One Up 3 Channel - great for music and AV.

M

[woodchamber]

Thank you Underhill

Does anyone had any comparison with Pascal S-Pro2 Moduls?

[Showroom Dummies]

Well chaps with a following wind and a lot of help from Colin I am hoping to do just that with a review. Hopefully not too soon.

Any update on this?

[Matias]

Any update on this?

https://www.hifiwigwam.com/nord-one-...lifier-review/

[Showroom Dummies]

https://www.hifiwigwam.com/nord-one-...lifier-review/

I'm pretty sure that is his original review. I'm waiting for the one with REV D and latest op amps.

[PLGA]

For PLGA
Please write more detail your comparisons of revisions C and D. How big is difference between them with Оp Amps Sparkos SS3602 (Rev.C) and Sparkos SS2590 (Rev.D.)?
I have stereo amplifier like your NC500DM Rev.C and I have both sets of Op Amp SI994 and SS3602.
My obvious choice is Sonic Imagery 994 Op Amp, which in my system sounds much better than Sparkos SS3602 (sound stage is wider and deeper, upp and mid frequencies are "more transparent").
If I change buffer to Rev.D., which Op Amps Sparkos SS2590 or Sonic Imagery 990Enh will be closer in sound to SI 994?
For me, Sparkos SS3602 does not have required sound stage and does not satisfy me.
Thanks, and sorry for my English...

Well. This is MY experience and in MY system and to MY taste
I also have to say that I've done pretty much changes and upgrades in a short period of time and that could lead to an error in perception. Nevertheless, the differences between SI and Sparkos with Rev C boards where so cristal clear to me that then I bought the Rev D boards with just Sparkos and I havent tried Si on them.
First I tried SI Op Amps with Rev C boards and I was coming from a 300B class A amp.
My first impression was very nice, a lot of dinamics and a transparency sound, but then I started to find the sound a little bright and lean and I was not fully convinced.
As I had the Sparkos Op Amps at hand, I tried them and they provided what was missing with the SI and the difference was cristal clear to me.
So, when I decided to upgrade to Rev D boards, I just bought them with Sparkos.
On the other hand, the upgrade to Rev D boards I think improved the amp in every field a little bit, but noticeable.

[George47]

I'm pretty sure that is his original review. I'm waiting for the one with REV D and latest op amps.

It is coming soon but I got distracted by the RME ADI-2 DAC review, which works really well with the Nord NC500 power amps, as it has a variable volume control. My review is on the Wam at: https://hifiwigwam.com/forum/topic/1...rme-adi-2-dac/ for those of you looking for an inexpensive great sounding DAC.

Colin at Nord put me onto them when I was around there listening to his new speakers the brilliant sounding JBL 4367 which sounded really, really good with he Nord amps. Oh....and they can go quite loud as well and do real bass with their puny 15" bass units (British irony).

[George47]

Here it is: https://hifiwigwam.com/forum/topic/1...stics-upgrade/

[Samoyed]

Nice review, but...”Designed, assembled and produced in the USA,” it ain’t. If only it were.

[George47]

Nice review, but...”Designed, assembled and produced in the USA,” it ain’t. If only it were.

Need to clarify that is for the Opamp only.

[joeinid]

Thank you for the review link!

[Mr Underhill]

As the Sonic Imagery 990 are not getting much love here thought I would give a brief update: I have been running the Nord 3 Channel One Up for a number of months now, and listening to it for 8-12 hours per day. About ten days ago I felt that the music I was getting via the Nord suddenly seemed to both relax and deepen, it was quiet noticeable; no other changes. Down to the Nord? Who knows, but bearing in mind the long break in times for Op Amps not out of the question. I'm certainly happy to stick where I am for the foreseeable.

[Samoyed]

I had a similar experience, but with Sparkos. I used my Nord with the delivered SI for about six weeks, then switched to Sparkos which didn’t aggravate my tinnitus. Then, about three months from delivery of the amp, I got a dramatic improvement. My usage times are similar. It went from wonderful to lovely and amazing sound stage. Given our experiences, I suggest it is the amp. But, I just couldn’t take the increased ringing in my ears.

[joeinid]

It’s funny but a lot of people so no long break in necessary. From my experience and that of others, there comes a point after many hours that the amps just blossom and change character for the better. Love the fact that sound can be tailored to your taste.

