Today's Fresh Catch features the NVO SPA-II vacuum tube stereo phono amplifier that is visiting from Greece. Being from Greece, the first thing that 'SPA-II' brought to mind was Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, for SPA is the acronym I use to remember their order in history, for it was Socrates who taught Plato, and Plato who taught Aristotle, and Aristotle who taught Alexander the Great too (SPA-II). I was thinking that it was pretty impressive that the cool guys at NVO gave a nod to Greek history in naming their phono stage the SPA-II, until it dawned on me that SPA-II probably stands for Stereo Phono Amplifier Version II. But just for fun I think I'll still think of it as the Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Alexander too if nobody minds.

The NVO SPA-II is a two chassis phono phono with the vacuum tube phono circuitry in one chassis, and the power supply in a second chassis. You can see the faceplate of the power supply in the photo below, inside the cabinet. It's a little hard to tell in the photo, but the power supply is huge. The power supply is nearly the same size and weight as my Leben CS300 integrated amplifier - it's one heck of a robust power supply!

There's lots of beautiful vacuum tubes inside the phono circuitry - 18 vacuum tubes if I counted right. It's quite a sight to behold in a dark listening room with the top cover off!

The SPA-II can accommodate both moving magnet and moving coil cartridges with a simple push of a button, which is a nice touch. No outboard moving coil step-up transformers to screw around with - I like it. There's also a handy mono switch for you mono fans.

I don't have a lot of details yet on the SPA-II yet, like specifications and price, but I'll let you know as I get more information. The SPA-II is an obvious labor of love, and it sure is nice to be able to share this beautiful audio creation with you here at Jeff's Place.

I'll be writing a full review of the NVO SPA-II for Positive Feedback Online, and you can expect to see that review published about 90 days from now.

I'll keep you informed with little behind the scene snippets here at Jeff's Place as the review process moves forward, so stop back by for little sneak peaks about the NVO SPA-II and other goodies when you get a chance - more to come! Thanks for stopping by!