Initial impression of the Nuprime ST-10 amp

Whitestix,

No bad news about any unproven claims.
Enjoy what you have and let us know your outcome.Put some hrs on it and it probably will smooth out on the top end.

Happy Listening,

Kenny.

Whitestix,

I never thought I would abandon tube amps or class a solid state after 25 yrs and I'm not looking back either.

I'm using a red dragon s500 currently which is probably going to replace my ref600m. I haven't heard the st10 but I've read a lot of good things about them.

What bel canto Amp did you have and what preamp are you using with your st 10.

Kenny.

Hello all,

I have over 500 hrs on my S-500 and thought I might comment a little about it.I think it's a step up in Sound vs nc400 and ref600m,these are the 3 class d amps that I own and I have access to more through a local audio club where we lend and or borrow equipment or occasionally listen to each other's systems.

I have been using a bel canto pre3 with all the diff. amps just to make a even playing field,the pre 3 is a pure water no coloration preamp.

The S-500 is the best class d amp I have had in my system and it has the warmest most engaging midrange with very sweet nicely extended top end that has more air and separation with the individual instruments making the entire frequency range very coherent.The bass is equally as good maybe better than my other class d amps listed.

I borrowed a Nuprime st10 to try out and found it too be a very close match to the S-500,with the nod to the S-500 for the best overall sound especially the midrange.

Offcourse this is in my system with my ears and judging the musical presentation that I prefer.

The next test will be comparison with a modwright kwa100se that I have owned for a few years but I haven't used it in about 3 years,I have loaned it out to club members though.I know it's a very good amp but can it equal or beat the S-500,only time will tell.

So many very good choices out there nowadays,


Kenny.

Whitestix,

Dennis makes some good little amps,I've had the pleasure of listening to most of the models and I liked the El-84 and the Kt150 versions the best.I don't blame you for keeping it you never know how many more he might produce.

The only tube amp that I kept is a Yamamoto A09s it uses the 300b tube,It took me forever to find one and I have done several upgrades to it that I would never sale it.

Anyhow back to class d land,I did a comparison of the red dragon S-500 against the Nuprime St-10 again and I prefer the S-500 overall for the same reasons as listed above in the previous post,the S-500 has a lower noise floor and conveys the micro detail and nuances of a recording a little better.

Both amps are really good examples of modern class d amps and you can't go wrong with either one in my opinion.

Next comparison will be the S-500 with a Modwright Kwa-100 SE.

Best,

Kenny.

Mark,

There is no perfect Amp at least I haven't found one yet.
They all have their own sound characteristics as you are finding out.
That's why I like trying different ones and comparing and most of them I could live with and use a long time and be happy with.

You may want to give the red dragon at least 100 hrs or more before you judge It's true character.You did get a S-500 is that correct.

Red dragon doesn't have the best looking cases that's how they keep their price down compared to others, I have a black one and It's not as noticeable for me.

As I tell a lot of people you need to figure out what kind of sound presentation you desire and go from there.That's the best way that I know how to describe It.

Best,

Kenny.

Whitestix,

I can relate to you about what you are saying about the various Amp differences.

"I reckon in time the class D amps might be able to mimic the euphonic sound of tube amps and keep the speed and LF control. "

There is some of the upper models that can do this to some degree at a price.There is a very fine line in design of class d to have these kinda qualities,mainly you would have to add distortions and colorations to get those euphonic tube like qualities but then you lose clarity,detail,inner detail and the perception of speed and LF control.

Class d has certainly come a long way but I kinda look at like analog vs digital,we have had digital music for a long time know and today we have better dac's than ever but It still sounds different than analog.Now don't get me wrong I enjoy both formats equally.

Maybe It's the same with speakers,there is some qualities I like about OB's but I never have had a pair and since moving in to our smaller house I don't have the right room for them anyway or panels either.It's just a trade off I quess,no perfect speaker either but we do have some very good ones.

Best,

Kenny.