NAD M3 owners, your assistance is requested


I just bought an NAD M3 integrated amp. I hear a clicking noise when turning the volume control. NAD says this is normal and not audible more than a few feet from the speakers.

But my clicking can get quite loud. I sit 8 feet from the speakers, and the clicking can sometimes be audible over the music. If you turn the volume up via the remote, the clicking increases in volume in lockstep with the music.

I should say, that I can hear the clicking over the music from 8 feet away, only when there is just a single instrument or two being played, for example a bass solo, or quiet piano.

I'm thinking my unit is defective and I should get it replaced.

If you're an M3 owner, I was wondering if you could play a bass solo and check if you can hear the clicking from 8 feet away when changing the volume. If you can't, then I'd be more sure something was wrong with my M3.

If you can do this, I'd be most appreciative!

(If you live near me-- Los Angeles -- and I can come check out your M3, all the better)

Thanks!

PS: In case you're interested, the bass solos I've noticed this on are:
--opening of Track 1 "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" on "Wheelin' & Dealin" CD, John Coltrane
--opening of Track 1 "Yesterdays" on "Voyage" CD, Stan Getz
--opening of Temptations "My Girl"
basslover99
The clicking you hear is probably coming from the fancy stepped attenuator volume control your M3 is equipped with. I just sold an M3 that I had for a year and mine did the same thing and is considered normal. The BAT integrated I have now does the same thing because it has the same type of volume control-the clicking is actually louder on the BAT than it was on the M3. The benefit of a stepped attenuator is potentially better sound because only one resistor of the volume control is in the circuit at a time-or something like that, I'm not a techie. The click occurs when your volume control switches from one resistor to the next. Read up on your M3's volume control in reviews and NAD literature and then maybe you'll appreciate the clicking. Great amp, by the way. Enjoy it.
Thanks for the reply!

I now understand some clicking is normal.

What I'm specifically wondering is, can the clicking be heard over music (for example a bass solo) from a listening position at least 8 feet away.

And as you raise the music volume with the remote, the clicking gets louder in lockstep?

Do you recall?
I own a Yamaha AS2000. It also features a stepped attenuator volume control, yet I hear no clicks at all. It is surperbly implemented.

Absolute worst clicking racket I ever heard was the Cambridge Audio AZUR 840A integrated. Just plain bad and a deal-breaker in my book.
Sonicbeauty, the volume control in your amp may indeed be superbly implemented but I've never seen it described as a stepped attenuator with discreet resistors but rather as "electronic" and "analogue potentiometer".