NAD C 298 Power Amplifier With Purifi Eigentakt Amplification

[klnhu]

I just finished the first tests with my C298 that i received app. 10 days ago. Test was done with a Streamer with T&A DAC 8 ( without DSD) DAC and Audionet Pre1 G3 Pre Amplifier with additional EPS Power supply. It sounds very good comparable with my Advance Acoustic X-A160 in Class A mode at very low power ( <1W) but with higher power levels much better. Especially the woofer control is exceptionally and there is always a lot of very clean power left for additional impulses ( hi hats, drums etc ) on any level. Noise is very low, too.
The only thing i am missing ist some proper WBT or equivalent loudspeaker terminals. Here NAD should have spent some dollars more.
Its not so easy to fix spades with these terminals and they are quite close together and do have a small diameter.
So i guess its not possible to replace them.
As i use bi wiring with my KEF Reference Speakers i need spades and Bananas at the same time.

Next test will be the the C298 against C268 that i bought with the C658 as a package.

 

[pLudio]

As i use bi wiring with my KEF Reference Speakers i need spades and Bananas at the same time.

Build Canare 4S11 speaker cables with four bananas in speaker end and two in amplifier end. You can order them from BJC if you are lazy.

 

[typericey]

I hope @amirm reviews this soon. Anyone send him a unit yet?

 

[Jukebox]

I hope @amirm reviews this soon. Anyone send him a unit yet?

Following

 

[Armand]

Finally someone else also bridged the 1ET400A modules for more power. Bruno Putzyes states in his manual that it is not recommended, but it is in fact no problem as long as you take the right precautions. We have many happy customers who have been using our amplifier with bridged 1ET400A modules for months now. It's just incredible how much amounts of ultra clean power these modules pour out when bridged. 1kW with 0,0005% THD+N

 

[Chippyboy]

"1ET400A has a single-ended ground-centered speaker output."
Section 4.3.2 in https://purifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/1ET400A-Data-Sheet-1.00.pdf so NAD C298 should be fine.

Most Hypex modules are also fine but e.g. Hypex UcD2kOEM is a bridged solution which won't work.

Thanks - I had not realised this.

However, did you read the paragraph below your quote?

"The system integrator might notice that the OUT- terminal is connected to GND as part of the Design and be tempted to route the negative speaker terminal to GND elsewhere in the system. This, however, should be avoided as the internal feedback connections sense the voltage between OUT+ and OUT- terminals." If the negative speaker terminal is connected elsewhere, The Design cannot correct for voltage differentials between OUT- and the negative speaker terminal. Best performance is achieved by treating the speaker outputs as a balanced pair when routing the PCB traces from the boundaries of 1ET400A Design to the location of the speaker terminals at the system level.'

S

 

[lalit09]

I just finished the first tests with my C298 that i received app. 10 days ago. Test was done with a Streamer with T&A DAC 8 ( without DSD) DAC and Audionet Pre1 G3 Pre Amplifier with additional EPS Power supply. It sounds very good comparable with my Advance Acoustic X-A160 in Class A mode at very low power ( <1W) but with higher power levels much better. Especially the woofer control is exceptionally and there is always a lot of very clean power left for additional impulses ( hi hats, drums etc ) on any level. Noise is very low, too.
The only thing i am missing ist some proper WBT or equivalent loudspeaker terminals. Here NAD should have spent some dollars more.
Its not so easy to fix spades with these terminals and they are quite close together and do have a small diameter.
So i guess its not possible to replace them.
As i use bi wiring with my KEF Reference Speakers i need spades and Bananas at the same time.

Next test will be the the C298 against C268 that i bought with the C658 as a package.

Hi, did you compare c268 and c298. I too have c658 and waited 1 month for c298 then came to know it will further get delayed at my location. Now i have to choose between c268 or rotel 1582 mkii . If c268 is good enough i will take that.

 

[Jukebox]

Hi, did you compare c268 and c298. I too have c658 and waited 1 month for c298 then came to know it will further get delayed at my location. Now i have to choose between c268 or rotel 1582 mkii . If c268 is good enough i will take that.

