NAD M66 - finally someone makes a decent 2-channel preamp!

[pogo]

I'm just afraid that only a subset will be tested on ASR again. Other test reports have also looked at the phono stage or headphone output on the M33, for example. Measurements were also taken in Dirac Live mode, where processing at 192kHz was confirmed. miniDSP, for example, can currently only handle 96kHz.
And the M66 offers so much more, i.e. many input paths and also processing paths including purely analog.
You could also measure the Dynamic Digital Headroom (DDH) circuit to determine the degree of inter-sample peak clipping distortion suppression compared to the competitors.
You could go on and on, but I'll draw a line here

 

[da Choge]

Question for owners: How tall is the unit with the additional magnetic feet? The last video measured it as 5" tall, but that looks like it is without the magnetic feet/coasters. In their specs, NAD just gives dimensions of the box it is shipped in, if you can believe that. Crutchfield says it is 5-1/4", so I'm guessing that is with the magnetic feet on. Can someone verify this for me? Modifying my audio rack and I want it to have sufficient room.

 

[mags65]

25,8 cm or 10,16 inches tall, incl. feet, according to both spec sheet on NAD homepage and Norwegian distributor homepage.

https://nadelectronics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/NAD-M66-Data-Sheet.pdf

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[da Choge]

25,8 cm or 10,16 inches tall,

Thanks, but those are clearly the measurements of the box that it is packed in; the actual unit is only around 12.7 cm tall, but I need exact measurements with the magnetic feet on (there are two sets of feet; the integral silver "spikes" and then the snap-on black magnetic feet). Every website just regurgitates NAD dimension specs, which don't have anything to do with the actual component. Crutchfield may be the only site that gets it right.

 

[danielsmi]

The NAD M66 with the magnetic feet on is 5 and 1/4 inches tall, same as the M23 with feet

 

[da Choge]

The NAD M66 with the magnetic feet on is 5 and 1/4 inches tall

That is what I suspected, but it is great to have such a visual confirmation! Thank you !!! In your photo, it also looks like the illumination around the NAD plaque on the fascia is blue; some say it is white, but I like the blue.

PS. I hope you are enjoying your new component!

 

[danielsmi]

It's a warmer white than it appears to be in that pic.

But yes, the M66 is fantastic, a huge upgrade over what I had before. Dirac w/ Bass Control + acoustic panels is a really good combo.

 

[pogo]

BluOS 4.4.11
Released May 28, 2024
• Support for Ukrainian Language.
• Support for WPA3 Wireless.
• Support for the NAD C379 and Bluesound Professional BCS300.
• Updated support for the NAD M66.
• Improved DAC support for Benchmark and Hegel DACs.
• Fixed issue which caused purchased Apple Music AAC tracks to be played at a quieter level.
• Improvements to the 4.0 UI.

The M66 now also appears to be officially included

 

[Hephaestus]

BluOS 4.4.11
Released May 28, 2024
• Support for Ukrainian Language.
• Support for WPA3 Wireless.
• Support for the NAD C379 and Bluesound Professional BCS300.
• Updated support for the NAD M66.
• Improved DAC support for Benchmark and Hegel DACs.
• Fixed issue which caused purchased Apple Music AAC tracks to be played at a quieter level.
• Improvements to the 4.0 UI.

The M66 now also appears to be officially included

Large MEH this FW release:

1. Wake up from standby got slower and relay clicks introduced! There was no clicks with previous FW except when doing full reboot or switching on from off state.
2. No input gain trims
3. VU meters do not work for BT input
4. No HT bypass
5. Dirac filter rename still requires full reboot to update on device screen
6. Display still super bright on lowest setting
8. Device does not remember previous volume level when waking up from standby
9. No promised LDAC codec support (see 2023 press release)

No glue about signal sensing.

Something was fixed as well:
1. Added missing feature: Switch off BT and Wifi
2. No more volume jumps after wake up from stby when adjusting volume for the first time

 

[danielsmi]

how do you switch off wifi?

 

[danielsmi]

how do you switch off wifi?

I could only find it on the touch screen settings page, it's all the way at the bottom of player settings page.

 

[markrubin]

I installed 4.4.11 and must admit to being completely underwhelmed: I don’t think we will ever see HT bypass on the M66.
I am wondering what other M66 owners have done re the Display backlight bleed: I read where it might be a quality issue on some early units: has anyone got NAD to acknowledge the issue? I put a request in to NAD CS and they asked for a photo/video of the display issue.

 

[danielsmi]

I haven't noticed a display backlight bleed on mine, it just doesn't get very dim, but no light leakage out the side that I've noticed on mine. I've enabled the temporary display feature and that seems to work fine for me, that's how I had my last pre amp configured

 

[wizardofoz]

did they add VU operation on Phono/Line inputs yet? IIRC they only work for digital sources

Also no DSD support without additional hardware I think is still a thing.

 

[Hephaestus]

I installed 4.4.11 and must admit to being completely underwhelmed: I don’t think we will ever see HT bypass on the M66.
I am wondering what other M66 owners have done re the Display backlight bleed: I read where it might be a quality issue on some early units: has anyone got NAD to acknowledge the issue? I put a request in to NAD CS and they asked for a photo/video of the display issue.

I sent email directly to NAD product manager that I am not happy with the crappy display quality. He was quite defensive of the matter. Support requested photo and I provided them one. Let´s see what is their response. My Sony Walkman uses same panel technology and has zero visible edge light leak even at maximum brightness level.

I bought display dimming film from ebay and cut it to size and applied on the display. Ridiculous to do such thing for 5999Eur device in year 2024

did they add VU operation on Phono/Line inputs yet? IIRC they only work for digital sources

Also no DSD support without additional hardware I think is still a thing.

VU meters work with all inputs except Bluetooth. There is no real DSD support and one of the several reasons is Dirac, as the signal has to be converted for the signal processing. M66 supports DSD files from local computer, but it will convert them 24-bit FLAC files to work (original DSD files will remain untouched).

 

[DanR]

I installed 4.4.11 and must admit to being completely underwhelmed: I don’t think we will ever see HT bypass on the M66.
I am wondering what other M66 owners have done re the Display backlight bleed: I read where it might be a quality issue on some early units: has anyone got NAD to acknowledge the issue? I put a request in to NAD CS and they asked for a photo/video of the display issue.

Naive question but what exactly does the bleed look like? I have my display turned off (temp display enabled) so haven't really paid much attention to its normal brightness or functionality.

 

[markrubin]

Naive question but what exactly does the bleed look like? I have my display turned off (temp display enabled) so haven't really paid much attention to its normal brightness or functionality.

I only see this on the analog VU meter screen where it appears to be light leakage from the bottom....I think NAD will say it is normal

 

[danielsmi]

I only see this on the analog VU meter screen where it appears to be light leakage from the bottom....I think NAD will say it is normal

Seems like you have a defect that not everyone else has. When I set mine to max brightness and analog VU meters I don't see anything wrong with my screen. It's not the highest quality screen but it's good enough, but I don't see on mine what you're describing on yours.

 

[DanR]

I only see this on the analog VU meter screen where it appears to be light leakage from the bottom....I think NAD will say it is normal

Now that you mention it, I can see this as well. The backlight is definitely not "balanced" across the entire display and does appear to be brighter in certain areas.

 

[pogo]

Could it be that you are talking about the simulated backlighting of the analog VU?