Not Another NuForce thread......

When discussing any piece of gear; the question always is, compared to what? Reviews that paint a broad brush (as they so often do) often lead people into this false hope that any piece out there that is just plop and drop short of a miracle. Everyone wants a 'giant killer'. Everyone wants a lot for not much green down; yet at the end of the day it all boils down to experience, expectations, taste, and intelligent system planning.

Guidocorona,

First and foremost, I must confess, I simply do not believe in “giant killers”. I do believe in giants – eg; products that deliver performance previously un-attainable in their price class. More and more often, people are becoming fixated with the notion that they can slay giants with inexpensive marvels. While there are plenty of great alternatives out there – at the end of the day there is only so much performance many of these pieces can offer. The exciting thing however, is that you can get so close – for so little.

Stepping off my soapbox and getting to your questions; I got an ear on the NuForce Ref 9.02 SE a year or so ago. Note that I did not own the piece, nor did I spend a large amount of time with the unit. I heard it paired with a few expensive electrostatics and dynamic cones and domes. This much I will say; if you have speakers that are require lots of current to really sing, and if you like your sound a bit forward and out into the room – with all the added goodies of excellent detail, speed, control, and dynamics – the NuForce could really delight. A good example would be Dynaudio speakers, which I found to be an exceptional match with the NuForce house-sound. One of the things I also love about NuForce is how invested they are into the market. This isn’t just another one-man operation out of some garage – NuForce are in it for the big time. People often don’t know and subsequently cannot appreciate just how much effort that money it takes to do what they are doing.

The H2O Signature 150 is my favorite “powerhouse” class D amplifier. There is no other amp for $2000 that is built so whole-hog. It weighs roughly 50 pounds, and can drive any speaker on the planet (including the vaunted Apogee Scintilla), as it well should. While it is an ICE powered amp, it has a very warm and sweet sound that has offered the best blend of resolution/musicality that I’ve come across in a high powered amplifier. Yet with all that said, like everything else, it won’t be to everyone’s liking.

I want to interject in this thread;

The discussion of why a product was dropped from a line-up should never be discussed in the public. In the end - it does no one any good. Unless there are downright criminal things going on that can be backed up with irrefutable evidence, I'd suggest keeping such discussion confidential/private.

Just a friendly suggestion based off of some first-hand experience... take it for what you feel its worth.