NAD C 3050 LE BluOS Streaming Stereophonic Amplifier

Created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of NAD’s founding in 1972, the C 3050 LE limited-edition amplifier has a gorgeous retro design featuring a satin walnut sleeve, dual VU meters, push-button controls, and NAD’s 1970s cursive branding. Underneath the vintage exterior is a thoroughly modern amplifier with advanced capabilities such as BluOS high-res multi-room music streaming, Dirac Live room correction and NAD’s proven HybridDigital UcD amplifier design. To commemorate NAD’s founding year, production is limited to 1,972 units, each of them individually numbered on the back panel.

Announcing the NAD C 3050 LE

Power to Spare

Employing NAD’s acclaimed HybridDigital UcD amplifier technology, the C 3050 LE integrated amplifier can deliver 100Wpc of continuous power and 135Wpc of instantaneous power, for effortless delivery of musical transients, with virtually unmeasurable noise and distortion. The result is neutral, distortion-free sound, even at high listening levels, with exquisite detail, superb portrayal of space, and thrilling dynamics.
The digital section is built around Texas Instruments’ PCM5242 high-resolution differential DAC, a design noted for high tolerance to clock jitter, and excellent dynamic performance. This high-performance DAC enables the C 3050 LE to reproduce all your digital sources with amazing musicality, stunning clarity, and pinpoint imaging.
Celebrating the Past

The new C 3050 LE pays homage to NAD’s 3030 amplifier, a 1970s classic. Clad in an open-grained walnut sleeve, the C 3050 LE integrated amplifier has a dark grey front panel with the original New Acoustic Dimension logo in its 1970s cursive typeface, dual VU meters, and push-button controls for source selection. On the back of each unit is an individually numbered plaque bearing the amplifier’s production number.

Embracing the Future

The C 3050 LE incorporates the latest generation of NAD’s Modular Design Construction future-proofing technology. With MDC2, owners can add new features and functions by inserting an MDC2 module into a slot at the back of the component. MDC2 features a all-new architecture that enables two-way communications between the module and host component. Pre-installed on the C 3050 LE, the MDC2 BluOS-D adds two leading-edge capabilities: Dirac Live room correction and BluOS high-resolution multi-room music streaming.

Tuning the Room

Dirac Live enables the C 3050 LE to overcome the weakest link in most sound systems: the listening room itself. Using a calibrated microphone and an app running on a smart device or personal computer, Dirac Live plays test tones through your speakers, then analyzes the results and creates filters that correct problems like standing waves and unwanted reflections. With Dirac Live enabled, you’ll enjoy vastly improved bass definition, greater clarity and tonal accuracy, and more precise imaging. Thanks to MDC2’s two-way communications, Dirac Live works on all sources connected to the C 3050 LE.

A World of Music

Connecting to your home network via Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet, the MDC2 BluOS-D in the C 3050 LE gives you access to nearly all the music ever recorded through the award-winning BluOS multi-room music management system. Using the intuitive BluOS app, you can cue up music from more than 20 popular streaming services, including several that offer lossless and high-res audio, such as Amazon Music Ultra HD, Deezer, Qobuz and Tidal. Like all BluOS-enabled products, the C 3050 LE supports high-res audio to 24-bit/192kHz. It also features MQA decoding and rendering capability, for studio-quality playback from Tidal. In addition, BluOS provides access to thousands of internet radio stations, and lets you play music from your own digital library.

The MDC2 BluOS-D supports Apple AirPlay 2, so you can stream audio to the C 3050 LE from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Also supported are Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect. You can select music in the apps for those services, then easily transfer playback to the C 3050 LE. You can even control playback by voice using Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple Siri (via AirPlay 2). An IR remote control is also included.

Music Everywhere

With the MDC2 BluOS-D installed, the C 3050 LE integrated amplifier can be part of a whole-home music system with as many as 64 zones, all with independent source and volume control. You can have different music playing in different zones, or group zones together and play the same music simultaneously. MDC2’s bidirectional architecture enables the BluOS-D to stream music from any source connected to the C 3050 LE to BluOS-enabled components in other rooms.

