I wonder when (what serial Number) the 9.02 revision happened? Is Ref8 going to receive the same mods?
So the 9.02 still has the RFI problem;
"I had one quibble with the 9.02s—they leak RF from all over their cases. No wiring hookup could fix this. No matter where I placed my indoor antenna, even up to fifty feet from the NuForce amps, my tuner was affected. FM will sound distorted unless you use an outdoor antenna. NuForce needs to fix this!"
I just brought home a set of 9's this past weekend from my part-time job. We've had these puppies for only a few weeks now so they are quite recent revisions...unlike the first set we had these have no turn on weirdness, just a small click.
BUT, my Magnum Dynalab tuner (with an outdoor antenna connected via RG-6QS ) is unusable even on strong signals and my 1998 Audible Illusions Modulus 3A does not like the amps at all.
The FM signal is overlaid with a layer of constant white noise type static...I was wondering why the FM sounded so funny until there was a break in the music and the hissing was incredible. We have a really good classical station here that uses very minimal signal processing if any, and it really sounded harsh, bright, all screwed up, until the music stopped...the static continued...I thought that maybe they were playing an old piece of music rescued from 78's and that was the readon for the static....then the announcer began to speak and his voice was slightly obsucred by the static......nope...it was the NuForces.
The Modulus 3A also seems vulnerable to whatever the unit is emitting and can not be used in it's higher gain position, it, too, picks up this hissing noise.
I grabbed a set of the Shunyata "Snakebite" AC cables to use with these amps...these are 100% shielded AC cables...i figured that perhaps these would help with radiated noise...
It could also be the issue of using Nordost Valkyra speaker cables with these amps...if any of the HF switcing noise IS present on the speaker outputs then these cables seem like they'd act like a pretty good antenna!
And...if you expect to use these amps with something like, ohh, I don't know, something like my Martin Logans, and expect the speakers to self power down at night...well, don't hold your breath! I woke up this AM and their red LED's were shining bright...and the preamp had been muted all night long...so, there's some small amount of current flowing thru these things that prevent the ML's from powering down. While this might actually be helpful for the ML's sound, it's awfully dry and dusty down here in Central Texas right now and anything I can do to keep dust of my panels is something I need to do...
Their sound, though, playing CD's or LP's, is pretty good...I don't really think that the units can compete with the better tube amps out there that I have heard, but they have some balls to 'em.
The high end is quite good, even thru electrostats....it's not harsh or grainy, but really, really "illuminated"...in fact, that's really my impression of the amps, IN MY SYSTEM, they are "Illuminated" and seem to make the music say "Look at me!" instead of "sit back, kick your shoes off, set a spell".....This could be related back to the Valkyra's, they defintely do not have a Cardas sound to them! If these amps had shown a bit more promise then perhaps I would start playing with cables....but.....while cables can really tune a system and bring out it's best sound I don't know if they'd attenuate the RFI enough to really make a difference....
The best amps, that I have heard in my system were a set of Pass Labs Aleph monoblocks closely followed by my own (but now sadly sold) set of BEL 1001 MkIII's monoblocks....unfortunately with the RFI interference issues of the Ref 9's they are going to have to be placed farther down the list....if I can't enjoy all my sources then what's the point in having them?
So, its VERY IMPORTANT for someone to carefully audition these units in their own systems and see if they are going to work for you or not....I really wanted these guys to work for me as it would be nice to have some energy efficient amps around here with all the heat we have in Texas...I mean, it's been in the 80's around here lately! We actually have only two seasons here, Summer and NotSummer....and right now it's not summer....in the summer even running something like a Dyna ST-70 puts out enough heat to make the den a bit too toasty and keeps the central AC running a bit too long...so, that's the reason for my search for an efficient means of amplification....
Guess that I'll have to bring home the new Spectron and see what it does....but sheesh, that thing's expensive.....oh well, just something else to lust after that I can't have! Or just get my Lowther DX-55's rebuilt and go back to 3-1/2 watt SET's and Third Rethms....
Bottom line:
Nice compact, powerful amps that sound sublime in other systems, just not mine. And yes, I have heard them sound that way....The potential is there...lose the RFI and they could be a contender for me...
These opinions are mine and mine alone. They do not represent any dealer or manufacturer. I could very well be wrong about everying I have said. This is worth exactly what it cost you. The consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like an asshole. If you need help, call your mom. If you're in trouble, call the FBI. For a good time, call Candy.
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