[mresseguie]

I've had an IDA-8 since they first hit the market, and I have enjoyed it immensely. However, I said goodbye to it last week because I gave it to my son as a house warming gift.    I'm happy for him because I know it's a great all round all-in-one amplifier, and I'm sad because I'm really going to miss my trusty little amp.

Well, thanks to Black Friday/Cyber Monday discounts, I took the plunge and ordered a new IDA-16 to replace my old IDA-8. I'm pretty certain I'll get over my loss and will be thrilled with my new all-in-one amp.

I'd like to give a big high five to Jason Lim for bringing great products to market, and to John Casler for being such a helpful dealer. 

Thanks, guys!

[JackD]

Congrats Michaels, indeed a step up from the IDA-8.  If I remember correctly from what Mark Sossa told me when he was a dealer the preamp and DAC sections are the stars with that unit while the amp is a slightly cooler version of the ST-10.

[John Casler]

Hi Michael,

Glad to be of service, as you are always a NuPRIME supporter and great guy.  I still have a photo of you in the old Man Cave back in the day.

Quite a few people benefited from the Black Friday/Cyber Monday Specials, glad you were one of them. 

[kevb]

Congrats Michaels, indeed a step up from the IDA-8.  If I remember correctly from what Mark Sossa told me when he was a dealer the preamp and DAC sections are the stars with that unit while the amp is a slightly cooler version of the ST-10.

I have both the IDA-8 and IDA-16.  I agree with the assertion that the 16 is a cooler sounding unit; the 8 was a bit sweeter, albeit with less resolution. I put in an AMR fuse in the IDA-16, and it seemingly tipped the balance of the 16 back to neutral, with seemingly a touch more resolution and more of the "listen into the recording" factor.  I was using the 8 most of the time, but now it's relegated to the bedroom system. 

Oddly, the AMR fuses also worked well in the 8, where it seemed to add a bit of resolution and "meat to the bones" without altering the inherent sweetness and listenability of the 8.

[kevb]

I've had an IDA-8 since they first hit the market, and I have enjoyed it immensely. However, I said goodbye to it last week because I gave it to my son as a house warming gift.    I'm happy for him because I know it's a great all round all-in-one amplifier, and I'm sad because I'm really going to miss my trusty little amp.

Well, thanks to Black Friday/Cyber Monday discounts, I took the plunge and ordered a new IDA-16 to replace my old IDA-8. I'm pretty certain I'll get over my loss and will be thrilled with my new all-in-one amp.

I'd like to give a big high five to Jason Lim for bringing great products to market, and to John Casler for being such a helpful dealer. 

Thanks, guys!

Congrats!  I have the IDA-16 as well.  Could not bear to part with my IDA-8 however.   

[mresseguie]

kevb,

I actually came close to offering to sell my IDA-8 several months ago, but decided that gifting it to my son was the better choice. Then, just in the last month,  I very nearly offered to buy Big Red Machine's IDA-8 for my son so I could keep mine. Like you, I really like the IDA-8. I wonder if I'll miss it?

[swifri]

hi, i have an ida-16 too. nice unit driving some kef r5. this is a rare device @ local dealers and i had some luck to test a unit before buying.

[oskar]

I have an IDA-16 as well. I bought mine based on reviews and other owner comments.
I can't compare it to other units but it makes great music with my Tekton Lore S.

[27Kcd]

   There is no NuPrime  dealer to demo an IDA-16 in my location.
Aside from the remote, are there any informative pros and cons to report? Thanks-

[swifri]

Pro: Drove my former speakers so competently that i gave the IDA some more work to do and bought a pair of kef floorstanders. It said: Thank you.
Seriously: If u want to find to critizise something - there is one waf-thing: you must aim the remote control well at the amplifier.

[mresseguie]

Do any IDA-16 owners have suggestions for how to encourage a warmer sound out of the IDA-16?

I like the 200w/ch, and the amp is one sleek looking mother, but I miss the warmer sound of the IDA-8. If there were a 200w/ch IDA-8, I'd swap for it in a heartbeat.

