Does anyone make an amp with super smooth mid/topend and powerfull “D Class” bass?
- Thread starter Doug
- Start date
We live in the golden age of high-end electronics. There are so many great amplifiers available from many sources. What is probably more important is ampflifer to specific speaker synergy. This really requires very knowledgeable dealers with a breadth of experience.
Just off the top top of my head any of these fit the bill.
Constellation, CH Precision, Soulution, Pass Labs, Berning
There are others but I haven’t heard everything available.
Just off the top top of my head any of these fit the bill.
Constellation, CH Precision, Soulution, Pass Labs, Berning
There are others but I haven’t heard everything available.
CPP
Active member
What price point Doug ?
respectfully, i disagree here. i think its always easier to go with a neutral speaker and use amps/pres to add coloration as desired. personal bias is that i think i prefer neutrality over all. that said, there are no absolutes in this hobby (take that, _absolute_ sound! lol). case in point: i love neutrality but symphonic line+raidho is an amazing and end-game combo
- Thread Author
- #9
I already have my speakers, Soundlabs... M1's right now... I am thinking about getting new ones...
I would take a look at the new NuPrime Evolution amp with a 1M ohm input impedance. The reviews are great and it may have the sound you are looking for.
https://totallywired.nz/nuprime-2/nuprime-evolution-one/
https://sonicunity.com/pages/the-nuprime-evo-one-review-first-listening-session
http://nuprimeaudio.com/product/evolution-one/?v=7516fd43adaa
I have not heard this amp but a good friend has a Nuforce Model 9se v3 mono's (Now called NuPrime) that has been upgraded by Bob at TDSS. I believe it is supposed to sound like the newer amps. I love the sound of this amp and it has the attributes you are looking for. I have heard it many times in a system with a Parasound JC2 preamp, PS Audio DSD DAC and PSB Synchony One speakers.
https://totallywired.nz/nuprime-2/nuprime-evolution-one/
https://sonicunity.com/pages/the-nuprime-evo-one-review-first-listening-session
http://nuprimeaudio.com/product/evolution-one/?v=7516fd43adaa
I have not heard this amp but a good friend has a Nuforce Model 9se v3 mono's (Now called NuPrime) that has been upgraded by Bob at TDSS. I believe it is supposed to sound like the newer amps. I love the sound of this amp and it has the attributes you are looking for. I have heard it many times in a system with a Parasound JC2 preamp, PS Audio DSD DAC and PSB Synchony One speakers.
Randy Myers
Well-known member
Didn't NuForce name get sold and Jason (formerly of NuForce) start NuPrime? I may have all the facts wrong, but I am sure that NuForce still sells products but what they used to stand for is now NuPrime, but are a different line of equipment. By the way, Jason is fantastic at standing behind his products. I have dealt with him directly and have been very impressed.
Jack
Active member
That's correct the Nuforce name was sold to Optoma the projector company. They were not interested in the two channel gear so they sold the rights to it back to Jason and some other former employees at the OEM factory who created Nuprime. And you are right Randy, Jason is a good guy.
Guys ,
Jack is pretty much spot-on. I can tell you whatever you want to know because my team and I at TDSS worked for Jason/Casey/NuForce from about 2009 until the fall of 2014 when they closed their doors. Why they went belly-up is a long story and I won’t get into that, but as part of the sell-off, they sold what they were calling their “Home” (HT products and small amps like the STA-100, DDA-100, etc.) & “Consumer” lines (portable DACs, Desktop products & Headphones) to Optoma.
At the time, Optoma wanted to diversify into audio because the video projector market was shrinking, but they didn’t want the high-end products. As a side note, I went to work for them as electro-acoustic design engineer from 2014 until just last May of 2017. Most of my work centered around the new “Balanced Armature” headphone products. Casey Ng (Jason’s former partner) went to work for them too and was their VP of the Audio Division (aand my boss) until he left the year before I did. Together we developed what is now their whole HEM Series of BA Headphones.
Anyway, back before NuForce started going under they had already racked up a pretty good bill with their OEM manufacturer in Taiwan, so as partial payment they transferred the IP rights of their high-end line to the factory, which goes by the name of Hontron LTD (after the last name of the two brothers that own it).
So now Hontron owns the IP rights and since they couldn’t use the name NuForce anymore because that had been sold to Optoma, they came up with the name NuPrime. I’m not sure if Jason actually owns any stock in NuPrime at this point or not, but I do know that Hontron decided to hire him on as CEO because he had the knowledge and background they needed to keep marketing the high-end products. Since that all transpired, NuPrime brought on a new engineer, and that guy REALLY knows his stuff. Hence, all of the new gear that they have been marketing under the NuPrime name, with the latest thereof being the new Evolution One.
