Nuforce STA200

STA200 is an AB amp. My listening experience was very good. I understand the Chinese imitated the Goldmund amp without care for protection circuits. My STA200 blew up and cannot be repaired. Stay away at any price.

It obviously would provide greater options if one was wanting to make a change in speakers. Are you looking to make changes in your current system?

You should be able to find a used A21 and if you don’t like it lose very little on resale. But at that price there are the Odyssey amps and the...

jl35, thank you for your response, decisions, decisions.

I don't think the Parasound A21 would better within power limits, but it has 3X the power into 8 Ohms and 5X into 4 which could make a big difference not only in volume but also dynamics and openness...I have experience with both but only own the Nuforce...

Before anyone askes, yes I do realize there is a large price difference.

mrdecibel or anyone else who may have heard both amps.  I noticed that Audio Advisor is blowing out their Parasound A21's due to the new model A21+.  If I purchase the A21, what and where do you believe would be the level of improvement over my STA200?  Two pairs of speakers are both 6 ohm, one pair being 85db and the other 86db.  I am using pair of SVS subs.  Volume is currently not a problem in my listening area. Thanks in advance for any input.

I am a fan of 2-way monitors. Most rated at 6-8ohms that I am familiar with have an impedance dip below 4ohms somewhere usually at bass frequencies. I can't help thinking some caution need be applied when using a amp that provides 80wpc at 8ohms and same into a 4ohm load.

Currently I can use my STA200 with B&W 685s, Focal 706s, and the Esoteric MG-10s. All possess the aforementioned impedance dip. I will get back to all after I have more experience with this amp.

There was a question on an earlier post about using the WDC200 with the STA 200.  I purchased the WDC200 about 3 months ago to pair with my two STA 200’s which I use to bi-amp Martin Logan SL3 electrostats.  I was especially interested in the fiber optic feature to use on a reference Marantz CD player I have.  The fiber optic was a big step up from RCA, which should not be a surprise.  It sounds very good to my ear.  I purchased it on sale for about 200 from Hi FI Heaven in Green Bay, don’t know if they have any more.  The wireless is decent, I use Apple Air play to stream from my I-pad air two.  I feel it is very close to my Dragonfly Red DAC which uses the lightning outlet of the IPad for a better quality signal.  The flexibility to run wireless is convenient.  The only complaint on the WDC 200 is the volume control is super finite, meaning it takes many turns to crank the gain.  But SQ is very good to my ear, again especially its fiber optic.  For 200 getting a fiber optic operational was worth the price.

Without ever using the stock cord, the STA200 always sounded musical, grainless, and airy to me.

Some amps will measure great but don't sound *right*. Lots of negative feedback will do that. Trust your ears and how you feel when music plays through the gear.

Into my 4ohm Maggie 1.6s, music or TV *always* satisfied. It never clipped even with room correction low bass boost (TV optical only) using a deq2496. Only with crazy or clipped blu-ray effects would it clip and clip HARD (quakes, explosions, choppers closeby etc). Never while playing DTS or Dolby demo tracks tho.

I swapped in a 650W @ 4 ohm Crown Drivecore 2 instead and the same conditions would also cause clipping, but gave me more headroom.

I miss using it but love the power the xls2002 delivers. I'll find use for the STA200 somehow, it sounds so right, sweet, coherent, in or outside the room. Maybe bi-amp with the Nuforce on top (assuming I can match  gain) but will see first how my new vintage Soundstream DA1 does full range with the maggies.

Wishing musical nirvana to all.

Audio Advisor has demo’s on sale for 399.

I'm running the STA200 with PMC OB1 (87db 6 ohm) with a NAD M51 as the frontend and have no complaints. The amp will drive the speakers louder than my neighbors would be willing to stand.

Thanks for the comments guys I am looking to power 86 dB proacs and had started to think maybe the amp wouldn’t be able to power them sufficiently. I am considering an nad m51 as a pre.

I have had no problem powering either my 6 ohm 89db or 6owhm 85db speakers, but neither are crazy loads.  Also, not sure if its because I have a tube preamp or not, but no obvious gain problems.  Maybe just lucky.

Just received my STA200 and am playing it via a Schiit SYS. As to my earlier post today, my only concern was about power output not sound quality. My amp is a demo unit, however I have no idea about the number of hours use it has taken. Out of the box it sounds quite nice, my impression is that at $500 it is a high value amplifier which requires careful pairing to regarding signal strength and speaker load. 

