All New NAD Master M33 Integrated Amp // GAME CHANGER ?..
WOW.. listen to this with GOOD headphones ! One reviewer described the sound as "Revolutionary" ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi1Ggvi3NRM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpUQkKQxXkE&t=140s |
Game changer is a relatively meaningless phrase. I deal with "game changers " every month. The Pass XA200.8 Monos are game changers, as are the cables now under review. A DAC I am assessing is a "game changer", too. That Integrated may be excellent as well, but it’s far from the only game in town. Of course that won’t stop the hyperbole., perhaps deserved. :) People simply do not realize how many levels of fundamentally superior sound can be attained. It is practically limitless. |
There are limits to reality. Actual acoustic sound has limits. I’ve purchased some of their newer M class offerings and found them to be hard and bright sounding. Unlistenable actually. I was a fan of NAD during their robust Class A/AB era. The texture and warmth of music just evaporates with the Class D stuff I have heard. But hey, different strokes! |
nad, the smart guys that they are, are as good marketers as they are product development folks... ...if you listening carefully -- that whooshing sound you hear in the background is the sound of internet hype, the current day winning marketing lever for many a savvy hifi brand don’t get me wrong, nad has made good stuff for years, high value, good performance - it was one of my beloved early pieces in my college years when money was very tight in more recent years they made quite a mistake (sq wise, not commercially...) going to ice power class d module amplification, which neutered what was the earlier, lively musical tone of their amps such as the great 3020 which put them on the map they may have corrected this finally with a newer better class d module in this just-introduced ’flagship’ all in one model but making a decidely bad sounding high line unit now less bad sounding does not make for any ’game changing’ -- just putting it into perspective folks |
@dave_b I’m curious with your NAD purchases - were they Masters series? And, did you give them adequate break in (i.e. 400+ hours)? There’s no question that some of their gear isn’t that great, but it’s also true that some of the Masters series is quite good. The tonal balance of the gear I have (M12 and M22 - after a very long break in period) is not bright - but perhaps on the darker side of things and quite smooth. Can it be bettered? Absolutely. But, having compared it to some very well regarded, and more expensive other solid state gear, it holds its own. And, I’m pretty fussy over such things - and have been on the gear merry go round for a while with multiple systems. My $.02. |
I am waiting on the next NAD amp without all of the bells and whistles that the M33 has. A pure amp with a Purifi module. I hope it will be the next Purifi modules that will be even more powerful than the first batch which is in the M33. As I type this I am already listening to a revolutionary amp (non-Purifi). It has the following attributes: - cheap - a small form factor - quieter than ALL other amps (maybe Purifi matches it) - light as a feather - sounds incredible, musical and detailed - it only has 100 watts in stereo so the next Purifi modules could be what makes it better than what I am blasting away right now. Been talking about this Purifi stuff on this thread. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/removing-a-zero-from-the-price-of-amps?highlight=removing%2Ba%2Bzero Making a very high performing amp a commodity can only be good for the consumer. |
This NAD Master M33 Integrated amp really is.... "HIGH END.. PERIOD" ! https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1399-magico-a1-loudspeakers?tmpl=component |
highend666...You are either a very excitable boy, or you are shilling for NAD. We went through this type of thing on another recent thread for a certain speaker manufacturer. If you curb your enthusiasm a little some of us might even take some interest. Probably not me, I have owned 3 different pieces of NAD and while the sound was OK, the build was not. I promised myself I would never buy another product made by that company. Maybe things have changed quality-wise, but I've moved on. |
The M33 is as GOOD as it gets ! https://www.hifi-voice.com/testy-a-recenze/zesilovace-integrovane/2736-nad-m33 |
highend666 said "The M33 is as GOOD as it gets!"In one box, it is. |
I’ve had my NAD M33 for 4 days now, and I use it primarily for streaming Qobuz and some Amazon Prime Music. Since Qobuz is the better of the two quality wise I’ll comment on that. First I must say that my speakers are not in the same cost category as the M 33, they are the new model Wharfedale EVO 4.2 3-way large standmounts, utilizing the Wharfedale stands for that model, and run about a grand. Speaker cables are Analysis Plus Clear Ovals with the same jumpers. On order are Cullen Crossover Series Bi-Wire speaker cables. Power cable is by Cullen Cable’s Crossover Series into a Furman Power Station 8 Digital Series Multi-Stage Protection/Linear AC Power Conditioner, plugged into a dedicated hospital grade outlet. The room is a smallish carpeted bedroom with room acoustics. The music info is streamed via a Cat. 8 Ethernet cable into the M33. I purchased the full Dirac Live room correction. Whew, I think that covers it. Now to the sound, out of the box it sounded very good, much better than the NAD M10 it replaced. After a little trial and error, I got the speakers optimally positioned. Then I did the single