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

[pogo]

M23 is the better one, see also here: Link

 

[pogo]

NAD have a lower priced preamp in their lineup - the 658 - with Dirac and subwoofer outputs but, unfortunately, my requests for information were ignored. Let’s hope they are more responsive when asked for info on a 5.5k preamp.

If I understand NAD correctly, the C658 will also get DLBC. With its two sub-outs, you might be a bit limited here. If DLART is also rolled out here, the two sub-outs are definitely sufficient for co-optimization at home.

 

[samysound]

If I understand NAD correctly, the C658 will also get DLBC. With its two sub-outs, you might be a bit limited here. If DLART is also rolled out here, the two sub-outs are definitely sufficient for co-optimization at home.

I wouldn’t get your hopes up. NAD advertised dlbc for the c658 and m10 about 3 years ago but never happened. Still not available on the m33 as well.

 

[jasoncd]

I wouldn’t get your hopes up. NAD advertised dlbc for the c658 and m10 about 3 years ago but never happened. Still not available on the m33 as well.

Agreed. Always good practice to take talk of future features with a grain of salt. But I feel like with NAD in particular this comes up more than it should, with talk in reviews and forums.

Glad I returned my M10 v2 for other reasons.

 

[samysound]

Agreed. Always good practice to take talk of future features with a grain of salt. But I feel like with NAD in particular this comes up more than it should, with talk in reviews and forums.

Glad I returned my M10 v2 for other reasons.

Yeah I purchased a M10V1 but returned due to issues (low sub output, digital input glitch, issues with sleep mode, no DLBC) and poor support from NAD. Their products sound great on paper but dont seem to deliver on all the promises. Read through any of the threads below and one can see a track record of similar issues. In any case, this M66 looks great on paper and Im looking forward to see that it actually delivers.

NAD C658 Streaming DAC Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the NAD C658 streamer and DAC. It also acts as a preamplifier with Phono and line in. A cool feature is inclusion of Dirac Room EQ and balanced out and you get a killer feature set. For that, you need to pay though to the tune of US $1,650. The...

www.audiosciencereview.com

NAD M10 Streaming Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the NAD M10 streaming amplifier and DAC. It was purchased and drop shipped to me kindly by a member. It costs US $2,749 from NAD dealers. The M10 sports a very large touch screen LCD display that covers the entire front face: Sorry for leaving...

www.audiosciencereview.com

NAD M33 Streaming Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the NAD M33 Streaming Player with Purifi Eigentakt Amplification. It is kindly sent for testing from a member and has a retail cost of US $4,999. The NAD is part of their "Masters" series and has one of the best industrial designs of any audio...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[sharock]

This looks like the upgrade to my C658 I was waiting for. Very pricey though!

I'm mainly interested in DLBC for multi-sub.

It took NAD several years to implement a volume limit setting on the C658 so I don't believe they will add DLBC to it ever.

 

[Hear Here]

For me, two questions already arise:

1) What is the sonic difference between an M66 and an M33 with deactivated Purifis?

2) Is it also possible with the M66 to output the Dirac Live filters via the headphone output, i.e. to equalize headphones?

The M66 has a superior DAC than the M33 - in fact the top DAC from ESS Technology . It has a better volume control, for analogue you can choose to bypass the ADC / DAC so analogue remains analogue,

Do a Google search and read about its other features. Also the NAD Press Release (see Darko) provides far more than the NAD website.

I'm likely to upgrade from M33 to M66 plus a pair of low-powered mono amps.

 

[Hear Here]

FWIW, I own an M33, with «regular» Dirac Live, and for that model at least, crossover frequencies are selectable from 40 to 200 Hz in 10 Hz steps. Slopes are not selectable. Sub outputs are mono.

FWIW, earlier M Series such as M12 and M32 allowed independent adjustment of XO between Main Out and Sub Out, so overlaps could be set.

 

[Hear Here]

1) M33 looks vastly inferior -

The M33 is a superb all-in-one, but the M66 will offer better DAC, volume control, etc. The fact that the M33 was awarded its 3 Annual Best of Awards by Stereophile belies the suggestion it may be "vastly inferior" to anything, even the yet-to-be-released M66.

 

[Hear Here]

Hello restorer-john

I may buy this NAD M66.
I have a pair of NAD C298, how will you
compare them with NAD M23?

My speakers are Revel F228Be or
Monitor Audio Gold 200.

I'm also likely to go for the M66 as an upgrade for my M33. However I won't go for the M23. It's clearly over-priced compared with the M33 that I already have and could use as a power amp. However I'll be looking closely at a pair of low-powered GaN FET mono amps at a similar price to the M23. I don't really need 200 watts for my 107 dB speakers!

 

[jhaider]

The M33 is a superb all-in-one, but the M66 will offer better DAC, volume control, etc.

None of that really matters, nor do any short-bus awards. The short bus being the super depressing 2-channel expensive audio electronics market. It’s as if people actively seek out ways to spend more for the same crappy in room bass fidelity.

The factor that makes M66 relevant and the previous ones not is Dirac Live Bass Control.

 

[jhaider]

View attachment 288718Scanned a post in the FB NAD group with short movie of the M66. This is how it was presented in Munich. Not easy to distinguish the M66 from the M23 & Epikores. How to judge it’s worth the €6K?

It seems they paired a modern preamp with an old fashioned speaker configuration, so they didn’t showcase the processing.

Basically the speakers-room interaction did not suit that listener. Or maybe they ran Dirac and tried to fit a target curve that modified the speakers’ direct sound in an unflattering way. Unless you ear hum or obvious signs of clipping in the signal you can’t infer anything about the electronics from that sort of observation.

 

[markrubin]

I have the NAD M50.2 which sends metadata including cover art through the HDMI out…looking forward to trading up to the M66

 

[pogo]

The factor that makes M66 relevant and the previous ones not is Dirac Live Bass Control.

This is also coming for the M33, .... and maybe DLART

 

[pogo]

I'm also likely to go for the M66 as an upgrade for my M33.

Looking forward to your listening impressions, though an update on ITRON of your AA might do more.

 

[pogo]

the M66 will offer better DAC

The dual ESS ES9028QM (each run in mono mode) in the M33 was probably a conscious design decision and the better choice for this application.

 

[jhaider]

This is also coming for the M33, .... and maybe DLART

They have several long-ago written claims about bringing DLBC to previously-released products. I’ll believe it when I see it.

 

[pogo]

These devices will also get DLBC and the roll out at NAD could probably start with the M66: Link

 

[jhaider]

These devices will also get DLBC and the roll out at NAD could probably start with the M66: Link

I hope that’s right, but I’ll believe it when it happens.

 

[markrubin]

I heard the M66 will be available early August….