|
Random Noise 4
NuForce? Of course!
 Amplifiers:
kinds by the dozen, again as many makes. And
where would we be without them? Out and about,
wandering aimlessly.
“Hey, fella, you got a home to go to?”
“Yes, officer, –– sob! –– but I don’t have a
soundstage!”
Sacre bleu! Mon Dieu! Quelle horreur!
In balmy, sunlit truth, we audiophiles have a
cornucopia of amps from which to choose, from
silly-watt SETs to great hulking brutes
capable of instigating, and withstanding, rock
slides. As to soundstages, my most pleasurable
wanderings occur betwixt CDP and couch. A
parlor-specific milestone: some time ago, a
nifty little pair of NuForce Reference 9 SE
switching amps evicted my Mark Levinson 33H
monos. Do I miss the mastodons? Does the pope
chat in Yiddish? The folks over at the power
company have probably been wondering what
we’ve done to cut back on consumption.
Slumbering in standby, the ravenous MLs burned
200 watts each. No typo. 200 watts. In
standby. Each. Their appetites better than
doubled stage front. With respect to green,
think hemorrhage red. (With respect to long
green, think too much.)
What grabbed me from the start is the Ref 9
SE’s purity, or better, invisibility. “Purity”
isn’t a color one normally encounters on a
subjectivist’s palette, but it fits. This is
the least obvious amp I’ve ever lived with.
What you hear from your speakers is not some
hardware-spawned interpretation of good sound
but the recording itself. For me, that’s the
kind of tough-but-oh-so-gentle modesty that
touches on perfection. Spectacular neutrality,
dynamic subtlety, textural complexity,
muscular capability: what more can one askity?
In other words, how audible an improvement
does NuForce’s Version 2 amplifier board bring
to its top model?
Taking chances
And here’s where Jason and his Argonauts
navigate among shoals. With the understanding
that I’ll be writing a review, NuForce sent me
a pair of Reference 9 amps (the model one
notch below the Reference 9 SE) fitted out
with the new board. The plan is for me to live
with Ref 9 V2 pair while the Ref 9 SEs go back
for the changeover. Jason’s claim? –– that the
Ref 9 V2 is a better performer than the Ref 9
SE V1.
Before I weigh in on that, I’ll mention a V2
difference that makes my day. The new board
does not interfere with FM reception. That’s
been a problem. My wife and I have FMs in the
kitchen and our studios, and we like to play
them when we work. This meant having to turn
the amps off. Amps perform better if they’re
kept warm. Anyway, we audiophiles like to
think so. Also, the fewer start-up surges, the
longer our hardware’s trouble-free lives. We
like to think that too. The practices and
beliefs of the farther-out among us bear a
resemblance to cargo cult observances.
Enough of this foolishness! Does the new Ref 9
V2 best the Ref 9 SE V1?
Some challenges are tough
When I first put Version 2 of the Ref 9 pair
into the system, their transparency and clout
were instantly apparent. The impression has
not since diminished. This is the kind of
performance I’ve come to expect of NuForce
amps. Indeed, but is the Ref 9 V2 a better amp
than Version 1 of the Ref 9 SE? NuForce
claims, among other improvements, that the V2
board is 20dB quieter, with distortion in the
same ballpark. And yet my 9 SE V1 pair was
utterly quiet and clean. Be that as it may, in
the course of time, the Ref 9 V2 has revealed
itself as at least the equal of the Ref 9 SE
V1.
Memory’s a dodgy business, especially audio
memory. With respect to reliable perceptions,
an A-B procedure –– removing one pair amps,
installing another while trying to remember
how the test disc sounded –– is asking a lot.
Having tried to retain as faithful a
recollection as possible of the Ref 9 SE, I
can certainly recommend the less expensive Ref
9 V2 as an exemplar of those qualities I
cherish. Indeed, I wonder whether I’ll hear a
difference for the better when I install the
Ref 9 SE’s V2 version.
