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NAD M33 Streaming Amplifier Review

Vasr

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The measure of success of NAD's marketing messaging will be from conversations like this in their target market

Friend: So What did you buy?
Phil: I bought a NAD M33. Man it was hard to get but worth every dime.
Friend: Oh, that uses Class D amps right? Do you really like the sound?
Phil: No, no, It is Purifi not Class D. Wholly different. I wouldn't buy Class D ever. And NAD has taken it to another level like only they can. And my wife just loves how it looks...

:p
 

rodtor

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I looked at the measurement curves again and came to the conclusion that the measurements involving the analog input section were carried out with the lowest quality level possible at the NAD M33 (ADC sample rate 48kHz). For that they seem to be good to very good.

There are no measurement data of the full potential of the NAD M33, if the analog input stage is used at 192kHz ADC sample rate. Please measure again, if possible!

To make matters worse, the sample rate settings only work correctly since the following FW-version and have previously reset themselves to the default value of 48kHz:

BluOS 3.12.9. Released November 4, 2020:
  • Update for inputs and settings on NAD M33. This release applies to the NAD M33 only.
This is an innocent question as a follow-up to the above. I realize that @Amir responds above that there was no reason to expect better SINAD for the analogue input if one used a higher sample rate. Is there anything more to be said about this? Why might one expect otherwise? Moreover, are there any similar questions regarding use of a digital input, which is presumably what most users of the M33 would employ as most sources nowadays are digital, and using an external DAC would defeat the purpose of using the M33 as an all-in-one solution (one that clearly has a good DAC anyway)?
 

watchnerd

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This is an innocent question as a follow-up to the above. I realize that @Amir responds above that there was no reason to expect better SINAD for the analogue input if one used a higher sample rate. Is there anything more to be said about this? Why might one expect otherwise?

Are you saying you think an ADC should have better SINAD at higher sample rates?
 

PierreV

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By their annual report, which is official in Denmark.

Yeah, but...

1604974027888.png


which is Lyngdorf Familie Holding ApS

1604974083461.png


which, from an operational point of view, doesn't look to be performing extremely well, but is much bigger.

However, it is worth noting that, with those type of holdings, the goal is often to minimize results (and therefore taxes)
One really needs to dig into the personel costs and the depreciation/amortization to get a feel of what's going on. The latter could be anything, from obsolete factories to trashed inventory, but also deductible investments that will end up being profitable in the end.
(say you buy a company for X eur, amortize the cost over 10 years, but sell the company for 3X after 5 years)

My guess is that they know exactly what they are doing :cool:

1604974401003.png
 

Vasr

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I am not sure I understand the financials entirely using Google Translate. Is the second graphic the table of Purifi investors? Looks like NAD is an investor via AudioNord?

It is not unusual for a tech startup with significant IP (whose value does not appear in liabilities and assets) to be burning money financed via debt or equity in the initial stages. Doesn't show any shareholder equity value here. Significant short-term debt financing for cash flow reasons.

In terms of cash flow, top line growth of 5% YoY isn't great but they have personnel and G&A expenses under control. Roughly 22% margins on sales is not bad at all for a hardware company. It is almost break-even. It is the debt servicing that is most of the deficit in cash flow. It doesn't show any receivables that any licensing deals signed might contribute to but I don't know the Danish filing requirements for recognizing that.

It is a nice lifestyle business that can grow organically and will have a decent valuation from the IP for acquisitions depending on what they want to do. Not anything to be worried about for viability.

But not a high-growth, venture investable company like Dirac. Hard to do that in hardware.
 

watchnerd

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But not a high-growth, venture investable company like Dirac. Hard to do that in hardware.

Especially in the relatively narrow semiconductor subsector that is high power Class D audio amplifiers.

I assume their exit plan is to be acquired by one of their partners for their IP.
 

TimF

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It seems like there are a few of us in that boat, but it’s not hard to imagine someone feeling that $5k is steep if they don’t need all the functionality.

In my case, I wouldn’t use HDMI, and I already have a phono preamp (although I would be happy to have fewer boxes and cables). I’m in the market for everything else this does though.

In another thread someone informally mentioned that getting a 20% discount might be possible. If that’s true the M33 would be a competitive value proposition. Even if that isn’t true right now, it might be once its popularity subsides. I know Anthem knocks 20% off their STR series from time to time. I suppose I should call a few dealers to see if they just laugh at me.
Re: Alexanderc's comment, if his wife can't hear the difference from the kitchen, I bet Sam Telig's wife Marina (?) could. He claimed she was Russian, didn't he? Oh, I got tired of his narrative line like I got tired of Garrison Keillor who stayed around way, way too long.
 

fcracer

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Conclusions
There is a lot of good news and some bad news in review of NAD M33. As an integrated product it shows for the first time that quality does not need to be compromised. Performance across the board beats any integrated product like an AVR or even AV Processor on DAC performance. For the first time, we don't have to apologize or make excuses.

