NuForce AVP-16 User's Manual
Contents
1. DTS decoders worked well though they sometimes smoothed over extremely low level high frequency textural de tails AS a small example consider the Ann Disarms Kong scene from King Kong where Kong seizes a full grown bamboo tree to munch on as a light snack High resolution controllers let you hear an explicit snap and crunch as the thick tubular bamboo trunk breaks apart while Kong chomps down on it In contrast the AVP 16 captures the snap of the trunk but loses textural detail as Kong chews on the shattered tree Nevertheless the AVP 16 s Surround sound processing easily equals that of most mid and some high priced AVRs The AVP 16 will appeal to stereo enthusiasts looking to take their first steps toward home theater and mul tichannel music The NuForce pro vides the core sonic qualities that audiophile s demand with solid though minimalist video switching and sur round sound processing features TPV Oppo OPPO DV 970HD Up Converting Universal DVD Player As reviewed in issue 72 of The Perfect Vision and issue 168 of The Absolute Sound the aeniea Products of the Year _ PerfectVision 2006 Products and reprints of reviews are available from www oppodigital com OPPO Digital Inc www oppodigital com 650 961 1118 OPPO Digital is earning a reputation for building products that are modest in price and appearance but turn out to be giant killers Chris Mart2. NuForce AVP 16 Chris Martens The Gift of Simplicity here s an old hymn that proclaims Tis a gift to be simple and that line fits the personality of NuForce s AVP 16 7 1 channel A V controller to a T Where many controllers tout auto this micropro cessor controlled that and HDMI equipped everything the afford able AVP 16 is headed in the other direction with one main objective in mind namely achieving superb sound quality especially for high resolution multichannel music for TPV March 2007 the least amount of money To grasp what the 995 AVP 16 is about picture it as a high performance 7 1 channel analog audio preampli fier that provides just enough basic Surround sound decoding and video switching functionality to serve as a solid A V controller What the AVP 16 is not is a features rich controller equipped or depending upon your point of view burdened with the latest and greatest video processing op tions or with elaborate custom installa tion oriented features On the contrary this controller turns back to basics engineering into some thing of an art form Keeping It Simple The AVP 16 provides simple and effective pass through switching for composite S video and component video signals but pro vides no video upconversion or format transcoding features of any kind This means all incoming video signals remain in their origin
3. al formats as they pass through the controller When using the AVP 16 with source components that output video signals in multiple formats eed ae Er ae m f in T a ae Ta at once the game plan is to select the source component first and then to use the AVP 16 s video input switches to choose which sets of video input you want to use You might think this sort of manual switching would be a pain but in fact it is literally child s play My kids had the AVP 16 s operational protocols figured out in a matter of minutes with zero instruction from dad Works for me On the audio side the AVP 16 is a straightforward solid state 7 1 channel analog preamp with single ended RCA jack equipped outputs for all channels and a set of balanced XLR type outputs specifically for the left center right and subwoofer channels This design touch acknowledges the fact that some audio ohiles already own amplifiers with XLR inputs and that stereo purists might wish to make the transition to Surround sound incrementally adding a center describably delicate percussion work The AVP 16 s overall presentation on Like Minds was so clean and pure that many guest listeners offered unprompt ed compliments on the sound On well recorded orchestral material such as the Gergov Norrlands performance channel and subwoofer first and surround channels later on Purists Dig It How does the AVP 16 perform in re
4. al world systems found the AVP 16 was at its best when playing high resolution mu sic material SACD DVD Audio and Dual Disc in Bypass mode Solid state preamps sometimes have a cold sterile quality that distances listen ers from the music but the AVP 16 does not Instead it offers a de lightful combination of Clarity and natural or ganic warmth On Gary Burton s Like Minds Concord SACD for instance the AVP 16 brought out the round full honey sweet to nality of Pat Metheny s jazz guitar yet it also had sufficient transpar ency to reproduce the sound of Roy Haynes s sure and almost in The Last Word e Fine sound quality in BYPASS mode E e Nice combination of clarity and warmth e Simple effective video and surround sound features e Value e No HDMI no video upconversion no auto setup e Surround modes not as pure as BYPASS mode e Remote is beautifully made but ergonomics need work Specifications NuForce AVP 16 Multichannel Controller e Decoding formats Dolby Digital Digital EX and Pro Logic lix DTS DTS ES and Neo 6 eight proprietary DSP modes e Video inputs outputs Component video three in one out with support up to 1080 S video four in one Out compos ite video four in O ne out e Audio inouts outputs 7 1 channel analog single ended RCA one in one out 3 1 channel analog balanced XLR one out stereo analog seven in one out
5. digital audio seven in four coax three optical e Dimensions 3 54 x 17 x 18 e Weight 17 5 Ibs e Price 995 e nuforce com NuForce AVP 16 Multichannel Controller compared with similarly priced multichannel controllers User interface Sound quality music Sound quality film Value of David Chesky s Concerto for Orches tra Urban Concertos Chesky SACD the NuForce did a great job of capturing the ambi ence of the recording venue while convey ing the sound of an orchestra arrayed ona wide deep three di mensional soundstage Overall the AVP 16 sounded much like NuForce s excellent P8 stereo preampli fier reviewed in The Absolute Sound issue 169 which is saying a mouthful given that the AVP 16 costs less than the P8 does On CDs and other stereo program mate rial the AVP 16 per formed well offering the expected bat teries of Dolby PL Il and DTS Neo 6 pro cessing modes plus eight proprietary DSP modes CHURCH STA DIUM THEATER and So on The Dolby and DTS modes proved effective though their sound was not quite as pure and transparent as that of the Bypass mode My sug gestion would be to avoid using the AVP 16 s other DSP modes though since they aren t up to the controller s otherwise high sonic standards On DVD movies the AVP 16 s video pass through switching added no visible noise or artifacts Sonically the controller s Dolby Digital and
6. ens The Absolute Sound issue 168 OPPO DV 981HD 1080p Up Converting Universal DVD Player Built upon the success of the highly regarded OPDV971H DIGITAL TRENDS THE BEST PRODUCTS OF 2006 GUIDE AA bestal deel 2006 High Fidelity DVD Player entry level OPPO DV 381HD 453 Ravendale Dr Suite D Mountain View CA 94043 TPV March 2007 55
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