C298 Auto Shut Off issue and more!

[Mehdiem]

I got my C298 today. As much as I’m impressed with the sound, I have some issues with the on/off functions as follows:

- unit automatically shuts off no matter what I do (despite the fact that I turn off the auto shut-off mode, as per described on the manual “press and hold for 15+ sec”. I get confirmation 2 blinks)
- when the trigger cable is connected power button doesn’t work (I use a stereo 3.5mm jack- but I don’t think this would be an issue)
- auto-sense (on and off) doesn’t work as per described in the manual “press and hold for 10-15 sec”: I press and hold and after11sec when I leave it, I see the bridge light blinking 4 times. And nothing else happens
- when I turn on the unit I hear a very subtle popping (cracking) click/noise from my speaker. (It’s not a constant noise, it’s an instant). I wonder if this could harm my speakers? Do you experience the same popping noise?
- I cannot check the firmware by holding the power button for 5 sec. Nothing happens after 5 sec

My unit must be the latest production run, as it just arrived in the country (Canada) and the dealer called me to pick it up.


Please share your experience with me.

 

[JSmith]

auto-sense (on and off) doesn’t work as per described in the manual

That's annoying... hopefully there is some info for you in this thread. The post I have linked to starts the discussion;

NAD C 298 Power Amplifier With Purifi Eigentakt Amplification

Hang in there. Perhaps Crutchfield had some early production models. It's been speculated the problem lay with those units although my original defective unit was drop shipped directly from Lenbrook America. Fortunately everyone's replacement seems trouble free. Interesting tidbit on Auto...

www.audiosciencereview.com

JSmith

 

[GD74]

I got my C298 today. As much as I’m impressed with the sound, I have some issues with the on/off functions as follows:

- unit automatically shuts off no matter what I do (despite the fact that I turn off the auto shut-off mode, as per described on the manual “press and hold for 15+ sec”. I get confirmation 2 blinks)
- when the trigger cable is connected power button doesn’t work (I use a stereo 3.5mm jack- but I don’t think this would be an issue)
- auto-sense (on and off) doesn’t work as per described in the manual “press and hold for 10-15 sec”: I press and hold and after11sec when I leave it, I see the bridge light blinking 4 times. And nothing else happens
- when I turn on the unit I hear a very subtle popping (cracking) click/noise from my speaker. (It’s not a constant noise, it’s an instant). I wonder if this could harm my speakers? Do you experience the same popping noise?
- I cannot check the firmware by holding the power button for 5 sec. Nothing happens after 5 sec

My unit must be the latest production run, as it just arrived in the country (Canada) and the dealer called me to pick it up.


Please share your experience with me.

Hi, I'm Gijs, new member and happy owner of a C658 and C298 combination.
I didn't bother about the settings of my C298, I just hooked it up to the C658 by using 2 XLR's and a 3.5mm stereo jack as a trigger cable.

It's working flawless, except that I found out later that my power amp didn't power down via the trigger (I have the C298 stored inside a cupboard, so it took me some time to find out...)
Checked my connections, and found out that I plugged in my trigger cable in the IR port instead of the trigger out by accident

Plugged the jack in the trigger out in the C658 and it works like a charm now.
By the way, I could be wrong, but I think the auto shut off is not in use when you use the trigger ports.
Mine shuts down instantly when I switch off the C658.
Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Gijs

 

[Mehdiem]

Hi, I'm Gijs, new member and happy owner of a C658 and C298 combination.
I didn't bother about the settings of my C298, I just hooked it up to the C658 by using 2 XLR's and a 3.5mm stereo jack as a trigger cable.

It's working flawless, except that I found out later that my power amp didn't power down via the trigger (I have the C298 stored inside a cupboard, so it took me some time to find out...)
Checked my connections, and found out that I plugged in my trigger cable in the IR port instead of the trigger out by accident

Plugged the jack in the trigger out in the C658 and it works like a charm now.
By the way, I could be wrong, but I think the auto shut off is not in use when you use the trigger ports.
Mine shuts down instantly when I switch off the C658.
Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Gijs

Hey thanks for your response.

I connected it through the trigger to my Node. It is working as intended on/off with trigger. But, if there is no signal (music) it shuts off after 15min. I have spoken with the NAD specialist. They couldn’t understand why. I’m frustrated. To the point that might return it and go for VTV or Audiophonics.

 

[GD74]

Hey thanks for your response.

I connected it through the trigger to my Node. It is working as intended on/off with trigger. But, if there is no signal (music) it shuts off after 15min. I have spoken with the NAD specialist. They couldn’t understand why. I’m frustrated. To the point that might return it and go for VTV or Audiophonics.

That's indeed anoying.
I have no experience with the node, but I just saw that it has the trigger port as well, so it should function in the same way (3 jacks in a row, middle port is trigger out.)
Could it be a setting in your node maybe?
If you hook up the trigger out from your node to the trigger in on the 298 it should work unless something is wrong. (I hope that isn't the case.)

I had some glitches with my C658 remote control (no response, had to press several times to switch it on) , but after removing and installing the batteries it was working like it should.
Looks like NAD can be glitchy, but if it works, Maynard James Keenan never sounded so good

Good luck, hope you get this sorted soon. I'll be following this thread.

Cheers, Gijs

Edit: After reading the manual I see indeed that you can turn on/off the auto power off by holding the power button:

Enable Auto Standby mode At operating mode, press and hold front panel Standby button and then release after more than 15 seconds. The Bridge mode indicator light flashes three times.

