I'm getting into deep water here since I have never operated that preamp. Check out the avatar for AudioExplorations (above) which shows the red dot on what seems to be the old model.
New NHB 18NS
- Thread starter Sencha
- Start date
there are two different types of volume controls for the current NHB-18NS. one is mechanical with one sweep from lowest to highest. there is a motor that moves it when you hit volume on the remote. it does allow for repeatable volume settings to the degree that you can sight the volume knob (marginal precision). originally i had this one. the other type of volume control (the one i now have) has 4 sweeps from lowest to highest and allows for much more precise volume setting. when you hit the volume on the remote it does not move the knob. however; the position of the volume knob is not related to the actual gain.
the volume control in the 18NS is totally transparent, it's a wonder. in use it is a joy with easy, very precise volume setting. it's not ideal for repeatable testing.
the digital readout in the new 18NS will solve that one issue.....while retaining the other benefits of the current 4-sweep volume control.
So, can anyone who was there give any impressions of how it sounded? I know that while it may be 'under show conditions' with no direct comparisons with the existing 18ns and any descriptors may be just 'sound bites', it would still be nonetheless nice to hear anyone's impressions.
sometimes stuff just works out. God smiles on you and you thank your lucky stars!!!
looks like i'll have the one-in-the-world, 'pre-production', newer than new, darTZeel NHB-18NS preamp in my system this weekend. at the Newport show this past weekend I was able to somehow talk Jonathan Tinn, the North American distributor for darTZeel, into diverting it to my room on it's way back to Switzerland. it will arrive tomorrow and i'll ship it to darTZeel in Switzerland early next week so they can complete the work needed to get production started.
i cannot get the grin off my face and can't wait to insert it into the big rig.
looks like i'll have the one-in-the-world, 'pre-production', newer than new, darTZeel NHB-18NS preamp in my system this weekend. at the Newport show this past weekend I was able to somehow talk Jonathan Tinn, the North American distributor for darTZeel, into diverting it to my room on it's way back to Switzerland. it will arrive tomorrow and i'll ship it to darTZeel in Switzerland early next week so they can complete the work needed to get production started.
i cannot get the grin off my face and can't wait to insert it into the big rig.
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Mike, that is awesome. No one will be in a better position than you to get a read on any sonic differences between the previous 18NS in the controlled environment of your own system. Look forward to hearing your impressions!
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I've been enjoying the new dart pre since Thursday night. yesterday I had 5 different visitors for a 7 hour listening session (not all stayed the whole time), and more coming early this morning.
at this point i'll simply say that it has met and exceeded any/all performance expectations.....and even thou it's a pre-production unit it is a pleasure to use in every way. I love the repeatability of the digital readout for knowing where the volume it is at, and that I can point the remote any direction and it works flawlessly. I love the elegance and feel of the way the input selection dial and volume dial work.
more later, I'm enjoying Debussy 'Images' (Haitink-Philips Lp box set, R-2015038) right now peacefully before everyone is up and about. perfect Sunday morning music.
at this point i'll simply say that it has met and exceeded any/all performance expectations.....and even thou it's a pre-production unit it is a pleasure to use in every way. I love the repeatability of the digital readout for knowing where the volume it is at, and that I can point the remote any direction and it works flawlessly. I love the elegance and feel of the way the input selection dial and volume dial work.
more later, I'm enjoying Debussy 'Images' (Haitink-Philips Lp box set, R-2015038) right now peacefully before everyone is up and about. perfect Sunday morning music.
Sublime.
It was great seeing you, albeit briefly, at THE Show
Sonny and I were really happy to see Jonathan, too
thank you Sam,
it was great seeing you too, next time I hope we can hook up longer.
after the last few days with the new pre-production (one only in existence) darTZeel preamp, I'm not looking forward to the 'separation anxiety' when it has to ship out. the line stage clearly has a profoundly lower noise floor, noticeably greater dynamic punch, and a 'see into and walk around' sort of presentation in greater degrees of realism that goes ,up to this point in my experience, to unheard of levels. and this is in comparison to my much loved 8 year old (but with the latest upgrades and fresh batteries) original NHB-18NS.
the phono stage is a revelation and takes the advantages of the better line stage, and then takes the performance up even a notch more than that. certainly the best I have heard (for what that is worth). of course; you cannot separate the dart pre from the dart phono in terms of what is exactly causing what.
overall; the music simply is more real, and the desire to listen increases. it casts a spell you don't want to stop. on all kinds of music. it completes the picture that recordings want to portray.
I cannot wait until my own new dart preamp arrives.
in the meantime i'll be shipping this beauty back to Switzerland, reinserting my own current model (excellent sounding) dart pre, and enjoying some music........knowing where things are headed. it was helpful having 7 other listeners this weekend and hearing their comments as we listened.....just to balance my own expectation bias to some degree.
if you have the current dart pre you are going to want to do this upgrade when offered. it's a no-brainer.
the phono stage is a revelation and takes the advantages of the better line stage, and then takes the performance up even a notch more than that. certainly the best I have heard (for what that is worth). of course; you cannot separate the dart pre from the dart phono in terms of what is exactly causing what.
overall; the music simply is more real, and the desire to listen increases. it casts a spell you don't want to stop. on all kinds of music. it completes the picture that recordings want to portray.
