Anyone listening to their Nord One Up Ncore NC500 amps with the 994 op amps and new input board? ....

joeinid

joeinid

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Curious for a little feedback on the new 994 op amps and how they sound.
 
Hi Joe,

I heard from Colin today that my amps (with the 994 opamps and all current upgrades) will be shipping tomorrow the 27th. Once I receive them and get a couple hundred hours break in I'll be sure to let you know my thoughts.
 
Jack said:
Joe

I think Marty is the only one on here that has one and he just got them Friday afternoon.
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Thank you Jack, I trying to remember who it was that had them. Looking forward to rotating the Nords back in the system and then eventually adding the new boards and op amps. More for curiosity than anything else.
 
My pair of OneUp monos with SI 994's arrived today and are playing / running in. I think they sound great right out of the box! Excited to see if they get even better with more hours on them.

I'm using the stock power cords during break in. I'll build a pair of 11ga power cables for them soon.
 
Awesome Mike! Very happy for you. Keep the updates coming.
 
The Nord pair are replacing my ARC D130 that I keep on hand for a spare. The D130 could (and has) performed full time for me over the past 6 years or so that I've had it. It's the amp I've compared others to over the years as its that good at handling my Canton Ergo Passiv loudspeakers. The D130 has a very liquid midrange quality, a smooth and extended top end and bass grip that is surprising for it's stature. Hoping the Nord's can compete as it would be awesome to have two superb options for playing music.

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It would be nice if Colin would have them measured to see if the end result correlates with mine. Maybe he will send me a pair to compare. Although the last time he did that it led to criticism that led to the development to his revision 3 board so not sure if he'll be up for that :)

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Mivera Audio said:
It would be nice if Colin would have them measured to see if the end result correlates with mine. Maybe he will send me a pair to compare. Although the last time he did that it led to criticism that led to the development to his revision 3 board so not sure if he'll be up for that :)

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Hi Mike,

I have faith that the Nord's will perform eloquently.....they just need some time. I've only had them running for four hours now and are quite impressive already. I won't be surprised if they waiver some during break-in and I can be patient.
 
MikeCh said:
Hi Mike,

I have faith that the Nord's will perform eloquently.....they just need some time. I've only had them running for four hours now and are quite impressive already. I won't be surprised if they waiver some during break-in and I can be patient.
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I imagine they are great as well. But it's very hard to confirm everything is optimized perfectly without taking measurements. Even if they sound awesome, you still never know if even slightly tweaking the board layout, or swapping to slightly different resistors/caps could make things better. This is what the Audio Precision measurement machines are built for.
 
Yep, Mike that's the plan to upgrade the power cable. I used to know a guy who I think can build me a couple for my use...
 
MikeCh said:
Yep, Mike that's the plan to upgrade the power cable. I used to know a guy who I think can build me a couple for my use...
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I was just checking out your website. I'm not an expert on cables at all, I just have had positive experiences with the UPOCC copper. It's the only copper that has really made a drastic difference in sound for me that even my non-audiophile wife can pick up on right away. Do you have any experience with it?
 
MikeCh said:
I've built up a number of prototypes using various UPOCC over the years (mostly IC's) but not in a power cable application. Might be worth exploring with the Nord's though.
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I find it's very warm and rich sounding, without sacrificing transparency. I really noticed the difference when I temporarily replaced it with a cheap standard cable. I was using it for something else and forgot I swapped them out. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with the sound. Finally I realized I was using the cheap cable. Swapped it back in and everything was back to normal. I use the Neotech UPOCC for my speakers as well and feel it does the exact same thing. They have new cable that has UPOCC silver plating on the copper I want to try out. It might be the perfect balance to liven things up just a bit. From what I hear the UPOCC silver isn't harsh sounding like other grades of silver can be. For example the Silver sonic cable to me is far too forward and shrill sounding. I'm told this is due to the silver purity being sub standard.
 
Mivera Audio said:
I find it's very warm and rich sounding, without sacrificing transparency. I really noticed the difference when I temporarily replaced it with a cheap standard cable. I was using it for something else and forgot I swapped them out. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with the sound. Finally I realized I was using the cheap cable. Swapped it back in and everything was back to normal. I use the Neotech UPOCC for my speakers as well and feel it does the exact same thing. They have new cable that has UPOCC silver plating on the copper I want to try out. It might be the perfect balance to liven things up just a bit. From what I hear the UPOCC silver isn't harsh sounding like other grades of silver can be. For example the Silver sonic cable to me is far too forward and shrill sounding. I'm told this is due to the silver purity being sub standard.
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Great Mike, thanks for the insight. My plan is to break in the amps (mostly) on the stock power cords so I can get a feeling for the amps' flavor and then add the power cord upgrade to see how things change.

The amps ran yesterday for 8 hours or so and are on track to run at least 15 hours today by nights end. From here out, they should run 12-18 hours a day (with input signal) and when not fed from my linestage while I'm home, 24/7 just powered up.

Planning on sitting and listening tonight a little more critically than I was earlier today while working in the same room. I wasn't sitting in the sweet spot or focusing much on the sonics earlier today while working at my bench but am quite impressed so far with their grace and might.
 
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