I’ve come this far before their arrival. While
I’m waiting, I’ve also been wondering how long
linear designs, with their brick and millstone
transformers, can withstand this kind of
Lilliputian competition. The NuForce pair
operates in elegant company: Wilson WATT /
Puppy 8 speakers, an Integris CDP, Nordost
cabling, Aurum’s mod of Cardas Golden
Reference power cords for the CDP and amps,
FIM 880 outlets and dedicated power lines,
among other effective embellishments and
tweaks. If these amps were out of their depth,
I’d hear it. (I describe the system in greater
detail at the end of my report.)
Enter, Special Edition
From the NuForce manual: The Ref 9 SE V2 “adds
refinement and delicacy to the already
excellent-sounding Ref 9 V2. The tonal balance
remains unaltered, and when used in less than
the most revealing and transparent systems,
the [SE’s] advantages may not be fully
realized.” My italics. In other words, don’t
spend the extra bucks if your thoroughbred
Arabians will be pulling a surrey with a
fringe on top. Once again, with even more
feeling, the less expensive Ref 9 V2 is one
hell of a performer.
The Big However: if your system’s up to snuff
–– a .44 Magnum resolver –– Nuforce asks you
to listen for “sweeter highs without any
compromise in frequency extension,” and a
“smoother and more palpable midrange, while
preserving [the Ref 9 V2’s] natural harmonic
structure. The result is a more natural and
relaxed presentation. The bass remains a huge
strength of the amp. The Ref 9 SE V2 has the
same tightness and texture of the standard Ref
9 V2, but with a little more weight.”
“The stage is more coherent and deeper.”
“[The] sound in general is more neutral, more
liquid….”
Does this square with perceptions? The first
thing I noticed long before the recommended
75-hour burn-in is the SE’s speed and dynamic
range. Transients were especially brisk.
Farther along, I understood that what I was
hearing in the way of difference had to do
with a lot more than velocity. I was awash in
the best resolution this system has ever
produced. To remain with best-ever, I was also
hearing sweeter and more extended highs. The
WATT / Puppy 8’s tweeter is said to be
superior to that of its predecessor. In this
regard, the 9 SE V2 complements a superb
speaker system. In revealing the W / P 8’s
remarkable top end, the new amp reveals its
own. (Pricewise, the amp and speaker occupy
different strata. If extravagant tickets drive
your purchases, the 9 SE V2 is not for you.
I’m reminded of Oscar Wilde’s line about the
man who knows the price of everything and the
value of nothing.)
Do the manual’s claims regarding a deeper,
more coherent soundstage, superior neutrality,
midrange liquidity and palpability translate
to my listening room? Let me put it this way:
Attempting to decide whether the 9 V2
outperforms the 9 SE V1 proved a challenge. I
think, perhaps, yes, the 9 V2 carried the day.
In deciding whether the 9 SE V2 contributes to
the best sound this system has ever produced
is no challenge whatever. I’m particularly
impressed by what’s happened to an already
good soundstage. Enhanced dimensionality and
palpability, which, together, pull one into
the music, are perhaps the Ref 9 SE V2’s
outstanding strengths.
Jason Lim is willing to say this much about
the new board:
“Several
enhancements are responsible for improvements
in sonic quality. By studying the thermal
image of our V1 amplifier, we’ve been able to
optimize the location of several
heat-generating components for faster and more
even heat dissipation. Also, heat is now
conducted to the amp’s top cover rather than
the bottom, as was the case with V1.
“The differential feedback loop from
the speaker now floats at the power supply’s
midpoint. V2 further optimizes the bias point,
thus improving the op amp’s performance. The
result is an increase in power output.
“Judicious component placement and shorter
signal paths also contribute to V2’s
superiority over V1. RF emission and noise
have been significantly reduced. With respect
to our technology’s uniqueness, we’ve been
issued four patents with two more pending. Not
bad for a small company!”
Last word
The Reference 9 V2 is a great amp by any
measure (and I’ll bet it measures like a
dream). In Jason Lim’s opinion, the Reference
8.5, with which I’ve had no experience, is a
true ’phile item at a most attractive price. I
cannot confirm. However, as impressed as I am
by the Ref 9 V2, I’m in love with the Ref 9 SE
V2. I don’t see how amplification can get much
better than this. Different, certainly, which
is why so much zealous partisanship informs
perfectionist audio. If you’ve a hi-rez system
and value verisimilitude, the Reference 9 SE
V2 belongs on your short list.
