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

Jack said:
According to the Hypex website, all of the Ncore amp modules are fully rated for 2 ohm loads. Not sure Bruno would put it on the website in multiple places if he had not tested it at that load. Another amp in the same price range that will handle those types of loads without question is the Odyssey Kismet. I own the Nord and the Kismet so have heard both with various speakers.
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I could not find a 2 ohm rating or specs in general on their website, numbers listed as specs are pretty vague , do you have actual specs to his modules, Stereophile may have tested his modules in other marketed brands and i found one on the expensive and special made NCore modules for Bel Canto and the most these did at 2 ohm were 545 rms and no where near their 1200watt@ 2 ohm rating ..

So yeah the BelCanto Black will do 2 ohm and seems like a serious performing amp , are the Standard NCore modules the same ..? Not so based on the review ...

http://www.stereophile.com/content/...ation-system-measurements#jrHeq6DLxOSYoK06.97
Regards
 
I'm not really sure what "proof" you seem to be looking for that the NCore based OEM modules can drive a 2 ohm load unless you don't think JA knows what he is doing. Also don't think Bel Canto gets "special" modules from Hypex anymore than I believe every small to medium sized speaker manufacturer who claims he is getting "specially designed" drivers from Scan Speak, Seas, Accuton, etc. They don't like Bel Canto buy and sell enough units to warrant special treatment without paying through the nose. So no matter whether is is "special" or not in his follow up to the initial review JA retested the units and got over 700 wpc with the Ncore modules and then drove the Gamut T speakers that stay below 3 ohms in the bass region to ear bleed levels with no problems. You have been around the business long enough to know that there is only so much information and disclosure you are going to get from a manufacturer without actually breaking down and buying the product yourself then you can test it as much as you want. And in the case of the Nord amps the price of admission is not that great to do so in addition to the dozens of us who have bought it and tested it with a pretty diverse cross section of speakers. But no, I doubt any of us have tried the amp killers like the long gone Acoustat, Beveridge's or others of that ilk.
 
Hi everyone not sure if I should post this here but I have decided to sell my two Nord UP NC500 Black Monoblocks.
There is nothing wrong with them they are working perfectly and sounding great and they still look brand new without any marks or scratches.
But due to a change in circumstances (downsizing) I need to sell all my gear and get an all in one system which I am not entirely happy about.
They are exactly one year old and are fitted with the Rev. C input buffers and Sonic Imagery 994 op amps. I also have a pair of little used Sparkos SS3602 op amps to go with them and the original Hypex buffers.
They have not been used that much as I only play music for 5/6 hours each week.
If you are interested please send me a PM with an offer.
I still have all the original packing so no problem to despatch by courier.
 
Jack said:
I'm not really sure what "proof" you seem to be looking for that the NCore based OEM modules can drive a 2 ohm load unless you don't think JA knows what he is doing. Also don't think Bel Canto gets "special" modules from Hypex anymore than I believe every small to medium sized speaker manufacturer who claims he is getting "specially designed" drivers from Scan Speak, Seas, Accuton, etc. They don't like Bel Canto buy and sell enough units to warrant special treatment without paying through the nose. So no matter whether is is "special" or not in his follow up to the initial review JA retested the units and got over 700 wpc with the Ncore modules and then drove the Gamut T speakers that stay below 3 ohms in the bass region to ear bleed levels with no problems. You have been around the business long enough to know that there is only so much information and disclosure you are going to get from a manufacturer without actually breaking down and buying the product yourself then you can test it as much as you want. And in the case of the Nord amps the price of admission is not that great to do so in addition to the dozens of us who have bought it and tested it with a pretty diverse cross section of speakers. But no, I doubt any of us have tried the amp killers like the long gone Acoustat, Beveridge's or others of that ilk.
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I did say based on John's test the modules can drive a 2 ohm load, but did not achieve rated claims, later "retesting" still did not achieve rated claims, this may or may not be important to some and at no time , well never, have i insinuated John didn't know what he was doing and yes i know enough about protection circuits, as they usually interfere when bench testing to protect the amp because of SOA , hence my previous comments suggesting more heat sinking for continuous use if for 2 ohm nominal load , which is mucho different from a load which only dips to 3 ohm, this is also why i had in my previous posts, suggested checking with NORD about the 2 ohm continuous rating ...

BTW, As to the "special" modules, this could mean anything and yes even small manufactures can get "special" anything especially when not defining what " special " is , we used to pay Audax for "special" drivers , the special was to make sure all the fiberglass drivers had the same color and not variations of ..


IMO , Hypex website specs are very vague and thats putting it lightly, Crown uses fan cooling for 2 ohm operation in their class-D amps and i have tested those as low as 1 ohm, the fan runs alot even for moderate listening and thats 1.5 ohm thru the critical 400-20K band , hence my suggestion for increased heat sinking below 4 ohm .




Regards
 
As I understand it JA got the NC1200 to give:

375W into 8 ohms (25.75dBW), which comfortably exceeds the specified power of 300W (24.8dBW)....... into 4 ohms...730W (25.6dBW), and into 2 ohms it delivers close to the specified 1200W (24.8dBW)!

