I believe Benchmark is doing something similar with a new, as yet to be released amplifier.
http://benchmarkmedia.com/products/benchmark-ahb2-power-amplifier
rfajardo said: I believe Benchmark is doing something similar with a new, as yet to be released amplifier.
You bet.
And, I hope to be auditioning it very shortly. Mostly out of curiosity and a possible glimpse of “the future”?
@Gordon
I would be very interested in your comments on this product, particularly given my experience (favorable) with nCore. Certainly, the Benchmark is impressive on paper. Let us know what you think.
Ryan
@rfajardo
I’m very anxious to play with it. Mostly out of curiosity as I like the thinking and direction. Also will be interesting to see what they can do for $3K.
Interesting but a little light on power in my book. 100W/8ohm, 170W/4ohm (20dBw). Still worth a look and even consideration if it sounds spectacular.
J.P.
Yah, I noticed that about the power too.
My buddy has built a similar amp but it has crazy power and head room. We will compare it to the BM when it gets released.
Agree on the power…the Benchmark becomes a much more appealing product as a bridged monoblock, IMO. Of course, at$6k, a pair would face much stiffer competition. Now, there is always the try now and add another later option…hmmm…
The Norwegian distributor for the Theta Prometheus (Hypex nCore NC1200 based) goes absolutely ballistic about it. He says that this is the biggest single improvement he has experienced during his 25 years of hifi career.
I don’t know what Bruno charges for those NC1200 modules but the cheapest amp that uses them is about $9000 a pair, I believe. I got a very good deal on a pair of NC1200-based amps and have never heard better with my setup.
frode said: He says that this is the biggest single improvement
Which one? The nCore's?
Giant leap in SQ from an amp (a revelation/game changer) if I understood him correctly.
He raves about many things:
http://www.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=UTF8&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hifisentralen.no%2Fforumet%2Fbransjenyheter%2F73383-theta-prometheus-har-ankommet-wow.html
Anyway, the implementation seems successful to say the least.
I also like the design of those.
Watch out for the Mola Mola Kaluga one.....
Was that $49,000 Euros for a pair?
Was that $49,000 Euros for a pair?
You mean $16k per amp?
This is around the price for Pass Labs XA monoblocks…
The post’s link lists specs and ends with a price of NOK 49,995 which is Euros, right?
Paul,
One way or another, it’s got to be a blast being able to contemplate or even realize your ideas in product form. Not just to say, “I did that” but also to know that their is something that you helped, in a big way, to produce a product you understand totally, and enjoy as well. I go in a somewhat different direction taking products that I buy, and then wondering, “What if?”
Regnad, NOK is Norwegian Krone, worth about US $0.17 currently. I don’t think any of the Scandinavian countries adopted the euro.
Don’t forget the Veritas Monblocks (N1200 based) http://www.merrillaudio.net/veritas.html this is what i am using and I absolutely love them. Merrill is a small company and is very aggressive on doing trade in so the the $12K list price can be softened
Merrill is a small company and is very aggressive on doing trade in so the the $12K list price can be softened
That's because putting some stock NCORE modules in a box and selling direct gives them a lot
of wiggle room.
Let's see if they're still in business for more than a couple of years.
I’m arriving somewhat late on this but my very old Quad 909 operate somewhat like being described in this thread. The Quad909.
quote from http://www.quadindustrial.com/company/historyofquad/tabid/60/default.aspx
The principle involves using two amplifiers instead of one. The first is low powered possibly class A very high quality. The second is very powerful, but not as high quality. The low powered, high quality output is inverted and fed back over the high powered, low quality signal. Thus, the low powered output acts as a filter, cleaning the high power output, so it is incredibly close to the original input signal
The 909 had awesome midrange hard to beat and todays improved components there is plenty of headroom for tweaking and improving the sound for a current owner of the 909.
Are there possibilities the amplifier principle can be improved and be different that it is a clear PS Audio product?