# massive audio nano: NX5 (NX4 + NX2) Review



## AAAAAAA

*massive audio nano amplifiers NX5 (NX4 + N2) Review*

I have had these a few months now.

First up the usual packaging. The box is nicer then the usual car audio box we see. It opens up like a treasure chest and the packaging is simple with just a bit of foam to keep the amp secure.










When looking at the amp, I find it to be a particularly handsome design. Simple black anodized heat sync. I love these small foot print rectangular shape amps. A lot of people like the square shape that fits under a seat, but I find if you want to hide an amp anywhere else, the rectangle is the way to go.










So lets look at the specs.
120 x 4 rms @ 4ohms(ClassAB) and 800rms x [email protected] 1 ohm(classD). 

That's a lot of power for such a small package. I included the audio precision PDF files for the NX4 and the N2 (the NX5 is basically those 2 amps in the same chassis). As you can see it's pretty much right on. Of course the 2ohm rating for the multi channel part is more of a "peak" rating and is not realistic at all, however I don't particularly care about that since I use them at 4ohms.

Lets look at the guts, we all love that.

































I was a bit worried about how these would end up working day to day, being class AB and such a small chassis.These amp I am told have protection if they overheat. I have not witnessed overheating though so I can't talk about that part. I didn't have them during the hottest part of the summer. They do get hot to the touch after a bit of playing time. I can easily tell what side is the AB side and what side is the class D hehe.

So what are my impressions? They are SMALL the biggest is the 5 channel at only 15" x 5.5" x 2.1". Ever since small foot print amps have been made available I go crazy for them. I have used -in the small amp category- sony xm-4s and xm1s as well as the planet audio BB75.4 and 175.4 and I prefer these by far. The nx4 and nx2 are ridiculously small, one could easily fit one per door bridge for dedicated midbases. The noise floor is lower then the sony and the PA amps, and I didn't find those bad in the noise department. I have not had any engine whine either. This makes me a happy camper.

Power wise,subjectively I feel I am getting more power then with the sony's (rated at 50 x 4) and similar to the BB amps(140 x 4). OF course the PDF's show exactly what one gets when buying these amps. Rarely will a company provide this type of info on their products.

I also got the stacking hardware for these and the base knob. The RBK is a boost centered at 50hz that I have not used yet and I haven't tried the stacking yet either. These went right in the car and were put to good use.

The xovers and gain knobs have detents or clicks which I really like. Unfortunately massive has not "normalized" or averaged the clicks to set points. So when setting them one has to go by ear as it really is a guess. One thing I don't like is the front channels on the nx5 and nx4 can only by all pass or high pass, no low pass and the rears can't be band passed.... but that's nitpicking as most amps don't offer this especially in this regardless of foot print. Also the RBK and stacking kits have to be bought separately.

I started originally with these bridged to the massive ck6 stage 3 set and boy it got loud and those mids shook the car without problems. These tiny amps deliver the goods.

Usually I am always looking at changing amplifiers, trying to find better or smaller. But really, it doesn't get any smaller and they are powerful enough to satisfy my requirements fully (And then some). I bought a pair of the NX5's and they take up almost no room and I get a total of *10 freaking channels in a 15" x 5.5" x 4ish"* foot print that can be stacked vertically or horizontally.

I really didn't think I would be able to get such a nice small foot print 5 channel with a powerful sub channel, but these fit the bill nicely.

Big thumbs up on my end.

Also a note about the customer service at Massive audio. Their forum is full of positive experiences , but I have to say that it is the best service I have ever received bar none. Not to mention they have some of their techs on their sites forum to give advice and opinions. 

Positives:
-Handsome, simple design (These are *really* nice in person)
-Tiny foot print
-Big power
-bridgeable (some small foot print amps aren't)
-1ohm stable (sub channel) I know many prefer not to run at 1ohm, I personally run them at 2ohm and feel I get enough power, but I like the flexibility aspect.
-stackable
-optional base knob
-All the latest protection circuitry one would expect
-The speaker terminals can handle big speaker wire and the metal "clamp" and screw can't be completely unscrewed making it easy to stuff huge wires in there.
-All power and speaker terminals require the same Philips head to tighten and un-tighten. 

Negatives:
-limited xovers
-amps don't come with RBK


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## trumpet

Thank you for posting this review. I appreciate that you waited until you had used the amps a few months. I've been wondering why there is so little discussion on this forum about these amps.
:2thumbsup:


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## IBcivic

very nice review,thanx


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## Boostedrex

Nice review man. I was impressed with the Massive Audio amp I reviewed as well. They do seem to offer a really nice product.


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## DAT

The new NANO series and HD/DB amps are excelllent. 

thanks for the excellent review.


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## CSEmoses

Anyone else had a chance to use one of these?


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## Jroo

Some other forums are question the build quality of Massive. I want to hear the long term on these amps.


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## AAAAAAA

^what other forums?

I had one channel go out on one of the nx5's. It started making noises after the amp warmed up. Pretty strange. Sent it back to massive for fixing. they didn't give me any troubles. Haven't gotten it back yet. I miss it already.


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## DAT

I have never had any problems yet and I have sold over 25 in the past month.

I have some guys using them now for almost 1 year with zero problems.


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## Boostedrex

Never had any reliability problems out of the HD1600.4 I used/reviewed. And it powered everything from tweets, mids, midbass, to a pair of 12's. Seemed rock solid from what I could tell. Still going strong too running a 6.5" mid and 1" tweet in one of my other cars.


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## Bolding220

Does it get very warm.? I'm looking to install in a storage compartment in a Trailblazer.


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## AAAAAAA

HEre are some more pics.










All aesthetic aspects of the amp are nice.










HEre you can see the terminals where it is particularity easy to use , you can't unscrew the screw and square metal plate completely since there is a plastic part keeping it from popping out completely, so feel free to unscrew it completely and jam in huge wire. Not using disconnects has never been so easy hehe.









8awg wire









Below you can see ALL terminals use the same philips screw... I am in love.
Of course one never wants to over tight since the it seems like it would be challenging to swap out new screws.


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## AAAAAAA

Bolding220 said:


> Does it get very warm.? I'm looking to install in a storage compartment in a Trailblazer.



