So I've been gearing up to buy a new HDMI 2.1 equipped AVR in anticipation of the release of the PS5. I had two units in the running, the NAD T778 and the Denon X8500 - the Denon was due a 2.1 upgrade at the end of the year and I figured the NAD would receive an upgrade card before too long.
Unfortunately the T778 turned out a bit of a disappointment with some glaring oversights for a modern AVR and the Denon upgrade has been delayed until sometime next year. To make matters worse, word is it's difficult to implement HDMI 2.1 in an AVR, so the initial wave of boards only offer a single HDMI 2.1 input - so it seems a new AVR to meet my needs is still some way off.
This leaves me with money set aside and a lust for a new toy unfulfilled. I thought maybe I'd get an external amp to power my fronts and centre, I looked at a number of options and eventually landed on the Hypex NC400 DIY kit. Price and form factor is very attractive, along with the fun of assembling the amps. I figure I can just get a master/slave power strip with adjustable switching threshold (7W-100W), plug the AVR in the master and run the nCores off the slaves (since they offer no auto-standby option).
Anyone had any experience with these amps - any concerns, operational quirks, reliability issues?
Unfortunately the T778 turned out a bit of a disappointment with some glaring oversights for a modern AVR and the Denon upgrade has been delayed until sometime next year. To make matters worse, word is it's difficult to implement HDMI 2.1 in an AVR, so the initial wave of boards only offer a single HDMI 2.1 input - so it seems a new AVR to meet my needs is still some way off.
This leaves me with money set aside and a lust for a new toy unfulfilled. I thought maybe I'd get an external amp to power my fronts and centre, I looked at a number of options and eventually landed on the Hypex NC400 DIY kit. Price and form factor is very attractive, along with the fun of assembling the amps. I figure I can just get a master/slave power strip with adjustable switching threshold (7W-100W), plug the AVR in the master and run the nCores off the slaves (since they offer no auto-standby option).
Anyone had any experience with these amps - any concerns, operational quirks, reliability issues?
