NAD C298 Stereo Amplifier Review

[restorer-john]

The power on switch isn't that oddball one in the NAD Masters Series M22 which responds to your body temperature, or your aura or the purity of your soul depending on its whim.

That’s why it won’t turn on for me!

 

[ahofer]

The case is fine in the $1500 less expensive C268. For $2400, many might expect better. But it is in keeping with the NAD entry level line cases.

Yes, for about half the price, several sellers frequently mentioned here get you Purifi. I think this may mostly appeal to those with NAD classic series in the rack or wanting traditional size components available locally. Even for those folks, it mat be a tough sell at current retail pricing.

Psst-get it second hand!

 

[amper42]

So many superior Purifi implementations at about half the price. How this unit gets recommended is beyond me.

 

[JDS]

Personally I'd definitely go for a boxem/audiophonics/buckeye/nord...etc. However I suppose the larger established brand name and availability in brick and mortar stores etc is perhaps preferable to some people. If anything goes wrong it's much easier to just drop it off at your local shop than ship it to whichever manufacturer/country is necessary out of the previously mentioned. I'm not suggesting any of the aforementioned wouldn't provide good customer service or honour warranty but I can understand a more established name with in store presence giving some customers that little bit more confidence.

That would indeed be a nice benefit. Too bad NAD doesn't really offer it, at least where I live. I have had no end of issues with my NAD AVR, and they don't have any authorized servicers within 300 miles of my remote location in the back woods of ... the San Francisco Bay area. And the more distant servicers they list on their website never responded to emails or voicemails. So I'd prefer to take my chances with a little company that gives a damn about its reputation.

 

[Dougey_Jones]

So I'd prefer to take my chances with a little company that gives a damn about its reputation.

This goes without mentioning that since the amps in question are basically kit based, in the event of some component failure, they should be easily reparable or the company could issue a board replacement which would more or less be plug n play.

I went with Apollon, fit and finish are beautiful on my NCx500ST's. I went with the stock TI op-amp input buffers as they color the sound the least.

 

[Thomas_A]

So many superior Purifi implementations at about half the price. How this unit gets recommended is beyond me.

As I get it, amps/DACs get recommended on objective performance. Price is not performance.

 

[amirm]

FYI this has good bit of design from NAD:

It is not just put together with third-party parts. That input board with a microprocessor in it is for sure custom. The power supplies may be as well.

 

[tktran303]

This is the usual retail price for consumers. The product has to be sent via regional distributors, who sell to retailers, who sell to you.

With this you get assurance of after sales support, repair and service channels for the usual life of the product, and sometimes even after warranty has expired. For some people this is invisible; until you have a problem you will realise that it is invaluable.

If you buy direct from a small boutique manufacturer you bypass all these, but then have potential downsides if something goes wrong, you then have to ship the product back to base. You have little recourse and no-one else to advocate for you when things go wrong. Of course in C21 marketing and sales has changed all this; and customer feedback too is now transparent as people have taken to forums and social media to complain if they feel unsupported. So the manufacturer will usually step in to intervened and resolve the issue.

But if the manufacturer no longer exists in x years, or the product is discontinued, then you’re really on your own.

NAD has been around for a long time and have shown themselves to be reliable and dependable. They are like the Toyota of amplifiers IMHO. You can complain about the cost but there are MUCH worse products from much smaller manufacturers.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Now Topping should destroy all of the competition and put two bridged LA90D's in one case with build-in power supply.

Supposedly something like this is coming.

 

[Billy Budapest]

This is the problem though. The internal wiring and connectors used are low quality (push/crimp), the case is mid-fi, the binding posts are bottom of the barrel, and the execution is subpar (noise) otherwise it would've benched better. This is a simple stereo implementation we're talking about, in a roomy case.

The case isn’t “mid-fi,” or anything “fi.” It contributes nothing to fidelity. If you think the case looks cheap, say that, but not an imprecise—and worse, meaningless—term like “mid-fi.”

 

[nick-v]

I use a C298 with a miniDSP SHD (with Roon and Dirac Live) in one of my systems.

Tough to complain...

 

[amper42]

FYI this has good bit of design from NAD:

It is not just put together with third-party parts. That input board with a microprocessor in it is for sure custom. The power supplies may be as well.

That's true. The custom parts are why the NAD298 measures a bit worse than a standard Purifi design. The NAD298 will be more expensive to repair and the initial cost is twice the Buckeye Purifi purchase. I imagine most NAD298 purchasers might not fully understand the other Purifi options readily available. At some point, the equation of cost/performance = value wins out when competition is working properly.

 

[Mnyb]

Voted fine instead of excellent due to the wonky “gain” implementation , which seems to be a volume control rather than gain ?

Maybe it’s the price for a completely variable solution ? Which may be what some of you need in a home theater situation ?

I’d be happier with a few selectable levels .

 

[artm]

Reactive load test please? For us electrostatic folks.

 

[dtaylo1066]

Go Nad! Yeah a bit pricey, but great measurements.

 

[pogo]

NAD purifis should have more power headroom than other implementations, see my post #10. And it should get better results on a reactive load test (see also M23 review).

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

I think I'll stick with A/B until the Heathkit era ends (or begins.)

 

[amirm]

Reactive load test please? For us electrostatic folks.

Its protection circuit is aggressive and shuts down so would be major hassle to test it with loadbox.

 

[pogo]

Its protection circuit is aggressive and shuts down so would be major hassle to test it with loadbox.

Are there any differences to the M23?

 

[Sal1950]

Good performance, good price, worthless reliability, sadly. If you buy them new, sell after 5 years no matter what.

I'm uncomfortable with why you would make such a comment here without any supporting evidence.
Do you see something in the build quality that you lead you to that conclusion? It's easy to throw stones,
harder to pick them up.

Personally I find the amp overpriced for what it is, you can do as well for half the money from Buckeye.