NVA P50 MKII Passive Preamplifier

P50 WITH MERIDIAN POWER AMP
I have received my pre-amp and it works very well with little volume required on my 556 power amp. More importantly it functions well in my set up, stunningly so. To think I could thrown a massive amount of money at “top end” pre-amps and not heard any improvement. The whole set up gives a proper sound stage enabling each performer to be heard, and if you close your eyes you can position them on stage as at a live performance. In conclusion I must say a big thank you to you in helping me choose the P50. Best regards, Howard

P50SA UPGRADE
Just picked up my upgraded p50sa. I am really pleased with the quick service you offer. Sounds wise, its the NVA sound but just more of it, if that makes sense. I will add more when I have got it run in. The new volume control is silent which will keep my other half happy. Thanks once again.

P50SA
Well I have listened to the new NVA P50sa and have to say I was very impressed! I have the original NVA P50sa to compare it with and no doubt about it the improved model has more than the edge on the original which is already very good indeed. I would never have thought this in a passive design which is nearly identical, but you live and learn. For me there was more immediacy and it sounded more open - with improved treble.

P50SA / A40 / LS6
Detail. Not plastic, studio monitor detail. Just, perhaps, more information retrieval. In live recordings of solo piano I can hear the creak of the piano stool and the intangible mass of the instrument on a concert stage, and a sense of the occasion and atmosphere unique to a/that live event. Details I'd not heard before on recordings well known to me: Shura Cherkassky live at the Salzburg Festival in 1968; Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau and Gerald Moore at the same festival during seasons spanning 1956 - 1965. These were supreme, God-like artists. And now I can really hear just how great they were. A large depth of sound, front to back, side to side, top to bottom. It's the space around instruments, there is an acoustic dimension, be it the venue of recording or how an engineer has staged things at the desk. The timbre of instruments is more apparent. Acoustic instruments do not simply present the tones of a scale or the harmonies of chords, but instead they sound like they should: analogue and with physicality, as if they are in the room. It's far more natural. It sounds and feels real. There is more musical impact. Bad recordings have variably sounded better or worse than I have heard. This has been a very difficult thing to pinpoint. But the revelation of detail, as mentioned, has been enlightening and maybe there lies the problem with bad recordings: things are laid bare. My perspective is that this is an overall improvement - more of the good with more of the bad.

P50SA
I received my P50sa yesterday. This is the second NVA item that I have with a stepped attenuator, I already own an AP70 which I sent back to Doc to have the attenuator fitted. It was difficult with that one to assess the improvements in sound quality due to the time between sending the amp to Doc and getting it back but the sa is better. Even if improvements hadn’t been apparent was worthwhile for me though because it resolved an issue with channel imbalance at low levels that bothered me with the standard pot. With the P50sa replacing the P20 and feeding the A20x that I recently bought from eagwok the difference was immediately noticeable. Even with only a few hours listening to the music it was immediately apparent that it was more vibrant and enjoyable. Cymbals are clearer with improved decay. After further listening over a few hours reed instruments sounded closer to the real thing. I’ve not heard a lot of string instruments in my time but they sounded closer to what I hear through the AP70sa than they did before using the P50sa. I also own an AP20 that is currently doing duty as my headphone amp, when it was used to drive speakers I remember it sounded a lot closer to the P20/A20x combo than the P50sa/A20x, for me this underlines the benefit of the stepped attenuator. I don’t think the sa is an option with the AP20 which is a shame as it would make a nice upgrade for it.

P50SA
Step by step. I have now added a P50sa to replace my P20. With each step I find an improvement to the SQ has followed which in many ways I didn’t expect to be so obvious. Although the P50sa needs a little higher adjustment to the volume control to reach a realistic level an immediate bass boost was evident through my cubettes along with a smoothness of delivery which is just great! As the doc suggests this pathway is addictive and when will it stop - LS1 to ? when funds allow!

P50SA
I've been running p50sa everyday since Friday. Moving from my active pre to the p50sa made for a few changes. Things acquired a certain weight and solidity, making the sound through the active pre seem a bit thin and ethereal in comparison. My initial impression was one of losing some high frequency detail, but listening more I came to realise that this was more a case of lower frequencies having greater presence than of the high frequencies being absent. Overall the presentation seems more natural now - less hi-fi - and, listening to familiar tracks, I've heard details that I've not heard before; particular in very densely layered music, individual layers are coming through more distinctly now. The imaging is also a little different, not obviously better or worse, just different. The experience with the p50sa has left me even more intrigued to try NVA amplification, which I'm now very much looking forward to doing.

NVA sells, and ships, direct to users. This saves you around 40% compared to buying through a dealer. We are so confident in the quality of our products and designs that we offer a 30 day no quibble returns policy. Listen to NVA in your own system, in your own room (by far the best way to judge any item) for up to 30 days. If you’re not delighted, return it to us for a refund.

How it Works

First, you purchase the item(s). Once your order is delivered, the 30 day trial begins. To return the item(s) within that 30-day period, contact us by email. We will provide you with a return authorisation number (RMA). You then return the item(s) to us by your choice of courier. Once we've received your return, you will receive a refund within 7 to 10 days.

Terms

The returned item(s) must be in the same condition that you received them in. If there are signs of user-related damage or missing accessories, then we may deduct a portion of the refund.

Shipping costs are not refundable.

For full details, please see our Returns Policy