Anyone have Apollon Audio amps ?

[Quorra]

Someone posted about them on AVSforums. Apparently they make Class D amps. Just wondering if anyone on here has them for home theater and what your thoughts are. They are EU based so I figured someone here might have one.

https://www.apollonaudio.com/

 

[Jase]

Apollon Amplifier Owners Thread

Thought I would share some thoughts on a new amp I have. I know some discussion of the Hypex based stuff has happened in the past but I have not seen anything about Apollon gear so here goes. I have the rackmount version. More details here...

www.avforums.com

@Krobar still has his I believe.

 

[Mark.Yudkin]

One of their photos shows them with Martin Logan ESLs. If they have the courage to demonstrate their amplifiers powering such loads, they must have a high opinion of their products. Perhaps a demo?

 

[barnitto]

They look to make some awesome amps

 

[Conrad]

They do a full 8x250 Ncore, which is something that I haven't seen other manufacturers do, and they do the icepower modules, which is something I'm really interested in.

Would love some reviews.

 

[Quorra]

Same. I am just starting to look into class D amps instead of AB.

 

[Baggy]

They do a full 8x250 Ncore, which is something that I haven't seen other manufacturers do, and they do the icepower modules, which is something I'm really interested in.

Would love some reviews.

What is it about the Icepower modules that interests you?

 

[Conrad]

Power and damping factor.
In my experience that’s been the biggest determinant in choosing an amp that sounds good.

I use very power hungry floorstanders though, YMMV.

 

[Deleted member 901590]

damping factor

So what's a good damping factor please?

 

[Conrad]

I look for a high number, 200, 300 is where I've had great success. I think the Ice amps are much higher than that.

I have had high power class D (some good, some bad), Mosfet (didn't work for me) and I use regular A/B power amps now, albeit high wattage with very large transformers in, that work very well.

I struggle to hear the difference between my expensive power amps in the cinema and my crown amps when driving the same speakers. Maybe my pre is lacking in that set-up, I don't know. Maybe I have cloth ears!

 

[HeadBanger]

I’ve still got my Apollon Hypex power amps. Love ‘em - tons of very clean power and uncoloured sound.

KJF now also build an eight channel version using the Hypex NC252 modules.

MA-01 Flexible amplifier | KJF Audio

Our fully configurable multi-channel N core MA-01 amplifiers are built around your choice of Hypex NC***MP modules offering 4 different power outputs across 7 different modules.

kjfaudio.com

There’s a review of one of the MA-01 variants over on ASR.

HB

 

[Saul Goodman]

They do a full 8x250 Ncore, which is something that I haven't seen other manufacturers do, and they do the icepower modules, which is something I'm really interested in.

Would love some reviews.

Nord do 8x250 also.

 

[Conrad]

I meant 520, or 502 or whatever the big one is. Most people don’t do four of those as they’re physically larger.

 

[Baggy]

I meant 520, or 502 or whatever the big one is. Most people don’t do four of those as they’re physically larger.

The NCMP8350?
Looks very tidy inside.

 

[Conrad]

That's the fella.

It uses 4 x NC502MP2 which is the 500wpc module. If you assign that in slots 1 and 2 in the nord config editor you can't put them in slots 3 and 4. There's an argument to say that it's unnecessary to have them on all 8 channels.

 

[Krobar]

That's the fella.

It uses 4 x NC502MP2 which is the 500wpc module. If you assign that in slots 1 and 2 in the nord config editor you can't put them in slots 3 and 4. There's an argument to say that it's unnecessary to have them on all 8 channels.

Yep, I've had one for quite a while:

Apollon Amplifier Owners Thread

Thought I would share some thoughts on a new amp I have. I know some discussion of the Hypex based stuff has happened in the past but I have not seen anything about Apollon gear so here goes. I have the rackmount version. More details here...

www.avforums.com

 

[Baggy]

Yep, I've had one for quite a while:

Apollon Amplifier Owners Thread

Thought I would share some thoughts on a new amp I have. I know some discussion of the Hypex based stuff has happened in the past but I have not seen anything about Apollon gear so here goes. I have the rackmount version. More details here...

www.avforums.com

Three years on are you still happy with your choice?

Anyone on here purchased one since Brexit?
Wondering how the purchase process went and what the cost implications are.

 

[Krobar]

Three years on are you still happy with your choice?

Anyone on here purchased one since Brexit?
Wondering how the purchase process went and what the cost implications are.

Very, not a single issue. PS. I also have a Nord

 

[Conrad]

What boards are in the nord and can you tell a difference? My assumption is that the same board will sound the same in a different case, unless it’s being modified in some way.

 

[Krobar]

What boards are in the nord and can you tell a difference? My assumption is that the same board will sound the same in a different case, unless it’s being modified in some way.

They will sound identical if using the same Hypex MP boards, the higher end Hypex boards can sound different as they allow custom opamps and Apollon is one of may manufacturers who make their own. The build quality of the Nord isn't bad but is not up to the Apollon standards. I originally bought the Apollon because Nord did not offer a rackmount option; when I bought my second amp later for ceiling speakers Nord were offering rackmount and were quite a bit cheaper so I went with them. Pricing is heavily affected by exchange rates for Apollon but I have no issue recommending them if they offer what you want.

