miniDSP SHD Power & Hypex NC400 Class D Amps

[ClaudeJ1]

1 hour ago, CWelsh said:

I pulled the trigger. I'm going to tell my wife it is your fault...LOL

OK, well since it's cost of a measly dinner for two, you'll survive if you don't like it! Plus I'm a safe distance away.

[CECAA850]

@ClaudeJ1 you've mentioned reducing gain to be able to use more of the volume knob.  Have you seen the Slider preamp from Transcendent Sound?  Seems perfect for this scenario.  I'm tossing around the idea if building one.

 

https://www.transcendentsound.com/slider.html

[CECAA850]

On 1/15/2022 at 8:58 AM, CECAA850 said:

@ClaudeJ1 you've mentioned reducing gain to be able to use more of the volume knob.  Have you seen the Slider preamp from Transcendent Sound?  Seems perfect for this scenario.  I'm tossing around the idea if building one.

 

https://www.transcendentsound.com/slider.html

@ClaudeJ1 ?

[ClaudeJ1]

5 hours ago, CECAA850 said:

@ClaudeJ1 ?

No interest in home made tube amps. Signal level voltage drop though a 20 Kohm Potentiometer is all that's needed in front of any power amp.

[ClaudeJ1]

On 8/7/2021 at 9:13 PM, Westcoastdrums said:

I bought the NC1200 based on your recommendation. I love it and have no plans to upgrade or try anything else.  Thanks for the tip. 

What a difference 6 months has made, now that your Hypex 1200 is for sale!!

[MEH Synergy]

10 minutes ago, ClaudeJ1 said:

What a difference 6 months has made, now that your Hypex 1200 is for sale!!

Well, the plinius I got at a great price and it's not going anywhere.  It beats the hypex by quite a lot.... I will still say I think the hypex amps are a great value leading amp though with tons of power and super quiet.   

[ClaudeJ1]

1 hour ago, Westcoastdrums said:

Well, the plinius I got at a great price and it's not going anywhere.  It beats the hypex by quite a lot.... I will still say I think the hypex amps are a great value leading amp though with tons of power and super quiet.   

and a great stepping stone to your present Class A/AB with lotsawatts!

[MEH Synergy]

4 minutes ago, ClaudeJ1 said:

and a great stepping stone to your present Class A/AB with lotsawatts!

The plinius sa 50 MKIII would be better suited for my application, but they rarely come up for sale and not in the shape/completely rebuilt as my amp came.   

[MEH Synergy]

Either which way, I want to see what all this chip amp hype is about. 

[ClaudeJ1]

1 hour ago, Westcoastdrums said:

Either which way, I want to see what all this chip amp hype is about. 

Don't expect it to outperform the Hypex, but I'm not sure the PA5 is a chip amp. Seems to me they just copied the THX AAA 888 technology the AHB2 uses, but who knows?

[MEH Synergy]

33 minutes ago, ClaudeJ1 said:

Don't expect it to outperform the Hypex, but I'm not sure the PA5 is a chip amp. Seems to me they just copied the THX AAA 888 technology the AHB2 uses, but who knows?

My expectations are more of curiosity and having a little secondary/backup amp that is reasonably priced, sounds Great and quiet on horns. Like you said, I skipped a steak dinner for two one day, no problem.

[CWelsh]

On 1/13/2022 at 5:07 PM, ClaudeJ1 said:

OK, well since it's cost of a measly dinner for two, you'll survive if you don't like it! Plus I'm a safe distance away.

The Aiyima amp arrived today and my first impressions are very positive. I haven't even been able to try it full out for fear it will annoy my neighbors in the apartment.

 

I've been using my Marantz 1060 and most people who hear it with my Fortes describe it as being "warm". The chip amp is more detailed, which some might describe as less warm, but I don't hear it that way. And, percussive sounds are just incredible! Drums are crisp, cymbals sound live, bass is tight, and when Stevie Ray Vaughn hits a hard chord it isn't the least bit muddy or softened. Speaking of bass...on live recordings of an acoustic bass, you can hear the strings vibrate against the fretboard if the player doesn't lift their finger quickly.

 

I was going to say, for $80 I'm blown away, but I wouldn't be the least bit disappointed if I had spent $1,000.

[parlophone1]

12 hours ago, CWelsh said:

 The chip amp is more detailed, which some might describe as less warm, but I don't hear it that way. And, percussive sounds are just incredible! Drums are crisp, cymbals sound live, bass is tight, and when Stevie Ray Vaughn hits a hard chord it isn't the least bit muddy or softened. Speaking of bass...on live recordings of an acoustic bass, you can hear the strings vibrate against the fretboard if the player doesn't lift their finger quickly.

