While I've never used a bridged NCore 400 amp I have used a quad amp'd non-bridged NC400 amp setup for about two years powering a pair of B&W 803D2's. During that time I was very impressed with what I heard. You haven't heard a true almost zero noise floor until you've heard these amps regardless of price. It's truly astonishing what a true black noisefloor can bring to the SQ table.
I know many people spend obscene amounts of money on power conditioning to try and lower the noisefloor of their systems but IME the majority of the noise heard is due to the components themselves and not the power grid. I say this with confidence because I've used other amps costing many times more than the NC400 on the same exact wall power at my house and as soon as I inserted the NC400 amps all noise I heard previously was magically gone.
I've since moved on to another Hypex amp (Merrill Veritas) and can confirm that they do indeed sound even better. I have no doubts that part of this has to do with the added power on tap as their are few speakers that don't behave better when almost unlimited power is on tap.
I can also confirm that another benefit of such a low noise floor is how easy it is to notice other tweaks to the amp itself. By this I mean power cords and isolation. I initialy heard the Veritas amps without their included Waveform Fidelity HE/MK3 HC power cables now included with them and the difference between the proper power cable and using some other brand was huge. The WF power cable made me a believer in what a good power cord can bring to the table.
In addition to the power cables these amps react very favorably to good chassis isolation. This is even considering the already hefty casework included to the Veritas amps. Again I heard my amps without the normaly included Stillpoint Minis for several weeks instead using an an equally impressive set of Solidtech Isoclear bases, as well as a set of Cardas Woodblocks. Each phase of isolation had noticable impacts on the sound. Ultimatly I settled on a set of Symposium Rollerblock Series 2+ with the Grade 2.5 Superballs. These brought a very nice finishing touch to the SQ of the amps above and beyond the previous isolation methods used before them.
All and all, you can't go wrong with these Hypex amps. Some will find them too honest but I suspect that is because they've gotten to used to the sound of the coloration found in almost all other flavors of power amp. I say given them a long listen before casting an opinion as their honesty does take some getting used to but once you realize the differences it's hard to go back.
I know many people spend obscene amounts of money on power conditioning to try and lower the noisefloor of their systems but IME the majority of the noise heard is due to the components themselves and not the power grid. I say this with confidence because I've used other amps costing many times more than the NC400 on the same exact wall power at my house and as soon as I inserted the NC400 amps all noise I heard previously was magically gone.
I've since moved on to another Hypex amp (Merrill Veritas) and can confirm that they do indeed sound even better. I have no doubts that part of this has to do with the added power on tap as their are few speakers that don't behave better when almost unlimited power is on tap.
I can also confirm that another benefit of such a low noise floor is how easy it is to notice other tweaks to the amp itself. By this I mean power cords and isolation. I initialy heard the Veritas amps without their included Waveform Fidelity HE/MK3 HC power cables now included with them and the difference between the proper power cable and using some other brand was huge. The WF power cable made me a believer in what a good power cord can bring to the table.
In addition to the power cables these amps react very favorably to good chassis isolation. This is even considering the already hefty casework included to the Veritas amps. Again I heard my amps without the normaly included Stillpoint Minis for several weeks instead using an an equally impressive set of Solidtech Isoclear bases, as well as a set of Cardas Woodblocks. Each phase of isolation had noticable impacts on the sound. Ultimatly I settled on a set of Symposium Rollerblock Series 2+ with the Grade 2.5 Superballs. These brought a very nice finishing touch to the SQ of the amps above and beyond the previous isolation methods used before them.
All and all, you can't go wrong with these Hypex amps. Some will find them too honest but I suspect that is because they've gotten to used to the sound of the coloration found in almost all other flavors of power amp. I say given them a long listen before casting an opinion as their honesty does take some getting used to but once you realize the differences it's hard to go back.