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Review: NuForce 9 V2 SE Amplifier

Category: Amplifiers

First gentle reader, I would ask that you scroll down to the laundry list of amplifiers that I have owned over the years (at least the ones I remember!) in the "similar products used" section of this review. I think it is germane to the body of my review and will point out that while I'm certainly no J. Gordon Holt, I have owned my share of amps over the 30+ years of being a crazed audio nut. (One amp pair that I forgot to add, and this thread wouldn't allow me to back-edit, were Parasound JC-1 mono blocs. Would be between the Hurricane's and Spectron M II).

And no, I am not a 'shill' or in any way associated with the good folks at NuForce. I make this qualification in advance as I tend to get excited when I hear and own something that surpasses my highest expectations and I might tend to 'gush' a bit in this review.

Also - I have waited, what I feel is a sufficient amount of time, to verify that my impressions are still accurate and that my audio bubble wouldn't burst. I have owned the 9 V2SE's for about 4 mos. now and am still smilin' ear to ear everytime I play my system...

Let me cut right to the chase - The NuForce 9 V2 SE's are a dream come true for this audio pilgrim. They offer a refinement of sound that I (and my wallet) could only dream about previously. I do not have unlimted funds. No, I have not owned the over-the-top ultra high-end offerings from the likes of Krell, Mark Levinson, etc., as again my finances (and three kids) simply don't permit, but I have certainly heard my share of these amps at dealers, friends systems etc., and can say with complete confidence that the NuForces can more than hold their own against them and probably are their superior.

Like many, I have struggled with the quest for that perfect blending of the salient qualities of tubes, with the reliability and freq. extension of solid state, but despite hybrids, push-pull, MOSFETS, JFETS, Class A, Zero Feedback, All tube, KT88, 6550, oil caps, mylar caps, etc., etc., etc. was never able to find an amp that could really pull it all together into one whole and complete cloth - until now.

If I had to describe the 'sound' of the 9 V2SE's, I would say they completely mimic an extremely powerful set of state-of-the-art mono block tube amps, with better extension and control at both ends of the freq. spectrum.

Do you remember the first time you heard tubes in a system? Whatever the wattage rating, 40, 80, 100 watts, it always sounded like double the equivalent of solid state power. This is EXACTLY what the 9V2SE's sound like. They have the type of unbridled power and control, over even the most demanding and complex musical passages, with micro and macro dynamics the likes of which I have not previously experienced.

Now, keep in mind, I am coming off a set of modified Jolida JD3000 mono block all tube amps, with 200 watts per side. These had, until this point, been the finest reproduction I have heard in my system, so this is the basis of comparision to most of the comments that follow.

Soundstage:
The W-I-D-E-S-T, D-E-E-P-E-S-T and most 'coherent' soundstage I have ever heard. TOTALLY dependent on the recording. Nothing is ever 'spotlighted' or out of character. Everything is of proper size and proportion within the most illuminated stage you can imagine. It is actually wider and has more 'location cues' (ambience, etc.) than the vaunted Jolida's.

Treble:
The absolute cleanest, clearest, most pristine top end I have ever heard, in ANY system. No 'white-ish' glare or other artifacts at all. The timbre of everything from a triangle to a Zildjian ride cymbal is intact and awesome in it's accuracy. This unlimited extension undoubtedly contributes to the exspansive soundstage as well. Anyone who thinks that ribbons, diamond cones, or exotic metals are superior to a well engineered electrostat would be shocked, I think, to hear the NuForce's through a great electrostat.

Midrange:
This area of reproduction is where it all happens, IMO. If the midrange ain't right, you might as well throw out the rest, 'cause our ears are trained if you will, to be the most sensitive in this frequency range. The 9V2 SE's are a completely NEUTRAL and utterly transparent conduit to what ever passes before it. It is not 'dry', it is not 'lean' or any other sound which would be colored or distorted in any way. It will simply pass on all of the timbre, inflection and body of any voice or instrument that falls within this all important range of frequencies. Never before have I heard the human voice (both male and female) reproduced with such 'naturalness'. Also, EVERY recording I play has it's own unique sound-print or character if you will. I have never experienced this 'cameleon' type of reproduction previously, where the amps are so utterly transparent that they can allow even the most subtle differences, such as microphone type, venue size/type, mixing preferences, sound processing etc. to come through with such verisimilitude on each and every recording I play.

