NAD M33 vs Devialet Expert

[watchnerd]

Let’s hope the measurements are really good!

Given the feature set, I'd be fine with "good enough", on the DAC side.

I'm actually more concerned about the phono stage being botched or half-ass.

 

[EdW]

Given the feature set, I'd be fine with "good enough", on the DAC side.

I'm actually more concerned about the phono stage being botched or half-ass.

Yes half-ass engineering seems to be an all too common feature of the audio industry. Possibly because the industry, in decline for a decade or two, doesn’t attract it fair share of solid, capable engineers. But to be fair NAD does get things right more often than many of its competitors

 

[Thomas savage]

Looks sexy , I want one and I don't even have a use for it.

 

[JustJones]

Inside the M33. Kind of blurry picture

 

[watchnerd]

Inside the M33. Kind of blurry picture View attachment 77790

If I get one, mine will cease to look like that quite quickly.

Instead, I expect those big vent holes on top to cause it to be full of cat hair.

 

[watchnerd]

Looks sexy , I want one and I don't even have a use for it.

Fake VU needs to have color selection.

Blue-white clashes with my toobs.

 

[JustJones]

They have them for sale on Audio Advisor. $5K

https://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NAM33

 

[Matias]

Inside the M33. Kind of blurry picture

Here is a bigger picture.

 

[Thomas savage]

Here is a bigger picture.

View attachment 77795

@restorer-john , a breath and it's climax.

 

[Thomas savage]

Fake VU needs to have color selection.

Blue-white clashes with my toobs.

Yea yea stop pretending you have control!

 

[watchnerd]

Here is a bigger picture.

View attachment 77795

That doesn't look dual mono to me.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Dual mono what?

 

[watchnerd]

Dual mono what?

Everything -- dual DAC chips, dual power supplies, etc.

Of course, this is probably moot and I'm just being sarcastic.

The VU color on the other hand...

That's serious business. It needs to have color choices.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Everything -- dual DAC chips, dual power supplies, etc.

Yeah, its got 2 of most things, as do humans!

The VU color on the other hand...
That's serious business. It needs to have color choices.

Not if you are color-blind.

 

[watchnerd]

Yeah, its got 2 of most things, as do humans!

Not if you are color-blind.

That must explain McIntosh's green tubes.

 

[restorer-john]

Dual mono what?

Are you a dual mono purist? Right down to the paired AC power cords?

Me, dual amplification mono is two, preferably mirror imaged, separated with no common parts other than the case, the power switch and maybe a single power cord. Even a dual (L/R) tapped main transformer is very much borderline disqualification.

 

[watchnerd]

Are you a dual mono purist? Right down to the paired AC power cords?

Me, dual amplification mono is two, preferably mirror imaged, separated with no common parts other than the case, the power switch and maybe a single power cord. Even a dual (L/R) tapped main transformer is very much borderline disqualification.

When I think of 'hardcore' dual mono, that's more along the lines of what I was thinking.

Some of the Levinson gear comes to mind, albeit without dual AC cords.

But the M33 is *only* $5000, so compromises have to be expected at that *modest* price point these days....

 

[Tks]

Yes half-ass engineering seems to be an all too common feature of the audio industry. Possibly because the industry, in decline for a decade or two, doesn’t attract it fair share of solid, capable engineers. But to be fair NAD does get things right more often than many of its competitors

How would we know though in all honesty?

 

[restorer-john]

How would we know though in all honesty?

Unbiased observers with industry knowledge. There's plenty here on ASR. I'd put it a three decades of decline, only halted and in turnaround in the last decade.

Most of the legendary engineers who drove the big players through the 70s, 80s and 90s are long since retired or departed (R.I.P.).

The 2 channel part of the industry was in free-fall from the early-mid 1990s with the big players, due to massive cost cutting and the emergence of HT which essentially was the nail in the coffin of high fidelity. The first to go were the costly, older, senior people nearing retirement.

Thank goodness for the partial turnaround due to the desire for easy connectivity, clean design lines without unnecessary bells and whistles, operational simplicity and a return to the purity of minimally processed acoustic recordings.

 

[watchnerd]

Unbiased observers with industry knowledge. There's plenty here on ASR. I'd put it a three decades of decline, only halted and in turnaround in the last decade.

Most of the legendary engineers who drove the big players through the 70s, 80s and 90s are long since retired or departed (R.I.P.).

The 2 channel part of the industry was in free-fall from the early-mid 1990s with the big players, due to massive cost cutting and the emergence of HT which essentially was the nail in the coffin of high fidelity. The first to go were the costly, older, senior people nearing retirement.

Thank goodness for the partial turnaround due to the desire for easy connectivity, clean design lines without unnecessary bells and whistles, operational simplicity and a return to the purity of minimally processed acoustic recordings.

The M33 is as much a computer as it is a 'audio' device.

And Bruno and friends are no slouches in amp design.

Are we really missing much*?

*okay, the M33 phono stage might suck, depending on if they implemented it in DSP or analog