I ended up returning the M33. I could certainly live with it and think it's a real advancement in one-box systems. I did like certain things about the M33 sound as described above, but in the end, I couldn't part with the additional immediacy and sense of live music that my current set up provides, and how my speakers disappear more. For me, it would do well in a second system where simplicity and form factor are key and it might pair better with other speakers.
NAD M33 Initial Thoughts
Current set-up is Harbeth Super HL5+ speakers, Son of Ampzilla II amp, Linear Tube Audio M5Z tubed pre and Bluesound Node 2i DAC/streamer. Trying the NAD M33 for a few reasons - simplicity, desire to support tech advances in audio, correct some room interactions, only listen to digital audio anyway, some glowing reviews. Have been playing with the M33 for three days incl using the full version of Dirac. Impressions so far:
- It's a beautiful piece of gear with first class packaging - they thought through the details and the buyer experience.
- They obviously see this as much more than a 2-channel audio product given the remote - it's substantial and is ready to control an entire entertainment system. It is also not very good off-axis in getting a signal to the unit.
- Out of the box with no room correction I found the sound nice, dead quiet background, bass was exceptionally tight and powerful, wide, deep soundstage similar to what I have now (maybe a bit taller actually). But... vocals seemed recessed, music overall lacked some immediacy. It was nice, just not as lifelike as I am used to.
- The Dirac process from the software download to figuring out what device to use it on (forget your phone or tablet, use a Mac or Windows PC) to playing with the curves is not super intuitive but worth the effort. Once you have your filters set up it's easy to change them, reload and listen to what you've created. There is so much out there to read on Dirac, it's pretty overwhelming but it does help to spend time Googling things as you can avoid a lot of trial and error. The interaction of the software with the BluOS and the M33 is impressively seamless.
- Dirac helped the sound in my room for sure vs no Dirac. I have some peaks and dips in my room (only one that was significant) and I was able to mediate some of the recession I heard previously. But I still can't get it to sound as lifelike as I want. Maybe the best way to put it is that I know more clearly that I am listening to music through gear with the M33 - in particular, I notice my speakers more. Is this the DAC/preamp, is it the Class D amp section or something else - who knows? But when I put the old electronics quickly back in play, the sound is just significantly different. In fact, the contrast is so clear that I wonder if my current system is overly lively now that I have the comparison.