It was the darnedest thing: Within 40 minutes of hooking it up, I’d decided that the NuForce Reference 9 V2 monoblocks were the worst amplifiers I’d ever heard. At first, I wondered if a chest cold had spread north to my ears, but no amount of grimacing and swallowing made the signal path any clearer. I felt a tug of fear. Uh-oh, Houston, we have a problem. To my unblocked ears, the 9 V2 was a disastrous leap away from NuForce’s "house" sound. Where were the crispness, the clarity, the punch, the dynamics? By comparison, my esteemed NuForce Reference 9 SE monoblocks were so much livelier that I wrung my hands in despair. After all, on blind faith, I’d already invested in eight (!) V2 upgrade boards with which to modify all my Reference 9 SEs.

Maybe the volume was too low? I pressed the Up button of my preamplifier’s logarithmic volume control until my ears hurt. Musical lines remained glued together, overtones clanging against fundamentals in ear-piercing assaults. At the same time, a veil of electronic vapor obscured fine detail. The large, energetic expanse produced by earlier NuForce amps was replaced by a narrow, lifeless soundfield. The timbres were all wrong: voices honked, trumpets sounded like saxophones. A mess.

Nervously, I began fumbling through my collection, looking for tracks compatible with this sound. Nothing worked. The mist penetrated my T-shirt. Sensing a crisis, I began to scribble for posterity. Here are my real-time notes (expurgated):

Pervasive upper-bass overlay. The V2 imitates the sound of a linear [transformer-based] amp.

Soft edges remind me of a Phase Linear 400 circa 1981.

Center image dominates while side information is indistinct: sounds like early Conrad-Johnson gear.

Did NuForce design the V2 without beta-testing it? Why didn’t they send me the amp before releasing it? Is this what they wanted -- a cross between Phase Linear solid-state and early C-J tubes? Yikes!

Dynamics are lifeless and boring -- something is dreadfully wrong!!

Clanging tones, ringing overtones. Nasality is killing my ears. I’m out of here!!!!

At that point I left the room to ring up a wiser soul. Seething with feelings of betrayal, I could barely find words to express my consternation. After enduring a two-minute, spittle-filled rant, my journalist friend replied in the matter-of-fact manner of Col. Blake, "Well, Jim, if that’s the way you feel, write it up."

Maybe I will, I threatened.

"Just make sure you’re being fair."

Ah. Was 40 minutes fair? Not hardly. Could the amplifiers be damaged?

Calming down, I agreed to inspect the 9 V2s and, if they proved undamaged, to burn them in for a while, then revisit them when their temperature was higher and mine was lower. I’m thankful I did.

Measured in dog years, NuForce and I go back a long way. Yet only 33 months have passed since I spotted the company’s Reference 8 "digital" amplifier at the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show. Since then, NuForce has become a creative force in high fidelity, designing and releasing monaural amplifiers, preamplifiers, integrated amps, multichannel devices, even loudspeakers. A path of fallen credit-card vouchers shows that I’ve followed their rapid progress with more than passive interest: Your faithful scribe has purchased every product NuForce has offered since the very beginning. It’s a habit. Although some products have amazed me more than others, never has a NuForce design disappointed. Consequently, my commitment to those audio artists of Silicon Valley remains ongoing. Most notably, some representative or other of the Reference 9 amplifier series has been present in my system at all times. I never want to be without the company’s top amp. It’s been good karma.

Nevertheless, when NuForce announced the V2, a major redesign of its amplifier board (the analog output section that shapes and sends the signal to the speakers, as opposed to the rectification and power supply, which remain more or less constant), I responded with less than my usual enthusiasm. After all, I’d upgraded from the Reference 9 to the 9 Special Edition (SE) less than a year before. The cost of boards plus local installation fees entailed a sum I was reluctant to part with a second time. Furthermore, NuForce’s new preamp, the P-9, then still on backorder, had dibs over any new amp. I was more interested to hear how the Reference 9 SE sounded when used with its line-stage sibling. Sensing the approaching surfeit of NuForce gear, I queried the company’s guiding light, Jason Lim, whether the V2 modification was an absolutely necessary expenditure. He assured me that it was. Glassy-eyed, I replied, "Take money. Send boards."

While awaiting the raft of upgrade devices, I was favored by a stroke of good fortune. My editor, Marc Mickelson, offered me a chance to preview the Reference 9 V2 free of charge. Now I could hedge my bets. If less than overjoyed with the V2, I could return the new boards unopened and stick with my cherished 9 SE. Bond fund managers should have such a lock.

