|
Random
Noise 21
He’s writing about what?!
I freelance for NuForce, editing and such.
Consequently whatever I have to say about
NuForce products – in this case, the top
amp’s third iteration – is easily dismissed.
Highly suspect. Unethical. Just plain wrong!
Fair enough. I’m composing these remarks
before the Special Edition’s arrival. If,
farther along, I should happen to say the
new mono pair’s the greatest thing since
oxygen, I’ll surprise no one. Again, fair
enough. But would you settle for a
prediction? My good opinion will be shared
by a great many others with no NuForce
connection. I’d bet an eardrum.
Whence the optimism? Now and again I check
out NuForce.com to see what needs tidying up
– one of my responsibilities. Recently, more
as a matter of curiosity, I skimmed a pack
of amp reviews posted on the site and was
struck by a unanimity of opinion, with
particular regard to what qualities set
NuForce amps apart. NuForce has had a lot of
good press. I doubt the reviewers conferred.
From what I’ve heard about the V3 amplifier
board, it’s better than the very, very good
V2. But audibly better? We shall see. (Again
your suspicions go on the alert. As they
should. I understand. I do.)
And also this. I’ve largely declined offers
to cover products for which NuForce has
equivalents. By my admittedly curious
standards, that would be improper. To
explain “largely”: NuForce makes audio
cables. I’ve not tried them. My system is
cabled with Acoustic Revive, which I’m
disinclined to replace. I’ve covered a lot
of AR products here, enthusiastically by and
large. You’re still skeptical. But of course
you are. Read on, anyway, just for the hell
of it.
As mentioned, the “V3” tag on the R9V3SE (R
for Reference) mono identifies a revised
amplifier board, thus Version 3. I was
offered the opportunity to send in my V2
pair for a board replacement, but that would
have meant living with the old case. Having
fallen in love with a photo of the new look,
I chose to hold out. Also, I felt it prudent
to have the V2 amps on hand for comparison.
So, again, before the SE’s V3 arrival, I’ll
briefly restate my opinion of the R9V2SE as
a remarkable accomplishment – so remarkable,
in fact, that I wonder how it can be
improved upon. As is only fitting, I’ll
operate the R9V3SE under listening
conditions identical to those of its
predecessor, to wit:
Wilson Audio WATT / Puppy 8 speakers, Aurum
Acoustics Integris CDP (a too well kept
secret), and a raft of Acoustic Revive
products: virtual grounds for the amps and
CDP, five power cords, one pair of balanced
interconnects, two pairs of speaker cables,
two passive power-distribution boxes, four
cable lifters, dark and clear quartz-crystal
pucks, two quartz-crystal-based isolation
platforms, dummy plugs in vacant outlets,
outputs and inputs, two room-acoustic
panels, a disc demagnetizer, a negative-ion
generator, and a Schumann Resonance
generator. (A partridge in a pear tree is
due any day.) Nordost Quantum footers
substitute for the amps’ original feet. I’ve
covered a lot of this in Random Noise and
elsewhere.
The R9V3SE is en route. Meanwhile,
impressions of the R9V2SE monos: dead quiet,
exquisitely dynamic, texturally pristine,
harmonically luxuriant, feather-touch
subtle, gracefully muscular, yin-rich,
likewise yang, and as green a product as
exists in high-end audio – a pleasure in
every dimension, including the fifth and
maybe even the sixth. I mentioned when I
first wrote about NuForce amps – and had no
connection with the company – that they
sounded better than the power-devouring,
200-pound-per Mark Levinson 33H pair I’d
been using for several years. And that was
NuForce’s V1 version! (As an audiophile in
semi-good standing, I kept the elephantine
Levinsons in standby and only understood
what damage this luxury inflicted after
their departure. I still shudder when I
think of those utility bills.)
Have a cigar! Identical twins!
The R9V3SE duo is here. In muted, matte
silver. (The alternative is black.) The
handsomely sculpted façade is the work of a
London design firm, Kiwi and Pom. To remain
with predictions, this little beauty’s bound
to show up in a museum’s industrial design
section. (If anyone from MoMA is reading
this…)
I thought the price would be higher. Not so.
Still $5k / pair. NuForce’s Jason Lim was
quick to mention that, at $2300, the
200-watt-per-channel Stereo 8.5V3 is a
viable contender. I should think that
anything with the V3 board occupies that
category.
But let us not get ahead of ourselves.
This is a different beast. It’s the R9V3SE’s
midrange that initially commands one’s
attention. I’ve done a good deal of
listening. Early impressions have only grown
stronger. The V3 presents a gorgeously
textured midrange. Sweeter, certainly, and a
little warmer, that too perhaps, but my
overriding impression is one of harmonic and
timbral enrichment – easy, unforced
qualities that create a soundstage I can
best describe as the difference between a
good 3-D image and reality. Given the right
recording – always! – the presentation is
alive.
