NAD M33 Streaming Amplifier Review

[fcracer]

"Bass performance suffers when the sound waves from speakers and subwoofers start to bounce around a room,"

That's exactly the issue I have with my current seetup, I wonder if the current DIRAC implementation in the M33 is good enough. I guess there's only one way to find out.

Thanks!

Regular Dirac takes care of that. The current Dirac eliminates all my room modes and provides a much more articulate and multi note bass. I’d highly recommend doing some reading on how to setup Dirac as it’s a bit finicky. Would also recommend starting with the NAD curve or the newly suggested room curve in the later software.

 

[Markus27]

Hi guys,

I managed to listen to the M33 and Naim Uniti Nova connected to the Sonus Faber Sonetto V yesterday.
I believe the M33 is the better amplifier of the 2, so I am likely going down with that route.
To me DIRAC is a must so I don't really see any other competitor in this price range, having tested the Lyngdorf 3400 before and qualified it out.

Outside of pure music reproduction, I was thinking of leveraging the M33 for my TV use. With regards to TV connections (my SONY Oled 65A80J to M33), I am planning the following setup to manage all the audio via the amplifier:
- Playstation 3 via HDMI to TV
- Playstation 4 Pro via HDMI to TV
- nVidia Shield via HDMI to TV
- TV Optical out to NAD M33

Is this the best possible way to leverage the NAD also for TV related usage?
Thanks again

 

[Hoeksel]

Hi guys,

I managed to listen to the M33 and Naim Uniti Nova connected to the Sonus Faber Sonetto V yesterday.
I believe the M33 is the better amplifier of the 2, so I am likely going down with that route.
To me DIRAC is a must so I don't really see any other competitor in this price range, having tested the Lyngdorf 3400 before and qualified it out.

Outside of pure music reproduction, I was thinking of leveraging the M33 for my TV use. With regards to TV connections (my SONY Oled 65A80J to M33), I am planning the following setup to manage all the audio via the amplifier:
- Playstation 3 via HDMI to TV
- Playstation 4 Pro via HDMI to TV
- nVidia Shield via HDMI to TV
- TV Optical out to NAD M33

Is this the best possible way to leverage the NAD also for TV related usage?
Thanks again

For TV I use eARC from my TV to the M33, works flawless and auto detect signal also works.

 

[Markus27]

For TV I use eARC from my TV to the M33, works flawless and auto detect signal also works.

Thanks. Is there any difference between HDMI and Optical for stereo use? Bandwidth or latency perhaps?

 

[Hoeksel]

Thanks. Is there any difference between HDMI and Optical for stereo use? Bandwidth or latency perhaps?

In my case (Panasonic OLED 5 years old) HDMI has significant better audio quality than the optical out. No disadvantages for HDMI that I am aware off.

 

[pogo]

I don't think your TV can output 192/24 over optical
It is possible via eARC.

 

[Markus27]

In my case (Panasonic OLED 5 years old) HDMI has significant better audio quality than the optical out. No disadvantages for HDMI that I am aware off.

I don't think your TV can output 192/24 over optical
It is possible via eARC.

Thank you both.
I noticed NAD offer the HDMI port expansion, does it make sense to buy it and input all the 3 devices through that expansion slot and then use the main HDMI out of the amplifier to drive video only to the TV? basically using the Amplifier as a stereo AV Receiver.

 

[pogo]

I don't see any disadvantages with the eARC connection on the M33. Rather even advantages, since the MDC HDM2 may not be able to process newer video formats.

 

[Markus27]

I don't see any disadvantages with the eARC connection on the M33. Rather even advantages, since the MDC HDM2 may not be able to process newer video formats.

So that means I am still keeping the 3 devices connected directly to the TV and then, with the eARC HDMI port of the TV, connect 1 HDMI cable to the M33, then scrapping my optical connection for it. Correct?
Ideally I would have preferred connecting all the devices to the M33 and then only 1 HDMI cable to the TV, but like you said that expansion card is probably not up to date with the latest standards.

 

[pogo]

Correct.

 

[TheRealGru]

I have been following this thread since I bought M33 myself a week or so ago. I wonder if it's worth purchasing the Live Pro edition or if I should wait for the bass control software to start being compatible with the M33?

I currently have the KEF KC62 subwoofer connected via pre-outs (would rather do LFE) since I am replacing all cables with Nordost this week, and running Focal Arias 926.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[fcracer]

I currently have the KEF KC62 subwoofer connected via pre-outs (would rather do LFE) since I am replacing all cables with Nordost this week, and running Focal Arias 926.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

The light version is more than sufficient for controlling bass modes in the room. I have the full version to tame some inherent flaws in my speakers. If your speakers measure flat, there’s no need for the full version. However, it’s only $99 so why not get the full version and try it out; you can always move the curtain over to 500Hz to simulate the light version.

