Monitor speaker that will stop the Quest?

Analogkid -

I'm expecting my new poweramp, a NuForce Stereo 8.5V3, to arrive sometime next week. I'll gladly return with my impressions once the NuForce amp has been integrated in my system. It replaces an Acoustic Reality eAR 202 REF(a fine little amp, though not giving the C-1.0's the "ride" they're really capable of), and I believe I'm in for a substantial upgrade. It must be added that I use no preamp in the usual sense, but outputs from an RME soundcard directly into the poweramp, hereby applying a J River 15 playback application and its internal digital volume control as a "preamp" instead. Many may not feel this to represent an audiophile solution, but really, I'd choose it over most any (hardware) preamp.

Thanks for your responses guys. Kiwi: Raidho-Gryphon sounds like a killer Danish combination :) Phusis: please let us know how you like the NuForce.

Joseph Audio - Pulsar

I think that the LSA1 Statement deserves a serious look by anybody looking at monitors in the under $3K range. Very, very musical, detailed yet non fatiguing, sweet top end from that ribbon tweeter, precise imaging, huge soundstage and remarkable bass extension. Mine are not nearly broken in yet, but I'm loving them! :-)

The NuForce Stereo 8.5V3 arrived yesterday, and has since been running some 20 hours. Allegedly the V3's require som 150+ hours(preferably past 200 hrs) to settle in, and will up to this mark or point present the listener with a reported rollercoaster ride going from good to bad to flabbergast inducing good. However, not many hours into its run yesterday evening a friend and I did have trouble catching our jaws; the level of resolution, extension(both ends of the scale) and decay, control, clarity, speed, organic-ness, solidity(as in voices exhibiting a very lifelike core and presence), purity, and a difficult-to-describe "energy" was beyond what any of us had experienced in most any home setup. Hard to believe that such a tiny box, and at an attractive price, can make such a difference. And to conclude: I'd say this little amp couples extremely well with the C-1.0's...