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

Ha!

No specific reason. I go through gear like s*** through a goose. Just making room for other stuff. I can't sit still. Have you seen my signature? There's more gear that has come and gone that never had a chance to make it in there. :)


FredList said:
OK, JoeInId, I'll bite. Why did you abandon the Nords? Better amp? Performance issues?
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Joe:
It is, undeniably, an impressive goose...well fed and nourished.
Will be receiving my (much more modest) Nord Stereo UP this coming Monday and am intrigued by the various comments and reviews read so far. Won't abandon the current monoblocks until the Nord shows it true colors.
BTW, when you had the Nords running did you power them though a conditioner and/or use amp-style power cables?
 
I honestly think you will love the Nord Stereo amp. But, please give it 100-200 hours of serious break in before coming to any conclusion. Some will say that's nonsense, but I know better :)

I ran them through my Burmester 948 conditioner. There's no power limit on it. It's basically an active DC filter. I don't play my music loud and never have an issue with power.

Please keep us updated. I am curious.

What preamp and speakers do you plan on using?

FredList said:
Joe:
It is, undeniably, an impressive goose...well fed and nourished.
Will be receiving my (much more modest) Nord Stereo UP this coming Monday and am intrigued by the various comments and reviews read so far. Won't abandon the current monoblocks until the Nord shows it true colors.
BTW, when you had the Nords running did you power them though a conditioner and/or use amp-style power cables?
Click to expand...
 
Joe:
Will be using the new Tekton Double Impact speakers and a RME UCX studio DAC/pre. In this stereo setup have no need for a pre because all of the music is stored in JRiver and speaks superbly well to the RME. All is nicely balanced and refined in the current setup so the addition of the Nord will be a true comparison test to the current monoblocks.
Colin has told me, btw, that he finds little break-in necessary but the comments above show otherwise. Got both of the op amps so will be experimenting with "op amp rolling."
BTW, if some are unfamiliar with RME products, check them out before questioning. They are the first German AD/DA company and have been at it longer than anyone. Their new ADI Pro II is considered by many the top of the class, but is not set up with a remote for commercial use. Tant pis! The UCX, by comparison, runs a software mixer (TotalMIX) that does a great job of connecting components and JRiver together. The wired remote is very well done. This is one quiet DAC/Pre...
 
FredList

Joe is correct about break-in it does take a while and benefits from being left on all the time. Which op-amp you prefer will be based on how much "detail" you prefer. I only know the Tekton's by reputation and that would probably lead me to start with the Sparkos. In my two setups where the Nord has resided they were better with the Nola KO's with the Sparko's and in the other setup with the Spatial M3 Turbo S the SI. When you swap op amps you will have another bit of a break-in to go through but not like the first one. Whether you prefer the Nord or your current amps in the end is up to you ears, but it does take a pretty impressive one to beat it.
 
I now have the Music First Baby Classic connected.
Sound is even better now, with even more detail and better bass.
Can't say any more, have to get back to listening to my favourite albums :)
Currently listening to: Thin Lizzy Greatest hits.
 
Who leaves their Nord on 24/7?

I would like to, and I know the Nord uses a lot less power than other amps, but I just can't waste money like that, even if it is a small amount.

I also don't listen to music unless I have a day or two off, it's the weekend or I'm on holiday, when I will listen to music for a few hours every day.
 
I did leave mine on all the time. I honestly felt it sounded better warmed up all the time. You will have to try and experiment. Leave it on for a week or two and pay attention to the sound. Then power it up as necessary and see if you can hear a difference. I have to say it was obvious to me and the AC penalty was worth it.
 
I have to agree with Joe and Jack. I've switched my Nord off just a handful of time in over a year and each time it's taken a matter of hours to really get back "on song", not an acceptable situation given the way I listen to music.
 
I would think yes, more volume, more electricity. How much more I'd have no clue until you put a kill-a-watt meter on it (them) and measure the actual power consumed.


Showroom Dummies said:
The Nord uses 36 watts when turned on, but does it use any more than that when a much higher volume is used?

Sent from my Swift 2 Plus using Tapatalk
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Troubles in Paradise...
Got the Nord SE UP stereo amp installed on Monday. Used the SI 994 op amp for 20 hours and did not find it an improvement over the monoblocks. So, switched to the Sparkos and all sounded very good -- for the first 16 hours of listening. Then the left channel started making an intermittent crackling noise. This quickly became regular. After switching back to the SI 994s (in case it was the op amp causing the problem) the noise continued, became regular, then the volume on the left channel dropped.
Have sent an e-mail to Colin but it is late in England. Do any of you folks have any ideas or suggestions?
Thanks.
 
Have you checked all connections and made sure all screws and connections are tight? I remember one other case where there was a noise issue. I believe it turned out to be a loose connection. I hope it's as simple as that for you.
 
Fred

Pop the cover and make sure all the cables got completely connected during the switch.. Also that all of the wires are still securely seated in the connectors, particularly the grey one. Worse case scenario is a buffer board got damaged in the swap. If so that is an easy swap out.
 
Yes, checked all of the connections when the second op amp was reinstalled. BTW, as noted above, the problem started 16 hours into the change to the Sparkos and cannot, therefore, be related to that switch -- it worked fine for the first 16 hours (sounding very good, I might add...). Wonder if Colin is active on Saturdays...
 
Only way to verify problem any further then would be to swap the buffer boards left to right and see if problem follows. If it does that's it and if not then the amp module may need to be swapped. It's all plug and play.
 
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