I’ve owned both the the NAD 388 and the Halo Int (original). The NAD had a overall neutral, albeit slightly "cold" sound to it. There was a touch of grain to its treble to my ears as well. The Halo Int in all honesty was superior in almost every respect. I’ve since gone all tubes, but the Int was a fine integrated and could’ve lived with it. -- VS the 388 the Halo Int had better treble resolution, detail and bass slam. If you can get both at about the same price, I’d opt for the Halo Int. In addition, the Halo Int has a USB input for its DAC, something that the NAD 388 needed a plug in module for IIRC.