China 2006

NuForce's S-9 was pretty interesting, too. The cabinet is constructed of birch plywood laminations, which creates both the inner and outer profiles. The tweeter is mounted into a fairly deep horn and flanked by the twin midrange/woofers. There's a built-in switchable Zobel filter and an external crossover, which can be purchased as active or passive. Speaker wire is included in the S-9's $5500/pair (USD) price.

With quiet acoustic music and vocals, I was quite impressed by the S-9's clarity and natural, extended harmonic overtones. Based on the steep flare of the horn surrounding the tweeter, I expected some hootiness, which was not present at all—at least in my short audition. Some piano music played at a fairly high volume, however, sounded hard and clangy.