NAD M22 V1 versus M22 V2 or M23

What did you end up doing?

@jared_adams

Didn't take a chance on the M23. Ended up going in a TOTALLY different direction, buying my dealer's old demo VAC Statement 450S (predating the iQ feature) tube amp. Put KT120 in place of the stock KT88  (huge change in sound here), and have been SUPER happy with the amp. I've also had VAC Master 300 in my main rig for a while now - these are both a large cut above the lower line VAC amps, like 200iQ.

I still really like the M22; amazing performance for the $, but soon realized the rest of my system was beginning to lean heavily on the dark side to balance it and meet my sonic preferences. In particular, VPI turntables (which are very dark sounding, especially with the 3D arms) were a good match to M22. Even then, the M22 still needed a tube preamp to round it out, IMO. 

@mulveling Im having a very similar experience regarding the NAD M22. I have a Parasound P5 with the M22, and using multiple sources including CD, Technics 100C turntable, and a Lumin streamer. I’m finding the M22 a bit “steely” “colder” and “thin”. It proves excellent in HT applications, but with 2ch I keep wanting to turn the volume down because it sounds a bit sharp. I tried it with a McIntosh C8 tube preamp, and actually found it to be worse and much more in my face, compared with the Parasound P5. That was surprise— I expected the tubes to smooth out the hard edges a bit. It’s didn’t. 
 

I thought perhaps getting a hold of a classic AB amp, instead of the M22 to see if it’s the amp. Did you ever try that? Or, did you just abandon the solid state train for tubes? 
 

Any comments or thoughts on the matter are appreciated. 

@cpg80

Funny, I’ve also ended up with my M22 on a mixed tv / movies / streaming setup - where its "crisp" sound does great! I still think it’s a sweet amp for the money with a ton of power, but for 2ch it did best when I had a decidedly dark sounding source. When I moved on to a more neutral source, the M22 had to move on as well. It was really nicely balanced system for a time, though.

And I just did not like it with the matching M12, at all. Other SS preamps were better. A good warm and smooth tube pre was best, by far. That is strange about your C8 - not familiar with that model, but occasionally I’ve encountered tube components that are (inexplicably) bright and lean - it could be done purposely to balance a warm tube amp.

I’m a bit of a gear collector, so yeah I’ve got a few other class AB amps here. I have one SS (a nice Phison A2.120SE from Denmark) that I quite like - it’s warmer and sweeter than the M22 while still being great at bass like a SS should - of course, at a higher price. Really nice midrange on that one for a SS, but of course good tubes can do mids even better. I have high-end VACs but recently picked up a Rogue Hera II pre and ST100 power for fun and nostalgia of missing past Rogue gear (used to have their top Apollo Dark tube monos), and honestly it’s blown me away a bit. Mainly because I can tube-roll the hell out of that amp (only a quad of power tubes versus a dozen in Apollos) and affect sound drastically from stock. Biggest difference is going from big KT power tubes (KT120 stock) to Tung-Sol 7581A (like a KT66 or 6L6GC but with a bit more power handling) - and that tube just brings in all the classic tube tone and sweetness, paired with the Rogue’s typical bass prowess. When stock, Rogue amps are kind of like halfway to SS, with a drier midrange, neutral tone, and better bass response than other tube amps (also their preamps are a bit noisier than you’d get with VAC or ARC). But with 7581A the ST100 is kind of giving the best of both worlds. It’s making me think, maybe I just prefer sweeter tubes like 6L6 / EL34 over KT88 / KT120+. Of course the latter are ubiquitous in the tube amp market once you ask past ~50 Watts.