NAD reveals TT, power and integrated amps at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF)
Last weekend I was on the other side of the Rocky Mountains but, over in Denver, NAD chose the Rocky Mountian Audio Fest (RMAF) to unleash three new products.
October 6th-8th saw the 14th RMAF hosted at Denver Marriott Tech Center in Denver, Colorado. This is the USA’s largest audio show.
No wonder then, that NAD decided to reveal three new products at this gathering.
Please welcome the C 588 turntable, C 328 power amp and C 268 integrated amp.
NAD C 588 turntable
As the vinyl resurgence continues to win fans, NAD has unveiled a brand new belt-drive turntable. The C 588 features a chunky anti-resonance MDF plinth, heavyweight glass platter and Ortofon OM10 cartridge as standard.
Record players are basically fairly straightforward. All they need to do is spin the platter at precisely 33.3 and/or 45 RPM without any variation. Oh, they also have to perfectly track the grooves of the record while giving the cartridge a solid platform that allows all the energy in the record to be translated into stylus motion of the cartridge.
Additionally, we don’t want the energy to ‘leak’ into vibrating the tonearm or the platter. It all has to become pure musical energy bursting forth from our speakers.
Power
NAD uses a sophisticated power supply that transforms the AC voltage of your wall socket into a pure DC. This is then regenerated into a precise AC voltage that powers a precision clock motor to achieve nearly perfect speed consistency and smoothness.
The motor is isolated from noise and voltage fluctuations that occur in the raw unfiltered AC mains. These can cause instability in the motor. The motor uses a specially developed rubber belt that is flat ground for precision and drives a non-resonant sub platter that is also precisely machined for smooth rotation.
This sits in a brass bearing with a hardened steel shaft. All of these parts are carefully developed to work together to provide a remarkably stable and precise rotation of the disc.
Tonearm
The tonearm is of a similar level of engineering and development. At 9-inches long it offers low tracking distortion while maintaining rigidity and low mass required to stabilise the cartridge. By allowing VTF and Azimuth adjustment you’ll get precise tracking with low distortion and record wear.
The glass platter and massive plinth combine to extract all the energy from the disc while isolating unwanted external vibrations.
The C 588 will be available November priced at £449.
NAD C 328 integrated amplifier
The C 328 joins NAD’s latest integrated line up (C338, C368, C388) with analogue, digital and BT connectivity as well as a built in phono stage.
The basics
NAD starts by getting the basics right and advances from there. Here you get an Moving Magnet (MM) Phono stage with precisely accurate RIAA equalisation. Furthermore, you get high overload margins, extremely low noise, and an innovative circuit to suppress infrasonic noise that is present on all LPs. Naturally, all without affecting bass response.
The line inputs can accommodate all kinds of analogue source components. There’s also a separate headphone amplifier with low output impedance and very high output voltage capability. This translates to being able to drive even high impedance studio monitor headphones.
The low impedance line outputs can connect to a subwoofer to extend the versatility of this well thought out amplifier. These are all details you can hear.
Class D
NAD favours the Class D output stage for this amp. They see Class AB output stages wasting nearly half of the energy consumed producing heat rather than sound.
They’ve developed even better performing circuits based on switch mode power supplies and Class D output stages.
These new designs are very linear over a wide bandwidth and provide consistent performance into all speaker loads, providing a dramatic advance over previous models.
Priced at £499, this integrated is a nice stepping stone into NAD’s latest Hybrid Digital amplifier range. Available from November/December.
NAD C 268 power amplifier
Conservatively rated at 80Wx2 or 300Wx1 bridged mono with 500W peak capability, the C 268 is NAD’s latest affordable power amplifier.
Balanced and RCA inputs, 12v triggers, variable input level control and current sensing auto turn-on highlight the features list. There is also line-outs for daisy chaining for bi-amped and tri-amplified systems.
Basically feature-packed
The C 268 may be a basic Power Amp, but NAD has carefully thought about how you’re going to use it. So, you get electable balanced inputs make the C 268 a natural for connection to high end preamps and processors.
Inputs include a trim control, useful for matching to other components or for use in bi-amping speakers. A line out allows further addition of power on the same channel for additional speakers or subwoofers.
Alternatively the C 268 can be paired with the NAD C 368 Integrated DAC Amp. With both units bridged for Mono, 300 distortion-free watts per channel are available for your listening pleasure!
It makes Auto-sense
Auto-sense with selectable threshold is perfect for automating complex systems or hiding the amp out of sight in a cabinet.
There’s even a Ground Lug that can be very useful for eliminating ground loops and noise in complex multi-unit systems. Additionally, there’s a Bridge Switch that turns the C 268 into an amazingly powerful Monobloc Amplifier. Start with one and add a second C 268 later when you upgrade your speakers.
Price will be £749 when they arrive in December.
