Removing a ZERO from the price of amps

I listened to the first part of Bruno’s interview. There is some truth to what he is saying........but, tons of things that affect sound cannot be measured. For instance, I just changed 4 inches of Hypex cable on the input of a Purifi based amp I have here to my own custom cable. The sound difference is huge, but the amp would not measure any different. Nord and Apollon claim their (not quite as good measuring) NC1200 based amps sound better than their Purifi based amps. A guy on Whats Best Forum has two amps from Nord done pretty much the same way.....one set of monos with the Purifi and the other with the NC500s.....he does say the Purifi is a little better but whatever op amp you put into the modules makes way more difference than the modules......and I bet swapping the input wire would be the same.

A great measuring amp is a good place to start.....but every Purifi based amp will sound different....because everyone will use different jacks, wire, solder, input stages, regulators for the input stages....passive parts in circuit, layout, AC jacks, fusing, etc....to infinity.

I am finishing up mods to Purifi based amps, right now. A part of my mod is to modify the Purifi module. No one has ever modded an NCore or Purifi module to my knowledge....they just add their own input stage. There are parts on the Ncore and Purifi modules that add audible distortion (not measurable). Putting lower audible distortion parts (and execution) here changes the sound to a more detailed and real sound. I will have more info shortly.....with very explicit details.

Some fun reading here:
http://tweakaudio.com/EVS-2/Purifi_amp_mods.html

The Audiosciencereview cult......he he...believes in measurements only. They don’t think anything else matters......you know...wire is wire....stock fuses are fine.....any kind of connector is ok.....who cares about resonances....etc. etc.

I believe everything makes a sonic difference.......So I am in the "snake oil pusher" dept....according to them. According to me they are in the "Ostrich with head in hole....so I cannot hear anything" dept.

The old Objectivist versus Subjectivist game. Old as Audio itself. I just don’t understand why the objectivists don’t just get a 1977 Pioneer receiver and be done with it. Why do they even bother posting about anything....or investigating anything since they think nothing matters except numbers?......We humans are a hoot.

Every implementation of the Purifi module will sound different.....yet measure the same.....this is the truth.....truth is not what Audiosciencereview is about. They are about a point of view. Truth in audio is what you HEAR. Audiophile means lover of Audio......sound.......music. Measureitophile means lover of measurements. Two different kinds of points of view.

I think measurements are fine. They can indicate some audible differences......however, there are an infinite number of other things that determine audible differences. If you only measure, then you are not playing with the whole deck.  You are just playing with one card.  Really, not much fun!

All the (good) companies that make the Purifi based amps use the same bones.....well, except the chassis.....which are all plain......but you might like one over the other.  The insides are all the same.....1200 watt Hypex power supply, Purifi module and input board all made almost identical to each other using Sparko labs regs and a choice of input op amps.  This is all I need to make a super thang.....because I change everything that matters.  VTV is cheapest in the US, offers a 30 day money back on their amps and has free shipping.   They can also do some custom stuff that no one else is currently offering.  I just talked to them today.  How about a 3000 watt power supply for a stereo or mono block?   They can do this.  Probably kick it up a notch......bigger power supplies are generally a good thing!

https://www.hypex.nl/product/smps3ka400/32

I am glad you trust your ears. However, the March guy is a "nothing makes a difference except measurements" kind of guy. He argues against discrete op amps (those of us who listen know the OPA1612/LM4562 are good op amps but cannot compare SONICALLY to the best discrete op amps). IE....his amps are the worst sounding of the pack. The AudioScience guys go crazy over non meaning supposed wiring errors. They obsess over nothing because there is very little to look at because it is all measurements to them and other science based thoughts (like how pin one on an xlr is grounded). Meaningless drivel. They do not listen and compare. Every single mod I do to a Purifi based amp changes the sound (and to me, makes it sound better).

The measurements of the Benchmark and Purifi are so close it is a wash.  However, there are tons of things you could do to each amp to improve the sound.....non of which will change the measurements.  Check out 10 audio.  Jerry reviewed the Benchmark and loved it.  However, he put in a $135 Audio Horizon fuse in it and it became better (to his ears).  So was the amp perfect before or after the fuse?  Neither....if you gave me a Benchmark and I spent months tweaking it.....it would sound way, way, way better.......and that YOU could hear.    

It is nice to know which components measure the best....but as I said in the last post......there are infinite amounts of things that effect the sound.....and measurements is just one.....one is not infinity....except in spirit.

