NAD M28 Seven Channel Power Amplifier Review

[Daniel0]

Nord already sells configurable multichannel amps (up to 8 channels) but based on Hypex modules, not Purifi.

Or you combine a 3 channel Purifi with OPA1612 + 4 channel NC502MP for 1600 + 1150 GBP excl VAT respectively.
That translates into 3520 USD excluding taxes and you actually get reference purifi performance and not this NAD "good enough" level (Nord Purifi is already tested on ASR).

 

[thomasjast]

Whew! My M27 lives on! Thanks for the review.

 

[HTNut1975]

Or you combine a 3 channel Purifi with OPA1612 + 4 channel NC502MP for 1600 + 1150 GBP excl VAT respectively.
That translates into 3520 USD excluding taxes and you actually get reference purifi performance and not this NAD "good enough" level (Nord Purifi is already tested on ASR).

That's very close to what you can get the NAD for.

 

[Daniel0]

That's very close to what you can get the NAD for.

I don’t believe you until I see it.
Translating into Euro as I live in Germany the price for the mentioned Nord combo is 3508 € incl taxes. The cheapest price for the M28 is 5500 € incl taxes.
That’s a 2000 € difference.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

@amirm Did you notice any differences between the various channels with repsect to their placement? Did you employ left and right channels at opposite ends of the unit or side by side? I presume they are identical vertical placement in the chassis. Is there any interaction between adjacent channels?

NAD specifically recommends:
For optimum heat dissipation in an AV surround system, the following audio channel allocations are recommended:
Channel 1 = Front Left speaker
Channel 2 = Surround Left speaker
Channel 3 = Surround Back Left speaker
Channel 4 = Center speaker
Channel 5 = Surround Back Right speaker
Channel 6 = Surround Right speaker
Channel 7 = Front Right speaker

 

[HTNut1975]

I don’t believe you until I see it.
Translating into Euro as I live in Germany the price for the mentioned Nord combo is 3508 € incl taxes. The cheapest price for the M28 is 5500 € incl taxes.
That’s a 2000 € difference.

I think you may only be looking at MSRP (and please correct me if I'm wrong). I believe that dealers cannot post their actual price for any NAD product they have. For example, Safe and Sound has a posted price for the M28 that is MSRP. But, if you want a "street price" then give them a call. The same is true with my local dealer. So, if there are any local NAD dealers around you, stop by the store/email them and talk shop to see what you can get for it.

 

[boXem]

No. Loops and internal signal ground return. Possibly also bypass electrolytes ground return.

Well, a Y filter is a good method to create a loop.

 

[Daniel0]

I think you may only be looking at MSRP

No I’m not. I’m looking at the cheapest online price at which I can get the M28 here. Maybe some dealers offer a few hundred euro discount but that wouldn’t change that it’s 2000€ or roughly 60% more expensive than the nord combo for less than reference performance.

 

[HTNut1975]

No I’m not. I’m looking at the cheapest online price at which I can get the M28 here. Maybe some dealers offer a few hundred euro discount but that wouldn’t change that it’s 2000€ or roughly 60% more expensive than the nord combo for less than reference performance.

I honestly don't know what the market is in Germany with respect to NAD and what sorts of discounts from MSRP are common. I can tell you that the price you mentioned (the total price of the NORD combination) in US dollars is very close to what I bought the M28 for. 5500 Euros would surpass even the MSRP price here in the states (I googled that to be roughly $6,516--about $1,500 more than the MSRP in the US). Perhaps you accidentally looked at the M17 price?

 

[Daniel0]

I honestly don't know what the market is in Germany

I explicitly stated the prices including and excluding taxes. US prices are usually without taxes while in Germany everything includes taxes. The taxes right now for this product are 16% this year because of covid. Usually it is 19%.

Maybe you can say what your tax rate was for the M28. But it seems like NAD is way cheaper in the US, I noticed that on other products as well. That’s why I can’t draw the same conclusions like others here regarding price to performance ratio.

 

[carlob]

here: https://www.audiologica.co.uk/product/nad-m28/

(about 4.300 Euro)

MRSP is £3999 / €5499 / US$4999 / CDN$6999.

 

[Doodski]

All channels driven to max power will surely trip the breaker on a typical household US circuit.

That's a really interesting observation. Looking at the specs: https://nadelectronics.com/product/m28-seven-channel-power-amplifier/

You get the usual incomplete story - you don't get a rating for all channels at FTC power. So playing games you can see at 100% efficiency it needing something like 20A. It's obviously going to need more, but your breaker won't trip until it heats up as well.

So here in the land of 120VAC can a you actually get a safety certified product that as designed can draw more current than the way it is "plugged"? i.e. for a 20A circuit here a NEMA 5-20. My bet is it ain't happening.

There is no rear panel AC fuse size listed anywhere in the Owners Manual. I'm curious what 2 channels driven draw for current.
This pic should go real big if clicking on it. Can you please confirm the fuse size @amirm . Fuse size T15AL 250V

 

[carlob]

Anyways this has been launched in August but it is still very difficult to find in EU, I checked the usual suspects online and the shops I know selling NAD in Rome but no availability. I would still go with a multichannel amp combo by Nord even at the same price, at least I know that they didn't ruin the performance of standard ET400/NC502 modules.

 

[HTNut1975]

here: https://www.audiologica.co.uk/product/nad-m28/

(about 4.300 Euro)

MRSP is £3999 / €5499 / US$4999 / CDN$6999.

Ok, so what is €5499? Is that Euros including taxes and such? Sorry to show my ignorance here.

 

[carlob]

Ok, so what is €5499? Is that Euros including taxes and such? Sorry to show my ignorance here.

it's Euro MRSP including VAT, don't ask me why Euro MRSP is higher than uk pound one, really weird.

(Euro 5.499 is about GBP 5.091 so wtf?)

 

[HTNut1975]

@carlob Ok, I thought something wasn't adding up! lol I kept copying and pasting that and google was returning that it was a Euro price. It seems like @Daniel0's pricing doesn't include any kind of discount, then. At the same time, I guess the NAD Euro pricing is steeper than other comparable regions like the US/Canada/England.

 

[SMc]

It's a great feature that this AMP provides equal power to all channels when driven, where others cannot. If they traded SINAD for more power, my question is why? Is there an application for this much power per channel? Should they have taken a lower power target and tried to reduce SINAD? I'm not sure if there is a large segment of high end speakers that need 250watts of continuous power (outside of a subwoofer of course). Anyone have an opinion on whether there is a need for this amount of continuous power per channel?

Three-way speakers with active crossover? Bryston will sell three-channel amps (600/300/300 watts per side) for its active speakers.

But your point is taken!

 

[carlob]

Maybe is an error, should be £4999 MRSP but I found £3999 everywhere.

 

[HTNut1975]

Maybe is an error, should be £4999 MRSP but I found £3999 everywhere.

No that sounds about right. That would translate into around $5,100 US dollars (so I guess the US still gets a "deal"!).

 

[carlob]

No that sounds about right. That would translate into around $5,j100 US dollars (so I guess the US still gets a "deal"!).

one of the three is wrong!
(prices in EU are VAT included)