No, they get hot, especially the AB side. However I have been assured they have great protection circuitry.


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## eggyhustles

Do these amps really do their rated power? the hd1600 claims 800 x 2 bridged @ 4 ohms. That's insane at that price point


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## DAT

I'd say so but not because I sell Massive audio but they are very nice made Class A/B amps.. do rated power and sound great.

I swap a 800.4 against my Tru 2.250 and then my older Tru 4.150 and I was like wow power is there!!! I only used gains 1/2 or below ~

then wire the 800.4 to a Dual 4 ohm sub and was very impressed ....

I have used the Clarion and a few other amps that are Class D and Class G they are great amps at a great price point but they suck compared to this Class A/B

If they only made a real Class A


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## AAAAAAA

eggyhustles said:


> Do these amps really do their rated power? the hd1600 claims 800 x 2 bridged @ 4 ohms. That's insane at that price point


^I included the freakin power measurements for them. So the advertised 2ohm rating from what we can see from the graphs is at a really high 10% THD so the 2ohm rating is more of a peak rating.

As for their HD series... search for it there are a couple of big threads, basically they*(the multi channels, not the mono's)* are over rated and won't make advertised as admitted by the massive rep.


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## CSEmoses

AAAAAAA said:


> ^I included the freakin power measurements for them. So the advertised 2ohm rating from what we can see from the graphs is at a really high 10% THD so the 2ohm rating is more of a peak rating.
> 
> As for their HD series... search for it there are a couple of big threads, basically they are over rated and won't make advertised as admitted by the massive rep.


ok, so if they DONT make rated, what % of rated do they typically make?

... and are the THD numbers accurate, or is that out the window?


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## eggyhustles

AAAAAAA said:


> ^I included the freakin power measurements for them. So the advertised 2ohm rating from what we can see from the graphs is at a really high 10% THD so the 2ohm rating is more of a peak rating.
> 
> As for their HD series... search for it there are a couple of big threads, basically they are over rated and won't make advertised as admitted by the massive rep.


I missed that 



DAT said:


> I'd say so but not because I sell Massive audio but they are very nice made Class A/B amps.. do rated power and sound great.
> 
> I swap a 800.4 against my Tru 2.250 and then my older Tru 4.150 and I was like wow power is there!!!
> 
> then wire the 800.4 to a Dual 4 ohm sub and was very impressed ....
> 
> I have used the Clarion and a few other amps that are Class D and Class G they are great amps at a great price point but they suck compared to this Class A/B
> 
> If they only made a real Class A


Good info..thanks


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## AAAAAAA

CSEmoses said:


> ok, so if they DONT make rated, what % of rated do they typically make?
> 
> ... and are the THD numbers accurate, or is that out the window?


SEARCH!

This is the end about anything other then the nano lline in this thread. Thank you.


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## DAT

Yeah, I was also told my Jon @ Tru Tech. that the Tru Sledge Hammer $3500 I used to own back in 2008 was a bit over rated.. it did put out power but not exactly what was rated... but then again who cranks the gains more than 1/2 and distorts the sound? I personally set up my amps with a scope and usually they are never over 30% up.



69.1% Efficiency @ 4 W (Full Power) 
T.H.D.: < 0.1%
4 Ohm RMS: 2,000W x 1
2 Ohm RMS: 3,000W x 1
1 Ohm RMS: 4,000W x 1 




Thanks for the info again *AAAAAAA !!*!


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## Cruzer

interesting that they over rate the amps, makes u wonder how the speakers are as well :worried:


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## DAT

Cruzer said:


> interesting that they over rate the amps, makes u wonder how the speakers are as well :worried:


You can worry if you want but these do rated Rms 2 4 ohms but like most amps on the market these really only do about 200 rms 2 ohms instead of 240W rms...


If your worried about the Ck6 don't buy them I got **** loads of buyers waiting for the next batch.. and everyone is extremely happy..

All the Nano series amps I have sold, the guys love them as well as I do. 

I've had guys switch from JL HD900/5 all class D to a NX5 ( 4 channels class A/B ) and a Class D mono channel and say they sound better than the JL. 


if they didn't sound good do you think he would still have these installed in his nice car???


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## Cruzer

DAT said:


> You can worry if you want but these do rated Rms 2 4 ohms but like most amps on the market these really only do about 200 rms 2 ohms instead of 240W rms...
> 
> 
> If your worried about the Ck6 don't buy them I got **** loads of buyers waiting for the next batch.. and everyone is extremely happy..
> 
> All the Nano series amps I have sold, the guys love them as well as I do.
> 
> I've had guys switch from JL HD900/5 all class D to a NX5 ( 4 channels class A/B ) and a Class D mono channel and say they sound better than the JL.
> 
> 
> if they didn't sound good do you think he would still have these installed in his nice car???


calm down pal, i was just saying.

people cry all the time when main stream gear is overrated and whatnot, but its massive can i not comment and say its interesting?

lets not point out too that he had to get it repaired...


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## kvndoom

Cruzer said:


> interesting that they over rate the amps, makes u wonder how the speakers are as well :worried:


Help yourself if you want to pay more and get less, but I sleep well at night knowing the steal I got on the Ck6 speakers. I get no compensation, discount, or anything else for saying good things about my speakers; I just believe in telling people about a great deal when I see one.

I look forward to some other recent buyers posting their opinions. I don't imagine there will be a lot of bad things to say...


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## jason19

Nice amps I'm looking into these great review


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## JAX

how do these sound full volume? any noise issues found? I mean engine whine..or other not normal noises?


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## Cruzer

kvndoom said:


> Help yourself if you want to pay more and get less, but I sleep well at night knowing the steal I got on the Ck6 speakers. I get no compensation, discount, or anything else for saying good things about my speakers; I just believe in telling people about a great deal when I see one.
> 
> I look forward to some other recent buyers posting their opinions. I don't imagine there will be a lot of bad things to say...


i bet the speakers are solid, just like the amps, especially for the money.

but as much as people talk about the HAT Imagine speakers, i bet the extra $25 is worth it.

now amps, ill take the massive over sundown, or zapco, just because of price


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## AAAAAAA

JAX said:


> how do these sound full volume? any noise issues found? I mean engine whine..or other not normal noises?


