Niimbus Ultimate Series US4/US4+/US5/US5 Pro Headphone Amps - by Lake People
Mar 31, 2018 at 9:28 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 1,729

Fegefeuer

Headphoneus Supremus
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Update February 26th 2021:

US5 and US5 Pro will be released with pentaconn/4.4mm output. Both are the same amps (US4+) now except being different on the volume control.


Review by Project86: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rev...r-includes-large-high-end-amp-roundup.886668/


this is all early info I gathered, can't go into a lot of details because I don't know them yet. All the weeks until the Munich High End Show will reveal more details and info about these amps until we'll get the full picture. I'll keep this thread updated

nimbus_kleingfo2k.png



US4+ and US4 are flagship headphones amps, and to each other basically aequivalent as the Violectric V281 is to the V280. If you know both you know what to expect in terms of what they offer in features, however in performance and quality these amps will take everything to another level, thus they will leave the violectric sphere and go under the name "Niimbus".



US4+ front

front-3g2uyl86syx.jpg


US4+ back
back-2suuohxls3a.jpg



US4 front
us4front-2n0uio66sdo.jpg


US4 back
us4back-1x9s9ai7sfy.jpg


Internals: white PCB defines the US amps and upcoming DACs

10111194.jpg


10111195.jpg


10111196.jpg


10111197.jpg



US4 Volume Control
us4knopfdeu29.jpg


US4 Power LED
us4power8nu9u.jpg


US4+ front and back shots

front-58buvv.jpg

back-4u3oxn.jpg






US4+:

-one version/edition, no options, every US4+ will have the same features and performance
-remote included
-one 4-PIN XLR Headphone Out and 2x6,3mm, open to a Pentaconn connection but not likely
-NO Digi Inputs anymore Instead you will find 1xXLR, 2xRCA inputs (1 on the US4) and 1xXLR/1xRCA output
-reed relais volume control, 256 steps@0,4db (bonus: less noise than the V281's relais option)
-Balance control is back (remember V281)
-protection features: delayed power-on, instant cutoff, DC protection, Overload protection, Temperature monitoring and safe shutdown
-pregain in 7 steps: -15db, -12db, -6db, 0db, +6, +12, +18 dB
-about 12db less noise than the V281 under maximum stability ((balanced)
-30V@600 Ohm
-2x25W Tor. Transformers, 52.800 uF filtering capacity through Nichikon caps
-coupling capacitors will be polypropylen caps only

The US4 has everything the US4+ has, except the following features:

-relais based volume control
-remote
-front panel buttons for switching inputs (inputs can be selected on the back)
-balance control

dimensions: 350mmx280mmx80mm (width, depth, height)



shipping will probably start early September 2018.

prices will be 5000€ inc. VAT for the US4+ and 4000€ for the US4
 

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Mar 31, 2018 at 10:07 AM Post #3 of 1,729
prices will be 5000€ inc. VAT for the US4+ and 4000€ for the US4
 
Mar 31, 2018 at 2:20 PM Post #5 of 1,729
Happy April fools !
 
Apr 1, 2018 at 5:49 AM Post #6 of 1,729
@Fegefeuer, do you know width and depth of the amps?
I mean, is it possible to stack them with Violectric/Lake People gear?

350mm width, about 280mm depth and with feet 80mm high. I'm sure you'll be able to stack your DAC and your Femto onto them but the looks and material are completely different. There will be no match.
 
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Apr 1, 2018 at 6:25 AM Post #8 of 1,729
added some shots of the internals. Since this is a prototype the PCB is green here. Final PCB will be white.

Lake People=green
Violectric=blue
Niimbus=white
 
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Apr 3, 2018 at 6:44 AM Post #10 of 1,729
i thought it was an April fools joke, but then i got an email from lake people confirming this XD, so now i'm wondering, did they confirm the joke or that it's legit :9 ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! :k701smile:
 
Apr 3, 2018 at 7:33 AM Post #11 of 1,729
I was also thinking of a joke, but then Arthur confirmed me this new amp.
 
Apr 3, 2018 at 7:34 AM Post #12 of 1,729
Is it possible to buy this unit at the Munich show?

I don't know, Fried has to answer that.

i thought it was an April fools joke, but then i got an email from lake people confirming this XD, so now i'm wondering, did they confirm the joke or that it's legit :9 ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! :k701smile:

it's legit
 
Apr 3, 2018 at 11:09 AM Post #13 of 1,729
Is it possible to buy this unit at the Munich show?
We will show ready working prototypes from Niimbus US 4 and US 4+ during the HiEnd show in Munich.
There will be only few things to be altered until we begin the production.
We plan to be ready for sale from Spetember / Oktober 2018.
Pre-Orders welcome - of course without a prepayment.
There will be 2 DACs to follow the headphone amps early 2019, one of them also with analog inputs.
Afterwards we plan to release some other analog items including a power amp.
 
Apr 5, 2018 at 9:56 AM Post #14 of 1,729
I'm really interested to see if they stayed within the Violectric sound signature, or went for something substantially different. "Niimbus" stands for 'dark cloud' i guess, interesting naming choice. The height i suppose was meant to be 80mm not 8mm :9
 
Apr 5, 2018 at 11:27 AM Post #15 of 1,729
One aspect for "Niimbus" is meteorological and means a special kind of cloud.
We had a more general approach in mind as "Niimbus" means -> reputation and brilliance,
also there is a theological aspect as "Niimbus" also stands for -> halo.
But "Nimbus" in our case is not intended to describe the sound signature !
Also, there is no "Niimbus" in the real world with double ii.
So, everybody is invited to pick the meaning he prefers :smile_phones:
 
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