Bass:
Here is an area where I have to default on. As the Vantage's have their own dedicated amps to power the 8" woofers, I cannot offer much perspective only to say that the bass in my system is amoung the cleanest and fastest I have heard. (The bass response is also something that other professional and 'user' reviewers have pointed out to be amoung the great strengths of all NuForce amps).

What else can I add? No, I haven't heard the plethora of amps currently flooding the market place. Is there something out there that is better? Maybe. The Spectron Musician III came VERY close, and the Signature version of this amp might very well be it's equal, but I cannot imagine anything NEAR this price range being able to better the 9V2's in any or ALL parameters. In fact I would be confident enough to feel that the 9V2's would hold their own to ANY amp, regardless of price or topology, type, etc. within this power range. And no, I don't know if you will experience the same sort of magic and system synergy that I am able to pull off. A product at this level of transparancy will ultimately pass on the character your front end components. And finally YES, I do feel that the NuForce 9V2 SE's are a 'landmark' product and one of the most significant audiophile products ever introduced.

Will I ever find anything new down the road that will out perform the V2's? Based on past experience (and my past product reviews) yes. We all don't know what 'better' is until we actually hear it, right? But am am fairly confident, now that digital amps have fully matured, that it will undoubtedly be some form of this type of amplification, regardless of the brand.

Also, as a side-note; I must point out that it is nice to use a product that doesn't over-heat my room, take up tons of rack or floor space and that i don't have to feel guilty about enormous electricity usage every time I turn it on. It's kinda hard to justify big inefficient amps that waste energy while at the same time I'm yelling at my kids to turn off lights, appliances, computers, etc. and replacing light bulbs with high efficiency twist fluorescents!

Material commonly used;

- Norah Jones/Feels like home
- Peter Gabriel/Scurity (SACD)
- Fleetwood Mac-Rumors (DVD-A)
- Yes/The Ladder
- VAn Morrison/what's wrong with this pic
- Barenaked ladies/Gordon
- Andreas Vollenweider/Book of Roses
- Bill Bruford's Earthworks/Dig?
- Ambrosia/Somewhere I've never travelled
- XTC/oranges & lemons (Mo-Fi gold cd)
- The Decemberists/Crane wife
- Mindy Smith/One moment more
- James taylor/Hourglass (SACD)
- Thomas Dolby/Angels & archetypes

Associated gear
Antique Sound Labs Flora EX DT pre-amp
Martin-Logan Vantage loudspeakers
Esoteric UX-3SE
PS Audio P300
Infinity Intermezzo subwoofer
Quantum Power Symphony Pro & Symphony
CCA silver interconnects & speaker cable
Acoustic Zen Tsunami and Nino AC cords
PS Audio UPC 200
Shakti 'Stones'

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Adcom GFA5802
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Llano 400s
Antique Sound Labs Hurricane mono's
Spectron Musician II
Bel Canto Evo 200.2
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NuForce 9.0SE
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denf
plato
1,543 posts
 
I have to say that my own experience with the Reference 9V2 SE amps mirrors Denf's very closely. I can also add that on my VMPS RM30 speakers the bass is outstandingly articulate and extended.

I first used a solid-state preamp with the NuForce and it sounded pretty darned respectable, but since I switched to a custom built, dual-mono, transformer-coupled 6SN7 tube preamp the sound has been simply extraordinary. This is a super combination in amplification!
desalvo55's avatar
desalvo55
257 posts
 
Great review Denf!

Thought I'd add my 2 cents. I'm 2 months into owning my ref V2's replacing my venerable Classe CA100's which now serve surround sound duty. In my 40 years of audio insanity these amps have educated me in a way I'd not thought possible. I find them so neutral, so natural that due to the nature of my system, I've had to replace, modify, experiment, and now look to build myself a set of speakers to utilize the full potential these amplifiers deliver.

