Does Anyone have any experience with Nuforce Amps?

budbrew · « **Reply #180 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 01:23 am »

So, Tvad4, given what you say the Nuforce amps may not be a reasonable replacement for SET amps in the case of low volume listening (as SETs tend to remain "alive" at lower volumes)?

nuforce · « **Reply #181 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 01:25 am »

Quote from: Agisthos

Jason,

I notice on the website you guys are recommending the Stealth Power Cords for your amps.

Obviously you must have listened to a rnage of power cords before settling on that one. How did that go and what did you find?

Where there any ehhh, cheaper ones that you guys liked?

If you read some recent reviews, you may already know Stealth cable. The power cord is custom designed by Stealth to work well with switching amplifier, especially NuForce amplifier. The Stealth/NuForce cord has no equivalent Stealth part, it's designed just for NuForce, and available only from NuForce.

Go ahead and feel free to experiment with different cords. We were also told by users that Kimber Palladian, Synergistic Master Coupler, work well with Ref8.

Casey

Occam · « **Reply #182 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 01:50 am »

What powercord is included with the stock Nuforce units?

nuforce · « **Reply #183 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 02:00 am »

A standard power cord like those used for desktop PC.

Occam · « **Reply #184 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 02:44 am »

Quote from: nuforce

A standard power cord like those used for desktop PC.

Nuforce - I think you'll find there are standard powercords and then there are standard powercords......

If you've a mind to, buy a couple of Volex 17604/5 IEC detachable cords, 14ga shielded, 2 & 3 meter respectively -
http://www.carlton-bates.com/cb/invsrch/flocresult.asp?svend=BC&Start=0&Offset=10&srchfield=stkmfgpart&pmvndstkn=BC%2D17604%2FC3%2D25%2F10&pumdbn=41046
Try them and tell us what you think.

If you've curious as to what a nominally equivalent cord can sound like, find a couple of Unicable 6450 cords. Its quite a curious experiment. and careful measurement of capacitive charateristics will tell all.....

I'm not suggesting that the Volex is anywhere near as good as your reccomended Stealth, simply that the slope of the cost/benefit curve can be quite steep at its lower end.

_scotty_ · « **Reply #185 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 03:56 am »

tvad4,depending on your tolerance of 2nd harmonic distortion products
your tube amp could be driving your speakers quite a bit louder than
than the NuForce amp before you found the distortion objectionable.
The NuForce will have an abrupt transistion from low distortion to very high
distortion and will audibly clip sooner. It may not be very happy with your impedance curve either. Sometimes there is no substitiute for more power.
Scotty

WerTicus · « **Reply #186 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 04:37 am »

i find the dynamics to be spot on even at the lowest volumes... and clipping stopped being a problem when it was broken it and i started using a halfway to decent power cord.

nuforce · « **Reply #187 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 06:49 am »

NuForce is not a digital amp

nuforce · « **Reply #188 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 06:56 am »

Hey Jerry, where are you ? Did you post your "full" review ? Time to let go of the amps. We want to upgrade your amp to 100W before sending to the next person in line.

Jason

audiojerry · « **Reply #189 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 12:25 pm »

Quote from: nuforce

Hey Jerry, where are you ? Did you post your "full" review ? Time to let go of the amps. We want to upgrade your amp to 100W before sending to the next person in line.
Jason

I'm lurking around.

I'm ready to post my review, which I plan on doing this weekend.

Spectralman, who owns an EAD modded Carver, come over on Wednesday for a few hours to lend his views, and a couple of other guys may be able to make it this weekend. I don't want to post until then. Spectralman may post his own impresssions.

I hope you remember saying you'd allow me through this weekend to get a couple more opinions. I will ship them back on Monday.

I will make one comment now because of your intent on upgrading the pair I have. I have found lack of power to be a non-issue. These are the most powerful 70wpc amps I've ever heard. I don't come close to clipping them even when playing the most demanding pieces at volume levels that exceed what I'd normally listen at. They are driving my Dynaudio Special 25's - 4ohm, 86db. They also easily drove my Dali Euphonia MS4 floorstanders, which are also 4ohm. I thought you were to offering the 70wpc version at a drastically lower price. Unless the 100wpc version is significantly better sounding, I think the 70wpc represents a great value to someone who may not be able to afford the upgrade.

