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Apollon Hypex NCx500 ST NCOREx Stereo Amp - First Listen and Impressions

I received my Apollon amp yesterday, their implementation of the Hypex NCx500 ST NCOREx Stereo Amp. No owner's manual nor power cord (I need 117VAC, US). It's probably OK since connecting to it is similar to other amps. I am using a 14 gauge cord that's good for up to 15 amps. But it is a bit strange.


I bought it as the backup for the ML #27, which is 30+ years old. The Apollon will fill this role nicely and for a fraction of the cost of a class A or A/B amp with a similar drive,  $1.2K vs ??? The review of it at ASR by Amir was so good, I had to give it a try.


I listened to this amp today with my SP-6 preamp (fully refurbed at AR last month) and Revel f108 speakers (full range). I sit about 2m from the speakers. I normally listen about 85-90 dB at listening position. I've measured the voltage on the speakers in real time. I found the max power I'm calling for is around 10 watts. Not much. Comparison amp is my old and trusty ML #27 with new blue can capacitors in the PS.


Here's my impressions after only an hour of critical listening... The Apollon sounds airier than the ML, but there's no sibilance or accentuated highs. It doesn't have the same bass impact. But male voices were very clear and human-sounding. It's a good break from the darker ML sound. I'm running boh amps at the same gain, which is about 26dB. More listening definitely needed as the differences are quite small and may moderate after longer listening. I am assuming that there's no "break-in" involvbed. My overall impression is that this is a very clear and clean amp with a quite neutral presentation, but not cold and clinical.


I did have to pay an additional $140 for the new tariff. This is a big concern as a lot of gear is more expensive than the Apollon amp. Speakers for example.

 

kevemaher
kevemaher's avatar
kevemaher OP
120 posts
 

@devinplombier 

Very good point. The back of the amp has the CE symbol just below the power entry. I looked CE up. It appears that CE stamp indicates that the product meets CE approval which indicates the following:

"CE approval, or Conformité Européenne (CE) marking, is a regulatory standard that indicates a product meets the essential health, safety, and environmental requirements of the European Economic Area (EEA). It's a mandatory mark for many products sold within the EEA, signifying that the product can be legally sold there." That's a direct quote provided by Google AI. So it meets the European safety standard.

However, if one looks closely at the power entry, one can read "Furutech CE 10A 230V". So Apollon is recomending a max current capable power cord (12A), which is higher than the current rating for the cable entry. Oh boy!

As one who has been fried many times both due to my negligence and from poorly designed eqiupment, I am not willing to take any chances. Not any more. I will have to be careful that I don't create a situation where the amp needs to draw more than 10A. I don't know what it is fused for.There is no fuse on the outside of the amp. It is probably inside. I should open it up and check the rating for that fuse.

devinplombier
508 posts
 

@kevemaher 

The fuse info should be in your owner’s manual.

Look at the power rating on the back of your unit. If it says, say, 600W, that’s the maximum power the amp will require on a sustained basis (it may require much more on transients, but those last milliseconds).

Divide that number by the AC mains voltage in your home (say, 120V), and per Ohm’s law the result is your amp’s maximum (sustained) current draw, in this case 600 / 120 = 5A.

If the back panel of your amp says 1200W, then current draw will be 10A, etc.

That should help you evaluate what size power cord you need. 

 

kevemaher's avatar
kevemaher OP
120 posts
 

@devinplombier 

Thanks for the method you provided.

The amp did not come with a manual. Apollon directed me to a pdf on their website. That owners manual is not for my model. No mention of power cords nor fuses.

No power rating on the back execpt on the power entry. This  is "Furutech CE 10A 230V". This works out to be 2300W. This is clearly a limit for the socket, not the amp as it is written only on the socket.

I still do not have enough information to make an informed decision about the gauge of power cord needed.

devinplombier
508 posts
 

I am using a 14 gauge cord that’s good for up to 15 amps.

I found the max power I’m calling for is around 10 watts.

@kevemaher you nailed it in your first post. 14AWG is a safe and electrically adequate gauge for your amp power cord. Of course, you may want to confirm this with Apollon for your own peace of mind.

Europe uses cross-sectional square mm instead of AWG, so read this first:

https://www.canford.co.uk/TechZone/Article/MetricAWGWireSizeEquivalents

Good luck! 

 

kevemaher's avatar
kevemaher OP
120 posts
 

I dug a bit deeper into 12 ga UL approved power cords. Seems Amazon has some from vendors who claim UL listing. Must dig even deeper to see if this is a claim or reality.

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