Does Anyone have any experience with Nuforce Amps?

nuforce · « **Reply #380 on:** 7 Jul 2005, 07:46 am »

We discovered another case of bad preamp design after customer complained about Nuforce amp created noise. Hey, looks like NuForce amp is truly a REFERENCE amp

Please post your questions or response under the preamp topic there:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=19860&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=nuforce&start=10

Casey & Jason

matix · « **Reply #381 on:** 8 Jul 2005, 05:55 am »

Is Wadia 850 a true balanced, and can connect to the Nuforce 8b without any problem? There are warnings here and there of true balanced necessity, and not sure here.. anyone has a Wadia / Nuforce setup to comment?

nuforce · « **Reply #382 on:** 8 Jul 2005, 07:34 am »

Quote

There are warnings here and there of true balanced necessity, and not sure here.. anyone has a Wadia / Nuforce setup to comment?

I don't know where this came from, but it is not true. As long as you have a correctly wired RCA to XLR connector (you can order the Cardas connector from NuForce or anyone else), it will work. We did recommend that you have a true balanced system if you have Ref 8b to get the best performance out of it.

Jason

nuforce · « **Reply #383 on:** 8 Jul 2005, 08:41 am »

Check this out:
http://gallery.audioreview.com/showphoto.php?photo=98&password=&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

You can click on the pic to zoom in.

I have no idea who the customer is. But is it cool or what? Looks like NuForce is being auditioned in some serious setup. I wonder what is that transparent wall with those rectangles. And that must be some kind of high tech sound room behind it.

Jason

minimalistic · « **Reply #384 on:** 8 Jul 2005, 09:42 am »

Quote from: matix

Is Wadia 850 a true balanced, and can connect to the Nuforce 8b without any problem? There are warnings here and there of true balanced necessity, and not sure here.. anyone has a Wadia / Nuforce setup to comment?

Hi Matix,

I own a Wadia 830 going straight into the NuForce Reference 8B's and it works brilliantly. I recently posted a review http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=18583&start=110
The photo with the silver face plates is of my system.

The only thing that is important is that the interconnect you are using is wired/grounded the right way - Jason at NuForce can help here - or check this page on their site: http://www.nuforce.com/support/Grounding-Ref8b.htm

Cheers

minimalistic

doug s. · « **Reply #385 on:** 8 Jul 2005, 01:10 pm »

Quote from: nuforce

...I wonder what is that transparent wall with those rectangles. And that must be some kind of high tech sound room behind it.

Jason

that's a mirrored wall, & what you see in it is the back of the listening room. note how you can just see the reflection of jm labs micro (or mini?)-utopia in the lower left hand side of the mirror...

doug s.

matix · « **Reply #386 on:** 11 Jul 2005, 02:41 am »

I don't know where this came from, but it is not true. As long as you have a correctly wired RCA to XLR connector (you can order the Cardas connector from NuForce or anyone else), it will work. We did recommend that you have a true balanced system if you have Ref 8b to get the best performance out of it.

Jason[/quote][/quote]
Hi Jason

Excuse my English. Not "warning" but "advice".

I read in your website that true balanced all the way is important to work well, that is why the query on the Wadia.

Hi Minimalistic

Your Wadia 830 looks cool! especially with the cute refaced Nuforce amps. Very minimalistic

I have the much older black Wadia 850, so the black of the Nuforce is no problem with me. I am waiting for the Ref 9 though, as the local dealer advises me to wait for it since I want the full scale impact of my Mahler music. The amps are so small. I am thinking of using double side tape to stick them behind my old JM Lab Utopia. Very minimalistic...

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minimalistic · « **Reply #387 on:** 11 Jul 2005, 09:44 am »

Hi Matix,

Thanks for your comments on my system. I'm sure you'll love the Reference 9's as much as I do the 8's......specially with the Wadia 850 - that is one serious machine!

minimalistic

nuforce · « **Reply #388 on:** 11 Jul 2005, 10:22 am »

6moons will have a review in July/August:
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/audioreviews.html

Soundstage.com on July 15 and stereotimes.com should be out soon (within two weeks?)

Our UK customer Simon has done a great job in making a new face plate that we're looking into offering it as an upgrade option (to keep the cost low, we looking into several vendors and will make an announcement when it is ready). Check it out:
http://www.nuforce.com/reviews/endusers/SimonGranger.htm

We're looking into upgrading Ref 8 face plate to 1/4" similar to Ref 8b and existing users can order it for FREE from NuForce (but you have to pay shipping). We're also looking into silver color face plate as an option with advance order. Don't contact us yet as we'll make the official announcement through your dealer and on the website.

Jason

nuforce · « **Reply #389 on:** 14 Jul 2005, 10:45 pm »

http://www.soundstageav.com/onhifi.html
(it is dated July 15, look for it in the archieve if you miss it)

Jim started evaluting NuForce very early and went through a torturous process of reviewing Ref 8 while we were making constant enhancements. So the first half of the article is more of a historical account. It is an honor to be compared to a few great names in audio amplifier history. Right after Jim has conlucded his review, we made another enhancement to ref 8/8b that might address the weakness that he pointed out. We don't know until he has a change to do a follow up.

Since we design and build the amp from the ground up, you can expect us to continue to make improvement. So how does existing customers upgrade their amp? We advice that you wait a year for significant enhancement to accumate and then upgrade the circuit board.

We have updated the spec and measurement plot on the website to reflect the latest (July) version.

Jason

loose · « **Reply #390 on:** 15 Jul 2005, 05:14 am »

I continue to be impressed with your opennness, Jason, and the attitude of NF - you guys are steering clear of making outlandish claims placing your product at the zenith of the digital amp revolution, preferring instead to acknowledge perceived shortcomings and respond to credible feedback by addressing these with appropriate mods. That's the mark of a genuinely perfectionist company, and can only be good for you and the client.

