NuForce SE
cajunbaseball -- Sun, 10/01/2006 - 18:53
When you guys reviewed the NuForce amps for the November 06 issue, did you review the Nuforce 9.02 or the 9.0SE? According to several reviews, the SE is one great amp. I'm interested in the experiences of others.
I believe that Chris Martens reviews (favorably) both the NuForce Reference 9 and the 9SE in our Class D feature.
The units I auditioned and reported on are the Model 9 SE. These are the same units Chris Martens heard.
Robert Harley
Ref 9 and Ref 9 SE refers to our PRODUCT MODEL NUMBER.
Similar to other electronics products (such as your laptop, router etc), we used revision numbers to keep track of changes or updates.
Therefore we have revision x.0 and x.02 (there is no x.01). Since November 2005, all amplifiers regardless of MODEL NUMBERS are based on revision x.02. There is no plan to offer another revision.
How do you identify the revision number:
(1) Ref 9 SE and Ref 8.5 - they are 8.02 and 9.02 by default.
(2) For Ref8, Ref8b, and Ref9:
a)If the serial number has 2006 year on it, it is definitely a revision 8.02 or 9.02 (we do not place a 9.02 label on 2006 production).
b) If the serial number has 2005 year on it, then there should be an Upgrade Version 8.02/9.02 label next to the serial number.
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The NuForce model I commented on was the Reference version, which was the exact same pair Chris reviewed.
Regarding NuForce models as reviewed in TAS:
My original NuForce review in TAS (issue 158) covered what was then the most up-to-the-minute version of the NuForce Reference 9. I believe this is the model that rabalais calls the "Reference 9.02."
Some time after the review was published, I sent TAS Editor Wayne Garcia the original Reference 9 review samples so that he could try them out. So far as I am aware, those are the Reference 9 amplifiers that Wayne commented upon in our Class D feature article.
Later, NuForce released the Special Edition version of the Reference 9, and kindly loaned me a pair to try out. My finding was that the Special Edition versions were indeed better than the original Reference 9s.
That said, I would observe that the differences between the two models might not seem extremely obvious or important when the amplifiers are driven by medium-resolution source components or heard through medium-resolution loudspeakers.
Once you get beyond a certain threshold level in terms of the resolving power of associated components, however, the sonic differences between the Reference 9 SE and regular Reference 9 become--at least as I perceive things--readily apparent, musically significant and worthwhile.
Best,
Chris Martens
TPV/TAS
Chris Martens
Editor, Avguide.com/Playback/The Perfect Vision
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