Balanced line mains

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Pinky obsession with electrical safety is two recently voiced and convenient for me to take it seriously. I think it is

I am also slightly amused by two hi Fi stalwarts(Paul n dave) who must have 70 years hifi experience converting to nva. Doc if only you had played the game.

Well not really it is better to Plough your own field even if it takes a long time.

Paul is listening, he hasn't made a decision, well he may have, but he hasn't told me yet.

[Daniel Quinn]

The second hand price of a nap 500 should tip the balance if needed.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

In one way Paul is weird, he never sells anything, He buys new stuff and the old stuff goes into his hoard. It is like a treasure chest of old hi-fi, sadly mostly linn / Naim,

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

I had conversation with Pinkie on another forum

Which forum.

[Classicrock]

I had conversation with Pinkie on another forum

Which forum.

It was by PM so I'm not diverging details but it was TAS. BTW he appears to have genuinely been in contact with Trading Standards re NVA which does undermine his claim to be concerned about BMU in general. I suspect this is all being fueled by someone else though not AOS related. If he had posted on TAS he would have got some intelligent answers putting him straight but I think he has gone down this route before on there prior to your banning. I shall be interested if the authorities bother to give you a check over.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

They get loads of cranks and people with axes to grind contacting them. They are polite to all of them

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

If it is the ex Pink Triangle electronics designer then he may be technically qualified but practically he is useless, as every single bit of PT electronics has proved to be flaky, unreliable, and a waste of money for those that bought them.

"In later years the company also manufactured amplifiers, digital-analogue converters and Compact Disc transports, however they did not sell in sufficient numbers to offset their manufacturing and research expenses. The company folded in 2003" With Pinky as their accountant

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Just been told the BMU review is up at Critic, anyone got a subscription?

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Got it, it is very small one.

CR36 NVA BALANCED PS

Bits & Pieces

A Question of Balance

NVA IS BACK AND OPERATING ON THE WEB, SO PRICES ARE VERY SHARP. PAUL MESSENGER CHECKS OUT A BALANCED MAINS UNIT

Readers might well remember NVA, and even recall that it stands for Nene Valley Audio, from where the brand began in 1982. The crucial figure, however, is electronics engineer Richard Dunn, who had founded an earlier PA-oriented amplifier brand called Tresham in 1970, which was subsequently purchased by Tannoy. NVA was more hi-fi than PA, and might have disappeared off the radar in the wake of 1997’s Far East currency crisis. Happily, it’s back, and trading via eBay on the internet. The amplifiers include some very interesting techniques – ‘glued together’ casework is probably the best known – so I’m planning to give them a listen soon. In the meantime I’ve decided to purchase an NVA BMU (balanced mains unit), for four distinct reasons.

The first is simply that it sounds rather good, lowering the noise floor and improving the stereo imaging without any apparent down sides. Furthermore, unlike a balanced mains transformer that I tried some years ago, this BMU doesn’t hum – and indeed has never hummed. It also costs just £500, which is relatively inexpensive. And I used the opportunity to introduce some 15amp plugs and sockets into my system. (The old BS 546 remains entirely legal, I understand.)

Changing from 13A to 15A plugs and sockets prevents easy A/B comparison, but a 15A socket that bypassed the balanced unit was created. The difference between balanced and unbalanced wasn’t enormous, but it was audible, and didn’t seem to interfere with the timing or dynamics. The BMU is also surprisingly inexpensive, and since mains quality varies unpredictably from place to place, I’d heartily recommend purchase, bearing in mind it can always be sold without much loss on eBay if the results disappoint.

[Daniel Quinn]

Good review with no hyperbole. Just missing the 30 day try or return sentence.