The STA200 doesn’t have specs provided for 4 ohm output because the transformer limits the power output, plain and simple. The same thing goes for the Job 225 which the STA200 is based on. The output into 4 ohms cannot double with either amp because the transformers cannot supply enough power, hence the 4 ohm output is nearly identical to 8 ohm output.

This can be verified by reading one of the Job 225 reviews on the net (I forget which one exactly).


Also, as others have mentioned, I listen and judge with my ears, not my eyes. You will find numerous people who bash REL subwoofers because of their poor measurements, but ask folks who actually own and use REL subwoofers and they will tell you they are the bees knees.

Nine months ago purchased a pair of the STA-200’s to bi-amp Martin Logan SL3 electrostats.  Very satisfied.  After about 200 hours of break in time can verify the good results reported by others.  Liked them so much purchased a 3’rd and sent it to my son (at $499 from AA a steal).  Ditto results.  The only issue, as reported, is the high gain.  They do not distort even when pushed hard, but it limits out on my system at 11 o clock (too loud), more like 9:30 for normal listening.  I use a DB hand held meter to preserve my hearing.  The only issue is the amp does induce a slight hum from my tube phono section in neutral..  Have a Schiit passive on order and expecting it any day.  Based on reports here I’ll try an upgrade to the PC.  Thanks for the recommendations.

I tend to not put much stock in reviews when people take a fantastically reviewed piece of equipment, and say, "but look at these measurements I came up with"..... Especially when it is a lone voice.

aberyclark +1 

Test or not at $499...the amp sounds terrific. 

The test was done into a 4 ohm load. Rated output was measured as 76wpc. Seems to me one might consider this amp as a 40wpc at 8ohm supplier. Did I miss something?

Read the link quoted above.  I don’t pretend to understand all of the amp’s measurements, but I know from speaker building that some that measure well don’t sound particularly good, and vice versa.  My speakers have a good 5dB peak from 10 kHz to 20 kHz; they don’t measure flat.  But that steadily increasing response has a lot to do with the air and detail I hear in the treble section.  I could control for that peak, by filtering it out and up with a dull and lifeless response that measures flat. With the STA-200, I’m letting my ears be the judge, and apparently others are doing the same.

I had been considering giving this amp a shot but my interest is starting to wane after reading this

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-nuforce-sta-20...

I thought about the Pro-ject Prebox, but this where it gets a little complicated.....I’ve had this system together only 1 year, started from ground zero, and now I have upgrade-itis.  Deciding what to upgrade next is tough.  With the STA-200 as the mainstay of the system, I think maybe the CEntrance is good enough, for now.  My diy speakers are excellent, as are my diy cables.  However, I bought the basic Luminous Audio passive pre-amp, and I’m thinking the upgrade to the Walker Mod might be the biggest bang for the buck right now.

Pro-Ject Prebox s2 (using only as a DAC..not preamp)

Too much gaib is never good, and I always try to not Thonk too hard...  ;)

Laughing at my last post. Don't know what gaib is, and don't know how to Thonk. Any help?

Thanks for the heads-up Devilboy! I have a Jolida Fusion preamp. Likely too much gaib for the 200. Won't even try it now. Have other use for the amp. Thonking of using it with a DAC/Pre of passive, currently a Schiit SYS but considering the Lightspeed. 

@jl35 I can’t really comment on how the three compare because I changed my system around so much. However, both times I had the Job 225 and the one time for the INTegrated they were all very dynamic, fast, open and clean sounding with very nice bass control and surprisingly "warmish" mids. I’ve had all of them on three different Metrum DACs.

Funny thing though... One of my best systems was a Metrum Hex, Tortuga LDR passive and the Job 225. That said, I inserted the INTegrated in there and missed nothing. I then sold the Hex, Tortuga and 225. I just couldn’t justify the price difference.

I also had the Lightspeed Attenuator in there with great results.

Be aware using tube preamps with the Job though. No DC protection so if any gets passed on from a tube amp the 225 will pass it on to your speakers. So for those of you using a tube preamp with your STA 200, this is something to be mindful of.

Don't bother with the Jolida Tube fx Mk3. I had one and it isn't a good value. I'm running a NAD M51 and am very happy with it for the price I paid ($650 used). Chord Mojo are a great value at current used prices.

