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Post by julesd68 on Sept 24, 2020 16:27:01 GMT
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Post by MartinT on Sept 24, 2020 20:20:29 GMT
The LS50 are amazing for their size.
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New Stuff
Sept 24, 2020 21:11:21 GMT
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Post by jandl100 on Sept 24, 2020 21:11:21 GMT
Ugly things to my eyes.
Not keen on the sound of the UniQ drivers, either. I had a pair of R500 in my 2nd system. Meh.
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New Stuff
Oct 9, 2020 22:40:31 GMT
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Post by julesd68 on Oct 9, 2020 22:40:31 GMT
"The science can only get you so far ... but in the end you have to rely on the ear."
I like this guy.
Designer Peter Comeau discusses the Wharfedale Elysian 4 I linked to earlier in the thread.
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New Stuff
Oct 10, 2020 21:06:02 GMT
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Post by julesd68 on Oct 10, 2020 21:06:02 GMT
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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 11, 2020 9:10:15 GMT
*Only* 9k and its a Bang and Olufsen
Immerse me baby
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Post by MartinT on Oct 11, 2020 10:15:28 GMT
"Immerse yourself in the unique, warm analogue sound of vinyl" But... I don't want the warm analogue sound of vinyl! |
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Post by pre65 on Oct 11, 2020 11:25:38 GMT
"The science can only get you so far ... but in the end you have to rely on the ear." I like this guy. Designer Peter Comeau discusses the Wharfedale Elysian 4 I linked to earlier in the thread.
A real gent, and a genuine audio enthusiast. |
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Post by John on Oct 11, 2020 11:29:24 GMT
Agree
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Post by user211 on Oct 11, 2020 11:34:27 GMT
Well I listened to as much of the Podcast with Bruno Putzeys as I could manage. Here are the bullet points- - they deliver neutral sound - all specs / measurements are well improved from his Hypex N-Core days - lowest distortion at all power levels and frequencies - he thinks it's the best amp he has worked on but of course it's partly his product he's selling - will be available as DIY modules at end of the year so could be very good value: you won't have to pay exorbitant prices for fancy cases etc like with some Hypex N-Core amps on the market now I had some NC700 Merrill monos at £12K in my system for a bit. Bloody awful things. Then I went to a show with Bruno's floorstanding speakers in. I expected it to be rubbish. It wasn't. He's alright had a good chat with him at the show. |
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New Stuff
Oct 11, 2020 12:50:50 GMT
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Post by jandl100 on Oct 11, 2020 12:50:50 GMT
"I had some NC700 Merrill monos at £12K in my system for a bit. Bloody awful things." Highly rated by some people, though.  Hypex/Ncore amps are on my To Do list. A fan of class D like me and I've never heard any. Shameful. |
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Post by user211 on Oct 11, 2020 13:11:28 GMT
"I had some NC700 Merrill monos at £12K in my system for a bit. Bloody awful things." Highly rated by some people, though. Hypex/Ncore amps are on my To Do list. A fan of class D like me and I've never heard any. Shameful. It's a mixed bag. I had an NC400 amp DIY with a linear PS and it was good. Not excellent. But good. |
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Post by julesd68 on Oct 11, 2020 13:32:27 GMT
I demoed a Hypex N-Core power amp not long back - initially really impressive in terms of speed and transparency but I quickly realised it was missing the ability to really communicate the music.
Difficult to put my finger on it but it felt a bit lean and sterile sounding - didn't engage me emotionally.
