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For example when Diana Krall’s sings the word temptation from her The Girl in the Other Room CD in her close-miked fashion, it can be anywhere from moderately sibilant to downright shrieky depending on a system’s balance of detail, resolution and lack/wealth of high-frequency grain. With the Ref 18s in my system Diana’s potentially over-exuberant sibilance—though still exaggerated as her microphone placement preference would warrant—was controlled and relaxed. Actually vocals in general, male or female, were always real-sounding and very present with the Ref 18s. |
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In fact this control revealed itself further upon extended listening. This was definitely another strength of the Ref 18 - the grainless and beautifully balanced treble range. Within the context of my system which I’ve been evolving gradually and successfully in terms of transparency and detail retrieval, the Ref 18s' way with cymbals, triangles and any HF-rich instrument was thoroughly and absolutely natural.
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| Take The Waifs’ SunDirtWater CD. The track “Sweetest Dream” starts with an arresting cymbal strike that is well forward in the mix. I’ve heard this sounding either strident in some systems, too forward or even harmonically and dynamically muted in others. The Ref 18s reproduced that cymbal strike cleanly, eerily present and harmonically and dynamically unconstricted. |
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Reference system of NuForce customer Mike Silverton |
It goes without saying (but I’m saying it anyway) that the Ref 18s live up to its siblings and indeed the entire class D genre in their reproduction of bass. Any—and I mean any—bass challenge will be thoroughly handled with power, detail, punch and awe-inspiring depth (recording and speakers permitting). These amps seriously allow you to discover what your woofers are capable of - almost frighteningly so.
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The Reference 18 is a fairly new model and market penetration is at an early juncture. Given the Ref 9’s system-dependent performance (anecdotally extraordinary in some and merely good in others) I’d be curious as to how the Ref 18s fare in different situations in light of their more forgiving balance and superior RF suppression.
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NuAuthority
In my review of the Reference 9SE V3 I concluded with a statement that, in some way or other, described the diminutive overachievers as being competitive with amplifiers of far higher physical and fiscal stature. The Reference 18 monoblocks outdo their stable mates by way of presenting a more tonally accurate sound that is also more relaxed in the midrange, and as paradoxical as it may sound, even more intimately detailed, resolute and powerfully dynamic.
So what of the Reference 18 and its position in the amplification firmament? Given their superb chassis construction, striking appearance, advanced technology and spectacular sound, I’d say their position would be rather - er, stratospheric. I’d even say that the growing ranks of reference-quality amplification have a new cutting-edge and ingenious contender. |
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