Connect It All

With its full suite of digital and analogue inputs, the C 3050 LE can accommodate all your source components. Vinyl fans will appreciate the C 3050 LE’s ultra-low-noise MM phono stage. For movie and TV viewing, there’s an HDMI eARC interface, enabling the C 3050 LE to serve as the hub or a two- or 2.1-channel home-theatre setup. The C 3050 LE also has line-level analogue, coaxial digital, and optical digital inputs.

In addition to two sets of speaker terminals, the C 3050 LE has a subwoofer output and a dedicated headphone amplifier. It also features two-way Bluetooth aptX HD, so you can stream music to the amplifier from a mobile device or stream music from the amplifier to a pair of wireless headphones. Pre-out/main-in connections let you use the C 3050 LE as a preamp only and add a separate power amplifier. For custom integrators, there’s a 12V trigger and IR input.

Heritage Piece

Combining NAD’s iconic sound with a retro design inspired by the classic 3030 amplifier, the limited-edition C 3050 LE Stereophonic Amplifier pays tribute to NAD’s 50 years of innovation in amplifier design. Its advanced engineering provides capabilities that no audiophile could have dreamt of a half-century ago.

Features & Details

• Retro design elements include satin walnut case, front-panel VU meters, push-button input controls, 1970s cursive branding, and dark grey front panel

• Limited-edition release: only 1,972 units will be produced, each of them individually numbered

• HybridDigital UcD Amplifier

• Continuous Power: 100 Watts per channel into 8/4 ohms

• Instantaneous Power: 135 Watts per channel

• Vanishingly low harmonic and intermodulation distortion

• MDC2 port for expanded functionality

• Pre-installed MDC2 BluOS-D module adds BluOS Hi-Res multi-room music streaming and Dirac Live room correction

• MDC2 BluOS-D module provides access to more than 20 streaming services, including several that offer lossless and high-resolution audio

• Support for Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and Tidal Connect

• Voice control via Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple Siri

• High-performance 32-bit/384kHz Texas Instruments differential DAC

• Ultra-low-noise MM phono stage with infrasonic filtering circuitry

• One optical, one coaxial digital input

• HDMI-eARC input

• One set of line-level analogue inputs with low-noise buffer amplifiers

• Speaker A/Speaker B outputs

• Two-way Qualcomm aptX HD Bluetooth

• Subwoofer output

• Dedicated headphone amplifier

• Supplied accessories include an IR remote control and a calibrated microphone for Dirac Live setup

• CI-Friendly – IR remote, 12V Trigger out, IR in

• Seamless integrations with smarthome control systems such as Control4, Crestron, RTI, URC, Push, Lutron, iPort, and Elan

SPECIFICATIONS
LINE INPUT, PRE-OUT (Analog bypass on)

    THD (20 Hz – 20 kHz)
    <0.005 % at 2V out
    Signal-to-Noise Ratio
    >95 dB (IHF; A-weighted, ref. 500 mV out, unity gain)
    Channel separation
    >100 dB (1 kHz)
    >90 dB (10 kHz)
    Input impedance (R and C)
    28 kohms + 360 pF
    Maximum input signal
    >4.5 Vrms (ref. 0.1 % THD)
    Output impedance
    440 ohms
    Input sensitivity
    270 mV (ref. 500 mV out, Volume maximum)
    Frequency response
    ±0.3 dB (20 Hz – 20 kHz)
    Maximum voltage output -IHF load
    >2 V (ref. 0.1 % THD)

PHONO INPUT, PRE-OUT (Analog bypass on)