[hudo]

Just a small "review" of using Nord NC500 SE rev D with different preamps. I have Primaluna Prologue pre, and got new RME ADI-2 DAC which can be a preamp also (Nord sells them on their website), not just DAC, so for fun I unplugged my Prima and connected XLR to RME->Nord. After 5min i returned Prima (RME was less natural/musical, but warm enough, highs were just wrong compared to Prima, lost that tube 3D imaging, bass was ok, voices were blended with the rest, not clearly separated and in front of stage). RME as DAC works excellent, just to be clear on that, it replaced Chord 2Qute mostly because I can tweak gain on RME, Chord has fixed 3V output.
Nord is a good and transparent power amp, and requires a decent preamp

[Samoyed]

How did you use the DAC? Did you locate unity gain before use? I wonder if that was an issue as my pre/dac, a Nuprime Evolution, sounds best with its preamp, not unity gain.

[hudo]

How did you use the DAC? Did you locate unity gain before use? I wonder if that was an issue as my pre/dac, a Nuprime Evolution, sounds best with its preamp, not unity gain.

Whats unity gain?
I first had Chord>Prima>Nord, but DAC gain was just too high so switched to RME>Prima>Nord, and Im using +1dBu ref level on RCA/ 0db digital volume.
For RME>Nord, i used XLR, played with different ref gain levels, and used RMEs digital volume control.

[Samoyed]

Which opamp? Great amp, isn’t it?

[joeinid]

Unity gain is when input equals output.

Some preamps let you use a pass through (allowing the full signal to pass through) for a home theater setting and use the volume control on your processor.

[hudo]

which opamp? Great amp, isn’t it?

si 990

[Samoyed]

Sorry, I didn’t see your question about unity gain. Some manufacturers supply the information, others don’t.

[Nikan]

Nevertheless, the differences between SI and Sparkos with Rev C boards where so cristal clear to me that then I bought the Rev D boards with just Sparkos and I havent tried Si on them.
First I tried SI Op Amps with Rev C boards and I was coming from a 300B class A amp.

Thanks for the feedback! One question, and now you can compare sound of two sets Op Amp Sparkos SS2590 and SS3602 on buffer Rev.D? The board Rev.D is compatible with two sets of Op Amp.
I’m wondering how much better the SS2590 discrete opamps are than old SS3602 on same bufer board Rev.D.
As I noted earlier, the SS3602 Op Amps on Rev.C in my stereo have a too muddy sound, a less deep sound stage compared to SI 994.

[Mr Underhill]

Well, today I was nagged into putting my EAR534 back into my system driving my main speakers, which are now Naim SBLs .......and, as much as it pains me to write this, the 534 is simply better. The Nord is very good, but the 534 is music. NOT the result I wanted, as I can leave the Nord on for other family members. As it is I will be using the Nord to power my centre and rears for AV, and using the EARs for my main listening. All this said, I have thoroughly enjoyed using the Nord as my main amp for a few months, and it has improved. If the 534 was not sitting on a shelf I could carry on listening to it without pain, but the EAR IS there and will now being going back home for a service.

[Samoyed]

You’ll be back....👍

[Mr Underhill]

You’ll be back....👍

Hi Samoyed, I'm not going anywhere. I have set the Nord up to (continue) running my centre and now my rears, and the AV system has improved by a notch or two. The EAR costs over twice what the Nord costs for three channels of amplification. Depending on how flowery the language I use is I could make the difference sound enormous. The fact is that I could live happily with the Nord, but the EAR just helps the music to free itself from the speakers and instruments and backing vocalists to separate themselves from the musical soundstage. With different speakers and pre-amp that result may be turned in its head. M

[woodchamber]

Did anyone compared the Nord with the Benchmark AHB2?

[boggit]

Did anyone compared the Nord with the Benchmark AHB2?

We have several customers one who bought the Benchmark DAC3 had them on home demo preferred the Nord.
Also feedback from another customer

I would also like to relate my experience with the NORD one SE Mk II so far.



I had bought it without any demo. I felt that it was worth a punt in view of the various positive reviews on forums and it has far exceeded my expectations. My system consists of an Innuos Zenith Mk II feeding a Schiit Yggdrasil DAC and Schiit Freya pre amp. Speakers are Harbeth SHL5+ 40th anniversary. Powered with the Nord and after the initial burn in, my music has come alive again. I am getting tremendous base extension

without it being boomy and the treble has great detail (this is a forte of the yggdrasil) but not overtly bright. But for me, the greatest strength of the Nord amp is the mid range where vocals are just so wonderfully lush. This is achieved even at reasonably loud volumes where the music remains true to the recording without any distortion. I have been listening to The Hamiltons Musical soundtrack repeatly and it never ceases to impress me. Each time, I feel that I am transported back to the Victoria Palace Theatre where I first watched it live. Before this, I have tried various power amps including Wyred for sound mono blocks, Benchmark AHB2, Teddy Pardo MB100 monoblocks and lately Hegel H190 and H360. Although they all varied in price and had their different strengths, I never felt that they had achieved the right balance and the music I was hearing was never that emotive. As I sat on my listening couch, I couldn’t help but wonder what change I should be planning next. This has now been completely dispelled and I think I have found the missing jigsaw piece. Many talk about system synergy and I am glad that I have found mine.

