APL NWO2.5 ?

I just got my NWO 2.5 on Friday. Right out of the cold box it sounded wicked good. I first connected it to my pre-amp and said wow, this sounds really impressive. Then I connected it directly to my darTZeel amp. My jaw hit the floor. Once you take this step there is NO going back. Everything is better going direct to the amp, in a big, big way. Fortunately for me I don't have other sources to worry about.

I bought this unit without hearing it. I now have only 30 hours on my 2.5 and it not only lives up to all of the raves on this and the APL Hi-Fi forum....it exceeds it by a wide margin. This is the real deal. This is the "Digital Neo" we audiophiles have been waiting for.

First, you simply cannot believe how good RBCD sounds on this unit. Who would have thought it possible. DVD-A takes digital playback to a strata that I'm not sure even the best turntables can better. And even if they can, the margin will likely be very small indeed and they will have to be optimally set-up, vinyl cleaned and without scratches, etc. Note (!), this is only conjecture on my point as I have not yet had the chance to put the 2.5 up against SOTA vinyl yet, but I do know that a poster on the APL Forum has made this comparison against a $65K vinyl rig and the 2.5 came out victorious. I must admit when I first read his post I rolled my eyes...not anymore I can tell you.

I am observing a steady improvement in resolution, extension and micro detail as the unit burns in and I've been told that at 100 hours the 2.5 shifts to another gear...I simply can't wait for that to occur.

The way Alex P (the designer, resident genius, nice guy and passionate audiophile behind the NWO 2.5) has integrated control of the volume, digital filtering and S/PDIF digital input is clean and very clever.

I cannot more highly recommend this unit and will post a more substantive review after I get more hours on it. From a full disclosure stand point I have no commercial associations or interest whatsoever in APL Hi-Fi. I'm just an ecstatic customer.

Great post Earflappin! Just curious, are you using the DarTZeel preamp and bypassing that? Are you runing the 2.5 balanced into the Dart? Looking forward to more comments! You may have to bring the APL NWO 2.5 with you if you stop by and we'll have a little shootout against the Emm CDSA SE. What do you think?

Frank

Thanks Frank! I am currently bypassing the darTZeel pre-amp as the NWO 2.5 has a built in volume control, although I will go back and verify my initial findings by reconnecting to the darTZeel pre-amp.

I spec'ed my NWO 2.5 with RCA outputs, although the way the output stage is designed there shouldn't be a XLR vs RCA performance difference. As you know, the dart gear is RCA-centric so that's why I went that way.

I was thinking the same thing about the shoot out! BTW, what power cords and interconnect cables are you using and do you have a set of RCA's or are you going XLR from the CDSA SE into the dart pre?

David

I now have just over 100 hours of burn in time on my new NWO 2.5 and thought I would post a quick update.

The improvements have been gradual, continuous and significant. The sound has become increasingly fluid and detailed. Subtle ambient cues and microdetails have emerged on recordings with which I am very familiar...almost spooky.

After 30 plus hours of listening, several aspects of the unit's performance have begun to standout that set the NWO 2.5 apart from any other source I have heard in my system or elsewhere (shows, dealers, friends' systems, etc.). Here they are in no particular order:

(1) The depth with which one can listen into the soundstage...you hear the faintest, slightest details; like a triangle being struck in the back of the orchestra after a very dynamic passage.

(2) No listening fatigue even on RBCD. After listening to the NWO 2.5 you understand how many artifacts lesser players introduce into the music in terms of veils, time smearing, etc.

(3) Linearity across the entire spectrum...no portion of the spectrum sounds like is being over or under emphasized. I think this is one of the reasons the unit is not fatiguing to listen to.

(4) Low end and high end resolution and extension is amazing. I am hearing fast, tight low bass information on recordings where I never realized it existed as well as extended highs.

(5) Ability to drive the amplifier directly with absolutely no issues.

(6) The way you just find yourself listening to the music and not listening to your system trying to analyze if everything is as it should be.

Bottom line, the NWO 2.5 just sounds like music. It certainly does not sound like any digital player I have ever heard.

That's it for now...gotta go wrap some presents or my wife may make my NWO 2.5 disappear...:-)

Earflappin, WOW, I just saw your pre-amp up for sale, congrat's, The NWO is truely amazing, and I am still waiting impatiently for mine to arrive. I am so happy you are please with my suggestion. Alex truely is one of a kind, in his approach to digital(digivinyl)as I refer to it.

David, Have a Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year....and please, call me when you have a chance

Steve