A week before the Reference 9 V2 arrived, I caught another break. The long-awaited NuForce P-9 linestage showed up. My colleague Vade Forrester has already done the P-9 justice; I second his views and then some. The P-9’s mountain-air clarity eclipses in nuance and detail all previous solid-state preamps I’ve heard. Its advent set the scene for an epic misjudgment.

Original listening setup

The NuForce P-9 preamplifier became the sun around which the following equipment revolved: Reference 9 SE amplifier, Onkyo DVSP-1000 universal player, Paradigm Reference Studio 60 v.3 loudspeakers, and XSymphony speaker cables. The setup had a tender heel: the room. The locale in which I am presently located is a former shark-cartilage laboratory. The "small" room once housed a huge oven where tiburon cartilage (the only true bones in a shark’s body are its jawbones) were melted down into paste. The ghost of Jaws haunts this musically hostile environment. The front and rear walls are of reinforced cement block, the sidewalls of gypsum; the tile floor is covered with low-pile industrial carpet. The width and depth are congenial, at 13’ by 18’, but the ceiling is over 12’ high. There should be a sign on the door: Standing Waves Only. Although the system sounded clear and melodious through the midband, favorite Fourplay CDs sent listeners fleeing. Eluding bass-hyped recordings was all-important. Welcome Diana Krall.

Music from this setup appealed to the mind’s eye. The soundstage was huge. Imaging champs before the P-9’s arrival, the Reference 9 SEs now began pinpointing instruments on the edges of the soundfield. "Look there" was a common response. My next awareness was of increased detail. A friend was only partly joking when he complained of too much information. Prodded by the P-9 and Reference 9 SEs’ sharp edge, the Paradigm Studio 60s’ suave tweeter yielded a wealth of percussive trinkets. Another frequent expression: "Hear that?" The wealth of detail and strong outlines overshadowed a slight leanness of tone. Extremely pleased with the P-9, I now anticipated the 9 V2 with misguided expectations. I wanted the new amplifier to provide the same sound as the 9 SE, only more of it, as had been the result of previous upgrades. More highs! More lows! Bigger stage! Starker outlines! Such was not to be the case. Although a Reference 9 SE on steroids might appeal to detail freaks, music lovers would find it devoid of warmth and ease. I never knew the 9 SE sounded threadbare until the 9 V2 arrived.

After the opening debacle with the V2, I verified just how bad they were with some comparison tests. I moved them to the big room, where the Usher Dancer CP8571 speakers, with beryllium tweeters, were installed. Here, with these less forgiving loudspeakers, the V2s didn’t sound quite so unmelodic or constricted. But a quick A/B with the 9 SE showed that the V2 lacked muscle. Although specified at 190W RMS vs. the 9 SE’s 160W, the V2 threw a narrower, deeper soundstage, which I normally attribute to a power shortage. At least the sound was sweeter than before. I was reminded of a 30W Berning tube amp from 1983. I didn’t buy a small, sweet sound then, and I wasn’t buying it now.

For the next two weeks I left the V2s, ignored and unloved, on amp stands, the 9 SEs sitting atop them, and played the combo of P-9 and 9 SEs exclusively. Meanwhile, we treated the small room with Whisper Walls fiberglass panels. A total of 18 panels, each 2’ x 4’, removed the slap echo and most of the bass boom, but the complete lack of reverb made me feel sick. We got rid of five panels; the tonal balance was still ripe, but at least I could listen without reeling. Although a bit claptrap in appearance, the room was now a valid test zone.

We then replaced the workhorse Studio 60 with an even bigger Usher speaker, the BE10, whose beryllium midrange would add, we thought, élan to the polite V2. Initially, we left the XSymphony speaker cables in place, but eventually replaced them with cross-connected coaxial cables designed by John Risch and made by Renoir Leal, our talented cable builder. We also switched to Evidence Audio Lyric HG professional interconnects between the P-9 and the amps.

Perhaps most important, we brought in the mighty Audio Research Reference CD7 CD player to serve as the source. In fairness to the $2000 Onkyo DVD player, the $9000 ARC CD7 is a state-of-the-art design that uses four 6H30 "supertubes" in the analog section and three supertubes in the power supply. Whether or not all that glass is to blame, who can say, but I do know that the CD7 improves any system. Now we were in for some big fun. Sure enough, the P-9 and 9 SE reached unprecedented levels of resolution. My entire CD collection sounded as if digitally remastered. I exhausted myself with glee, then called in friends and exhausted them.

Meanwhile, the V2s remained out of sight but not out of mind, the big box of V2 upgrade boards sitting in a corner. The clock was ticking. Install them or ship them back? I had to decide soon.

