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NAD M28 Seven Channel Power Amplifier Review
- Thread starter amirm
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The number 74 itself is not enough to know your amp is operating or not in it's linear zone. How loud was it? What are your speakers. The M28 do have more power.
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What can explain traditional manufacturers are putting a lot of components on their PCBs, when manufacturers are generally putting a lot less components, and for a better result ?
By the way, what are the dark blue squares on your buffer ?
Went ahead and ordered one, since new M27 are nowhere to be found anymore. Wow, it looks really nice. One thing I noticed, when I just checked, if the amp works: Without a preamp connected I have a fairly loud hissing from the speakers. With the preamp connected it's dead silent, even with the preamp switched off. Did not notice this with any amps I had before. Could someone please check, if their unit behaves the same?
That doesn’t sound normal
I have to say that I have not tried any of the channels connected to load without any input. I have had the amp on with the source components unpowered and there is no noise.
Same here. As long as something (even unpowered) is connected, there is no noise. Strange thing is, that there is noise with nothing connected. Furthermore I have a very, very faint plopp in the speakers, when switching it on and off, but I guess this is normal.
xirtam2005
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Has anyone compares this amp to Parasound Halo A51? If so what are your impressions?
BadlyDrawnBear
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I finally found an ex-display M28 at a good price this week. However I noticed that it stays warmer than I'd expect in standby. I tested the power consumption out of curiosity and found the standby consumption to be around 36 watts. The specs indicate that it should be around 0.5W. Additionally all the status LEDs on the rear panel remain illuminated green while the unit is in standby. Can anyone tell me if this is how the unit is expected to operate?
NAD jacked up the price in January by $1000!!!
BadlyDrawnBear
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Yeah, the price increase was a bit harsh. In the event it was too good of a deal. The high power consumption in standby was just a warning and it died after 1 day. It sounded great while it lasted.
Thanks, @amirm, for the great review.
I am considering buying this power amp. My shortlist includes the Musical Fidelity 250.7 (7-channel), this Nad M28 and a custom-made amp made by 'Kustom Dek' in Tasmania, using Hypex hardware. I would use this amp in combination with my Denon AVR x6400h (it has all the pre-outs) to drive my seven speakers: Monitor Audio Gold 200 5G (front), MA Gold FX 5G (Surround), MA Gold C250 (Centre), MA CP-CT260 (Height).
Despite the minor issues compared to the previous model, it seems this amp is performing incredibly well and it's also of a decent size (not a monster that doesn't fit in any cabinet).
I would really appreciate some opinions, and if there are any things I should consider when pairing an amp to my Denon x6400h using the pre-outs.
Thank you all
I am considering buying this power amp. My shortlist includes the Musical Fidelity 250.7 (7-channel), this Nad M28 and a custom-made amp made by 'Kustom Dek' in Tasmania, using Hypex hardware. I would use this amp in combination with my Denon AVR x6400h (it has all the pre-outs) to drive my seven speakers: Monitor Audio Gold 200 5G (front), MA Gold FX 5G (Surround), MA Gold C250 (Centre), MA CP-CT260 (Height).
Despite the minor issues compared to the previous model, it seems this amp is performing incredibly well and it's also of a decent size (not a monster that doesn't fit in any cabinet).
I would really appreciate some opinions, and if there are any things I should consider when pairing an amp to my Denon x6400h using the pre-outs.
Thank you all
I've been using my M28 for the past 16 months and today it stopped powering on. On pressing the power button the led on the front goes red with the normal accompanying "click" sound before then going back to standby with the front led returning to orange. Subsequent presses of the power button get the same normal clicking sound but the led just stays orange so it's stuck in standby mode. I'll seek out service under warranty and will report back what the problem is.
A quick update on my previous post. I bought the Musical Fidelity 250.7. It's a great class A/B amp, but with a few issues I did not consider at the time of purchase. The performance is great, I have no complaints about how the amp drives my Monitor Audio Gold speakers.
The main issue is the weight (this is the most important one, as I can't really move this amp anywhere by myself, with its 32Kg). Another annoying issue is the noise from the chassis (I guess the transformers). It's not a quiet amp. I'm not saying the noise is at fridge levels, but definitely audible. I measured by room without the amp on, and the noise was 37dbA. With the amp on, 1m distance, it was 41/42dbA. So, quite annoying. Another minor issue is the led lights on the front panel. They can't be turned off, so watching a movie with these lights on will probably be annoying (I haven't tried yet).
