Numan Drive digital stereo amplifier - I'm curious!

[robdmarsh]

Looking for a new amplifier I came across this. It looks totally gorgeous - a rip-off of Peachtree audio but a good one, and the specs look pretty decent. Is that a real would casing? Doubt it at this price. It also has bluetooth, an optical connection and a pretty decent power rating if it is to be believed. Designed in Germany, but at the price I highly doubt if it's built there.
Have found very little about the product online, although Amazon UK is selling it and it gets 4 and half stars out of fifty-six consumer reviews. I'm intrigued by this because at the £500 and under mark, amplifiers are pretty dull in the UK. Usual offerings by Marantz and Denon, quite like the look of Rotel A11 tribute but has no digital connections, so this looked like a breath of fresh air.
Anyone at all knows anything about it? Would love to hear from you!

 

[robdmarsh]

Oh yeah... I almost forgot. I tried the Audiolab 6000A, the darling of the hifi press and bloggers, which can now be had for well under £500 used, and was completely underwhelmed. I think it's telling that there are quite a few used examples up for sale and I'm thinking they can't all be because of the notorious amplifier hum problem!

 

[Gray]

Anyone at all knows anything about it?

No.....but I thought it might have been Neumann of Germany, which would have been a guarantee of quality.....and a higher price 😏

Doesn't look bad though.
Just had a better look.....too good to be true?

 

[Gray]

Oh yeah... I almost forgot. I tried the Audiolab 6000A, the darling of the hifi press and bloggers, which can now be had for well under £500 used, and was completely underwhelmed. I think it's telling that there are quite a few used examples up for sale and I'm thinking they can't all be because of the notorious amplifier hum problem!

Just goes to prove the importance of listening for yourself.....you've probably seen this thread, where it was liked:

3 amplifiers

Having moved on my active systems I currently have 3 amplifiers here for evaluation; Audiolab 6000A, Arcam SA20 and a Hegel H95 These are are on three different price levels, £600, £1000 and £1600. If anyone would like to know more, I'd be happy to answer. Pictures to follow.

forums.whathifi.com

 

[12th Monkey]

I'd be rather wary of the reliability of Amazon reviews in a specialised area, like hifi.

For all the concern about the relationship between hifi manufacturers and the hifi press, I suspect that on average content from the latter is far more reliable than that generated by most individuals - with some exceptions!

 

[RoA]

Oh yeah... I almost forgot. I tried the Audiolab 6000A, the darling of the hifi press and bloggers, which can now be had for well under £500 used, and was completely underwhelmed. I think it's telling that there are quite a few used examples up for sale and I'm thinking they can't all be because of the notorious amplifier hum problem!

It is an amplifier that scales with speakers used. I suspect many unfortunately use it with 'entry level' speakers. The product is imho more capable than that.

Sympathetic matching, as with any component, is required and personal preference obviously matters.

No hum here. Dead quiet on two units used.

As to Class D amplification, after having used two active systems, both good quality Class D powered, I have my doubts about the technology as it currently stands. At least on the basis of the two I've used (Kef LS50 Meta Wireless/B&W Formation Duo).

Both have good attributes (bass control) and not so desirable ones (slight leanness of upper mids in comparison to the rest of the frequency range.).

This may not be representative of all current examples of the breed and further complicated by the implementation used by the manufacturers (and speakers) but it was enough to persuade me to return to Class A/B/G and separates.

 

[robdmarsh]

The speakers I used were/are Elac Debut b5 (first version), which in reviews are renowned for scaling up in performance according to the amp they are used with. These produce a sound which still has me beaming to this day and before settling on these I had tried Dali zensor 3, Wharfedale Denton 80, Rega rs1, Monitor Audio silver 100 (previous edition) and none came close to the sound of the Elacs.
Entry level? Well, maybe but an extremely well-designed and well-regarded speaker nonetheless.
I fully acknowledge that my dislike for the 6000A may be a personal taste thing but the steady stream of these available on eBay suggests others may share my taste.... or they are getting that hum!

 

[daytona600]

Never heard of them before & £500 not cheap for a chinese product
try a Rega IO or Edwards Audio IA4 or Project MaiA S2 all under 500 & made in the UK or europe