Ok, don't get too excited, this is just a warm up post; hope to post my own measurements and more feedback in a week or two- but I was spurred to bring this up because of the NAD M22 review out in my shiny new March issue of Stereophile.
If you're interested in the distortion specs, go grab a copy, or wait until they post it online or when I get my own measurements done. It's not as good as I hoped or expected, in that the noise floor and hence the distortion floor are higher than some other Hypex based designs. By that, I mean about 0.03% distortion at 1W, dropping to an minimum at 20W of about 0.005. Hey, this isn't shabby, and most likely it reflects the choices they made in their front end. I don't personally know what the NC400/500 OEM is capable of intrinsically, YET, but I probably will soon due to some special projects and my own APx555 sitting in the mancave. (Yeah, I went a little nutto and have been on a test equipment binge instead of doing the sensible thing and buying a Berkeley Audio Alpha Reference DAC).
A few INTERESTING quotes from the article- may be more about reviewing the reviewer than the component?
He compared it to several amplifiers, in listening tests, including the Benchmark AHB2. He thought the NAD had a bit less sound stage depth than the Parasound Halo 31 or Mac MC303, but was just as solid handling the spectrum showing ease with complex material. OTOH,
Let's face it folks people like distortion, or at least the right kind of distortion. :W Also, the Benchmark has a much lower gain structure, in part to get the high S/N ratio, and it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't have the volume accurately matched. Louder normally means more exciting.
They also pointed out how easy it is to convert the M22 to a mono block, using an XLR Y adapter on the input, and connecting outputs across the two hots.
Overall they like the M22 a lot, calling it an outstanding amplifier in every way.
There will be follow up and some local tests to come for comparison.
If you're interested in the distortion specs, go grab a copy, or wait until they post it online or when I get my own measurements done. It's not as good as I hoped or expected, in that the noise floor and hence the distortion floor are higher than some other Hypex based designs. By that, I mean about 0.03% distortion at 1W, dropping to an minimum at 20W of about 0.005. Hey, this isn't shabby, and most likely it reflects the choices they made in their front end. I don't personally know what the NC400/500 OEM is capable of intrinsically, YET, but I probably will soon due to some special projects and my own APx555 sitting in the mancave. (Yeah, I went a little nutto and have been on a test equipment binge instead of doing the sensible thing and buying a Berkeley Audio Alpha Reference DAC).
A few INTERESTING quotes from the article- may be more about reviewing the reviewer than the component?
He compared it to several amplifiers, in listening tests, including the Benchmark AHB2. He thought the NAD had a bit less sound stage depth than the Parasound Halo 31 or Mac MC303, but was just as solid handling the spectrum showing ease with complex material. OTOH,
"The Benchmark AHB2 set itself apart from the other three amps with it's copious soundstage depth and a slightly more distant presentation, but while I felt an abiding sense of it's accuracy and neutrality, it failed to be as lively or exciting as the NAD".
They also pointed out how easy it is to convert the M22 to a mono block, using an XLR Y adapter on the input, and connecting outputs across the two hots.
Overall they like the M22 a lot, calling it an outstanding amplifier in every way.
There will be follow up and some local tests to come for comparison.
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