This is a clear return for me. Looking for a lighter and quieter Class D amp, one that can be reliable and can deliver the same power and dynamics to my speakers. Next week, I'll try the Marantz AMP10. I know it's expensive to only drive sevel speakers, but that's what I am leaning towards at the moment. I've read many bad stories about Nad amps, so it seems the Marantz is more reliable. This is just a conjecture based on online reviews and comments in forums.
A quick update on this message. I decided to trade the Musical Fidelity 250.7 for the new Marantz AMP10. I couldn't stand the noise from the transformers of the Musical Fidelity. It wasn't quiet... more like a fridge let's say! It was also too heavy for me. I am very happy with the Marantz AMP 10. It's dead quiet, almost no hiss from the speaker tweeters as well. A lot of power. Weight is decent at 20Kg.
It's hard to make a comparison between the Musical Fidelity and the Marantz because I think they have different gains (the musical fidelity was louder, tried with RCA pre-outs), so the volume was different when I tested the two at the same time in my listening room. Level-matching wasn't easy, even if I have an SPL meter. So I'm not going to write anything about my listening impressions because the comparison between the two was not done in any scientific way.
xirtam2005
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I've been monitoring this and was very interested in NAD M28, so am very disappointed to hear of power issues on such a new unit. I had issues with a Parasound Halo A51, that has gotten multiple repairs, so was looking for something that sounded as good, but was more reliable and cooler, less prone to heat damage. Sadly NAD M28 doesn't seem reliable from some of the posts here.
The ATI NC527 seems reliable with a good warranty, but the older ncores don't have the frequency response, especially in the upper treble, of the good class A/B like Parasound Halo A21/51 line or the newer Purifi, so suspect that would be a noticeable downgrade from the Parasound A51, which would rule it out. If ATI updated their line with newer Purifi and the same reliability and 7 year warranty, and it measured/tested well with good reviews, I'd bite in a heartbeat.
How do the Buckeye Purifi amps measure? Has Amir tested yet? I could probably do a Buckeye Purifi for the front 3 and then do the NCore x4 for the surrounds. Combo less than half a new A51 or NAD M28 if they can cut the mustard in performance and reliability. .
The ATI NC527 seems reliable with a good warranty, but the older ncores don't have the frequency response, especially in the upper treble, of the good class A/B like Parasound Halo A21/51 line or the newer Purifi, so suspect that would be a noticeable downgrade from the Parasound A51, which would rule it out. If ATI updated their line with newer Purifi and the same reliability and 7 year warranty, and it measured/tested well with good reviews, I'd bite in a heartbeat.
How do the Buckeye Purifi amps measure? Has Amir tested yet? I could probably do a Buckeye Purifi for the front 3 and then do the NCore x4 for the surrounds. Combo less than half a new A51 or NAD M28 if they can cut the mustard in performance and reliability. .
Thought I'd post an update. I bought my M28 in March 2022 and the warranty card states there's 3 years of warranty. On Aug 1st I took the unit to NAD's closest authorized repair centre here in Vancouver, BC, Canada. After a month nothing got achieved. The repair centre said NAD wasn't sending them the parts they needed (i was told they needed new amplifier modules). I called NAD and that helped. A few weeks later the repair centre said the wrong parts were sent to them, so i called NAD again (NAD's head office and the repair centre have difficulty communicating with each other, it seems). The correct parts were then sent but they didn't fix whatever the problem is. That took another month. It's now early November and I'm still waiting for the repair centre to ship the unit to NAD in Ontario (NAD insists this must happen before they decide what to do next). I'll let everyone draw their own conclusions as to how i'm feeling about all this! After sales service will be a big consideration in my future purchases, that's for sure!
Wow! I used to provide NAD warranty service and the parts situation was very good, fast and NAD paid a bit more than the usual brand names do. I'm surprised to read of a major bad service situation.
NAD have at least been responsive with me each time i've called. I can always get someone on the phone and things do happen after calling them. However, their product failed after 15 months. I was faced with two options: send to NAD in Ontario at my own expense, or drive it to the local repair facility designated by NAD. Shipped insurance would have cost hundreds for me out of pocket so far better to get it repaired locally. Now, 3 months later, the authorized repair facility has said it can't be repaired and NAD are insisting they get it back to their head office. I'm hopeful for a positive outcome but it's taking a very long time and it's taken me hours of my own time to move things along. The frustrating part is there are M28's in stock everywhere but they have so far refused to send me a replacement unit until they can do their own inspection. I'll let everyone know once things do finally get resolved, and hopefully that happens this year!
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