Nux Amp Academy Stomp

[2dor]

Anyone have an opinion on how Nux compares to the Hotone, Mooer, Valeton, etc offerings? I tried the Ampero Mini last year and aside from really cool form factor, it was a hard pass for me (both amp tones and effects). NAM compatibility has peaked my curiosity again.

We don't know yet. Hopefully Leo's video will drop soon.

 

[2dor]

Looks Ike it's also doing conversion so yeah - won't run proper NAM profiles:

Post in thread 'Nux amp academy stomp (new 2025)' https://www.thegearpage.net/board/i...-academy-stomp-new-2025.2651677/post-41533347

 

[KingsXJJ]

Anyone have an opinion on how Nux compares to the Hotone, Mooer, Valeton, etc offerings? I tried the Ampero Mini last year and aside from really cool form factor, it was a hard pass for me (both amp tones and effects). NAM compatibility has peaked my curiosity again.

Yes. For Hotone you need to try the new gen of modeling available on Ampero II Stage or Stomp. The mini is older Ampero I level. There’s a large difference.

For the Nux 4K modeling on the Amp Academy Stomp, I have the Solid Studio MKII with a limited subset of the amps currently. Their 4K Plexi 100 is great and definitely a step up from previous Nux 2K which I also have in the OG Amp Academy.

I think my Hotone Stage is excellent. The Nux SS MKII is ok. I believe it clearly needs some FW work.

 

[BenIfin]

Yes. For Hotone you need to try the new gen of modeling available on Ampero II Stage or Stomp. The mini is older Ampero I level. There’s a large difference.

For the Nux 4K modeling on the Amp Academy Stomp, I have the Solid Studio MKII with a limited subset of the amps currently. Their 4K Plexi 100 is great and definitely a step up from previous Nux 2K which I also have in the OG Amp Academy.

I think my Hotone Stage is excellent. The Nux SS MKII is ok. I believe it clearly needs some FW work.

The 4K Nux Amps are fantastic - for all intents and purposes, they are functionally as good as anything out there.

 

[KingsXJJ]

The 4K Nux Amps are fantastic - for all intents and purposes, they are functionally as good as anything out there.

I’d agree. Underestimate NUX at your wallet’s peril. I feel the same about Hotone. So many folks are just wrapped up tightly in the pop brands.

 

[KingsXJJ]

I do wish we could get some sense of when these will ship.

 

[Lysander]

I do wish we could get some sense of when these will ship.

Pretty soon? IIRC these were slated for release in early August.

 

[Perrymusica]

I managed to make the Nux MG 300 amps sound like the factory Quadcortex ones. That's good, right?

 

[BenIfin]

Full Video must be dropping soon

 

[2dor]

Full Video must be dropping soon

The unit's releasing next week so the review will probably go hand in hand with the launch.

 

[BenIfin]

Got me thinking about this pre-hype stuff he started doing with the Anagram.

I get its all about "clicks" but - using Leo's criteria - if this doesn't Null Test better than the GP5 [ -30.7 ] and the Sonulab Stompstation [-33.8 ] then there's f*ck-all value to this pre-hype and the video drop above other than clicks and revenue .... and yes, I do know that is what it all ultimately comes down to.

I mean there no shortage of converted-NAM players around that all seem to sit in the Null test range of -30 to -33 LUFS so if this is just another one of those, its hardly going to be anything worthy of pre-hyping [again] to this degree - then again, see my orange text above.

 

[KingsXJJ]

 

[KingsXJJ]

In case anyone missed it, the above screenshot from the latest manual mentions “complete multilayer Deep Image” amp models.

I would guess this is either the equivalent of a multi-layered NAM image file or a converted NAM file augmented with white box modeling.
In either case, it should prove interesting once shipped.

 

[2dor]

In case anyone missed it, the above screenshot from the latest manual mentions “complete multilayer Deep Image” amp models.

I would guess this is either the equivalent of a multi-layered NAM image file or a converted NAM file augmented with white box modeling.
In either case, it should prove interesting once shipped.

