NAD's Neat Newbies

Okay, I'm running out of clever titles, but NAD had no problem producing beautifully controlled, welcomingly sweet sound from its all-new Masters Digital Suite. The M50 Digital Music Player ($2500) and M52 Digital Music Vault ($2000), a combo that can stream, store and manage your digital music collection, was performing wonderfully with the M2 Direct Digital 250W digital-input amplifier ($6000 and a John Atkinson favorite), Tannoy Glenaire 10 loudspeakers ($7500/pair), and Synergistic Acoustic ART resonance control system.

"We weren't happy with the sound in our room at first," Jeff Talmage of NAD told another visitor to the room. "Then we added these [pointing to the Acoustic ART system]." Now there's an endorsement if ever there were one.

If I've heard Rebecca Pidgeon sing "Spanish Harlem" once, I've heard it a thousand times, but this demo made me happy to hear it again. This time, the bass was in control, which was not the case several years ago, when a very messy demo of this track on my home system during a Bay Area Audiophile Society (BAAS) meeting convinced me that the time for new speakers had come.

My time in the room was brief, but I have a hunch that NAD has achieved a new level of performance with its Masters Digital Suite.

COMMENTS
bracondale's picture

"My time in the room was brief, but I have a hunch that NAD has achieved a new level of performance with its Masters Digital Suite."

Intruiging final comment.  Is that a double entendre  ?

Or does it just mean that NAD have improved on their previous products, or that they perhaps have something special and undervalued here.  Held back perhaps by looks, no phono input, no ethernet streaming input (preferably DSD capable, not just Flac 192,24).

With those missing facilities on board, the M2 would be a persuasive integrated package indeed.

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