NAD C298 Class D power amplifier impressions
Discussion
stevoknevo said:
Harry, it may be worth having a chat with Terry Ellis/Pursuit Perfect System about a Dirac calibration (he offers in person or remote calibration - he has a YT channel doing kit reviews and comes across as a genuinely knowledgeable and likeable guy, and probably a lot cheaper than buying new amps etc!) https://www.diraclivecalibration.com/
Thank you! I am having an old and close friend, who owns this company, do it remotely one evening (as he lives in California, these days). Looking forward to him fixing my ham-fisted efforts...
https://acousticfrontiers.com/
So back on the amp. My Sonus Faber speakers are out of action due to a blown midrange driver. Whilst I sort this, I had massive music withdrawal, so lifted the PMC TB2 near field monitors I use as fronts in the TV room.
This has revealed interesting stuff about the NAD C298 amp, and my old PMCs, and the system in general.
- It is clean. Very clean. And with monitors, too clean. The mid range clarity is astounding. But I have lost treble sparkle, and a degree of attack in the midrange.
- Soundstage is excellent, but I am using the monitors as I should, about four feet from my ear. So this shows that I need to work on the placement of the floorstanders.
- there is no deep bass worth speaking of from the (8ohm) PMCs, which supposedly go down to 40hz. The four bass drivers on the SF floorstanders were doing a lot of good work with the NAD.
- this means the sub has to do a lot of work, and be dialled up. And this wrecks the clarity and texture of the bass. The floorstanders plus sub were an awesome combination, it seems. Sub filling in for sub bass, all the rest done nicely by the Sonus Fabers.
- the amp seems to have no issue driving an 8ohm speaker, unless that lack of bass is from the amp. But the PMCs didn't give bass with my old Musical Fidelity A3.2 either.
- the midrange is far cleaner and the soundstage/imaging by the amp is far better than the Musical Fidelity achieves with these speakers.
- the treble on the PMCs lacks the width, smoothness and loveliness of the fancy tweeters in the SFs. It can also be a bit harsher and sibilant. It's a metal dome tweeter
So, the take home is that this amp is clean, very clean. Any messiness is coming from the sub being overworked. The NAD suits a floorstanding speaker of high ability, it seems. And a match with the warm Sonus Fabers is actually a match made in heaven, avoiding the overly warm sound of using these speakers with a warm Class AB amp like the Musical Fidelity A3.2.
Right. I definitely need to get my big speakers fixed. I miss the sound I had got to. That sparkle, attack and the full range, textured bass. Looks like I didn't know what I had, until I lost it!
This has revealed interesting stuff about the NAD C298 amp, and my old PMCs, and the system in general.
- It is clean. Very clean. And with monitors, too clean. The mid range clarity is astounding. But I have lost treble sparkle, and a degree of attack in the midrange.
- Soundstage is excellent, but I am using the monitors as I should, about four feet from my ear. So this shows that I need to work on the placement of the floorstanders.
- there is no deep bass worth speaking of from the (8ohm) PMCs, which supposedly go down to 40hz. The four bass drivers on the SF floorstanders were doing a lot of good work with the NAD.
- this means the sub has to do a lot of work, and be dialled up. And this wrecks the clarity and texture of the bass. The floorstanders plus sub were an awesome combination, it seems. Sub filling in for sub bass, all the rest done nicely by the Sonus Fabers.
- the amp seems to have no issue driving an 8ohm speaker, unless that lack of bass is from the amp. But the PMCs didn't give bass with my old Musical Fidelity A3.2 either.
- the midrange is far cleaner and the soundstage/imaging by the amp is far better than the Musical Fidelity achieves with these speakers.
- the treble on the PMCs lacks the width, smoothness and loveliness of the fancy tweeters in the SFs. It can also be a bit harsher and sibilant. It's a metal dome tweeter
So, the take home is that this amp is clean, very clean. Any messiness is coming from the sub being overworked. The NAD suits a floorstanding speaker of high ability, it seems. And a match with the warm Sonus Fabers is actually a match made in heaven, avoiding the overly warm sound of using these speakers with a warm Class AB amp like the Musical Fidelity A3.2.
Right. I definitely need to get my big speakers fixed. I miss the sound I had got to. That sparkle, attack and the full range, textured bass. Looks like I didn't know what I had, until I lost it!
