– Chad Olsen, summithifiusa.com
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Now to the amplifier itself. Over the years, I have tried amplification from the likes of Bryston, Linear Tube Audio, Finale audio, ATC, Parasound, and Benchmark. Although all of the above amplification was good, I always felt like something was missing with each of the above brands. In general terms, my preference is for an amplifier that is detailed without being clinical or analytical sounding. For instance, the Benchmark AHB2 I had was very detailed, however, I found it too detailed over time and, for lack of a better expression, it lacked a certain emotional engagement that prevented me from having long listening sessions with it. The same was true of the of the Bryston amplification (to be fair I have not heard the newer Bryston amps). On the other hand, generally speaking, I found that with the Parasound, Finale Audio, and Linear Tube amplification, I was looking for a bit more detail. Thus, I was on the hunt for an amplifier that was detailed and yet smooth enough to allow for long listening sessions. Ultimately, I came across a review of the Nuprime AMG STA online on a website called Hifi-Advice. That reviewer spoke in very positive terms about Nuprime. This lead me to Aamir and I ultimately acquired a pair of AMG STA’s to run as mono blocks. I normally approach a hifi review with a healthy dose of skepticism, however, in this case the reviewer was spot on. The Nuprime house sound was exactly what I was looking for in terms of an amplifier that is highly detailed and yet smooth at the same time. I have had many listening sessions that went into the early hours of the morning. Thus, I began to wonder what Nuprime’s higher offerings could bring to the table and got in touch with Aamir about an Evolution STA.
I admit that I was worried that going from the mono block AMG STA’s to the Evolution STA might represent a bit of a down grade in terms of the bass control provided by the mono block amplifiers. I was also uncertain as to whether or not there would be enough of a difference to justify the extra cost. As it turns out, I did not have to worry. With the Evolution STA in the system, there was no perceived loss of bass control. Indeed, there was the same control, but with a more detailed bass than the AMG STA’s. As cliche as it sounds, across the frequency spectrum, I was hearing things that I swear I had not heard before with the AMG STA’s. The Evolution STA was able to do all this while retaining the detailed yet smooth sound signature that I really like about Nuprime amplification. The Evolution STA represents the best class D implementation I have heard. This is a truly end game type amplifier for me.
I will conclude this review by describing the system within which I listened to the Evolution STA:
Speakers: Paradigm Founder 100F and Dali Epicon 2
DACS: Bricasti M3, Denafrips Pontus 2, and Chord Mojo 2
Preamp: Denafrips Athena
Streamer: Auralic Aries G2
Again, thanks for everything Aamir.
Link to the review –> https://summithifiusa.com/collections/nuprime/products/nuprime-evolution-sta-power-amplifier