position Dirac sound analyzation and all I can say is holy f**k, a night and day (yes, really) difference! Best sound out of a system I ever heard, please bear in mind I haven’t listened to that many, so there’s that. But still, just wow, clarity, depth of the soundstage, detailed without that “etch” you sometimes hear. Deep clear non-boomy bass, mid range is beautiful, and the treble is twinkly and there without overdoing it. Dead black silence when called for, too. Bear in mind too, I’m listening through 64 year old ears with a slight hearing loss in my left ear, sure wish this had a balance adjustment. i listen to a wide variety of music, but mostly rock/soft rock (this thing kills it), Jazz, easy listening-fall asleep (yay sleep timer) music, folk/Americana, some classical, some electronica, and modern pop. Nothing, absolutely nothing sounds bad out of this magic box. My only wish would be for a balance adjustment, maybe I’ll try manipulating that with the Dirac microphone positioning. Thanks for reading this, I’m sure it’s not as polished and technical as many, but I can say with complete conviction, I highly recommend it! |
Hi Anotherbob, I also had the NAD M10 and was disappointed in the dynamics at higher volumes and lack of rich lush sound. I also found the Dirac with the NAD M10 seemed to take away the dynamic range in the mids and highs and pushed the sound stage too far back for me. When you say the NAD M33 sounds much better than the NAD M10 can you please expand and clarify how it sounds better? Did you try the Dirac with your NAD M10....as I said I did not like the Dirac on my M10? |
@spacemanrick rick there is no way to know how this would sound in your system unless you try it - other folks can describe using words but it really tells one very little "wow that mustang is fast car...i am so impressed " "cool, so what is your usual car?" " i normally drive an explorer" nad no doubt has improved the SQ of their new unit... their prior series was embarrassing, for what it was marketed to be... a ’master series’ component -- features wise it offered a lot, esp dirac for folks with impossible rooms, but put it up against a serious high end amp with proper tone and realism - amp vs amp - the SQ gap was large |
@spacemanrick I did try the neutered version of Dirac in my M10 and didn’t think much of it. I don’t know how to much better describe the sound from the M33 any better than I have, not being a professional reviewer. It’s much better than the M10, and with the full featured Dirac it’s just amazing to me. Stereophile has a review of it in their current issue. @rill I traded my M10 in a couple of months ago and was then number 2 on their list to get a M33 from that dealer. It finally came in. Audio lab in PA was the dealer. The number one person on their list got theirs 3 weeks before I did. |
Hi jjss49, yes I agree with you that unfortunately you will never know for sure how an amplifier or streamer will sound in your room with your speakers until you have heard them in your room with your speakers. I am deciding between a NAD M33 and Hegel H390 for my 802D2 speakers and I hope though that others that have heard or own the Hegel H390 or NAD M33 can at least offer some insight into how they sound in their system relative to what they own or have owned or heard. Fortunately anotherbob has like myself also owned the NAD M10 so I can have a point of reference to start from when anotherbob compares the NAD M10 to the NAD M33. Thanks again to everyone for your feedback and ideas.....I truly appreciate your help! I am now leaning towards the NAD M33 but will make my final decision over the next few days. |
@spacemanrick tell us how the m33 works out... it is new enough that there won’t be much in way of user reviews for a bit, just commercial and ’influencer’ reviews all part of the rollout marketing campaign there is no doubt the sound will have improved over the lackluster m10, question is how much and of what nature is the improvement what i can tell you is that the hegel h390 is one of the best ss amps out there... they have really figured something out in the error correction circuitry of the amp that makes it sound incredibly clean yet still with tone/body and depth to the stage... truly impressive - h390's are back ordered as well so not easy to get one currently -- of course the hegels are class ab and do not have room correction |
The Michi X5 is $9,000 Canadian with no streamer and DAC compared to $7,000 Canadian for the NAD M33 which includes a streamer, DAC, and Dirac so quite the difference in price. I have no doubt the Rotel will be a great integrated amplifier but at 93 pounds it is too big for what I am looking for in my living room. I am looking forward though to hearing how the Michi sounds! |
The Michi X5 will be a REAL game-changer! https://parttimeaudiophile.com/202/08/17/rotel-introduces-michi-series-x3-and-x5-integrateds/ Feedback on the Michi preamp and amps ! WOW ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHWfEVn4--M |
I also have a M-10 that I run in my basement system. I run bozak concert grands as the speakers. (Also added radio shack super tweeters). It’s a perfect 2nd system. Very musical. Very enjoyable. After reading a lot about the M-33 (especially the Stereophile article) I ordered a M-33 (but on back order). I plan to use in the 2nd system, but I’m also going to give it a try in my main system. Saying that it will replace the audio research ref 6 and audio research ref 160M mono blocks will be a stretch for sure. I will connect to my vimberg Tondas. I will report back after I receive the M-33 |