Edited by Harry Flashman on Sunday 23 April 22:47
Harry Flashman said:
So back on the amp. My Sonus Faber speakers are out of action due to a blown midrange driver. Whilst I sort this, I had massive music withdrawal, so lifted the PMC TB2 near field monitors I use as fronts in the TV room.
This has revealed interesting stuff about the NAD C298 amp, and my old PMCs, and the system in general.
- It is clean. Very clean. And with monitors, too clean. The mid range clarity is astounding. But I have lost treble sparkle, and a degree of attack in the midrange.
- Soundstage is excellent, but I am using the monitors as I should, about four feet from my ear. So this shows that I need to work on the placement of the floorstanders.
- there is no deep bass worth speaking of from the (8ohm) PMCs, which supposedly go down to 40hz. The four bass drivers on the SF floorstanders were doing a lot of good work with the NAD.
- this means the sub has to do a lot of work, and be dialled up. And this wrecks the clarity and texture of the bass. The floorstanders plus sub were an awesome combination, it seems. Sub filling in for sub bass, all the rest done nicely by the Sonus Fabers.
- the amp seems to have no issue driving an 8ohm speaker, unless that lack of bass is from the amp. But the PMCs didn't give bass with my old Musical Fidelity A3.2 either.
- the midrange is far cleaner and the soundstage/imaging by the amp is far better than the Musical Fidelity achieves with these speakers.
- the treble on the PMCs lacks the width, smoothness and loveliness of the fancy tweeters in the SFs. It can also be a bit harsher and sibilant. It's a metal dome tweeter
So, the take home is that this amp is clean, very clean. Any messiness is coming from the sub being overworked. The NAD suits a floorstanding speaker of high ability, it seems. And a match with the warm Sonus Fabers is actually a match made in heaven, avoiding the overly warm sound of using these speakers with a warm Class AB amp like the Musical Fidelity A3.2.
Right. I definitely need to get my big speakers fixed. I miss the sound I had got to. That sparkle, attack and the full range, textured bass. Looks like I didn't know what I had, until I lost it!
All NAD amplifiers are specified to drive low impedance speakers easily and will have bags of current delivery capability.This has revealed interesting stuff about the NAD C298 amp, and my old PMCs, and the system in general.
- It is clean. Very clean. And with monitors, too clean. The mid range clarity is astounding. But I have lost treble sparkle, and a degree of attack in the midrange.
- Soundstage is excellent, but I am using the monitors as I should, about four feet from my ear. So this shows that I need to work on the placement of the floorstanders.
- there is no deep bass worth speaking of from the (8ohm) PMCs, which supposedly go down to 40hz. The four bass drivers on the SF floorstanders were doing a lot of good work with the NAD.
- this means the sub has to do a lot of work, and be dialled up. And this wrecks the clarity and texture of the bass. The floorstanders plus sub were an awesome combination, it seems. Sub filling in for sub bass, all the rest done nicely by the Sonus Fabers.
- the amp seems to have no issue driving an 8ohm speaker, unless that lack of bass is from the amp. But the PMCs didn't give bass with my old Musical Fidelity A3.2 either.
- the midrange is far cleaner and the soundstage/imaging by the amp is far better than the Musical Fidelity achieves with these speakers.
- the treble on the PMCs lacks the width, smoothness and loveliness of the fancy tweeters in the SFs. It can also be a bit harsher and sibilant. It's a metal dome tweeter
So, the take home is that this amp is clean, very clean. Any messiness is coming from the sub being overworked. The NAD suits a floorstanding speaker of high ability, it seems. And a match with the warm Sonus Fabers is actually a match made in heaven, avoiding the overly warm sound of using these speakers with a warm Class AB amp like the Musical Fidelity A3.2.
Right. I definitely need to get my big speakers fixed. I miss the sound I had got to. That sparkle, attack and the full range, textured bass. Looks like I didn't know what I had, until I lost it!
Edited by Harry Flashman on Sunday 23 April 22:47
The less warm characteristic will be due to the lower output impedance of the class d amplifier.
Harry Flashman said:
NDA said:
Hmmm, maybe one day. My speakers go down to 30Hz as they are, but I should try one at some point.
I've found it's a power thing. My speakers also go down to 30ahz, but bass takes a lot of power, so effectively outsourcing it to a separate amp has improved the volume and control a great deal.Your speakers can control a KEF KC62 sub from the app. Time to go shopping!!
The sub definitely adds a heft and more gravity to the music - I'm fiddling a bit with high and low pass filters. Once heard, it's hard to go back. Not necessarily transformative, but certainly better.
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