Looking for an all-in-one for the Sonus faber Maxima Amator. Leaning towards the regular Nova, but unsure whether it has enough power. Not sure about the PE due to Class D either. Will not be able to audition unfortunately.
Room is 4m by 4m. 75-80db at most. Any advice would be appreciated!
SF themselves recommend amps from 25W to 125W so in that size space I would have thought a standard Nova should be fine. Can you do a demo before you buy?
Do you have the speakers already? If so what are you using them with?
The volume you will be using is only part of the question, a better power amp generally gives better control at all volumes. Since you say you cannot audition the choices then I guess price may have to be your guide; ÂŁ14k speakers deserve a great front end to bring out their best I would imagine.
Bruce
There’s a lot of prejudice against class D, though it is now increasingly used in some quality hifi kit. If you have no possibility of hearing then there are at least some reviews available now. The dedicated thread on the Nova PE indicated very low level of forum member interest in hearing, let alone experience, but a lot of apparently unfounded prejudice, do l’m not sure you’ll get much useful guidance here on which is best for your application.
Both my Linn Selekt DSM: Edition Hub and SMSL SA-300 are both Class D and are extremely good.
Enjoy Class D if you go that route.
DG…
Appreciate the advices so far. Currently I’m using the MA with Accuphase E800, which is Class A @ 50W. It sounds very good, but sometimes a little bit “boring” and unexciting, too soft if that makes any sense. Metre says I’m using <1W 90% of the time, and have never seen the metre went past 10W unless watching movies.
Also want something more manageable in terms of weight and heat, hence considering the Nova.
I’ve read everything on the PE (including the long thread on this forum), not much info on the web. Some really love it, and some still prefers the original Nova. Difficult choice for sure!
A home demo should overcome this issue, if price isn’t an issue.
Nova PE is incredible more expensive than Nova, something you likely already know.
In my experience watt is not proportional with performance.
But in very large room and difficult loudspeakers, watt is sometime needed.