WerTicus · « **Reply #190 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 02:19 pm »

thats what i have found - that more power than these amps provide really isnt needed.

however having listened to the 100wpc version - there is an improvment in the 'authority' in the bass... but you would never complain about the 70w's reproduction.

nuforce · « **Reply #191 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 05:05 pm »

We never really release the 70W version into the channels. A few units got out and we decided that 100W offers the best performance and value. Initially we priced the 70W at $1500 a pair and raise the price to $1600 to account for the added cost of the power supply.

We have a special deal to clear the 70W power supply that we have in stock. It is difficult to make a business case selling high end monoblock amplifier at $1000 to $1200 a pair, considering the performance and quality of NuForce amp. But it pains me (no joking here) when I hear users saying they can't afford our amp. We're serious about our mission. But given time, we will succeed in bringing down the cost and price. There are customers who want absolute performance and style, money is no objection. NuForce's Ultra Series and Signature Series will cater to that category of users. But we'll continue to drive down the cost of Ref 8 in the future.

Hantra · « **Reply #192 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 07:18 pm »

Quote from: tvad4

Ultra Series and Signature Series? This is why it's smart to not be an early adopter, IMO.

I hear that.

nuforce · « **Reply #193 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 10:18 pm »

Ref series is going to continue for a long time and it is our high performance reference series. We have learned that some editors are going to use them as reference amp to review other equipment such as speakers etc.

We don't have a time frame

for the other series yet. Just like cars, different products cater to different buyers.

But we'll like to hear your opinion. What do you want and how much are you willing to pay ? A jewel case for double the price

zybar · « **Reply #194 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 10:43 pm »

Quote from: tvad4

I don't give a whit about the box or packaging. I want an amp that sounds good to my ears, that makes music. Uber clarity and detail don't necessarily translate to making music, IMO.

Imagine a super clear mountain stream. One can clearly see the rocks and fish. The water's inviting, so you step in...and the water is ice cold, so you jump right back out. To me, this is the Ref 8. Now, imagine the same stream with water nearly as clear, but now it has just a touch of algea...just a touch. The water ...

Slightly off topic, but I just heard a friend's system who had the VAC Phi 220 mono amps and let me tell you they are absolutely not tubey or euphonic sounding. What they are is "sweet ass ear candy"!!

These amps let through tons of detail while being so musically engaging that I sat there cd after cd just wishing I could afford them.

If the NuForce amps are anywhere close to the VAC, I really need to hear them ASAP!

George

WerTicus · « **Reply #195 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 10:44 pm »

Quote from: tvad4

Ultra Series and Signature Series? This is why it's smart to not be an early adopter, IMO.

Usually I agree - but can you really fault these babies at this price? I was in the market for an amp and if i didnt buy these because its 'early' days for nuforce then i would have a 10x heavier belcanto amp that sounds 1/2 as good and cost 3x as much!

nuforce · « **Reply #196 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 12:18 am »

Ok guys, that's one feature we can look into:
add some distortion to our amp, like a switch "tube" or standard pure amp

I am not really joking here. We have been thinking about this. It is true that some people who falls in love with tube can't get use to the purity of NuForce amp. Well, we can't satisfy everyone

Agisthos · « **Reply #197 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 12:27 am »

If people want to get that tubey sound they can add a tube preamp or buffered cd player. Keep the amps as neutral as possible.

It is always best to change the type of sound you want by messing with the front end.

Agisthos · « **Reply #198 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 01:13 am »

I have heard that VAC make some of the best tubed gear around and that a lot of solid state heads would even like their stuff

How do the Nuforce amps go with your First Sound preamp?

Phil · « **Reply #199 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 05:11 am »

Nuforce,

Since you ask what folks would like to see: I'd like to see a company that offers excellent trade-in values on their gear, so that audiophiles on a budget can purchase your non-reference gear now and later trade it in for reference gear (and the same, of course, for reference to ultra). That builds customer loyalty and repeat business.

Phil