From Bigman80 posted at TAS forum.
I first became aware of NVA about 18 months ago. When the opportunity arose to hear the NVA Phono 2 at MCRU at the Hudderfield bakeoff last year, I listened. I liked what i heard. So much so, i felt it in my stomach. Fast forward 12 months and i was offered the chance to buy one of these units. So i did!
A few days passed and it arrived on the doorstep. A Head unit and two PSU's, recently purchased (May 2018) and then made available to me. So, as with all things, a visual inspection takes place. I am not happy! There is glue visible on the outside of the joints of the PSU. In places the cases aren't aligned as well as one would look for in a £800 Phonostage either. I call my friend and ask if he has had them apart. My thought was that it had been damaged and been repaired, but no, it came like this to him, as it did me. Visual discrepancies apart, i like the styling. Neat little black boxes, they look sleek and understated. Very good. Next up, i plug them in. All Good? Well, again, No. For me, the sound of a Transformers mechanical buzzing, is like the builder/creator saying to me " I don't install quality transformers because you wouldn't know any different". They'd be wrong. You see, good quality transformers don't buzz in their casework, cheap ones do and BOY do these buzz. Not going great so far but again, i think to myself, lets have a listen.
I plug everything in and switch everything back on. Straight away the NVA Phono 2 is completely unhappy in the rack. The BUZZING TRANSFORMERS appear to be affecting the head unit along with EVERYTHING around it. I moved the head and placed it in an upright position away from everything else and voila! No noise. Unconventional placement but at least we could listen noise free!
Top Tip: Get the head unit as far away as possible from anything with a transformer.
On to the listening...... One of my favorite tracks at the minute is on an album by Steve Miller. Trouble is, i forgot to critique the performance of the NVA2. I forgot because it engulfed me with enjoyment and musicality. It took me out of what i was thinking. I ended up listening to the whole side before realizing i hadn't written a word. Side Two, more of the same. I listened, foot tapping and rocking in my reclining chair. I decided i MUST pay attention and stop being distracted. On went "Lynyrd Synyrd – Simple Man" Nope, too busy playing air guitar and singing my head off. Whats going on?
I decided to swap to the Wizard DIY Phonostage and reset my brain. It was then when i realised what was going on. The NVA doesn't concern itself too much with revealing the absolute inner depths of the recording. But what it does play, it does so with ample enthusiasm. Its infectious and i am loving it. My reset to the Wizard has uncovered a slight issue though. I am convinced there is a tonal deviation. The NVA2's Mid range and Bass seems more prominent than i'm used to hearing. Almost like it had a little "bloom" to it. The Wizard has a deliberately accurate RIAA, regardless of whatever consequence that has on the music. I wanted it that way and still do. On to the Oscilloscope it went. Sure enough, there is a lift at 100HZ and the lift carried on into the bass frequencies. Whilst on the scope, i noticed something more surprising. There is ringing in the high frequencies. This was shown on the square wave (Pictures available) I was surprised by this, as solid state gear is usually very reliable in this area. Also, i cant imagine the Mid-Bass frequency lift is an accident either. I expect this was deliberate. To give the phonostage a bit more "umph", essentially being "voiced" by the creator. Luckily, it works because the NVA2 is a great sounding unit. But what about that ringing? Well, without getting someone with more knowledge than me to look at it, its unlikely i'll find out. The other issue (or non issue) is that the NVA2 is loaded at 470ohms as standard. In comparative listening tests, the NVA always had the edge until i discovered this. I loaded the Wizard at 470ohms and the differences between the two, in terms of musicality, became negligible.
On with the listening tests..... The more time i spent with the NVA, the more i appreciated what it did. It was capable of taking a less than stellar recording and making it easy to listen to, almost improving its quality. On the other hand, it would take a top recording and make it sound as good, but without "dumbing it down" which i didn't really understand. Surely the good recording should be even better? But it didn't work out like that. That said, EVERYTHING sounded good and i didnt feel it ever took anything away from the tracks i listened to. By this time i had spent some considerable hours listening to the NVA2, probably about 80-90hrs. I decided it was time to see what happened when i put the Wizard back in. It was now that i was ready to wite a conclusion of my time with the NVA.
My verdict:
The NVA is a very musical phonostage. Soundstage is nice and wide and has good depth. There is no hint of the solid State "Zing" of which most SS units suffer from. The high frequencies weren't as extended but it wasnt a problem and actually the the tonal spectrum was very good. The mids and bass integrated well but i always felt they were a little out of balance with the highs in terms of EQ. It might be described as a slightly darker presentation than i am used to, but again, it really didnt feel like it was a problem or hindrance. Music flows effortlessly from the NVA2 into a smooth stream of easy to listen to sound. In my opinion, It doesn't reach into the depths of the recording as well as some phonostages i've heard but they come at a higher price tag. The NVA doesn't really recreate the ambiance of the environment the recording was done in either, but again, to get that, you will spend more, Nor do you get the whole 9 yards of intricacy BUT, if you dont need it, then this phonostage really should be on your radar. It's got rhythm, pace, its agile and sweet and it gives a performance that makes the £500 i spent on it seem an absolute bargain. There is excellent definition, channel separation is as good as anything out there. The foot tapping it forced on me was infectious and if you are looking for something that gets you moving, then this is it! A real "good time" phonostage. Very enjoyable. I don't think for £500, there is anything close to it for sheer musicality.
There are a few Red flags though:
It's current retail price of £800, really makes me question the quality of materials i am getting for my money. I HATE mechanically buzzing transformers. Such a simple thing to do right and these were very noisy. Its acrylic cases scratch when you touch it with a duster and i am not overly chuffed that i had to rebuild and hack my IKEA unit just to get the head unit to behave. I couldn't go near it with my phone in my pocket as it went ape shit and threw out all sorts of speaker testing noises. I also had no idea how to connect the PSU's to the head amp. What do i do with the spare leads? Connect them together? Leave them unconnected with the exposed contacts just dangling in free space? Where is the instruction leaflet? A basic leaflet with the simplest information is all that's required and for £800, i don't thinks it's too much to ask. It would've saved me an hour waiting for my mate to let me know how to set it up without causing any damage. He tells me he waited two days for a response to this question. I am not sure where he asked mind you.
I am also sat here wondering why the PSU's have Male XLR connections (exposed contacts) and the Passive (until plugged in) head unit has female XLRs. I just dont understand why anyone would fit them this way around. Someone said that it's below the threshold for Safe Levels of DC Voltage but it measures at 80v across the two pins, which i doubt would be much fun to touch. I could be wrong on this and if so, fair enough. Personally i would want them the other way around.
At £500, the NVA2 is a steal and if you heed my warning over the XLRs, the placement of the head unit and are prepared to hack your IKEA furniture, then go for it. It's easy to ignore the buzzing transformers when you are getting this quality of sound for £500. I loved its energy and drive. A really great phonostage to listen to.
Is it a giant killer? Well, no. The AQVOX is a giant (£3K) and id take the AQVOX everyday if budget was no issue.
Would i buy one? Yes, i did at £500 but at £800, No. I wouldn't be happy with the build materials and the PITA head unit. I wouldn't be able to ignore the transformers buzzing and the scratch loving acrylic would drive me insane. For £800, i'd save a couple of quid and get the Croft RIAA R at £1000.