I actually wrote a review on these, check it out, it's the very first post of this thread, you could try reading it


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## edouble101

Nice looking amp, thanks for the review.


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## joeymac

Thanks for the review....i enjoyed reading it. Now i just gotta figure out how i can pay for one. hehe:thinking2:


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## JAX

AAAAAAA said:


> I actually wrote a review on these, check it out, it's the very first post of this thread, you could try reading it



um. there is no need for that. I did read it. I have read it more than once. I dont want the 5 channel. 

I want to see what people have to say about the 4 channel 

matter of fact I just read it again...that makes about the 5th time.

I am still waiting for some more experiences with them..

nothing against your review but I still want more , that is all.


edit...

I did read it again and looked at the test sheets. the 3% and the 5% is interesting


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## hcaleman

Mine should be arriving today from DAT along with a set of CK6 components. Hope to get it up and running in the next few weeks and will try to post my impressions.


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## kvndoom

hcaleman said:


> Mine should be arriving today from DAT along with a set of CK6 components. Hope to get it up and running in the next few weeks and will try to post my impressions.


Hey where in Tidewater are you? Maybe sometime after you get your gear installed we could take a listen to each other's cars. I don't have a whole lot of free time, but ya never know


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## chithead

I'd like to read some reviews if ya'll do have a mini "Massive" get together.


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## Mythstery

I picked up a N2 over the weekend locally for $100 I have yet to hook it up since im waiting on a few parts to be delivered. Im thinking about picking up the Nx4 to pair with it. I know you have stated they get a little warm. What did you have the 5th chan running at? Im wondering if the N2 running at 1 ohm will get really warm and in my case be better seperate then in the 5 chan config.


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## AAAAAAA

It's running at 1 ohm now daily for about 2 trips of 45 minutes a day. It's the AB side that gets hotter then the class D side. Of course my bass is balanced and not overwhelming hehe.


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## AAAAAAA

Someone asked me about the THD of the nx4, saying that it seems high and asked my thoughts on that regard.

IMO there is nothing out of the ordinary with the THD. Any amp will have low low THD, just like the massives, and will eventually get near and over the 1% mark as we get closer to the amps output limits. It just highlights that rating amps is some sort of an "art" form so to speak.

For the same amp the nx4

want to make it appear like an SQ amp with a low THD?
You can rate it at 80watts rms @4ohms with 0.05%THD

want to rate it as an amp that's more about power (OR CEA certified)?
You can rate it at 100watts rms @4ohms with 1% THD instead

That's why seeing graphs like these give much more info about the amp then just a power rating.

With more power, especially approaching the amps limits, the THD goes up. Every amp is like this.

With the nx series, we can see that they don't make much more power at 2ohms, so these models are definitely optimized for 4ohm use.


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## DAT

My $2000 Brax amp does not do rated @ 2ohm either LOL 

Little do people know most amps are over rated at 2ohm stereo , old schools amps were not...

Look at the Zuki amps... 5w x 4? we all know this amp does a heck of a lot more...


I promise you most amps including the Massive Audio do rated power at 4ohm stereo, 2 ohm stereo is a little less than double as rated... but they rock and are Class AB not the silly Class G, and so forth.


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## [email protected]

DAT said:


> My $2000 Brax amp does not do rated @ 2ohm either LOL
> 
> Little do people know most amps are over rated at 2ohm stereo , old schools amps were not...
> 
> Look at the Zuki amps... 5w x 4? we all know this amp does a heck of a lot more...
> 
> 
> I promise you most amps including the Massive Audio do rated power at 4ohm stereo, 2 ohm stereo is a little less than double as rated... but they rock and are Class AB not the silly Class G, and so forth.


Class G/H amps shouldnt sound any different than a class A/B amps since it has the same output section, difference being the power supply either uses multiple rails of varying voltages or a infinitely variable supply rail. Thats where the increased efficiency comes from.


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## 1sicls1

Maybe I missed it in the review, but do these accept 1/0 power and ground? Couldn't really tell in the pic, I'd say 4g but was just curious.


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## nwsalmon

I just bought an NX5 from DAT so I'll give my impressions after I've had some time to play with it.


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## hcaleman

kvndoom said:


> Hey where in Tidewater are you? Maybe sometime after you get your gear installed we could take a listen to each other's cars. I don't have a whole lot of free time, but ya never know


Hey sorry I didn't see this earlier. My office is right in downtown Norfolk off Waterside and I live right in the area. 

I'm working on getting everything installed. I need to pick up some RCAs still and power cables, etc. May just head to premier tomorrow and pick up JL RCAs and power cable. 

It would be nice to just have a weekend where I could knock it all out, but never seem to have enough time to tackle these things when I'm at home. 

At the very least I want to try and get my head unit and run the cables to the rear. My sub will likely be another week or so before it arrives, have a friend who will build a box and amp rack for me. I'm also just now discovering sound deadener showdown, so am tempted to attack that as well, but maybe that will be done at a later phase.


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## Bolding220

1sicls1 said:


> Maybe I missed it in the review, but do these accept 1/0 power and ground? Couldn't really tell in the pic, I'd say 4g but was just curious.


It accepts 4g.


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## Bolding220

I am real pleased with mine. I have it running L1Pro's, L6SE and RE SE12. The sub is running 1 ohm.


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## primetime1267

I have the NX4 bridged to run my CK6 and a single Addictive audio Excruci8 and the amp does great. I think it has a wonderful sq sound to it. It does get a little warm tucked under my rear seat of the Yukon but nothing in terms of worrying about though. This is my first run using the massive audio line but I am very impressed with the size-price-quality these little guys have....


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## Resonant

Looking into buying one of these


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## quickaudi07

BeatsDownLow said:


> Class G/H amps shouldnt sound any different than a class A/B amps since it has the same output section, difference being the power supply either uses multiple rails of varying voltages or a infinitely variable supply rail. Thats where the increased efficiency comes from.


Not to sound to crazy but how many class's is there as far as Amp class line up. A/B/C/D thats what i know off. But G and H never heard off.

Can someone please educate me on this please.

Also MA sounds really good to me from review's and posts that you guys all share. I'm really looking in to it, and see if i could maybe sell my JL amps... 