    THD (20 Hz – 20 kHz)
    <0.03% at 2 V out
    Signal-to-Noise Ratio
    >79 dB (200 ohms source; A-weighted, ref. 500 mV out)
    Input Impedance (R and C)
    46 kohms/100 pF
    Input sensitivity
    5.5 mV (ref. 500 mV out, Volume maximum)
    Frequency response
    ±0.3 dB (20 Hz – 20 kHz)
    Maximum input signal at 1kHz
    >80 mVrms (ref. 0.1 % THD)

LINE INPUT, HEADPHONE OUT (Analog bypass on)

    THD (20 Hz – 20 kHz)
    <0.005% at 1V out
    Signal-to-Noise Ratio
    >96 dB (32 ohms loads; A-WTD, ref. 2 V out, unity gain
    Frequency response
    ±0.3 dB (20 Hz – 20 kHz)
    Channel separation
    >60 dB at 1kHz
    Output impedance
    Output impedance

BluOS AUDIO

    Supported audio file format
    MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, WMA-L, ALAC, OPUS
    Supported high- resolution audio file format
    FLAC, MQA, WAV, AIFF
    Sampling rate
    up to 192 kHz
    Bit depths
    16 – 24

BluOS SUPPORTED SERVICES***

    Music Services
    Internet Radio
    Integration partners Control4, Crestron, ELAN, Lutron, Push, Roon, RTI, URC
    Voice Control Skills and support for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri with corresponding enabled devices and App

BluOS CONNECTIVITY

    Network connectivity
    Gigabit Ethernet RJ45
    Wi-Fi 5
    Supported network file share protocol
    Server Message Block (SMB)
    USB
    1 x Type-A port for connection to USB memory stick (FAT32 or NTFS formatted) and supported peripherals
    Bluetooth quality:
    aptX HD 5.0
    Bluetooth connectivity
    Two-Way (Receive and Headphone modes)

USER INTERFACE

    Supported operating systemMusic playback from network shares on the following desktop operating systems: Microsoft Windows XP, 2000, Vista, 7, 8 to current Windows Operating Systems and macOS versions
    Mobile Application
    Free BluOS Controller App available for download from the respective App stores of Apple iOS devices (iPad, iPhone and iPod), Android devices, Kindle Fire and Windows or macOS desktops

MAIN IN, SPEAKER OUT

    Continuous output power into 8 ohms and 4 ohms
    100W (ref. 20 Hz-20 kHz at rated THD, both channels driven)
    THD (20 Hz – 20 kHz)
    <0.03% (250 mW to 100 W, 8 ohms and 4 ohms)
    Signal-to-Noise Ratio
    >95dB (A-weighted, 500 mV input, ref. 1 W out in 8 ohms)
    Clipping power
    >115 W (at 1 kHz 0.1 % THD)
    IHF dynamic power
    8 ohms: 180 W
    4 ohms: 250W
    2 ohms: 300 W
    Peak output current
    >20A (in 1 ohm, 1 ms)
    Frequency response
    ±0.3 dB (20 Hz – 20 kHz)
    Channel separation
    >75dB (1 kHz)
    >70dB (10 kHz)
    Input sensitivity (for 100 W in 8 ohms)
    540 mV
    Digital: -6dBFS
    Power consumption – at Auto Standby ON and Network Standby OFF
    0.5 W*
    Power consumption – at Auto Standby ON and Network Standby ON
    2.0 W**
    Power consumption – OFF mode (Power switched OFF)
    0.1 W
    Frequency band
    2.402G- 2.480G

DIMENSION AND WEIGHT

    Gross dimensions (W x H x D) ****
    435 x 110 x 355mm
    17 1/4 x 4 3/8 x 14 inches
    Net weight
    10 kg (22 lbs)
    Shipping weight
    12.6 kg (27.8 lbs)

*

* – After 20 minutes of no user interface interaction and no active source input
** – With established wired or wireless network connection, wireless Bluetooth connectivity and no user interface interaction and no active source input for 20 minutes
*** – Supported services may vary over time. Inquire via support.bluos.net for updated list.
**** – Gross dimension includes feet, volume knob and extended front and rear panel terminals.