[Samoyed]

Colin makes great amps, for sure.

[boggit]

Our new Nord INT-TVC NC500 Super Integrated Amplifier with choice of NC500 power stages.

[AndersHa]

Anyone compared NAD M22 v2 and Nord NC500 Mk II?

[Ros3bud]

Do you think sparkos 2590 could be a better choice than the SI990 ? My NC500 DM is a bit bright with the SI 990 OP amp, a lot of details but a lack of "flesh"... any experiences about the comparaison?

[Matias]

Do you think sparkos 2590 could be a better choice than the SI990 ? My NC500 DM is a bit bright with the SI 990 OP amp, a lot of details but a lack of "flesh"... any experiences about the comparaison?

The differences with the larger opamps are less than they were with the smaller, but still Sparkos is a little warmer and fleshed out compared to Sonic Imagery they say. So definitely worth trying.

[JayT]

I'm not sure if I'm just getting more used to the sound of this amp (actually two monoblocks), or if they're actually getting better the longer they're on, but my Mk II Monoblocks with Sparkos op amps are sounding better to me now than they were a couple months ago. I've now owned then for about 6 months (with the Sparkos Op amps for a little more than 4 months), and they're sounding better and better.

The Nords were a replacement for a 20 yr old Krell which had one channel that was distorting. I'd already repaired the amp once, and couldn't justify the cost of fixing it again, particularly considering the amount of heat that it generated. But during the first few months of owning the Nords, I really missed the Krell.

Now, I'm not so sure. The Nords have definitely gotten quite a bit smoother and more refined as it has "aged". I leave it on all the time (which I really couldn't do with the Krell), and this definitely helps. I do think that this amp takes quite a bit longer than most to reach equilibrium. My Krell had a standby mode (which still generated more heat than my Nords do when playing loud music), but this at least reduced the warm-up time. The Nords, on the other hand, seem to take a day or two to reach their peak if they've been off for any extended time.

So they stay on. Fortunately they generate very little heat if I'm not playing any music.

At this point, I doubt I'd find another amp close to the same price that satisfy me more, but at some point I'd like to compare them with a decent quality class A/B (perhaps one of the Parasound amps).

[Samoyed]

This won’t be well received but my Rotel RB 1590, overall, has a more pleasing sound. But, it weighs almost 100 pounds. My Nord is close!

[PMD]

Hi everybody,

I have been reading last few days all 200 pages to find more on this NC500 and NC1200). Finding many good here and on audiogone as well, intrigued with this staff I have decided to buy one to test

Finally I have ordered today Nord One SE NC500DM MKII Dual Mono Stereo Amp in black, but with OP Amp Sparkos Labs SS2590 and version full grazing version: cabling Neotech UP-OCC Cu, network plus sockets Furutech FI-06 IEC & FP-S022N Mains Wire , outputs for columns WBT-0705Cu Copper Conductor Posts, inputs XLR - Furutech XLR FT-786 Rhodium, and bottle-free SYNERGISTIC SR BLUE FUSE 5A.


now 2 weeks of waiting and ... 300 hours of warming from what I read from users' experiences. I am very curious about the effect. Until now, class D was not at all an option for me, but from the description of your impressions, as well as many others on audiogone, I found it worth trying. Especially that I liked the sound of Spectral, and if it were not for some 2 elements of the sound, I would probably have bolught it. If this Nord has similar aesthetics but without faults I have met, it would be a new black horse on the market.


Will be exposed against the stereo power amp Simaudio Moon W5, 32kg live weight, full dual mono, hits 2 x 1,1kW class A (first 5W) / AB 175W 8ohm - 350W 4ohms - 700W 2ohms

[joeinid]

Welcome to the forum, thank you for joining.

[Matias]

PMD, nice purchase, congrats! In my overall experience, the first couple of weeks burn in are the most dramatic and the rest more subtle. So I would leave the amp on 24/7, and even better playing music 24/7 if possible.

[PMD]

yes it hurts. Especially since I have a tube pre amp and CD player, it's a shame about the tubes but what to do.