As a clincher to all the above, I’ve recently
installed Nordost’s Tyr speaker cables in
preparation for a review which will include
Tyr interconnects. The Tyr speaker cable, one
notch down from the company’s top line,
Valhalla, has an MSLP of $5400 for the
two-meter pair I’m using. Tyr provides another
opportunity to repeat a point: the Ref 9 SE V2
will not be challenged, gainsaid or outdone.
Body, resolution, transparency, micro- and
macro-dynamic capability have all been
enhanced. And the amps cost less than the
cables.
The MSLPs for the Reference V2 line: 8.5,
$2500 / pair; 9, $3500 / pair; 9 SE, $5000 /
pair. (The amps are available singly at half
these prices.) The 9 SE comes with a five-year
warranty, the 8.5 and 9 with three-year
warranties.
V2 upgrades for the Ref 9 V1 and Ref 9 SE V1
are available at the difference in price
between the old and new units. Because the Ref
8.5’s V2 version is rated at 200 watts per
channel as compared with the V1’s 100W per,
the upgrade comes to $400. For particulars,
www.nuforce.com.
Postscript
Haven’t you been short-changed? I refer to an
absence: the litany of discs and revealing
moments within that help the reviewer to
arrive at conclusions. And that, dear friends,
is a mercy to you. In order to judge a review
component’s capabilities (and as a matter of
taste), I play “acoustic” recordings, i.e.,
recordings of music performed in simultaneity
within a single, coherent space. So long as
the recording aspires to sound as we know it
in life, those aspects that identify the Ref 9
V2 and Ref 9 SE V2 as extraordinary sustain
themselves from disc to disc, however
different one production is from the next.
The system: Wilson WATT / Puppy 8 speakers;
Aurum Acoustics’ Integris CDP player-preamp (www.AurumAcoustics.com);
Nordost Valhalla balanced interconnects,
Nordost Valkyrja speaker cables
(discontinued), as well as the Tyr speaker
cables mentioned above; three Aurum Acoustics
mods of Cardas Golden Reference power cords;
four FIM 880 duplex outlets on four dedicated
power lines; a Richard Gray’s Power Company
1200S line conditioner occupying the duplex
that feeds the Integris CDP (a story there,
for later). The CDP sits on a quartet of
EquaRack Multi-Mount Footers atop a 17-1/2 x
12-1/2-inch Golden Sound DH pad (a new
product); and under the amps, quartets of
VibraPod / VibraCone combos.
Disc treatment: In Random Noise 3, I cover a
trio of effective devices from Acoustic
Revive: the RD-3 Disc Demagnetizer, the RIO-5
II Negative Ion Generator, and the RGC-24
Grounding Conditioner. They remain at Sound
Central as part of the Upward-and-Onward
Suite. For information, go to the Japanese
company’s American distributor at
www.LotusGroupUSA.com.
Recommended recording
 Just
one. (I spent most of my time with the amps.)
Walt Mundkowsky, a LaFolia.com colleague, put
me on to a Guillermo Gregorio release on a
label I had not heard of. The Chicago-based
reed player, whose music I got to know on a
succession of superb hatART releases, has long
been a favorite. Chicago Approach, Nuscope CD
1019 (www.nuscoperec.com),
features Gregorio, clarinet; Pandelis
Karayorgis at a Steinway D piano; and Nate
McBride’s double-bass. In the ensembles in
which Gregorio participates as leader, art
music meets cool jazz. Fortes occur as rare
events, and atonality flirts throughout. The
disc’s fifteen numbers (nine trio
collaborations, two by Karayorgis, two by
Gregorio) have been appropriately recorded
(Mary Gaffney, engineer; Alan Bise / Acoustic
Digital, mixing and mastering). The sound is
warm and intimate, exactly what the music
requires. The players are with you in the
room. I’ll be returning to Russell Summers’
Nuscope label soon. A delightful discovery.
Thank you, Walt!
|
