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NAD M33 Streaming Amplifier Review

watchnerd

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NAD M33 is also a niche product and its buyer's don't represent the wider audio market. ;):) The number of consumers who spent thousands of dollars on an audio product and know what buzzwords like Purifi mean is very small and likely more a reader of our site than random audiophiles.

I couldn't care less about the Purifi part of it.

It could use Pascal, nCore, or any other reputable Class D amp as far as I'm concerned.

DRC / Dirac is the killer feature for me.
 
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amirm

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My local dealer didn't use any high pressure tactics -- it was basically, "we don't have any in stock, we don't get any until X, you can pre-order if you want, or just wait."
Given the economic situation we are in, likely manufacturers are not going out putting in large order for parts and building inventory this early in the game (product cycle). So I think what he told you just means that: no unit is available and not any indication of high demand, or not.
 

watchnerd

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Given the economic situation we are in, likely manufacturers are not going out putting in large order for parts and building inventory this early in the game (product cycle). So I think what he told you just means that: no unit is available and not any indication of high demand, or not.

Sure, it could be all supply chain snags.

As we're finding out with our kitchen remodel -- our new appliances are back ordered until December.
 
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amirm

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I couldn't care less about the Purifi part of it.
So? NAD thinks it is super important. It is top level feature in the description right below model number and is highlighted in red even:

1604951144288.png


This will prompt people who don't know what it is to search for Purifi and land on our forum. If you search for Purifi, we are the fifth entry and only review in that list to pop up from Google search:

1604951213257.png


You already know about Purifi. Likely if you did not, you would search just as well and likely land here to see what it is all about.

But again, it doesn't matter if you don't care. The point was that this is a niche product and has good overlap with our audience of enthusiasts.
 

watchnerd

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So? NAD thinks it is super important. It is top level feature in the description right below model number and is highlighted in red even:

View attachment 92423

This will prompt people who don't know what it is to search for Purifi and land on our forum. If you search for Purifi, we are the fifth entry and only review in that list to pop up from Google search:

View attachment 92424

You already know about Purifi. Likely if you did not, you would search just as well and likely land here to see what it is all about.

But again, it doesn't matter if you don't care. The point was that this is a niche product and has good overlap with our audience of enthusiasts.

I wouldn't necessarily conclude that means NAD thinks it's super important for their target audience.

From the BD contracts I've worked on as a marketing exec, prominent product placement for Purifi could be a part of the gives / gets of the licensing royalty negotiation.

In other words, NAD may be paying less for those modules by agreeing to pimp Purifi in their marketing materials.
 
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amirm

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I wouldn't necessarily conclude that means NAD thinks it's super important for their target audience.

From the BD contracts I've worked on as a marketing exec, prominent product placement for Purifi could be a part of the gives / gets of the licensing royalty negotiation.
It is uncommon for a company like Purifi to afford having such marketing programs. It is also uncommon to force it be a top level play like that. And regardless, it is just pure speculation going against the fact that the advertising is at highest level for the product.

This is an expensive amplification module for NAD to use so they want to milk its value as compared to what their competitors have to create differentiation. And justify the high cost of the unit. It would make little sense to assume that they wouldn't promote it without contractual obligation.

Really, I don't know where you are going with this. Purifi as with Hypex before, has created a buzz around this technology. NAD is their top major licensee so they are going to push this as hard as they can. Saying you don't care or that there was be some obligation elsewhere doesn't make sense.
 

watchnerd

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Really, I don't know where you are going with this.

I find the Purifi marketing angle to be an interesting one in the context of an all-in-one box.

As we've seen, one is not getting a best in class Purifi implementation in the M33.

So if you're a big Purifi fan that wants to get the best measured performance that those modules are capable of, then the M33 isn't a great choice for you.

This can lead to expressions of disappointment of things not living up to their full potential, as has been expressed on this thread.

A bit of a double-edge marketing sword to use the Purifi name to try to benefit from the buzz, but then have Purifi fans waggle the finger about the implementation and start speculating about buffers, layout and other ways the use in the M33 may have been compromised.
 
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PeteL

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I find the Purifi marketing angle to be an interesting one in the context of an all-in-one box.

As we've seen, one is not getting a best in class Purifi implementation in the M33.

So if you're a big Purifi fan that wants to get the best measured performance that those modules are capable of, then the M33 isn't a great choice for you.

This can lead to expressions of disappointment of things not living up to their full potential, as has been expressed on this thread.