Disable Auto Standby mode At operating mode, press and hold front panel Standby button and then release after more than 15 seconds. The Bridge mode indicator light flashes two times

If yours acts differently that's strange. Did you try to power down to let it bleed any residual current and retry?

B.t.w, mine makes a very distinct popping sound as well sometimes, but it doesn’t sound loud enough for me to start worrying about my speakers.
My wife wouldn't even notice this popping/clicking sound

 

[Gchord]

I got my C298 today. As much as I’m impressed with the sound, I have some issues with the on/off functions as follows:

- unit automatically shuts off no matter what I do (despite the fact that I turn off the auto shut-off mode, as per described on the manual “press and hold for 15+ sec”. I get confirmation 2 blinks)
- when the trigger cable is connected power button doesn’t work (I use a stereo 3.5mm jack- but I don’t think this would be an issue)
- auto-sense (on and off) doesn’t work as per described in the manual “press and hold for 10-15 sec”: I press and hold and after11sec when I leave it, I see the bridge light blinking 4 times. And nothing else happens
- when I turn on the unit I hear a very subtle popping (cracking) click/noise from my speaker. (It’s not a constant noise, it’s an instant). I wonder if this could harm my speakers? Do you experience the same popping noise?
- I cannot check the firmware by holding the power button for 5 sec. Nothing happens after 5 sec

My unit must be the latest production run, as it just arrived in the country (Canada) and the dealer called me to pick it up.


Please share your experience with me.

That's indeed anoying.
I have no experience with the node, but I just saw that it has the trigger port as well, so it should function in the same way (3 jacks in a row, middle port is trigger out.)
Could it be a setting in your node maybe?
If you hook up the trigger out from your node to the trigger in on the 298 it should work unless something is wrong. (I hope that isn't the case.)

I had some glitches with my C658 remote control (no response, had to press several times to switch it on) , but after removing and installing the batteries it was working like it should.
Looks like NAD can be glitchy, but if it works, Maynard James Keenan never sounded so good

Good luck, hope you get this sorted soon. I'll be following this thread.

Cheers, Gijs

Edit: After reading the manual I see indeed that you can turn on/off the auto power off by holding the power button:

Enable Auto Standby mode At operating mode, press and hold front panel Standby button and then release after more than 15 seconds. The Bridge mode indicator light flashes three times.

Disable Auto Standby mode At operating mode, press and hold front panel Standby button and then release after more than 15 seconds. The Bridge mode indicator light flashes two times

If yours acts differently that's strange. Did you try to power down to let it bleed any residual current and retry?

B.t.w, mine makes a very distinct popping sound as well sometimes, but it doesn’t sound loud enough for me to start worrying about my speakers.
My wife wouldn't even notice this popping/clicking sound

That's indeed anoying.
I have no experience with the node, but I just saw that it has the trigger port as well, so it should function in the same way (3 jacks in a row, middle port is trigger out.)
Could it be a setting in your node maybe?
If you hook up the trigger out from your node to the trigger in on the 298 it should work unless something is wrong. (I hope that isn't the case.)

I had some glitches with my C658 remote control (no response, had to press several times to switch it on) , but after removing and installing the batteries it was working like it should.
Looks like NAD can be glitchy, but if it works, Maynard James Keenan never sounded so good

Good luck, hope you get this sorted soon. I'll be following this thread.

Cheers, Gijs

Edit: After reading the manual I see indeed that you can turn on/off the auto power off by holding the power button:

Enable Auto Standby mode At operating mode, press and hold front panel Standby button and then release after more than 15 seconds. The Bridge mode indicator light flashes three times.

Disable Auto Standby mode At operating mode, press and hold front panel Standby button and then release after more than 15 seconds. The Bridge mode indicator light flashes two times

If yours acts differently that's strange. Did you try to power down to let it bleed any residual current and retry?

B.t.w, mine makes a very distinct popping sound as well sometimes, but it doesn’t sound loud enough for me to start worrying about my speakers.
My wife wouldn't even notice this popping/clicking sound

 

[Gchord]

That's indeed anoying.
I have no experience with the node, but I just saw that it has the trigger port as well, so it should function in the same way (3 jacks in a row, middle port is trigger out.)
Could it be a setting in your node maybe?
If you hook up the trigger out from your node to the trigger in on the 298 it should work unless something is wrong. (I hope that isn't the case.)

I had some glitches with my C658 remote control (no response, had to press several times to switch it on) , but after removing and installing the batteries it was working like it should.
Looks like NAD can be glitchy, but if it works, Maynard James Keenan never sounded so good

Good luck, hope you get this sorted soon. I'll be following this thread.

Cheers, Gijs

Edit: After reading the manual I see indeed that you can turn on/off the auto power off by holding the power button:

Enable Auto Standby mode At operating mode, press and hold front panel Standby button and then release after more than 15 seconds. The Bridge mode indicator light flashes three times.
Hi ,I also discovered this stupid feature that doesn't work after 11 months of using myc298.I am unable to put the amp in stby mode .I have tried the 10-15s method ,and enable and disable doesn't work..Well rubbish design for such a good sounding amp.I will be asking for a refund after seeing nothing being done by mad to do a fix.Shame on NAD.

Disable Auto Standby mode At operating mode, press and hold front panel Standby button and then release after more than 15 seconds. The Bridge mode indicator light flashes two times

If yours acts differently that's strange. Did you try to power down to let it bleed any residual current and retry?

B.t.w, mine makes a very distinct popping sound as well sometimes, but it doesn’t sound loud enough for me to start worrying about my speakers.
My wife wouldn't even notice this popping/clicking sound