Nux NGS-6 Amp Academy

Underwhelming and a bit of a let down.

On paper this thing is the best tool there is. DI out, fully processed sound with amp modeler plus IRs and/or custom IRs, all the amps you'd ever need in a single box, fx loop, etc, etc.

BUT it sounds bad and has problems out of the box. The unit in itself is fine, but it badly needs firmware updates. They stopped updating its firmware in March 2023, v3.4. The DI out is too hot and works in a strange way. It clips differently depending on the platform you're connecting it to. It's weird and needs a LOT of tinkering, to get the best out of it.

If you have the time to learn to work with it and its quirks, you can get a pretty good sound out of it. BUT you shouldn't have to make any guess work on a product like this. Should be easier to use. It may wrongly appear that the unit is bad because it just clips really bad out of the box, and in a very bad way. It's like the clipping occurs inside the unit. You may be getting a -6 level signal in your interface and you still hear clipping, and you begin to scratch your head asking "Why?". And then you connect it to a mixing board and it sounds fine, like it has more headroom. I don't think it interprets impedances very well.

Very poor customer support and communication issues with customer support. Be ware.

Loving it!!

The whole thing is fantastic! The different amps are really good, it is easy to use, with or without the interface. It is brilliant to play with headphones and it is a perfect digital interface.

Two downsides: it can be a bit noisy, some days more than others and it would be greatly improved with a switch to turn on/off the effects and the reverb

Amazing amp & cab sims

I find the Nux Amp Academy to be an AMAZING piece of gear for just 200€. I mainly use it as a pedal platform, running the Super Reverb amp and loading York Audio Creamback M65 or Zila H75/V30 IRs. It takes all my pedals like a champ and it's a straight plug-n-play to record via USB-C (maybe lower the input level from a few db though). On the B side, the Rectifier is very good, pair it with some York Audio Mesa V30 IRs and take it a step further ;-) It also has a DI out in case you want to go ampless at a gig.

This little box sounds full and is incredible, it sounds as good (maybe even better?) than a HX Stomp. and it is very easy to use. I rarely rate or comments on my orders, but this Amp Academy was a real surprise for me. It's got more features than an Iridium or ACS1 for half the price, and sounds has good as an HX Stomp for half the price (but it's more basic of course).

Excellent piece of kit.

Have had this for a few weeks now and all good from the off. Easily the best bang for buck piece of equipment on the market right now. Makes a good few of the pedals I already owned redundant so it's off to ebay with them. Winner winner chicken dinner! :-)