SHHH don't tell anyone  

Thank You


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## ecbmxer

Buying one of these as soon as they are back in stock! Should make for a clean under-seat install.


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## kvndoom

quickaudi07 said:


> Not to sound to crazy but how many class's is there as far as Amp class line up. A/B/C/D thats what i know off. But G and H never heard off.
> 
> Can someone please educate me on this please.
> 
> Also MA sounds really good to me from review's and posts that you guys all share. I'm really looking in to it, and see if i could maybe sell my JL amps...
> 
> SHHH don't tell anyone
> 
> Thank You


G and H are more an improvement of AB amps that an actual new class.

Electronic amplifier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## ClownTrigger

FYI: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...fier-fuse-sizes-recommended-manufacturer.html


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## nwsalmon

ecbmxer said:


> Buying one of these as soon as they are back in stock! Should make for a clean under-seat install.


I mounted my NX5 under the drivers seat of my car (07 Hyundai Sonata) and it fits great. No overheating so far and my heater is on most of the time. The NX5 really improved the the sound quality of my Hertz speakers....very happy.


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## NOFATTYS

Can anyone comment on how the NX4 would do running as a three channel amp to a center channel (H Audio AP3 fullrange), and my rear fill (Zapco 5.25 Competition series) off an MS8? Right now these three speakers are running off the internal MS8 amp. I just want to make sure itll be ok before I pull the trigger. thanks


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## chithead

It's going to provide a lot of headroom... that's for sure.


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## xencloud

Anyone know damping factor specs for massive amps?


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## AAAAAAA

DF is the most useless spec you could ever come across, not even worth investigating to find.


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## xencloud

It definitely wouldn't make or break my buying decision forthe value you're getting, but still just wondering!


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## Accordman

i have a HD1600....very highly doubt its doing the power it says its doing...its pretty on par with the Audison SR4 it replaced which is only 65x4...if its doing even 100 by 4 id be shocked.


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## Chsknight

That nx5 looks perfect for a whole system install, thanks for the review


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## truebluefoo

Ok, I read the performance charts for the Nx4....it states 98W @ 4ohms per channel ..or 240W @ 4 ohms per channel(bridged) ....i am buying component speakers (Audison AV K6) rated at 125W @ 4ohms, what do you suggest? Bridged or not? and why? also the original post states a negative of this amp: Not coming with RBK ...What is RBK?


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## DAT

truebluefoo said:


> Ok, I read the performance charts for the Nx4....it states 98W @ 4ohms per channel ..or 240W @ 4 ohms per channel(bridged) ....i am buying component speakers (Audison AV K6) rated at 125W @ 4ohms, what do you suggest? Bridged or not? and why? also the original post states a negative of this amp: Not coming with RBK ...What is RBK?


remote bass knob


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## truebluefoo

thanks....anybody on whether i should bridge channels or no?


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## ecbmxer

Anybody know if plugging in the remote bass knob activates some kind of bass boost? I know for the other sub amps, they have a boost available but it didn't list anything for the NX5. 

Also, anybody with an NX5, do you ever have a bit of high pitched noise come from the amp for the first few seconds it's started up? Mine is under the driver's seat and I've heard it on occasion.


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## GLN305

ecbmxer said:


> Anybody know if plugging in the remote bass knob activates some kind of bass boost? I know for the other sub amps, they have a boost available but it didn't list anything for the NX5.
> 
> Also, anybody with an NX5, do you ever have a bit of high pitched noise come from the amp for the first few seconds it's started up? Mine is under the driver's seat and I've heard it on occasion.



The bass know is a remote gain not a bass boost. As far as noise, mine is dead quiet on start up and while playing. High pitched noise from an amp usually means a component will fail soon or already has failed.


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## DAT

call Cory @ massive audio if you can not figure it out but usually that noise is a pinched wire , or bad rca... but it should be from the install not the amp... get it fixed before you kill something....

LMK what you figure out


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## AAAAAAA

Some of us have been wondering what the stacking looks like, well wonder no more!

First off to stack same type amps you need 4 N-END blocks. IF you have different size amps then you can buy length equalisers instead of these ends so you can stack them to. Neet.










So the end caps are made of the same anodized black alluminum as the amps. So they look great. The manual says they add a few inches of lenght but really all it does is somewhat hide the wireing . When we take into account that the amps will have some wireing sticking out of them, these end caps don't add much if any length.

2 simple screws per side and a small metal plate is all it takes to secure the end caps.










This is nice









These amps are so sexy IMO











At first I thought I would secure them with screws through the end cap holes but as we can see it doesn't line where the terminals are. As it turns out it's best that way as it would'nt look nice.









To secure them simply mount them through the regular mounting feet and it holds nice and you can't see the screws. The only thing is you have to provide the mounting screws. But of course since you can stack more then a pair, getting your own custom lenght is only a few cents cost.

HEre they are stacked and a bit dusty




































Stacked from above view


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## AAAAAAA




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## Beauzriggs

Cool stuff


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## rytekproject

So tempted to buy one to test it out after reading this review. This thing is half the size of my leviathan!


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## beerdrnkr

AAAA - Do you mind providing the cost of the stacking pieces? I just picked 2 of the NX4's and I think I'm going to grab one more, stacking them would save me a lot of room. 

On a side note, anyone else have any reviews on these amps? I'm pretty excited to see how they do.


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## AAAAAAA

^Check out the massive web site for pricing.


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## AAAAAAA

When stacking them, I felt it would be easy for them to get scratched as there doesn't seem to be anything inbetween them to make sure they don't slide or for them to "snap" into place.

Well I undid the stacking today.....
damn


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## rytekproject

Was there any overheating issues with them stacked?


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## 9mmmac

Just use a black sharpie on those little nicks and scratches. It won't be perfect, but it will be good enough to fool your eye for a second or two...

And yeah- did you test or run that hot wad of amps? I might do this as well, have 2 for rear fill and subs, still undecided about my front stage.

Do you have any more unposted pics?


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## 1sicls1

Damn...that sucks. I was looking into that setup and stack them just like that. However I'm real picky when it comes to keep my amps mint because I'm always switching up. Is there anyway to put something in between the amps when you stack them, like so sort of soft foam? Think that's possible?


