Rsimms,
Your accounting does not surprise me.
I think the Icepower based Class D Bel Canto ref1000m amps I use are as neutral sounding as anything I have heard. That means a lot of what you end up hearing and enjoying will be a function of what you feed them. Some tube gear upstream then is often the key. I use an ARC sp16 tube pre-amp (also fairly neutral sounding at least as tube pre-amps tend to go) fed from SS mhdt COnstantine DAC for digital and Linn Axis tt with Denon dl103R cart for vinyl. Pure heaven! The best of both worlds (tube and SS) together in synergy. |
A friend sent me a couple of DIY NCore NC400 amps that he did and I got them yesterday. He wanted my opinion of them. I tried them against my McCormack DN225 amp. At first the 225 blew away the 400s. The 225 was so much more warm, involving and real. The 400s sounded very clear, clean and dull. I was disappointed in them as I had high hopes for them.
Running my air conditioner to cool the 225 it costs me over 10 cents an hour to run what I have. That works out to hundreds of dollars a year with the amount I run my system. Being class D the 400s run much cooler.
Today, thinking that the 400s might be a bit more neutral than the 225 I started pondering my Calypso tube preamp. I used the stock Sovtek tubes as it was the most neutral tube that I could find. That worked best to balance with the warmth of the McCormack. I got out some Telefunken smooth plate 12AX7s that I had and put them in the Calyspso. Magic! They sounded bad with my 225 but great with the NCores. My system now had plenty of warmth, excitement and possessed an amazingly realistic wide sound field. My system may be better with digital and vinyl than it has ever been.
It is amazing that a system can go from crap to great with a little adjustment in component synergy. I need to remember that when I hear something that I think sounds awful. I should keep a little objectivity.
Bob |
["Mapman I suppose once an innovative cost effective product or technology catches on in the high end audio world, it is ripe for a big markup if its performance is competitive with much more expensive gear. Class D amps fit this bill perfectly. I doubt that the much larger potential markets other than "high end audio" will go unserved though, so I think there will be many competitive offerings with excellent performance at a range of price points. Some will be more luxury minded and others more value oriented."]
Absolutely, I agree.
The reviewer mentions the manufactures attention to detail as if some unique changes in design have been made other than the exotic use of anodized aluminum casework. To me that remark smacks of what many switching amplifier manufactures do by simply using of the shelf switching modules and power supplies from manufactures such as Hypex and B&O.
For what its worth, long before the Hypex offshoot Mola Mola actually had a completed prototype they eluded that their amplifier prices would be somewhere in the $5K per mono range.
Again, I'm not complaining, just considering the historical value of previous non proprietary designed class D offerings. |
Hifial,
You can publish reviews of equipment and even music here on Audiogon. Less chance of getting bashed promoting something you like that way if done well. |
Hifial,
One thing I've noticed is that if you really are a fan of a piece of gear, probably the worst thing you can do is to start posting over enthusiastic responses about that equipment all over the forums. Regardless of your intentions, it often makes the poster look suspicious and can even hurt the overall perception of the product. I know there's been at least one instance of a manufacturer actually asking a "fan" to tone it down because he thought the over enthusiasm was hurting the perception of his products.
Just trying to help. |
Again for the last time you inane bunch of idiots. I am just a freaking fan and nothing else. Please go and infect another thread or better yet dry up and blow away. |
So doesn't work for the manufacturer, not a dealer, just an ordinary shill. I knew there was something amiss. Whine all you want Hifial, your cover is blown.
Yes, us trolls don't care for you shills. Peddle your wares elsewhere. |
C'mon Mike... lighten up and stop with the silly name calling.
My post was directed at Don_s, not you.
If you like the Veritas amps, great.
Congrats on your good fortune to get an early adopter discount.
Aloha. |
Kana813 GET A LIFE. What is it with all you immature little trolls on the forums. Seeing how I only use one handle, which I stated earlier, it MUST have been so difficult for you.
Of course in the minds of all the forums trolls I HAD to get a big discount to be a fan and get the word out of a little known manufacturer. MOVE ON.
|
Don_s
Hifial is working all the forums.
He's also advocating for the Merrill Audio over on AudioAficionado.org.