I began using the V2s for background music in the big room. (They were supposed to be burning in anyway.) A few days later, while I was strolling by the setup, the V2 emitted a plaintive note, as if asking exculpation. The next day, an entire musical passage captivated me. Was music happening here? It was time to sit down for a serious listen.

As I adjusted to the big room’s center position, I felt the nape of my neck tingle. The sound was unlike anything I’d ever heard, but at least it was clear and clean. Apparently, the V2 had needed to rest after the long trip to Paradise. Fully rested, its sinuses clear, it was now breathing easy. I was reminded of Seabiscuit, the legendary race horse, who just loafed along -- until he was challenged. Then, he kicked down and flew. Had the V2s just kicked down?

Ignoring a pile of desk work, I unplugged the amps, toted them back into the small room, hooked them up, and listened. Then I tugged on my face in embarrassed wonder. The soundstage had widened, filling out to a classic 3D trapezoid. Echoes and reverberations were sustained, while chords separated into fundamentals and relaxed overtones -- no clang, no Sturm und Drang. Percussive effects subsided into the mix rather than clung to the tweeters. Holly Cole’s head cold had cleared up completely! The feature I liked best was the V2’s timing. Musical phrases ended without lingering, setting up an endearing sense of anticipation. To me, a lack of smear is how live music most differs from recordings. As the next note is struck, tension gives way to release. Music lives in those gaps. The V2 grasped the need for silence.

I was struck dumb. How could amplifiers that had flubbed and floundered two weeks before now sound so competent? During most of the time between, the V2s had done nothing but take up space. A possible explanation is that the pair of monoblocks arrived drenched in static electricity picked up during their long trip via truck and ship. While still new to these shores, the units were awash in negative ions. After a while, the electrical charge had dissipated, allowing the units to regain their factory-measured composure.

Or maybe the V2s had been poorly matched to the room, speakers, and source on that first go-round. The soft-focus Studio 60s responded to the sharp-edged Reference 9 SEs by cutting through room-induced haze, but the V2s were too refined a cleaver. The incisive Usher BE10s were more congruent with the benign V2s.

Or maybe I’d expected a sound much more like that of the 9 SE. Instead, the V2 differed from the 9 SE so dramatically in all evaluation parameters that I lost my bearings. No other piece of equipment had induced such anxiety. The only similar situation I recall was one two years before, which also involved a NuForce amp: A pal mistook one Stevie Ray Vaughn track for another and decided the amp we were listening to was "all wrong." I may have emulated my pal by expecting one sound and then misinterpreting the one I heard.

Whatever the reason, the V2 now played music in a compelling manner. Friends who’d heard the initial setup were as amazed as I at the apparent transformation. Although the V2 shared no family resemblance with the 9 SE, I liked what I heard. The softer outer edges were matched to fuller image fill than the 9 SE. For the first time, I noticed that, in comparison, the 9 SE was all attack, with less tonal follow-through.

By the end of the day, I had to admit that the NuForce team was right not to have let me beta-test. I would only have distracted them with my rash judgments and bad taste. Their design choices had led to a beguiling balance of tube-like midrange moistness and solid-state crispness at the frequency extremes. Listening to the V2 over the next few days made me feel stupid.

I have read no reviews of the NuForce V2, but I imagine most are filled with praise. Most likely I would agree with all the positives they may describe. For instance: compared to the 9 SE, the V2 provided better low-frequency underpinning. The thumps were the same, but the V2’s upper bass hung on the way live music does, while the SE’s runs shy of full support. To my ear, the V2 sounded as if it used a power transformer, which it doesn’t. People coming to switching amps for the first time will like the 9 V2 a lot more than the 9 SE. The V2’s wider bass band will sound familiar, while the SE’s leaner lows might strike them as foreign. I never had a problem with any NuForce amplifier’s deep bass. Higher up in the audioband, I was willing to trade off a few decibels at 120Hz if it avoided the transformer’s muddying 60Hz line noise. Having heard the V2’s fuller sound, I’m thrilled to know that switching amps can fill the power range of 100-200Hz as well as linear amps can. At least, NuForce has found a way to do so.

The V2’s highs were pristine. The old Mark Levinson amps I used to own were brittle and piercing by comparison. My previous "digital" amps were too polite. The 9 SE, which I used to enjoy, now sounds overly etched by comparison. The V2 drew me into the music, but the 9 SE pushes and thrusts the music forward. While the V2 offered romance and relaxation, the 9 SE lends toe-tapping excitement that may ultimately fatigue.

