Adventures in Purifi : Audiofonics MPA 400 ET Monobloc Vs NAD C298 Power Amplifiers

 Adventures in Purifi :

Audiofonics MPA 400 ET Monobloc Vs NAD C298 Power Amplifiers

 (with a primer on the Nu Prime ST 10)

Why class D? 

After using a variety of class AB amps 

Yamaha AS 2000

Parasound A23

From the Yamaha AS 801, Yamaha AS 2000, The Parasound Halo A 23 & Roksan Kandy K A 1

I felt the need for a change and not wanting to get in to the dependability issues of tube amps and the heat and power consumption of class A

Class D came to the fore

The idea of a light weight, compact, cool running package, was attractive to me. 

I happened to come across a article, on 6 moons.com, on the Nu Prime ST 10, which got my attention and I promptly picked one up. 

 It delivered on all the parameters, was powerful, musical and non fatiguing

I was smitten by class D,.Wanted the added headroom, of monoblocs

Finding the Nu Prime ST 10-M, monoblocs, difficult to source

I searched the net and came across  purifi Monoblocs from audiofonics, mentioned in ASR, which fit the bill nicely 

Having double the power, 400 Watts at 4 Ohms, and 180 Watts at 8 Ohms

Very responsive customer service, I kept them busy with lots of queries.

The amps came in some recycled material, in a simple cardboard box, well cushioned

They arrived safely in the unorthodox packaging.

 are no frills, well-constructed amps, with RCA and XLR inputs, a 12 V trigger

Light weight and cool running, with some cool blue lights inside and a white ring light on the power button, matching my RME dac.

                                                           Audiofonics MPA 400 ET

I enjoyed them, with my Revel M106 bookshelf speakers and SVS dual PB 2000 Pro subs.

Loved the neutral sound, Produced by this combo, non-fatiguing, no harshness in the treble.

Headroom wise, I felt, I could do with a bit more of power.

My Parasound P6 Preamp was mostly functioning at 72 – 76 on the volume levels,

to achieve 80- 85 db listening levels.

I compared it with my nu prime and felt, the ST 10 had the advantage, in terms of power.

 

I moved the audiofonics to my desktop system, mated with a RME A2D FS, as the pre and that is a wonderful combo. I discussed the issue with a friend, who is in the class A camp.

He suggested the NAD C298, also with the Purifi module, which I already liked.

On paper, the NAD & the audiofonics, had the same eigentakt purifi module and similar power specs

Was worried about it being just an expensive side grade.

My prior experience with NAD was with a Stereo Integrated 326 BEE, which was very conservatively rated at 50 W. I did my due diligence online, and pouring through the 38 pages on topic in ASR.As I had no access locally, for a in person demo, decided to take a calculated gamble and ordered one.

 

After the lightweight, tiny class D monoblocs, I had previously used

I was surprised at the size and weight of the NAD C298.

The box was as big, as the one my Parasound Halo A23 (Class AB), came in

It was well packaged, with a sturdy cardboard outer cover and foam blocs, holding the amp.

It felt nearly as heavy as the Class AB amps , that I was exposed to.

Setting it up was simple, gave it a listen with a mofi SACD, which had been troubling me.

One of my favourite tracks, which I secured after a lot of searching, “ Eye in the Sky” from Allan Parsons. This track on SACD sounded very flat on the audiofonics, it came to life on the NAD

Better dynamics and instrument separation were immediately apparent.

The SACD came alive, my choice was justified. 

I have not yet been able to extensively test the NAD, consider this a work in progress. 

NAD C298

Posted a eclectic mix of music, recorded from LP/SACD/CD on my youtube channel, from all the gear listed above and recorded on a bunch of bookshelf speakers

- Revel Performa M 106

- Revel Concerta M16

- Kef LS 50

- Focal Aria 906

- Dynaudio Focus 140