A Day at NVA - by The Maverick Forum

[savvypaul]

Situated in a ‘chocolate box’ English village, with the backdrop of the stunning Welland Viaduct, NVA’s new workshop and listening room is just a few miles from the town of Corby in the East Midlands. Happily, this is just a short drive for me, so a visit was arranged and I met up with Cambs12 there a few days ago. As expected for NVA, the atmosphere was more like a bakeoff than a formal factory visit and much of the time was spent chatting and listening to music.



NVA have come a long way since the company began. Founded by the late Richard Dunn, it has undergone numerous changes, from effectively a one-man operation, through employing over 30 people, closing down and then starting up again as a small, direct sales operation. Throughout its history, the ethos has nevertheless remained the same. Everything is handmade in the UK and designed on the basis of sound quality and value, with some interesting and novel engineering. After Richard Dunn passed away unexpectedly in 2019, the future was secured when Paul Tiernan took on the business, together with Tomasz Danus, who had previously been working with Richard. NVA has subsequently expanded, with the addition of Mark McVitty and his charming better half, and moving from Durham to its current location. This is not too far from the Nene Valley where it all began (hence Nene Valley Audio). Tomasz is now permanently based in his native Poland, looking after some manufacture and servicing the European market.

NVA’s amplification works along much the same lines as it always has. Substantial attention is paid to power supplies and the company promotes its use of extremely high quality toroidal transformers (currently supplied by Toroidy). The circuits also accord with Richard Dunn’s tradition of ‘take away rather than add’, with the aim of nothing unnecessary ending up in the signal path. This results in a somewhat minimalist end product and requires specific choices for speaker cables, which NVA produces and offers. These appear good value considering the materials and time involved in production. Also probably unique is the continued use of bonded, non-metallic casework.

Anyway, on to the new premises. Neatly laid out, there is some ridiculously clean and tidy workshop space and an attractive (and extremely comfortable) listening room, where we spent far too many pleasant hours. The session was powered by the company’s new integrated, now produced in a satin black finish and looking very neat. The speakers for the day were NVA’s new prototypes. Similar to the existing ‘Cube’, with a minimalist crossover and upward-firing mid-bass, they are rigidly constructed in birch ply.

I have reviewed some NVA amplification in the past, and my findings from the visit are much the same. They do not sound like valve amplifiers or solid state amplifiers. They just have an open nature that means music feels unconstrained and natural sounding. The speakers also have the major benefit of ‘semi-omnis’ in that it matters little where you sit, as the music is all around you, yet manages a very good soundstage, with decent width and depth. Similar to the way that NVA approach things, I will avoid an extensive essay of ‘audiophile speak’ and simply say that it was untiring, enjoyable, fun and highly ‘musical’ to my ears. I happily admit to some personal bias, because I like the company and the people, but I also know what I like in terms of listening to music. NVA ticks a great many boxes in that regard.

To conclude, many forum visitors will already know Paul from his humorous posts, but behind that lies a commonsense business approach and a company that takes its clients very seriously. Not to mention, a ‘slow and steady’ attitude to development, with a strong focus on quality. Despite the new listening facilities on site, NVA primarily works based on a 30-day home trial basis, allowing potential customers to appreciate how systems and items will work in their own space.

A day at NVA

📷 Situated in a ‘chocolate box’ English village, with the backdrop of the stunning Welland Viaduct, NVA’s new workshop and listening room is just a few miles from the town of Corby in the East Midlands. Happily, this is just a short drive for me, so a visit was arranged and I met up with...

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