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

Jack said:
Mike

What are the actual differences between the atm amps and the Nord Up amps other than the better casework. They offer the same OP Amp choices.
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Until he provides details on the input boards I won't know for 100%. But sounds like he's actually going to have them measured. He will likely copy Richards circuit since there's a slim chance he will be able to come up with anything better. So in reality it should be the same as the Nord's, only in a much nicer case CNC machined from a solid brick of aluminum billet.

Competition sure is wonderful for the end consumer isn't it :)
 
Mivera Audio said:
Hi Mike,

Joe ordered the amps with the Sparko opamps pre-installed. It's an option with the Nord amps. Yes Joe has the old board. The noise is very low with the Sparko compared to normal class A/AB amp standards, but nowhere near as close as the -135dB noise floor of the NC-500's themselves. If you read the Diyaudio thread, you will see that nerdman (Richard) from Sonic imagery labs has publicly provided the circuit design for a much lower noise input board that plays nice with a wider variety of opamps such as his own 994. Since I already built a board using that circuit long before Colin from Nord even knew the NC 500's existed, I can confirm that it's a superior circuit. Colin from Nord has confirmed that he's tried the new circuit and it's better than his old one. So he's making a "revision C" board based on that circuit. However Hypex is backordered on the SMPS1200A700 power supplies until late May or so, so I'm not sure Colin can sell you an amp right now. Might have to wait till May. But good news is he will have his new board available by then.
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Thank you Mike! Great information you are sharing here.
 
Mike, MikeCh and Jack,

I easily think the Nords, the way that I have them, are better for my taste than the Devialet D400 that I had. I am excited and look forward to the possible updates with the new op amp and input board. Price to performance is off the hook great. Mike's advice to me has been spot on and I do think he has a great handle on what he's recommending.
 
joeinid said:
Mike, MikeCh and Jack,

I easily think the Nords, the way that I have them, are better for my taste than the Devialet D400 that I had. I am excited and look forward to the possible updates with the new op amp and input board. Price to performance is off the hook great. Mike's advice to me has been spot on and I do think he has a great handle on what he's recommending.
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Thanks Joe! I forgot to add...congratulations on the new amps! If they're impressing you I know that says something about their sonic character. :thumbsup:
 
Not knowing much about the NCore technology, how do the Nord One Up NCore NC500 mono amplifiers compare (or if a comparison can even be made due to the NCore differences NC500 vs NC1200) with the Merrill Veritas amps?

I recall hearing the Merrill Veritas amps at RMAF 2014 driving the TAD E1 loudspeakers and it was impressive. Have wondered how to get good Class D since then on my budget, if even just to try them out...
 
Mike

Merrill now has a NC500 amp but is stereo. Didn't know which configuration you were looking at for your system.

The Nurpime ST-10 and the W4S amps with the 3rd gen ICE modules are also good options.
 
MikeCh said:
Not knowing much about the NCore technology, how do the Nord One Up NCore NC500 mono amplifiers compare (or if a comparison can even be made due to the NCore differences NC500 vs NC1200) with the Merrill Veritas amps?

I recall hearing the Merrill Veritas amps at RMAF 2014 driving the TAD E1 loudspeakers and it was impressive. Have wondered how to get good Class D since then on my budget, if even just to try them out...
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The only real world advantage to the NC1200 vs the NC 500 is 2 ohm current capability. As far as sonic signature goes, it all depends on the input buffer used. Any differences in sound reported between the 2 are simply due to the input buffer implementation. The Merrill Vertias just uses the bone stock LM 4562 IC opamp based input buffer that come onboard the NC1200. More serious designs bypass the onboard IC opamp, and use discrete external buffers.

If someone wanted an comparable alternative to the Nords, I would look at the Bel Canto Black system. They use external buffers in that design. However I haven't personally compared them to see if they are as good as the Sonic Imagery 994 based discrete opamps or not.
 
Thanks for the additional information Jack and Mike.

Wow, there's lots of options in the NCore world to sift thru! More reading/research due here on my part, but the Nord amps like Joe's running are sure looking attractive.
 
Mike

If you want to try the Nuprime amp you can do the 30 day thing at Audio Advisor. I didn't find that mine changed that much from right out of the box to even 300 hours. They only rate it at 150 wpc, but HiFi Test in Germany measured it at 200 and 300 wpc at 8 and 4 ohms. Return shipping shouldn't be much over $25 from Colorado to Michigan. Nuprime/Nuforce's variation of Class D is proprietary to them. Read Stephen Stones review in TAS.

I should have a pair of the Nord's in house later in the week so I can get a feel compared to the ST-10 and the mAMPS.
 
MikeCh said:
Thanks for the additional information Jack and Mike.

Wow, there's lots of options in the NCore world to sift thru! More reading/research due here on my part, but the Nord amps like Joe's running are sure looking attractive.
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Mike,

I really like these amps. And they do not break the bank.
 
MikeCh said:
Thanks Joe! I forgot to add...congratulations on the new amps! If they're impressing you I know that says something about their sonic character. :thumbsup:
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Thank you Mike. I appreciate the vote of confidence. They took a bit of break in for me but I absolutely love them now. Dead quiet, powerful, warm, sweet, 3D and so easy to listen to for hours on end.
 
joeinid said:
Thank you Mike. I appreciate the vote of confidence. They took a bit of break in for me but I absolutely love them now. Dead quiet, powerful, warm, sweet, 3D and so easy to listen to for hours on end.
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I can't wait to hear your impression on his new board and Sonic Imagery 994. With audio it's hard to know what you're missing until you hear it. :)
 
Jack said:
Mike

If you want to try the Nuprime amp you can do the 30 day thing at Audio Advisor. I didn't find that mine changed that much from right out of the box to even 300 hours. They only rate it at 150 wpc, but HiFi Test in Germany measured it at 200 and 300 wpc at 8 and 4 ohms. Return shipping shouldn't be much over $25 from Colorado to Michigan. Nuprime/Nuforce's variation of Class D is proprietary to them. Read Stephen Stones review in TAS.

I should have a pair of the Nord's in house later in the week so I can get a feel compared to the ST-10 and the mAMPS.
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Thanks Jack, I'll keep the NuPrime in mind too. Please do post your impressions of the Nord when you can. Thanks.
 
Mivera Audio said:
I can't wait to hear your impression on his new board and Sonic Imagery 994. With audio it's hard to know what you're missing until you hear it. :)
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So true.

I am looking forward to it. Once everything settles down, I'll jump in and try it. I leave mine on 24x7 and mute when I am not listening. It's always ready to go and sounds great. Music is actively playing 10-16 hours a day, depending on schedule.
 
joeinid said:
Thank you Mike. I appreciate the vote of confidence. They took a bit of break in for me but I absolutely love them now. Dead quiet, powerful, warm, sweet, 3D and so easy to listen to for hours on end.
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Seems like a nice combination for sure! I can live with break in as long as there is light at the end of the tunnel.
 
MikeCh said:
Seems like a nice combination for sure! I can live with break in as long as there is light at the end of the tunnel.
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There is and I do a lot of late night listening. Like the Devialet, details emerge from such a black background. Quiet room, low light, super quiet system and you can hear EVERYTHING. Just wonderful. Mike's (Mivera) advice has been honest and spot on. He has my confidence.
 
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