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

Matias said:
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.
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I would love to try a preamp in the system but don't want to spend the big $$$$. Something like your STP-SE Stage would be great but would I get that much improvement? I usually have my dac volume between 40 and 55, I think 65 is max on my W4S. Now that I'm wowed by the Rev D, I'll need to do some serious and extensive listening to see what the next area of improvement should be but I'm really happy for the first time now.
 
I apologize because i don't speak english very well and i'm an audiophile beginner. About amplifiers technicaly better than Hypex nCore, i think at amplifiers (probably very expensive) different of class D but which technically surpass them, if they exist of course. Sorry if my questions are confused. It's just curiosity to complete my knowledge.
 
rah50 said:
I would love to try a preamp in the system but don't want to spend the big $$$$. Something like your STP-SE Stage would be great but would I get that much improvement? I usually have my dac volume between 40 and 55, I think 65 is max on my W4S. Now that I'm wowed by the Rev D, I'll need to do some serious and extensive listening to see what the next area of improvement should be but I'm really happy for the first time now.
Click to expand...
Your digital attenuation is not much, and your DAC has quite a low output impedance. I would guess that in your system a dedicated preamp would not make much of a difference.
But still trying in your system is the definite answer. Maybe arrange with the vendor to do a temporary deposit and they send you a demo unit to try? Worth trying.
 
Mikool35 said:
I apologize because i don't speak english very well and i'm an audiophile beginner. About amplifiers technicaly better than Hypex nCore, i think at amplifiers (probably very expensive) different of class D but which technically surpass them, if they exist of course. Sorry if my questions are confused. It's just curiosity to complete my knowledge.
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I tried to find all class D datasheets I could and the NC500 is among the very best measured performance. That does not mean that the end product (complete power amplifier) has these measurements, or that other class D amplifiers I could not find measurements (NuPrime) are even better. And finally, one could argue that measurements after a certain point do not matter, that subjective listening is the most important criteria. So "better than Hypex nCore" is difficult to evaluate, imo. :)
 
I see that only a minority of manufacturers give really details on their products, Hypex is almost an exception with all their detailed technical datasheets. Maybe it helps some of them not to give too much information that could be harmful to them. Or may be i'm wrong.
Matias, i agree with you, our ears are certainly the ultime judge of what we appreciate.
 
I've read that high current availability is important with an amplifier aswell as how many watts it produces.
Just wondering if the Hypex nCore has high current available?
 
I am not an expert in electricity but power (Watt) is the product of Amperes per Volt (with a power factor of 1), so if the NC500 amplifier can handle an output of 28A, then it can provide 28 (Amperes) * 240 (Volts in Europe) = 6720 watts. This is huge ! This theoretical calculation is probably incorrect because the NC500 delivers 350 watts at 8 ohms output (see documentation). What's wrong here ?
 
Mikool35 said:
I am not an expert in electricity but power (Watt) is the product of Amperes per Volt (with a power factor of 1), so if the NC500 amplifier can handle an output of 28A, then it can provide 28 (Amperes) * 240 (Volts in Europe) = 6720 watts. This is huge ! This theoretical calculation is probably incorrect because the NC500 delivers 350 watts at 8 ohms output (see documentation). What's wrong here ?
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The amperes are on the output stage, driving the load (speaker), so lower voltage and lower watts.
Also note that Hypex specifies the peak power for several seconds, which is more related to real life peaks of music. The continuous power (lab tests only) is thermal capped and about 1/5 of the rated spec. It is all in the datasheet.
 
Mikool35 said:
I am not an expert in electricity but power (Watt) is the product of Amperes per Volt (with a power factor of 1), so if the NC500 amplifier can handle an output of 28A, then it can provide 28 (Amperes) * 240 (Volts in Europe) = 6720 watts. This is huge ! This theoretical calculation is probably incorrect because the NC500 delivers 350 watts at 8 ohms output (see documentation). What's wrong here ?
Click to expand...

This figure is the peak output current which the NC500 can deliver for just 200ms to deal with large transients into low impedances. This more than sufficient to deal with the most demanding speaker loads you are likely to come across.
 
In real terms a Nord amp drove my Troels Gravesen speakers no louder than my 845 Mastersound pses so I'm not sure where all those theoretical amps go.......

Ditto on my Tannoys the overall drive ability is no greater than my 100watt per channel Leben amp

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk
 
Juancho said:
In real terms a Nord amp drove my Troels Gravesen speakers no louder than my 845 Mastersound pses so I'm not sure where all those theoretical amps go.......

Ditto on my Tannoys the overall drive ability is no greater than my 100watt per channel Leben amp

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

If the other amplifiers have the same gain as the Nord and you are using the same pre-amp with each then you are unlikely to perceive a significant difference in volume.
 
Matias said:
Your digital attenuation is not much, and your DAC has quite a low output impedance. I would guess that in your system a dedicated preamp would not make much of a difference.
But still trying in your system is the definite answer. Maybe arrange with the vendor to do a temporary deposit and they send you a demo unit to try? Worth trying.
Click to expand...
I wonder if a Schiit Freya would be a good test? Good reviews, good features, good price. Anyone here have one?
 
Juancho said:
In real terms a Nord amp drove my Troels Gravesen speakers no louder than my 845 Mastersound pses so I'm not sure where all those theoretical amps go.......

Ditto on my Tannoys the overall drive ability is no greater than my 100watt per channel Leben amp
Click to expand...

Thats normal, 50W and 500W power amps can both have 26db gain, so 500W will not sound louder, but will have more power for dynamic peaks and when impedance drops. On 50w sound stage will just collapse and bass will not have the same weight when playing loud.

Preparing to order one in next few weeks, it will be so hard to chose which one!
And then to find some nice tube preamp, like Primaluna Prologue Premium, uh can't wait to sell current gear :)
 
Welcome to the forum Thorton and Hudo, thank you for joining.
 
Hi,

I am thinking of trying Nord NC500 MKII with SI990. My current amp is Job 225 driving Spatial Hologram M3 speaker. Will this be a substantial upgrade ? Kindly advise. Thanks
 
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