The sound - Nilai Mono and PreDigin
Contents
Nilai Mono
What we were really curious about is the difference between the stereo and mono version of the Hypex Direct power amplifier. We can be brief: that is quite audible! The mono version really has more grip and thus calmness and (micro) dynamics.
This can actually be heard on all the test tracks we pass along. Think of the work by Gazpacho or the dark and powerfull work of Massive Attack, but also the small, intimate pieces made by Amélie, Angus & Julia Stone, or Machester Orchestra, for example. It’s all about the calmness, grip and the black background that these monos can present. Surely, in this price range, that is impressive. Yes: 2000 Euro per pair is still significant money, but by now it is almost the minimum you have to spend to get something decent in your home. However, these monos are better than “solid”. This is just very, very good.
PreDigin
And the same goes for this PreDigin add-on for the Hypex pre-amp. We’re pretty spoiled with the Sonnet Pasithea and the whole Mutec reclocking and reclocker-chain, but admittedly, this Hypex DAC based on dual Cirrus CS43198 dacs is very nice! We are not very familiar with these – the bulk of manufacturers use ESS Sabre or AKMs – but it turns out to be a particularly fine dac chip! By the way, it’s a chip for mobile devices. We do often see these variants end up in “non-mobile” devices.
The soundstage is open, loose, airy without a shred of harshness. It has a bit of an AKM sound when we analyze the high range. It is really silky smooth with great insight, setting the ambiance in the music flawlessly.
That’s also an immediate compliment to the preamp; it lets it all through effortlessly. And to the Nilai monos … they too let it through exceptionally well. And that for a 4500 Euro system. Again: yes… it is a lot of money, but it is also very good. And this combined with a built-in Rpi as streamer and a few fine speakers and you’re done for under 10,000 euros. For many, this is simply – quite rightly and logically – ‘end-game’ quality.
Hi Jaap,
Thanks for another interesting review. Inspired by your video tutorial on building your own amplifier, I bought the Soundimport purifi eval6 kit and it sounds great. More recently I bought directly from Purifi audio the luxery front end for the 1ET6525SA Amplifier Modules and that was a clear step up in sound quality.
In short, you reviewed the original 1ET400sa modules, but in the meantime Purifi – like Hypex – has made interesting steps forwards. Maybe time to revisit them, e.g. the Eval 9 stereo or Eval 10 mono amp kits?
Best regards,
MarcelB