I've tried powering my Daedalus Apollos and my Jeff Bagby Adelphos. It isn't a good match for my Apollos - though I hadn't expected it would be.

swifri: I noticed that issue with the remote. I need to bullseye the amp from my sitting position. It's not a big deal - just have to pay attention.

Michael

[rustydoglim]

We have been filling up the product lines with components so that we can get the sound characteristic and performance for each series right (9, 10, AMG, Evolution).  And then we move on to more integrated. 
But the issue with integrated is that it is not as customizable as component.  IDA-16 is designed to be very clean and neutral.
There is a warmer integrated coming out in Q3, 2020.

[mresseguie]

We have been filling up the product lines with components so that we can get the sound characteristic and performance for each series right (9, 10, AMG, Evolution).  And then we move on to more integrated. 
But the issue with integrated is that it is not as customizable as component.  IDA-16 is designed to be very clean and neutral.
There is a warmer integrated coming out in Q3, 2020.

Jason,

Thank you. I'll look forward to the product announcement. I've already contacted John Casler about possible options.

[Tan Raymond]

I just hope it will have enough oomph and clarity compared to Marantz PM11s3 (I'm having st10 & dac10). I've been comparing my dac and St 10 with my pm11s3 and found fatigue coming in after 1 hour, while I can listen to my Marantz the whole morning without any issues. It's not a put down, I'm just not used to it yet after years of trying. I like the bass and clarity but it too much of the good thingy, if you understand what I mean?  The PM11S3 is just a little to the warm side of neutral and it some how do very well in my room. I'll switch it in a whiff if it comes close. Problem is I have very little time to listen to my system and when I do it's only 2 to 3 hours, and I want very badly to relax and feel the music, which the Nuprime have not been able to capture.

[rustydoglim]

high end audio is about personal preference. There are many users who love the combination of DAC-10 and ST-10 (yes, these are very revealing) but some people prefer non-neutral sound.  From your description, you would love the AMG STA and DAC-10 combo.
Another alternative is to add AMG PRA (loudness settings) to your DAC-10+ST-10 setup.  You have a highly revealing system and it is difficult to make it warmer without reducing the details or changed the sound. 

I was going to suggest STA-9 with DAC-10, but you might miss the details of ST-10.  Making that little adjustment is hard to do.
Adding a tube preamp could also remove the details that you like. So taking all into considerations,  I think AMG PRA is the best bet.

[Tan Raymond]

Hi Jason, thanks for taking the time to write. As mentioned, it's not a put down, I'm just splitting hair here. I'll wait for the product announcement and see what's the general feedback. Thanks again.

[mresseguie]

I thought I ought to post a follow up on my situation.

After trying several different things wrt my IDA-16, and very nearly coming to the conclusion that this is not the right amp for my needs, my wife <out of the blue> suggested we place it in the master bedroom. [Background here: We've been married for nearly 30 years, and she has fought like a sabertooth tigress the idea of having audio or video in our bedroom.] Yet just a week ago, she said, "Hey. Let's stick the audio system in our bedroom and hook it up to the TV someone just gave us." I nearly fainted. Then, I made certain the woman standing beside me wasn't an imposter.

Well, I didn't want to lose an opportunity when it was presented to me, so I rushed around grabbing cables, a credenza, speaker stands, and the 'new' TV, and set it all up. Not only does it fit well in front of that wall, but it sounds great! I don't just mean the TV sounds great. I mean music sounds much better, too. [Okay. It's still a little on the analytical or neutral side than I prefer, but I can live with it.] I can rewire my speakers with OFC copper connecting wire to soften the music a bit if I want.

We've been watching one episode of "Victim's List" each night for the past four nights. We used to watch about two hours of TV/video per month, so one hour each night is a huge increase.

I told our son about where Mom suggested we place the audio + TV, and he was as shocked as I had been.

Our acoustic nightmare of a family room still has our old TV, one subwoofer, and a few cabinets. My wife still insists the TV must remain there because 'it's the family room' and everyone knows the family room must have a TV (no matter how horrible it sounds in that room).

Michael