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Hypex Product Users Feedback II

Some comments from users of Hypex products amps

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Teck Heng

... on his dual mono UCD400AD Integrated Amp.

The amp sounds natural, immediate and detailed with the use of the mogami 2803 and canare 4S8 biwired. When I first used double run 4S8 with the LF and HF separated, the dark became too dark with the setup making the finer details such as sliding of fingers on the guitar rather hard to hear. Using simple wires and interconnects, the amp was still able to shine. Bass, mid range and treble is all well delivered. I have heard Nuforce 8, Roksan Caspian, Consonance and Sudgen and I think your amps are superior in comparison. Transparency for the amp is great. I tried jazz and rock, the amp sounds very live. Overall, the sound is detailed and foot tapping without being sterile. The amp gives the advantage of vocals delivery with
valves and the speed of the transistors. I am enjoying more each day.

Desmond

... on a UCD400AD Dual Mono Integrated Amp with HG Supply.

Configuration tested : Dual mono config, 2x UCD400AD modules, 2 HG Power Supply, 2 torodial transformers (VA unsure?). Amp capable of running in power amp mode or integrated mode at the flick of a switch. XLR or RCA inputs but I ran in unbalanced only.

Equipment used : Sources include TS Lim CD-67SE, EAM full works extremely modded 963SE
Preamp : Cayin HA-1A preamp/headphone amp (Tesla 802S/803S, JJ EL84), Melos SHA-1
2nd Amp : Qinpu A-8000 MkII bought from Sky Audio Cables : Diva Toccata, DH Labs Air Matrix, VDH CS-122 Transducers : HD-650/Zu Mobius cable, Focus Audio FS-68SE.

Music used : SACD and CD. Vocals (basically China mei mei acoustic unplugged stuff you get from NDV, Susan Wong, Jheena Lodwick), alternative (eg Jack Johnson), trance (DJ Tiesto, Ferry Corsten), large scale classical (Eric Kunzel stuff), violin solo (Paganini 24 CApricci, Fone SACD). And some other misc stuff…..

Aesthetics : This is a surely a minimalist amp. Just a large 2-inch and really smooth operating volume knob in front, power button and blue LED. At the back are IEC socket, 4 speaker posts, 2 XLR, 2 RCA (all good stuff) and switch to run in integrated amp mode and power amp mode. Anodised aluminum front faceplate is as good as any commercial offering. Side panels not that dead though, for those of you who are anal about deadening every darn thing in your chain. Generally excellent and practical stuff here.

Sound : Ok the interesting part! This amp gotta be run in. For the first time I broke its virgin status the sound was pretty harsh in the lower treble, especially since I played china mei mei discs on it. Cymbals and hi-hats sound really metallic and brash (my main issue and concern). I have had the amp for more than 2 weeks now and its settled down nicely and most of the un-niceties are gone.

The bass is extremely good. My speakers are FS-68SE, 83dB/m/W, so its really needs some power. Compared to my Qinpu solid-state, the Hypex really has much more control and definition. I don’t think it goes any deeper, but the definition makes it sound deeper as it is just able to grip the woofer with such force. Playing at low levels (eg 75 dB SPL) there is not much difference
probably, but whack it up and the difference in visceral bass slam and definition is really there. I think with other better speakers it could become scary sometimes. Top notch stuff.

Midrange is pretty good but I like a warm presentation. The Hypex is not warm as the lower midrange presence is not as pronounced compared to the Qinpu. I don’t know if this is called neutral, have not heard a lot of systems. This is a personal pref, of course. This also depends on what kind of music you predominantly like too. Actually I think the midrange is quite smooth too, for vocals.

The lower treble initially had a harsh presentation but after 2 weeks of play it became much better. You will find that the treble is extremely extended and completely natural, source limited of course. Playing good SACDs through this is such a joy. Though this is not bright/brash, do note that the Hypex has a pretty forward presentation so if your source/speakers are not up to scratch you may be in some trouble.

General feeling is that this amp is absolutely transparent and oozes detail. No doubt about it, absolutely transparent. Each note starts and stops with authority. The immense detail especially in the treble means that you will never get a laid-back presentation, so do not expect that. But this detail in treble is luckily not overcooked, so everything is well balanced and “believable”. There are systems my wife and I have heard that are unbelievably detailed but things like microdynamics are overcooked so you are always aware you are listening to a very high-end system and cannot relax. No such problem with the Hypex. May I say “musically detailed”? Likewise, PRaT is excellent, definitely not “slow”. Overall a lot of details, when listening in nearfield the level is nearly there as compared to my HD-650 w/Zu mobius cable, which is pretty a lot, trust me!