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## cakman

Man that looks like a sweet amp. A great alternative for someone who wants a high powered 5 channel amp but doesn't want to spend the money on something like a JL HD900/5. If i knew about this amp when i was in the market, i might have bought this intead of the 900/5. Great specs and good looking amp.

I do love my JL though.


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## AAAAAAA

rytekproject said:


> Was there any overheating issues with them stacked?


No but I didn't use them for extended periods of time. Only about 40 minutes, it's not so bad. The one underneath was the one I loaded with the 1ohm load for subs and bridges one side for my center channel and had the other 2 for my rears.


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## AAAAAAA

9mmmac said:


> Do you have any more unposted pics?


They are all out now so I can take any kind of pic you want.


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## Schnitz

Does this amp have any sort of cooling? I don't see any fans or fins in your pics.
Are you not using these any more?


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## AAAAAAA

I took everything out o the car because it is for sale, but it will go all back into my new ride.

These amps do not have a fan or fins. The casing is the heat-synch and dissipates it well. Anodyzing also helps get rid of the heat better.


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## quickaudi07

I heard these little amps really put out some massive power,,,, !!


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## bearfan

With the lack of bass boost, how does it sound on a nice high-end sub like Pioneer Comp Pro (800 W power handling) on 1 [email protected] RMS?


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## a383z

I just put mine in a week ago and its pushing two Image dynamic IDQ10V3 and i think the amp is amazing especially considering its size. Its currently loaded down to 1ohm.


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## bearfan

Can anyone confirm whether this amp is as good as the current 5-channel benchmark amp, the JL 900/5 HD?


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## ƒÆ§tÇµm

holy crud. can i haz dat?


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## fight4life28

Any problems with the NX4?


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## beerdrnkr

I havent had any problems with the 2 I have and I listen to my music a lot louder than the average listener. I'll be adding a 3rd soon. 

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk


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## jhin68

just wondering where is massive amps made?

im considering getting a massive nx5 for my car to run the whole system.

is massive only available in usa?
what im concern about is the warranty. its expensive to send heavy stuff like amps back to usa. what im trying to say is, how reliable is this amp. im my case, it will only drive 4ohms load


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## AAAAAAA

Not sure where worldwide they are available but I can tell you they are made in China.


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## bhpistorqintorpm

hi AAAAA, thats a nice review 

i have a query: can anybody tell me how does it fair compare to Focal Solid 4? i am looking for SQ. so are these better than Solid 4?


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## jgustin

Everyone says that the NX5 is a combo of the N2 and the NX4, but the NX4 is 100x4 and the NX5 is 120x4, so isn't it really a combo of the N2 and two NX2's?
If so, any stats on those? Thanks!


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## jgustin

Do you think this would be good for running a set of XSoul4's and a 10" Fi X?


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## t0030tr

I just installed the NX5 and its driving two pairs of ID's, XS65's and XS69's. I didn't really think about it after everything was wired up, but it sounded terrible. It is hooked up to an Alpine CDE-123 HU, so pre's are 4v I think. In any case amplifier kept heating up and kicking out. I noticed that the gains were set at 250mv so counting clicks 40 clicks with range of 250mv-5v I am figuring 8 clicks a volt if these resistors are linear. So set the gains as close to 4v and everything sounds pretty damn good. After all the reading I did on this amp, I was surprised that it over temped on me and the sub is not hooked up yet. I would have thought under driving it at 250mv would have kept it quite cool, in any case seems good now and has not kicked out at pretty high levels, I am a little fearful though as the ID sub will be connected shortly. Just wondering if I should RMA and get something else, or chill for a minute and give this thing a chance at 4volts.. Really wanted to stay with a 5 channel to keep everything simple. Researching it some more no one has complained about this amplifier overtemping on them, in fact everything I read about this amp is only good news.


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## jgustin

If your head unit puts out 4V, then you want your amp set close to 4V. The bigger number on the amp means you are not pushing it as hard. It was shutting off at 250mv because you were pushing it way too hard.


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## t0030tr

jgustin said:


> If your head unit puts out 4V, then you want your amp set close to 4V. The bigger number on the amp means you are not pushing it as hard. It was shutting off at 250mv because you were pushing it way too hard.


This must be the case, although I thought i would be over driving the amp with the gain higher. The manual also says to set the gain as low as possible (although I realize I am trying to match the HU and amp together meaning 4v). 

In any case since I tuned to gains to as close to 4volts as I can get and I can not seem to get it to over temp again. I may forget about that Focal or JL after all. I figured it was a fluke cause I can't find anyone with an over temp problem on these nano's. Since I tuned the gains, the ID's sound pretty damn good. :laugh: I am ready to get these x-overs set after the ID sub goes in.


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## jgustin

t0030tr said:


> The manual also says to set the gain as low as possible



Right, but setting the gain low means a bigger number. You were just setting it backwards, that's all.


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## steppinrazer

I've had NX5 installed in my center console for a year.. It's bridged to a set of components and pushing a 4 ohm sub. 

I've never had a thermal shutdown even during the summer months after "baking" all day in the parking lot @ work, and then pushing it hard w/ the windows down on the way home. As you can see its a fairly tight area with limited airflow.

With your gains set right I think you'll be fine.


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## t0030tr

steppinrazer said:


> I've had NX5 installed in my center console for a year.. It's bridged to a set of components and pushing a 4 ohm sub.
> 
> I've never had a thermal shutdown even during the summer months after "baking" all day in the parking lot @ work, and then pushing it hard w/ the windows down on the way home. As you can see its a fairly tight area with limited airflow.
> 
> With your gains set right I think you'll be fine.


Yeah, I didn't really think about it. I had even made a large hole on the bottom of the amp rack to get air flow on both sides since I read this amp gets hot. It seems like they would have set the gains to 5v from the factory instead of 250mv, the thing was definitely in overdrive. Since I dialed it in at close to 4v it has really come alive sound wise and I haven't had another overheating issue. I am hooking a IDMAX 10 V.3D4 up to this puppy shortly. I suspect its gonna sound pretty good after its in and I get my x-over points set. 

Has anyone set up an ID XS set with this sub? I am using the passive crossovers with factory settings and was thinking about using the HPFs on both AB channels set at 50Hz and then playing with the sub settings. Any input appreciated...


