[emess18]

Steven Stone commented in his review in TAS:

"...At 50W RMS (8 ohms) the DDA- 100 is far better suited for speakers, even desktop speakers, that are at least 88dB sensitive. With some of my less sensitive monitors, such as the Aerial Acoustics 5B’s (86dB), I could hear the amplifier section beginning to strain during dynamic peaks. And because the DDA-100 is such a low-noise device (true 95dB S/N from digital input to analog power output) variations from its optimal operating range were readily apparent..."

Sranja in the 6moons.com review noted"

"...Real music has curves. That was a reader who'd bought a DDA-100 on 30-day return privilege before my review finalized. He found it "flat as a pancake"..."I had exactly the same response. In another review I described it as "that endless Pizzicato Symphony for three sewing machines: lean, centered on the leading edge with insufficient engagement of follow-up body, edge-rimmed like shadow-play cutouts, tonally bland and in general whitish, stale and flat" ..."(It) wanted more inefficient speakers; lower recorded levels; larger listener distances; and higher playback levels all to strategically diminish digital attenuation and prevent it from exceeding a certain value below which things started to jump ship. Were I made of sterner stuff and/or had properly hard-of-hearing speakers... I'd condense all the above into one brief paragraph and come out swinging with the remainder. But to my mind an amp that must be played quite louder than I want before it sounds any good has real issues..."

One reviewer wants higher efficiency speakers, the other wants lower efficiency speakers.  I was planning to buy one and feed it from iTunes (Apple Lossless) through an Airport Express and Toslink cable into my 94dB - 4 ohm Legacy Audio speakers.  Is a puzzlement!!

[fredgarvin]

A review from TNT Audio:

As the sounds get heavier – and sticking with a guitar theme I tried some Steve Vai, the Passion and Warfare album. Listening to that I wondered if the sound was not as dynamic as I know it can be. It's maybe a little bit polite. I know the bass and snare drums on this material can really kick – and on the most dynamic systems that can be quite tangible. But here it seemed a little evened out. The bass went deep and there was plenty of power there but it didn't really kick. By comparison to the incredibly dynamic Wyred4Sound integrated I reviewed recently, it didn't have the ability to deliver changes in dynamics in a nanosecond. When you listen to a live band, the speed and intensity of the snare and bass drum have a physical impact that it is difficult to reproduce with a hi-fi. The W4S kit can come close because of the speed of its transient response. But this is setting the bar very high for the nuforce which has compensating strengths in terms of its natural, easy presentation.

Natural is the first word that comes to mind from the period I spent with this amp in my system. It didn't sound like vinyl but neither was it hard or etched as budget digital can sometimes be. It was fairly dynamic without being overly forward and smooth without lacking detail. Overall, an exceptionally refined and well-judged sound.

The output is rated at 50 watts into 8ohms. It wasn't enough to drive my low sensitivity Usher standmounts but that's not a fair test. It was easily able to drive my Acoustic Energy AE509's (91dB efficient) to uncomfortable levels without evidence of strain. It does offer 250 watt peak output, so with the right speakers there should be no lack of dynamic capability although the listening tests suggest that dynamism may be constrained by the amp's speed of delivery. As ever, speaker matching is important and I suspect, the more sensitive the speakers the better the DDA-100 will perform.

http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/nuforce_dda100_e.html

[John Casler]

OK All,

Take my comments with a grain of salt (since I am both a NuFORCE Dealer and the HIGH END Advisor), but I just unboxed and wired up the Show Sample DDA-100 to a Pair of 8 year old VMPS RM-1 speakers and used a Denon DVD player for a transport.  Want to get a little "burn in" time on it.

I don't care what any of the reviewers said, in this configuration after an hour of playing and burn in, all I can say is W-O-W!!!!

No, it isn't as good as my $5000 Ref-9 SE v3 monoblocs, but I don't know of anything below $3k that will blow it out of the water.

I have all my reference cuts playing and it was like a LAYS amp.  I listened to one cut and ended up listening to all 18 cuts!!!!  I couldn't listen to just one

No let downs.

High Points:

1) Highs through the VMPS Spiral Ribbon Tweeter are exceptional and THAT was with the grills ON.

2) Mids are natural and smooth.

3) Soundstage is DEEP and WIDE with all the sounds spread "CLEANLY" around the stage without mushing together as the volume was turned up.

4) BASS - Just like all the bass from all NuFORCE amps this too is at the top o' the heap.  Clear, deep, impactful, and dynamic.  My chair and table were MOVING from the bass.

Am I impressed?   Yesiree Bob.

This little monster plays WAY ABOVE its price point and Power Rating. 

This is one HOME RUN by NuFORCE.

WOW again.

YMMV depending on speaker and source, but with what I have this little dynamo hooked up to, it is UNREAL good (for $549 are you kidding?)

