No more NPC?

I pulled the trigger on one of these the day it went on close-out. Should arrive today. I’m hoping it sounds at least as good (hopefully better!) as my current Musical Surroundings Phonomena II+ Preamp. I’ve been very happy with the Phonomena but I plan to rip all my vinyl to digital as a hobby more than anything. Looking forward to spinning some vinyl with this unit.

Welcome, Cliff!

I know the Phonomena well; it has a very clean, unromantic, unvarnished sound - what the cartridge sends to it is the sound you hear. One of the magazines refers to it as Apollonian, an apt description. I am very curious as to your impression of the NPC in comparison.

Thank you Elk. The one thing I love about the Phonomena is the number of loading options. I’m using it with a VPI Classic and Benz Micro Wood SL. So I’ve lowered the resistance the past week to what I think I’ll be using in the NPC (160 ohms) to make a fair comparison. I’ll be sure to post my impressions.

Cliff said I pulled the trigger on one of these the day it went on close-out. Should arrive today. I'm hoping it sounds at least as good (hopefully better!) as my current Musical Surroundings Phonomena II+ Preamp. I've been very happy with the Phonomena but I plan to rip all my vinyl to digital as a hobby more than anything. Looking forward to spinning some vinyl with this unit.
Please let us know when you get it and evaluate and compare it. Love to know what you think.

Well after a few evenings with the NPC I am regretful to say it will be going back to PS Audio. I know audio components need some time to break in, but in my experience that never changes their signature…only sweetens up their inherent traits. There were also a few other issues but rather than go into specifics on this website, I will just say this. It’s all about synergy and my current phono preamp is an excellent fit for my system. A little bummed but oh well.

The Phonomena is exceedingly hard to beat, especially if you value neutral transparency.

I agree with you on break-in. Your experience mirrors mine.

That’s a bummer, is there anything you want to share?

Hi Paul,

Well there were 3 main issues for me. The first was a buzz in my system that wasn’t there with the Phonomena. But I didn’t lift with ground with a cheater plug. That probably would have solved the buzz issue. Second, the gain is definitely not accurate. At 72dBs of gain on the NPC, the Phonomena ran circles around it at only 60dBs of gain. And the noise floor was so much higher with the NPC (the buzz was a factor here no doubt). And the last thing but most important was the sound. The NPC is skewed more to the highs and with more ‘boomy’ (less controlled) bass. My midrange was almost gone. The music sounded thin… I just wasn’t smiling while listening through the NPC. As soon as I re-connected the MS Phono, the magic was back. Deep, tight bass, sweet sounding midrange and vocals that sound hi-rez. Crisp, clear and life-like. If I had money to burn, I would keep the NPC as a recording device. It’s a beast for sure. No slouch on quality.

Cliff, thanks for sharing your experience. Obviously for some reason (cartridge impedance??) the NPC was not a good fit in your system. For others who might be considering an NPC while it’s on sale, I can say that there is nothing inherently thin about the NPC’s midrange or uncontrolled about its bass, since it sounds excellent in my setup.

Yes, thanks Cliff. It could be setup, it could be mismatched synergy, it could be yours is just better. I am always appreciative of an honest opinion without sugar coating. Thanks again and thanks for giving it a try.

Paul McGowan said Yes, thanks Cliff. It could be setup, it could be mismatched synergy, it could be yours is just better. I am always appreciative of an honest opinion without sugar coating. Thanks again and thanks for giving it a try.
You bet, Paul. I love PS Audio gear, so I'll be back for the next round!

Ah, that’s sad. The NPC is a great piece of gear. I’ve used mine to digitize a number of my LPs into DSD files so far and it really does a great job. I also finally got my Nakamichi cassette deck fixed (properly!) and used the NPC to digitize a rough mix cassette I had run off from the Studer 24-track at a recording session I did 20 years ago. I hadn’t heard that music since and it’s great to have a DSD copy of that tape! (I was also surprised at how damned good that Nak cassette sounded!)

I find it extremely convenient to have DSD copies of my LPs. For when I just want background music while I’m working around the house or for parties or whatnot - basically for when I’m not sitting down doing nothing but listening to the music (and when I do that, I bust out the LP!). NPC’s a brilliant device, sorry to hear it didn’t really catch on.

I live happily in both the analogue and digital worlds and it’s perfect for me - glad I got one!

I agree, Muso, it should have got on better than it did - although it had a good run. It makes me wonder how many are actually digitizing LPs. It may be a smaller market than I would have guessed.

My Dragon also still sounds great. Older analog gear is often pretty amazing.

Will pricing reduction reach overseas?

Gotta say, was always on the fence with this one. Even now with the reduced price.

It just needs a smidge more utility… if it was also a DSD DAC, it’d be a no brainer for me.

Hi Paul,

I’ve had an NPC on my short list for awhile. Now with the special pricing I need to make a decision.

Having just watched Ted’s quantum physics-all-about-jitter videos (he is amazing) I feel vindicated in that he confirmed my suspicions/findings that jitter (accurate clocking) matters when doing ADC. His discussion about DSD and using a crystal with low phase error for “short term” clock consistency (vs a highly accurate “10 year” clock ala rubidium) begs the question what are the NPC’s ADC jitter specs?

One additional issue with ADC seems to be clipping, managing analog input levels and ensuring clipping never happens. How is that managed with the phono stage being integrated with the ADC in the NPC?

Thanks,
Dan

Hi Dan and thanks for writing. The jitter in the NPC is extremely low, beyond our Audio Precision’s ability to measure, so technically well below a pico second. We use a fixed high precision, low jitter clock as its source.

Clipping is always an issue with any ADC and there are no special provisions built in like a limiter. The range of this ADC is so wide, however, it has never shown itself to be a problem. Imagine 120dB of useful range when you’re recording a vinyl disc limited to less than 70dB of possible range. All you need to do is set the gain from the front panel to reasonable levels and you have miles of dynamics to play with. Even if you don’t use it for vinyl, and you go straight in with another analog source, few exceed the capabilities.

There is a warning message that will indicate any possible approaches to clipping, just in case, and that’s through the front panel display.

It’s a great ADC.