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

First @George47 and the guys at HiFi Wigwam a big thank you for the review, and unlike many publications is not reliant on you spending thousands of £ $'s on advertising!
George47 bought my amp after hearing them at a show and had Merrill Veritas NC1200 amp's on demo, and finding the same strengths of those with added texture and a more natural sound, he purchased without letting me know he was going to review until he arrived to collect them. He is the most level headed Audiophile I have had the pleasure of meeting.

The Sparkos Voltage regulators continue to make a huge impact, we even tried the Belleson's brand new SPX in the REV D no improvement and Sparkos in the US are great to deal with.​

More important... Those that preferred the old Sparkos SS3602..... We sent REV D upgrades both versions to 2 guys who run a Facebook Audio group in the UK and are doing the review for HiFi Pig, both of them preferred the old Sparkos SS3602 in REV C. Only one of the guys has heard so far but he, by far prefers the Sonic Imagery 990 over the 2590. we want to deliver the best sound we can and we prefer the Sonic Imagery, every time I put one on, POW you just get it immediately, sensational!!

The feedback on the new REV D has varied from the wonderful to the crazy out of this world feedback all available on our website under reviews.
I have to say we thought from data sheets and spec's an improvement, even we were shocked!! Enjoy
 
Interesting feedback from different customers, the impression and perceived change seems to vary depending on the system and user but it's all positive.

I always intended to get the Sonic 990 opamps to compare, it may be a while away because my DIY preamp is playing up :|

Can I just ask, what was the trigger behind designing the Rev Ds (customer feedback, engineering input, desire to use 2x single opamps)? I know people were already very satisfied with the Rev Cs!
 
landmarker said:
Can I just ask, what was the trigger behind designing the Rev Ds (customer feedback, engineering input, desire to use 2x single opamps)? I know people were already very satisfied with the Rev Cs!
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Yes the REV C were still receiving great feedback, if you stand still you are always going backwards!
We are constantly looking, exploring for new ways to improve, some don't work out.
We talked to Sparkos and Sonic Imagery about the potential improvements in moving to the 990/2590 packages and they were very positive.
In this instance a customer prompted me in to investigating, he has a pair of evaluation boards at bare bones cost as a thank you.
 
Hi,
1) audio.bill wrote this :
Some may prefer the sound of a Hypex amp over a particular Class A/B amp, but that doesn't mean that they're inherently better. There are many Class A/B or Class A designs which outperform Hypex amps IMNSHO!
My question : can someone detail what are these amplis ?


2) Did someone make an evaluaytion between Nord Acoustics and Apollon amplis ?


Thanks
 
Hi,
I'm curious to know what kind of amplis can be better than a Hypex NCore one.


As you can see in my signature, i have a very modest audio equipment. And i think buying a Hypex NCore NC502MP based soon but i don't know now if it will be a Nord or an Apollon. So, if someone can explain the listening differences between these 2 brands, it shoud be very nice.
 
Mikool35 said:
Hi,
I'm curious to know what kind of amplis can be better than a Hypex NCore one.


As you can see in my signature, i have a very modest audio equipment. And i think buying a Hypex NCore NC502MP based soon but i don't know now if it will be a Nord or an Apollon. So, if someone can explain the listening differences between these 2 brands, it shoud be very nice.
Click to expand...
I have got Apollon myself, both NC800SL 2ch amps, as well as NCMP8350.
It may not good to post the pic here so I may PM you the details if you need.

However, I do think the difference will just be subtle on NC520MP module, since Nord and Apollon are using the same and power supply as well. The difference would be the isolation, connector, etc...

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
Thank you IgroDDEv.

The reason of my question is that Apollon and Nord seem to not have the same design and the same quality as wrote mocenigo in #1443 about Apollon :
"If you look at the internal layout of the monoblocks, it is different, with the power supply placed in order to minimise EM interference. This is a better design. it is true that the same Italian MODU cases are used, but they are very practical and not too expensive, so they are a good choice. Apollon is using the internal second bottom made of steel, so not only you do not have a lot of screws on the bottom, but this adds another 1 mm of steel to protect the components from EM/RFI. The buffer board has a better placement (more space around the opamp and a larger distance of the regulators from the opamp, to reduce overheating - these things can get very hot) which to the very least should guarantee longer life. I have been told that the values of the components are different as well: they ensure a higher input impedance (so the amp should be easier to drive). The resistors and capacitors look to me to be of higher quality as well."

I think also, as you IgroDDEv, that the difference will be very subtle and, very probably, there is no audible difference. If mocenigo is right, may be Apollon will be more reliable and more long-lasting than Nord ?
 
Mikool35 said:
Thank you IgroDDEv.
I ask this because i want to know if it could have an audible difference between these 2 brands for the same Hypex module.

The reason of my question is that Apollon and Nord seem to not have the same design and the same quality as wrote mocenigo in #1443 :
"If you look at the internal layout of the monoblocks, it is different, with the power supply placed in order to minimise EM interference. This is a better design. it is true that the same Italian MODU cases are used, but they are very practical and not too expensive, so they are a good choice. Apollon is using the internal second bottom made of steel, so not only you do not have a lot of screws on the bottom, but this adds another 1 mm of steel to protect the components from EM/RFI. The buffer board has a better placement (more space around the opamp and a larger distance of the regulators from the opamp, to reduce overheating - these things can get very hot) which to the very least should guarantee longer life. I have been told that the values of the components are different as well: they ensure a higher input impedance (so the amp should be easier to drive). The resistors and capacitors look to me to be of higher quality as well."