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## t0030tr

jgustin said:


> Right, but setting the gain low means a bigger number. You were just setting it backwards, that's all.


yes, thanks for the input.


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## DAT

I agree, if you set this amp or better yet any other amp correctly, it will last forever.

and no you can't just set the gain 1/2 way and call it good.


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## t0030tr

t0030tr said:


> Yeah, I didn't really think about it. I had even made a large hole on the bottom of the amp rack to get air flow on both sides since I read this amp gets hot. It seems like they would have set the gains to 5v from the factory instead of 250mv, the thing was definitely in overdrive. Since I dialed it in at close to 4v it has really come alive sound wise and I haven't had another overheating issue. I am hooking a IDMAX 10 V.3D4 up to this puppy shortly. I suspect its gonna sound pretty good after its in and I get my x-over points set.
> 
> Has anyone set up an ID XS set with this sub? I am using the passive crossovers with factory settings and was thinking about using the HPFs on both AB channels set at 50Hz and then playing with the sub settings. Any input appreciated...


UPDATE: Well after having the gains set on this thing it ended up overtemping several times this week, three times last night and the last time when I was jamming some tribe called quest not very loud at all. I was really hoping that this small amp would be able to push my ID components and when it does they sound very good. RMAing it and moving to a Memphis Hybrid since I really want to stick with the A/B, D setup. This would probably be fine with the sub hooked up and the crossovers set higher on components, but my refund window is closing and I don't have time to play around find out.


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## t0030tr

DAT said:


> I agree, if you set this amp or better yet any other amp correctly, it will last forever.
> 
> and no you can't just set the gain 1/2 way and call it good.


Are these variables not linear? I think I counted 40 clicks for a range between .200-5V. Is this incorrect?

Thanks


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## Zero Cool

quickaudi07 said:


> I heard these little amps really put out some massive power,,,, !!


 I gotta say I am REALLY dissapointed with these amps! I just picked up a NX2 and a N2 and neither make rated power! 

Now first off I am new here. I am a 46yr old Engineer that works for a major ultra high end audio equipment manufacturer with a 40yr history of excellent amplifier designs. My job is to test amplifiers all day every day to make sure they meet rated specs.

My own Lab is equipped with a Tektronix Distortion analyzer and Low distortion oscillators, a 4 ohm non inductive load bank and a high current adjustable power supply. and all equipment has been calibrated by a professional metrology lab within a year.

the NX2 with both channels running into 4-ohm loads, with a 1Khz input signal and 14.4V as measured at the amplifiers power terminals, with 6ga welding cable connected from the amp to the power supply I was only able to get 82 watts per channel at 1% distortion. just a bit short of the listed 120 watts per channel.

Now it's possible that M.A. rates their amplifiers at 10% distortion???? or maybe the spec is a misprint and the 120 watt rating is actually at 2 ohms not 4?? I did not test at 2 ohms for fear of killing the amp. if it can't make it's published spec then can it really run 2 ohms??

Now researching these amps I came across the photos listed at the beginning of the thread for the NX5, I also came across a post that showed this EXACT same board layout for a amp sold under the Hollywood brand name. I also found a picture of a new soundstream amp with the same layout....

Now. it is a very common thing for US companies to purchase Asian made amplifiers branded as there own. I have no doubt that this same product is being sold by several different manufacturers. Not a real big deal. But that may also be where some of the discrepancy is in power ratings. something in the translation maybe??

For my application this is more power then I need. I need the small size more than the high power, but it is a bit disappointing that this amp cant even make 100-watts per channel! that's rough!

I also bought a N2 sub amp and again it was shy of its rated power at 4 ohms. I forgot to write the number down but if i remember correctly it was about 180 watts which is at least closer....


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## AAAAAAA

Thanks for you rcomments ZC

Sounds like you have a nice setup for benching amps.

To answer your questions, massive have admitted to using a speaker as load for measuring the output power and that's why the rating is so inflated compared to your conventional (real) method. 

Indeed this same amp is sold under many different brand names from American bass to MTX and more. These companies say they do make changes to suit their needs (tweaks, improvements, cosmetics) however what affects they have as an end result has always been debatable but assumed to be usually negligible. 

Many of us are in the same boat, it ends up being enough power anyways… it would be hard to tell the difference in power between 80 and 120 with our ears.

Honestly I am pleasantly surprised it made that much all the channels driven. I would have guessed the nx2 made closer to 60 per channel one channel driven. I wonder what it would do with your setup with just one channel vs both (If power would remain similar or not).

I am sure your amp works at 2ohms as I have ran my setup bridged for many months without issues.


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## corcraft

Devils advocate her. The n2 bench states 350w @ 4ohm, zc states around 180w thats almost half. Then the nx4 zc states 80x4 which would mean 50% more to get the 120x4 ratings. Speaker or resistor if there is this much difference then what is cea certification good for (Not to mention the bench states resistor)? Or what are the regulations? Could the benched amps be different? Now on the flip side who is zc? Only 1 post here 3 weeks ago which was this 1 and not logged on again since. Avg joe? Competitor company? Or Robert Zeff himself? Who knows, not pointing fingers in either direction just trying to help potential buyers. Should we use zc's post to judge this amp, I say no, not at this point. But also what is the difference in "resistor vs speaker" ratings and what are the cea regulations? If there can be that much difference then no reason to have a cea certification in the industry.


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## Zero Cool

corcraft said:


> Devils advocate her. The n2 bench states 350w @ 4ohm, zc states around 180w thats almost half. Then the nx4 zc states 80x4 which would mean 50% more to get the 120x4 ratings. Speaker or resistor if there is this much difference then what is cea certification good for (Not to mention the bench states resistor)? Or what are the regulations? Could the benched amps be different? Now on the flip side who is zc? Only 1 post here 3 weeks ago which was this 1 and not logged on again since. Avg joe? Competitor company? Or Robert Zeff himself? Who knows, not pointing fingers in either direction just trying to help potential buyers. Should we use zc's post to judge this amp, I say no, not at this point. But also what is the difference in "resistor vs speaker" ratings and what are the cea regulations? If there can be that much difference then no reason to have a cea certification in the industry.



