The NAD M33 will cancel your complaints about Class D

i have felt the same way about NAD since 35 years ago i had the 3020 as my integrated while being a student driving ls3/5a’s... nad being good solid budget hi fi but really cannot compare to the true big boys

in more recent years they tried to make the move into higher priced categories with their m (’masters’) series gear... unfortunately they went class d for their amp sections in this series and the implementation was poor (like many others) and the sound was lifeless grey and bleached out -- just sub par for a line they hoped would compete with higher brands... still they sold many units with their (relatively) value oriented pricing, and they built in many functions into their units like dacs and dirac room correction - nonetheless the sound was poor compared to who they were competing against, for those who actually compared critically

this m33 with the purifi module is supposed to change this... at this point there are many decent reviewers confirming the sound is much improved, finally on par with the best class d implementations out there

value oriented buying decisions in high end hifi obviously happens at a variety of different spending levels... nad is certainly appealing to some of them...

The mini, book sized integrateds are also very nice for desktop or bedroom use. Look at the 3020D for instance. It would be very interesting to know if those hybrid Class D modules were brought over.

The issue I've had with modern NAD was not the amps, but the DAC's, which while not top tier per se, have greatly improved since the Masters series first came out.

Not having my present system, I surely would be looking for an all in one integrated like the Nad M33. Would also be considering the Micromega M-150, and Devialet or Hegel. Linn and Naim also have very nice alike products.

Advances in dac technology have made these very near sota. No need for multiples boxes anymore. This is great, takes less space, cost a lot less in interconnects and power cables, etc.

Honestly the proof is in the listening. I’ve not heard these integrateds, and I have been burned more than once by reading a series of glowing reviews for a product only to be completely let down after listening in person, but based on my listening of the prior, small integrateds I think they are worth it.

Here's what I am convinced of:  They don't sound like 1980s digital amps.  As we've seen, above, lots of people don't want to hear anything but their flavor of tube, and I can assure you Class D does not sound like them either. :)


Best,

Erik

This thread has jogged my memory, as it seems I've actually auditioned several Class D integrateds -- the Devialet, the NuPrime and the Lingdorf.  Of the three, the Devialet came closest to pushing my buttons but none of them got me to replace my PrimaLuna.