I think also, as you IgroDDEv, that the difference will be very subtle. If mocenigo is right, may be Apollon will be more reliable and more long-lasting ?
Click to expand...
Actually I read the same comment and verified with Apollon before I made the call.
However, Nord has a new buffer board now, which seems to be much better than old version.
There is no way to compare two brand without side by side AB test.

Anyway, you will not regret no matter which one you buy, they are both top performance for the value in market.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
I’ve never owned Apollon products before. I do know Nords customer service is great, any questions or problems are handled pretty quick.
 
You're right, after-sales and customer services are important points that should not be neglected. Is there any feedback about Apollon on these points ?
NB : i ask only for Apollon because we know about Nord which is great.
 
Mikool35 said:
I'm curious to know what kind of amplis can be better than a Hypex NCore one.
Click to expand...
"Better" according to whom, using what method of assessment?
Anecdotal subjective opinions are not facts. Unfortunately, they are for some unable to discern. NCores are blameless "amplifiers" capable of lots of power into a wide range of non-pathological loads, without misbehavior. Many well engineered A/AB/etc amps fall into that category, albeit generally at a much higher price. That floats some folks boat, others may desire a different audio-visual-belief experience. Not everyone wants a Timex when they can have a Rolex. The experience will be different. Choose what best suits you.

cheers,

AJ
 
Mikool35 said:
You're right, after-sales and customer services are important points that should not be neglected. Is there any feedback about Apollon on these points ?
NB : i ask only for Apollon because we know about Nord which is great.
Click to expand...
I would definitely say Apollon provides excellent before sales and after sales services to me. The owner Tibor have had over 100 emails to me in order to help me with my question on the hypex ncore, my home theater setup, power requirement, speaker placement etc... And as well as the product delivery, shipment, and installation as well. ( Installation is very easy but I was asking about how to switch the opamp and power consumption , etc...)

Having said that, I also like the service from Nord although I didn't buy Nord product at the end.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
Thank you AJ and IgroDDEv, you speak wisely.
I believe that bad experiences with a supplier are more easily known than good ones. And it seems that, in view of the testimonies of all concerned, Nord and Apollon provide as good a service as can be expected.
 
Rev D Review: UNBELIEVABLY FABULOUS!

I've never been really happy with the system I've put together over the last few years. I considered the sound thin and flat. I never really knew why. Large scale orchestral music never sounded life-like which was a real issue for me being an old symphony manager and now working at an opera company. I've constantly improved it though working on things like the front end power supplies and dc cables, adding subs to my ML 11A's, upgrading my W4S dac to the latest Sabre 9038 chip, adding Uptone and Sonore gadgets. Everything helped but it still never sounded good. I was thinking of moving my Rev C's to the Sparkos before hearing about the Rev D. I wasn't sure the Rev D would be worth the considerable price Colin was asking but I went ahead anyway desperate for help.

Finally! the Rev D with SI op amps is a revelation in my system. It's now full bodied and round, everything I was missing is now there. I'm absolutely floored by the improvement. THANK YOU COLIN!

BTW, here is the whole system:

I7-3770/Win10/Fidelizer v8.3Pro > Roon > HQ Player to DSD 256 > HDPlex 100w/Two LT-3045's w/Kemet/DIY SSG360 Gotham 4/1 Ultra/Sonore microRendu v1.3 > LPS-1/DIY SSG360 Gotham 4/1 Ultra/LT3045 w/Kemet/ISO Regen > LPS1.2/DIY SSG360 Gotham 4/1 Ultra/Sonore ultraDigital > i2s > W4S DAC2 DSDse upgraded to v2 w/ ES9038Pro > Tellurium Q Ultra Black XLR > Nord One Up NCore 500 monoblocks w/SI990enh op amps > Tellurium Q Black II > Martin Logan Impression 11A w/ dual Rythmik E15HP2 subs.
 
rah50 said:
W4S DAC2 DSDse upgraded to v2 w/ ES9038Pro > Tellurium Q Ultra Black XLR > Nord One Up NCore 500 monoblocks w/SI990enh op amps > Tellurium Q Black II > Martin Logan Impression 11A w/ dual Rythmik E15HP2 subs.
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Digital attenuation only? Have you tried adding a preamp? What volume range are you using on your DAC?
Depending on the answers it could be another worthy upgrade.
 
AJ,
When i wrote that "I'm curious to know what kind of amplis can be better than a Hypex NCore one", i thought about technical specifications as THD, SNR, damping factor, output power in Watts RMS at 2, 4 and 8 ohms, etc. All these values have also to be given with graphical curves as Hypex gives in its technical documentation that anyone can find on its internet site in PDF format.
 
Unless you want to buy amps with the price fixed NC1200 modules then the comparison to the NC500 amps is the IcePower 1200AS module based amps and then it comes down to which sound you prefer.
 
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