Review: New Valve Order SPA II Tube preamp

Petermax we have the SPA-II/2 SE and also the new SPA-One SE in house. Yes the SPA-II/2 SE is better in resolution and beleive it or not the nosie floor has dropped but the ONE-SE is just unbeleivable!

(Dealer disclaimer)

Has anyone listened to the latest SPA-II/2 SE?

Be keen to know how it stacks up against the other new giant killer (or so it would seem) the Zesto Andros PS1?

I am sereously thinking of getting one of these. any folllow ups or advice before i take the plunge?

Not to go to far off topic, but what did u think of your groove plus SRX compared to this and your other phono stages? I like the sound of my std groove and was thinking of picking up a used plus SRX to get lower noise floor and better cartridge matching.

I've heard the SPA against the Kondo M-7 phono at the dealers and just wow, what a difference the SPA was. So much more "you are there" quality. The Kondo was dark and no life. And at a fraction of the cost.

Lula ~ That can be done with either RCA or XLR terminations that you use in the back with different resistors. NVO sends with each unit a 100 ohm XLR input.
The input impedance of the MC stage is set at 1000 ohms when shipped.
Please feel free to email me at:
sklein at soundsofsilence dot com

What about impedance loading?

Thanks gentleman. Yes this 22 tubes unit from Cyprus has redefined my thoughts on phono pre-amps. It actaully has blown away my Kondo M-7 stand alone phono unit that retails for almost $30,000! It has now been sold and will never look back.
Enjoy and HAPPY LISTENING,
Steve

(dealer disclaimer, even for Kondo an expensive memory but really not worth the asking price!)

Hifirabbit. It is great to hear from another owner of the NVO SPA II since there aren't many of them out there. It is perhaps the best kept secret and the best buy in phono stages at the moment.

I bought my NVO SPA-II Phono Preamplifier based on Jeff Day’s review in Positive Feedback On Line, http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue57/nvo.htm
without hearing it, I couldn’t find one nearby to go and listen to. I had read Jeff’s review of the Tannoy Westminster Royal SE, and owning a Tannoy Canterbury SE myself, it gave me a sense of his musical taste.

Right out of the box, the NVO SPA II sounded quite better than my Parasound Halo JC3 phono preamp, it was quieter (much to my surprise given that solid state units are generally quieter than tubed units), it had better rhythm and pace, the bass was a little more fleshed out and I could hear the bass lines much better than I had ever heard in my system. The only original downside was that it was a little bit on the dark side. As it broke in, it got a lot better. There is now no hint of darkness, it is very transparent when it needs to be. It has the grin factor, vocals are so realistic they will bring a grin to your face, all of a sudden you get the realization that this is how real music is supposed to sound like. It has the shock and awe factor, for music with dynamics, its limitless dynamics will shock and awe you. I have had it for about 3 months now and it has gotten better each week.
It is by far the best phono stage I have ever had and I have had my share of very expensive phono stages.