Initial impression of the Nuprime ST-10 amp

@whitestix what model Bel Canto you had?

Celo, I do not recall the model of the Bel Canto amp I had maybe 5 years ago, but is was used and well run-in when I got it. My listening notes reveal that the sound of it was exceeding dry, lifeless and strident.  I flipped it in within a few days, the shortest time I have ever had a component in my system in four decades.  

That said, I will hasten to add two comments.  First, the march of technological improvement with class D circuitry has been quite amazing in the past few years.  I think it is light years better than it was just a few years back.  Secondly, if one is swapping a class D amp for a class A/B or tube amp, the listening experience takes a bit of time to adjust to.  The hyper-clarity of class D amps, with so little distortion, can initially sound rather sterile and less engaging, but I personally think with my experience with the Nuprime amp, and another class D amp in my other system, that the class D amps are distortion-less and amazingly revealing the of the sound.  It is a matter of adjustment to the sonic character of the somewhat different sound of a class D amp.  

Based on Kdudes' comments above, I ordered the Red Dragon S500 stereo amp today to compare to my ST10.  One of them will stay in my system and one will be returned.  I turned a corner and am all-in with class D amps.  However, I will not soon part with my tube preamp!  Even with my Don Sachs preamp, my speakers are absolutely dead silent on quiet passages with the ST10.  Ryan at Red Dragon has a $400 discount for his b-stock ST500 amp which swing the order for me.  
Cheers , Mark

Whitestix,

Any word on the S500? Seems like a good choice for where your heading. I have a similar set up. Class D has been by my side for a few years. This new technology has sparked my interests.


Cheers, Kim

Kim,
Funny you should ask.  I am sitting here in my living room waiting for the big brown truck to deliver the S500 at the moment. I figure I will be the last delivery of the day. 

I have been very impressed with the sound of the Nuprime amp as I have described above.  I have a 5 wpc Dennis Had EL 84 tube amp that I am selling and to make sure it is functioning properly, I swapped it out for the Nuprime amp.  Note that I am driving 94 db sensitive Spatial Audio Hologram speakers.  OMG, I was blown away with the sound of the flea-watt amp driving these speakers!  The mid-range bloom with the tube amp was just luscious, so warm and expansive.  The Nuprime amp had no such ability, but clearly excelled in LF control and HF extension.  I have had tube gear for decades and it clearly yields more warmth and sound of an euphonic nature.  If one has less efficient speakers, then these observations are not relevant as this flea-watt amp would not be compatible, but however the shoot-out between the NuPrime and Red Dragon comes out, and think I will keep one of them, I am not going to part with this venerable Dennis Had amp.  There is clearly magic in tube amps that class D's still can't match if the sound of tube amps is a sound you find appealing. 

Stay tuned.   Whitestix

Whitestix,

Dennis makes some good little amps,I've had the pleasure of listening to most of the models and I liked the El-84 and the Kt150 versions the best.I don't blame you for keeping it you never know how many more he might produce.

The only tube amp that I kept is a Yamamoto A09s it uses the 300b tube,It took me forever to find one and I have done several upgrades to it that I would never sale it.

Anyhow back to class d land,I did a comparison of the red dragon S-500 against the Nuprime St-10 again and I prefer the S-500 overall for the same reasons as listed above in the previous post,the S-500 has a lower noise floor and conveys the micro detail and nuances of a recording a little better.

Both amps are really good examples of modern class d amps and you can't go wrong with either one in my opinion.

Next comparison will be the S-500 with a Modwright Kwa-100 SE.

Best,

Kenny.