New Review and In-Depth Analysis of Hypex UCD-180HG

ASR has a new review of this Amp module [link]

Hypex UcD180HG HxR module is an older class D circuit solution which cannot compete in distortion parameters with Ncore or Purifi, however it has several very interesting features. It is a simple circuit, price is about 1/3 of NC400, it has frequency response independent of load impedance and nonlinearity almost independent of frequency. These are features I appreciate much and I have to say I like this module.

Here is my post on this amp [link]. Almost 9 years ago.

The author compares the Hypex amp with a highly popular amp, the AIYIMA 07 which is based on the TI TPA-3255 and can be purchased for about $75 with a power supply. The AIYIMA has also been reviewed at ASR [link]

We can see that AIYIMA has higher distortion which is much more modulated by speaker complex impedance. So it goes, 1kHz 5W SINAD is not everything and worse, it is a bad measure to compare amplifiers.

The distortion numbers are AIYIMA: 0.012 and Hypex: 0.0047% Note also that the measurements are at 5W and the “standard” is at 1W. The author also compares the frequency response and notes the effect of speaker load on the response. In fact, I would prefer the AIYIMA since with age one looses high frequency sensitivity.

The author summarized all his findings comparing the UCD-180HG based amp vs the AIYIMA TPA-3255 based amp in this post [link]

So the main difference remains in frequency response affected by class D amplifier circuit topology. UcD has flat response independent of load, A07 response is load dependent. Might be noted that UcD distortion is also less affected by load and frequency. Might be also noted that none of these features we may read from SINAD 1kHz 5W 4ohm comparative chart.

I am also a fan of the UCD modules. After 10 years, this technology remains competitive in performance and even more in reliability and durability. The people behind UCD (Hypex) were pioneers in class D amplification and continue to produce state of the art audio amplifiers.

This review and analysis also show that 10 years later, high performance audio amplifiers can be had for very little money. A finished AIYIMA amplifier with power supply can be purchased for $75, a fraction of what a UCD-based amp would cost

You can read more about UCD in the IEEE Spectrum article: “The Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame: Philips UcD Audio Amplifier“