APL NWO2.5 ?

I just got my NWO 2.5 on Friday. Right out of the cold box it sounded wicked good. I first connected it to my pre-amp and said wow, this sounds really impressive. Then I connected it directly to my darTZeel amp. My jaw hit the floor. Once you take this step there is NO going back. Everything is better going direct to the amp, in a big, big way. Fortunately for me I don't have other sources to worry about.

I bought this unit without hearing it. I now have only 30 hours on my 2.5 and it not only lives up to all of the raves on this and the APL Hi-Fi forum....it exceeds it by a wide margin. This is the real deal. This is the "Digital Neo" we audiophiles have been waiting for.

First, you simply cannot believe how good RBCD sounds on this unit. Who would have thought it possible. DVD-A takes digital playback to a strata that I'm not sure even the best turntables can better. And even if they can, the margin will likely be very small indeed and they will have to be optimally set-up, vinyl cleaned and without scratches, etc. Note (!), this is only conjecture on my point as I have not yet had the chance to put the 2.5 up against SOTA vinyl yet, but I do know that a poster on the APL Forum has made this comparison against a $65K vinyl rig and the 2.5 came out victorious. I must admit when I first read his post I rolled my eyes...not anymore I can tell you.

I am observing a steady improvement in resolution, extension and micro detail as the unit burns in and I've been told that at 100 hours the 2.5 shifts to another gear...I simply can't wait for that to occur.

The way Alex P (the designer, resident genius, nice guy and passionate audiophile behind the NWO 2.5) has integrated control of the volume, digital filtering and S/PDIF digital input is clean and very clever.

I cannot more highly recommend this unit and will post a more substantive review after I get more hours on it. From a full disclosure stand point I have no commercial associations or interest whatsoever in APL Hi-Fi. I'm just an ecstatic customer.

Thanks Frank! I am currently bypassing the darTZeel pre-amp as the NWO 2.5 has a built in volume control, although I will go back and verify my initial findings by reconnecting to the darTZeel pre-amp.

I spec'ed my NWO 2.5 with RCA outputs, although the way the output stage is designed there shouldn't be a XLR vs RCA performance difference. As you know, the dart gear is RCA-centric so that's why I went that way.

I was thinking the same thing about the shoot out! BTW, what power cords and interconnect cables are you using and do you have a set of RCA's or are you going XLR from the CDSA SE into the dart pre?

David

I now have just over 100 hours of burn in time on my new NWO 2.5 and thought I would post a quick update.

The improvements have been gradual, continuous and significant. The sound has become increasingly fluid and detailed. Subtle ambient cues and microdetails have emerged on recordings with which I am very familiar...almost spooky.

After 30 plus hours of listening, several aspects of the unit's performance have begun to standout that set the NWO 2.5 apart from any other source I have heard in my system or elsewhere (shows, dealers, friends' systems, etc.). Here they are in no particular order:

(1) The depth with which one can listen into the soundstage...you hear the faintest, slightest details; like a triangle being struck in the back of the orchestra after a very dynamic passage.

(2) No listening fatigue even on RBCD. After listening to the NWO 2.5 you understand how many artifacts lesser players introduce into the music in terms of veils, time smearing, etc.

(3) Linearity across the entire spectrum...no portion of the spectrum sounds like is being over or under emphasized. I think this is one of the reasons the unit is not fatiguing to listen to.

(4) Low end and high end resolution and extension is amazing. I am hearing fast, tight low bass information on recordings where I never realized it existed as well as extended highs.

(5) Ability to drive the amplifier directly with absolutely no issues.

(6) The way you just find yourself listening to the music and not listening to your system trying to analyze if everything is as it should be.

Bottom line, the NWO 2.5 just sounds like music. It certainly does not sound like any digital player I have ever heard.

That's it for now...gotta go wrap some presents or my wife may make my NWO 2.5 disappear...:-)

Steve, good to talk with you. Thanks again for your endorsement of Alex and his work. You did not lead me astray! Have a great holiday season yourself my friend and shoot me that info on your speakers and cables when you get a chance!

