NuForce AVP-16 Purists Dig It, Concerto for Orches, tra Urban Concertos, Absolute Sound issue

specifically for the left, center, right, and		describably delicate percussion work.
subwoofer channels. This design touch		The AVP-16’s overall presentation on
acknowledges the fact that some audio-		Like Minds was so clean and pure that
philes already own amplifiers with XLR-		many guest listeners offered unprompt-
inputs, and that stereo purists might		ed compliments on the sound. On
wish to make the transition to surround		well-recorded orchestral material such
sound incrementally, adding a center		as the Gergov/Norrlands performance
channel and subwoofer			of David Chesky’s
first and surround	The Last Word		Concerto for Orches-
channels later on.			tra [Urban Concertos,
	• Fine sound quality in BYPASS		Chesky, SACD], the
Purists Dig It	mode		NuForce did a great job
	• Nice combination of clarity and
How does the AVP-16	warmth		of capturing the ambi-
	• Simple, effective video and
perform in real-world			ence of the recording
	surround sound features
systems? I found the	• Value		venue while convey-
	• No HDMI, no video upconversion,
AVP-16 was at its			ing the sound of an
	no auto-setup
best when playing			orchestra arrayed on a
	• Surround modes not as pure as
high-resolution mu-	BYPASS mode		wide, deep, three-di-
	• Remote is beautifully made, but
sic material (SACD,	ergonomics need work		mensional soundstage.
DVD-Audio, and Dual-			Overall, the AVP-16
	Specifications
Disc) in Bypass mode.			sounded much like
Solid-state preamps	NuForce AVP-16 Multichannel Controller		NuForce’s excellent
	• Decoding formats: Dolby Digital , Digital

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 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

sometimes have a		EX and Pro Logic IIx; DTS, DTS-ES and			P8 stereo preampli-
cold, sterile quality		Neo:6; eight proprietary DSP modes.			fier (reviewed in The
		• Video inputs/outputs: Component video
that distances listen-		(three in, one out with support up to			Absolute Sound issue
		1080i), S-video (four in, one out), compos-
ers from the music, but					169), which is saying
		ite video (four in, o ne out)
the AVP-16 does not.		• Audio inputs/outputs: 7.1-channel analog			a mouthful given that
		(single-ended RCA, one in, one out), 3.1-
Instead, it offers a de-		channel analog (balanced XLR, one out),			the AVP-16 costs less
		stereo analog (seven in, one out), digital
lightful combination of					than the P8 does.
		audio (seven in—four coax, three optical)
clarity and natural, or-		• Dimensions: 3.54" x 17" x 18"			On CDs and other
		• Weight: 17.5 lbs.
ganic warmth. On Gary		• Price: $995			stereo program mate-
		• nuforce.com
Burton’s Like Minds					rial the AVP-16 per-
[Concord, SACD], for	NuForce AVP-16 Multichannel Controller				formed well, offering
instance, the AVP-16					the expected bat-
	(compared with similarly priced multichannel controllers)
brought out the round,		User interface			teries of Dolby PL II
full, honey-sweet to-					and DTS Neo:6 pro-
		Sound quality, music
nality of Pat Metheny’s					cessing modes, plus
jazz guitar, yet it also		Sound quality, film			eight proprietary DSP
had sufficient transpar-		Value			modes (Church, Sta-
ency to reproduce the					dium, Theater, and so
	0 1 2 3 4		5 6 7	8 9 10
sound of Roy Haynes’s		Poor	Good	Excellent	on.). The Dolby and
sure and almost in-					DTS modes proved

“OPPO Digital is earning a reputation for building products that are modest in price and appearance, but turn out to be giant killers.”

	- Chris Martens, The Absolute Sound, issue 168
OPPO DV-970HDUp-Converting	OPPO DV-981HD 1080p Up-Converting
Universal DVD Player	Universal DVD Player
As reviewed in issue 72 of The Perfect Vision and issue 168 of	Built upon the success of the highly regarded OPDV971H.
The Absolute Sound.

of	Best of
Home Theater
and	2006
High Fidelity	DVD Player
	(entry level)	THE BEST PRODUCTS
OPPO DV-981HD
		OF 2006 GUIDE

Products and reprints of reviews are available from www.oppodigital.com.

TPV March 2007 55