|
Many of you have auditioned the earlier generations of Nuforce amplifiers through our Lending Library, here at The Cable Company. These amplifiers made a big splash when they first came out, probably due as much to the excitement about the promise this new technology held, as it was due to their outstanding performance to price ratio.
It was hard to listen to these early version amps and not believe this radical new circuit design represented at least one future of amplification. The new Version 2 amps have delivered fully on this potential. The first generations of Nuforce amplifiers won much critical acclaim, with many magazine awards and reviews. As good as they were, the new reviews, and our own listening sessions, confirm that the least expensive of the V2 mono blocks, the $2500 8.5V2, will outperform the former top of the line 9SE. If you bought the 9SE, don’t worry, all Nuforce amps are upgradeable to the current V2 versions.
Why are they so good? The design at the heart of these amplifiers is called Analog Switching Technology, and it’s principle advantage is efficiency. The “How” part of this is discussed in detail at the Nuforce website. To simplify, these amplifiers use a new kind of input transformer called SMPS, operating at many times the frequency of traditional power supplies. They are small, light, and less expensive than the massive toroids that we are accustomed to seeing in high performance amplifiers. More of the power from your wall is turned into music, and very little into heat. Two of the most expensive parts of an amplifier are typically the big power supply, and heavy heat sinking. When you take these away, you take away much of the cost to produce a high performance amplifier.
These amplifiers sound amazing! Do not confuse what Nuforce is doing with the popular "Digital Switching" amplifiers made by many other manufacturers. Unlike this technology, Nuforce amps are extremely broad bandwidth designs, extending from 20hz to 100kHz. Only the most costly class A or A/B amplifiers have that kind of range. This allows them to produce a flat frequency response and low distortion at all frequencies in the audible range. Another advantage of the analog switching amplifier is virtually no phase shift at all, leading to a huge soundstage with images that are realistically proportioned and stable.
If you own Magnepans, MBL's, or other speakers that are often described as power hungry, this part will be important for you. Perhaps the most impressive difference between analog switching amplifiers and other technologies is the ability to drive difficult loads. Nuforce claims a damping factor that is many times that of any other design. We can’t verify this ourselves, and the numbers are so far off the charts that it is probably just best to say that in our experience these amplifiers are capable of driving any speaker to high volume and they seem to have a precise control over the drivers that many notable "powerhouse" amplifiers don’t. This shows even in efficient speakers, with cleaner bass and lower distortion.
The Reference 8.5 V2 ($2500/pr) improves on all previous Nuforce designs. The Reference 9 V2 ($3500/pr) is the same amp with a larger power supply and a higher wattage rating. The Reference 9 V2 SE ($5000/pr) combines Nuforce technology with audiophile engineering to create an amp that builds on the strengths of the 9 V2, adding transparency, smoother highs with more resolution, increased bass weight and a deeper soundstage. All three are true dual differential, fully balanced mono block designs that accept both RCA and XLR inputs. Audition a pair of Nuforce amps through our Lending Library program (not just for cables), and find out for yourself what the reviewers already know. At about 6 pounds each, shipping is no problem.
Why do our Nuforce amps sound better than anyone else’s? We upgrade all components with HiFi Tuning Fuses!
|
