Does Anyone have any experience with Nuforce Amps?

Mr. High Fy · « **Reply #360 on:** 24 Jun 2005, 02:10 pm »

Hey WerTicus. What about the Ref. 8 review?

WerTicus · « **Reply #361 on:** 24 Jun 2005, 04:19 pm »

you guys are really impatient.

i will START writing my review on wednesday, i feel its broken in now.

nuforce · « **Reply #362 on:** 25 Jun 2005, 05:47 am »

We were investigating noise problem with certain preamps and found out that some preamps violated the "star ground scheme" and normally it will not affect linear amp (not entire true) but cause trouble for high performance switching amp such as NuForce. To proof our point, after we corrected the grounding error of a cheap (unfortunately discontinued) Cambridge preamp, its THD went down from 0.5% to 0.003%!!! And it sounded very good. All we did was to remove to incorrect ground wires.

For the details, see
http://www.nuforce.com/support/recommendations.htm

Better hurry, there are still a few of those used preamps out there

Jason & Casey

nuforce · « **Reply #363 on:** 25 Jun 2005, 06:02 am »

I created a new topic under Critic Circule
"Improving Preamps By Fixing Grounding Errors". If you discover such error with your preamp, please discuss it there. We can also post all the solutions there with pictures. Casey is our audiophile and grounding expert. We were amazed by the performance improvement on that cheap preamp.

Jason

nuforce · « **Reply #364 on:** 25 Jun 2005, 06:40 am »

Correction: THD improvement is from 0.05% to 0.003%

Mr. High Fy · « **Reply #365 on:** 28 Jun 2005, 04:49 pm »

Quote from: WerTicus

you guys are really impatient.

i will START writing my review on wednesday, i feel its broken in now.

Is it allright to be impatient with the review by now??

mmakshak · « **Reply #366 on:** 29 Jun 2005, 05:31 am »

I managed to blow up one of my Nuforce 8b amps. I stopped by and told them it could be my fault. I said e-mail me when I could pick it up and how much it would cost. They said what are you doing now? They said that if you wait 30 minutes they would have it fixed with no cost. What are you guys waiting for? Have you heard of this? They will have at least two reviews coming online in July.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #367 on:** 29 Jun 2005, 05:35 am »

mmakshak :

Quote

I managed to blow up one of my Nuforce 8b amps...

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mmakshak · « **Reply #368 on:** 29 Jun 2005, 05:36 am »

I have submitted a review to Nuforce, but I don't know how to space it properly for the internet. Can someone help me out here? I will post it here and elsewhere if you can help me.

Mr. High Fy · « **Reply #369 on:** 29 Jun 2005, 08:47 pm »

How slow this is going

Beezer · « **Reply #370 on:** 29 Jun 2005, 09:44 pm »

Hey folks,

I had the pleasure of auditioning the Nuforce monoblocks over the last couple weeks. Mike from Tweek Geeks also included a pair of Z-cable "red Lightning" AC cables. I had been using a VAC PA-100/100 (100 WPC) tube amp and also received my Dodd 120W tube monoblocks while I still had the Nuforce amps. The rest of systems includes Soliloquy 6.2 speakers, JJ Electronics preamp, Nottingham/Bluenote/Benz analog rig, and Stan Warren modified Philips SACD1000 digital source.

I was never real enamored with the VAC amp. It sounded nice at low-mid volumes with a lush midrange and sweet highs, but was lacking in detail and wouldn't play real loud, at least in my system. When I installed the Nuforce, all that changed. I now had great detail, tight bass and extended highs with the music emerging from a pitch black background. I could crank the music as loud as I needed it (~90db), and everything held together beautifully. The overall tonal balance was leaner and more accurate than the VAC, which sounded fuzzy by comparison. I had lost a bit of that old tube magic, but that tradeoff was far outweighed by positive changes. I still had nice 3-D soundstage and very good imaging.

A week or so into the audition, the Dodd monoblocks arrived and I eagerly put them in the system using the Z-cable AC cables. After a few hours of warm up (Gary runs them for 100 hours before shipping), I started to listen to assorted favorite tracks to compare to the Nu Force amps. I found that the tube magic was back, but in a much more controlled way than the VAC amp - nothing fuzzy here. They had total control of the drivers at low and high volume with extended highs, tuneful bass (for my speakers), and a beautiful midrange. Also, the soundstage was HUGE - wide and deep - and the imaging is palpable. Needless to say, I'm a happy camper with the Dodd amps. The Nuforce amps had a tighter sound, slightly better bass control, and were super quiet, but the Dodd amps have me more excited to listen to music and that's what counts, at least for me. Interestingly, when I had to send the Nu Force amps back, the Z-cable AC cables also went. I put the cheapo AC cables on the Dodds and they lost a bit of their soundstage. So, I now have an order in with Mike for new AC cables!!

