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

It's real all right and applies to all Class D amps which do sound better if powered up all the time. Don't the later Nord amps have a switch on the back to turn the light off so it looks like the amp is off?
 
You could always open it up and disconnect the led in front so it will not glow anymore :)

Samoyed said:
Hmmm, I hope Colin follows that development. Here’s an odd one I’ve noted before. The MK II sounds much smoother and musical after five or six hours and the depth of sound stage improves! Real? Imagined? I don’t know but I now turn mine on about 5:30 am. No, SWMBO will not allow leaving it on.
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Sometimes we have to just pick our battles. Don’t feel bad.
 
Power consumption is pretty negligible if you aren't playing music through it, so it's definitely worth leaving on all the time.

I've been slowly upgrading my cables, starting with replacing all the oem cheapo power cables, then the speaker cable, and now I'm working on the interconnects. I decided to go with DH Labs since they seemed to offer well designed and built bulk cable at a very reasonable price, and there are plenty of excellent reviews.

After making DIY power cables and speaker cables from their bulk cable offerings and liking the results, I decided to buy a short 0.5M Revelation interconnect to use between my DAC and Preamp. Wow! Right out of the box, this cable blew away the Blue-Jean Belden XLRs I was using. It's now been running for about 24 hours and this cable is sounding SWEET.

Now I have to decide whether to upgrade the Preamp-Amp interconnects. I'm currently using a 2M pair of Mark Levinson cables that I bought about 20 years ago. These cables are on the short side for my installation. One of them is literally stretched tight between components. A 3M pair would work a lot better. I'm sure ML didn't make their own cable, but I'm not sure who they got it from. It certainly doesn't sound bad, but having compared the Blue Jean cables to the ML cable and only hearing a modest improvement, I'm thinking that the DH Labs Revelation could be a lot better.
 
JayT, "I remember hearing my first class-D amp in the late 70s (made by Infinity if I recall), and it was truly awful, and would blow up at the drop of a hat. As an electronics engineer, I thought there was potential in the concept, but pretty dramatic strides in transistor switching speeds, control circuitry, and feedback design would be required before I'd consider owning one. I never really considered looking at Class D until I was forced to consider replacing my Krell, but I now do think that Class-D amps deserve consideration, particularly for more modest budgets". You remember correctly, the Infinity SWAMP amp designed by John Ulrich now with Spectron. It was unstable and had a hair trigger set to blow up on many speaker loads.
 
Two days ago, with three months on the amp and about three weeks on the Sparkos, the sound stage seemed to suddenly deepen and widen. I’ve never had this experience with electronics. I suspect the Sparkos continue to burn in. They really are far more pleasing for me than the SI amps. I’d love to hear from someone with the nc1200.
 
Well, the slight listening fatigue that remained with the Sparkos is now GONE. Wow, I’ve never experienced such long break in. This amp is a killer! Anybody?
 
No one believed me when I said the same thing. Long break in but worth it once there.
 
It’s just crazy, but true. Mine just went from great to fantastic. The sound stage is shocking at times. I was happy. Now I’m ecstatic.
 
Mr Underhill said:
A week or so ago I took possession of my Nord One UP NC500 3 Channel Mk II with SI 990 Op Amps. This is intended to replace my EAR Yoshino 534 main amp plus an old bolt together Naim NAP 250 that I use for center channel duties. Source = Linn Klimax DS/1 Renew, LP12/Aro/Geddon or Oppo 105D Preamp = EAR Yoshino 868 Speakers = Focal 1008be II + BK XXLS-400DF Sub. The things that I immediately noticed were the detail resolution and the linear subterranean bass. Along with this I also noticed that some of the magic had disappeared from the mid-range, more anon. The Oppo acts as pre-amp, stream renderer & DAC, using the ESS Sabre DAC chips. I was taken with just how good this is. Historically I have tried using it as just a DAC, and started threads noting what good VFM it is, and this is more than reconfirmed here; have I wasted money on my Linn & 868? For me the short answer is NO, but the gap I would note would be in shrug territory for the female members of my household. With the Linn + 868 I gain 3D soundfield and texture. But, as I sit here typing this I am listening to the Oppo very happily. When I first started playing the Nord on of the tracks I played was Alicia Keys, Girl on Fire, Brand New Me. Now as the track progresses it shifts gears and just blossoms, at least it does via the 868/534. With the 868/Nord all the detail was there, and more, but the that dynamic shift of gears just failed to appear, at least to the extent I am used to. So, time to exercise some patience and play the amp in. I am probably 50 hours in, in terms of playing music and AV through the amp, and there are definite changes, not night and day. The bass and detail are still remarkable, but as it plays in a certain mid/high frequency sharpness is relaxing; and Alicia Keys? Well, the dynamics does grow, what doesn't quiet get to the same level is the vocal magic I get with the 534. A friend of mine has a Naim uber system: CD555/PS555DR > 552/555DR > 500 > Focal 1028be. This is probably the best sounding Naim system I have heard, although I have listened to more expensive setups. The one area that my system bests his has been female vocals. I believe currently with the Nord this aspect has moved back a shade, but in the area of detail and bass heft it has moved forward. So, pleased or disappointed? Very pleased. The amp may eventually replicate all the strong points of the 534, if it does GREAT. My suspicion is that it has its own strengths and that it will perform well in other areas which are the 534's strengths. It will be VERY interesting in a few weeks to re-connect the 534. As a side note: The Nord is brilliant for AV as well.
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Well, I had a bit of a disaster a couple of weeks ago when our cats destroyed one of my Focal 1008be. A couple of friends cam to the rescue and loaned me some speakers, both very good but I have fallen in love with a pair of Mk I Naim SBLs. Now how do a factor in the changes to the Nord over time, well i simply cannot. But the combination of the Oppo, Nord & SBLs is excellent. But it is improved upon with the Linn/EAR, and yes, the female vocal magic is back. Whether it is the Nord working better with the SBLs, the Nord bedding in, or a combination of both who knows? I am one happy chappy. M
 
Interesting review of the Rev D boards: https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/nord2/ The review is not an uncritical recommendation, although he is comparing his MB to some rather expensive and excellent amps. Knowing how long these things can take to bring online I asked Srajan what burn in he had allowed, 'A few weeks ....'. He is continuing to use it in combination with a Nagra Pre when listening to some Raal Requisite ribbon headphones where he thoroughly enjoyed them, so after a while maybe he will revisit them with his speakers?
 
He did try with speakers as well. What he did not try, and I have sent an email enquiring, is why he did not test the Sparkos opamps, as they would have warmed up his amps and matched with more speakers.
 
Hi Matias,

Yes he did. As he is continuing to use the amps with his headphone setup I am hoping that after a while he will try again, as my experience with most of us here is that the opamps take a lot of breaking in.

I find that the SI 990s are plenty warm enough in combination with the Supra power cable .....which is something I didn't ask Srajan about, and I don't recall him mentioning ....I will go and re-read it.

M
 
I can’t stand that guy’s reviews. Everything is a study in tactical semantic ambiguity. Damning a great product with faint praise....🤯💩
 
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