The review you have linked to I find balanced, in the main, and am relieved to note that it avoids the gush of superlatives that tends to undermine, rather than enhance, a product. Balanced reviews like this, as well as some of your own comments, vindicate the more measured response to your product of those of us who shy away from the sort of hyperbole and extravagant claims that motivated me to post here in the first place.

I look forward to following the NF story as it unfolds - it is far from over, as the nirvana-proclaimers would have it. In fact, it seems to me that your story is only just beginning, and that is much more exciting than the claims from some posters that you have already delivered us to the Promised Land of audio amps. Be that the case in due course, I will gladly add my voice to the chorus of Hosannas (especially if the price remains in much the same bracket as it is now)! Don't want much, do we?

Anyway, continuing to watch on with interest. Looking forward to the 6Moons review.

Cheers

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #391 on:** 15 Jul 2005, 05:42 am »

loose :

Quote

Anyway, continuing to watch on with interest.

[/list:u]

loose · « **Reply #392 on:** 15 Jul 2005, 08:37 am »

lonewolfny42

I couldn't agree more!

I have auditioned the RF8s - please see my earlier posts this thread. Listening is everything. By "watching on", I meant that I'm maintaining interest in NF developments, which I will certainly assess through listening personally.

Cheers

nuforce · « **Reply #393 on:** 15 Jul 2005, 09:19 am »

The way we are developing the amp is similar to development of PC. Ref 8, 8b, 9 all share the same PCB. Obviously some components will not be populated for some versions. But the "architecture" of the amp will continue to improve. So Ref 8 will benefit from Ref 9 and Ref 9 from Ref 10 and so on. Switching amplifier can be pushed pretty far. On the sound quality side, the holy grail is to achieve super low THD regardless of frequencies or power, at zero phase shift, near zero output impedance, very wide bandwidth and absolutely flat frequency response curve. On the power side, continue to increase the power density.

We plan to keep the same 8"x3" PCB size within the same family of amps so that customer's investment can be protected with PCB upgrade every year or so if they choose to. Customer don't have to worry about when they should be buying the amp. You know that it is going to keep getting better. The good news is that there is always an upgrade path at a very reasonable cost. If every person in the audiophile world decide to wait, we'll be out of business and there will be no innovation. Fortunately, we have early adopters. Hey, it is good enough, go order one

Jason

Mr. High Fy · « **Reply #394 on:** 15 Jul 2005, 11:41 am »

Quote from: nuforce

The way we are developing the amp is similar to development of PC. Ref 8, 8b, 9 all share the same PCB. Obviously some components will not be populated for some versions. But the "architecture" of the amp will continue to improve. So Ref 8 will benefit from Ref 9 and Ref 9 from Ref 10 and so on. Switching amplifier can be pushed pretty far. On the sound quality side, the holy grail is to achieve super low THD regardless of frequencies or power, at zero phase shift, near zero output impedance, very wide ban ...

Thumbs up from Denmark. Im one of the first audiophiles in my country, to get my hands on the "wonder boxses" fom the US. So i will spread the word, and hopefully more people will experience "the NUforce sound" here in scandinavia..........

nuforce · « **Reply #395 on:** 16 Jul 2005, 10:53 am »

Another reivew here: http://www.stereotimes.com/
Click on the NuForce photo. The title might still have the error where it is linked to something else.

Jason

akopperl · « **Reply #396 on:** 21 Jul 2005, 05:18 am »

Just a few questions:

1) Do the NuForce amps interfere with televison reception? I was interested in auditioning 3 of the amps for the front speakers in a home theater setup and have 2 DirecTV lines in addition to an antenna line for OTA HDTV reception.

2) Have the connectors been modified for the Reference 8 amps to allow banana cables? Or do you have to order the Reference 9 amps? Are the Reference 9 amps even available yet?

3) Are these amps susceptble to ground loop issues? I always have concerns when I begin introducing multiple power cords with 3 prong plugs into my system (in this case, I would be adding at least 3 additonal power cables).

Thanks

nuforce · « **Reply #397 on:** 21 Jul 2005, 06:37 am »

Quote

1) Do the NuForce amps interfere with televison reception? I was interested in auditioning 3 of the amps for the front speakers in a home theater setup and have 2 DirecTV lines in addition to an antenna line for OTA HDTV reception

The recent upgrade significantly eliminated most of the noise and will not interfer with cable or satalite TV (it never had any problem). I have DirectTV service at home and I do not notice any interference. We haven't tested with OTA (over the air?) HDTV.

Quote

2) Have the connectors been modified for the Reference 8 amps to allow banana cables? Or do you have to order the Reference 9 amps? Are the Reference 9 amps even available yet?

Ref 9 is in production and realistic ship date is August 15 but we will have limited units available for demo before that. Ref 9 will accept both banana and spade. Ref 8 can be ordered with connectors that accept banana plug.

Quote

3) Are these amps susceptble to ground loop issues?

After recently upgrade, we don't have any more known cases. Your situation doesn't appear to be a concern.

studley · « **Reply #398 on:** 21 Jul 2005, 04:40 pm »

Jason
one of the recent reviews mentions there is going to be a Signature (special edition?) version of the Reference 8. Can you give us more details eg what improvements, performance level, price, availability?

Thanks

nuforce · « **Reply #399 on:** 22 Jul 2005, 06:25 am »

Signature Series is only a dream at the moment.
Has anyone checked out the THD+N spec of Ref 9?
We think Ref 9 is going to further surprise many people.
All the R&D work done on Ref 9 will immediately benefit Ref 8 as well. We'll make some announcement by end of July.

Jason