Neurochrome Modulus-686

[killie99]

Brilliant, glad it's all working as it should!

[drSM]

The last photo taken before I put the lid back on after tidying up the cabling.
Power on with the speaker protection in the circuit was achieved this morning.

It is sounding fabulous. I am very happy with my first build. It is going to take quite an amplifier to better this beast.

Hi Kevin
Well done
I am contemplating the Modulus 86 build and have been in touch with Tom Christensen.

I gather you have 2 x Power 686 s in there in the middle of the chassis.
Silly me but where are the torroids ? Hope you will indulge this novice.

With my intended 86, I might opt for SMPS as Tom says the amp is PSU agnostic.
Would you have any comments about that, as I note from yr opening post that you also have the 86.
Ta.

[CageyH]

The toroids are hiding beneath the power 686 mounting plate, which is raised above the bottom of the case.
The Mod-86 is a good amp, but my speakers needed a bit more power.

All my Mod-86 amps have had torroids, so I have no experience with an SMPS.
I have read that people have swapped from SMPS to toroidal and reported an improvement in sound quality.

[drSM]

Ah Thanks.
I dont need much power so i figure the 86 will be fine
Mines a semiactive drive of modded NS1000s, and also a pair of JBLs done a similar way
I need a nice sounding stereo power amp just to drive the High Pass to tweets and midranges via simple passive XOs

[Stony]

Which one of Tom's construction would you guys recommend when it comes to quality not power ?
MOD686 with lower supply voltage or something else ?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[CageyH]

I think they all share the same basic circuit design, so I would select the amp based on the power requirements.
I went from Mod -86 monos to a 686 as I wanted more power to control the speakers better.

The sound did not change much, if at all.

[Stony]

I thought so but started to doubt about it when I found Tom saying this :

"In my own unscientific listening tests I did find that the LXmini cleans up a bit at high volume levels when powered by the Modulus-286, compared to the Modulus-86. I did not perceive any difference between powering the LXmini with the Modulus-286 and the Modulus-686."

[CageyH]

At high volume...
If you often listen at high volume, then it’s probably the most powerful amp that you want.

[Jimbo]

I've been thinking about attempting a Neurochrome build. how difficult is it -- a matter of connecting cables following clear, easy to follow templates or something that requires specialist understanding of circuit diagrams etc?

It is a straightforward assembly job, more mechanical than electrical I think. If you can wire a plug you can build one of these!

Just beware that the Neurochrome 686 is a very neutral amplifier with almost no character of its own other than it has a high level of clarity due to its low distortion chip amp design. So what you use with it will reveal there own character as it were.

It is a fantastic amplifier to hear but it has no character whatsover and reminds me of digital audio, processing music in a robotic way. Technically it is as good as it gets and very accurate.

However if you want to reveal truly what this amplifies abilities are and how it sounds listen to some vocals you know well. Yes they will sound very detailed and very clear but they will not sound like the person you probably know from your current system.

I know what the vocalists should sound like from my own system as I have heard them live and I can make the comparison.

The Neurochrome 686 made the same vocalist almost unrecognisable.

[Opti-cal]

It is a straightforward assembly job, more mechanical than electrical I think. If you can wire a plug you can build one of these!

Just beware that the Neurochrome 686 is a very neutral amplifier with almost no character of its own other than it has a high level of clarity due to its low distortion chip amp design. So what you use with it will reveal there own character as it were.

It is a fantastic amplifier to hear but it has no soul whatsover and reminds me of digital audio, processing music in a robotic way. Technically it is as good as it gets and very accurate.

However if you want to reveal truly what this amplifies abilities are and how it sounds listen to some vocals you know well. Yes they will sound very detailed and very clear but they will not sound like the person you probably know from your current system.

I know what the vocalists should sound like from my own system as I have heard them live and I can make the comparison.

The Neurochrome 686 made the same vocalist almost unrecognisable.

That's what preamps are for!

My 686 allows the upstream components and ancillaries to be heard, very clearly.

I don't think I would partner it with similarly 'neutral' preamps. That ultimate transparency can certainly be a bit too much at times. (I think this is what you're eluding to Jim??). I completely agree it is reminiscent of some Class D amps and does have a somewhat synthetic 'digital' sound. A little cold at times.

Hence why I will only ever partner it with something that adds a little 'flavour' or harmonics in the form of tubes. I certainly wouldn't try partnering it with a passive pre or indeed straight from a DAC's variable output etc.

BUT - with that added 'soul' (and possibly speakers slightly favoring the lower registers) it has magnificent heft, weight and grip on any music I put through it. It also does cue's and transients incredibly accurately and go from 0-100 like no other bit of kit I've heard. Soundstage pushes miles beyond the speaker boundaries without breaking sweat even a little. Drove Quad 63's (before one went bad ((unrelated)) on me) with stunning ease.

Cheers