A bit of a double-edge marketing sword to use the Purifi name to try to benefit from the buzz, but then have Purifi fans waggle the finger about the implementation and start speculating about buffers and other ways the use in the M33 may have been compromised.
I believe that if they could do something as good, they would. I think using the Purifi module is about making the best amp they can for the price, and yes, once that decision is made, they will market it as such, but if they designed their own, they would have found a different buzzword for their tech, mayne even a patent, and if (Hypotetically) it performed as good, that would have been an even stronger marketing incentive. They chose Purifi for cost and performance, they would have prefered otherwise I think, but I may be wrong. The NAD name is much better known in hifi than Purifi, it's a small segment of their market that chose s NAD baswd on the Purifi perk. Significant, but small.
 

watchnerd

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I believe that if they could do something as good, they would. I think using the Purifi module is avout making the best amp they can for the price, and yes, once that decision is made, they will market it as such, but if they designed tjeir own, they would have found a different buzzword for their tech, mayne even a patent, and if (Hypotetically) itvperformed as good, that would have been an even strongee marketing incentive. They chose Purifi for cost and performance, they would have prefered otherwise I think, but I may be wrong. The NAD name is much better known in hifi than Purifi, it's a small segment of their market that chose s NAD baswd on the Purifi perk. Significant, but small.

I tend to agree with this hypothesis, absent any other info on what happened in the prototyping phase, contract negotiations, etc.

I'm also guessing one of the reasons Roon support is dragging on is that NAD would really, really prefer you to use their own BluOS as your nerve center.
 
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ENG

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I tend to agree with this hypothesis, absent any other info on what happened in the prototyping phase, contract negotiations, etc.

I'm also guessing one of the reasons Roon support is dragging on is that NAD would really, really prefer you to use their own BluOS as your nerve center.

Most of NAD products support Roon.
 

Vasr

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A bit of a double-edge marketing sword to use the Purifi name to try to benefit from the buzz, but then have Purifi fans waggle the finger about the implementation and start speculating about buffers, layout and other ways the use in the M33 may have been compromised.
:facepalm:
NAD isn't marketing this product to "Purifi fans".

It is marketing this to the audience that will think Purifi Eigentakt is the Haagen-Dazs of audio and will care as little as to what it means.
 

Kal Rubinson

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NAD M33 is also a niche product and its buyer's don't represent the wider audio market.
Agreed. Probably not.
The number of consumers who spent thousands of dollars on an audio product and know what buzzwords like Purifi mean is very small and likely more a reader of our site than random audiophiles.
Possibly but I wonder how many buyers of the M33, considering the nature of the product, are buying it on the advice of others (friends, dealers, etc.) without wishing to know much of the details.
 

Kal Rubinson

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:facepalm:
NAD isn't marketing this product to "Purifi fans".

It is marketing this to the audience that will think Purifi Eigentakt is the Haagen-Dazs of audio and will care as little as to what it means.
Well, finally, I can agree with you. However, that is not the only audience to which it will be sold.
 

watchnerd

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Possibly but I wonder how many buyers of the M33, considering the nature of the product, are buying it on the advice of others (friends, dealers, etc.) without wishing to know much of the details.

Hence my comment above saying I really don't care what amp chip it uses.

And I'm in the target audience and nearly bought one on first release.
 

VintageFlanker

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NAD isn't marketing this product to "Purifi fans".

It is marketing this to the audience that will think Purifi Eigentakt is the Haagen-Dazs of audio and will care as little as to what it means.
... Or perhaps not.

Just about any subjective reviews I've red about the M33 insist about the presence of Purifi modules inside. Why?
Because most random audiophiles are still reluctant to Class D. Even nowadays. They won't be pleased to spend 5K$ for some Class D amp... unless...

- Class D sounds dry, harsh, cold, whith lack of body etc. Everybody knows that.
- But not with this last gen Purifi! It doesn't sound anything like I've heard from class D amps before. It is so musical, with some warmth to it. I swear it sounds just as good as TOTL class A/AB amps costing many times more! Class D has gone a looong way. Mind-blowing! :eek:

That's how you convince reluctant audiophiles... ;)

If you think I'm pushing too hard, please take a look at SoundStage! review of Purifi Eval amp... :cool:Just because Purifi are good at engineering products doesn’t mean they can't be excellent at marketing either. So far, I'd say they succeed in both domains.
 

watchnerd

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Vasr

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Just because Purifi are good at engineering products doesn’t mean they can't be excellent at marketing either.
Said otherwise ... no one. :)

Actually, Purifi is a brilliantly chosen name over something like Hypex from a marketing perspective. So they have matured marketing-wise.

Purifi really does need recognized brands like NAD evangelizing it to reach the mainstream (audiophile or not - that is an artificial distinction). NAD gets to differentiate itself with justifiable claims (even if they do a poor engineering job of realizing the full potential) specially since they have fully committed their future business model to Class D. It is a good symbiotic relationship. NAD is also brilliant at marketing.

Dirac got more leverage (and from what I have read raised substantial venture capital) based on its adoption by major brands.

Purifi will be more capital efficient (and be able to raise money) if it goes into an ARM-like licensing model than insist on producing the modules themselves. Or like Dirac stand-alone on PCs, can have a small line for DIY and small-scale producers.
 
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