HifiAl, if you will attend, please post your differential impressions of the Mola-Mola and Veritas amps. I suspect that it might be a little difficult to factor out the sonic signatures of various ancillary components in the two systems, but even some unscientific hunches would be welcome.
Saluti, Guido |
Jtwrace, having followed HifiAl's posts since last fall, I have found no evidence that Al has any affiliation with Merrill. It is on the other hand evident that he is fond of the Veritas amps, and that falls under typical symptoms of Audiophrenia Gravis, just like the rest of us. |
Thank you HifiAl... One thing to consider is that the Mola-Mola amps at the NYC show will be engineering prototypes, not finalized products. Production level Mola-Mola devices may be available in a few months.
Do you know if the Ncore NC1200-based ATSAH amp from Acoustic Imagery will also be shown? ATSAH is distributed in the US by Tweak Geek in Denver.
Saluti, Guido |
Hi Don, you are correct. Tweak Geek is the direct importer of the Acoustic Imagery ATSAH, and is a dealer for products distributed in the USA by On A Higher Note -- including the upcoming Mola-Mola monoblock amplifier.
This suggests that once Mola-Mola is released, this amp might be available for audition at a number of dealers that carry products distributed by On A Higher Note.
Guido |
Hi HifiAl, I really hope your back lets you attend and enjoy the whole NYC show.... Just do not try to lift one of those Vivid or Raidho speakers whilst bending dangerously!
The good news may be that the Mola-Mola amps at a little over 20 Lbs per chassis may be even marginally kinder/gentler/back-friendlier than the Veritas.
Saluti, Guido |
Hi Noble100, here are some ansers...
1. I know of 3 manufacturers this far who have openly revealed to have developed NC1200 amps: Mola-Mola, Acoustic Imagery, and Merrill. While I generally opt for the word "prefer" rather than "best" because different listeners have differing priorities, no one to my knowledge has been able to compare the three amps yet, let alone yours truly, hence my answer as follows: I have no idea who is best!
2. Yes, to my knowledge, Mola-Mola has been developed by Mr. Putzeys and will be at the show.
3. I conjecture there may be circuit design differences among the three amps. Internal differences may yield correspondingly different sonic characteristics. Furthermore, the Ncore NC1200 module can be factory-tuned by Hypex to the requirements of different OEMs. Hence neither the amp designs, nor the NC1200 modules can be deemed to be true controlled variables in any listening of complete systems. Bottomline, we cannot discount the amps as contributing factors for any sonic differences which may be noticed in various systems powered by NC1200-based amps at the NY Show.
Guido |
Hi Dob, please post here any tech info or listening impressions of the Tube Audio Design amps... I will add them to my list of extant NC1200 implementations to track.
G. |
What is the current home page for Tube Audio Design? The link on Audiogon's industry directory appears to be invalid.
G. |
Hi Steinedm2, were you also able to listen to the system powered by Mola-Mola? How would you characterize its overall sound compared with the two systems powered by Merrill Veritas? |
Hi Dob, you stated that in room 1019 Tube Audio Design featured their new Ncore NC1200 monoblocks, which you heard on Sunday. Are you sure about the name of the company? The web site listed for Tube Audio Design on the Audiogon Industry directory is no longer active. I then sent an email to the company, and its owner of record -- Paul Grzybek, responded today that Tube Audio Design is closed.
What is the scoop?
Saluti, Guido |
Jdec, sorry Mr. Grzybek passed away. The email I received was from his own personal ID.... Probably handled by a service machine, or perhaps his estate.
G. |
This is fascinating info Kana.... Could you post the url of the McGowan citation?
McGowan confirms my own conjecture that, while Ncore constitutes in itself an excellent premise for implementing a high quality power amplifier, designers need not limit themselves to the inherent properties of the part, but should be able to create advanced circuits that may exceed the base properties of the underlying power conversion module in ways that are consistent with their own sonic philosophy. I suspect that designing unique input stages may be only the beginning of what one may be able to implement around an Ncore or UCD module, depending on market targeting and designer preferences.
I am confident that things will get exciting over the next couple of years.
G. |
Dob, stridency is not helpful. G. |
Good points ESanchez... I tend to think of class D power conversion modules as basic electronic parts, around which a designer implements a particular circuit design, exactly like a KT88 or 6550 tube. Such a design can be quite minimalist, in which case the inherent characteristics of the part yield the most noticeable character to the amplifier, good or bad as it may be. Other designers prefer to create around such parts more sofphisticated topologies, that harness the underlying potential of the part into a whole that instantiates the amplifier's creator philosophy more than any idiosyncratic behavior of the module.
G. |
