NAD! HDRX 20 - gigging guitarists are going to LOVE this!

[andy474x]

Great review Andy,
I just played on one this afternoon @ Casino Guitars, I might be going back in the next few days to pick one up. It would be a great upgrade from my Marshall Class 5.

Nice! I've got an Origin 20 I'm considering moving now that I have the HDRX 20. Probably should, I think I could get more than I paid for it now.

Thanks for the write-up. Curious to know what setting "bedroom" level is on the master volume...we talking between 0 and 2 on the dial? I don't have any local to me to try out but I did see a review of one where I like the tones coming out of it with the master set to around 3 I think

Yeah, I'm not sure exactly where the tone opens up but somewhere in there. The takeaway is that it's thin at whisper levels, like "don't wake the baby" kind of thing where you wouldn't want it to be very audible from another room in the house. If you can make a little noise, it's fine.

 

[andy474x]

Clips!

Here's the 20 in action - has been shared elsewhere, sorry if you're hearing it twice. But, great sounds from the amp, and easy to get them. These are with a Silver Sky, into a 2x12 with H75 Creambacks impulse. To please Rev. Schefman, the clean tone is a dirty amp with the guitar volume rolled back

https://soundcloud.com/6stringthunder%2Fhdrx-funk

 

[shinksma]

Curious to know what setting "bedroom" level is on the master volume...we talking between 0 and 2 on the dial?

I must admit I have spoiled myself most of my adult life by living in fully detached houses, and really spoiled myself with my current digs, where there is lots of room between houses in my neighborhood - and my wife plays too so she just joins in the mayhem. The only time we have to play "bedroom level" is when we practice with the rest of the band and some of them are playing their acoustic instruments unplugged/unmiked.

 

[Imgettingcloser]

One thing I would like to see is a picture of the insides of the HDRX 20 and the 100 or 50 just to compare the difference in components and build quality used in the ones made in Stevensville and the one made overseas. If I end up getting one this weekend, I may have to open it up and snap a pic (as long as it won't void the warranty) of course I would not want to post a pic that would show something PRS doesn't want posted all over the inter web.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Clips!

Here's the 20 in action - has been shared elsewhere, sorry if you're hearing it twice. But, great sounds from the amp, and easy to get them. These are with a Silver Sky, into a 2x12 with H75 Creambacks impulse. To please Rev. Schefman, the clean tone is a dirty amp with the guitar volume rolled back

https://soundcloud.com/6stringthunder%2Fhdrx-funk

Sounds great. Thanks for putting this up, and nice playing too!

 

[bodia]

Clips!

Here's the 20 in action - has been shared elsewhere, sorry if you're hearing it twice. But, great sounds from the amp, and easy to get them. These are with a Silver Sky, into a 2x12 with H75 Creambacks impulse. To please Rev. Schefman, the clean tone is a dirty amp with the guitar volume rolled back

https://soundcloud.com/6stringthunder%2Fhdrx-funk

Sounds really good. Thanks for posting this, Andy

 

[andy474x]

One thing I would like to see is a picture of the insides of the HDRX 20 and the 100 or 50 just to compare the difference in components and build quality used in the ones made in Stevensville and the one made overseas. If I end up getting one this weekend, I may have to open it up and snap a pic (as long as it won't void the warranty) of course I would not want to post a pic that would show something PRS doesn't want posted all over the inter web.

Well, for kicks, I opened mine up this afternoon, and I'm impressed by how similar the 20 is to the USA version. I'm going to share them - as you'll see, nearly identical layout to the 100, which PRS shared a gut shot of in one of their release videos, so it's not like this stuff isn't already out there (plus, anyone really wants to know that bad, they'll just buy the amp).

Here's the 100, then the 20.

I can't speak to what the quality of the components is, clearly different parts in make between the 20 and 100, but that's about it. If end user experience is any indication, the interactive parts have been flawless, and that the amp has a very low noise floor, and sounds very good. The board is also quite thick, no flexing when replacing tubes, etc. The pots and power switch are board mounted on the 20, vs chassis mounted and hand wired to the board on the 100. And, just in general, the lead dress on the wiring of the 100 appears tidier, although again, user experience being any indication, very quiet amp regardless.

Pretty cool to see how similar they are.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Nice share Andy.

 

[Imgettingcloser]

Andy,
Thanks for sharing the pics. It's good to see that they are so similar. It would have been nice to see the pots chassis mounted as well like they did on the old SE series of amps, but like you said the end user experience is what counts. The only big issue I see, they did not use the purple pcb board, which Doug had said in the video about the making of the 100 and 50 was a huge part of the tone of the amp , obviously I'm kidding and I'm sure Doug was as well.

I was messing with the Class 5 and trying to decide if I still want to trade it on the HDRX 20, I think I might just have to have both. Going to Casino to see if they still have one this weekend. Might be a NAD coming soon.

 

[RickP]

Well, for kicks, I opened mine up this afternoon, and I'm impressed by how similar the 20 is to the USA version. I'm going to share them - as you'll see, nearly identical layout to the 100, which PRS shared a gut shot of in one of their release videos, so it's not like this stuff isn't already out there (plus, anyone really wants to know that bad, they'll just buy the amp).

Here's the 100, then the 20.

I can't speak to what the quality of the components is, clearly different parts in make between the 20 and 100, but that's about it. If end user experience is any indication, the interactive parts have been flawless, and that the amp has a very low noise floor, and sounds very good. The board is also quite thick, no flexing when replacing tubes, etc. The pots and power switch are board mounted on the 20, vs chassis mounted and hand wired to the board on the 100. And, just in general, the lead dress on the wiring of the 100 appears tidier, although again, user experience being any indication, very quiet amp regardless.

