Nuforce

Plato...I described my comment as an opinion but I did set forth some rationalle for it.

1.."These modules are intended... bugs get quickly found and fixed".

2..I cite a real world example from my work experience where original design of electronics has been supplanted by use of off-the-shelf subassemblies, with excellent results I might add.

I don't think that "premature conjecture" is a fair description. Perhaps you could share some rational justification for your opinion, in addition to the color of the universe.

I believe that the future of audio power amps lies with use of prepackaged modules such as ICE or UcD (especially the latter). These modules are intended for application not only in many brands of audiophile equipment but also in Pro Sound and other audio arenas. Because the market is so broad it can support extensive R&D and volume production which leads to low cost without quality impact. And, because of the volume, any bugs get quickly found and fixed.

In the military electronics field wherre I worked for more than 20 years we used to design all our own stuff. No more. Nowadays we mostly use commercial designs, sometimes modified for any unique requirements of the military application. Not only is this a lot cheaper (good for the poor taxpayer) but we have to admit that commercial "off the shelf" electronics are almost always superior in performance to what we could do. This should be no surprise. Think how many millions of dollars TI, Intel, AMD, can invest in the design and development of, for example, a microprocessor. Our volume requirement for an "end of life" production run is typically measured in the hundreds.

A "roll your own" design approach such as used by Nuforce makes for interesting technical work, but perhaps is a commercial dead end. Good thing this audio business is a hobby!

Mmakshak...Ebony will yeild a "darker" background, while balsa will produce "faster" bass.