Well I am VERY well known on other audio sites like DIYaudio etc. I work for A major audio manufacturer in the QA dept. I test audio amplifiers all day everyday! that is what my job is! I also have my own repair shop and specialize in Solid State amplifier repair. I do subcontract design and repair work for other shops. I have been involved in the pro audio industry for 25 years, I have worked on systems ranging up to $13.5 million dollars. I have installed sound systems in many stadiums, churches, nightclubs, boardrooms, I have toured with bands, designed and built recording studios etc etc. more stuff then I can even remember. 

The specs listed in the Massive owners manual are not real clear. they don't give you the full criteria for which they tested the amps. 

So, I just googled the amps and lo and behold the link for the manuals on the massive website no longer work! I was going to post it here. googling another way I find it here 
http://assets.sonicelectronix.com/manuals/massive/nano-manual.pdf

And i just happen to have a copy. So lets look.

Ok so they say RMS Power at 14.4V exactly the voltage I ran my test at. AND I measured the voltage using a Fluke 189 meter that has been professionally calibrated within the last few months. AND I measured that voltage AT the amplifiers power terminals. No hocus pocus there.

they say for the N2 200W(not 350w) at 4 ohms and for the NX2 2x 120w. But at what % of distortion was that measured at? I measured at 1% using a Tektronix AA501 distortion analyzer that again was professionally calibrated. 

and they don't state if the NX2 is with both channels driven? or is that just one. I tested both ways and stated with both channels driven.

I used a 800w 4 ohm non inductive loadbank made up of 1% tolerance resistors. 

What they don't say is at what frequency was there test run at? 20hz to 20Khz is standard. I did my test at 100hz for the N2 and 1Khz for the NX2. I also reconfirmed my results using 40hz for the N2 and 100hz for the NX2

Also what they don't say is for what duration did they run the max power test at??? was it a 10ms tone burst?? I measure continuously over a period of about 60 seconds to hone in on exactly 1% 

Also when I did my test's, I made sure that the voltage level at the amplifiers power terminals stayed at 14.4V



SO...If someone would like me to retest these amplifiers In another way? say at 10% distortion..I can do so.

If you would like. PM me, I will tell you my name and who I work for.


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## Zero Cool

corcraft said:


> Speaker or resistor if there is this much difference then what is cea certification good for (Not to mention the bench states resistor)? Or what are the regulations? Could the benched amps be different? If there can be that much difference then no reason to have a cea certification in the industry.



I will whole heartedly agree with this! this is the reason why I never got involved in the car audio industry. In the 80's every amp we tested was a joke! a 400 watt "booster" amp with a half amp line fuse..year right maybe if lightning hit it LOL! then car audio got better. Fosgate, Linear power, Soundstream, Orion just to name a few made some real products. heck look at a set of fosgate schematics. they state very clearly. so for example, from a Rockford P6002 I just repaired. On the bottom of the page it states:

Maximum Output Test Conditions:
Voltage 14.4Vdc, Xover set to all pass, Gain set to Minimum, Remote Bass boost not connected, Logo Assembly connected, 4.21VAC 1Khz sine wave at Input jack, 2 ohm load per channel at output connector. Vout = 24.36VAC, power out = 300 w/channel THD+N <= 0.02% 10Hz-22Khz filtered.

Now THAT is a spec. that states exactly what the amp can do! I am not a big rockford fan but that was impressive to see. most companies won't do that because they don't want anyone to know the dirty truth! 

Now...Maybe they amps I purchased are defective? could be. My tests are based on the one sample of each I have. Maybe mine are an older version? <shrug>

My amps work and they sound good enough and they are very small in size. all plusses. they just don't make the power they manual states they do.


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## corcraft

Hmmm im may buy several of their lines and send if u would test. No they dont say at what % thd but they are cea2006 which states ratings at 14.4v and 1% thd or less so im saying if they are cea2006 it should be in this criteria or the cea2006 is pointless. Now for the n2, your are right they have 200w @ 4ohm but go back to the bench papers they are showing around 350 @ 1% thd..... which reminds me the bench tests did show the power on the nx2 to be 120w @ 1% THD.... so what or whom regulates these bench tests?

All the power ratings from the bench papers I just went off of memory, I didn't look up again so may be a lil off but close I think. The papers are on the 1st page of this thread and zc..... good to see u back. I hope that u can help with some cea2006 ratings and the point in them if this difference is infact true.


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## corcraft

Pm coming


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## AAAAAAA

I do think the cea self regulation is a joke. 

Don't scratch your heads to much... Using a reactive load is what accounts for the big difference in power.


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## wickedego

I have an nx5 that I cant use it goes into protect after 40min of use could not get it to not overheat no matter how it was mounted or what gain settings wre used or voltages it saw.. so Now its sitting in my closet. I got ahold of massive tech support did everything they suggested to no avail. No idea what to do with it. ..


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## Zero Cool

wickedego said:


> I have an nx5 that I cant use it goes into protect after 40min of use could not get it to not overheat no matter how it was mounted or what gain settings wre used or voltages it saw.. so Now its sitting in my closet. I got ahold of massive tech support did everything they suggested to no avail. No idea what to do with it. ..


 Have you tried mounting a 12V fan to blow air across the hottest side of the amp?? 

The dumb thing is that this is no different then any other amplifier, they still have to dissipate the same heat as any other non class-d amp does. but they put it in a chassis that offers very little in the way of heat dissipation. a fan is a necessity with these amps. 

at 1/3rd of rated power, a class-A/B amp dissipates the most heat. at 1/3rd power, the output transistors are operating under the worst conditions for technical reasons i wont bore you with. those heatsinks cannot dissipate 100-150 watts of heat. no way. so yes they will overheat and shut down. 

try it with a fan. maybe a couple of fans. or you can sell it to me for a few bucks and i can run some bench test's on it and detail the results here.


