– John Ransley, Totally Wired Limited
“…From the very first listen, the IDA-8 elicits a big ‘WOW’. For those that know me you’ll appreciate I can be a bit of a cynic and our home system is very much biased toward the analogue. So the initial recommendation of the IDA-8 is not given lightly. It’s the immediate impression of enhanced clarity coming out of the little NuPrime that is most striking…”
– Julie Mullins, theabsolutesound.com
“…The IDA-8 conveyed the music’s richly woven textures as well as its individual parts. Soundstaging was deeper and wider than I expected for an amp in this price category, with precise instrumental placement. Background noise was also shockingly low; the IDA-8 boasts an impressive 95dB signal-to-noise ratio…
…the IDA-8 is a winner, and a force to be reckoned with in its category (and beyond it)…it brought warmth to its clean and clearly resolved presentation of digital sources to…Though a touch dark in character (à la Class D), it delivers substance and warmth with A well-conceived Class A/Class D hybrid that doesn’t want for power or clarity, the IDA-8 ought to find itself on the audition short list of a wide range of hi-fi hobbyists, from newbies to more experienced audiophiles…”
– Roger Kanno, soundstagexperience.com
“…When I’d hooked up the Definitive Technology StudioMonitor 45 speakers to the IDA-8 and begun playing music, I realized that the NuPrime was unlike any other entry-level amplifier I’d ever had in my system. Everything immediately sounded more precise and controlled…
… the little IDA-8 sounded so refined and powerful that I soon decided that, to get a true measure of its sound, I needed to move it into my reference system. In that system I had a variety of high-end but still high-value speakers to use with the NuPrime IDA-8: the KEF R900, Definitive Technology Mythos ST-L, and GoldenEar Technology Triton Five. Even with those floorstanders, the IDA-8 was able to tightly control the low frequencies in Lorde’s bass-laden Pure Heroine (24/48 FLAC, Lava Music/Republic). The IDA-8’s midrange was also something special: exceedingly clean but very full, reproducing voices with clarity and presence while also providing their full weight and body. With the IDA-8, I felt I was hearing everything in Susan Wong’s 511 (24/96 FLAC, Evosound) — not something that I think I have ever said before about an integrated amp costing under $1000…The NuPrime’s sublime midrange allowed voices to float effortlessly in mid-air…
…It sounds fantastic, has plenty of power to drive any reasonably efficient loudspeaker to room-filling levels, it’s compact, and, best of all, it costs less than $1000…the NuPrime IDA-8 was so good that it seemed almost a shame to extract it from my reference rig and reinstall it in my second system, where it will remain as my new budget reference amplifier. It’s one of the best deals available in audio today…”
– Michael Piskor, headfonics.com
“…No question about it, this NuPrime Hi-MDAC has the best build quality in a small form factor DAC that I’ve ever seen…and dang, I own so many and have reviewed so many….
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Our Verdict
Gods honest, I am so tired of the larger DAC’s that claim to be portable but are the size of small bricks. These little DAC’s are the future and I want these companies to push the boundaries of what is possible.
The Hi-mDAC is the first I have heard that is actually very musical, enjoyable on a tonality viewpoint and that offers a slick sense of style in the physical dynamic impact area of the listening experience.
By that, again, I mean it sounds smoother and easier to listen to than most other small DACs. The tradeoff is that it is quite chunky and much bigger than the others, but still, it is petite. And it has decent power! To see a budget tiny DAC performs well with demanding planars such as the Dan Clark Audio Aeon Flow is impressive.
Of course, it does not power it as well as a good desktop amp, but for a casual walk, or sitting outside somewhere, doing the dishes and cleaning the house with this Hi-mDAC in your pocket? I cannot complain when I look at the bigger picture.
We have come far with these little guys and I am happy to keep this in my pocket for the duration of my day, at least, until my phone dies and cannot power the DAC anymore.”
– Guillaume Fourcadier, on-mag.fr
“…The NuPrime Hi-mDAC sound is a great little blend of power and detail, all without getting aggressive. The soundstage is not disproportionate but surprisingly coherent, carried by a rather neutral or even slightly brilliant signature. Unless you come across a monster headset like the Hifiman Susvara or an extremely high impedance headset, the Hi-mDAC can power all headsets or almost without a hitch…”
– NanoTechnos, headfonia.com
“…
Hi-mDAC achieved something quite remarkable. First and foremost, it drives my Audeze LCD-3 and gives me “commanding bass” as stated on the website. Where the Sennheiser HD-800S felt a little cramped last time, the Audeze sounds quite the opposite with a wide sound-stage and delightful lows….
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The Hi-mDAC is fast and precise, at any level of volume. The layering is impressive, the sound feels natural, effortless and I think NuPrime really did a good job in term of tuning. This isn’t a DAC that’ll wow you right off the batch, on the contrary, the more you’ll listen to it the more you’ll get to love it.
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Tonality
Highs : clean and transparent. The Nuprime achieves a good job there, with a good amount of air. Trebles are precise, never harsh and with the right headphone, you’ll get a level of comfort that I wouldn’t believe possible a few years ago. It’s never dry, never sibilant, never boring. Very impressive!
