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The NAD M33 will cancel your complaints about Class D

There are many reasons to like one type of sound over another. Even among what are considered very good amplifiers there’s a broad range of tastes and preferences among audiophiles. Just ask a SET aficionado!

However, no class is more maligned, inappropriately, than Class D. To hear some regulars tell it, Class D sound will thin your blood, make your teeth fall out and ruin your enjoyment of just about everything because it sounds so (fill in a lot of tropes from the 1980’s here).

I’ve been listening to NAD’s prior collaboration with Bruno Putzy and I can tell with some confidence that none of those tired old tropes apply. For reasons related much more to tonal balance than anything else, I’m sticking with Class A/B in my main system, but with the introduction of the next gen Anthem AVR receivers and the NAD M33 I may be making the switch back to class D.

You don’t have to like the M33 or the Anthem’s but can we at least agree that it’s time to retire the old guard of reasons not to buy Class D? Lets lay those poor phantoms to rest.
erik_squires
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,560 posts
 
I guess I am an audio snob because I would never consider a NAD component in any system I have.  I don’t care if it class A,B,D or whatever.  I have the same feeling about Rotel and other less expensive brands.   If I was just starting out, perhaps I would feel different. 
I am willing to bet that a year from now, there will be many NAD 33’s for sale because the next latest and supposedly greatest have come to fruition. 
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,849 posts
 
I hope so. 
jjss49's avatar
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
i have felt the same way about NAD since 35 years ago i had the 3020 as my integrated while being a student driving ls3/5a’s... nad being good solid budget hi fi but really cannot compare to the true big boys

in more recent years they tried to make the move into higher priced categories with their m (’masters’) series gear... unfortunately they went class d for their amp sections in this series and the implementation was poor (like many others) and the sound was lifeless grey and bleached out -- just sub par for a line they hoped would compete with higher brands... still they sold many units with their (relatively) value oriented pricing, and they built in many functions into their units like dacs and dirac room correction - nonetheless the sound was poor compared to who they were competing against, for those who actually compared critically

this m33 with the purifi module is supposed to change this... at this point there are many decent reviewers confirming the sound is much improved, finally on par with the best class d implementations out there

value oriented buying decisions in high end hifi obviously happens at a variety of different spending levels... nad is certainly appealing to some of them...
erik_squires OP
16,737 posts
 
The mini, book sized integrateds are also very nice for desktop or bedroom use. Look at the 3020D for instance. It would be very interesting to know if those hybrid Class D modules were brought over.

The issue I've had with modern NAD was not the amps, but the DAC's, which while not top tier per se, have greatly improved since the Masters series first came out.
techno__dude
511 posts
 
Not having my present system, I surely would be looking for an all in one integrated like the Nad M33. Would also be considering the Micromega M-150, and Devialet or Hegel. Linn and Naim also have very nice alike products.

Advances in dac technology have made these very near sota. No need for multiples boxes anymore. This is great, takes less space, cost a lot less in interconnects and power cables, etc.
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