All in all the Nu Force amps were great, and I would take them in a second over the VAC amp, which retailed for twice as much. The Dodd amps are now only sold through retail and cost three times as much, so the Nuforce amps are clear value winner.

Thanks to Mike for the audition and happy listening to everyone who ends up in the Nu Force camp.

Beez

nuforce · « **Reply #371 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 02:25 am »

Hmm, if you haven't commited to the Dodd, you should compare it with NuForce Reference 9 (shipping 1st week of August). At $2500 a pair for 300Wrms at 4 ohm, it is a force to be reckon with. THD+N at 10K, 50W, 8 ohm is 0.07%. 1K it is at 0.025%. We will be offering multi-units bundle pricing (existing NuForce owners can take advantage of the special bundle price by paying the difference) for 5 Ref 8s or 3 Ref 9s and 2 Ref 8s. Announcement will come after 4th of July holiday. Ideal setup for serious stereo and multi-channel use.

Jason

guest1632 · « **Reply #372 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 03:05 am »

Quote from: nuforce

Hmm, if you haven't commited to the Dodd, you should compare it with NuForce Reference 9 (shipping 1st week of August). At $2500 a pair for 300Wrms at 4 ohm, it is a force to be reckon with. THD+N at 10K, 50W, 8 ohm is 0.07%. 1K it is at 0.025%. We will be offering multi-units bundle pricing (existing NuForce owners can take advantage of the special bundle price by paying the difference) for 5 Ref 8s or 3 Ref 9s and 2 Ref 8s. Announcement will come after 4th of July holiday. Ideal setup for serious stereo and multi-channel use.

Jason

Hey Jason, what is the wattage with 8 ohms?

Ray

mmakshak · « **Reply #373 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 04:21 am »

The Dodds cost what 6000 bucks versus Nuforce 2000 or less? For some people, this is important.

Danny Richie · « **Reply #374 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 04:42 am »

Quote

The Dodds cost what 6000 bucks versus Nuforce 2000 or less? For some people, this is important.

Retail on the Dodd 120 watt monblocks is $5,200. for the pair. He recently offered a group buy for the folks here at the Audio Circle and sold a bunch of them for below dealer cost at $2,000. for the pair.

Looks like that deal was $500. cheaper than the NuForce Reference 9. I think about 20 lucky people took advantage of that deal.

Beezer · « **Reply #375 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 11:44 am »

Quote

Quote:
The Dodds cost what 6000 bucks versus Nuforce 2000 or less? For some people, this is important.

Retail on the Dodd 120 watt monblocks is $5,200. for the pair. He recently offered a group buy for the folks here at the Audio Circle and sold a bunch of them for below dealer cost at $2,000. for the pair.

Looks like that deal was $500. cheaper than the NuForce Reference 9. I think about 20 lucky people took advantage of that deal.

I was one of those lucky 20, so for me the comparison was pretty straight up. I did write in my previous post that the Dodds are now 3X the Nuforce amps I auditioned.

Beez

nuforce · « **Reply #376 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 06:01 pm »

Doing a deal like that here would seriously undercut the dealers (and you bet a lot of them participated or read audiocircle). Obviously I am not sure about the Dodd amp circumstances (may be it is a new product promotion) but I am saying that good dealers do a fair amount of marketing so as manufacturer, we have to respect the partnership.

What we do plan to offer starting from July is multi-channel pack (5 Ref 8s for $3400 retail) through our dealers but this will only benefit customers who're setting up home theater or share it with their family. The serial numbers have to be recorded as a group.

Jason

nuforce · « **Reply #377 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 08:26 pm »

Looks like someone in some Chinese speaking country is doing a review of NuForce (we have no idea, may be it is in Taiwan)

http://tw.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/alicenannie/album?.dir=c6b7&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//tw.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/alicenannie/my_photos

Wombat_VC · « **Reply #378 on:** 4 Jul 2005, 07:37 am »

Is it possible to order NuForce amps with binding posts that can accept bananas?

nuforce · « **Reply #379 on:** 4 Jul 2005, 11:24 pm »

Yes, the Ref 9 can accept both banana plug and spade.
For Ref 8, you can insert the banana plug into the spaces between the binding post. It is not ideal and you have to tighten it so that the banana plug won't slip out.
We'll be changing the connector on Ref 8 in the near future.

Does Anyone have any experience with Nuforce Amps?

guest1632