David

Chungted, I have had the NWO2.5 for a couple of months now and I would agree 200% with your comment. Buy the best source first and then work back towards the speakers. Only then can you know for sure how up to snuff the rest of your gear really is. For example, my Dynaudio Temptation speakers are now at a completely different level of performance with the NWO2.5 as souce.

I would go one step further though and say get Alex's unshielded minimalistic silver core cables because they allow the full performance of the NWO2.5 to be communicated downstream through the amp and speakers. Once you have a source as magnificent as this you should want to extract every ounce of its performance and his cables do this. However, if your source (or amp or pre-amp) have deficiencies than his cables are probably not the right move as they will highlight the brightness, edginess, grain, etc. like a spotlight.

Good point Drubin...in reality every piece of the chain is important to an optimal result.

The way I interpreted Chungted point, which was the basis for my response, was given an existing system (without regard for how it was put together) one is best advised to optimize from the source back to the speakers. Why? Because so many audiophiles switch out speakers, or cables or amps, or pre-amps, in search of better sound, when in fact, it is their source that is the weaker link in the chain.

Anyway, to each their own, there are lots of ways to nirvana in this hobby/obsession.

Audiosu,

I owned MIT Oracle v1.1 cables. I would encourage you to try Alex's silver minimalist cables as they are excellent. Just start with one, e.g. the CD player to pre-amp interconnect.

Happy Listening,
Earflappin

Guido,

Picking up on Alex's post, I've done a lot of experimentation over the past 2 years on the entire power delivery chain from the panel including wiring, outlets, power conditioning equipment and especially power cords. Specifically, I have owned Shunyata power cords including the pre-Helix and Helix versions of the Anaconda Alpha and VX as well as the Hydra 8. I have also owned PS Audio regenerators and Ultimate Outlets.

Before getting the NWO2.5 in December I owned the Linn CD12, Unidisk 1.1 and various versions of Mark Levinson digital gear.

My findings in no particular order are:
- The VX version of the Shunayta Anaconda PC rolled off the highs in my system on all of my digital equipment. I think the VX is best used on digital gear that is very edgy and/or noisy and therefore needs to be "tamed down". I greatly preferred the Alpha cable on all of my analog and digital gear.

- The Anaconda Alpha Helix was decided better than the non-Helix version and I upgraded to all Helix cables when they came out with them.

- However, I have found that a power cord comprised of two (one for hot and one for neutral - I don't use the ground) silver core conductors each with an oversized Telfon insulator yields better results than the Anaconda Helix Alpha on my NWO2.5 and darTZeel amplifier. This configuration is very similar to Alex's silver IC and SpC (which I also use now), but I made these up myself. I would caution a couple of things here. First, my results are IMS and IMO...YMMV. Second, if you live in an area with high EMI/RFI given that these PC's are unshielded they may pick up noise that is unacceptable. Last, they most definitely would not pass UL approval..:-). But, for me, they have significantly elevated the performance of my system, just like Alex's IC and SpC silver cables. BTW, I also replaced the stock copper braided cable in my Dynaudio Temptation speakers with Alex's silver core cable with fantastic results; all 54 feet of it.

Bottom line, my experience has been very favorable using an unshielded silver (ultra high purity I might add) core cable with Teflon insulator for all of my cables - power, interconnect and speaker. However, they might not work well in all systems. Many people regard silver cables as being "too bright"...IMHO this is not the cable. Rather, these silver cables "lay bare" your system showing up any edginess, brightness, noise, etc. you have. Before I got the NWO2.5 using all of this silver core wire would have probably made my ears bleed, but once you have a source of the extreme quality of the NWO2.5 and you deal with other sources of noise (power, vibration, etc.) you want to extract every bit of resolution it has to offer and my experience has been that Alex's unshielded silver core cables do that really well as do power cables with the same configuration.

Good luck with your experimentations!

Steve, congratulations on getting your NWO2.5! I'm very happy for you and know your delight will increase considerably once you get 150 - 200 hours on it. I continue to love my NWO2.5 and will be posting a detailed review on it shortly.