[rustydoglim]

How would you compare Nuprime to Nuforce, restaurant-wise?

Very good question. Nuforce was a high end restaurant that served mainly 2 items on the menu: Ref 9 series and entry level products like DDA amps.

Nuprime is a creative high end restaurant where the chef come up new menu every year. The Ref 9 series have evolved into IDA-16, ST-10.
New amps such as AMG, STA-9X, Evo STA, Evo One/Two, MCX series all have different designs.

[mresseguie]

Hopefully this will help:

I have owned both the ST-10 and IDA-16.  The ST-10 wasn’t powerful enough for my 82.5dB speakers, so I sold it. I no longer recall its sound. I had the IDA-16 in my bedroom for a couple years and quite liked it in that room. I bought an EVO STA (dual mono) about a year and a half ago, and the other two amps simply don’t compare to it. I love how it sounds (and looks). I’ve paired it with a tube preamp as well as a Dac-9x, and powered 96.5dB and 87dB speakers. It is an excellent amplifier.

Michael

[zappan]

I have owned both the ST-10 and IDA-16.  The ST-10 wasn’t powerful enough for my 82.5dB speakers, so I sold it.

Whoa! Really?
I had my dealer demoing ATC speakers with both STA-9 and ST-10 amps, with series 9 and 10 DACs/Preamps, and I've had a chance to hear it on a few occasions, I never felt lack of power.
And ATCs are really low sensitivity (and, apparently, current-demanding), 85dB by the spec, while some reviewers reported measuring them down to around 82dB.

[seikosha]

Whoa! Really?
I had my dealer demoing ATC speakers with both STA-9 and ST-10 amps, with series 9 and 10 DACs/Preamps, and I've had a chance to hear it on a few occasions, I never felt lack of power.
And ATCs are really low sensitivity (and, apparently, current-demanding), 85dB by the spec, while some reviewers reported measuring them down to around 82dB.

With the same speakers and even in the same room, one person could tell you that a 100 watt amp doesn’t give them enough power while another will say that their 25 watt amp is just fine.  People have different listening habits.

[mresseguie]

With the same speakers and even in the same room, one person could tell you that a 100 watt amp doesn’t give them enough power while another will say that their 25 watt amp is just fine.  People have different listening habits.

Good point, seikosha!

Whoa! Really?
I had my dealer demoing ATC speakers with both STA-9 and ST-10 amps, with series 9 and 10 DACs/Preamps, and I've had a chance to hear it on a few occasions, I never felt lack of power.
And ATCs are really low sensitivity (and, apparently, current-demanding), 85dB by the spec, while some reviewers reported measuring them down to around 82dB.

Yes. Really. I still own that pair of 82.5dB speakers (Fritz Loudspeakers LS 5/R) because I like how they sound, and I have powered them with several different amplifiers over the years. I don't listen loudly because of aging ears and less than ideal acoustics in that room. Oh, sure. I could stick them in a small bedroom, and even a 100w amp would get them screaming, but they're in our living room. The dimensions are approximately  30' L x 12' W x 8' H. The floor, walls and ceiling are all concrete - though my wife permitted me to place a rug on the floor. Someday, I would like to power them with my EVO STA amp....I suspect they would sound wonderful together.

[zappan]

Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean to say it wasn't the case, I was just quite surprised.
30' is quite a long room, that's for sure.

[AllanS]

I don't listen loudly because of aging ears and less than ideal acoustics in that room.

If you don’t mind me asking, what do you consider not loud and what amp / pre pairing are you referring to that perform well?
 Soon as I finish getting the room sorted I’ll likely replace the amp and pre.  One of my main goals is relatively low SPL listening SQ, which for me is mid 60’s dB average at 7 ft w/ 90 dB speakers.  I’m a bit obsessed with the EVO DAC / STA but a 9X or AMG stack is probably more realistic.