Nuforce

Woodburger wrote "compared to my reference tube amp, the NuForce Reference 9s have a much more dynamic sound. Is it better? My experience has been affected by the bloom of tubes. I have to refresh my thinking in terms of dynamics, soundstaging, clarity, bloom/compression, bass and treble extension. The change isn't a familiar sound (yet) since I am so used to the tube effect. BOTH are, to my ear, excellent. But different."

Woodburger

*Simply put, the Nuforce amplifiers sound more like live music than anything I've ever heard.*

If one listens to and uses live music as one's reference, and providing the rest of your system is up to the task, the choice becomes clear.

The Nuforce amplifers replaced my reference Classe DR3 class A amplifiers which had fought and, up until recently, quite handily defeated amplifiers of all types and topologies in the cutting edge, revered underground and legendary classic categories.

I have spent an inordinant amount of money on audio over the years in order to realize that one doesn't have to.

Kerry

Kerry Legeard B. A. Sc. P. Eng
www.musicfirstdistribution.com

Disclaimer!!! I am a Nuforce fan, supporter and Canadian Distributor in order of both chronology and personal importance.

I heard the 9's at a dealers with good equipment and they were no where near to giving a live experience.
Then again I have never heard any system give a live experience and never will.
Clarity yes, live no, and did I mention fatiguing?

A_t, that's the best idea proposed so far. Truth be told, I don't really care for it. First off, I just find uppercase offensive, sort of like shouting. Many, myself included use caps for emphisis. Others use may use upper case without realizing it's a code. Oh well, sorry to be so negative.

I have recently received my Reference 9s back from a couple of final mods from NuForce. My amps are the version 9.02 and have extended bass, extended bandwidth, and the gold/copper WBT NextGen RCA inputs. Before this last mod, I also discovered that removing the yellow capacitor across the speaker outputs extended the bass and made the sound more transparent. So mine are without that output capacitor, as well. This is currently the latest version, and can be bought from NuForce with all the upgrades I have.

I think part of the reason I like these amps so much is because of the unique super-fast digital power supply that NuForce has developed. It seems to enable high dynamic capability with high speed (to catch the leading edge of musical transients without smearing or blurring them).

One poster said he thought the amps sounded more like what he hears live than any other amps he's tried and I agree with that. I use the super-fast VMPS RM30 speakers and can tell you that not all speakers are capable of responding accurately to the speed of the signal that the NuForce amps can deliver. The VMPS ribbon drivers are incredibly quick and detailed and with the latest Reference 9s will provide a near-live listening experience if the recording and the rest of the component chain is up to it.

Regarding tonality, as has been noted here, there have been different versions of this amp and different combinations of upgrades that have produced different results in my system. I liked the NextGen Platinum RCA inputs with earlier versions of the amps, but found them too bright for this latest, extended bandwidth version and had them changed to the copper/gold version, which has worked well to provide a natural tonal balance.

Another note on tonality is that the NuForce amps are very cable sensitive (just like most amps). They are especially power-cord sensitive and if you find the right combination of interconnects, speaker cables, and power cords, they will provide very natural and transparent sound.

The bottom line is that these latest Reference 9s, the 9.02 upgraded version, have taken my system to new heights that I believe would be difficult or impossible for other amps to match.

I'll be writing a full review for www.stereotimes.com, shortly.

Happy Listening!

Lacee, I see that you are brand spankin' new to audiogon. Welcome.

Your post begs a few questions so if you don't mind answering just one. What equipment, line conditioners, speakers, and cabling were used in the system you heard with the NuForce amps?

Contrary to your post, I just received the Dec 2005 issue of The Absolute Sound yesterday. There in the recommended components section I read:

"The diminutive Reference 9 monoblocks are sophisticate, analog-modulated Class D amplifiers that sound like sonic giants.

First, they offer deeply extended and tightly controlled bass, with excellent pitch definition.

Second, they offer open-sounding mids, almost shockingly detailed highs, and explosive dynamics.

But the biggest news may be their precise, three-dimensional sounding (which is reminicent, to some degree, of the ASR's world-class soundstaging).

Note: These amps are quite sensitive to associated cabling, so choose carefully."

-Chris Martens (of The Absolute Sound) review forthcoming.

As my 5 year old son would say, "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

I'm of the opinion that there are only a handful of reviewers whose opinions are worth listening to.

In this case Chris Martens expressed my personal experience pretty much to a tee and hopefully explains more fully my selling my treasured McCormack DNA-2 Rev. A amp and my subsequently becoming a NuForce dealer.

-IMO