HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

When we moved here I was hopeful that the room may actually be better than my previous house as it was slightly larger and not an L shape as before. When I renovated it I stuffed the ceiling void with acoustic insulation and double boarded before skimming. The walls are all brick/block and, although it has a suspended floor it is very solid with just a foot or so of void beneath. We have a decent carpet, 3 sofas and some shelving units to break up the room. It's a dual aspect room with two large windows and also has it's own, newly wired circuit. I'm assuming the main issue, apart from my hearing, is the perfect rectangle shape of the room. I just can't get it to sound anything other than bloomy and "sat on" but I know it can sound huge and airy. I am using the BMU as I did before, but haven't tried removing that from the system yet

I had a similar problem which meant that I sold all of my Teddy Pardo kit and moved to NVA as I needed a balance control.

I now wear hearing aids and it’s been something of a revelation. Once I get the volume right on my amp, the cube 3s are stunning.

To keep the post honest, I’m looking to move house (downsizing) so have sold all of my NVA and gone back to Teddy Pardo as it’s a fraction of the size of the Statement amp I was using.

Well, here's a thing!
I finally got around to connecting everything up without the BMU - what a revelation! The life is back, the air is back, I can't believe the difference. Previously the BMU was a big improvement so I simply put it in place expecting the same outcome. My first thought was that the mains here must have different properties but I always use a mains regenerator!

It also shows that my hearing issues aren't actually that devastating!

zebbo wrote: ↑Sat Sep 03, 2022 8:59 pm It also shows that my hearing issues aren't actually that devastating!

I rest my case

I prefer mine without BMU as well.

BMU effect is usually dependent on your mains quality. If I remove BMU, here, the sound falls apart. If you have good mains to start with, no need to introduce additional components.

I've been trialling a prototype BMU with a Toroidy balanced transformer. It's the best I've heard my system, and the BMU never buzzes (my original version buzzed regularly).

zebbo wrote: ↑Sat Sep 03, 2022 8:59 pm It also shows that my hearing issues aren't actually that devastating!

Very pleased for you Zebbo, keep enjoying your music.

Richard was a fan of Avel Lindberg transformers back in the day, and I had no issues with mechanical noise on the original A80's which used a 300va for the input/pre driver/driver, and 450 va on the output so 750va per monolock.

Later amps with the Clairtronic, Vigortronix and others didn't fare as well despite using a much smaller VA rating.


The Toroidy audio grade transformers are nice. I've never had one buzz here, even on large va ratings despite having shite mains. Canterbury Windings (old ILP/Antrim) are also good in my experience.

All my gear remains available if anyone is interested. Reasonable offers also considered of course.