You'll have to excuse me as I've not gotten much sleep lately due to late night listening experiences. Don't beat me up on my current setup but you can't help but laugh. My source components are a Playstation 3 and a modded Squeezebox 3. I hate my Sony Playstation 3 but admittedly, the Playstation is an overachiever. It just looks bad and has a fan to boot! It looks like a game machine sitting stupidly on my Adona rack system and oh ya, it’s that too :-/ My SB3 is not much better except for it's Welborne outboard linear supply. The SB3 need more tweaking and I love the interface. The Sony is really just a bus station transferring EAC ripped - FLAC encoded - Tversity server sent files through the PS3 then to an Onkyo PR-SC885P preamp, then to my SE V2's and finally to my Def-Tech BP2000's.
Please don’t get me wrong here. I’m just trying to name bash or discount brands or equipment. How I arrived at my somewhat kludgy system with these state of the art amps is another story. In fact it sounds pretty amazing at this point. My feeling is that it all starts with the V2's. I cannot describe a sonic signature with these amps. They're fed pristine digital files are @ 44.1Khz through a pretty long path and deliver an unbelievably coherent sound at the end.

The BP2000's don't image. That was my mantra for a decade. Now I have a SOLID central image with good depth although still confined between my speakers. This did not happen until I changed the power cables first from outlet to Line filter box (also modded), then on the Onkyo, and then on the PS3. Amazing change with the addition of HQ DIY power cables!

Last night after setting my newly acquired Adona rack I played Steely Dan - Aja. I laughed throughout the entire song and the next. I cannot believe how good the sound was through my Def-Techs. I think I was giddy. Don’t ever remember being “giddy”. Another thing I noted with these amps is the fact that they play at low volume levels the same as at high volume levels. How many amps or systems have you listened to that only came alive or sounded good only when pushed to higher volume levels? I thought that just how it is or supposed to be. Not any more! Even at low levels these amps bring all the nuisances of recordings that one hears at high SPL’s.

So these Nuforce’s forced me to upgrade some cables. Why, because you can tell what these things are capable of and wish to exploit.. I can't imagine how they'll sound through some audiophile grade speakers. I need a second job..

Criticisms? These amps seem to be sensitive to noise. Mine are quiet but I had my moments. The WBT binding post has failed and is in need of repair. Sometimes when I turn the amps off then on again say after changing to a different interconnect, they don't always turn back on. What is that?. I have not done that yet. I'm looking for winners here and like to DIY. They're so small.... They like nice interconnects, cords and equipment around them ;-)

P.S.
I really like the MAC Palladium's. I've tried the following cables through the Nuforces.

Various high end Monsters = Give to your neighbor
Anti Cables = Good but lacks smoothness and warmth.
DH-Labs BL1's = Better, warmer, detailed but read on.
Balanced Neotech UP-OCC interconnects = Good but voices lacked weight and felt recessed ON MY SYSTEM with my edgy metal dome tweeters
MAC Palladium's = These cables changed everything. Voices became more natural with proper weight. Detail by not hyper detail and non-fatiguing, even on my HT speakers. I'll buy more from this co. as their prices seem very reasonable.

Sorry this is so long – perhaps more than .02 cents worth?
nuforce
3 posts
 
"The $1 In-Home Trial is a great opportunity. The trial is for one week, though. It's not for 30 days."

Practically all in-home auditions last more than 1 week. And we never charge the $1, it is just to get your attention because people don't believe it when we say it is free. If you're serious in buying Nuforce amp or preamp within 3 months, you have nothing to lose except your time to audition it. We bet that it will outperform anything at any price.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
marvellous! This is all pointing to switching technology coming of age. . . and not necessarily conforming to increasingly obsolete stereotypes.
stltrains
845 posts
 
Denf i concur with you in your fine review. I have gone through the upgrade chain that Nuforce offers to there customers. I started with basic ref 9, then SE, now V2. Each upgrade was easily audible for the better. The V2 technology in the last upgrade is going to be hard to beat. I challenge Jason and Casey to try and deliver one more upgrade to this fine series of amps.

Not only does Nuforce make one of the best amps available they know how to keep there customers up to date with upgrades. And the price for these upgrades is more than fair. It saves you from playing the turnover game.

I have been in front of my system since mid after noon today. Its about 10:30 now. I'm Absolutely fatigue free and musically satisfied.

My analog front end is my choice for sit down in your ear music listening. Some of our LP selections today.
Beatles Magical Mystery Tour, Sargent Pepper,
Pink Floyd Pulse
Led Zeppelin One
Jeff Beck Truth
Moody Blues Long Distance Voyager

Like you said something will arrive in the future that will possibly surpass these super amps. But that manufacturer will have to work hard to beat the satisfaction to price ratio that Nuforce offers.

Like you i am just a hard working music lover that is in no way at all connected to Nuforce.

BTW your system if a fine one, glad to hear from another satisfied ref 9 SE V2 user.
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