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

Sorry, I wasn't clear. What I meant was PS audio tried making the amp with nc1200 modules and later changed it to BHK's mosfet design with tube input stage. Not sure if it was because of the sound or something else that forced Paul to change the technology.
 
Devg - You are correct that Paul initially planned on using an Ncore Class D design but after testing determined that it failed to meet his desired sound quality goals. He then decided to hire Bascom King to design the hybrid BHK amps which they are now selling.
 
audio.bill, does it mean the the BHK sounds better than the NC1200 based product line up ? Has anybody heard both of them and compared ?
 
Paul McGowan of PS Audio certainly thinks so! :D I haven't heard either the BHK or NC1200 amps in a familiar system to really make a fair judgement, but I've heard both several times at shows and while they each had some positive attributes neither favorably impressed me enough to warrant further investigation. Just one man's subjective opinion, take it for what it's worth.
 
A neighbor friend of mine has the PS Audio BHK250. It recently replaced a McIntosh MC302 (I think it was the MC302 with the pair of monster blue meters) to drive his Focal 1038Be loudspeakers. He much prefers the PS Audio amp (I do too) as it has more control over the bottom end and also lets the presence range flow more freely. With the MC302 I thought his system had a bit of a midrange-hole but not anymore with the BHK250. It sounds great top to bottom with the BHK250 and is a very effortless presentation with what appears to be ample drive and dynamics. It also provides a dead silent background that the music jumps out from.

I've heard the Merrill Veritas mono amps (NC1200) and liked them too, but not in a familiar system as they were at RMAF. Now that I have the NC500 NORD's it will be interesting to see what my neighbor friend thinks of them when he comes by later this week to give a listen.
 
MikeCh said:
A neighbor friend of mine has the PS Audio BHK250. It recently replaced a McIntosh MC302 (I think it was the MC302 with the pair of monster blue meters) to drive his Focal 1038Be loudspeakers. He much prefers the PS Audio amp (I do too) as it has more control over the bottom end and also lets the presence range flow more freely. With the MC302 I thought his system had a bit of a midrange-hole but not anymore with the BHK250. It sounds great top to bottom with the BHK250 and is a very effortless presentation with what appears to be ample drive and dynamics. It also provides a dead silent background that the music jumps out from.

I've heard the Merrill Veritas mono amps (NC1200) and liked them too, but not in a familiar system as they were at RMAF. Now that I have the NC500 NORD's it will be interesting to see what my neighbor friend thinks of them when he comes by later this week to give a listen.
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Great info Mike. I am very interested to hear what you and your friend has to say about the Nords. Please keep up updated :-)
 
One thing about the BHK250....Pete was concerned that in his roll out vertical rack (he has a nice recess where the rack rolls back into) where the amp is seated that too much heat was being generated by the BHK250 after hours of use. He purchased one of those infrared thermometers and found that with the somewhat restricted/closed in shelf space that houses the amp, he was seeing regular temps close to 135F at the heat sinks. I let him borrow a pair of 12V DC muffin-fans that I wired up using a 9V wall wart (to lower their rotation speed and thus, noise) and he placed them on the shelf on each rear side of the amp. Moving just 18-20cfm of air on each side reduced his temps to 115F or so.

His ultimate plan is to relocate his gear into a completely open rack at some point to limit the heat generated and to do away with the fans altogether.
 
Colin the rev. c modules arrived yesterday so I will get those installed and let them burn in for a few days and hopefully get a quick listen this weekend.
 
Marty,

My 994 op amps and new boards arrived yesterday am. I was able to swap everything out before work and listened for a little while. After work I listened more and now all I have to say is holy cr@p these are great. More lit up from within, feels like more air and 3D. One thing I love is that while I get that more open and slightly lighter feel, vocals are outstanding. Zero bite and totally non aggressive with more clarity. I normally prefer a warm/sweeter presentation and I that is why I like the Sparkos op amps. These 994's give me a clearer window with a smaller than the Sparkos touch of warmth, but tremendously better vocals to my ear. This is all with the Ayre KX-5/20 preamp on the JBL's. It will be interesting to try the Sparkos on the new input buffers.

Colin,

Thank you so much for getting these in my hands so quickly and making these amps even better.
 
Joe, do these have to break in again, or by just replacing the op amps the entire package is still fairly much broken in. In other words are these going to continue improving for you over the next 300-500 hours?
 
Randy,

Out of the box I think they were a little rough. When I got home 12+ hours later, so much better. I have to believe that "some" break in is necessary. I don't feel another 300-500 is necessary. I am sure the amplifying modules are the critical part of the break in. This is my thought and if it gets better from here, I'll be delighted.
 
joeinid said:
It will be interesting to try the Sparkos on the new input buffers.
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I think this config is my new favorite! = Sparkos Op amps + new RevC boards (that have the Sparkos V-regs). Just a hair less air and 3D than the 994's yet retains all the Sparkos op amp warmth/sweetness. Dynamics in spades with the Sparkos too!


Mike
 
Wow!


MikeCh said:
I think this config is my new favorite! = Sparkos Op amps + new RevC boards (that have the Sparkos V-regs). Just a hair less air and 3D than the 994's yet retains all the Sparkos op amp warmth/sweetness. Dynamics in spades with the Sparkos too!


Mike
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Good news guys.
When we first got the 994's and the new Rev C boards we initially tested with the 994's and I though wow these things are brilliant so much more sound stage.
It was not till later that we tried the Sparkos and Burson there was improvement but still think the the 994's are far better. So its great to get some other opinions and real world feedback. So yes the change to the more expensive Sparkos Voltage regulators has really paid off evidently they have a much better transient response than the Hypex ones. One other thing I noticed is the system hung on to dynamics at far lower volumes also the high volume organisation was better to. Cheers guys.
 
Getting really close to ordering the stereo One UP, I'll get the 994 opamps when I do. I have Burson V4, V5 and Sparkos opamps that I used for dacs.
 
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