NMD: NDSP Quad Cortex

[Achilles]

3 x 10" + HF driver for my desk rig

Am I reading this right????

 

[mbenigni]

Am I reading this right????

Yeah, they're kind of ludicrous LOL. But they're not actually on my desk, for whatever that's worth.

 

[la szum]

Been there. So much so I ended up with three of them in the house at the same time.

None that he has mentioned though. Of the ones I tried, which all came highly recommended, none of it meant all that much.

Haha! I feel like TS is gonna top that. The over/under is currently sitting at 4.5

 

[la szum]

And yet when you go to a show that's pretty much all you are hearing coming out of the PA. I think guitarists in general never got the bad SS taste out of their mouths after the first wave of horrendous SS guitar amps in the 70s.

At least we got the beloved Roland Jazz Chorus out of that era.

 

[la szum]

I've been going through the same thing the last couple of days. The near-miss on buying texhex's Badlander got me thinking about flipping my Trans-Atlantic, so I'd be better prepared to "justify" a new amp the next time an opportunity came along. I'd just moved my QC over to the TA-30 and cab, and had been playing around with 4cm and direct to FX loop return. I was surprised to find that I'm actually happier going straight to the power amp and just running QC amp models, as opposed to faffing around with TA-30 channel and voice-switching and second guessing myself on overdrives and blah blah blah.

So the next logical step was to try swapping out the TA-30 power amp with my little TC-Electronics BAM200. (This could theoretically result in a tiny rig with both power amp and a battery pack for the QC tucked under a board.) But the BAM doesn't sound nearly as dynamic, sparkly, chimey... - whatever it is any given amp model demands - as the TA's power amp does. Nor would you reasonably expect it to, I guess. (Completely unscientific tests last year revealed that I also prefer my little Quilter M101 over the BAM, so not all SS power amps are created equal.)

So the question is whether the SS is failing to deliver "content" somewhere in the audio spectrum (it's obviously going to have a lot less headroom for fast transients), or whether a power amp can be "better than merely accurate". (E.g. a "good colorful" tube amp.) In either case, can you fine tune the modeler to overcome the seeming "weaknesses" of the smaller SS power amp? If so, maybe it's still possible that it's worth shaving 30lbs and a bunch of maintenance off your rig.

It could be bias, delusion, utter nonsense, or a little something-something. I don't know.

I do know I hear/feel differences when running tube power amp versus solid state power
amps.

Not making any universal proclamations, though. Everybody has different circumstances
and use-case scenarios.

I think the fly in the ointment for TS is his adoration and attachment to the Electra-Dyne.
That thing has seared a hole in his head that only an ED can ever fill.

I am staying tuned, though. Just never know how these things will play out.

Oh, and keep that TA-30. You have like $500 into that thing. And it's a great amp that
can do more than one thing, and more than one thing well (including powering a digital
device!).

Not dictating. Just saying.

 

[Achilles]

At least we got the beloved Roland Jazz Chorus out of that era.

I was using a JC55 for that weird audition I posted about!

 

[Achilles]

That's a pretty cool amp for not a lot of money.

Was just bouncing it around again so I should add it's pretty robust. I must have rearranged the wire rack its on easily a few dozen times since I've owned it and it's gotten pinged and banged around a bit in the process and could care less.

 

[mbenigni]

Was just bouncing it around again so I should add it's pretty robust. I must have rearranged the wire rack its on easily a few dozen times since I've owned it and it's gotten pinged and banged around a bit in the process and it could care less.

That much (stereo) power in 1 rack unit is a great form factor, too... provided you have any other rack-mounted gear. (If you don't already have an Axe FX III, you should put one on your Christmas list right away. )

 

[Achilles]

Axe FX III

Bought an Amperium last night because @Axe told me the amp models are 10 times better than the III...

 

[mbenigni]

Not a slight on the Amperium Live (if serious); I just haven't gotten around to doing my homework on this stuff.

 

[Achilles]

Not a slight on the Amperium Live (if serious)

Nah, just having some fun with my enabler. Although based on pure amp tones alone the Amperium reviews from just about everyone are really stellar. Watching @2112 expressions during his demo of it you can clearly tell it must feel great under the fingers.

 

[mbenigni]

Am I reading this right????

P.S. / Almost off-topic aside: This comment got me thinking about those speakers, and that I'd bought them from a coworker for $50 or something about 15 years ago. At the time, audio enthusiasts online were telling me to stay away from these speakers and go buy some Polks at Best Buy or whatever. (I did later also buy some cheap Polks, and they sounded terrible.)

The funny / slightly on-topic part of this story is, if you Google "nuance speakers" today, you'll find that the company is detested amongst audiophiles. They had a reputation for predatory sales tactics: grossly inflating prices on mediocre speakers and then offering uneducated customers "great deals", and so on. Of course, I paid approximately nothing, and I think the speakers I have may have been one of their few legitimately decent products, so... I just think it's funny that I'm usually running a QC (great product IMO, originating company hated far and wide) through these particular speakers (great bargain IMO, originating company hated far and wide). Usually with an Indonesian Jem Jr in front and a cheap Chinese power amp in the middle.

 

[mbenigni]

Nah, just having some fun with my enabler. Although based on pure amp tones alone the Amperium reviews from just about everyone are really stellar. Watching @2112 expressions during his demo of it you can clearly tell it must feel great under the fingers.

This is based on a modified/hybrid "neural" capturing technology, right?

 

[Mongillo19]

This is based on a modified/hybrid "neural" capturing technology, right?

It has component modeling but also neural capturing as well

 

[mbenigni]

It has component modeling but also neural capturing as well

"They stole everything from NDSP!"

 

[Achilles]

At the time, audio enthusiasts online were telling me to stay away from these speakers and go buy some Polks at Best Buy or whatever.

When was this? I worked for ADS (later, a/d/s/) from 1986 to 1997. Your 3 x 10" comment peaked my brain cause we use to make some monsters like that. These were from my time there.

 

[mbenigni]

When was this? I worked for ADS (later, a/d/s/) from 1986 to 1997. Your 3 x 10" comment peaked my brain cause we use to make some monsters like that. These were from my time there.

Those are gorgeous!

My 2nd hand purchase of the nuance speakers was probably around 2010 or so. No idea when they were manufactured, though. I can't find mention or even one photograph of the model I own. (There's something similar called the "Spatial 3s", but it looks like those had 4x 10" speakers.)

 

[Achilles]

Those are gorgeous!

It was such a great time to work in high end audio cause the race to the bottom to keep up with Asian prices was still a decade away. The owner of the company was a total audiophile and spared nothing to make the best stuff. Very fortunate for the experience in hindsight.

 

[mbenigni]

It was such a great time to work in high end audio cause the race to the bottom to keep up with Asian prices was still a decade away. The owner of the company was a total audiophile and spared nothing to make the best stuff. Very fortunate for the experience in hindsight.

A bygone era, for sure.

 

[Mongillo19]

"They stole everything from NDSP!"

Well the amp modeling is done in a fractal manner (component).

I know it was a joke but the way they do their modeling was a big plus to me vs the competition