NHB-108 model one

asiufy

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Jul 8, 2011
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At 9500 euros it was a steal, at 6900 it's almost too good to be true. US retail is north of $40k now, unfortunately.
 

andromedaaudio

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Jan 23, 2011
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Amsterdam holland
You want to swap what?
Please Read my post i have a cat jl 2 sign, i will swap for either dart 108. Ml big Amps. Halcro ( + extra money)
Not Lindeman.
If you havent bought it beginning of june and its in belgium, i ll get on my Motorbike and check it out
 

Drikus

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Sep 28, 2012
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Heard back from Hervé and yes, this NHB-108 model one is a true instrument built by darTZeel he says and that it did not have the SCNP Network upgrade. The seller confirmed this. He was told by the distributor that the upgrade was just marketing nonsense and that it didn't improve the sound so he didn't do the upgrade after hearing this. The cost of the upgrade back then was only 1500 Swiss Francs! I have trouble understanding this logic, owning a world class amp and not doing this cheap upgrade. Don't know what the cost these days is but I asked Hervé. The amp is located in Lyon, France and not in Belgium. I'm not gonna buy this particular one, I'll wait till the right one comes along.
 

microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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At 9500 euros it was a steal, at 6900 it's almost too good to be true. US retail is north of $40k now, unfortunately.

Even in Europe a brand new unit costs more than 35 keuro when we add VAT. I have owned both versions and the advantage of the SCNP Network was mainly that the amplifier could deliver more current before triggering the protection. This could be useful with insensitive speakers with very low impedance, but not to typical users. Many EC owners did not want to carry the upgrade - after the taxes and insured shipping to Switzerland were added typical cost almost duplicated and at that time the swiss franc was in parity with the euro.

Anyway getting a NH108 for euro 6900 is an audiophile bargain. DartZeel is suffering from the intentional slow moving of Herve - it is a small company, every move takes a long time and most audiophiles want it for tomorrow.:) I can understand that Herve current priority are the very expensive NH458 customers, but it seems to me that the large number of NH108 owners feel disappointed with the lack of interest of the company on the model, particularly after the release of the new preamplifier.
 

Drikus

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Sep 28, 2012
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Even in Europe a brand new unit costs more than 35 keuro when we add VAT. I have owned both versions and the advantage of the SCNP Network was mainly that the amplifier could deliver more current before triggering the protection. This could be useful with insensitive speakers with very low impedance, but not to typical users. Many EC owners did not want to carry the upgrade - after the taxes and insured shipping to Switzerland were added typical cost almost duplicated and at that time the swiss franc was in parity with the euro.

Anyway getting a NH108 for euro 6900 is an audiophile bargain. DartZeel is suffering from the intentional slow moving of Herve - it is a small company, every move takes a long time and most audiophiles want it for tomorrow.:) I can understand that Herve current priority are the very expensive NH458 customers, but it seems to me that the large number of NH108 owners feel disappointed with the lack of interest of the company on the model, particularly after the release of the new preamplifier.

Where did you get these prices? Price for a 108 incl. VAT today is 24000 euro.
 

microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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Drikus

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Sep 28, 2012
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Close to making a deal on a CTH-8550 integrated instead of a NHB-108 model one. It's a shop ex-demo model with the latest upgrades and the optional mm/mc phono board installed.
 

microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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Close to making a deal on a CTH-8550 integrated instead of a NHB-108 model one. It's a shop ex-demo model with the latest upgrades and the optional mm/mc phono board installed.

A very different amplifier - I would prefer the old NH18NS+ NH108, even without SNCP, to any CTH-8550. I have owned both.
 

Elberoth

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Dec 15, 2012
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Elberoth

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Dec 15, 2012
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They are different.

Personally, I would go with yet another amp: Dagostino Momentum Stereo. There is one in Poland right now for sale @ 12500 EUR in 9/10 condition from a seller I can vouch for.
 

microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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Didn't known that, it's a no go then. Thank you both for the info.

Micro, I see you've got Parasound JC1's now. Are they better than the NH108?

I got the Parasound's because I wanted to listen them in the Soundlab´s - and I have to say they sound really exceptional in this speaker. The Dartzeel combo sounded nicer, more musical that the Parasound's, but did not have energy enough to drive the A1 PX's panels, although strings and voices were remarkable.

We can not forget the speakers and room - for example, the extra energy and punch of the 8550 was welcome in the Soundlab´s.
 

Elberoth

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Dec 15, 2012
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Yes. He bought the M400 monos for his Magico M3s.
 

Elberoth

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Dec 15, 2012
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The Dagostino is similar size to darTZeel - slightly deeper, but much narrower. Almost like a darTZeel put sideways, only lower.
 

Drikus

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Sep 28, 2012
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Just heard from Hervé that the SCNP Network upgrade cost is 2750 swiss francs, that's somewhere around 2400 euro.
 

Elberoth

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Dec 15, 2012
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I had not one, not two, but THREE darTZeels 108. I have sold the last one when I got the Wilsons Sasha. The dart was just not powerful enough to drive them. dart is most happy driving 6-8 Ohm speakers, that do not drop below 4 Ohms. Speakers dropping to 3 Ohms are borderline IMO. Anything dropping below 3 Ohms is a big no no for dart.

I have since moved to Dagostino Momentum Stereo and haven't looked back.
 

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