NuForce Popping

I've had several pairs of the NuForce amps and I now own their top of the line 9SE amps. Of the amps that I've owned, which includes a couple of pairs of Reference 8s, a Ref 9.02 pair, and now the 9SE's, I never had any of the amps fail, pop, or otherwise go bad.

I have heard of a few failures due to the fact that early versions of the NuForce amps had to have a load connected to the speaker terminals or they would sometimes overheat and fail. But NuForce fixed that problem a while back.

I think that certain of the amp's detractors would like to have others believe that the NuForce amps are unreliable, but in my experience, this has not been the case. I believe that NuForce has extended their warranty from one to three years, and they wouldn't have done that if they didn't feel confident that the design is stable and reliable.

Guys,

I just received my 9SE's very recently, and I think they are still breaking in, so please keep that in mind.

My feeling is that they are an improvement over the 9.02's, which I considered excellent amplifiers.

For whatever reason, the 9SE's are the quietest NuForce amps I have tried to date. No turn-on pops and extremely low noise floor, but a funny (and minor) turn-off noise, which is not loud by any means.

The bass seems to be world class. It is the most articulate, tuneful and punchy bass I've ever heard from my system. It is a bit better than the 9.02 in that regard. The midrange seems very close to the 9.02, but perhaps just a little sweeter sounding. The highs are very extended, detailed, and focused. The clarity is superb.

These are lightening fast amps that deliver very well delineated dynamic contrasts, articulation, detail, and a huge soundstage (soundstage size is about the same as the 9.02, which was a strong point of the amp).

All in all, I believe it's another small step forward in the evolution of the NuForce design. Perhaps more break-in will reveal even more about the 9SE's considerable virtues.