• Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

NAD C298 Stereo Amplifier Review

Rate this amplifier:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 3 1.0%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 32 11.0%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 140 47.9%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 117 40.1%

  • Total voters
    292
View attachment 365075

I just bought the C298 to replace my two Onkyos which were bridged.
power level is the same, but I find a higher level on the high frequencies.
on the other hand I lack bass I find (which I also felt with the B&W).. I know that the B&W 702 are difficult to drive.
I have two SB3000s in my cinema room, I will have to test with my two towers to see if I have a more!
The C298 has vice grip like control over the bass drivers in my experience. Very tight and lighning fast low frequency extension, so I'm surprised that you're finding the C298 "lack" bass.
 
But, but, but, the Onkyos have massive VU meters :0)
oh yeah baby!!! :cool:
The C298 has vice grip like control over the bass drivers in my experience. Very tight and lighning fast low frequency extension, so I'm surprised that you're finding the C298 "lack" bass.
the problem comes from my 702 I think... is the 2x185W for 8 Ohms enough knowing that they require 300W?
 
oh yeah baby!!! :cool:

the problem comes from my 702 I think... is the 2x185W for 8 Ohms enough knowing that they require 300W?
The C298 is more than enough to drive those speakers. They are IIRC a 90db efficient speaker that run around 4 ohms nominal.

The 298 puts out 340watts continuous into that impedance, with instantaneous peak power into 4 ohms at 490watts! That is a LOT of power, especially for a 90db efficient speaker. It's hard to imagine any situation needing more power in that system.

You may be misinterprating the specs. The are are rated at 30w to 300w for amplifier power, they don't actually need 300wpc to be properly driven, that would be a TON of power. You should be all set on power requirements.
 
I trust you, but this is B&W data.

Nominal impedance: 8Ω (minimum 3.1Ω)
Recommended amplifier power: 30W - 300W into 8Ω on unclipped programme


I'm probably interpreting them wrong :facepalm:
thank you for reassuring me, I'm going to try the sub to see... I'm missing the little punch but that's okay, it's very very good otherwise!
 
I was just going to ask if the Onkyo's were for sale.
But I see your in France so shipping knocks that out. :(
sorry I will keep them :)
 
T+A A200 (purifi) with switchable DF:
'A high damping factor tends to produce a more clearly defined, very precise and analytical sound image, whereas a reduced damping factor produces a more warm and softer sound image.' <- extract from the manual
 
Thanks gentlemen to all this details ;)
 
View attachment 365075

I just bought the C298 to replace my two Onkyos which were bridged.
power level is the same, but I find a higher level on the high frequencies.
on the other hand I lack bass I find (which I also felt with the B&W).. I know that the B&W 702 are difficult to drive.
I have two SB3000s in my cinema room, I will have to test with my two towers to see if I have a more!
I have the M23 and that’s the situation I find. I will say I try to be reasonable as what I enjoy as bass may not be accurate bass reproduction.

However I will say it definitely makes the speaker feel more tighter, or cleaner. I do not know how to explain it. My old amps provided a more visceral bass experience where it’s present in the room and you can feel it in the room. I’m not saying the bass disappears but switching the amps the bass presentation is different. Oddly most if not all subwoofers are class D and provide visceral bass.

That’s a whole other topic I’ve debated previously when it comes to class D to most other relevant topologies. It’s my personal experience that people like to debate. Similarly before purchasing and demoing the amp on multiple speakers I felt the same thing, the bass reproduction is different but the overall performance is phenomenal
 
next weekend's mission, moving an SB3000 and testing!
 
I just bought a NAD 298, the balance is good on the RCA input, but not the same on the XLR input. The Wiim Pro balance control should be turned to
the speakers should play at the same volume. Unfortunately, I bought it in another country, what should I do now? Service here will only repair it for money. That
say 150-300 US$
 
I just bought a NAD 298, the balance is good on the RCA input, but not the same on the XLR input. The Wiim Pro balance control should be turned to
the speakers should play at the same volume. Unfortunately, I bought it in another country, what should I do now? Service here will only repair it for money. That
say 150-300 US$
Unless you want to replace the unit the obvious choices would seem to be either pay the service cost or just use the RCA input and live with it. I guess you could also try putting a passive mono (or half a stereo) volume control into either RCA or XLR path and adjusting that to correct the NAD's imbalance between the two.
 
I just bought a NAD 298, the balance is good on the RCA input, but not the same on the XLR input. The Wiim Pro balance control should be turned to
the speakers should play at the same volume. Unfortunately, I bought it in another country, what should I do now? Service here will only repair it for money. That
say 150-300 US$
Are you sure the problem isn't the source or cable?
 
Back
Top Bottom