How to DIY yourself very nice Class D monoblocks

Hi All,
  Has anyone done any comparisons between the Bel Canto e.One REF 600 M and the IcePower ASP kit. I'm currently using a Krell FPB 300 with a PBN 741 speaker kit and a newer model amp is the last item on my improvement list. It would be great if Stereophile did some reviews on some of the kits.

Thanx,                                                                                                                     Frank

Thanks to all on all the posts here. After doing some researching and reading the posts above, I pulled the trigger on Hypex nCore NC400 mono kit (x2). I'm not an electronic engineer but I figured that if Bel Canto went with Hypex on their recents amps, then they are probably better. The pair of kits include everything, require no soldering, and cost $1540.00 in US dollars including overseas shipping. I can afford taking a chance at this price and have a feeling I made a good decision. I'll return here when I get this installed and let you know how it compares to Krell FPB300. Thanx again, Frank

Hi All,
   After some minor problems with the purchase process of Hypex N400 kits, I was pleased to have it arrive yesterday at about 5:00 PM. After eating dinner I decided to assemble the kits and see how much I could get done. By 9:00 PM the kits were fully assembled and ready for action. At this hour I'm usually done for the day and already sleeping but I had to try them out. The big test for me was whether these amps would sound better than the Krell FPB300 in my system. I originally was  going to give the amps a week of break-in time and then report my experiences. They sounded so good that I didn't want to go to bed. They clearly had more detail than the Krell. It was very difficult to switch from one type of music to another because it all sounded so good. The Krell is no slouch but these little mono blocks are better. They really pair nicely with PBN 741 speaker kit. The total cost came to $1612.16 USD. Rudy van Til of Hypex DIY customer service was very helpful. Once payment was confirmed the package went from The Netherlands to NJ in six days. I had to use Paypal to make the transaction work. The fun part of this hobby for me besides the listening is putting together a system in a frugal sort of way. The Hypex N400 kit is a very pleasant surprise after years of seeing the incredibly high prices of top rated amps ( and other equipment ). My stereo system is now complete after two years of upgrading. I was expecting to spend $5000 or more for a high quality used amp. I now have extra money for vacation. Netherlands perhaps?
      Cheers, Frank

     
 

Hi Michael,
  I've been following these threads concerning class D amplification for some time now. I've seen your posts on a regular basis along with some others and it has been quite interesting. I guess that if an amplifier does nothing more than accurately increasing a signal that it receives then there's not much more to discuss about amplifiers. If this amplifier exists and you don't like what you're hearing then the real problem lies elsewhere. No more discussion about how an amplifier sounds. Either it's doing something to the input signal ( besides increasing it) or it's not. I'm talking about what's in the parameters of human hearing and not some frequency way beyond. I took the plunge and tried class D for myself and came out a happy customer. Others can say what you want but I actually tried it for myself and don't regret it. It's way better than what I had. Also, I removed the 130 lb. Krell amp from my system without hurting my back so things are going well. There was an occasion when in the process of sending the Krell amp back to CT that I threw my back out. It was about a month before I was back to normal. I've had that amp for nineteen years so it's definitely time to move on. It was the mainstay in my setup for many years and I really did appreciate it. Our cars no longer use carburetors and soon stereos will no longer be using some of types of systems that are dominate today. It's just going to happen whether we like it or not. Thanks for your reply and enjoy the music and changes. Sincerely, 

             Frank