Been reading about a lot of dacs, trying to figure out what might best match this amp.  NuForce has the Dac-9, there’s the Metrum Acoustics Amethyst, and I very tempted to go tube rolling with the Jolida Tube fx Mk3.  I listen exclusively thru Tidal via laptop and rarely use headphones.  Would like to know what other STA-200 owners are using.

I was starting to get gung ho about buying a new amp. I’ve changed my focus, again, to focus on cables and a TT. The STA200 just sounds so right ....I can’t believe I purchased this as a stop gap a year and a half ago....and still do not want to upgrade.

No problems with my two STA200’s

How do the three compare devilboy?

@brad1138
Stuff- I searched and searched for someone that has had both the Vidar and the Nuforce, never found one. There is someone on "superbestaudiofriends" who posted he had both on order over a year ago, but he never chimed back in with his thoughts/comparison.

I bought the Nuforce, so I am going to believe it is the better amp. ;)

And you've got 200 bucks extra in your pocket to boot.

Anyone try the WDC200 with the STA200? There's precious little info online, but if its anywhere close to the STA200, they combo could be a killer value on the electronics side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twgbZ-uWRhE

Brad, Thanks for your input.  I am using my Macbook Pro with Pure Music as my server for AIFF files. Will try using it with a DAC to SYS to Nuforce. The SYS-Nuforce will replace a NAD C356BEE integrated. Also have a Pathos Model One MK2 I rotate in. Speakers are: B&W 685s or Focal 706s. Looking to upgrade speakers in 2019. This is a secondary system.

Anyone have an issue with the power button?  When I first got it,the power button wouldn’t stay “in”. It kept popping out. I almost returned it but then it worked so I kept it.  Was fine for months then it happened again two weeks ago, and has been fine since. 

Sounds great btw. I’ve had the Job 225 twice and the Job INTegrated once. Fantastic stuff. 

Mesch, I am running my Nuforce with a FLAC server->Schiit Modi2 DAC->Schiit SYS pre and a pair of Wharfedale Emerald 97 MK IV spks, and I am very happy with the overall sound. 

Stuff- I searched and searched for someone that has had both the Vidar and the Nuforce, never found one. There is someone on "superbestaudiofriends" who posted he had both on order over a year ago, but he never chimed back in with his thoughts/comparison.

I bought the Nuforce, so I am going to believe it is the better amp. ;)

If anyone thinks, or feels ( jeenam ) that the circuit boards are identical, I would like to see proof from you, or anything in writing indicating they are identical. They might be similar, but are not the same. If you look closely at photos of each ( there are many photos available on the net ), you will notice differences in the board " traces " of each. You can easily see these differences in the 2 photos provided in the link. I would like to move on from this. Merry Christmas to all. Enjoy ! MrD.

How does this compare with the Schiit Vidar?

Base on this thread,  I just purchased this amp from Audio Advisor. A Demo unit. I also have a Schiit SYS which I will try with it. Will likely pair it with a DAC/PRE in a second system later. Will get back after gaining some experience with this. Probably not work well this my Jolida Fusion preamp as it has 26dB gain. 

Thanks, jl352.  Incidentally, I was lucky to not have the preamp/speaker mismatch. I guess the three pairs of speakers I have used the amp with were not so efficient to create any (hiss/volume control)  problems.

I did end up purchasing the simple little Schitt sys which I like experimenting with just for fun, but most of the time I have it set full volume so as to not impact my tube preamp signal going to the amp.

and the Job is a much easier preamp and speaker
 match...

sound is extremely similar...at the original list price, most found the Job a much better value, both for the extra power and the Goldmund name...so fortunately for us, the Nuforce was continued at this outrageously low price...

Yes, but at what point does having, as you mentioned above, different caps, resistors, power transformers and RCA jacks override the similarity in sound from having similar circuits?

Not a concern one way or the other to me, I like the amp.

It is well documented that the STA200 is a scaled down version of the Job 225, which is based on a Goldmund reference design.

I am not concerned one way or the other, but based on the above and the link, do you believe that the Nuforce and Job are more or less similar amplifiers?

Same circuit board:


https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=151000.0

I guess adding to the above, and I have not looked into it at all, I get the impression that the STA200 is the only non class D amp they make?