I have at home for test C298 and Rotel 1582 mk2 for 3 weeks; Also tested in the past C268; I am using the preouts from Denon X3700 but also tried with the Benchmark DAC3 HGC and Kef speakers. For me and my preferences the winner is C298 followed by Rotel not very far behind. C268 didnt do it for me, maybe biased about the price and power specs...

 

[typericey]

I have at home for test C298 and Rotel 1582 mk2 for 3 weeks; Also tested in the past C268; I am using the preouts from Denon X3700 but also tried with the Benchmark DAC3 HGC and Kef speakers. For me and my preferences the winner is C298 followed by Rotel not very far behind. C268 didnt do it for me, maybe biased about the price and power specs...

Interesting. I own the Rotel and I love it. No reason to replace it, although the C298 got me curious. As I mentioned before, the C298 will likely "outmeasure" the Rotel, though I'm not saying the Rotel will suck at the test bench. What I like about Rotel products are the quality components (Nichicon, in house toroids, etc.) so theoretically Rotel wins with regard to longevity/reliability/durability.

 

[typericey]

Hi, did you compare c268 and c298. I too have c658 and waited 1 month for c298 then came to know it will further get delayed at my location. Now i have to choose between c268 or rotel 1582 mkii . If c268 is good enough i will take that.

I would recommend the Rotel over the C268 for the reasons stated in my previous post. Though I believe the price is higher.

Perhaps wait for the C298 if you're not in a hurry? By the way, may I ask what country you are located?

Edit: both the 1582 MKII and C268 have balanced in.

 

[lalit09]

I would recommend the Rotel over the C268 for the reasons stated in my previous post. Though I believe the price is higher. Another advantage of the Rotel is the balanced inputs.

Perhaps wait for the C298 if you're not in a hurry? By the way, may I ask what country you are located?

Hi, thanks for reply. I am in India there is big price gap between rotel and c298 around 500usd. Any other good amp which match rotel price is parasound a23+.

 

[lalit09]

Also 1s heard parasound i find it little boring so i think rotel is only option i have now.

 

[Jukebox]

Interesting. I own the Rotel and I love it. No reason to replace it, although the C298 got me curious. As I mentioned before, the C298 will likely "outmeasure" the Rotel, though I'm not saying the Rotel will suck at the test bench. What I like about Rotel products are the quality components (Nichicon, in house toroids, etc.) so theoretically Rotel wins with regard to longevity/reliability/durability.

My thoughts exactly! After checking the internal components, Rotel is built like a tank and for sure the winner here regard to longevity/reliability/durability. Sound wise also very good, after 3 weeks I am still debating what should I keep for the long run.
One problem with NAD is that i cant use my trigger cable with Denon because i get one huuuge ground loop that for whatever reason Rotel doesn't have. Lucy for the Auto sense function.
Probably NAD measures better but don't think by a big margin .... No serious measurements for Rotel anywhere unfortunately. So even if Amir will some time measure the C298 we cannot compare with Rotel.

 

[lalit09]

My thoughts exactly! After checking the internal components, Rotel is built like a tank and for sure the winner here regard to longevity/reliability/durability. Sound wise also very good, after 3 weeks I am still debating what should I keep for the long run.
One problem with NAD is that i cant use my trigger cable with Denon because i get one huuuge ground loop that for whatever reason Rotel doesn't have. Lucy for the Auto sense function.
Probably NAD measures better but don't think by a big margin .... No serious measurements for Rotel anywhere unfortunately. So even if Amir will some time measure the C298 we cannot compare with Rotel.

How is the bass performance on rotel, read few review where they said its on softer side.

 

[typericey]

Also 1s heard parasound i find it little boring so i think rotel is only option i have now.

Not sure what you mean by boring but if you meant neutral, I think that's how the Rotel is. The C268 and C298 will very likely be neutral as well.