Zc


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## wickedego

Zero Cool said:


> Have you tried mounting a 12V fan to blow air across the hottest side of the amp??
> 
> The dumb thing is that this is no different then any other amplifier, they still have to dissipate the same heat as any other non class-d amp does. but they put it in a chassis that offers very little in the way of heat dissipation. a fan is a necessity with these amps.
> 
> at 1/3rd of rated power, a class-A/B amp dissipates the most heat. at 1/3rd power, the output transistors are operating under the worst conditions for technical reasons i wont bore you with. those heatsinks cannot dissipate 100-150 watts of heat. no way. so yes they will overheat and shut down.
> 
> try it with a fan. maybe a couple of fans. or you can sell it to me for a few bucks and i can run some bench test's on it and detail the results here.
> Zc


I got tired of dealing with it its 3weeks old to boot I switched no nvx. Jad 1200.1 and 800.4 no fans under my false floor no issues so id part with it as well id be interested in seeing it tested I was running it at 4 ohms on the ab side and 1ohm on the sub side as for the heat the whole amp was hot not just one side or half.


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## ZAKOH

Russian avtozvuk.com tested the NX5. At 1% THD with 14.4V battery they got: 87/114watt RMS on A/B channels at 4ohm/2ohm and 203/295 on subwoofer channel at 4/2ohm. At 4ohm, the results are pretty close to manufacturers specs only for sub channel, but in both cases a far cry at 2ohm. This looks like a nice clean amplifier. THD is below 0.1% on main channels at 4ohm up to 60watts of output, which is quite nice, but I probably wouldn't run it due to the heat issues already discussed. If they put this board into a bigger package for better cooling, it could be a nice amplifier for people who are nostalgic for well-executed Class A/B tech in car.


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## ecbmxer

Guess that explains my weak(ish) sub on this amp.


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## Zero Cool

I just received today a used NX4 I bought off eBay. I ran test's on it similar to what I did before. 1Khz into 2 channels, 4 ohm load bank, 14.4V measured at the amps power terminals. and I got 61 watts at 1% distortion!!! I'm sure that would drop to 50 watts if all 4 channels were running at 1% Sixty one watts WOW! 

And Looking at the chart Zakoh posted, if you follow the blue line up to the 1% mark, it;s right at 80 watts or so. So that confirms my tests. I got 82 watts, the difference between 82 and 87 is marginal. roughly 1/2 of a volt. so slight differences in our load banks can make that vary slightly. or if they only ran one channel where as i ran two channels at a time. Pretty much confirms it!!

But 61 watts wow that's pretty bad. they pretty much just doubled the numbers all across the board! The amp runs good and when it clips it clips cleanly. No driver stage sticking or ringing that I observed. so again. taken into context they seem to be good amps. but the power ratings are a joke!


Zc


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## quickaudi07

Conclusion to these massive amps!!! You get what you pay for. Yes they are dmall form factor design that does no good if you live in high temperature states. Im sure these amps would run perfect in Alaska! 

Thank god i never bought massive amp. I would be stuck with it. People should spend little more and get a decent amp..... and overheating and adding extra fans to keep it cool is a joke.
I guess my amps will never leave the trunk!

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2


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## Electrofil

I read in the manual of the Massive Audio NX series negative must NOT be connected directly to battery or any original groundpoint.

As i have a french car with 5 star NCAP rating and REALLY split up chassis for safety direct is my only choice.

It is also recommended by most wattage freaks on serious forums (example SMDs forum).

I Really wanted to try out the NX5 for my company (and for myself) so WHY cant i connect ground the best way?

Do they use internals from the 80s or something, it has been a looooong time since last time i heard one should not connect negative to battery.


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## donotattempt

Pardon the revival of a somewhat dead thread. I have not owned the Nano Series from Massive; however, I did own the D-Block amps (both 800.4 and 3600).

System setup was in a 2008 Hyundai Eleantra. I ended up selling the car with the massive stuff.

Pioneer DEH-X6500 (i think) HU
Clarion EQ and Clarion Cross-overs (2)
800.4 on tweeters (JBL)
800.4 on mids (Eminence Alpha-6A 4Ohm)
3600 on sub (JBL GTO804 x 4)
VERY LARGE external battery located in trunk; if I recall correctly, 140Amp/Hr, to run the system.

Amplifiers were located in the trunk, along with the active crossover units.
They got hot (not as hot RF T600-2). I would play on the journey to-and-from school, which is a 50 minute ride. After 30-35 minutes, They get very hot and goes into protect mode.

Installation was a pain in the neck, in regards to mounting these amps.

Build quality is not to my liking (personal preference), as the speaker terminal, one of which got stuck and had to be sent to massive.

To sum it up, You Get What You Pay For.


Thanks For Reading


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## AAAAAAA

I am still using one of my nx5's and it's working well, even after 3 years. I understand every brand has defective units.

The power thing is a shame mentioned by one of the last posters. When I first posted I didn't know that the measurements were with a speaker and not done the tradional way. Ends up giving results closer to double the exptected output. 

As someone else mentioned this amp might not be the ideal one for low ventillation and hot climates.


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## ecbmxer

My nanos are running strong as well after several years of use. However, it is really disappointing that they advertise much higher power levels and somehow still have this CEA2006 compliance. Does the CEA standard specify a speaker load or strictly resistive load bank?


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## IBcivic

Electrofil said:


> I read in the manual of the Massive Audio NX series negative must NOT be connected directly to battery or any original groundpoint.
> 
> As i have a french car with 5 star NCAP rating and REALLY split up chassis for safety direct is my only choice.
> 
> It is also recommended by most wattage freaks on serious forums (example SMDs forum).
> 
> I Really wanted to try out the NX5 for my company (and for myself) so WHY cant i connect ground the best way?
> 
> Do they use internals from the 80s or something, it has been a looooong time since last time i heard one should not connect negative to battery.


I would not worry about that and go ahead with running a direct ground wire to the battery, if you think that your vehicle's design may provide a less than perfect ground.
They recommend not to use OEM bolts, such as seat bolts, is because they provide less than perfect grounding points since OEM threaded inserts are not necessarily installed on bare metal.
.


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## ecbmxer

IBcivic said:


> I would not worry about that and go ahead with running a direct ground wire to the battery, if you think that your vehicle's design may provide a less than perfect ground.
> They recommend not to use OEM bolts, such as seat bolts, is because they provide less than perfect grounding points since OEM threaded inserts are not necessarily installed on bare metal.
> .


That is a good point and I would almost bet the reason why I have a slight turn on pop still. It was just too convenient to use an existing bolt that was like 6" from my amps  I need to get a ground lug and drill a proper hole the next time I have my seats out.


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