NAD C328 Stereo Amplifier With Built-In DAC And Bluetooth

The NAD C328 stereo amplifier is the latest in NAD’s range of affordable, yet very high performance Integrated Stereo Amplifiers. Great news for those into storing their music on their smart device because the C328 has built-in Bluetooth.

Overview
NAD has moved away from the old-fashioned power-hungry linear power supplies and Class AB output stages that waste nearly half of the energy consumed and produce heat rather than sound. Instead, NAD has developed even better performing circuits based on switch mode power supplies and Class D output stages. Once thought to be inferior to traditional topologies, this new Hybrid Digital Amplifier design is very linear over a wide bandwidth and provides consistent performance into all speaker loads, providing a dramatic advancement over previous Class AB and Class D amplifier designs.

Customised Hypex UcD Output Stage: The NAD C 328 uses a customised version of the proven Hypex UcD output stage. This allows for massive power with nearly immeasurable distortion and noise in the audible range. Every detail of this design has been carefully crafted and perfectly executed to deliver best performance possible.

Efficient Power Supply: The power supply of the C 328 is able to provide over 100 Watts of audio output when needed. The C 328 provides pure DC power to all of its various stages. This extremely efficient power supply also provides near perfect regulation of voltage across a wide range of conditions and provides a solid noise-free foundation for the amplifying stages.

Full Disclosure Power (FDP): NAD uses Full Disclosure Power (FDP), the most demanding criterion for performance measurement. FDP specifies distortion under the most extreme conditions of low impedance loads and frequency extremes, rather than the simple and easy 1kHz @ 8 Ohms test quoted by many of other manufactures. NAD uses this stricter performance criterion because it more closely matches the demands of real music and real loudspeakers. Maintaining specified distortion at 4/8 Ohms and at 20-20kHz is a much more difficult achievement. The benefit of NAD's Full Disclosure Power is the total elimination of audible distortion at any listening level. This provides pinpoint imaging and realism with music and movies alike.

Discrete Headphone Amplifier: The NAD C 328 incorporates a discrete headphone amplifier with low output impedance and very high output voltage capability, enough to drive even high impedance studio monitor headphones. Connecting a set of headphone to the C328's front-panel jack will mute the speaker outputs. Volume, tone, and balance controls still operate during headphone listening.

Binding Post Speaker Outputs: The speaker output terminals consist of four binding posts to connect a single pair of loudspeakers. The amplifier supports 4 Ohm to 8 Ohm speakers. These binding post terminals will accept bare wire (up to 10AWG) and banana plugs. You'll need to remove the plastic inserts within the binding-post terminals to connect banana plugs.
Ready for Streaming

With support for Bluetooth, you can instantly connect and listen to the music service of your choice, or wirelessly stream music and playlists stored directly on your smartphone, tablet or computer. You can control basic playback functions (such as Play/Pause, Previous/Next Track, and Volume Up/Down) from the included IR remote. You can only pair and connect one device at a time. Plus, with its high performance digital circuitry, Bluetooth streaming has never sounded as good as it does with the C 328.

Versatility in Spades: The line inputs of the C 328 can accommodate all kinds of analogue source components. It offers ideal input impedance attributes with linear, ultra-low noise buffer amplifiers to prevent any sonic degradation caused by improper loading of the source device. The C 328 also features a separate headphone amplifier with low output impedance and very high output voltage capability, enough in fact to drive even high impedance studio monitor headphones. The low impedance line outputs can also connect to a subwoofer to further extend the versatility of the C 328.

SPECIFICATIONS

•     Design: Stereo Integrated Amplifier with installed NAD DAC
•     Power Output: 40 x 2 Watts Continuous Power into 4 Ohms and 8 Ohms.
•     Impedance Compatibility: 4 Ohm stable for use with a wide range of speakers
•     Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 95 dB line-level; 75 dB phono
•     Power Drive: Class D Asymmetrical PowerDrive amplifier design
•     Power Transformer: Holmgren Toroidal Power Transformer.
•     DAC: 24-bit/192kHz digital-to-analog converter for high-performance playback of digitally connected sources such as a CD player
•     Bluetooth: Built-in Bluetooth for wireless music streaming from a compatible device
•     Supports the aptX codec for wirelessly streaming CD-quality sound
•     Speaker Terminals: Heavy Duty Speaker Wire Binding Posts - Accepts 'banana' plugs.
•     Line-Level Inputs: 2 pair
•     Phono Input: Suits MM Cartridges
•     Subwoofer Output: 1
•     Digital Inputs: 2 x Coaxial and 2 x Toslink/Optical
•     RS-232 Port: Yes
•     Headphone Socket: Yes, on front panel
•     Remote Control: System remote control.
•     Power Cord: Detachable IEC power cord which can be easily upgraded.
•     Auto Sense & Auto Standby: The Auto Sense feature enables the C328 to wake up from standby mode when triggered by an active analog or digital source input with  an audio signal.
•     Stand-By Consumption: < 1 Watt.
•     Dimensions (WxHxD): 435 x 70 x 285 mm
•     Nett Weight: 4.9kg.
•     Warranty: 2 Years.