Also regarding the bass, the first time I owned a Rotel, I also felt it sounded lean, but later on decided that this may just be the neutral sound that I am not used to. Seemingly different from my previous Rega amp which seemed to have that thicc British sound.
Unlikely that Rotel amps are underpowered (vs. their published specs) and also unlikely that the Rotels have rolled of frequency response in the lowest octaves. I'm not a technical guy but my guess is the "lean" character might actually be the cleaner sound due to the high damping factor characteristic of Rotel resulting in better driver control.

 

[RGibran]

Huge power difference between Rotel & C298, No? I don't see a 4 ohm rating for the Rotel?

 

[Jukebox]

Huge power difference between Rotel & C298, No? I don't see a 4 ohm rating for the Rotel?

.

This is the only measurement found for Rotel 1582 mkii

 

[lalit09]

Does any one have any experience with kinki studio m1?

 

[lalit09]

Not sure what you mean by boring but if you meant neutral, I think that's how the Rotel is. The C268 and C298 will very likely be neutral as well.

Also regarding the bass, the first time I owned a Rotel, I also felt it sounded lean, but later on decided that this may just be the neutral sound that I am not used to. Seemingly different from my previous Rega amp which seemed to have that thicc British sound.
Unlikely that Rotel amps are underpowered (vs. their published specs) and also unlikely that the Rotels have rolled of frequency response in the lowest octaves. I'm not a technical guy but my guess is the "lean" character might actually be the cleaner sound due to the high damping factor characteristic of Rotel resulting in better driver control.

I mean tonally i feel parasound sound is on that pinkish side where most of the music sound similarly coloured. With nad c658 i have tried few amps and i feel above all specs tonality is more important with amp.

In real world and on daily listening its hard for someone like me (music lover , not audiophile) to justify the specs of any good to vgood amp.

 

[nothingman]

If I'm honest, I do not notice much difference between the C298 and my previous amp (Nord two 1200as2). However, no noise when not playing music is nice and also being able to use unbalanced inputs makes the C298 much more versatile. I did just exchange my model at the dealer, the C298 always went in standby mode after 2 hours, even when music was playing.

I did the same too. Mine used to go out after an hour. It is connected to a C 658 via a trigger. Switching the C 658 off and on again does not help. You could only turn the C 298 off and on again with the power switch, not on the front.

Gentlemen I have my C298 for one week now. It has played for numerous extended sessions but intermittently shut down on three occasions for no apparent reason. My unit does double duty in a hybrid HT system and in each case it occurred after several hours of extended play with both music and video. I am in the process of having it replaced but would be curious if those of you with replacement units have encountered any intermittent shut down issues?

Count me as number four with a shutoff problem. Something is going on in terms of quality control. Paging @Kal Rubinson just in case he might be able to bring this up with NAD since they’re not very responsive (I had a very simple, short question over email for them two weeks ago and they acknowledged receipt but never took the time to follow up).

What happens to me is, I’m listening normally for an hour or two, not touching the remote or my smartphone or anything that might cause a spike in signal, and the sound just stops and the unit is unresponsive and the red light is on and stays on until I do a hard reset with the rear power switch. After that, the amber standby light reappears, and the unit powers on and goes back to delivering the SHD’s signal that never stopped playing. This has happened three times now.

So that we’re all clear, the unit has three LED colors at the power button: amber for standby, red for the transition from standby to operational and for power protect shutoff (and other fatal errors I assume), and blue for operational.

My preamp is a miniDSP SHD, so I’m forced into using auto sense because of lack of 12V trigger, but I don’t think this problem we’re having has anything to do with it becuase my “auto sense on” turns on fine (set to low), and I don’t have “auto sense off” activated (press and hold power button while unit is operational for ~15 seconds — two flashes from the bridge mode light mean auto sense off has been disabled, and three flashes mean it has been enabled). When auto sense off is activated the unit goes into standby, which means the light turns from blue to amber and can be turned back on with a fresh signal.

Crutchfield has me covered, so after a 5mins phone call a new unit is on the way. Hoping I get a perfectly functioning replacement like @Canth but this is troubling from a long term reliability standpoint. Part of the reason to go with someone like NAD over the small scale assemblers is the sense that all kinks are worked out.