Hypex UcD vs. ICEPower

StevenZ

Texas or nothin'
Hey guys,

Just thought I'd start a thread and see if anyone has any experience with either of these modules, or both, and possibly comments on their observations and preferences between the two. I've ordered an ICEPower 125ASX2 module based amplifier and only have a Class D Audio SDS-224 to compare it to. I'm hoping to do a comparison on Class D based amplifiers soon, including: Tripath, Gainclone (LM3886), ICEPower, Class D Audio, BYOB, and a few others. Any information comparing the Hypex and ICEPower modules would be appreciated.


Cheers,
Steven
 
Well I have a larger Tripath amp, the HLLY Tamp 90. It is about 45 wpc. I also have Bel Canto Mono Blocks that are based on Ice Power. They are 150 wpc at 8 ohms and 300 at 4 ohms. Then I have a couple of Sonic Impact amps and Scythe SDA2100 based on a Yamaha chip. These three are all around 8 wpc. The Bel Canto are by far my favorites. They are the only amplifiers I have ever owned that I just forget about. I just get the feeling the music is a product of my speakers. It's like the Bel Cantos aren't even here. I hope that makes sense, I'm not sure how else to describe it. The HLLY is a very nice T-Amp. I particularly like it when run with a preamp. I used to use it with some JBL L-96 speakers and really liked that combination. As far as the little guys go the Scythe is my favorite just slightly over the Sonic Impacts. It seems a bit warmer to me. All suffer from power restrictions however and I use them for convienience and portability only.

cubdog
 
Thanks for the input Cubdog! I'm pretty darn excited to get my ICEPower amp in and see what they're all about. I've used it once before in a mobile audio setting back when ICEPower was still fresh with very good results. I can't imagine how it will sound as a 3rd gen module now. I have a feeling I'll be in for quite a surprise. Thanks again for sharing your findings!

-Steven
 
Let us know what you think. I'd love to add a gainclone to satisfy my curiousity in that regard. Cableguy has a new one maybe he will chime in.

cubdog
 
I'm going on year 7 of running ICEPower, and I can honestly say, something completely earth shattering would have to come along to urge me to move on. I can't say if this is the direction amplification is moving or not, but I can certainly say that class d has come a long way and had secured it's place.
 
NumbDriver, thanks for linking to your post. I've read a few posts that talk about the rolled off highs, and I've also read a few that talk about the ICEPower's having sparkly high compared to the Hypex. I'm curious if this could be due to a difference in modules or their application. Or perhaps if a certain company has in fact modified it's sound somehow with alternative means. The amplifier I got uses a stock 125ASX2 and that's it. No volume control, no input buffer, nada.

Looking at B&O's spec sheet it shows the amp to have a frequency response from 20hz-20Khz +/-.15db and while looking at their graphs I don't see any roll off that would indicate the highs not performing to your standards. There seems to be a fairly gradual roll off on phase, but not amplitude. Perhaps you can clarify what I'm looking at. Here is their spec sheet. http://www.icepower.bang-olufsen.com/files/solutions/125asx2.pdf

-Steven
 
Steven,
I'm certainly no audio engineer nor claim to know much about this stuff in general, compared to many who post here. Take my opinions as just that; one guy's opinion.

I really wanted to like both the Hypex and Ice. I was looking to make a move to one or the other. Neither worked for me, using many different speakers including; Legacy Audio Focus, Infinity Ren 90, Martin Logan electrostats, and Sanders 'stats. In all cases they were flat and lifeless, and collapsed soundstage. I expected when we replaced the switch-mode amps with one of my big class A or AB amps that I would be the only one who really heard the differences. But that was not the case. Each and every time, replacing the switch-mode for a Bryston 4bst or Krell KSA80b, the differences were not subtle. Nor was I alone in my assessment.

Why the difference? Good question. There are many amps that look great on paper, that for whatever the reason, cannot deliver on their spec promises. My best guess is two-fold:

First is that they don't deal well with speaker reactance. Impedance and phase swings inherent in the speaker design due to crossover components and driver limitations can tax many amps. I've settled on amps that tend to present themselves as true voltage sources with huge (really huge) power supplies. This seems to deal with speaker load reactance well.

Second thoughts, are that the filter that remove the carrier frequency of the switch-mode amps, end up crushing many of the useable harmonics in the upper end. It's the nature of switch-mode. As things move forward, I assume they will choose their carrier frequencies higher and higher, as well as figure out better filters that are more exacting and specific. We still cannot measure by machine (or at least we don't know WHAT to measure), all that the human hears/decodes and reassembles as music in our brains. It's analogus to an old Star Trek episode. Kirk and crew were captured by aliens that could read their minds. The aliens could also conjure anything the crew could think of. The aliens served the kidnapped party a huge Roman feast, with every food imaginable. Everything was beautiful and perfect in every way. Except...the aliens did not know what these things were supposed to taste like. They assembled fruit, meat, veggies into perfect facsimiles, but they could not re-create the taste. They did not have the tools or database to truly assemble things the way they were supposed to be.

That said, I was very impressed with Spectron. In fairness though, the Spectrons were fronted by elec xovers, and they were not taxed with running full range, with big reactive swings at the amp outputs. 3 huge amps driving pretty efficient speakers, probably helped a great deal. But as it sits, they are the only switch-mode that really sounded great. I also have to confess, that I haven't been back to replace the Spectrons with other non switch-mode amps, to compare. That will be another interesting, educational evening to come!

Yes, I was disappointed in class D as a whole. But different people expect different things from their system. Plus, there are so many variables in systems that I cannot say 'class D is inferior', or the like. In some applications that I haven't heard, they may well be great. Systems that tend to be a bit forward in the highs for whatever reason, may be tamed by class D. Look at all the guys with horn speakers using tripath. I assume that is why they mate so well. Many horns tend to be too hot up top in the first place (I'm a horn lover by the way, and have been meaning to try a Hlly 90 on my Voice of Lascala).

Please follow up with your impressions of your new amp. With luck, your system synergy will be great, and you will find nothing lacking!:thmbsp:
 
Thanks for the write-up! It seems speaker loads and their own sound characteristics play a big part in how well (or not) these amps work in a system. I'll give a short write-up after it arrives and will compare it to what I have on hand at the moment which is the Class D Audio SDS-224, an Kegger built SE EL84, and a cheapie Lepai Tripath based amp.

Thanks agian,
Steven
 
Icepower experience

For what's its worth, I received an icepower amp with 2 stock 125asx2 modules about 3 weeks ago. I had no expectations, and bought it simply for curiosity sake. The amp is paired with either a Magnepan 3.6 or Wilson CUB 2. My impression so far is that this amp is a true giant killer. This little amp matched or exceeded a Krell ksa250 and an ML no.23. Bottom line it is an amazing value.
 
I've been enjoying a 2050 tripath ( Meanwell PS ) with a tube preamp in my OB garage system for several years. So much so I was thinking it might even rival the 2a3 Paramours in my main system.

So I brought the tripath inside and paired it with a Foreplay III driving the Tang Bands FRs in my 3 ways ( see avatar ). What I expected to be a close call wasn't at all. The SET amp was far better in every respect and I couldn't tell much difference in their usable power even though one is 3.5 watts and the other is around 30 watts.

If I had less efficient speakers and needed power I wouldn't hesitate to consider the Ice or Class D. Looking forward to reading how they compare.
 
There was a nice writeup somewhere outlining the differences between the various flavors of Ice... ASP vs ASX... Ill see if I can dig it out...
 
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