Yes, we have. But not only tastes and preferences, but our senses are different too (also with dependence on age, illness or previous hearing damages).
So I'll try again and more objectively: the nCore is great in technical parameters as THD/IMD/SNR/... which are used to evaluate quality of the amplifier.
Julf: Have you compared nCore vs. ExtremA? There is a (subjective) great difference in favour of that Class-A amplifier if the required power is within its operating range... And I'm not aware of objective reason, why the nCore should be better than ExtremA (in low power mode).
So I'll try again and more objectively: the nCore is great in technical parameters as THD/IMD/SNR/... which are used to evaluate quality of the amplifier.
Julf: Have you compared nCore vs. ExtremA? There is a (subjective) great difference in favour of that Class-A amplifier if the required power is within its operating range... And I'm not aware of objective reason, why the nCore should be better than ExtremA (in low power mode).
I haven't tried the the new AMS-1000-2600. However I have the former ALC1000-1300 which AMS-1000 replaced. I use ALC1000 for subs. It can by no means compare to Ncore for frequencies above bass. Distortion is much higher which is very audible in a good system. Ncore is much cleaner, or should we say more or less totally transparent.
Taking a short peek at the measurements of the new AMS-1000, I don't think this either will rival Ncore.
http://www.anaview.com/sites/default/files/PDS AMS1000-2600-D.pdf
The smaller AMS amp looks better and I've heard more amps are coming from Anaview.
AMS series | Anaview
I disagree too.
I find it likely that the A/AB amps you find better in the highs have audible distortion. And in your system you prefer this distortion.
This might have been different in another system.
"This amp adds neither dirt nor fairy dust."
Indeed.
I agree.
No, I haven't. I was responding to your statement that "The highs with NCore are IMHO somehow still less detailed than the best Class-A/AB amplifiers". It doesn't correspond with my experiences with the class A and AB amps I have experience with. Is the ExtremA in a completerly different league compared to other class A and AB amps?
No, that is not what I am saying. All I am saying is that the nc400 is at least as good as the class AB and A amps I have experiences with (and that is quite a few).
I've mentioned ExtremA just because it's previous work of Bruno Putzeys and Sander Sassen.
ExtremA, a reference class-A DIY amplifier. - Measurements
ExtremA, a reference class-A DIY amplifier. - Measurements
Does Bruno consider it better than the ncore?
It is entirely possible that the ExtremA is the best class A amp in the world. If so, great - and maybe it is better than the ncore, who knows. In any case, the difference would be so small that I wouldn't be prepared to go from all the advantages of class D to the disadvantages of class A.
I have long ago given up on trying to chase some elusive "best in the world". For me, "best for my application" is more than enough
No. You misunderstand.Omholt, yes that could be probable explanation, but it still does not prove that the nCore is the best audio amplifier on the world ever created
And both of you are trying to convince me that it is...
There's a difference between best on the paper and what suits the system and listener. With a transparent amp, the rest of the system decides the sound. For me this is perfect, since it's how I build my system. I'm not interested in tweaking the sound with coloration from electronics. I work with frequency response and acoustics.
However, if the system has flaws, transparent electronics will simply reveal this. And for those systems, such electronics will not be the best.
And we also need to add that a lot of recordings are poor and it's not surprising that some harmonic distortion will make these recordings better for many.
Still, I personally think if the speaker and acoustics hold high quality, neutral electronics will be considered best by most people and that taste really doesn't differ much under such circumstances. But that's simply my subjective opinion.
To sum up; what's "best" depends much on how you build your system. Objectively speaking though, a transparent amp is always the better one.
Here are two of his earlier comments related to this question:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/190434-hypex-ncore-4.html#post2609847
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/190434-hypex-ncore-5.html#post2611164
Not really. He finds the design today clumsy and has said its performance depends very much on a capable preamplifier. However, under perfect and ideal circumstances he thinks it migh sound a tiny bit better then Ncore, but under realistic circumstances he expects the NC400 to be better.
Even that might be a bit of a stretch, the actual quote is "It is saying a lot that in spite of some decidedly unfortunate design choices and in spite of the minimal effort the resulting performance was still nearly record breaking. If you pampered it on both ends (input and output), that is. Under those conditions ExtremA would probably be a tough opponent for Ncore. In more adverse circumstances, Ncore is definitely more robust and will deliver better sound more reliably."
So it all depends on how you read "tough opponent". And that is indeed only under ideal conditions.
That's not the quote I'm referring to Julf. I hadn't seen that before. What I posted was based on what Bruno told me in a pm.
But like you said earlier, I don't expect any considerable audible differences either. Any improvements over Ncore will be so minor that in most setups it probably won't be audible at all. The exception will be when more power is needed.
But like you said earlier, I don't expect any considerable audible differences either. Any improvements over Ncore will be so minor that in most setups it probably won't be audible at all. The exception will be when more power is needed.
OK.
And that is the one thing in audio where more is definitely better. Mine goes to 11!
These non-ideal "most setups" are irrelevant to the question if there is audible difference between nCore and other top Class-A/AB amplifier.
And these minor/major terms are not well defined too. I consider as major something that you don't even try to perform a blind test for, because is so obvious.
And these minor/major terms are not well defined too. I consider as major something that you don't even try to perform a blind test for, because is so obvious.
No, they aren't, if they happen to include, let's say, *your* loudspeaker. (low impedance, hard-to-drive or power hungry speakers is a typical example of a situation where the ncore would be much better).
Non-existent differences might appear "obvious" in a sighted test...
interesting POV...
The Ncore has much better high frequencies than the amps I have heard using the ICEpower ASP modules, especially the ASP1000 which is rather soft and fuzzy in the high frequencies to my ears/system.
I would be interested to know which amplifiers have more detailed highs than a good Ncore build? My Pass Labs X150.5 is certainly no better than my NC-400 amp in this regard.
The Ncore has much better high frequencies than the amps I have heard using the ICEpower ASP modules, especially the ASP1000 which is rather soft and fuzzy in the high frequencies to my ears/system.
I would be interested to know which amplifiers have more detailed highs than a good Ncore build? My Pass Labs X150.5 is certainly no better than my NC-400 amp in this regard.
Not sure about soft and fuzzy highs, but I dislike the few ICE powered amps auditioned.
Not direct AB, but still feel sure these meet that description:
Reite Audio heard at 2014 Newport THE Show, YG Acoustics speakers, 100W stereo $12k
Jack Elliano's Electra Fidelity A3 500, 300B, 10-12W, never clipped playing live SPL driving AudioKinesis Zephrin 46 at same show as above, $10k/pr mono, stereo $6k...Jack's wound his transformers for about 40 years, and recently released a tube amp with single tube (EL34 16W) and transformer driver stage, a circuit he developed over several years (also dual EL34, 36W...both are SS rectified).
Suspect above are the two best amps I've heard, by good margin.
Interestingly, at that same show, both designers told me, each independent of the other, the primary parameter determining performance is TID, and both claim to have vanishingly low TID compared to industry averages.
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