[ajayrav]

I completely agree with your assessment.  Mine is driving inefficient morel Octave 5.2 bookshelves (83 db/W/m) and doing a fantastic job.  It replaced a $5K DAC amp combo and was better at almost a tenth of the price.  Unreal value!   However, this is used in a living room system which is never really cranked up.  I should try this amp with my other speakers.... just haven't gotten round to it!

Ajay

[Steven Stone]

Given the brief snippits (what is that psychobabble from six moons?) you used, you might think I didn't like the NuForce. Perhaps you should read this too - http://audiophilereview.com/cd-dac-digital/if-i-had-1000-to-spend-on-an-audio-system.html

[hoxuanduc]

Spending $200 worth of cables on $130 pair of speakers? I would choose a better pair of speakers and go with cheaper cables. Also, for a $1000 system DIY kits (esp. speakers) would give more bang for the buck.

Duc

[JLM]

I'm still scratching my head over the DDA-100.  In 40 years in and out of audio I've never read so many polarizing reviews of a piece.

Have to agree with SS on one point, I can barely decipher what 6moons reviewers are really trying to say.  I won't question their credentials but their thick/obtuse language severely hinders the usefulness of their reviews. Not to dumb down society (anymore than we already are) but I was taught to write is as simple of language as possible while still getting the exact concept across.  Guess they took writing for poets, not for business.

[jacozz]

Another review:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/amplifier-reviews/nuforce-dda-100-review/

Note:

As good as the DDA-100 was, we did notice one flaw: The NuForce amp seemed to prematurely truncate the harmonic envelope and trailing edges from acoustic instruments.

I was thinking, maybe this thing just do it to well?
Meaning; we are used to hear a some colorations through all the stages of amplifying, but with the DDA 100 it just one analog stage at the output stage?
Ergo: It sounds "to clean" to most folks and a bit "dead".

Hmm... Maybe this thing would work better in a room that is lively, (the typical minimalistic modern type), than your typical treated audiophile room?
Maybe the perceived lack of decay would then be compensated for by the acoustics of a lively room? Or maybe I'm overthinking this... 

[timind]

I've been curious about this amp for a while now. After reading several reviews I'm still curious but scratching my head. I have no problem with a less than stellar review, especially with a piece that does all the DDA-100 does for the $.
What's got me scratching my head are the pics of the interior posted in the 6moons review. Anybody else notice the ICE module used in one sample?

[viggen]

I have the amps for quite a few months now driving a rather inefficient monitor speaker, Linn Kan MK1.

When I first got it set up, I was using monoprice USB connecting between amp and laptop.  Powercord is Nuforce OEM cable.

The sound was full and smooth.

Since then, I've repaced the monoprice USB with the Furutech silver USB cord, the older more expensive one, and replaced the OEM powercord with Moon Audio's Silver something something (forgot the model name). 

The sound is much cleaner and a bit clinical sounding perhaps even flat.  I left the more expensive cables in place hoping that the cables will burn in and sound will become fuller.  That never happened, but my ears have gotten used to the sound and too lazy to swap cables out to compare. 

So, the difference between the two reviews could have a lot to do with whatever is upstream.

BTW, I love the amp.  Sounds great even musical in my setup.  Sounded a bit more musical with the cheaper cables in place though.

[bh46118]

The thing I've noticed about the DDA-100 is how tiny changes in speaker placement effect a much greater change in sound than other amps I've had.  I'm able to place my Image B25s almost against the rear wall without the typical excessive bass and loss of transparency.

[bh46118]

I didn't see this one listed.

http://www.witchdoctor.co.nz/index.php/2013/12/nuforce-dda-100-integrated-amplifierdac-review/

[rfmj]

I've had the amp for a couple of days now. The build quality of the amp is good for the price and the volume control doesn't have any unnecessary play. The push selector has a soft but distinct feel. All the connections on the back are of good quality and easy to access. The remote control on the other hand does not match the look and feel of the amp at all but I'm ok with it. It works perfectly.

The sound is flawless .Extremely clean, detailed and quiet. It's very neutral, so it's a good amp/dac for critical listening or comparing speakers.
Loud volume levels are no problem and it doesn't sound distorted even when approaching 100 on the volume meter. I even tried it with a pair of old QLN 199 3-way floor standers and the DDA-100 had no problem handling them. Larger more powerful amps can go even louder of course, but for loud living room levels this is more than enough for me.

The only negative bit I've found is that the amp makes an audible "click" sound through the speakers every time there is a track change and after every sound in the TV:s menu system. I've tested it with an Airport Express, Apple TV, and the optical output on the back of my Samsung TV so far, but the result has been the same with all of them.
For me that is a big drawback and I hope I find a solution, because the sound is otherwise absolutely excellent.