If you were however expecting the pure performance of best in class stereo DAC and Purifi amplification you would be disappointed. We can get SINAD of 120 dB in desktop DACs and Purifi performance of 98 dB. And at much lower prices but you would have add a streamer of sorts. And none will have the pretty UI of the NAD M33. And you would have to find one where you can use Dirac (e.g. a PC platform).

As compared to an AVR, the M33 is a home run albeit at much higher price and with just two channels.

All in all, NAD shows the path to superb performance in integrated products. It however stops a bit short of what it could be.

Overall, I am happy to recommend the NAD M33. Just miss the bit of performance it left on the table.


Appreciate any kind donations using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Thanks for the review Amir, I’ll be making a donation to thank you for your time. I’ve been waiting for this review before making the decision to pull the trigger. While the performance is not as good as I’d hoped, I think I was being unrealistic in my expectations.

I’ve decided to go for it and have placed my order here in Asia. The combination of DAC, Purifu Amplifier and Direc, in a neat package with the excellent and useful BluOS is a tough combination to beat at this price point. I got discount which offset the VAT but still about the same as the USD MSRP.

I hope the M33 brings some tangible benefit over my existing NAD C390DD, an integrated that still knocks my socks off with its silent noise floor and relentless control over the woofers. At the very least, the digital VU meters will keep me entertained! I’ll report back what I think of the M33 after getting it.
 

TimF

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Class D amplification has seen significant development. Time is relative though. Is class D amplification for home audio purposes now mature to the point where little practical improvement can be expected. It is like that, it seems, with four cylinder fuel injected automobile engines. How many years before the Purifi 1ET400A is a has-been and not up to current standards? How long are the following products expected to be current and desirable: ES9038Pro, AKM4499, and Hypex Ncore NC500? Another question, I owned an Esoteric AI-10 amplifier that was Class D. Does anyone know if Esoteric developed its own Class D amplification for the AI-10, or if they licensed some module?
 

pogo

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I like to keep my reviews very brief and to the point. If you want that kind of detail, please seek out other reviews. I did upgrade the firmware and it made no difference as it should not. The amplification doesn't have firmware. And while ADC/DAC could be impacted, they were not.

I could not test HDMI since it only works as ARC and I am not setup to feed it audio that way. I did try though but did not work (my issue, not the device).

That‘s not completely right. Each purifi module also has firmware (see data sheet at Purifi homepage). I don't know the design of the M33, but from my point of view there is potential that differences in the output signal may be seen with different firmwares. For example, through other settings of the respective function blocks, adding or deactivating functions, etc.

Recommendation from NAD is to use an ADC sample rate of 192 kHz. It would have been interesting to see whether this implementation in the M33 would have made improvements or deteriorations visible, especially since further measurements were carried out via the analog input with 48 kHz (not only SINAD).

I’m with you, that you could only perform a subset of tests.
 

boXem

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That‘s not completely right. Each purifi module also has firmware (see data sheet at Purifi homepage). I don't know the design of the M33, but from my point of view there is potential that differences in the output signal may be seen with different firmwares. For example, through other settings of the respective function blocks, adding or deactivating functions, etc.
That is not completely right either :). Firmware is there for diagnostics, the amplification part is purely analog.
 

pogo

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That is not completely right either :). Firmware is there for diagnostics, the amplification part is purely analog.

Here is a quote from the Purifi data sheet:
…the channel controller monitors and operate all available circuits for environmental checks (Over/Under-voltage, Temperature) and all protection circuits (Current limiting, Overload protection, DC protection, Frequency protection and Bootstrap refresh)…

I understand this channel controller can influence the analog signal. Are the thresholds applied for the controller operation hardwired?
 

PierreV

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I am not sure I understand the financials entirely using Google Translate. Is the second graphic the table of Purifi investors? Looks like NAD is an investor via AudioNord?

The second graphic is the list of companies (with the percentage of ownership) in the Lyngdorf family holding per official report.
(edit: and yes, there seems to be a few crosslinks - tracking that would require following the list of beneficiaries - available partly there, partly in other filings)
 

boXem

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Here is a quote from the Purifi data sheet:
…the channel controller monitors and operate all available circuits for environmental checks (Over/Under-voltage, Temperature) and all protection circuits (Current limiting, Overload protection, DC protection, Frequency protection and Bootstrap refresh)…

I understand this channel controller can influence the analog signal. Are the thresholds applied for the controller operation hardwired?
Consider that you have an analog amplifier with a microcontroller monitoring it's behavior. In case an issue would be detected, the microcontroller will take drastic measures in order to protect both the amplifier, and the speakers. Not something slightly degrading the measurements, something like shutting down everything.
 
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