NAD C268 Power Amplifier Review

[RayDunzl]

Ray, are you sure that mains cable is thick enough?

It's a Carol 10 AWG 3C SJOOW, I believe.

Standard "comes with" non-removeable (terminates on the power on/off breaker, white switch left of the cable in the picture above) - about 10 feet long.

 

[EchoChamber]

If it was my money, I’d spend a little more on the Hypex NC400 kit. I actually did so!

They are fairly easy to assemble, but require patience, subtlety and attention to detail.

They sound really good in my system, more transparent and with a better grip on my speakers than my previous Class AB monos.

 

[Xulonn]

it does show that if you already have a good Class AB amp, it's not that critical to switch to a new-fangled digital amp.

I actually agree - I am replacing my vintage 2-channel Classé Model Seventy Class AB amp with three channels of Ghent/ICEpower 200ASC kit amplification only because I want to save space and reduce weight and power consumption - and have matched amplifers for all channels now that I have added a center channel for movies/video. My cost will be $540 for 100w@8Ω and three channel - using the latest versionas of the same 200/300ASC series of ICEpowr modules used in some older "entry-level" amplifiers from Jeff Rowland, Bel Canto, and Cary.

NAD doesn't play in the odd-numbered multichannel power amp market, (3,5,7,9,11-channels) and is a traditional retail-market manufacturer. This means higher overhead through the distribution channels and resulting higher prices than with the new module-based, direct-sales market with its assembled units and kits like my Ghent/ICEpower units. That being said, the NAD C268 looks like a good product at a reasonable price for its market niche.

 

[Jim777]

Makes it even more sad the NAD C658 is so broken, looks like we could have had a nice combo here..

 

[McFly]

It's a Carol 10 AWG 3C SJOOW, I believe.

Standard "comes with" non-removeable (terminates on the power on/off breaker, white switch left of the cable in the picture above) - about 10 feet long.

Damn, those things can pull 32A e. from the wall socket??

 

[RayDunzl]

Damn, those things can pull 32A e. from the wall socket??

They're studly little amps, the smallest of the three in the range.

https://www.krellhifi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Krell_FPB_xSeries_Owners_Reference.pdf

 

[A Surfer]

I wish that I could part with my NAD M3 for Amir to test. Not to mention it is almost 75lbs so shipping would kill me. I have owned quite a bit of NAD gear over the years, all have been great I feel with the M3 certainly being everything that I have ever needed it to be. The 3020A was my first NAD followed by the 2150 and a really, really good NAD preamp, forget the model now, but it was a nice system with an Rega Apollo CD player and some Energy C5 speakers. Those C5 speakers by the way are quite amazing, amazing imaging and dispersion characteristics.

 

[WonderBoy]

Interior pics (your own, non googled)? Those are always cool to see.

 

[amirm]

Hi Amir, can you measure bridged mode into 4 ohms?

Not allowed. Minimum impedance is 8 ohm in bridged mode.

 

[Objectivist01]

I see a SNR of 90dB is good here. But when I look at manufacturers spec of many amps they all have more than 100 dB.. some vintage amps claim 110dB. So are they all false claims or on a special occasion they hit value ? Like peak power?

 

[carlob]

My hifi shop down the road has one demo unit for 600 Euro, otherwise new 800 Euro. All in all not bad.

 

[peng]

Glad to see some decent results from NAD. I was beginning to lose faith in them. That made me sad since my first preamp was a 1020 about 37 years ago that, along with my Hafler DH220, AR Turntable, Shure V15 Type V MR and Nakamichi BX-2, took my love for music and equipment to a new level. Cheers to them!

It is decent, but if say someone has an AVR-X3600H (that seems to have better measurements in all if not most categories than this amp) and connect it to the preouts, wouldn't the overall distortions be higher than that if the 3600's internal amps are used. I realize the NAD has higher short duration output but at low output level it would seem that this "separate" offers no advantage. It just seems to me people tend to be harsh on AVRs "poor" measurements but forgiving if a "separate" component perform the same or slightly better. Disclosure: I do have one NAD product, an integrated amp and I like it a lot, I am not biased against NAD.

 

[Xyrium]

Not the most impressive performance at the price. I have the C368 in my office and though it's fine in that setup, I had hoped for better from a dedicated component using the same board. I believe these use the UcD102 OEM boards, and NAD probably got a discount on them given the focus on the NCore modules in the past few years.

Ho hum...

 

[AudioTodd]

I wouldn’t choose this amp - I have plenty already, frankly!! - but at least it was not a disaster. I have been really disappointed by the measurements of their recent gear on this forum. I have an attachment to the brand due to my longstanding use of my 1020 and a 4155 tuner plus a power amp - forgot the model - in my shop and an L40 all-in-one system in my office, so I was pleased this was better. Since I’m using Benchmark stuff these days, I’m not in the market really but would like to see good performance at good prices as it is a benefit to the hobby overall IMO.

 

[martijn86]

This? https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/powe...s-d-amplifier-ncore-2x250w-4-ohm-p-13545.html

That's my amp! I can tell you from what my 33 years old ears can hear, it is clear as water. I think it does about 140w continuous without a sweat and that is severely uncomfortable in a living room. At the moment it gets signal from a Yamaha WXC-50 but I'm pondering to replace that with a Matrix Audio Element X.

That Audiophonics build is a steal and a very audible upgrade from an AVR or a Crown amp.

 

[Xulonn]

That's my amp! I can tell you from what my 33 years old ears can hear, it is clear as water. I think it does about 140w continuous without a sweat and that is severely uncomfortable in a living room. At the moment it gets signal from a Yamaha WXC-50 but I'm pondering to replace that with a Matrix Audio Element X.

That Audiophonics build is a steal and a very audible upgrade from an AVR or a Crown amp.

I see that you have Klipsch Forte III speakers which have a sensitivity of 99dB and are rated for 116dB continuous output. 20 years ago, I could drive my old Forte II's to ear-splitting levels with a 3wpc single-ended 2A3 tube amp.

I do believe that your Audiophonics amplifier with its NCore NC250MP modules is not likely to reach clipping levels in your system!

 

[GXAlan]

I see a SNR of 90dB is good here. But when I look at manufacturers spec of many amps they all have more than 100 dB.. some vintage amps claim 110dB. So are they all false claims or on a special occasion they hit value ? Like peak power?

Most are for rated power into 8 ohm. Amir is testing at 5W into 4 ohms

 

[P_M]

would be nice to see the noise spectrum all the way out to the switching frequency for Class D amps.

 

[PuX]

thanks for the review, it's nice to see review of well-known/familiar brands.

what really tells the whole story is the SINAD graph, if you look to the left (slightly better), you will find NAD C320 BEE.

that is an old low-end amp from 2002:

I personally have a NAD C355, a more recent and more powerful amp, probably based on same technology.
it is good, but not amazing or anything.

modern amps should really be much better to match the modern DACs.

 

[Koeitje]

Hhmmm... what is better at $900 ?

Any Hypex NCore.