Integrated Amp Reviews

NAD Masters Series M32 DirectDigital D/A integrated amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: NAD Masters Series M50.2, Roon Nucleus+ digital players; Mac mini laptop running Roon 1.3, iPad mini running Roon, Bluesound apps; Meridian 518 format converter; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP disc player.
Integrated Amplifier: Luxman L-509X.
Power Amplifiers: Lamm M1.2 Reference monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: KEF LS50, Rogers LS3/5a, Sonus Faber Guarneri Tradition, TAD ME1, GoldenEar Technology Triton Reference, Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia 2.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Coffee (USB) & Vodka (Ethernet), Canare (15', AES/EBU), DH Labs (1m, AES/EBU), Esperanto Audio (S/PDIF), generic plastic TosLink optical (15'). Interconnect: AudioQuest Wild Blue. Speaker: AudioQuest K2. AC: AudioQuest Dragon Source & High Current, manufacturers' own.
Accessories: Target TT-5 equipment racks; Ayre Acoustics Myrtle Blocks; ASC Tube Traps, RPG Abffusor panels; Shunyata Research Dark Field cable elevators; Michell Engineering spade–4mm plug adapters; AudioQuest Niagara 5000 Low-Z Power/Noise-Dissipation System. AC power comes from two dedicated 20A circuits, each just 6' from breaker box.—John Atkinson

COMPANY INFO
NAD Electronics International
633 Granite Court
Pickering, Ontario L1W 3K1
Canada
(905) 831-6555
www.nadelectronics.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
Scintilla's picture
Submitted by Scintilla on April 27, 2018 - 1:06pm

Reviewing your test results, John, it is hard to argue this is a better solution than using an M51/C510 paired with a good-quality conventional amplifier. Your tests of the M51 noise-floor revealed approximately 21 bits of resolution and pairing that with a high-current, low noise class A-A/B power amp with a high S/N ratio looks like a significantly better solution to me. All you gain here is some convenience with BluOS and maybe the potential for in-built 2-channel Dirac processing on an MDC board. Frankly, I'd rather have my Krell delivering the current than this class-D amplifier and I think NAD has objectively taken a step backwards with this product vs. the now-discontinued M51. Booo.

cundare's picture
Submitted by cundare on July 11, 2018 - 6:32pm

There's an easy way to do this. Tell your head you're tapping in 12/8. The rhythm abruptly becomes obvious, like when a hidden Magic Eye 3D image snaps into place.

Long-time listener's picture
Submitted by Long-time listener on April 10, 2021 - 6:20am

After a period of use, I can agree with a lot of what John Atkinson says here. Sound is generally clean and clear, and fairly detailed. I do note that its balance is indeed a little bit light, as he said. I usually use the tone controls to add 0.5 decibels of bass, and sometimes as much as 1 decibel, just to counter the amplifier's own lack of weight in the bass. But the worst is that I can't get away from feeling that there's some hardness or harshness in the upper mids and treble--so for my money, Class D still hasn't come of age. This is in comparison with my old 150-watt rated NAD solid-state C272 power amp, and also with an Onkyo TX-8020 receiver, which I frankly prefer

X