VTV Stereo Amplifier based on Hypex NCore NC252MP
From $579.00
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Additional information
| 12V Trigger | |
|---|---|
| Speaker Terminal Option | Binding Posts, SPEAKON Connectors, WBT Topline, WBT-0703-Cu |
From $579.00
-
| 12V Trigger | |
|---|---|
| Speaker Terminal Option | Binding Posts, SPEAKON Connectors, WBT Topline, WBT-0703-Cu |
Bill Bailey (verified owner) –
This VTV NC252MP amp is excellent and has exceeded my expectations. Class C amps in the past have had bright or shrill highs and a “dry” mid-midrange in some cases — this is not the case with this amp.
Transparency is superb, I’d say the best I’ve heard even compared to amps I’ve owned costing several times its price. The midrange is natural, not dry on the one hand, nor colored on the other (like many tube amps). Bass and dynamics are at least comparable with my amps costing several times as much.
The assembly of my VTV amp was impeccable in practical terms. You shouldn’t expect “frills” like a custom case at this price.
Juan Alexander (verified owner) –
Great performance for the price. Just a bit better audibly than an Icepower250 based amp but easily tiers ahead receivers i had from sony. Great endgame amp for me coming from a crappy tpa7948e mini amp as a starting point a year ago. Powering elac debut 2 floorstanders getting fed by a smsl sk10 through rca to xlr cables.
Mitch S. (verified owner) –
I purchased a Hypex NCore NC252MP amp from VTV and have now had it for about a month.
Starting off with a summary, it is a great amp at a great price.
There are a number of sources for Hypex amps but most of them ship from overseas You can also buy the modules themselves from Hypex in the Netherlands, a case from another source, and assemble one yourself. VTV, out of Ohio, offers fully assembled amps. VTV is the way to go if you live in the US and are interested in one of these amps and want quick delivery without having to put it together yourself.
VTV amps are built to order but mine arrived in less than a week. The cases are basically the same no matter which amp module you choose — mine has a small “NCore” label on the bottom left of the front panel, but otherwise all the VTVs look the same. Mine is nice looking from the exterior. I also took a quick peek inside and the assembly was neat and carefully done.
The amp only has XLR inputs, but RCA to XLR cables are readily available. There is also a blue “on” light on the front panel. Underneath the front panel is a switch that sets two brightness levels for the LED or turns it off.
The VTV is replacing my Bel Canto C5i in my system. At 250 w/ch (4 ohm) and 150 w/ch (8 ohm), the VTV has basically double the power of my Bel Canto. (It should be noted the Bel Canto C5i is an integrated amp with a built in DAC and a phono preamp while the VTV is a straight power amp.)
The sound? It is excellent — clean, dynamic, transparent and balanced. My speakers, Ohm 1000s, are notoriously power hungry. At 6 ohms, my C5i delivered roughly 90 watts a channel. I’d told myself that was enough as my listening level rarely exceeds 85 dB or so. However, I think the extra power of the VTV works to its advantage in my situation. The VTV is just a little cleaner on dynamic peaks when the volume is up. Bass is solid, the midrange clear, and the highs clear with no sense of stridency. I am very pleased with the amplifier and would not hesitate to recommend VTV to anyone interested in a great amp.
I don’t get too wrapped up over minute differences between equipment — I find the variance in recording quality vastly more dramatic than the difference between most electronics — but if you are in the market for a powerful amp at a great price, these VTV models are worth exploring.
WARREN HAGAN –
I have about two weeks on my VTV NC252 Stereo power amp and it’s been all smiles. Listening to whole CDs without noticing is always a good sign. The first day I had it on KEF Q350 and I had no idea those speakers were so scary good. It replaced a Bryston 4BST on those and t lifted a couple of veils as they say. I moved it to my JBL Studio 590s and wow, nobody believes this little amp is driving them when they hear it at concert levels.
The sides are barely warm to the touch after several hours of LOUD listening, the top never gets warm for some reason. No sign of any break up or distortion, strong bass. If it’s a bad recording you’ll know it. It doesn’t really seem to flavor the music from what I can tell.
The two front ends I have used so far are a Schiit Modius DAC / Schiit Freya S pre amp and the RME ADI-2 DAC with it’s own volume control. Sources are CD via Audiolab transport, USB streamed music and FLAC/Apple Lossless files from itunes. Interconnects are Audioquest King Cobra, power cord is PS Audio Plus and various Audioquest. RME is using it’s factory wal-wart power cord since I can’ find an upgrade for it.
The amp is dead quiet, some amps make a little noise with the JBL compression drivers. With no signal and volume up 80% it’s silent with my ear close to center of the horn. Very good considering how sensitive the JBL 590s are.
I’ve read these amp modules sound better after some break in but I honestly haven’t noticed any real changes. It sounds much cleaner at all levels than my 4BST, consumes about 1/4 the power from the wall and costs one-fifth as much! What’s not to love? Not to mention 4BST is almost a space heater.
For comparisons I’d say this Hypex sounds as good as the dozen or so A/B amps under $3K I’ve had in the last 15 years and better than all but a couple. Rotel, Parasound, Adcom, Anthem, Aragon, NAD- none of these mid-level amps built before 2010 sound as good as the Hypex to my ears. It is at least very close to the Bryston SST and maybe the SST2 series. I have not heard Bryston’s Cube Series yet. It sounds a little better in the mids and highs than my PS Audio M-700 and Emotiva PA1 mono amps, which are pretty good in their own right. Bass weight and impact is about the same with slightly better tone definition but not night and day different there. My Crown XLS amps have slightly deeper bass but not as refined. Why these companies didn’t go with Hypex I have no idea. Maybe bulk discount margins were better or ICE may have done better in some extreme torture tests or something. I think some people saying the Hypex are a little forward or bright MIGHT be hearing power amp that doesn’t color the signal for the first time, just my opinion. It’s not a tube sound or dark at all but it doesn’t lean toward bright in my systems. I wanted to get my feet wet with this being my first Hypex amp and it’s convinced me to get the bigger NC500 or 1200 for my planar speakers. as far as build quality nobody would suspect this wasn’t made by a major brand. Only gripe is I’d love a power switch on the front. I’m kind of a luddite regarding the remote on /off plus none of my gear has a 12V trigger anyway. This amp sorts out instruments better than the latest ICE Power amps and conveys texture better if that makes any sense. Haven’t seen any independent measurement of how much gain it’s using but FWIW it seems lower than the the gain on the PS Audio M700 and about the same as all the 250 watt amps I’ve used. For the price nothing gets close to this amp, it’s a no brainer.