2. amps-preamps
  3. 1241027845

What's wrong? Nuforce/Capri no better than Sunfire

Preface: this is regarding 2 channel analogue SQ.
OK. I know it's very early in the comparison process, and I've "only" critically listened for 2-3 hours. But whereas listening to speakers has shown clear differences (to a point), and the move up the B&W ladder from 9NTs to N803s was SIGNIFICANT, I'm at a loss on the amp/preamp. The jump from my old $4k Pioneer flagship HT rcvr to the Sunfire TGA5200 was very significant. Less significant but noticeable was the jump from the Pio as preamp to the Sunfire TGP5 as pre. I then read a lot about how a good 2 channel pre would crush an HT pre/pro. So I got the Jeff Rowland Capri. Have listened for quite some time and struggled mightily to justify the Capri, but I just don't hear ANY major improvement. Maybe some VERY subtle things, but I can't even be sure of that. I also read that a good 2 channel amp would crush a multi-channel amp. So I just picked up the Nuforce ref 9SEv2, and I've gone back and forth with the TGA5200, unscientifically, but again, I don't hear any major difference, whether through the Capri or the Sunfire TGP5. Am I just missing "golden ears" and reached the audio equivalent of the Peter Principal" (rising to my level of incompetence)? Is the Sunfire stuff just that good? Is the old claim that all good amps/preamps should sound similar true? It just strikes me as odd that so many people on these audio boards hear huge differences and I don't. What's wrong?
jeffkad
jb8312
247 posts
 
I thought you said you were going to give it try! The Nuforce haven't even warmed up yet....

John
jeffkad OP
195 posts
 
John:

I'm not running to sell them yet, lol! I am going to keep them around for a while. But I've got to tell you, I'm kind of stunned that nothing dramatic is happening here, so figured I'd reach out to the agon community to get some opinions. Regarding warming up: I've left them on all night, and I will leave them on 24/7 as I do with all my components, and I've had them running music almost continuously since around 10am this morning (it's 4pm now). Don't think warmup is the issue. They're used, and I'm sure you broke them in thoroughly, so it's not a break-in issue either. Look, this may simply be a matter of my room or my ears making it not happen for me. But I've gotta ask, how long do I give it? Tvad, as usual, may be right. (PS-John, maybe you want to let me try those Brystons, lol!!!)
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almarg
8,673 posts
 
My experience has been that the only way to INITIALLY "home-in" on the differences between reasonably accurate electronics, in an efficient manner, is to listen to high quality audiophile-caliber recordings with which you are very familiar. Preferably recordings of unamplified instruments and/or human voice, recorded in a good hall, recorded with a minimal number of microphones, and minimal post-processing.

Once your consciousness has identified and homed in on the differences, it will then be more readily possible to hear those differences on a much wider range of material. You will then, and only then, be in a position to decide if they really matter to you, or are worth the extra cost.

As we all know, some people claim that all amplifiers sound the same, within their power capabilities. And at the other extreme, some people claim "huge" differences can result from reversing the orientation of an amplifier's ac line fuse. For 99.9% of us, I think it is safe to say that the truth lies somewhere in between those extremes, and will depend on the listener's hearing, the listener's sense of what is important in music reproduction, the other components in the system, the room, the type of music being listened to, and the quality of the recordings being listened to.

I suggest following the initial approach I described above, if you are not already, and resisting the temptation to judge until you have done so.

Regards,
-- Al
larryken
537 posts
 
TVAD gave you real good advice....
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,486 posts
 
.
....yeah, I agree with what TVAD said....

Hey, it is what it is. If the less expensive item sounds better than the pricier one with more snob appeal, then so be it. Trust your ears. I've been down that road before where a lesser priced item held its own against a pricier item. Sell the pricier item, take the money and run.
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