Purify Eigentakt Eval 1

[Cable Monkey]

Expecting delivery of the above electronics today after the unfortunate demise of my NC400 amp. It barely qualifies as DIY but I might end up doing some metal bashing because I forgot to expedite the Ghent case I ordered for it. It will be about a month getting here! I might take the time to re-purpose the somewhat bigger Ghent case the NC400’s were in.

I’m a fan of these powerful well engineered digital amps. It is actually ‘hard’ to listen to anything else in my system after acclimatising to them. My backup is a XTZ Edge A2-300 in stereo mode. It is very pleasing to listen to. Upper registers and imaging is pretty good. But it just lacks the attack and resolution in bass I really enjoy from its more powerful brethren.

 

[Cable Monkey]

https://purifi-audio.com/eigentakt/eval1/

 

[Gizza]

I’m a fan of these powerful well engineered digital amps. It is actually ‘hard’ to listen to anything else in my system after acclimatising to them. My backup is a XTZ Edge A2-300 in stereo mode. It is very pleasing to listen to. Upper registers and imaging is pretty good. But it just lacks the attack and resolution in bass I really enjoy from its more powerful brethren.

I've looked at these many times. The various opamps that are available apparently make a difference too (Sparkos, Sonic Imagery, Weiss etc ). Let us know your findings!

 

[bencat]

Henry what sort of power output will you get from this amp ?

 

[Cable Monkey]

Henry what sort of power output will you get from this amp ?

Pretty much the same as the NC400’s so a potential 200+ watts into 8 ohms.

 

[Cable Monkey]

 

[Cable Monkey]

I've looked at these many times. The various opamps that are available apparently make a difference too (Sparkos, Sonic Imagery, Weiss etc ). Let us know your findings!

With the standard evaluation boards the op amps are surface mount and can’t be easily swapped. But there are alternatives suggested if you have the skills.

 

[Gizza]

Expecting delivery of the above electronics today after the unfortunate demise of my NC400 amp. It barely qualifies as DIY but I might end up doing some metal bashing because I forgot to expedite the Ghent case I ordered for it. It will be about a month getting here! I might take the time to re-purpose the somewhat bigger Ghent case the NC400’s were in.

I’m a fan of these powerful well engineered digital amps. It is actually ‘hard’ to listen to anything else in my system after acclimatising to them. My backup is a XTZ Edge A2-300 in stereo mode. It is very pleasing to listen to. Upper registers and imaging is pretty good. But it just lacks the attack and resolution in bass I really enjoy from its more powerful brethre

With the standard evaluation boards the op amps are surface mount and can’t be easily swapped. But there are alternatives suggested if you have the skills.

Ah, okay. Enjoy playing with the new amps, Henry and get those hours 9f break-in clocked up quickly so you can hear what they are capable of. I shall be looking out for your comments!

 

[Cable Monkey]

OK, first power up this evening. Pause, healthy click, LED’s on both channels. No smoke. I’m hoping to get a good initial impression tomorrow then I’ll get some hours on it and see if it hits the spot. The case did arrive pretty fast in the end. It arrived with the wrong IEC connector but I got a non filtered one to get it up and running while the correct one is sent from China. Fit and finish is good, all the holes line up and the case while plain is good. I’ll get some images up once I know it’s working OK.

 

[Cable Monkey]

So had my initial listen to a wide spread of music and recording qualities. Impressed so far. Initial impressions to a completely green device left on over night. A little less muscular in the bass than I remember my NC400 mono’s, a little smoother at the top.

 

[George 47]

Now no peeking but our very own @Alex 54 did review the Nord version at: https://www.hifiwigwam.com/threads/nord-three-se-1et400a-mk-iiamplifier.97347/

It will be interesting to see what Henry hears with his boards.

 

[Music At Home]

So had my initial listen to a wide spread of music and recording qualities. Impressed so far. Initial impressions to a completely green device left on over night. A little less muscular in the bass than I remember my NC400 mono’s, a little smoother at the top.

Have you been following the interesting videos that Pearl Acoustics have put up on YouTube recently about the Eigentact amp modules? The first one is a discussion about the proposition of a “perfect” amplifier. The second is an interview with Bruno Putzeys.

 

[Cable Monkey]

Have you been following the interesting videos that Pearl Acoustics have put up on YouTube recently about the Eigentact amp modules? The first one is a discussion about the proposition of a “perfect” amplifier. The second is an interview with Bruno Putzeys.

I’ve watched everything on YouTube. Even the stuff in Chinese with no subtitles! Putzeys has been something of a hero of mine since I discovered the Hypex modules.

 

[Cable Monkey]

 

[Cable Monkey]

OK, so the finished and partially broken in article. With the Ghent case you have two options. One is pretty much solder free. You can certainly get a working example without having to wield an iron. The second one is where I went. It requires you to desolder banana sockets from the buffer board and solder proper quality ones in, and it comes with an IEC inlet filter. It is set to deliver the full 26db gain and is driven by a Holo Spring 3 with pre-amp board fitted. The case is small but made with decent gauge aluminium. The front panel has a small blue LED fitted. Its brightness can be varied, and you can choose different colours if you wish. There are assembly tutorials on YouTube to talk you through any likely pitfalls. I genuinely think a novice could go from boxes of parts to a working amp in a couple of hours. And the electronics are Europe based so support and R&R is there if required.

 

[Cable Monkey]

Time to write some thoughts down. The device has been running in my system for well over 200 hours now. It is a compact powerhouse of an amp that like it's predecessor in my system, NC400's, provided more power than most people need. It does so with iron resolve and speakers no matter how difficult a load do precisely as they are told. Listening loud for extended periods results in no fatigue or excessive heat. No anomalous behaviour. It just amplifies with absolutely no sound signature of its own. Great recordings sound as they should. Poor recordings do so too but I find this amp can find the good even in less than stellar recordings.
This thing is no Benchmark AHB2 to look at. But it is it's equal in the accuracy stakes and twice the amp in the power stakes. All while being less than half the price of one in this, it's DIY form. Now to be clear, if someone offered me a pair of AHB2's to run as mono blocks I'd snatch their hand off. I make no secret of the fact I am that shallow. I was looking hard at them before I found the Purify modules. But I am very very happy with the outcome.
If you don't believe in burn in this is a device that will change your mind. It definitely takes a while for the bass to work. Longer than I remember my NC400's taking.
One thing left. I want to change the op amps in the buffer module. I'll need an empty house and a steady hand so it might be a while before I get around to it but I will do it and report back.

 

[hifinutt]

fascinating . funny thing the AHB2 seem marmite amps . i have read a great deal on these deals and reviews range vastly . hi fi critic was a dreadful review of it but others love it

good to hear this amp doing well though. I really loved my icepower monoblocks with legacy eaton

 

[Cable Monkey]

fascinating . funny thing the AHB2 seem marmite amps . i have read a great deal on these deals and reviews range vastly . hi fi critic was a dreadful review of it but others love it

good to hear this amp doing well though. I really loved my icepower monoblocks with legacy eaton

I have no personal experience but a couple of AHB2 reviews I've read suggest that they come into their own bridged and may be lacking a little with complex loads when used in standard stereo mode. These things are never night and day though and in all likelihood it probably doesn't matter into more ordinary speakers. It'd be interesting to see what speakers were used in the less enthusiastic reviews.

 

[TIU]

If it sends you to almost sleep it's doing well.

 

[hifinutt]

will have to see if i still have the issue

https://www.hificritic.com/uploads/2/8/8/0/28808909/contents-201606.pdf

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