Nuforce

Jp1208, I just ordered a pair of the ref 9s with the extended bass option. Last night I had an opportunity to compare a Dartzeel NHB-108 with a pair of Ref. 9s. It was set up in my system, playing through a pair of Von Schweikert Audio VR-4jrs and I'll tell you, the Nuforce amps were not embarrassed by the Dartzeel by any stretch. The Nuforce amps are the real deal IMO. The Dartzeel definitely had a more refined, analog-like sound, but the Nuforce were pretty darn close. There were 3 of us listening, and I think we all came to the same conclusion. With some tweaking and system-tuning, I would bet you can get 80-90% of the performance of the Dartzeels with the ref 9s. From that listening session, I decided to order a pair. The pair I heard did not have the extended bass option, so it will be interesting to hear the differences between the two versions (extended bass vs standard).

I find these amps really interesting and promising, but feel like they are still early in their development. I think I'll check back in with them down the road.

I spent quite a bit of time recently comparing the Nuforce 9.02s to a McCormack DNA-500. Let's just say that the difference sonically is a lot less than the difference in price. The Nuforce truely are exceptional bang-for-the-buck amps that compete very well with the big boys.

My only caveat is that if you are big into FM or have a TV/tuner nearby, you may have some difficulties with RF interference (I did). That said, there are ways to isolate/shield your tuner/antenna and I'm sure Nuforce will ultimately address this.

With all that said, I bought a used McCormack DNA-500 -- an amazing amp!

Ggil, from what I understand the extended bass has more bandwidth and there is no need to bi-amp these. Did you heare the 9's or 9.02's? I have not done this yet, but I was also told single ended rather bi-wiring was better. That can change from system to system though. We will see.

Jp1208, I heard the 9.02s. I'm not sure what you mean between single ended vs. bi-wiring? I listened to them using balanced interconnects connected directly to my front-end (APL Denon 3910). My speaker cables are shotguns (Acoustic Zen double-barrel). I'm still shocked at the performance of these amps. The hardest thing to get over is their small form factor, light weight, and price... quite frankly. It's hard to imagine such little amps, that cost $2,500/pair competing with an $18,000 Dartzeel amp. But that's exactly what they do. It's a real paradigm shift. They are definitely the real deal! If these amps are any indication of what the future holds for high-end audio, we are all in for some amazing sound (and bargains) as this techology matures.