Plato, very well said.
Mdconnelly, I also own the 10Ts and after recently hearing the NuForce Reference 9 amps in my system, I sold my beloved McCormack DNA-2 Revision A amp. The NuForce weren't night and day better, but they are more refined, revealing, and musical. Surprisingly, they did an excellent job of competing head to head with the phenomenal bass of the 300 wpc into 8ohm DNA-2 Rev. A or should I say 600 wpc into my 10Ts at 4 ohm loads. (fwiw, my preferred listening levels are 92 to 97 db)
Phd, you said, "There may be more hype behind these switching mono blocks then they really deserve." To that I say, "then again, perhaps not." You issued a good caution to try before you buy. But that should go without saying regardless of the product or industry.
Unsound, these are analog switching amps. Not digital. To see how the NuForce amps rank among some of the better amps TAS is touting these days, I would suggest checking out this very recent review by Chris Martens of the Absolute Sound:
http://nuforce.com/reviews/TAS-Ref9.pdf
One comment Chris Martens made that I find intriguing was,
"The Ref 9s offer a truly extraordinary level of see-through transparency, and as an audiophile friend so aptly put it, Their transparency is real, not a fake artifact
caused by brightness."
I think that comment said quite a bit and without any fluff. Especially when one considers the other amps he's comparing to.
I've not heard the latest and greatest TAS recommended amps as mentioned in the review but until now the DNA-2 Rev. A amp was the overall best I've heard. That includes the Halcros DM68s and DM58 which I've had the pleasure to hear on several occasions.
-IMO
Disclaimer, at the same time I sold my DNA-2 Rev A amp, I became a dealer for NuForce.
Mdconnelly, I also own the 10Ts and after recently hearing the NuForce Reference 9 amps in my system, I sold my beloved McCormack DNA-2 Revision A amp. The NuForce weren't night and day better, but they are more refined, revealing, and musical. Surprisingly, they did an excellent job of competing head to head with the phenomenal bass of the 300 wpc into 8ohm DNA-2 Rev. A or should I say 600 wpc into my 10Ts at 4 ohm loads. (fwiw, my preferred listening levels are 92 to 97 db)
Phd, you said, "There may be more hype behind these switching mono blocks then they really deserve." To that I say, "then again, perhaps not." You issued a good caution to try before you buy. But that should go without saying regardless of the product or industry.
Unsound, these are analog switching amps. Not digital. To see how the NuForce amps rank among some of the better amps TAS is touting these days, I would suggest checking out this very recent review by Chris Martens of the Absolute Sound:
http://nuforce.com/reviews/TAS-Ref9.pdf
One comment Chris Martens made that I find intriguing was,
"The Ref 9s offer a truly extraordinary level of see-through transparency, and as an audiophile friend so aptly put it, Their transparency is real, not a fake artifact
caused by brightness."
I think that comment said quite a bit and without any fluff. Especially when one considers the other amps he's comparing to.
I've not heard the latest and greatest TAS recommended amps as mentioned in the review but until now the DNA-2 Rev. A amp was the overall best I've heard. That includes the Halcros DM68s and DM58 which I've had the pleasure to hear on several occasions.
-IMO
Disclaimer, at the same time I sold my DNA-2 Rev A amp, I became a dealer for NuForce.