In the vital midrange, the V2 outpaced every other solid-state amplifier I’ve heard. I recently wrote that digital amplifiers "imitated" traditional amps rather than tried to approach the sound of live music. The V2 didn’t necessarily get me closer to live, but it was an original piece rather than a pretender. It did not imitate any amplifier I have heard. Calling the V2 "tube-like" is inaccurate, even if the V2 erred on the side of sweetness, as tube amps traditionally do. Rather, it sounded precise, pristine, and mature without being overripe. It had a hybrid sound that many designs aspire to but that none, in my experience, has attained. No other "digital" amp even comes close to the V2’s all-of-a-piece sonic fabric. To my ear, its frequency response plateaus from 20 to 200Hz, is down a couple of dB until 1kHz, then rises to meet the bass before rolling off at around 18kHz. I like it.

Comparison of the Reference 9 V2 to the Reference 9 V2 SE

The only negative I heard in the Reference 9 V2 was a slight but nagging limitation in emotional response. I found it harder to sing along with the 9 V2 than with the 9 SE. The midrange lacked inflection when it mattered most. For instance, when all hell breaks loose around Rubén Blades, he sounds a tad too relaxed. The man is raging against the machine. He needs more oomph. Could it be a matter of missing amplitude?

Ah-ha -- now I remembered why I ordered the V2 upgrade boards in the first place. Harnessing the V2 to the 9 SE’s overkill capacitor bank should give me the dynamic capability I think the new amplifier lacks to a tiny degree. Let us see if, for once, I was right.

One of my prized possessions is Joan Manuel Serrat’s Sombras de la China [Ariola 74321-614.792]. This 1998 release by the Catalán singer-songwriter, recorded in Barcelona and mastered in Paris, has it all: poetry, performance, and audiophile sound. The V2 rendered the poetry with riveting clarity enhanced by room-filling accompaniment. But the new amp erred by turning Serrat into a smooth crooner. The V2 SE is more truthful. It reveals the rasp of the poet’s light baritone voice. According to a friend who has heard Serrat in concert, the V2 SE’s lighter sound is more accurate. Meanwhile, the SE’s perspective at least equal that of the V2, but to my ear, the drama is higher. There’s nothing like proper dynamics. The V2 SE was the easy winner.

Another great test disc is the Grammy-winning Tiempos [Sony 83184], by the aforementioned Panamanian political scientist and salsa singer extraordinaire, Rubén Blades. I especially like this disc because the backing group is Costa Rica’s Editus, a unique three-musician blend led by violinist Ronald Ramirez. Social commentary and haunting violin, keyboard, and percussion playing distinguish this album, along with the sounds of motorcycles, helicopters, and machine guns. The V2 captured the details, but the V2 SE interpreted the cues. For instance, the V2 sent the helicopters back and forth; the V2 SE had them circle the soundstage, passing in front of as well as behind the speakers. On "Sicarios," a story of hired assassins, the V2’s suave manner masked the message with lilting vocals and catchy percussion. The V2 SE’s higher contrast revealed the lyrics’ chilling ironies. On this system, and for the first time, I realized that the song can strike terror. I could go on, but to me, the evidence is clear. The 9 V2 SE is a livelier, more compelling version of the wondrous V2. It combines the mature harmonic grace of the new board with the youthful snap of the SE’s bespoke capacitor bank.

Nevertheless, I hesitate to categorically recommend the V2 SE over the V2. With the Audio Research CD7’s analog-like signal, the V2 SE was nigh perfect. With less capable CD players (all others?), the V2 SE might sound a tad cool in the lower midrange. The V2 was warmer to my ears. With electrostatic speakers or those with a truly flat frequency response, the V2 might be the better choice. It fleshed out the parts we tend to think are missing in "flat" sound. With aggressive loudspeakers or high-strung CD players, its edgeless flow might provide a perfect match.

My taste and system requirements favor the Reference 9 V2 SE’s more emphatic presence. I’ve gone ahead and installed V2 boards in all eight Reference 9 SE monoblocks -- happily, they all sound alike. Nevertheless, I also plan to keep the Reference 9 V2 as is. It displays a new capability, a breakthrough sound in "digital" amplification that is warm and seductive. To arrive at V2 performance is no easy task. I salute the NuForce team for having taken the hard road to originality. The NuForce Reference 9 V2 deserves to be heard by everyone, especially the competition.

…Jim Saxon
jims@soundstageav.com

Manufacturer contact information:

NuForce, Inc.
356 South Abbott Ave.
Milpitas, CA 95035
Phone: (408) 627-7859, (408) 262-6777
Fax: (408) 262-6877

E-mail: salesteam@nuforce.com
Website: www.nuforce.com