Eh.. not quite; it's what they call their parametric models:

Nux amp academy stomp (new 2025)

100% NAM or not. Someone will crack the conversion process IMO. I imagine it is now like the early days of the MP3.

www.thegearpage.net

 

[KingsXJJ]

Eh.. not quite; it's what they call their parametric models:

Nux amp academy stomp (new 2025)

100% NAM or not. Someone will crack the conversion process IMO. I imagine it is now like the early days of the MP3.

www.thegearpage.net

That link does mention adding white box modeling as I guessed. Capturing multiple gain settings sound like a major win as well to me.

I don’t believe NAM being run natively is the end all be all metric and I consider the actual capture and source amp as more important than a null test, etc. I believe that a hybrid approach is likely to yield some surprising results. Especially on the more affordable devices. Like the Hotone Verbera and Ampero II. I do hear a lot of people (not you @2dor) rendering judgement on alternative approaches when in all likely hood they have never actually heard it in person or own a device that does it. That’s unfortunate because it spreads opinion as fact and influences some folks without cause.

I’d take this even further in to a possible future when a full native NAM file is augmented by advanced white box modeling. Just like the Verbera does with convoluted reverb accompanied with algorithmic reverb. I could be wrong about all of this. But the white paper by Hotone makes a compelling case for a hybrid approach and I really like their results so far. My bet is that they and NUX will upset the apple cart sooner than expected. In NUX’s case, I would shoot for a solid middle tier cost unit that has 4K TSAC-HD white box and NAM combined. You can get a preview of how that might sound on the HQ Petrucci and Soldano amps in the Hotone Stage or Stomp. At about $530 for the Stage if you shop hard, it’s a better offering than Line 6 currently has for over 1K and gets quite close to Fractal level. If Hotone and NUX can build up a comparable library of amps to L6 and Fractal, and come in at half the price or so, I think even the critics will have to pay attention.

 

[2dor]

That link does mention adding white box modeling as I guessed. Capturing multiple gain settings sound like a major win as well to me.

I don’t believe NAM being run natively is the end all be all metric and I consider the actual capture and source amp as more important than a null test, etc. I believe that a hybrid approach is likely to yield some surprising results. Especially on the more affordable devices. Like the Hotone Verbera and Ampero II. I do hear a lot of people (not you @2dor) rendering judgement on alternative approaches when in all likely hood they have never actually heard it in person or own a device that does it. That’s unfortunate because it spreads opinion as fact and influences some folks without cause.

I’d take this even further in to a possible future when a full native NAM file is augmented by advanced white box modeling. Just like the Verbera does with convoluted reverb accompanied with algorithmic reverb. I could be wrong about all of this. But the white paper by Hotone makes a compelling case for a hybrid approach and I really like their results so far. My bet is that they and NUX will upset the apple cart sooner than expected. In NUX’s case, I would shoot for a solid middle tier cost unit that has 4K TSAC-HD white box and NAM combined. You can get a preview of how that might sound on the HQ Petrucci and Soldano amps in the Hotone Stage or Stomp. At about $530 for the Stage if you shop hard, it’s a better offering than Line 6 currently has for over 1K and gets quite close to Fractal level. If Hotone and NUX can build up a comparable library of amps to L6 and Fractal, and come in at half the price or so, I think even the critics will have to pay attention.

I think Genome's TSM-AI amps are also hybrid models (whitebox preamp + neural net poweramp) and FWIW they sound, and feel, awesome. I think that's a great approach if vendors get the preamp > poweramp gainstaging right.

 

[Perrymusica]

Working to make the Nux MG300 amps sound and feel the same as the factory QC amps

 

[laxu]

I think Genome's TSM-AI amps are also hybrid models (whitebox preamp + neural net poweramp) and FWIW they sound, and feel, awesome. I think that's a great approach if vendors get the preamp > poweramp gainstaging right.

Same for Hotone Ampero 2's amp models, though my understanding is they use a mix of component and machine learning models for both preamp and poweramp. It's not perfect, but it still is pretty darn good considering the price point.

I was rocking the Ampero 2 through my Fryette PS-100 to one of my BluGuitar cabs just yesterday and it sounded really good like that.