NVA 'TFS': 'The Future Statement' lands at Marco Towers...

[Mileend]

FWIW I own the TFS prototype ( 'Nexus') that I bought from Jason. The TFS is the production version with several upgrades the main one being the dual NVA linear power supplies. One powers the motherboard and the second the Asus dac/soundcard. I believe Jason also tweaked the Asus with different opamps.
It is my first server and allowed me to happily ditch my cd player which it beat by a considerable margin. For me cd is a dead medium not that I ever accepted it fully anyway much preferring vinyl. I now use a stand alone dac but having said that the Asus gels well as a complete music server/dac. Jason is a very helpful guy especially if you are not techy and are intrepid about getting into computer audio. It is the most analogue computer audio system I have heard and deserves a lot more recognition and sales.

[Ali Tait]

Perhaps a cheaper version with just a digital out could be produced?

[Marco]

Hi Mervyn.

FWIW I own the TFS prototype ( 'Nexus') that I bought from Jason. The TFS is the production version with several upgrades the main one being the dual NVA linear power supplies. One powers the motherboard and the second the Asus dac/soundcard. I believe Jason also tweaked the Asus with different opamps.
It is my first server and allowed me to happily ditch my cd player which it beat by a considerable margin. For me cd is a dead medium not that I ever accepted it fully anyway much preferring vinyl. I now use a stand alone dac but having said that the Asus gels well as a complete music server/dac. Jason is a very helpful guy especially if you are not techy and are intrepid about getting into computer audio. It is the most analogue computer audio system I have heard and deserves a lot more recognition and sales.

Well said, especially the last bit!

It is *precisely* the "analogue" nature (and that's analogue when done well, not when euphonically coloured and just 'wrong'), of its music reproduction that is so different from any other file-based system I've heard, where it often exhibits an overly explicit 'in yer face', tonally thin sound, that gets on your nerves after about 10 minutes.

The TFS is nothing like that; it's like listening to mint condition audiophile pressings of 180g vinyl, played on a top-notch T/T, only with no surface noise whatsoever - awesome stuff! There is simply no hint of any digital artifice.

This is the only music streamer I've heard which has got the fundamental building blocks of the music right - and the huge linear PSUs employed, no doubt are playing a big part in that.

Quite simply, this is digital audio for those who love vinyl at its absolute best. As such, vinyl diehards and/or computer audio sceptics, willing to lose their ingrained prejudices would do well to hear just what the TFS is capable of, in conjunction with a top-notch DAC and/or stock DAC playing hi-res files.

The comparison with my Techy, incidentally, has been very interesting. I'll go into that in more detail later

Marco.

[Welder]

I do wish people would stop saying things like "It is the most analogue computer audio system I have heard".

If a digital system sounds like analogue replay then its broken. The only differences you should be hearing that would suggest analogue replay on a decent system are things like needle tracking error/noise, bearing rumble, tape hiss etc.

While such stupid analogies keep getting bandied about digital replay is going to get represented as the second best and it just isn't true.

How about saying my record player almost sounds as good as the best digital.

[keiths]

I've just looked at the price on NVA's ebay listing.

I was quite surprised - I had it in my head that it was way more expensive. £1800 doesn't really seem that bad for this considering that it's a commercial product. It's maybe not the way I'd go if I was fortunate enough to be able to spend that sort of money on a digital front-end, but for those who aren't computer-savvy, or simply don't want the hassle, I feel it's a very good solution - especially as the sound quality is reputed to be top-notch.

Oh, and I think it looks great too

[Ali Tait]

I do wish people would stop saying things like "It is the most analogue computer audio system I have heard".

If a digital system sounds like analogue replay then its broken. The only differences you should be hearing that would suggest analogue replay on a decent system are things like needle tracking error/noise, bearing rumble, tape hiss etc.

While such stupid analogies keep getting bandied about digital replay is going to get represented as the second best and it just isn't true.

How about saying my record player almost sounds as good as the best digital.

But the problem is IMHO that vinyl can still produce the best sounds. Certainly all the "oh my god" moments we've had at our Owston get-togethers have all been from vinyl systems. OK, perhaps I just haven't heard a good enough file system yet, but there are quite a few folk bringing file based systems to the Owston do's. I think it's still got a ways to go. It is getting there though. IMHO.

[Marco]

I do wish people would stop saying things like "It is the most analogue computer audio system I have heard".

If a digital system sounds like analogue replay then its broken.

Sorry, John. We've been here before, and I strongly disagree. Jason heard my Techy, in comparison with the TFS/Sony DAC, and knows *exactly* where I'm coming from when I say that.

Trust me, you would too, if you heard it!!

Marco.

P.S Exactly, Ali!

[John]

I like both approaches Computer audio has really moved on so much in the last few years and opens a lot of different possibilties to hear music and for me that is the key I have more access to music
Marco i think it is brillant you got into the whole computer audio side

[Welder]

I'm beating a dead horse here

I don't disagree that a top quality vinyl system still probably leads the field in audiophile sound reproduction and I am quite willing to accept that for many, analogue produces the more pleasing sound. I believe I've said this on numerous occasions.
But, it is a matter of preference and has nothing to do with transparency, accuracy, or any of the other meaningless audiophile terms that get bandied about.

There is no digital sound. Ones and zero's don't have a sound. It's data!
Fine if people prefer one over another but these witless comparisons just demonstrate ignorance of the digital replay process.
It will eventually grind to halt thankfully as more and more analogue enthusiasts actually sit down and listen to a decent quality digital system without dragging along all their preconceptions.

[Clive]

Let's face it, records decks are not going to get much better than the very best achieve today. They've been developed for several decades, there will be refinements but the technology is pretty stable and capable of producing lifelike sound. File-based audio is only just past it's early development stages and is at a point now where it bears comparison to highly developed record decks. These points make it reasonable IMO to use analogue as a benchmark. And yes, tape can be even better!