Hypex Ncore NC1200 Amps at NY Audio Show in April


This is a BIGGIE! Both based on the Hypex Ncore NC1200, the Mola-Mola Mono Amps and the Merrill Audio Veritas Mono Amps will be at the NYC Audio show in April. The Mola-Mola with Vivid Speakers and the Veritas with Raidho and Sanders Sound Speakers, all in separate rooms.
128x128hifial
Unfortunately I did not hear the Mola-Mola combination.
I will however report on the sound with my Sonus Faber speakers
once I have the chance to do so.
Isanchez: I, too, thought the Waterfall speakers/Aragon/ManleyPre was the surprise room with a very linear,open, balanced sound. I assumed glass would ring, but didn't hear it.

As for the Vivids, I fault the room size for the bass bloat some have mentioned. Outside of that, they were extremely transparent without being edgy, IMHO.
Out of curiosity did anyone like the kondo room???? I thought it was the best in show heads and shoulders above the rest.

Electroslacker,

I concur with your comments. I've never heard glass cabinet speakers before and this experience totally changes the misconception that glass is supposed to ring. I'm not a glass expert, but I know that glass as material can have many different levels is rigidity. I'm almost certain that the glass the use in the Waterfall speakers is more inert than the one we are used to see in home windows and table tops. The glass that is used in skyscrapers, for instance, is a totally different type of glass. This glass should be able to handle extreme wind forces and building vibrations without ringing or breaking. Based on the sound in this room, they for sure did their research before releasing their speakers to the market.

As for the Vivid speakers. I totally agree: that room was simply way to small for the potential of these speakers. Furthermore, all those rooms in that area were being swamped by what appeared to be a very loud transformer or an A/C compressor noise coming from outside. You could easily hear the outside rumble noise when music was not playing. This forced them to play louder than what they would normally do so to compensate for the outside noise.

BTW, all the rooms in that area were affected by this phenomenon and therefore did not sound any better either. The only rooms with great sound were the larger ones that were on the opposite side.

Let's keep in mind also, that as far as I know, the Mola Mola amps shown are still prototypes. I was told that the DAC and Phono modules for the preamp are supposed to be released in June. So perhaps then, we'll see the final versions of the Mola Mola system.

Rhapsody Music & Cinema is in NY, so I may listen to the Mola Mola amps in a more controlled environment in the future.
I visited on Sunday. My impression of NCore1200 based amps: Tube Audio Design, Mola-Mola and Merryl Audio - they all sound the same: "warmish" and dull.

I could not A/B any of them with my Spectrons monoblocks but from memory, Spectrons are much, much better.

A friend of mine who also have Spectron monoblocks wanted to have a separate system based on SET amplifier and hi-efficiency speakers. He got SET built by Dennis Had (of famous Cary) and we did a few listening tests.

To my suprise, the "sweet seductive etc" midrange of SET amp was not better then midrange of Spectron transistor switching amplifier (with old fashion transformer base power supply which I suspect is the key to Spectorn sound).
Overall, Spectron sound was much better then that of SET. Regardless of midrange - you need weight, body, slam, soundstage etc.

I did not wanted to post that Spectron midrange is nearly identical to that of SET as not many people will believe it. However, I remember I am not a single one. There is review in Audioreview.com of Spectorn owner who also did the same comparison. I did not believe him at that time.

I wish the best to all owners of "new and imporved" NCore1200 but I am extraordinary happy with my Spectron with old fashion power supplies (with all upgardes possible!). I will add only that in my V-Cap Upgarde I have CuTF caps instead of regular TTFT caps and this make a big difference, IMO

Also, another point. New-er technology may be important but its implementation is much more important then anything else. As far as I can understand "Athmosphere" who produces one of the best tube products in the world and "Spectron" express identical philosophy in approach of building pre- and power amplifier and may be this is the key why Spectron midrange in A/B test show the same sweetness as SET amp