Hypex Ncore NC400

A few months ago, a local audiophile borrowed my NC400 amplifiers and compared them to his very expensive state of the art Icepower based amplifiers.

When he returned the NC400 amps to me, he said it was no contest. He had already placed an order for his own NC400 modules.

I have kept my NC400 amps longer than any amplifier I have ever owned. If I named some of the amplifiers I've owned, borrowed, listened to -- most would agree that the list would represent some very credible, even elite manufacturers. Both tube and solid state.

Having said all that, let me also say that the NC400s are not out of place paired with my Coincident Statement Linestage. That's how good they are.

I still cannot believe how good my Hypex NCore NC400 bridged amplifiers sound.  I am hearing bass, imaging and many other musical details I did not heard before with the Luxman.  They are truly outstanding amplifiers.  Of course, the Bricasti M1 DAC and the lack of a pre-amplifier help with the sound quality.

I connected my new Hypex NCore NC400 Bridged mono block class D power amplifiers to my Bricasti M1 DAC direct (no pre-amp) and my system sounds terrific. The combination of the Bricasti M1 DAC & the Hypex NCore bridged power amplifiers mono blocks sound more natural, clearer, have more bass, a lack of noise, excellent dynamics and details. Another layer of sound is presented WITHOUT THE pre-amplifier in the system.  The Hypex NCore bridged mono block class D power amplifiers are highly recommended.  I also tested the Hypex NCore mono blocks and feel the bridged version (4 NCore 400 amps, 2 on each side) is well worth the extra money based on the improved sound quality I am hearing.

After conversations with Bricasti, Hypex & James (James Romeyn Music and Audio, LLC), we decided to remove the R141 (circuit) from my Hypex NCore NC400 bridged mono blocks, thus lowering gain by 14 dB, requiring 14 dB higher M1 volume setting for same playback level. Bricasti says the goal is to have the M1 CLOSE to 0db front panel attenuation. If you reduce the volume on the M1 DAC, you cause more bit reduction meaning you lose sound quality. When you connect the Bricasti M1 DAC to a power amplifier, you have to balance the M1 DAC to the power amplifier in order to achieve your M1 volume settings CLOSE to 0db. My volume listening range is in the -10 to -25db range depending on the source material.

I purchased the Hypex NCore Class D amps from James Romeyn Music and Audio, LLC (James). He was very helpful answering my many questions.

http://jamesromeyn.com/#/home-audio-gear/hypex-ncore-nc400-build-service-on-time-or-free-build/

This is my first class D power amplifier and, based on my results, sounds terrific. Of course, everyone has a different opinion on this subject. You never know “how it really sounds”, until you listen in your room and system.

In summary, I am thrilled with how good my system sounds. I am hearing details, imaging and bass that I have not heard before.  I highly recommend the Hypex NCore 400 bridged mono block power amplifiers.  In addition, the elimination of the pre-amplifier, in my system, greatly improves the overall sound quality (for me).

Congrats! Another happy Hypex ncore user!

Curious as to how a bridged set of nc400's would compare to the nc500 out now...

While I've never used a bridged NCore 400 amp I have used a quad amp'd non-bridged NC400 amp setup for about two years powering a pair of B&W 803D2's. During that time I was very impressed with what I heard. You haven't heard a true almost zero noise floor until you've heard these amps regardless of price. It's truly astonishing what a true black noisefloor can bring to the SQ table.

I know many people spend obscene amounts of money on power conditioning to try and lower the noisefloor of their systems but IME the majority of the noise heard is due to the components themselves and not the power grid. I say this with confidence because I've used other amps costing many times more than the NC400 on the same exact wall power at my house and as soon as I inserted the NC400 amps all noise I heard previously was magically gone.

I've since moved on to another Hypex amp (Merrill Veritas) and can confirm that they do indeed sound even better. I have no doubts that part of this has to do with the added power on tap as their are few speakers that don't behave better when almost unlimited power is on tap.

I can also confirm that another benefit of such a low noise floor is how easy it is to notice other tweaks to the amp itself. By this I mean power cords and isolation. I initialy heard the Veritas amps without their included Waveform Fidelity HE/MK3 HC power cables now included with them and the difference between the proper power cable and using some other brand was huge. The WF power cable made me a believer in what a good power cord can bring to the table.

In addition to the power cables these amps react very favorably to good chassis isolation. This is even considering the already hefty casework included to the Veritas amps. Again I heard my amps without the normaly included Stillpoint Minis for several weeks instead using an an equally impressive set of Solidtech Isoclear bases, as well as a set of Cardas Woodblocks. Each phase of isolation had noticable impacts on the sound. Ultimatly I settled on a set of Symposium Rollerblock Series 2+ with the Grade 2.5 Superballs. These brought a very nice finishing touch to the SQ of the amps above and beyond the previous isolation methods used before them.

All and all, you can't go wrong with these Hypex amps. Some will find them too honest but I suspect that is because they've gotten to used to the sound of the coloration found in almost all other flavors of power amp. I say given them a long listen before casting an opinion as their honesty does take some getting used to but once you realize the differences it's hard to go back.  

My experience with Hypex NC400 monoblocks : 
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/my-exp-with-focal-sopra-no-2-harbeth-40-2-passlabs-xa30-5-and...