 

[Conrad]

Thank you, that's incredibly useful information.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

They will sound identical if using the same Hypex MP boards, the higher end Hypex boards can sound different as they allow custom opamps and Apollon is one of may manufacturers who make their own. The build quality of the Nord isn't bad but is not up to the Apollon standards. I originally bought the Apollon because Nord did not offer a rackmount option; when I bought my second amp later for ceiling speakers Nord were offering rackmount and were quite a bit cheaper so I went with them. Pricing is heavily affected by exchange rates for Apollon but I have no issue recommending them if they offer what you want.

What in particular is better on the Apollon over the Nord? Considering getting two Nord amps, one 8 channel with 2x 500W and 6x 250W for surrounds and atmos and another 3 channel for the fronts.

However have also been eyeing the Apollon 11 channel purifi which is probably excessive for HT use.

 

[mb3195]

What in particular is better on the Apollon over the Nord? Considering getting two Nord amps, one 8 channel with 2x 500W and 6x 250W for surrounds and atmos and another 3 channel for the fronts.

However have also been eyeing the Apollon 11 channel purifi which is probably excessive for HT use.

500w for surrounds and 250w for Atmos

I can see what speakers you have, but how big is your room as this seems like massive overkill.

I figured out I needed around 30w for my surround speakers to hit reference in my room (although I’ll admit I have 16 x 200w channels, but this was more to do with having matching amps and processor). Just wondering if you’ve done any form of calculation. Might save you a few bob…..

 

[Deleted member 901590]

I look for a high number, 200, 300 is where I've had great success. I think the Ice amps are much higher than that.

I have had high power class D (some good, some bad), Mosfet (didn't work for me) and I use regular A/B power amps now, albeit high wattage with very large transformers in, that work very well.

I struggle to hear the difference between my expensive power amps in the cinema and my crown amps when driving the same speakers. Maybe my pre is lacking in that set-up, I don't know. Maybe I have cloth ears!

Thanks Conrad. Interesting on damping factor. For my Rotel RB1050 it says it is 500 in the specs and that's not even class D.

A lot of members seem to be of the belief that all a good power amp is is based on power ratings and all done - that the pre-amplification is the vast majority of what's making the sound experience.

I disagree, if just subjectively. For decades of course like most of us I've had many different integrated and AV amps and noted the differences between them but that has been changing the (integrated) pre-amp too. Only recently have I had the chance to use the same pre-amp with different power amps. The subjective differences I note (not in any order) are:

1. Stereo separation and stereo "placement". The sounds are placed more accurately across the soundstage.

2. "Sound clarity". Sounds become clearer and more pronounced. Using one power amp compared to another, some of the sounds are different. And you hear some sounds that you may not have heard before.

3. Hardest to explain. An ability to make multiple sounds at the same time. Complex music where there is a lot going on, a rubbish power amp can sound "muddled" like it is overwhelmed. A better power amp almost sounds like it has different channels making each sound for you. (I know it doesn't, I'm just describing it).

Tracks that I have personally found exhibit well some of these differences (specifically numbered):

1. Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star. Duran Duran - Planet Earth. Human League - Darkness. Snap - The Power.

2. Kraftwerk - Radioactivity. Cabello/Mendes - Senorita. Mason Williams - Classical Gas.

3. Supertramp - School. Kansas - Wayward Son. The Prodigy - Charly (from the remastered album of Experience, think it's track 6). Duritti Column - Sketch for Summer.

I think it's relevant to note these, as I'm just making the point that the power amplifier does make a difference. What are your thoughts?

 

[Conrad]

I'm not electrically minded enough to really, deeply know how it works, but my thinking is as follows:

• You need an amp that can comfortably drive your speakers.
• To drive speakers well you need an appropriate amount of current so that the amp has "grip" and "control" of the drivers. The lower the response of the speakers and the lower the sensitivity the more of that current you need.
• Large amounts of current are provided by either large toroidal transformers in class A/B, or very efficient circuits in class D.
• guess what else amps with those characteristics have - high wattage figures.

So it's not that you need high wattage amps, it's that the amps that sound good happen to have high watts as a consequence of other factors.

@mb3195's comments above are appropriate. He has quite sensitive and efficient mains so only needs 30w to hit reference from those in his room. In my room (smaller than his) to hit reference I need somewhere like >200wpc for my mains. I require over 300wpc if I want 3dB headroom. The joys of an 87dB sensitive floorstander!

I think once you reach a baseline of "capability" (so watts, power, DF, current, whatever) and a low enough level of distortion, amps will sound the same. Wire with gain. This is excluding boutique and exotic stuff like tubes.

I struggle to hear the difference between my £300 Crown amps (bridged, one per channel) and my £4k Classe. Would I sell my high end stuff and replace it with all Crown? Of course not!