NuForce Reference 8 vs. 9

I think the Reference 8 amps will have enough power to drive the Gallos in your size room. That said, I own both the Ref 8s and Ref 9s and the Ref 9s are fuller in the lower registers and provide more bass impact (regardless of speaker sensitivity).

I'm driving the Ref 9s with a Benchmark DAC1 through a unity-gain, passive-buffered (solid-state) preamp with fantastic results.

In another system with the Reference 8s I'm using a Monarchy Audio M24 tube DAC (with built-in tube linestage) directly into the Reference 8s with excellent results (great bass too).

I have a friend who swears by NuForce's own P-8 preamp, which is supposed to be very good, although I haven't tried it myself. The selection of the preamp depends on your own taste and listening biases, but great results can be achieved via different routes.

Plato, I see you have owned the Monarchy SE160's. I own the SE250 and wonder how these Newforce amps sound compared to Monarchy. My concern is the Newforce amps may lack the body, texture and lushness on the Monarchy amps. Are these Nuforce amps on the sterile side of the sound spectrum? I now they can sound effortless,clean and transparent, but what about rounded notes and body?

Thanks for your help.

Bill

Driving my 9.02s with tubed ARC LS5MKIII with GNSC Ref mod.

Note 8s are now 8.5s. My audition of 8s was impressive and easily drove my 93db/w/m speakers. Hard to say what you'd hear due to preferred listening levels, etc.

Also, nobody mentions that the taper on the volume circuit/knob on preamps might mislead you. Some - maybe all? - use a non-linear log? taper, which means most of the gain is in the first bit of rotation. So you are led to think you have that much gain on the full turn but you don't, as it's 'runs out of gas' pretty quickly.

Techies - am I right about this? Newbies should be informed!

Bob Wood
http://www.GreatHomeTheater.com/stereo.html

Hi Bill,

I would say that the NuForce Reference 9 is a pretty neutral sounding amp. The Reference 8 sounds a bit thinner in the lower midrange and upper bass, and lacks bottom end weight and slam (though their bass articulation is excellent. The clarity and imaging of the Reference 9 is also first rate.

The Monarchy SE-160 amps (really the same amps as the SE-250, in mono form) definitely sounded lush and warm compared to the NuForce. Probably the midrange and highs on the Monarchy amp are a little sweeter but not quite as clear and detailed. And the bass control of the Reference 9 is demonstrably superior to the weighty but somewhat less articulate Monarchy amps.

I used my Monarchy SE-160s driving the midrange/tweeter panels of the InnerSound Eros, where they provided a very synergistic match. Using them full range, their lack of bass definition becomes more of a factor, in my view.

I just received the Monarchy M24 tube DAC for review and I can tell you it is a very impressive sounding unit. What I'd probably do is use the M24 to drive the NuForce Reference 9s and have the best of both worlds... You should take a peek on Monarchy's website.