NuForce vs Red Wine

Unless you are sure the rest of your system is superior to your amps, then and only then, think amp upgrade.

NuForce: Cold, sterile, analytical.

Red Wine: Warm, engaging, very pure.

Have owned both.

I have recently auditioned the NuForce Ref 9SE V2. In my system, they were surprisingly good and they had none of the cold, sterile and analytical characteristics of the Ref 8.02 I heard a few years prior.

They were musical, and grain free. No top end or upper midrange etch.

The only thing they lacked in my system was drive and punch in the mids. Had they possessed these elements, I'd have likely bought them...and I was a vociferous critic of the NuForce sound prior to this audition.

I own Nuforce Ref 9 V2s and they are NOT cold, sterile or analytical. I will admit, the V1s I had before these did exhibit these characteristics, but the V2s do not.

I have not had the good fortune of hearing the RWA amps though. When (if) you listen to the RWA amps, please share your impressions.

It is true that my experience with NuForce was a good 2 years ago. It was either the 8 or the first 9 model. Quite possibly they are much better now.

What hacked me off at the time was the RAVING the reviewers were doing about these amps when they were frankly pretty awful. Lesson was learned there.

I would personally take the RW amps over anything but SET. If you like SET they are indeed very similar, but do not match the spaciousness and holographic imaging qualities of the best SETs.