Nuforce

"Is there an estimated release date for the Reference 9.1SE?"
Don't try to be cute :). It is Reference 9 Special Edition, short for Reference 9 SE. Not 9.1

Ah, I missed the joke.

Guys, guys. I’m surprised at some of your comments here. Especially since some of them appear so irresponsible and irreversibly damaging when in fact you haven’t a clue what Nuforce is doing behind the scenes or what their Marketing strategy might be.

For the record, the new Nuforce Ref 9SE special edition amps cost significantly more than the Ref 9.02 amps. They look the same on the outside but are significantly different inside.

And I’d also like to say that Nuforce has produced an amp whose sonic performance appears to be near impossible to achieve at less than $10k. And if you can’t tell that, then you might want to start looking at your other equipment because you obviously have some shortcomings somewhere.

Tvad, your statements are especially disappointing because as an owner of the APL 3910, you have experienced and/or witnessed many revisions to your ucdp but without apparent protest from you. Was APL giving you the best he could in his in his first revision? Perhaps it was the best he could reasonably and cost effectively do at that time. What about APL’s latest revision? And what about the next revision?

Why would you treat Nuforce and their amps any differently? In fact, Nuforce has received far more accolades regarding their performance than APL has. TAS magazine is indirectly and perhaps even directly competitively comparing these little amps to the ASR Emitter II $35k and other far more costly and acclaimed amps which TAS thinks are the cat’s meow. Well, apparently TAS and perhaps Positive-Feedback also thinks the Nuforce Ref 9.02s are the cat’s meow.

I also own the APL 3910 and thoroughly enjoy its superior performance so I certainly am not attempting to slam APL here because it is a fantastic unit. In fact, I think it’s great that Alex, like Nuforce, is always improving the already superior sonics.

But just because these companies come out with an upgrade does not mean we have to jump on it. And if you feel cheated somehow, get over it. You obviously thought the product was worth the money when you bought it. So it’s only in your own head if you feel cheated that the mfg’er has now improved on it.

The point is, name one manufacturer who is giving you their very best. If you are being honest, you can’t. Simply because you do not know what their best is, nor their motives, nor their marketing strategies.

Nor can anybody fully comprehend the true or imagined compromising the mfg’ers face, nor can we fully understand their resulting interpretation and execution of those true or imagined compromises.

Try this one. Which of us as parents would love to do things differently with regard to raising our firstborn?

In other words, younger parents and younger companies have more opportunity and often times more eagerness to learn and grow. In fact, it is typically the younger parent or company who is more attentive and willing to attempt improvements when confronted with shortcomings and/or new technologies or concepts.

Furthermore, there are plenty of companies who have stopped giving their best. Any company that thinks it has arrived and need not continue to perform R&D and provide new improved product is a dying company. But I don’t see anybody ragging on them.

Nuforce’s methodology of revisioning may not be to your liking and that’s fine. But I’ll put the performance of a Nuforce Ref 9.02 amp up against any you’ve tried or even read about and it may very well do more than hold its own. And from the looks of it, the best is yet to come.

Moreover, we all seem to have become accustomed to Microsoft’s and many other software companies’ many upgrades and revisions. Why don’t you guys go rag on them next time your computer hangs? Truly their products are inferior to anything Nuforce makes.

Yet for some reason some of you think that Nuforce products alone should remain stagnant. And if they do not remain stagnant, they are admitting failure or worse for previous released products. That’s being unreasonable and just plain silly.

To bring things a little closer to home, how many of us have swapped out component after component, cable after cable, or even system after system seeking to improve the sonics? What’s so wrong if a company does that with their own products? Not that I am claiming Nuforce is doing that, but if they were, is that not simply illustrating tremendous enthusiasm and pride-of-ownership knowing that no matter how good they or anybody else may their product is today, they know they can do better and are not going to wait until next year. If they were doing this, where’s the crime? And if they are doing this, at the rate their going, 12 months from now there may not be an amp in the universe that can touch them performance-wise.

As one who grew up in GM country (Michigan) I am quite aware that certain companies actually design product to let the customers unknowingly beta test the product at their expense. I’m thinking at the moment of the 1984 Corvette that msrp’ed for $25k. One year later, owners couldn’t give them away. But even that is a bit speculative on my part and yes some to many have become wary of corporations that practice such things.

To anybody’s knowledge, Nuforce has done no such thing. Nuforce, like APL, has been very accommodating to owners to upgrade to the current revision at little and sometimes no cost except shipping. Try that with some other manufacturers or products in other industries.

I’ve never listened to a NuForce Ref. 8 amp, but as I recall that so-called inferior product received some pretty decent reviews. But I know of others (who know their stuff) who have listened and owned the 8s who actually appreciated its sonic qualities.

Make no mistake about it, the Nuforce amps are serious performers and at very reasonable if not extremely affordable prices. In fact, I’d be surprised if there exists an amp under the $10k price that could go toe-to-toe with these beautiful little guys.

I’ve not had the opportunity to audition the new Ref 9 SEs, but what if per chance they blow away all competition? I fear some of you would be right back here posting your little nasties about how Nuforce is constantly improving their product line.

By your reckless and rather silly reasoning you repeatedly attempt to put Nuforce on the hook and you won’t let them off. But they’ve done something here that is almost revolutionary; uncompromised performance, size, aesthetics, cooling, weight and at an almost unheard of price.

I can only imagine how some you must freak out thinking your mothers must have been cheated knowing they have a half-full box of Tide detergent in the laundry room only to see the new and improved Tide on the TV commercials.

-IMO
Yes, I am a relatively new Nuforce dealer. But I was an owner before I became a dealer. And I became a dealer because I could not afford to buy the company.