 

All pretty much the same as what I hear when connecting the NC400 monoblocks in my system. 😊

I just put back my AB class amp when I want a bit less clinical, still enough details in music, at least what I can hear.

[ClaudeJ1]

10 hours ago, parlophone1 said:

 

All pretty much the same as what I hear when connecting the NC400 monoblocks in my system. 😊

I just put back my AB class amp when I want a bit less clinical, still enough details in music, at least what I can hear.

Let's just say that if an $80 stereo amplifier can sound similar to $1,600 pair of Monoblocs, that's really something, now isn't it? Horn guys don't need much power, so the "sound money" (double entendre intended) should go to Horns rather than more Watts. This is something PWK used to make fun of in the Ultimate LSH Loudspeaker in Dope From Hope, as "Customary Cost of Amplifier to Speaker Ratio." He said a great deal (50 years ago) with few words that still ring true today, more than ever!

[ClaudeJ1]

23 hours ago, CWelsh said:

I was going to say, for $80 I'm blown away, but I wouldn't be the least bit disappointed if I had spent $1,000.

I you Paypal me half of the extra $920 I saved you, I would not be insulted. LOL.

[CWelsh]

3 hours ago, ClaudeJ1 said:

I you Paypal me half of the extra $920 I saved you, I would not be insulted. LOL.

Seems only fair. 😉

[Wirrunna]

On 1/14/2022 at 12:35 AM, ClaudeJ1 said:

Also, I'm going to adapt the headphone jack to twin Banana Jacks so I can use my 10 Watt S.M.S.L Headphone amp on my 106 db/watt Horns downstairs. The Headphone Amp uses the same THX AAA 888 Technology that's in the $3,000 Benchmark Amp that everyone is raving about, but it only cost me $189.00 with free shipping. When you put your money in BIG HORNS, you can use "cheap" Low Watt High Quality amplifiers and still crank to stupid loud levels. Just remember that the difference between 10 and 100 watts is only 10 db, which means the 100 W amp will only go twice as loud to your ears. Based on that, it's not worth an extra $2,800, which means you should have spent your money on big horns instead and enjoyed more detail, better transients, and ridiculously low Distortion!

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZNDN5PF/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&aaxitk=ad4434975b1cccd87ac1f6465fef88fe&hsa_cr_id=8702953500801&pd_rd_plhdr=t&pd_rd_r=fb3fca5d-3066-4c96-b09a-81228a1b0666&pd_rd_w=7yCH3&pd_rd_wg=9qY2C&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_mcd_asin_2_title

 

Claude, I bought an SMSL SP200 Headphone amp and made a headphone jack to twin Banana Jacks and set the amp as the Mid and Hi amp on the right channel of my tri-amped K-Horns. A Topping PA5 was on the left channel. After a day or two I thought that the SP200 was a tiny bit crisper and even quieter than the PA5. I re checked with REW and the output of each channel at 1m on the Eliptrac axis was within 1 db, so I promptly ordered a second SMSL SP200 to free the PA5 to run my Super Heresy pair.

As the 16 ohm B&C DCX464 is 110db/W the SP200 at 6W into 16 ohm is well matched for mid and hi duties.

 

[ClaudeJ1]

3 hours ago, Wirrunna said:

I re checked with REW and the output of each channel at 1m on the Eliptrac axis was within 1 db, so I promptly ordered a second SMSL SP200 to free the PA5 to run my Super Heresy pair.

Let me know how it sounds. I have to do that extra sept in eval, since I'm so happy with the PA-5. At 106 db sensitivity on my horns, 12 watts would be plenty. I suspected the source impedance was low enough to drive a speaker, even though they spec it to 32 ohm for headphones only.

[Bjorn]

Hi Langston. Did you find a measurement that correlated with your experience?

 

I've used class D amplifiers for a while and have not really recognized the same. There are some people here in Norway who AB tested the best class D vs the best measurable class AB and they haven't able to hear a difference. 

 

Here's an intermodulation measurement of a Vera Audio power amplifier. Showing left and right channel.

 

You mentioned Bill Whotlock and his expired patented CMRR solution. Vera Audio used a similar design and developed it further. The CMRR of this amp is at least 89dB@100Hz and better than 94dB@1kHz.

[babadono]

@Bjorn ... @Langston has not posted here in a long time. I have PM'd him and got no response. I fear he is gone from the forum like so many of the other good knowledgeable people that have left or been chased off. Pity.