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New Stuff
Oct 11, 2020 13:34:16 GMT
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Post by julesd68 on Oct 11, 2020 13:34:16 GMT
"Immerse yourself in the unique, warm analogue sound of vinyl" But... I don't want the warm analogue sound of vinyl! Indeed! Made me laugh that they built in a phono stage for 'convenience' ... |
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Post by Clive on Oct 11, 2020 17:46:33 GMT
I demoed a Hypex N-Core power amp not long back - initially really impressive in terms of speed and transparency but I quickly realised it was missing the ability to really communicate the music. Difficult to put my finger on it but it felt a bit lean and sterile sounding - didn't engage me emotionally. I have a Lindemann Power 500 which is nCore based. The OEM boards are supplied sans buffered input stage to allow the likes of Lindemann to apply some character. I have to say I’ve yet to hear such buffers make much difference....though of course they can be engineered to do so. Jules, the characteristic you describe is very real. I find it’s not just nCores but just about any amp which measures extremely well and that’s pretty much all Class D amps. There are those who say these amps are in the upper echelon of high fidelity as they measure so well. I find my nCore is great with electronic music and with some of my secondary speakers which need just a fraction of clinical drive to wake them up. With my main speakers if I play bebop or hard bop there is indeed emotion to be found with other technology. I use any of three amps; 300B SE, EL84 SE, EL84 PSE. These three amps are far from neutral, they provide lower resolution and speed but larger than life instruments or at least larger than excellent measuring amps achieve. I find this is where the emotion I experience stems from. I swap power amps around every couple of weeks and play music to suit the amps (or my mood). I need to build or buy a 2A3 or 45 amp which would give me a wider performance envelope than the 300B amp. I used to have a 45 amp...it had some very good good characteristics. I’ve pretty much given up my search for a single amp that will give me the ideal experience with all the genres I listen to. I’ve tried compromises but they are always just that; a compromise. I want the best for at least my most played genres and my moods. Swapping power amps seems to be the approach that works for me. |
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New Stuff
Oct 11, 2020 18:15:44 GMT
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Post by julesd68 on Oct 11, 2020 18:15:44 GMT
Clive I'm not in a hurry to try more Class D anytime soon!
Fortunately I'm delighted with my Audio Synthesis amp - classical, pop, rock, metal or electronic, I can truly enjoy them all.
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Post by jandl100 on Oct 11, 2020 18:16:15 GMT
I demoed a Hypex N-Core power amp not long back - initially really impressive in terms of speed and transparency but I quickly realised it was missing the ability to really communicate the music. Difficult to put my finger on it but it felt a bit lean and sterile sounding - didn't engage me emotionally. Yes, I'm not surprised, that's the impression I'd got from reading betrween the lines of even positive and enthusiastic reviews. Which is why I've not been in much of a rush to try them. Some other class D amps I really enjoy, like the Temple Audio Monos, pretty much a universal amp imo. Others will differ on this, I'm sure! But then I'm unlikely to play any kind of bebop unless forced to at gunpoint!  |
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Post by Clive on Oct 11, 2020 18:22:41 GMT
Clive I'm not in a hurry to try more Class D anytime soon! Fortunately I'm delighted with my Audio Synthesis amp - classical, pop, rock, metal or electronic, I can truly enjoy them all. David Heaton has always designed great kit so I’m not surprised you like the Desire. For most of the genres you mention I find “flow” isn’t too important. I find Class D speed is good but it also equates to a start/stop effect which for the jazz sub-genres I listen too doesn’t work well. Some of the effects I enjoy only occur with SE...ok not accurate but do I care? That’s the way it works for me...we all listen to music in our own ways so there’s no right or wrong.. |
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Post by user211 on Oct 11, 2020 19:31:57 GMT
I demoed a Hypex N-Core power amp not long back - initially really impressive in terms of speed and transparency but I quickly realised it was missing the ability to really communicate the music. Difficult to put my finger on it but it felt a bit lean and sterile sounding - didn't engage me emotionally. The Merrill was like that only x100!!! |
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 29, 2020 13:18:53 GMT
This new Topping A90 headphone amp is fairly new to the market and gets rave reviews. It has balanced outputs and what caught my eye is that it can also act as a preamp. The only downside to this is the omission of a remote control. Price is around $500. Looking further into this I have learnt that Topping already have a Pre90 in the works that will be a fully featured preamp. There has already been a prototype so should be arriving fairly soon. www.tpdz.net/productinfo/472128.html |
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