So if the 2 ohms power output is of concern get an NC1200 equipped amp. There are a few around but they cost about $10-15,000. However, if you only need 550w into 2 ohms then an NC500 should do nicely and only costs about 1/7th the NC1200. There can't be too many amps that run at 2 ohms over a large part of the frequency response and need more than 550w

That is a lot of power in anybody's language and with an instantaneous current output of 28A not too bad.
 
Yes that was my oversight and error as i did not originally read ( see) his follow up , hence why i should stay off the iPhone and stick to the bigger desk top screen ... :)


So as stated earlier as per Johns test this amp is rated into and can drive 2 ohms ...

Leads to ,

My original question about the BC being a "special " module as stated originally and can the other lesser modules do the same. Hypex website specs are very vague and in the past they wont answer when asked specific technical questions ...

My suggestion after running different Class-D amplifiers , is to add more heat sinks if doing DIY and running below 4 ohms, John did note in his listening session the BC Amp did shut itself off after 30 mins of listening ...


Regards
 
George47 said:
As I understand it JA got the NC1200 to give:

375W into 8 ohms (25.75dBW), which comfortably exceeds the specified power of 300W (24.8dBW)....... into 4 ohms...730W (25.6dBW), and into 2 ohms it delivers close to the specified 1200W (24.8dBW)!

So if the 2 ohms power output is of concern get an NC1200 equipped amp. There are a few around but they cost about $10-15,000. However, if you only need 550w into 2 ohms then an NC500 should do nicely and only costs about 1/7th the NC1200. There can't be too many amps that run at 2 ohms over a large part of the frequency response and need more than 550w

That is a lot of power in anybody's language and with an instantaneous current output of 28A not too bad.
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I don't think that any of you believe that the Theta Dreadnaught D has got nc1200 modules in it. It does I assure you. And it is a bargain. I have one for sale over on Audiogon if anybody wants all that power into 2 ohms. It is an awesome sounding amp.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
 
colmon said:
Hi everyone not sure if I should post this here but I have decided to sell my two Nord UP NC500 Black Monoblocks.
There is nothing wrong with them they are working perfectly and sounding great and they still look brand new without any marks or scratches.
But due to a change in circumstances (downsizing) I need to sell all my gear and get an all in one system which I am not entirely happy about.
They are exactly one year old and are fitted with the Rev. C input buffers and Sonic Imagery 994 op amps. I also have a pair of little used Sparkos SS3602 op amps to go with them and the original Hypex buffers.
They have not been used that much as I only play music for 5/6 hours each week.
If you are interested please send me a PM with an offer.
I still have all the original packing so no problem to despatch by courier.
Click to expand...

Hi the Nords are now sold thanks for the interest shown by everyone
 
FWIW, JA, did confirm to me the Blacks were damaged with his bench mistake when testing , as confirmed by Bel Canto...


Regards..
 
WOOT! WOOT! 100 PAGES IN LESS THAN A YEAR. Joe, see what you started? :celebrate008_2::yahoo1::tutu:

Is this the longest thread?

Thanks Joe.
 
I think second only to "what are you listening to?". I know how to pick 'em. Great gear populates threads on its own. So glad to see Colin getting some traction here, thank you to you guys.


Dizzie said:
WOOT! WOOT! 100 PAGES IN LESS THAN A YEAR. Joe, see what you started? :celebrate008_2::yahoo1::tutu:

Is this the longest thread?

Thanks Joe.
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Indeed, Well done that man. Yes its been really good for us with some great credibility. Hopefully we have been good for the Forum bringing new users etc and pretty much everybody has been an absolute gentleman and a pleasure to deal with.

Incidentally we have just started shipping our first of many new Hypex NCore MP amps, stereo 250W at £749 to a 250W 8 Channel around £1999.
We also have £100 off any amp until the 1st January. Happy Holidays, and a Happy new Year.
 
Jack said:
I'm sure Colin would have mentioned it eventually, but Srajen has a review forthcoming on the Nord One Up amps in the new SE cases

He has previously reviewed multiple Hypex based amps including Bel Canto and Astah so this should be interesting.
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Thanks for posting. It should be an interesting read.
 
Hi all,


First post here, I had to register the other day as I was reading this thread non-stop from first to last page and there were pictures in there I just had to see! Thank you all for an exciting and interesting journey with all your comments and experiences, where the ultimate cliffhanger probably starring nc42acc, first being a bit reluctant but in the end convinced to upgrade from his NC400 only to be heavily disapointed, encouragaed by the rest of you that something must not be right and then finally what he would think of the new Rev.C board.... such an amazing story! :)


Likewise the op amps experiences has been gold worth reading about, interesting how some experiences changed over time etc, maybe in the end I need to try them myself, but for now I decided for the SI994.


I have now placed an order for my new Nord One SE UP NC500DM Stereo amp, which I can't wait for being delivered to try... it's a considerable "downgrade" money wise from my current amp, but I still have high expectations on it... I'm very curious to see how far Class D has come and what it will do for me, let's wait and see!
 
Wow what a great thread. I haven't posted in a while but this thread is really interesting. I am in the market for a new amp to drive my Sonus Faber Guaneri Evolutions. Like many I dismissed class D amps based on initial feedback years ago. Looks like class D have come a long way and the price can't be beat. I only wish Nord made an integrated amp. I am trying to keep my system as simple as possible. However, at these price points I could easily fit a killer preamp into the budget. Decisions decisions.
 
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