I cannot wait until my own new dart preamp arrives.
in the meantime i'll be shipping this beauty back to Switzerland, reinserting my own current model (excellent sounding) dart pre, and enjoying some music........knowing where things are headed. it was helpful having 7 other listeners this weekend and hearing their comments as we listened.....just to balance my own expectation bias to some degree.
if you have the current dart pre you are going to want to do this upgrade when offered. it's a no-brainer.
Peter; you do seem to typically ask the most challenging (but fair and respectful to be sure) questions. nothing lightweight.
no worries about it and I take no offense from them. I just need to ponder and gather myself properly to come at the answer from the right perspective. hummmmm.
If we take the changes over the last few years starting with speakers and amps 2 years ago now, I would say there are 2 classes of changes I've done. we could even start with some room acoustics changes 4 years ago, and the addition of the Equi=tech about that same time.....but let's ignore those 2 things.
there are (1) the global changes to the whole system; speakers (MM3 -> MM7), amp(s) (dart 108 -> dart 458), and the anticipated pre (current 18NS -> new 18NS). all those have wider reaching more fundamental consequences than other changes. they pushed the basic capability of the system.
then there are (2) 'local' changes to parts of the system; tonearm (Telos -> Telos Sapphire), Durand Record Weight, and Herzan Active Isolation replacing passive decoupling and some other 'steps' in system cohesiveness such as the visit of the speaker designer for final tuneup, small steps along the way with the stages of the Sapphire, the switch from the A90 to the MC Anna, the significant addition of lots of dsd and 2xdsd files to my server and switch from Merging Technology Emotion to JRiver software for my server. these all had effects on system performance and ease of use.
I'd say the first category; speakers, amps, and now the preamp.....has pushed system performance further than those 'local' changes have. it is hard to say which of the three 'global' changes have the most effect as I sit here. one way to quantitate the significance might be to think about which item pushes the envelope the most compared to where I was. and I suppose it would have to be the speakers. however; I could make a case for the amps or preamp too. it would simply not be quite as good a case as the speakers would be.
and ask me about the preamp after I've had it a few months; I could not be more impressed by it than I am. and it answers so many questions for me and gives me so much closure on concerns I had had up until this weekend. it is the final piece to my puzzle.
Sounds good, Mike.
Sonny and I need to make another trip to the PNW to visit all the great folks up there and B.C.
Peter; you do seem to typically ask the most challenging (but fair and respectful to be sure) questions. nothing lightweight.
no worries about it and I take no offense from them. I just need to ponder and gather myself properly to come at the answer from the right perspective. hummmmm.
If we take the changes over the last few years starting with speakers and amps 2 years ago now, I would say there are 2 classes of changes I've done. we could even start with some room acoustics changes 4 years ago, and the addition of the Equi=tech about that same time.....but let's ignore those 2 things.
there are (1) the global changes to the whole system; speakers (MM3 -> MM7), amp(s) (dart 108 -> dart 458), and the anticipated pre (current 18NS -> new 18NS). all those have wider reaching more fundamental consequences than other changes. they pushed the basic capability of the system.
then there are (2) 'local' changes to parts of the system; tonearm (Telos -> Telos Sapphire), Durand Record Weight, and Herzan Active Isolation replacing passive decoupling and some other 'steps' in system cohesiveness such as the visit of the speaker designer for final tuneup, small steps along the way with the stages of the Sapphire, the switch from the A90 to the MC Anna, the significant addition of lots of dsd and 2xdsd files to my server and switch from Merging Technology Emotion to JRiver software for my server. these all had effects on system performance and ease of use.
I'd say the first category; speakers, amps, and now the preamp.....has pushed system performance further than those 'local' changes have. it is hard to say which of the three 'global' changes have the most effect as I sit here. one way to quantitate the significance might be to think about which item pushes the envelope the most compared to where I was. and I suppose it would have to be the speakers. however; I could make a case for the amps or preamp too. it would simply not be quite as good a case as the speakers would be.
and ask me about the preamp after I've had it a few months; I could not be more impressed by it than I am. and it answers so many questions for me and gives me so much closure on concerns I had had up until this weekend. it is the final piece to my puzzle.
Mike, thanks for the relative weighting of the many improvements that you have recently made. No easy task, I am sure. Your posts tend to be extremely enthusiastic about every upgrade, so this helps to put them into some perspective. I have no doubt that with such a transparent and revealing system, any changes are easily heard, and your changes seem to be at the upper end of what is available.
Congratulations on what at this point must be near the pinnacle of what is possible in this hobby. Your fellow Seattle area audio buddies are lucky indeed to be able to share in your enjoyment.
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