latest and greatest video processing op- at once, the game plan is to select the
tions, or with elaborate custom installa-
tion-oriented features. On the contrary,
this controller turns back-to-basics
engineering into some-
source component first, and then to use
the AVP-16’s video input switches to
choose which sets of video input you
NuForce AVP-16
Chris
Martens
Multichannel Controller
thing of an art form.
Solid-state preamps sometimes have a cold, sterile
qualitythatdistanceslistenersfromthemusic,butthe
Keeping It Simple
The AVP-16 provides
simple and effective
pass-through switching
for composite, S-video
The Gift of Simplicity
AVP-16 does not.Instead,it offers a delightful combi-
[ ]
nation of clarity and natural,organic warmth.
here’s an old hymn that
proclaims “’Tis a gift
to be simple” and that
line fits the personality
the least amount of money. To grasp
what the $995 AVP-16 is about,
picture it as a high-performance
7.1-channel analog audio preampli-
fier that provides just enough basic
surround sound decoding and video-
switching functionality to serve as a
solid A/V controller. What the AVP-
16 is not is a features-rich controller
equipped (or, depending upon your
point of view, burdened) with the
and component video signals but pro-
vides no video upconversion or format
transcoding features of any kind. This
want to use. You might think this sort of
manual switching would be a pain, but
in fact it is literally child’s play. My kids
T
of NuForce’s AVP-16 7.1-channel
A/V controller to a “T.” Where many
controllers tout auto-this, micropro-
cessor-controlled that, and HDMI-
equipped everything, the afford-
able AVP-16 is headed in the other
direction with one main objective
in mind: namely, achieving superb
sound quality—especially for high-
resolution multichannel music—for
means all incoming video signals remain had the AVP-16’s operational protocols
in their original formats as they pass
through the controller. When using the
AVP-16 with source components that
output video signals in multiple formats
figured out in a matter of minutes with
zero instruction from dad. Works for me.
On the audio side, the AVP-16 is a
straightforward solid-state 7.1-channel
analog preamp, with single-ended (RCA
jack-equipped) outputs for all channels
and a set of balanced (XLR-type) outputs
TPV | March 2007
54
|