BTW – To get a little plug in for myself here, I even had a bit of a hand in the development of the Evo-1 too. Under our ongoing agreement, they ended up using some of the same treatments in the Evo-1 that I had developed as part of the upgrades that we offer for the older NuForce Reference Series amps (Ref-9, 18 & 20) and their other newer products. So besides the Evo-1's super-fast 700 KHz switching frequency and its 1 M-ohm Input Impedance, maybe now you have a little more insight into why it is getting the rave reviews that it is.
Back to the point: The upshot of it all is that yes, Jason is a great guy and I have known and done business with him since clear back in 2006 when my old company SP Technology Loudspeakers designed and built what became the NuForce S-9 loudspeakers (PS. I have a couple of pair left if anybody is interested
. I also designed a number of other things for them like their Magic Cube accessory (now my Aether Audio "Vortex Filters") and was their Technical Marketing Manager and Support Manager during those 5 years. In that, I can tell you one thing - Jason doesn’t “play around” as he works 24/7 seeing to it that things get done. So... he can be a bit tough to work for, but he’s an honest man and does his very best to deliver a good product and treat his customers right. That and the fact that you just can’t beat the sound quality and value that their products offer is why I’ve stuck by him all these years. He’s a good friend that has always done right by me, and you can trust that he will do the same for you too.
I hope the above helps. While it doesn’t tell you how the Evo-1 or any of their other gear sounds, at least you know a little more about who you’d be dealing with.
Take care all,
-Bob
Jack is pretty much spot-on. I can tell you whatever you want to know because my team and I at TDSS worked for Jason/Casey/NuForce from about 2009 until the fall of 2014 when they closed their doors. Why they went belly-up is a long story and I won’t get into that, but as part of the sell-off, they sold what they were calling their “Home” (HT products and small amps like the STA-100, DDA-100, etc.) & “Consumer” lines (portable DACs, Desktop products & Headphones) to Optoma.
At the time, Optoma wanted to diversify into audio because the video projector market was shrinking, but they didn’t want the high-end products. As a side note, I went to work for them as electro-acoustic design engineer from 2014 until just last May of 2017. Most of my work centered around the new “Balanced Armature” headphone products. Casey Ng (Jason’s former partner) went to work for them too and was their VP of the Audio Division (aand my boss) until he left the year before I did. Together we developed what is now their whole HEM Series of BA Headphones.
Anyway, back before NuForce started going under they had already racked up a pretty good bill with their OEM manufacturer in Taiwan, so as partial payment they transferred the IP rights of their high-end line to the factory, which goes by the name of Hontron LTD (after the last name of the two brothers that own it).
So now Hontron owns the IP rights and since they couldn’t use the name NuForce anymore because that had been sold to Optoma, they came up with the name NuPrime. I’m not sure if Jason actually owns any stock in NuPrime at this point or not, but I do know that Hontron decided to hire him on as CEO because he had the knowledge and background they needed to keep marketing the high-end products. Since that all transpired, NuPrime brought on a new engineer, and that guy REALLY knows his stuff. Hence, all of the new gear that they have been marketing under the NuPrime name, with the latest thereof being the new Evolution One.
BTW – To get a little plug in for myself here, I even had a bit of a hand in the development of the Evo-1 too. Under our ongoing agreement, they ended up using some of the same treatments in the Evo-1 that I had developed as part of the upgrades that we offer for the older NuForce Reference Series amps (Ref-9, 18 & 20) and their other newer products. So besides the Evo-1's super-fast 700 KHz switching frequency and its 1 M-ohm Input Impedance, maybe now you have a little more insight into why it is getting the rave reviews that it is.
Back to the point: The upshot of it all is that yes, Jason is a great guy and I have known and done business with him since clear back in 2006 when my old company SP Technology Loudspeakers designed and built what became the NuForce S-9 loudspeakers (PS. I have a couple of pair left if anybody is interested
. I also designed a number of other things for them like their Magic Cube accessory (now my Aether Audio "Vortex Filters") and was their Technical Marketing Manager and Support Manager during those 5 years. In that, I can tell you one thing - Jason doesn’t “play around” as he works 24/7 seeing to it that things get done. So... he can be a bit tough to work for, but he’s an honest man and does his very best to deliver a good product and treat his customers right. That and the fact that you just can’t beat the sound quality and value that their products offer is why I’ve stuck by him all these years. He’s a good friend that has always done right by me, and you can trust that he will do the same for you too.I hope the above helps. While it doesn’t tell you how the Evo-1 or any of their other gear sounds, at least you know a little more about who you’d be dealing with.