Pretty cool to see how similar they are.

That’s a pretty nice build, especially in a substantially-under-$1k amp! i was comparing it to pics of one of my HXDA 50s, and you can see the same kind of “clean layout” thought processes applied to this design. Really impressive on any amp, but especially when they kept the cost reasonable on it. I don’t need one, but I’m still tempted to get one anyway!

 

[Imgettingcloser]

Anybody know what transformers they went with? I know the big boys have made in England custom wound iron, but I wonder what they went with in the 20.

 

[László]

Well, for kicks, I opened mine up this afternoon, and I'm impressed by how similar the 20 is to the USA version. I'm going to share them - as you'll see, nearly identical layout to the 100, which PRS shared a gut shot of in one of their release videos, so it's not like this stuff isn't already out there (plus, anyone really wants to know that bad, they'll just buy the amp).

Here's the 100, then the 20.

I can't speak to what the quality of the components is, clearly different parts in make between the 20 and 100, but that's about it. If end user experience is any indication, the interactive parts have been flawless, and that the amp has a very low noise floor, and sounds very good. The board is also quite thick, no flexing when replacing tubes, etc. The pots and power switch are board mounted on the 20, vs chassis mounted and hand wired to the board on the 100. And, just in general, the lead dress on the wiring of the 100 appears tidier, although again, user experience being any indication, very quiet amp regardless.

Pretty cool to see how similar they are.

They are similar, though the pots on the 100 are wired leads, where the ones on the 20 are mounted to the circuit board, making repair a little more difficult.

I can't see the printing on the parts, they may be comparable. The transformer is obviously different, as one would expect between a 100 and a 20 watt amp; whether there's a quality difference or not, who knows?

They both appear to have circuit board mounted preamp tubes, like current Mesa amps, which bothers me a little in theory, though it may not make much difference in practice for a very long time.

In any case, nicely done.

 

[andy474x]

They are similar, though the pots on the 100 are wired leads, where the ones on the 20 are mounted to the circuit board, making repair a little more difficult.

I can't see the printing on the parts, they may be comparable. The transformer is obviously different, as one would expect between a 100 and a 20 watt amp; whether there's a quality difference or not, who knows?

They both appear to have circuit board mounted preamp tubes, like current Mesa amps, which bothers me a little in theory, though it may not make much difference in practice for a very long time.

In any case, nicely done.

Agreed - I'd have preferred the chassis mounted pots and preamp tube sockets, while we're at it I'd have preferred the 20 to be USA made to the spec of the 50 and 100. My purchase wasn't about the price as much as it was the 20 having a master and overall volume/wattage. I can't say I'm missing anything on the user end so far.

As I'm finding amps that I connect more with, I'm thinking more about how serviceable they'll be down the line, but there are also some elements that I've just had to accept, like these circuit boards. I think Dave Friedman talked about this in a YT video, they do it as well. PRS uses really nice, thick boards, and nothing flexes when changing tubes out, which hasn't been my experience on other brands. Seems like most amp manufacturers making a decent volume of amps are doing it this way, so something I just had to accept.

 

[disco13]

Nice! I've got an Origin 20 I'm considering moving now that I have the HDRX 20. Probably should, I think I could get more than I paid for it now.

Yeah, I'm not sure exactly where the tone opens up but somewhere in there. The takeaway is that it's thin at whisper levels, like "don't wake the baby" kind of thing where you wouldn't want it to be very audible from another room in the house. If you can make a little noise, it's fine.

annnnd I ended getting one with the matching cab over the weekend, and so far I am loving it.

 

[Imgettingcloser]

annnnd I ended getting one with the matching cab over the weekend, and so far I am loving it.

Congratulations, and enjoy. They really are great amps. I can’t stop playing mine. I have been trying to dial in the tone I want but there are so may in this amp that are good. I think PRS has a winner with this one. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

 

[László]

Agreed - I'd have preferred the chassis mounted pots and preamp tube sockets, while we're at it I'd have preferred the 20 to be USA made to the spec of the 50 and 100. My purchase wasn't about the price as much as it was the 20 having a master and overall volume/wattage. I can't say I'm missing anything on the user end so far.

As I'm finding amps that I connect more with, I'm thinking more about how serviceable they'll be down the line, but there are also some elements that I've just had to accept, like these circuit boards. I think Dave Friedman talked about this in a YT video, they do it as well. PRS uses really nice, thick boards, and nothing flexes when changing tubes out, which hasn't been my experience on other brands. Seems like most amp manufacturers making a decent volume of amps are doing it this way, so something I just had to accept.

If it sounds good, it IS good.

I guarantee that 90% of the amps on the market regardless of build issues will long outlive me, so I'm no one to insist on certain features for other folks.

I'm probably a little over the top about US-made amps, but...that's me. Besides, the US model still has circuit board-mounted preamp tubes, and isn't hand wired. So I'm splitting hairs.

I don't need master volume controls on an amp. The way I use an amp, it's just a convenience feature. But it's nice to have if it's something you'll use.

 

[ken374]

Some amateur playing just messing around

 

[andy474x]

Some amateur playing just messing around

Great sounds! This little amp really sings with single coils, hard to get a bad sound out of it.

 

[ken374]

Great sounds! This little amp really sings with single coils, hard to get a bad sound out of it.

Thanks I bought the amp last week and the fuzz came in Friday. Takes some time dialing it in just right. Had the bright cap on and mid off.

 

[ken374]

Update! playing loud set the bias to 29/30 now that i know the amp better treb channel 6 bass channel 2 les paul rocked at master tad above 6