How was the sound of your TDSS upgrade to your Nuforce Ref 9 amps?

Got to give an update on the TDSS level 3 upgrade to my Nuforce Ref 9 SE V3 monos. The amp module on my left amp went dead so Bob S. at TDSS replaced it while adding a different damping material between the module and the chassis on both amps. All I know is when they went back in the system, the sound was even better, The soundstage was much better developed, deeper, more stable and wider and the overall sound was smoother yet had just as much, if not more information. It is now VERY difficult to stop listening--a real joy. The upgrade is not cheap, but you will gain in reliability, and the sound quality is a BIG perk. I use the amps with a TRL DUDE tube preamp that is very ballsy, dynamic, and yet refined and detailed. I can’t wait to get my TT plinth rebuild done so I can see how far the Lenco parts upgrades have taken it. Will give another report soon.

The rods of my Sistrum rack are being cut and retooled as I write so I will have 2 much shorter racks that will allow the soundstage to bloom even further and be much more stable physically.

Will be adding Perfect Path contact enhancer after all this happens which should have a dramatic improvement with a cumulative effect at 3 different times. That should be the cat’s meow.

Bob

Latest sound of the TDSS Level 3 upgrades of the Nuforce Ref 9 monos is now phenomenal. I took the amps to a friend’s house so he could hear what they sounded like with the pair of Tekton Double Impacts with Bill Dion’s fantastic parts upgrades including new Dueland wiring direct to each driver from the individual crossover parts, many large and expensive caps in the all new crossover, and some of the drivers were upgraded. He used a very highly reviewed tube integrated amp, and then a parts upgraded and other mods done Threshold 400 amp. The 400 sounded a little deeper and tighter in the bass, but both sounded a little lacking in the presence region. We listened for about 1 hour to the 2 amps.

Then we inserted the Bob Smith upgraded Ref 9’s. Immediately, the sound was much more live and involving. The bass was now incredible in all ways, and no matter how much more information was easily present, the sound NEVER got harsh in any way. We gave the amps the power test and turned them up very loud and the sound just scaled upward. There was no irritation on the ears and the amps just kept on going. The dynamics with this combination were just off the charts--drum hits, guitar picks, horns sections all popped. We listened for the better part of 3 1/2 hours straight until I figured I overstayed my welcome. My friend wanted me to leave the amps there for awhile, like 3-4 months. However, I wanted to see if the amps would do the same in my system. Bob A., my friend, had plugged the amps into 2 different outlets side by side, with all his other stuff plugged into the bottom 2 outlets. At my house, I had plugged the amps into the same outlet with just the DUDE preamp on the other. All my front end stuff was plugged into an SR QLS-6 strip and then to its own 3rd outlet. In my system with VMPS RM40 speakers, the volume would shut down on one channel when I tried to turn the volume up. Would this be the same if I plugged them in the same as Bob did?

The sound of my system was now unbelievable, and I have all my components stacked on the floor temporarily while the rods of my Sistrum rack are getting cut and retooled. The clarity, dynamics, soundstage, etc. became even better than before I took the amps to Bob A.’s house. I then took the volume up to where it was when one amp would temporarily shut down and a couple notches higher. It was now LOUD and I kept it that high or higher for over 2 hours. Never had the problem of overloading the amps. The sound just soared and again there was no listener fatigue. I really can’t wait until the Sistrum rods are retuned and I will now have 2 much shorter racks with the wonderful sound the Sistrums bring. These amps are world class and I’ve now heard them in 4 different systems. Unlimited volume with live dynamics and transparent, detailed sound yet organic. Thank you Bob Smith of TDSS for an unbelievable amp upgrade and thank you Bob A. for letting me see a better way of getting my power from the amps. Needless to say, Bob A. is having some serious thought about getting his own pair or TDSS Level 3 Ref 9’s SE V3. He has been looking for an amp that would put the life into his wonderful speakers and he has found it.  If you have a Nuforce or Nuprime amp(s), and you are thinking how can I make this even better sounding, RUN, don't walk, and talk to Bob Smith about his upgrade.  By the way, the amps will become much more reliable with the improved power supplies put in--an added benefit!

After reassembling my system following an extensive rebuild of my basement including the listening room, I found that the low woofer on one of my VMPS RM40 BCSE speakers had a fairly loose connection from the clip that was crimped over 2 joined sets of wires running to the woofer.  I crimped the 2 wires firmly with a HD needle nosed pliers so the wires were of similar width from the connection to the clip.  Then I crimped the clip on securely and soldered it for good measure.  After reinstalling the woofer, I played music and the problem noted about one channel shutting down at about 11:00 on the dial, now had no problem with more volume as I was able to play my system at 1:00+ with no issues.  Took awhile to discover the problem, but all is well in all areas now.

Bob

Couple months ago, Bob Smith at TDSS did what he calls the CapCellBar upgrade to both of my Nuforce Ref 9 V3 SE mono amps. He replaced the large bank of 20+ capacitors with larger, but fewer caps that were as much as needed, added his Smith Cell Vortex, and added solid copper bus bars to each amp. He had upgraded the power supplies to 500 watt/channel from the 350 watt/channel that were part of the level 3 upgrades that had been done a couple years ago. This upgrade allowed the amps to scale volume more efficiently and improved the sound over the already great Ref 9 with level 3 in all ways. BUT...the CapCellBar upgrade made an even bigger difference in SQ than the entire level 3 upgrade in these ways--the dynamics were now much more noticeable; the bass was both deeper and had great texture that allowed one to hear the different types of bass being playing very easily; there was much more detail to the sound at all frequencies allowing you to hear things that were never heard before or were less audible prior. The soundstage info was wider, deeper and more solid in where each instrument or singer was located. IMO the new upgrade is an even larger upgrade from the level 3 than the level 3 was from the standard mono amps. You should contact Bob at Ozark Mountain Audio or at TDSS--the Nuforce and Nuprime authorized upgrade place.

Hi all. Recently, one of my reference 9 v3SE amps died. I assume it’s the common power supply failure. I’ve been following bob smith for a couple of years in case this ever happened.. and now that it has, unfortunately  tdss and bob smith have vanished. I was able to find someone’s invoice online for the upgrades which listed the parts used for the power supply swap. I was wondering/hoping someone somewhere had a picture of the upgraded internals of their v3 SE that they could send me so I can get an idea of how these replacement parts have been integrated. 
many thanks. Nick.