How does your KC62 work with the M33? I had a loud turn on pop from the KC62 when coming out of sleep when connected to the M33. I also had an annoying hum that I couldn’t eliminate. I tried everything to fix these two issues, but eventually gave up and returned the subwoofer. Too bad because I loved the hardware engineering in it.

 

[TheRealGru]

I made some modifications (speaker placement, new speaker cables, etc) so I'll be reruning Dirac. I think I'll get full version to see what's up.

As far as KC62, I don't get any pops or a hum.

Question for ya: do I select subwoofer in BluOS app and then run Dirac? Should it be connected preout? I think that's what I understand from reading earlier in the thread.

Thanks!

 

[fcracer]

I made some modifications (speaker placement, new speaker cables, etc) so I'll be reruning Dirac. I think I'll get full version to see what's up.

As far as KC62, I don't get any pops or a hum.

Question for ya: do I select subwoofer in BluOS app and then run Dirac? Should it be connected preout? I think that's what I understand from reading earlier in the thread.

Thanks!

Ideal is to use subwoofer output so that Dirac has more control over the output (it will treat the subwoofer as a separate measurement vs. when using the pre-out, it combines the subwoofer with the existing main speakers).

Please note however that using the subwoofer output has two issues:

1. The voltage output may be too low to wake the RC62 from sleep unless the volume is turned up quite high.

2. The inter sample over issue where inter samples get interpreted higher than 0db when music is recorded poorly. This can cause some audible distortion in those few, poorly recorded songs. To offset this, the tone control can be turned on which lowers the db and provides more headroom.

If you use the pre-out method, I’d recommend using REW to ensure the subwoofer is integrating well with the main speakers. It will take some trial and error.

 

[TheRealGru]

Ideal is to use subwoofer output so that Dirac has more control over the output (it will treat the subwoofer as a separate measurement vs. when using the pre-out, it combines the subwoofer with the existing main speakers).

Please note however that using the subwoofer output has two issues:

1. The voltage output may be too low to wake the RC62 from sleep unless the volume is turned up quite high.

2. The inter sample over issue where inter samples get interpreted higher than 0db when music is recorded poorly. This can cause some audible distortion in those few, poorly recorded songs. To offset this, the tone control can be turned on which lowers the db and provides more headroom.

If you use the pre-out method, I’d recommend using REW to ensure the subwoofer is integrating well with the main speakers. It will take some trial and error.

Do you know if both issues can be addressed in future updates or are these hardware issues?

I'll reconnect the connection to SUB1 output. I hope there won't be any issues with waking it up. If so, preout and REW it is. I never used it before so...

 

[fcracer]

Do you know if both issues can be addressed in future updates or are these hardware issues?

I'll reconnect the connection to SUB1 output. I hope there won't be any issues with waking it up. If so, preout and REW it is. I never used it before so...

As much as I love my M33, NAD has been abysmal at follow up on fixing this inter sample over issue.

For a while, they were promising a fix, but it’s gone quiet for a long time. This leads me to believe they’re working on a V2 to fix the low voltage and inter sample over issue, just like they did on the M10 V2.

I still have some hope NAD will treat their Masters line clients well and come up with a fix for the inter sample issue, but I think this hope is misplaced… I have no hope for the low voltage issue which seems related to hardware.

 

[TheRealGru]

As much as I love my M33, NAD has been abysmal at follow up on fixing this inter sample over issue.

For a while, they were promising a fix, but it’s gone quiet for a long time. This leads me to believe they’re working on a V2 to fix the low voltage and inter sample over issue, just like they did on the M10 V2.

I still have some hope NAD will treat their Masters line clients well and come up with a fix for the inter sample issue, but I think this hope is misplaced… I have no hope for the low voltage issue which seems related to hardware.

OH! I hope I didn't just spend ~6k while they are about to release V2 of this amp. Ugh...

I'll test this all out tomorrow and report back.

 

[TheRealGru]

In the meantime, if my amp and sub suffer from the low voltage issue, what other subwoofers are highly sensitive that you guys/gals can recommend? Is it JL Audio or SVS or REL? I was thinking of JL anyway...

 

[TheRealGru]

One last question, should I get the upgraded UIMK-1 mic or should the M33 provided one suffice?

 

[Markus27]

Would anyone know how this Amp compares to the Anthem STR pre+power amplifiers? I reckon the M33 is better than the integrated Anthem STR, but I am wondering if the 2 separates would be a significant improvement or not...