I did partner this in power amp mode to a Cayin HA-1A SET preamp. This gives a warmer and lusher more romantic sound - what I like. However the transparency and PRaT was gone and the bass was a bit bloated. Shucks. Partnered with a Melos SHA-1 preamp is pretty ok but nether here nor there. You waste extra money on interconnects too. Better stick to James’ passive preamp built into the amp man. Unless you already have a very good preamp + cables, ie intending to replace your power amp. No matter what, this is good flexibility and can offer the user an option for future uses (and it is fun).

The power of the amp is really good. Specs say 400Wrms into 4 and 210W into 8 ohms. It is all good clean watts, you will probably never stress the amp. Even with the inefficient FS-68SE I can drive this to incredible levels past triple digits on the SPL meter, all very cleanly. I was crazy to whack the vol control to max sometimes (sorry James! too much fun lar ). If you find that your
system is lacking that extra zing and bite, this will not disappoint you. However if i may hazard a guess, systems that are already forward and aggressive sounding may not like this because this will exacerbate it. Not saying that the Hypex is bright though. This is definitely not a
"romantic/lush tube amp".

As with other technologies like ICE, tripath etc… this amp is cool enough to touch even after extended jamming session. There is no need to switch it off due to fear of wasting too much Earth’s resources, so no need for warming up sessions before serious listening as you leave it on all the time.

I don’t know, I don’t like the FM and Nuforce 8 series, but this one I like esp since its so affordable. This is the top-end configuration costing about 2K, if your pockets are not deep enough there are other available options. Please do not do yourself a disservice and choose some 1K integrated SS amp from mass brands, this is so far far ahead.

Here's my 2 cents worth of Mini review of the dual-mono Hypex 180ad amplifier (built by James)

It's been a month since I got the amp and I've managed to run in the amp for more than 100 hours. So, now that the amp is run-in, it's time for a serious review. When I first popped in the Carpenters' Love Songs CD on the first day, it sounded terrible. I know Karen's voice - she has perfect pitch. I concur with others' observations that the Hypex amps require significant amount of time to run-in. The brightness and harshness has been reduced by a fair bit. But it was still there. I was really puzzled because it sounded warm on the
basic amp. My colleague suggested speaker cables as a possible culprit and loaned me a pair of bi-wire MIT terminator 2 speaker cables to try out. These cost $600 when new. When I plugged in those cables, the difference was immediate. Any trace of brightness is mostly gone now. Some info on my dual-monoblock version of the amp;

2 x power transformers.
2 x ucd180ad amp modules.
2 x Standard-grade power supplies.
Eichmann Cablepod binding posts.
DH Labs RCA jacks.
Internal silver wiring.
DH Labs power plus power cord.

All the goodies are housed in a thick aluminum chassis with the pre-amp built in. I asked for a bigger volume pot because I thought it looked better. Total cost is less than S$2,000. A lot less if you can hold a soldering iron and build your own amp. Just buy the PSUs and amp modules from James to build you own.

My budget equipment : Monitor Audio Silver RS1 speakers, Cambridge Audio 640C version 2 CDP and Belden i/c and cables. The CA 640C v2 has dual DACs inside, one for each channel. Each channel will provide separate signals direct to each mono-block in the amp. I would imagine the separation would be super. So, how is the sound stage? H-u-g-e, with clear separation and good imaging. Instruments are fixed clearly in the sound stage. Completely no distortion nor noise when you turn the volume up. The clear music just comes out from a completely noise-free background.

First up, I run The Eagles's "Hell freezes over" CD. The "Hotel California" track had the audience clapping around. I could "feel" the atmosphere at the concert venue. Next, Snow Rose. Her voice sounded silky smooth. Not only that, I could feel the emotions being communicated thru' in her voice. Other singers like Cai Qin and Emi Fujita also sounded warm. There's nothing solid-state about the amp. In fact, on
well-recorded material, the vocals sounded like that produced by a good tube amp. On bad recordings (Got a few terrible CDs from pasar malams) however, the sound is harsh and digital-sounding. This amp is very transparent and doesn't take well to bad recordings. Perhaps this kind of transparency is a good thing
in any case because it allows me to hear what the sound engineer had originally intended for the recording without any "colouration".

Next, "The Greatest BrassO" CD. Track 6 on this CD had big Chinese drums. I could hear the dying echos of the drum beats. One of the problems with the basic amp was the bass was weighty but a bit woolly. The mono-block version resolved this issue. Bass is definitely tighter and well-controlled. To test dynamics, I ran the Gypsy King's CD. Track 1 is a very fast track. On the SI T-amp, the track sounded plodding. Not with this amp, though, it could track the fast paced music without any problems.

In summary, the amp sounded warm and smooth for female vocals. The mid-range is very good, but for male voices with a low baritone, the vocals had a hint of raspy voice (wonder if need to run in more before the problem will go away? Is this the only fly in the ointment?) The bass is weighty and tighter than the basic amp. Value for money would be how I would describe this amp. If you love the sound of the T-amp, have a listen to Hypex-based amp, it performs miles above the T-amp.

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