Hypex UcD700HG amplifier

[leo]

sandyk said:

Rich man's toys !

I prefer to be poor

[xerxes]

I've been listening some more today and had a play around with the speaker positioning.

I've never been completely convinced by the whole run-in, burn-in thing, but the amps just seem to keep getting better; the sound seems to be opening up a bit and becoming more "spacious".

[leo]

Hows the UCD's sounding now Xerxes?
I keep looking at the 400HG's with the discrete regulators

www.hypexshop.com/ProdImgServlet?productID=2287

[xerxes]

I bought the UcD700s with the discrete regulators pre-installed, I've never heard them without the VRs, so I've no idea how much difference they make.

The amps sound fantastic, nothing seems to "wrong-foot" them. I haven't heard a whole bunch of "high-end" megabucks, audio exotica, so I can't say how they stack up against other stuff, but in combination with the MM Audio mini pre-amp I have they sound essentially right to my ears. I did once hear a very expensive Krell set-up, but it was a good few years ago, so my memory can't be that reliable, but from my memory the Hypex amps have some similar qualities in that they seem to be quite effortless and the top end is very clear, unfatiguing and grain free. All in all, I'm absolutely chuffed with them.

At the DIY price I think they could be a bit of a bargain, Dutch high end manufacturer is charging a fair bit more for their UcD700 based amps: www.kharma.com/products/amps/exqmp350.htm

The Kharma amp won't be the same as the DIY modules, but I imagine it is a custom made version using similar technology. Looking inside the UcD180 based Kharma MP150 it appears that they have merged the amplifier and the power supply sections onto one PCB, rather than using separate modules as available for DIY, but other than that it looks fairly similar.

You can build a pair of UcD700 mono amps for around £1,300.00, the Kharma amps cost a staggering, are you sitting down, £20,000.00.

[leo]

Thank you for the update Xerxes
I would have thought more people would have tried the HG version by now, there was quite a big UCD thread on diyaudio.
My modded UCD's have surprised quite a lot of people who heard them , I think they was expecting something average to poor with them being classD

I've just had a look at the Kharma amps, they are certainly making a fair bit on those