Wonder how big a dsicount he got from Merrill... |
I suppose once an innovative cost effective product or technology catches on in the high end audio world, it is ripe for a big markup if its performance is competitive with much more expensive gear. Class D amps fit this bill perfectly. I doubt that the much larger potential markets other than "high end audio" will go unserved though, so I think there will be many competitive offerings with excellent performance at a range of price points. Some will be more luxury minded and others more value oriented. |
|
Thanks Strateahed. Really.
Don, your point? So what. When did it become a crime to post about something you are a fan of and pass that on to inform.
Look, no interest then move on. No one is saying you have to like it or read it.
As far as the markup on Audio products. Well that all depends.
Apple sold something like 40-45 million ipads and around 85 million iphone in the first half of their fiscal year.
Now tell me an Audiophile company that sold only two of their products in that quantity for a full year.
The amount sold by some Audiophile companies requires a certain markup. True some over charge. But many charge a far price considering the cost to really run a business for the amount the sell.
You know this is a very small market. Most people I know are NOT Audiophiles and would never care about better sound, unfortunately.
I have had both the DIY Hypex NC400 amps in my system and the NC1200. I could have easily built the NC400 with a great case, footers and parts (with right ones it would improve the sound, I know as a few of us tried it out) and I heartily recommend that to anyone who can not afford the NC1200 based amps. But for those that want the better sound that the NC1200 offers(and it is not just a matter of more power) and can afford them...well it will put a smile on your face. Well both will but from a different point of view.
Can we all get back to AUDIO and recommending stuff. |
06-03-13: Strateahed
C'mon folks ... lighten up +1000...my attitude about forum posts...if you dont like it, its easier to just not comment and move on. The information may be useful to others. Edit: lol..I guess I should take my own advice! lol |
VicD: Two responses:
1) The Merrill amp is based on a module (the NC1200) only sold to audio companies, not diy enthusiasts. This module is reportedly slightly better and higher powered than the NC400.
2) This goes to show you the mark-up present in finished audio products. I'm becoming more and more interested in diy as I learn more about audio. |
C'mon folks ... lighten up. Hifial just shared information about a review. He didn't write it, after all. I appreciate the heads-up. |
Hifial,
You have answered 30 threads and started 5. Here are the five threads you started:
MerrillAudio Veritas Reviewed at Dagogo
Power Cables you like with Merrill Veritas Amps
Hypex Ncore NC1200 Amps at NY Audio Show in April
MerrillAudio Veritas to drive Raidho D1 at NY Show
MerrillAudio Veritas to drive Raidho D1 at NY Show (this is a second thread with the same title as a previous one)
We get it. You like the amps. |
What's with these prices?
I've been enjoying the unique presentation offered by switching amplifiers beginning with the PS Audio HCA-2 long before Stereophile's bold Class A status review. I'm currently using a pair of nCore 400s which are by far the best sounding switching amplifiers I've owned or auditioned in home.
Strikingly, they are also the least expensive class D amplifiers by a substantial degree. Yes, they're in kit form but the time and cost of assembly and casework is still minimal (mine are actually mounted on a piece maple).
So what am I missing? I think most Hypex fans were somewhat stunned by the dramatic price increase that Hypex was going to charge for their increased power supplied nCore vendor available only units.
Coupled with (I'm assuming) undisclosed innovations or as in the Dagogo review, "attention to detail," and the obvious increase in the cost of exotic casework in both the Merrill Audio and the Mola Mola, (but nowhere near as exotic as JRDGs 3 series) Class D has entered that audio/financial level of questionability sometimes known as diminishing returns.
I'm not complaining about these manufactures right to profits but isn't anybody interested in the unique "details" that are driving the cost or is simply doubling of their output power worth almost quadrupling their price? |
As I have said over and over on other posts. NO! NO! AND NO!
NOTHING BUT A FAN OF THE HYPEX NCORE NC1200 TECH AND WHAT A GREAT JOB MERRILL AUDIO HAS DONE ON THESE AMPS!
And I am not the only one who started a thread about the Veritas.
Why is it that on forums TOTAL devoted to all things Audio if you post a favorable impression and any follow ups as a fan you must have an ulterior motive. All my post have the same handle no matter what Audio forum I am on.
I have made several very favorable post about the new Stillpoints Ultra footers so why no questions about them.
I have also made post about B&W Speakers.
Please MOVE ON> |
Are you related to the manufacturer or are you a dealer?
This is the 5th thread you've started, all about these amps. |