The midrange’s near-palpable textures extend
in both directions. Nothing about the low or
high end seems distinct from the middle. And
I don’t mean to imply a sense of gentility
or homogenization. The amp’s character is
that of the recording. Good orchestral
recordings, ranging as symphonic music will
do from mellow to raucous, remain intact
however loud the tuttis and crescendos. The
big moments don’t congeal – no mean
accomplishment! When I do hear congestion,
the blame lies with the production. Brasses
blare in their white-hot way, strings do
their silken thing, pianos sound as big as
life, vocalists stand there in your room…
For us sub-billionaires, $5k is an
attention-getting figure. Even so,
Audiophilia occupies a terrain wherein
amplifiers costing from several to many
times as much are as common as dandelions. I
wouldn’t hesitate to compare R9V3SE with the
best of them. I suspect that tubeniks might
be especially surprised, not to say
enchanted.
No need to go on. You probably don’t believe
a word of this. Just you wait…
Acoustic Revive platforms, again but
different
Like so many of Ken Ishiguro’s conceptions,
the man’s quartz-based isolation platforms
are unusual, and that puts it softly. Other
than size and recommended application, the
8-1/2” x 13-1/2” TB-38 and 15” x 19-1/2”
RST-38 are identical: a nicely designed base
framing a shallow depression, a bag of
smooth-edged quartz-crystal gravel of
varying size, and a lid. One empties the
gravel into the base, smoothes it over, and
applies the lid.
(Photos of and information about the
quartz-based isolation platforms have not
yet appeared on AR’s Web site. The recently
discontinued YST-64 speaker underboard
pictured here is identical in appearance to
the RST-38 and TB-38. Polypropylene and
quartz-crystal fill comprise the difference
between the YST-64 and RST-38.)
Ken Ishiguro wanted me to try two of the
large quartz platforms under my WATT /
Puppies. Eight hardy spikes separate the
Wilson pair from our carpeted, pumpkin-pine
floor (it’s an 1842 house). The spikes face
into small brass discs Wilson provides for
his fastidious clientèle. Dave and crew
would prefer to see customers set up their
speakers as intended, i.e., with spikes. My
guess is they frown upon gainsayers and
apostates. I didn’t exactly ask.
I’ve never had my WATT / Puppies at other
than their minimum recommended elevation,
which is to say that I’ve used none of the
speakers’ provided spacers. If I wanted to
check out the quartz platforms (I do! I
do!), I’d need to remove the spikes and
their locking nuts, leaving the plump
tapered pucks in place. The platform’s total
height (about 1-3/4”) is close to that of
the spikes. The blunt pucks would make
harmless contact with the platforms’ lids.
So that’s what I did. As a one-geezer
operation, getting the heavy Puppies on to
the platforms without inflicting damage or
popping a gut posed no challenge. Nary a
scratch nor ding, and my innards are where
they were. (I’ll describe the maneuver if
you’re interested. Email me.) With the
speakers’ top units replaced and cables
reconnected, I was ready to cringe or at the
very least send Wilson an apology for
departing the reservation.
Hallelujah! Amen and gesundheit! No need!
The speakers never sounded better. As a
bonus, I’m able to fuss about with
separation and toe-in with an ease the
spikes denied me, and that, my fellow
wingnuts, is a very big deal. Having angled
the speakers in from where they stood on
spikes, I’m getting a much more solid image.
And I’ve only just begun!
Which brings us to procedure, or better, its
absence. An A/B comparison – spikes versus
platforms – is impractical. Enough that I’m
familiar with the room and the new amps and
hear nothing going on I could possibly
describe as a diminution. Quite the
contrary, matters have improved, and if
quartz has anything to do with it, that’s
just peachy. Overall, Ken Ishiguro’s ideas
about good sound have made their mark here.
While I hesitate to describe myself as a
true believer, I’d certainly plead guilty to
being an enthusiast.
Inventory and epilogue
One TB-38 platform supports two AR
power-distribution boxes behind the low
cabinet on which the system’s electronics
sit. Two more TB-38 platforms and a quartet
each of Nordost Quasar points hold the
NuForce monos aloft. The CDP reposes on an
RST-38 platform. And under the speakers two
more of the same, for a total of six quartz
isolation platforms, three small, three
large.
I don’t understand much about physics or
electronics, less about the exotica that
populates the fringe. I do understand that
I’m getting great sound. How to itemize what
accounts for one’s sweet-spot delight is a
challenge I’ll never be up to. And I’ll
never go back to spikes.
US prices: TB-38, $725 / RST-38, $1100. For
information,
LotusGroupUSA.com.
Postscript
To return briefly to Acoustic Revive’s RR-77
Schumann Resonance Generator and the KingRex
power supply I recommend as an improvement
over the RR-77’s provided wall wart: I
mentioned that the PSU’s North American
distributor, Audio Magus (AudioMagus.com),
will replace the basic PSU’s flimsy 3.5mm
output fitting with a sturdier equivalent. I
didn’t include the fee, $35. (The more
expensive Mk II version includes a Neutrik
XLR output fitting as a welcome bit of
overkill.)
|
