At the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver, NAD has announced a trio of products that will be available in the next month or two.
The most affordable of the lot is the D 3045 amplifier, which follows the same compact design ethos of its D Series siblings, such as the D 3020 V2.
The 60-watt-per-channel amplifier boasts a plethora of digital and analogue connections, including an asynchronous USB (24-bit/192kHz) input for a direct connection to a laptop, as well as coaxial, optical and legacy analogue inputs.
Turntable users can benefit from the D 3045’s moving-magnet phono stage, while two-way aptX HD Bluetooth allows users to stream music to the amplifier as well as stream whatever the amplifier is playing (from any source or input) to a pair of Bluetooth headphones.
MQA decoding and DSD support completes the D 3045’s spec sheet. It will be available this month for £599.
An HDMI Audio Return Channel input allows for a TV hook-up, and preamp and subwoofer outputs provide additional flexibility and upgrade paths.
NAD has also refreshed its 2017-launched C 588 with a belt drive with electronic speed control, an AC motor with isolated power supply, and a 9in carbon fiber tonearm that offers vertical tracking angle and azimuth adjustment.
The new C 588 is pre-fitted with an Ortofon 2M Red phono cartridge, and construction is formed of a glass platter with felt pad, an MDF plinth and a low resonance dust cover.
The C 588 will sell for £699 when it becomes available in November.
Last but in no way least is NAD’s latest DAC, the high-end C 658 (pictured top).
It’s not just a DAC, however. Tapping into the BluOS ecosystem, the C 658 offers users hi-res network music streaming from NAS drives and almost 20 music streaming services - all controllable from desktop (Mac and Windows), smartphone and tablet (iOS and Android) devices.
Offline streaming means come courtesy of aptX HD Bluetooth (also two-way), and physical connections include phono and RCA inputs, and balanced preamp, stereo subwoofer and front-panel headphone jack outputs.
Dirac Live Room Correction software (the Lite version) offers audio calibration based on your specific system and room.
Module Design Construction has formed an integral part of NAD’s engineering for years, so it’s not surprising to see it make an appearance in the C 658. Essentially MDC sees the DAC’s digital audio and video circuits printed on replaceable modules, allowing them to be upgraded in the future when new formats come around. The C 658 comes with two MDC slots for future expansion, too.
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