HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

What's been your favourite bit of NVA kit? And, why?

My only item an AP10H. it delivers effortless, vice free music to even the more strident phones I have.

Probably the first bit I got. An old AP30 with built in phono stage. It transformed by record player and my speakers and made me realise how important amps were. After that, it's been a journey of finding the best kit to work with NVA amplification.

A60 power amp as I had to replace parts so feel connected to it

For me it is Cubes. I was sceptical about them, which is understandable after decades with conventional speakers, as they are so contrary to the norm. I already had a BMU, NVA amplification and cables in place before taking the plunge. The 30 day return period was the deciding factor. There was an instant WOW experience as what I was hearing was so different to anything I had experienced from speakers before. The sound seemed to be coming from beyond the room. To these ears the music experience was far, far more enjoyable with the sound stage and the separation of instruments and voices taking on a new enhanced dimension. The trade in upgrade from 3s to 1s was well worthwhile. There was an increase in scale and bass extension. I need not have had any concerns about them working close to the wall in the small dedicated listening area of the large oblong shaped room. There is no bass boom or overhang.

Over time you become used to a sound and what once appeared to be a revelation becomes the norm. This came home to hit me hard when I heard a pair of 4K thin conventional design floor standers earlier in the year. It was a sound I could not live with and upscaling had little effect. It was a different matter when I heard the Mscaler at home and the credit card took a hit. It enhanced everything the Cubes do to the soundstage and by a large margin with 16Bit 44kHz albums of average recording quality.

Second to Cubes and worthy of mention in this thread is TSCS. When I upgraded TIS was already in place between DAC and per amp and pre amp and mono blocks. The big improvement was in a totally different area to what I have described above with Cubes. I would call it a sense of realism. The tonal differences between different makes of electric guitar became more apparent and the effect was similar with vocals. Subtle differences in the voices of the same singer on different albums became apparent, with the ravages of time becoming more obvious. I do not put this down to TSCS alone. It is more a case of highlighting the transparency of NVA amps and speakers. There is a synergy between NVA kit and cables which cannot be over stated. Money spent on interconnectors and speaker cables is well spent.

Original Cubix circa 1991 and still going strong

Phono 2. After my odyssey in finding a phono stage that keeps the level of the internal one of my Braun R4 which temporarily ended in having spent a lot of money and being completely disappointed with the Arkless mod, the sun rose again when I first listened to the Phono 2. Topped only by receiving the second PSU which I got in exchange with the Arkless. After the internal phono stage the speaker relais quit in the Braun, I didn't want to bring that amp again for repair. It didn't take me a long time to decide where to buy a new amp.

My journey over the last year from Cubettes to Cube 3's to finally Cube 2's. Cube 1's were definitely on the agenda for a later date but hey ho my Cube 2's will do nicely thank you very much. Each step up in speaker offered an upgrade, they are quite simply the best speakers i've owned.

My A20/P20 combination. Ridiculously good sound quality for the price.

Battered and proudly running after 33 years. My original P50 /A40 stereo amp.

There is a PSU unit as well to power the Phono stage in the preamp.

The only amp that has ever sounded better is the modern NVA installation that is my main system. But this veteran still makes wonderful music.