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Mids : excellent layering and great spaciousness. The mids blends perfectly with the rest of the spectrum. The soundstage is excellent, sometimes astounding until you reach the highest level of volume. If so, the mids tend to fall behind the highs and lows, giving us an odd V-Shap signature. Still, this is only if you really push the DAC to its limit.
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Lows : fast and powerful. Bass is impressive, very impressive. Usually, this is where small DAC falls short, but this is never the case with the m-DAC. It’s fast, powerful and with a good headphone, you’ll be rewarded by deep, tight, toe-tapping bass. Plus side, it never oversteps on the other frequencies…”
– John Ransley, Totally Wired Limited
“…The Evolution Ones are giving us the best of sound quality attributed to Class A or tubes – the fluidity, ease and open nature, yet eliminating the downsides of heat, power consumption, noise and compromised long term reliability. They bring the best of solid state – high power, exceptional bass control and an astonishing frequency range…”
– 林治宇, u-audio.com.tw
“…以阿格麗希演奏蕭士塔高維奇的第一號鋼琴協奏曲為例，第一樂章前段弱音的鋪陳就顯得頗具張力，輕重對比鮮明，鋼琴觸鍵的重量感明確，尤其是背景幫襯的弦群綿密如織，起伏連貫，快慢有致，讓人感覺音樂處處暗藏機鋒。隨後的強奏EVO One表現得輕鬆寫意，迅速帶起熱烈的激昂感，音場結構井然有序，彷彿再複雜的場面都在掌握之中。我還聽到不僅鋼琴觸鍵的重量感優異，顆粒飽滿，而且小號兼具密度與金屬光澤，穿透力十足。更棒的是，音場下盤既穩且沉，低頻層次豐富之外，更因為主奏鋼琴的音像凝聚，顆粒形體清晰，伴奏聲部在後方層次分明，更凸顯主奏與樂團主從地位的分別。就是這樣的條理分明，顯示EVO One處理複雜音樂更駕輕就熟，性能更為卓越…”
– gammajo, audiocircle.com
“…First noticed was the freedom from an ever so slight, unnoticeable-till-its-gone digital haze. Wow! Minor and subtle, yet highly important. Next was that the soundstage was much improved in terms of depth, separation of instruments, and air and bloom. Then I was entranced at how much more natural and beautiful high bells sounded – more rounded with more realist timbre, attack, and decay. All voices, especially female vocalists were more natural and captivating. Yet when music was supposed to be edgy it was, they could rock out with the best. When the music is relaxed and sweet, these amps allow you to be emotionally moved by liquidity and languidness ( I think because they sound less digital). This involvement could still be enjoyed at lower volumes than with other amps. They are excellent at naturally presenting the slightest micro-detail with no excessive spotlighting. Solo and massed strings were more realistically presented both in the string sound itself and the body of the instrument.
Where I found the Evos clearly better than any other amp that I have heard in any typology is with highly complex classical music such as symphonies but also complex rock and new age. Everything is more naturally delineated and more realistic sounding even when 100 diverse instruments are playing at once. In fact, I have been listening to much more symphonic music with these amps, where before there was something unsatisfying about the reproduction of such massive and detailed soundscapes. Solo instruments in these works stand out more clearly in character from the mélange of sound around them and dynamic swings are surprisingly instantaneous….
…I like the sound of Pass Labs, Constellation, and VAC amps, yet not even considering the price, size, and heat difference, feel like I like the Evos better. They hit the sweet spot between fluidity and control. There is ample mico-detail for this detail freak and yet they present the music as a whole cloth to be enjoyed as a living presence.”
– Neil Gader, theabsolutesound.com
“..Class D generally has never gotten the love it deserves. However, the performance of the Evolution One largely undercuts those preconceptions and redefines what it means to be a top-tier monoblock amp in 2019.
..the Evolution One allowed music to unspool effortlessly without electronic affectation.
Transients were naturalistic (more on this later), and there’s was no indication of etch or grain in the upper octaves…
Key to the Evolution One’s performance was the finesse it exemplified reproducing inner detail. That could be Brubeck’s touch on the piano keys, Ringo’s brushes playing off the skin of a snare, even the tick of a flat-pick on Chris Thile’s bluegrass mandolin—pretty much any pattern of single notes played by an individual or a section of players. A great amplifier needs more than just a low noise floor, it also has to have the responsiveness and speed to reproduce the ever-changing gradations of energy emanating from each instrument or combo. These are not elements that we necessarily isolate in our minds, but the transient and microdynamic surprises are what spark our ears to attention. Such attributes define the “live” experience for this listener.
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Images were so unwaveringly stable that they could have been applied with crazy glue…
Today I see no sonically valid reasons to raise an eyebrow at Class D amplification. In short, it’s high time that audiophiles park their biases at the door. In its Evolution One, NuPrime, in grand fashion and with musicality to burn, has laid to rest the argument that Class D is somehow intrinsically inferior to traditional Class A/AB. Every amp, regardless of letters of the alphabet, needs to be judged on its musical merits, not its topol- ogy. That’s always been what the high end is about. My recommendation couldn’t be more enthusiastic. Evolution really does improve the breed.”
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