[ecruz]

After owning many different systems over the past 20 yrs or so, I’m coming to the realization that what I like most (at least right now) is lifelike dynamics, the kind that will make you jump.

I owned Maggies for several years. I love their big open sound, but missed the “punch” of dynamic speakers. About 3 yrs ago I went to Vandersteen’s, currently 3A’s. They still have that open sound and do offer some “punch”, not a ton, but some. Going to Nuforce amps gave the Vandies a little more kick, but I’m still missing the lifelike dynamics that I’ve heard with some horn speakers.  I love my Nuforce amps and don't plan to get rid of them. 

My question is, do Nuforce amps go well with horn speakers?

[Double Ugly]

You may want to consider auditioning a pair of NuForce's S-9 speakers. 

I've not heard them, but I own speakers designed by the same guy (Bob Smith).  If the S-9s are anything like SP Technology speakers (and I suspect they are), dynamics won't be an issue.

Nor will questions of amp/speaker compatability. 

[woodsyi]

My question is, do Nuforce amps go well with horn speakers?

May be, may be not.  One thing I think even Jason would agree is that most Horn loaded speakers don't need the kind of power Nuforce amps bring.    I would go with DU's suggestion and go in house with S9s, which I assume was designed with Nuforce amps in mind. 

[rustydoglim]

I personally use 3 S-9 at home for LRC. Perfect for 2 channel and home theater
One of the main objectives for S-9 was to develop an audiophile quality speaker for home theater.

A lot of pure horn speakers have high efficiency (in the 90s db). S-9 is not a high eff. speaker (89 db).  The SP Tech design is the best of both world.
Bob wrote a long technical paper on S-9:  http://www.nuforce.com/Speaker-Technology.htm

Robert Green also wrote a measurement test of S-9 as his follow up review:
http://www.regonaudio.com/NuForce%20S9%20Measurement%20Supplement.html

[Karsten]

Real horn loading does by nature introduce problems, the waveguide just picks out the good parts of the horn technology and leave out the problem area.

I also have the Ref9 S9 combo here, if you want good realistic dynamics, this is definitely a proper path to persue.

Karsten

[Rocket]

Hi Jason,

Just thought I'd let you know that I had a listen to the Nuforce s9 speakers today and I was quite impressed with their sound.  Whilst they sounded a bit different to my War Audio speakers they did have a magic midrange.  I read in the 6 moons review that the top end was recessed but I do not agree as I believe all the details are still there and it blends seemlessly with the midrange.  If I could provide some feedback I thought the bass was a little too weighted but this is only of minor criticism.

Whilst I live in one of the most isolated Cities in Australia I have listened to numerous speakers over the years and the s9's are one of the best commercial made speakers i've heard for the price.

I was that impressed I have bought them for my main system.

Regards

Rod

[John Casler]

Hi Jason,

Just thought I'd let you know that I had a listen to the Nuforce s9 speakers today and I was quite impressed with their sound.  Whilst they sounded a bit different to my War Audio speakers they did have a magic midrange.  I read in the 6 moons review that the top end was recessed but I do not agree as I believe all the details are still there and it blends seemlessly with the midrange.  If I could provide some feedback I thought the bass was a little too weighted but this is only of minor criticism.

Whilst I live in one of the most isolated Cities in Australia I have listened to numerous speakers over the years and the s9's are one of the best commercial made speakers i've heard for the price.

I was that impressed I have bought them for my main system.

Regards

Rod

Hi Rod,

How is everything down there?

The other good news, (I'm assuming you have a NuFORCE dealer down there) is the Ref9 V2, is dangereously good.

The standard Ref 9 was not quite as good as my Son of AMPzilla in a couple areas (basically the midrange), but the V2 has changed all that, and with my speakers, the V2 is a very formidable amp.

If you get a chance to audition a pair, give it a try.

And the V2 might have just an "ever so slight" advantage in the HF's, so it should mate well with the S-9.

[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

Minor update.  I have the nuforce s9's at home in my system since Thursday night.  The bass is a lot better in my home and has better definition and articulation as compared to the environment at War Audio.

I'm pretty impressed with their sound at this stage. 

I think these are the review pair from 6 Moons as I bought them as demo stock .  The reviewer left the xover on top of the speaker and the lacquer is marked.  Any ideas how I can remove the marks without damaging the speakers?  Also going to buy stillpoint speaker stands to match the speakers.

Regards

Rod

[rustydoglim]

The speaker cabinet is all real wood. So you can lightly sand it (use super fine sand paper) and then spray lacquer on it (or just apply thick layer of wax).
Hey, or spary paint some graphcis on it 

[Duke]

Hello ecruz,

It depends on the speakers.

Horn speakers may or may not be designed specifically to work well with high output impedance specialty tube amps.   If they are, that doesn't necessarily mean they won't work well with NuForce amps - it depends on the impedance curve and/or the "voicing" of the speakers.

About a year ago I designed two waveguide speakers giving high priority to compatibilty with high-output-impedance tube amps.  To make sure I wasn't painting myself into a corner, I used a NuForce IA-7 as a test reference.   What I found was that the impedance curve of the loudspeaker had to be kept very smooth to avoid a tonal balance shift when going from the high output impedance tube amp to the NuForce amp.   For a while I was afraid that I'd have to offer two different versions of the crossover, but by keeping the impedance at 10 ohms plus or minus 20% the tonal balance shift is just barely audible and imho insignificant.

On the other hand, if the hornspeakers (or any other speakers for that matter) have significant peaks and valleys in their impedance curve (don't worry about the bass tuning impedance peaks for now), then their tonal balance will change significantly according to amplifier type.  In that case, you need to call the speaker manufacturer and see what he says.  Typical loudspeaker impedance curves can give you 3 dB or more variation in the midrange depending on the output impedance of the amplifier.

Bass response is affected by the amplifier's output impedance, and you might need to adjust the bass tuning if the speaker was tuned for a high-output-impedance tube amp.

I use my IA-7 regularly on my waveguide speakers, and typically use a bit shorter port (higher tuning frequency) than when I use a high-output-impedance tube amp. 

As far as NuForce amps being overkill power-wise, I have a friend who uses 100 watt per channel Class A solid state amps on 107 dB efficient hornspeakers.  And no, he doesn't listen loud - he just really really hates anything remotely approaching clipping. 

Duke

[ecruz]

The speakers I'm trying are The Hornshoppe Horns.  8 ohm, no crossover, back loaded horn.  An AMAZING speaker.  I simply can't believe the sound that comes out of this single, 4 inch driver.  When I put my Vandersteen 3A's back in, it's obvious that the Horns don't have the extension at the frequency extremes, but holy cow do they sound coherent, realistic, musical and they go loud.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to keep them.  I may have to change too many things in my system to make them work properly, but man am I impressed.

[samtheman]

Hi,I  just buy Nuforce ia-7v2 and I use Acuhorn Nero 125 speakers.Working quaite good,litle tweaks been done both.My cdp is Copland cda-289 and wires are Magnan Ref.speaker cables ,intterconects are Zu Varial
power cords are Supra Lorad whit Furutec plugs
Best regards here in Finland Samtheman