Titanic bass, with superb uncoloured taughness, no boom whatsoever
Stereo imagery superb
Amazing detail and resolution
Run cool and are vey compact - my DAC weighs three times as much as a pair of NF's!
amazing customer service - the owner of NuForce contacted me personally to honour a solution after one of my V1's fried - amazing customer service and fixed the unit outside of warantee!

Maybe too detailed for some?
Still easy to kill your speakers if you forget to turn your preamp off before turning the units on/off.
Don't look especially impressive if you are the kind of person who likes flashy hifi boxes...
Don't match with bass heavy speakers

This is for a review of the V2, the original 9.01 version had some serious quirks including high RF interference, and high speaker frying pops on speakers when turning off. IMO it wasn't a finished product and don't buy one.

The V2 amp is the finalished product, and has none of these problems.

These are without question the best amps I have ever heard, and are simply stunning. As many others have said, the most noticable quality is bass - moving from a Meridian 555 was likee literally turning on a hidden sub in the room, the increase in bass was amazing.

Imagery and resolution are also first rate, high amounts of detail are projected into the cones

Customer Service

Completely amazing - the owner contacted me personally to honour a solution after one of my V1's fried - amazing customer service

Similar Products Used:

Meridian 555

Deliver music (all music) to the human ears and mind.

I would love them to be free, but they are not ;-)
I started with the v.1 not SE, and the only issue was the FM radio interference.
this is all gone now and their support has been outstanding !!

I have "landed".
The NuForce Reference 9 SE v.2 are the last amps i will ever buy (unless they die, explode or somebody steal them).

Customer Service

Outstanding

Similar Products Used:

McIntosh, IcePower, Parasound, PS Audio, Sansui, Marantz, etc

Superb deep and super-fast bass with great dynamics. Plenty of power. Very quiet. Diminutive size.

No power switch on front of unit. RF interference with internal tuner of pre/pro

NuForce Reference 9’s Review: System: Arcam AVP-700, Denon DVD-2900, B&W N803, HTM1, N805 & ASW-850 and Aragon 8008ST with Kimber 8TC and Cobalt speaker cables and a combination of Kimber, Audioquest and Apature interconnects. Packaging & Aesthetics: Each of the three Ref 9’s each came packed in its’ own “plain jane” box just a little larger than their minute’ form factor with the power cord at one end of the box. As I unpacked them and lifted each out of the box, I could not believe how light and small they are. The black versions are well milled and pleasing too look at. The face plate is plain with a blue power on diode in the middle and no power switch on the front, as it is located in the rear. Hook-Up: I checked to make sure that the toggle switch on the back was pointed to RCA and not the balanced connections. My Ref 9’s came with the upgraded Eichmann Cable Pod connectors and these provide for a very clean and tight speaker wire connection at the amplifier end. Initial Observations: Right from the get go it is apparent that these very fast switching amplifiers are very musical in nature with a very low quick bass. They are dynamic and extremely detailed. The soundstage is full, but retains its realism. These comments are made in direct comparison to how my system sounded when being powered by the Aragon amp, and formerly, by a Rotel RMB-1075. Music Demonstrations: Julia Fordham-That’s Live: A great test as the combination of Larry Klein’s bass and Julia’s vocals provide a beautiful but difficult to power low-hi instrument-vocal recording. The first thing that I noticed is the deep deep bass. The response speed between Julia’s vocals and the instruments and the individual nature of the sound of each simply sounded wonderful. I could hear the individual strings of Larry Klein’s bass twanging back and forth. The guitars and vocals on Concrete Love with India Arie and the vocals on Lovin’ You, a Minnie Ripperton composition sounded like I had never listened to either before. Not different, but more noticeable and realistic. Super Session: Mike Bloomfield’s guitar on His Holy Modal Majesty has always been a favorite of mine. Soulful and jazz-like, the Ref 9’s definitely bring this recording to another level. John Coltrane-Blue Train: I listened to this on SACD and on an Analogue Productions 45rpm recording. Coltrane’s sound is very different and the reproduction of his tenor sax is true to both recordings. Kenny Drew’s piano solo on Blue Train again sounds full, dynamic and just like he was sitting and playing in my living room. For me, the Ref 9’s helped to reproduce this historic recording with a very deep soundstage, when directly compared to other amps. The Chronicles Of Riddick: The soundtrack on this one is definitely superb. A first test of the DD/DTS capabilities of my Arcam AVP-700 when mated with the NuForce amps across the front. The speed and transient responses of the Ref 9’s really shines with this soundtrack. I heard individual sounds like the pounding of metal on metal, or a warrior hitting the floor, etc. which I had never heard sounding so real on previous viewings. Summary: The amps only been running for about 45 hours. When I initially demoed them, my comment was that they brought a new speedier and lower bass response and a clearer and more dynamic mid-range to my B&W’s. My opinion has not wavered. The NuForce Ref 9’s are small in size, but produce a deep and detailed soundstage. I am just beginning to realize how musical sounding they are. They definitely do not change the recording, but I am now able to listen to certain recordings in a different light, as a veil has been lifted, and the recordings have come alive. Easy to install and move due to their size, and easy on the pocketbook at a fabulous price point, when compared to many other more expensive amplifier options; the NuForce amps have been worth waiting for.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel RMB-1075 Job Circuit Aragon 8008 ST Bryston 4BST