Take care all,
-Bob
If you are using a tube pre? A very good combination would be the NuPrime ST-10 which has a very tube like mid to begin with. I had my ST-10 TDSS modded (factory authorized) and when I introduced my new Pro-Ject RS Box preamp it was like a family reunion. Your mileage may vary... But that is how you get the kind of bass you desire and tubes playing the music...
Joseph R.
New member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2017
- Messages
- 181
Doug: I think if you found such an amp you would hate it. For an amp to present different characteristics based on frequencies is a mistake. If a designer wanted the bass, mids and HF to sound differently, where would the line be drawn ? And how could the thing possibly play music ? Remember music ? In real recordings bass is supposed to sound like the instrument. A standup bass certainly does not have the characteristics of a solid body Fender Precision, or a bass drum for that matter. Find the amplifier that can reproduce the instrument and not bass, mids and extended high frequencies.
Randy Myers
Well-known member
One of the better deals/values that I have seen is the NuForce STA200. I recently found out about this amp and had to grab one. My plans are to bi-amp it with the T+A.
Most people on this forum have heard of and are familiar with the Job 225, by Goldmund. A way of getting a true Goldmund amp, without this glitz and expense of a Goldmund. Fantastic amp and great value at only $1699.
Well from what I have been told and my understanding researching into this amp, Goldmund was looking for a way of moving into a lower end, more value oriented line of equipment, but they did not want to do this under the Goldmund name. They already had a relationship with the company that owns the NuForce name so they open discussions. As a test of the theory they design a new small amp... basically a slightly lower powered version of the Job 225 (80 WPC). It feels exactly the same as the 225, and reviews, including TAS say that it is the exact same sound. For only $1299.
Excellent deal for sure... however Audio Advisor has them on sale for only .....................
$499.... dam, what a deal....
Goldmund/Job are very fast, very dynamic amplifiers. I really enjoyed the sound of the Job when I owned one (actually twice). Very good bass, as fast of an amp as I have ever heard. So the Goldmund/NF at 80 WPC should be a very nice match with the T+A amplifier. People who buy them seem to love them!
Most people on this forum have heard of and are familiar with the Job 225, by Goldmund. A way of getting a true Goldmund amp, without this glitz and expense of a Goldmund. Fantastic amp and great value at only $1699.
Well from what I have been told and my understanding researching into this amp, Goldmund was looking for a way of moving into a lower end, more value oriented line of equipment, but they did not want to do this under the Goldmund name. They already had a relationship with the company that owns the NuForce name so they open discussions. As a test of the theory they design a new small amp... basically a slightly lower powered version of the Job 225 (80 WPC). It feels exactly the same as the 225, and reviews, including TAS say that it is the exact same sound. For only $1299.
Excellent deal for sure... however Audio Advisor has them on sale for only .....................
$499.... dam, what a deal....
Goldmund/Job are very fast, very dynamic amplifiers. I really enjoyed the sound of the Job when I owned one (actually twice). Very good bass, as fast of an amp as I have ever heard. So the Goldmund/NF at 80 WPC should be a very nice match with the T+A amplifier. People who buy them seem to love them!
audio.bill
Active member
Hey Randy - This amp sounds like quite the find with its Goldmund legacy especially at its reduced price! :congrats: I just did a bit of research on it and found one post in another forum that raised an issue which could have an impact on its ability to work in a bi-amp configuration with your T+A. Just posting that info here for your reference in case you weren't already aware of it.
"Keep in mind the STA 200 amp has an input sensitivity of .45 volts and a gain of 34.5 db. It was designed with the intent of the user to feed straight into it, the Nuforce dac, which puts out just a bit under 1.5 volts. Using any preamp, with gain ( non passive ), it is likely you will be using just a small movement of the volume control."
Not sure how you planned on implementing your bi-amp setup and whether you have a way to match relative levels of the two amps, but sounds like it might be an issue if you were planning on using them both directly with no level matching. I recall that you had some in line RCA attenuators which may be of use to put in line with the 'hotter' amp (likely to be the NuForce).
Best of luck with the new setup and please let us know how it works out, keeping my fingers crossed for you with your latest endeavor! :exciting:
Randy Myers
Well-known member
Yea, I figured this might be an issue. Job is pretty much the same. Was talking with Jack as well about this. The Rothwell's bring the STA200 back in line nicely .
.Jack
Active member
The Rothwell's should take the SE gain of the LS17 down to 2db which is lower than that of the Job preamp.