2. amps-preamps
  3. 129821-4358

Initial impression of the Nuprime ST-10 amp

I have a very fine McCormack DNA .05 Deluxe amp, a Don Sachs 6SN7 preamp, driving my Spatial Audio M4 Turbo S open baffle speakers and today swapped the McCormack amp for the ST10 amp.  Right out of the box, the ST10 is quite an amazing amp.  It is very powerful and yet quite delicate in its rendering of sound. To my ears, it is somewhat tipped-up in the HF compared to the McCormack amp, and at this point seems to give up a bit of the LF rendering of the sound to the McCormack amp, but overall, it has lots of inner detail and a sublime mid-range.  It has not a bit of harshness or dryness that I have heard with earlier Class D amps... it is very musical with the sound flowing effortlessly.   I will post my impressions after it has been run-in for a week. My initial impression is that for $1600, this is a very fine amplifier.  
whitestix
celo
160 posts
 
@whitestix So, you kept the Nuprime or Red Dragon? :)

same question for @kdude66
whitestix OP
709 posts
 
An update:  After a while with both class D amps, I sent them back for refund.  There seemed to be something missing in the sound of my system, and it was fully restored when I put a class A/B system.  
celo
160 posts
 
Thanks for the update. Just curious, which amp you ended up with?
whitestix OP
709 posts
 
I have a Rogue Atlas Magnum and a Platinum-upgraded McCormack DNA .05 amp.  I will have a Don Sachs KT-88 based tube preamp in a couple of weeks, as well.  I have lost all interest in class D amps.  
wolf_garcia
6,695 posts
 
I like Class D in my Ampeg Bass amp as it's powerful, cute, tiny, and folds up into the speaker box (Porta Flex...utterly adorable). I also like the lighter weight of Class D for the pro audio stuff which I'm involved with, but otherwise tubes rule the roost, so to speak. No SS amp has sounded better in my many decades of hifi rig obsession than a single ended little tube power amp and a tube preamp...I think it has something to do with how music sounds with tubes...something...
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