Hypex Announces New and Improved NCOREx Class-D Amplifier Technology

Hypex Electronics announced a new and improved iteration of its popular NCORE Class-D amplifier technology and unveiled the NCx500 OEM, the first of a new NCOREx family of modules to be launched. According to the Dutch company, the new technology will afford at least 2x better performance compared to original NCORE products — the reason for the x designation, as in eXceptional! Hypex will introduce the new NCOREx technology at the ISE and High End shows in May 2022, paving the way for future OEM products.
This is big news for many manufacturers in the audio industry who have long relied on Hypex amplifier modules and more specifically on NCORE products. Hypex Electronics established its reputation based on the exceptional performance of its amplifiers, power supplies and DSP's which have kick-started the large-scale migration to Class-D technology. But effectively it was with NCORE products that Hypex became deeply involved in some of the most demanding high-end audio applications found today.

The story and the philosophy of Hypex amplifiers is well documented, and the company became recognized for its ability to deliver high quality, reliable Class-D amplifier modules to a variety of applications, from professional audio products to active studio monitors, and of course as the foundation for many highly regarded home audio, hi-fidelity and high-end audio brands and designs on the market today. 

Since 2003 with the newly invented 'Universal Class D' (UcD), later followed by the class leading NCore technology, combining the stability of UcD with improved load-independence, lower distortion, lower output impedance and a new comparator circuit and control loop, Hypex established a consistent new standard for Class-D audio amplification, both in terms of measured and subjective performance. 

Always striving to achieve the best performance in combination with the best cost-effective solutions and manufacturing availability, Hypex continued its research efforts to elevate the standard established with NCORE products, focusing on even better audio performance and added functionalities. Not an easy task.

With the first ever module that implements the new NCOREx technology, Hypex says that goal was achieved with results of at least a two-fold better measurable performance. The first new module with NCOREx implemented is the NCx500 OEM, and can be used as a drop-in replacement for the existing NC500 OEM module. Full details and specifications will be revealed at the May trade-shows, starting with Integrated Systems Europe 2022 in Barcelona, and immediately following with the High End Show in Munich, where Hypex also intends to demonstrate a completely new  product for the DIY market.

audioXpress requested as many possible elements to advance to its readers, including some measurements, which we are revealing here. As Niels Burema from Hypex details, the new NCx500 OEM module features an on-board, high-end buffer stage combining Hypex' established HxR discrete regulators with carefully selected, high-grade components. And because the NCx500 OEM module can do more current, the rated power of 700W at 4 ohm is now also available at 2 ohms.
 
"The X is NCOREx stands for eXceptional. This is an advanced and improved version of our company's known NCORE technology with 2x better audio specs, truly setting a new mark in audio quality. The first new module we will launch is the NCx500 OEM, which is pin and size compatible with the existing NC500 OEM, and can be used as a drop-in replacement. Hypex also changed and added some features, such as a high-end buffer stage with the company's discrete 12V voltage regulators on board. Carefully selected high-end components were selected to improve the sound quality even more. And another new technique implemented in this new module series is a differential idle current. Meaning, the module will run in a much lower idle current when it can and will only switch to a higher idle current when performance is needed. This technique results in a lot less heat dissipation. Without going into detail, we can already confirm that the idle losses are 20% lower compared to the NC500 OEM."
  As the impressive measurements highlight, the module reveals a much better output impedance, while the frequency response shows the bandwidth is slightly higher compared to the previous NCORE equivalent module. The THD+N vs power measurements for 2-, 4-, and 8-ohm loads are also impressive, as is the plot that Hypex shared for high-frequency FFT IMD measurement where we can see an overall improvement of 10dB or more. As audioXpress Stuart Yaniger commented, "This distortion improvement takes it from really inaudible to really, really inaudible. This is exceptionally low noise!"

audioXpress is looking forward to the challenge of measuring and reviewing this new Hypex NCx500 OEM module. For now, Niels Burema recommends that judgements should not be just focused on measurements. "We believe listening tests to be more valuable than certain measurements. Even if some setting showed better measurements, if it sounds less than we expect, we would still choose another setting. This process has taken many months, until we were certain that we could get an absolutely wonderful module."

Availability and more information will be shared on the company's website very soon. Information about future OEM products using the NCOREx technology will be discussed later this year.
www.hypex.nl