How much is this latest LKV amp?  The earlier version released last year was $8500 with NC500 modules....this is suppose to be better because of the Purifi modules and ?

Over time?......How about now! Modified VTV mono block amps using highly tweaked Purifi modules and 3000 watt power supplies, etc.....available for $3300+......15? lbs each.....or how about a !5 lb. stereo amp with single 1200 watt supply.....fully tweaked.....$2400. See my link above. We will have a tour of the cheaper one in about a month.....and then maybe a tour of a pair of 3000 watt power supply monos....a little later. Hearing is believing.

Here is a comparison of the Purifi based 2 channel stereo amps from VTV and NAD:

Cost: The C-298 NAD is $2K plus shipping and maybe tax.  The VTV stereo amp is $979 with free shipping (30 day money back) with the stock Hypex single dual op amp per channel.  If you want the Pro Sparko Labs discrete op amps with Sparko Labs regulators on each channel then it is $1350 with free shipping.  Mono blocks using the Sparko labs combo are $1800.

Warranty:  Same for both....2 years.

Sound:  I would think the basic $979 VTV and the $2K NAD would sound close. NAD does not say what kind of buffers are used in their amp but says there are separate regulators for the "op amps"....as in more than one.  You only need one buffer on the input of the Purifi module....that is what VTV uses in all their versions.  The simpler and purer the signal path the more pure the sound.  There is also a gain setting pot on the NAD and it is common knowledge that cheap pots are not pure sounding.  Look at what serious manufacturers do to make a serious pot. The Sparko labs version of the VTV would have just one better sounding discrete op amp in the signal path in front of the Purifi module.  No doubt this version would sound better than the NAD.

Versatility: The NAD has RCA as well as XLR inputs.  However, you can simply get a pair of RCA to XLR adapters and plug them into the VTV.  You do realize that balanced sounds better.  The NAD has a bridging switch.  Really, how many people are going to use this?  Bridging is best for higher impedance speakers.  If you really need to drive low impedance, hard to drive speakers then it is best to use a more powerful amp that is not bridged.  VTV makes mono blocks using the NC1200 for that very purpose.  

Upgradability:  None with the NAD and extreme with the VTV (serious mods by myself.....EVS).  My mods can take stock VTV, Nord and Apollon amps to sonic levels that few have ever heard.

So, why would you buy a stock NAD?  Some do not know what goes on inside a component so buying from a conservative company like NAD seems safer.  Most have never had a component modded so they do not know the value of mods.  This is why I will be sending out amps on tour with the mods done so people can really hear what all the TWEAKING fuss is about......you will have your mind blown.

I have been manufacturing products and modifying products for over 42 years. I have less than 1% unhappy customers. This includes over 100 modified CD, DVD, SACD and Blue Ray players (most of which were stock players that were sent in to mod so the customer got to hear the improvement), 100 Millennium DACs (see reviews in Audio Review), 15 Hand Made DACs, a dozen amps make last year using highly modified IceEdge modules, hundreds of passive preamps including the Ultimate Attenuators (class A rated in Stereophile for 7 years), hundreds of Ground Enhancers (ear tuned litz wire ground enhancer for amplifier), etc. etc.

So, those that have heard what I do love it and know that I improve their product or that the product is a superior product. Then there are others with no direct experience with my products (listening tests) who think what I do is "useless tweaks". Is it useful to believe someone with no experience? Or is it more useful to believe those that actually tried something? You can look at a pile of apples and decide that a particular apple you would never want......then someone comes up to the vendor and buys that apple and takes a bite and right in front of you says....Man, this is the best apple I have ever tasted. Are you willing to expand your state of experience? Taste it, you might like it. Way over 1000 customers say my apples are seriously good.....and that is after tasting them.

90% of what makes sound different (and better sometimes) cannot be measured.....at least, not at this time.  This factoid freaks out the measurement people.  I believe some measurements are needed (especially with regard to speakers).....however, most things that lower audible distortion need to be discovered and implemented by careful listening tests.  Most of the techniques I use are ideas I got from reading or talking to others.  Some things I have discovered on my own.  Once you realize that "everything makes a difference".......then you have an infinity of possibilities.  This is what makes this game fun.  It never ends, you are always learning and growing and the sound just keeps getting better.  I wish you all an ever expanding joy.

10 audio reviewed the NAD here:
http://www.10audio.com/nad_c298.htm
He reviewed another Purifi based amp here:
http://www.10audio.com/evs-vtv.htm