nuforce Ref 9 SE V3 vs wyred 4 sound STI 1000

Art, interesting, which one do you prefer, the W4S STI-1000 or the Cary SLI80?

I am extremely impressed with the Wyred STI-500. Liquid, detailed, grain-free, powerful, lifelike, refined. Bear in that I'm using one of the original Lessloss power cables, which in my experience so far seem to make all amps sound a huge increment better.

Given that, I could keep the Wyred and be very happy. Period. I'm inclined to keep the Cary because it is a hint more lifelike, even that it's bass is sloppier. But this is a tough decision that requires soul-searching, and I've never had that experience with solid state before.

Again I need to emphasize that I am NOT separating the experience of the amp and the power cable. Would I have been happier with Plinius, Rowland, other solid state in the past with the Lessloss? I assume so, but don't know to what extent.

In the past, solid state amps always sounded grainy to me, even expensive ones. The other exception is my recent testing of the Ayre integrated, which sounded very lovely, but lacked the power I need (and does not come in black!).

Art

I ended up purchasing a Wyred for sound st-1000 and like Artmlatman use it with a lessloss cord. I am very happy with the results.

Very interested in A-B comparisons with these amps too. Both are on my shortlist, but I live in Australia, so very hard to audition. At the moment I'm going with the highly praised combo of a Peachtree iDecco with Gallo Strada and T3 sub. Audience AU24 cables, and Synergistic Research Precision AC Basik, Chang Lightspeed X Series H1 conditioner. Looking for more power, less sibilance, more warmth. I love the resolution and speed of the Gallo's but miss some richness.

I cannot comment on the W4S amplifier but I have owned both the Ref 9V2 SE as well as the Ref 9V3 SE and they are fantastic amplifiers.

The RFI issues were resolved with the Ref 8 or 8.5 iteration. I have never had any RFI issue of any sort.

The V3 SE is best described as nimble and smooth in my opinion. It is extremely extended on both ends of the frequency spectrum, and VERY revealing without becoming fatiguing (at least with my associated components).

The sound stage certainly became larger with the V3 SE over the V2 SE as alluded to by Vicdamone. The V3 presents music in a more integrated manner than the V2 SE, which is to say it's more musical in my experience.

Good luck with your decision.