Nord One Up Ncore NC500 amps, Class D ready for prime time .....
- Thread starter joeinid
- Start date
500 hrs
Dizzie
Well-known member
Am I doing this right? My conversion yields $5016 at the current exchange rate. That seems high.
Nord One SE NC1200DM Signature Stereo Amp
£3,795.00
Nord One SE NC1200DM Signature Stereo Amp
£3,795.00
Jack
Active member
The the next closest priced NC1200 based amps were from Atsah and Merrill and they were over five figures several years ago so Colin's prices are fair especially with the parts used. The Atsah's just took parts from Hypex and put them in a box. Merrill claimed to have made changes but if you opened the box to look you voided the warranty.
Do you have the Rev. D boards ? How do the Sparkos opamps compare to the SI ?
Yes. I find the Sparkos more musical. Both have amazing sound stage. Now, keep in mind I have chronic tinnitus and I’m older, and for some reason the SI op seemed harsh on top (my top) and aggravated my tinnitus. For me, the Sparkos maybe give up slight detail for Goldy Locks sound-just right!
Jack
Active member
Unless they have changed their sonic signature with the newest version the Sparkos is a warmer sounding op amp.
I've had my NC500 Mk II Rev D (SI op amps) for about a month now. In the meantime, I've made a bunch of other changes to my system, so I'm not sure how much these other changes have affected the sound. The amps have been powered up the whole time, but I was travelling for a couple weeks, so the amps have probably been playing music for 150 hours or so.
I also replaced my preamp (Schiit Freya -> Parasound JC2) and some of the cabling (stock AC cables to DH Labs Power Plus, 10' Audioquest Mammoth to 3' DH Labs Q-10 speaker cables), and added two dedicated 20amp lines with Furutech outlets. The new cables only have a few days on them, but even brand new I liked the improvements in bass tightness and image solidity.
With all these recent changes, it's probably too soon to reach any conclusions. Overall, the sound is clear, crisp and powerful, with good sound stage width and depth. There are many songs that sound fantastic, but there are others I'm not so happy with. Songs that have a lot of upper midrange power (from piano, sax, synth, etc.) sound kind of hard and grating compared to what I remember with my Krell FPB 300. This issue has been present since I first installed the amps, and before I made any other changes to the system. It does seem to be getting better, but that could be that I'm just getting more used to the sound. Or it could be that I need to let everything burn-in longer.
I'm somewhat tempted to order a set of Sparkos op amps to try, but that's another $250 which I'm not sure would be money well spent. Like Samoyed, my old ears also suffer from chronic tinitus, so maybe the more forward presentation of the Nords compared to my old Krell is aggravating something in my ears that I'm finding slightly unpleasant. If the Sparkos op-amps provide a slightly more mellow and laid-back presentation, then it might be worth it. I think I'll give it another couple weeks before I decide.
I also replaced my preamp (Schiit Freya -> Parasound JC2) and some of the cabling (stock AC cables to DH Labs Power Plus, 10' Audioquest Mammoth to 3' DH Labs Q-10 speaker cables), and added two dedicated 20amp lines with Furutech outlets. The new cables only have a few days on them, but even brand new I liked the improvements in bass tightness and image solidity.
With all these recent changes, it's probably too soon to reach any conclusions. Overall, the sound is clear, crisp and powerful, with good sound stage width and depth. There are many songs that sound fantastic, but there are others I'm not so happy with. Songs that have a lot of upper midrange power (from piano, sax, synth, etc.) sound kind of hard and grating compared to what I remember with my Krell FPB 300. This issue has been present since I first installed the amps, and before I made any other changes to the system. It does seem to be getting better, but that could be that I'm just getting more used to the sound. Or it could be that I need to let everything burn-in longer.
I'm somewhat tempted to order a set of Sparkos op amps to try, but that's another $250 which I'm not sure would be money well spent. Like Samoyed, my old ears also suffer from chronic tinitus, so maybe the more forward presentation of the Nords compared to my old Krell is aggravating something in my ears that I'm finding slightly unpleasant. If the Sparkos op-amps provide a slightly more mellow and laid-back presentation, then it might be worth it. I think I'll give it another couple weeks before I decide.
Matias
New member
Tim, Class D amps tend to be faster and more damped than ABs in my experience. And choosing the more airy opamp (SI) may have contributed there too. Maybe you can try a Sparkos before committing to purchase? And sell the SIs to get part of the expense back? Try also gold plated receptacles, they may warm the system a little bit. All these added will shift the balance back to your reference and liking. 
How much time playing music do you have on the Nord amp yourself?