panditji
Well-Known Member
Hi all,
Thought I'll share my impressions of the brand new NuPrime IDA 8 amplifier which I got to hear finally at my place on Saturday.
It all began with me getting a call from an old HFV buddy on the forum that he is the new distributor for NuPrime Audio in India. AND he has the brand-new IDA 8 with built-in DAC in his hands…
Now, I have had good experiences with NuPrime in its earlier avatar NuForce, from way back in 2008 where they replaced hefty Rotel power amps with the (then new) class -D tech Nuforce amps, driving the difficult to drive Maggie 1.6’s…. And boy! Those tiny NuForce amps blew the beefy Rotels away. That was when A2V had opened their showroom in Saket, Delhi and I had gone to hear the Maggies for the first time with FMs Kamal sir and Viren Bakshi... That was when i first heard the Maggies and the Nu Force Class D mono blocs..
So, yes, when I was asked if I want to listen to the new integrated amp, I obviously said yes and invited him over (wanted to compare it with the Lyngdorf as the NuPrime IDA 8 was the other amp in question when I decided to buy the Lyngdorf)
As you all know, my setup is as minimal as possible as I like to keep things simple and have a fondness for all in one amps which has been playing and satisfying my senses for about 4-5years – with NO UPGRADITIS in sight!
The NuPrime IDA 8 is 100 wpc @8ohms amp, less than 1/2 the size of the Lyngdorf. So valuable real estate saved! ON the left of the IDA 8 is the tiny streamer – NuPrime Omnia Stream Mini DAC. Have posted pictures for reference..
Below are the specs of the IDA 8:
nuprimeaudio.com
Listening Impression:
The first 30 mins mins, both of us we listened to the Lyngdorf via the Dell Laptop. The sound was what I am used to – clean, with nice attack!
Then, we moved to the NuPrime IDA 8 with its streamer, playing off TIDAL via the NuPrime Omnia App. Both were brand new in sealed boxes and opening them and setting them up, including the set up for the Omnia app on the mobile phone was a total of 5 minutes or less!
For the first 10 minutes we listened through the Dell laptop via the usb port in the Nuprime DAC section. There was discernable shift in sound. What hit me immediately was the richness in sound. The resolution, detail and richness suddenly increased. The image wider, bigger and the imaging discernably more accurate. The bass heft increased making the sound have more ‘bite’. Now this was not like a day and night difference, but nevertheless very apparent.
Moving on to the streaming off Tidal via the NuPrime Omnia Stream Mini Dac the sound character remained the same. The next 4 hours though were a marvel… From listening to jazz , rock, pop, the NuPrime combo kept up the pace, timing, bass heft etc… in fact, I could even hear the sonic differences on different recordings and formats of the same track!
Different versions of Oh Daddy – Fleetwood Mac, the remastered vs the original f;ac version the differences, subtle as they are, were picked up easily.
Sara K’s Brick House really rocked, as its bass foundation became really solid through the NuPrime IDA 8.
Norah Jones’s Strange Transmissions really sounded hair-raising haunting! And track after track, the lil amp and streamer combo never ceased to impress…
But will I upgrade?
Nope. The difference is too small and I will lose too much of money on the Lyngdorf. But picture this: This amp costs half the money that I spent on the Lyngdorf. And a few years ago, if I had the option to buy it, I would have chosen it and travelled to another country with the money saved... Unfortunately I could not listen to the Nu Prime then as it had no representation in India.
I still have not dipped my hands in the streaming world and am looking forward to the NuPrime Omnia Stream 9 which should be in stock soon.. Would like to compare it with the Sotm 200 NEO and see for myself how much difference in sound does a good streamer bring to the table...
Do check out the Nu Prime IDA8 for an all in one solution with an added benefit of it's small footprint and environment friendly Class D amplification...
Thought I'll share my impressions of the brand new NuPrime IDA 8 amplifier which I got to hear finally at my place on Saturday.
It all began with me getting a call from an old HFV buddy on the forum that he is the new distributor for NuPrime Audio in India. AND he has the brand-new IDA 8 with built-in DAC in his hands…
Now, I have had good experiences with NuPrime in its earlier avatar NuForce, from way back in 2008 where they replaced hefty Rotel power amps with the (then new) class -D tech Nuforce amps, driving the difficult to drive Maggie 1.6’s…. And boy! Those tiny NuForce amps blew the beefy Rotels away. That was when A2V had opened their showroom in Saket, Delhi and I had gone to hear the Maggies for the first time with FMs Kamal sir and Viren Bakshi... That was when i first heard the Maggies and the Nu Force Class D mono blocs..
So, yes, when I was asked if I want to listen to the new integrated amp, I obviously said yes and invited him over (wanted to compare it with the Lyngdorf as the NuPrime IDA 8 was the other amp in question when I decided to buy the Lyngdorf)
As you all know, my setup is as minimal as possible as I like to keep things simple and have a fondness for all in one amps which has been playing and satisfying my senses for about 4-5years – with NO UPGRADITIS in sight!
The NuPrime IDA 8 is 100 wpc @8ohms amp, less than 1/2 the size of the Lyngdorf. So valuable real estate saved! ON the left of the IDA 8 is the tiny streamer – NuPrime Omnia Stream Mini DAC. Have posted pictures for reference..
Below are the specs of the IDA 8:
IDA-8 | NuPrime Audio
Ultra Low Noise Class A+D Integrated Amplifier with DAC and Wireless Port NuPrime’s new Class A+D hybrid amplification technologies deliver the substance an ...
nuprimeaudio.com
Listening Impression:
The first 30 mins mins, both of us we listened to the Lyngdorf via the Dell Laptop. The sound was what I am used to – clean, with nice attack!
Then, we moved to the NuPrime IDA 8 with its streamer, playing off TIDAL via the NuPrime Omnia App. Both were brand new in sealed boxes and opening them and setting them up, including the set up for the Omnia app on the mobile phone was a total of 5 minutes or less!
For the first 10 minutes we listened through the Dell laptop via the usb port in the Nuprime DAC section. There was discernable shift in sound. What hit me immediately was the richness in sound. The resolution, detail and richness suddenly increased. The image wider, bigger and the imaging discernably more accurate. The bass heft increased making the sound have more ‘bite’. Now this was not like a day and night difference, but nevertheless very apparent.
Moving on to the streaming off Tidal via the NuPrime Omnia Stream Mini Dac the sound character remained the same. The next 4 hours though were a marvel… From listening to jazz , rock, pop, the NuPrime combo kept up the pace, timing, bass heft etc… in fact, I could even hear the sonic differences on different recordings and formats of the same track!
Different versions of Oh Daddy – Fleetwood Mac, the remastered vs the original f;ac version the differences, subtle as they are, were picked up easily.
Sara K’s Brick House really rocked, as its bass foundation became really solid through the NuPrime IDA 8.
Norah Jones’s Strange Transmissions really sounded hair-raising haunting! And track after track, the lil amp and streamer combo never ceased to impress…
But will I upgrade?
Nope. The difference is too small and I will lose too much of money on the Lyngdorf. But picture this: This amp costs half the money that I spent on the Lyngdorf. And a few years ago, if I had the option to buy it, I would have chosen it and travelled to another country with the money saved... Unfortunately I could not listen to the Nu Prime then as it had no representation in India.
I still have not dipped my hands in the streaming world and am looking forward to the NuPrime Omnia Stream 9 which should be in stock soon.. Would like to compare it with the Sotm 200 NEO and see for myself how much difference in sound does a good streamer bring to the table...
Do check out the Nu Prime IDA8 for an all in one solution with an added benefit of it's small footprint and environment friendly Class D amplification...
