Don’t be fooled by its small size and minimalist design, the NAD C 700 BluOS transmission amplifier is a rugged, flexible, high-end audio transmitter with an integrated amplifier. into town” animator has the sound to amaze the ultimate critical audiophile.
Coming from the same Canadian team (Lenbrook Group) that provides the diversity of Bluesound music stations, the NAD C 700 also operates the BluOS operating formula (with complementary programs for Android, iOS, macOS and Windows), which allows streaming in the best quality. Audio resolution: solution up to 24 bits and pattern frequencies up to 192 kHz, up to 63 zones. You can also interact with third-party BluOS devices, such as DALI, Audio Monitor, and Roksan.
The album canopy sports on the 5-inch screen of the NAD C 700 (goodbye, Meat Loaf).
Looking at its specs, he suspects that the $1,499 C 700 is just a more expensive variant of the $949 Bluesound Powernode, which has a complex demo (which is very useful in the right home environment) and a richer collection of input/output. But if NAD expects to make a 50% profit margin compared to its solid companion, the C 700 sounds better too. Fortunately, I still had a borrowed Powernode at home, so I made a direct comparison. Can you guess what he would prefer in the end?
Both the C 700 and Powernode use NAD’s sophisticated cold-running HybridDigital Class D amplifier, designed to deliver 80 RMS watts consistent with the channel (less than 8 ohms). When pressed, this amplifier can increase its maximum dynamic force to 120 watts. And they ship with the same quad-core ARM processor.
However, a more detailed inspection shows that the C 700 has a stronger power source and that it swaps Powernode’s Texas Instruments DAC (digital-to-analog converter) for a better-regarded ESS Sabre 9028 9010. These updates contribute to a difference in sound and personality settings that this obsessive reviewer has detected over several weeks of benchmarking, connecting and swapping the transmission amplifiers in turn to two sets of similar Q Acoustics shelf speaker pairs (with matching tweeters and crossovers) – models 3020i and 3030i – and also, for example, with a pair of (and cheap) PSB Alpha Series P5 speakers, some other Lenbrook family logo.
Being a curious guy, I also briefly compared the NAD and Bluesound sets to a channel-compatible 125-watt Sonos amplifier. While enjoyable enough for occasional listening sessions, the Sonos pales in a serious A/B comparison, suffering from the sin of Plain sound with reduced dynamics, fewer details, and a severe shortage of air separating tools and voices. I complained of a similar lack of consistency in my Sonos Port Review.
As an actor, the Powernode tries harder (than its sibling) to sell both sizzle and steak in its delivery of high-resolution, ultra-high-resolution streaming services that can be obtained via BluOS, adding Qobuz, Tidal (with MQA), Deezer, Amazon Music Ultra HD, classical music site Idagio, the live concert service Nugs. net and a quartet of radio channels improved via MQA, the latter being an exclusivity of the BluOS app. Several times I saw that the percussion seemed to beat harder when played on the Powernode; the voices seemed more on your face. The latter was for the better, but it also exaggerated the microphone distortion, as I felt in the harsher screams that preceded Elvis Costello’s new album, The Boy Named If. I had a similar party in with Lowell George’s deliberately compressed voice at a newly discovered Little Feat radio concert in 1974: Electrif Lycanthrope, presented as Hi-Res in Qobuz.
The NAD C 700 (left) offers a much more complete set of inputs and outputs than its Powernode cousin.
In comparison, the C 700 presents itself as the cool, calm, serene cat of the room, first showing off its laid-back, non-exhibitionist nature with volume control built into the slower app that takes up its own incredible time. Always balanced and wonderfully biological (never clinical) in the presentation of sound, the C 700 remains exceptionally solid under the chimney with an additional margin of reserve. .
It’s no secret that the Q Acoustics 3030i shelf speakers emit low notes (up to 46 Hz) well above the weight and elegance of the length of the boxes. But until now, I’ve never learned how accurate, deep, and well-balanced those speaker tones and textures are can be enhanced when emphasized on a top-notch audio pedal like the NAD C 700. Best of all, it’s a sleek additional operator across the entire frequency spectrum and stylistic range. Flowery folk and acoustic jazz unfold. either with precision and an impressive lyrical sweep. And even the densest curtains (large orchestra, polyrhythmic global rhythm, electronics, hip hop) help keep all parts moving, distinct and in proper proportions.
Stumbling upon Midnight Oil’s resonant 1980s anthem Beds are Burning in a high-resolution MQA-encoded Radio Paradise broadcast, I heard background vocal harmonies never noticeable separately before. Composing the new 96 kHz/24-bit edition of Greensky Bluegrass’ Stress Dreams, the unbiased nature and exquisite nuances of the C 700 allow me to savor the underground, woody resonance of the band’s guitars, mandolins, bass and banjo almost as well as their trained strings. plinks and plunks.
Animated VU meters are precision instruments, but they’re still fun to watch.
Fred Hersch’s new ECM chamber jazz, Breath through Breath, with the Crosthrough Street String Quartet, and Queens of the Summer Hotel, the reminiscences suite enhanced by Aimee Mann’s string ensemble, place me in the room where it happened. The new love ballad, Paint the Red Rose Blue, will probably make me cry on an iPhone speaker, the melody evokes seismic emotional tremors every time I play it through the nuanced NAD transmission amplifier, reinforced through a supplement, a spoonful of bittersweet pain. in his curdled voice, the best rattle of tuned percussion and the pulsating center in the keyboard lines in the style of Steve Nieve’s Beatles.
While I’m suspicious of the C 700’s 5-inch high-definition color demonstration in the first place, I’ve come to appreciate it much more than a very bright visual feast. Even when viewed at a distance of nine feet, the LCD screen is sharp enough. to display album art and credits and track the progress of your chosen streaming source. Similarly, it features artist graphics through music installations that take advantage of the superior bandwidth of Wi-Fi compared to Bluetooth: Apple AirPlay, Spotify Connect, and Tidal Connection.
The C 700 also has two-way Bluetooth, with aptX HD, for streaming from a smartphone or tablet and streaming to wireless headphones. But sorry, there’s no Google Chromecast here.
Place this sturdy 3. 8 x 8. 6 x 12-inch (height x width x depth) and 10. 6-pound small box on a shelf at a suitable height and the front panel controls are very easy to use. A giant rotary button adjusts the volume and menu functions and works with two navigation buttons underneath to replace the track and adjust amplifier settings. I found the front panel controls to be useful for navigating my traditional list of 40 presets (the maximum), which can come with web radio stations and playlists. Compare that to the top-mounted command powernode, which only provides five compromised presets. Almost all of the menu functions on the NAD C 700’s display are also available in the app, with the exception, oddly enough, of the lip sync settings, which I prefer to refine from the couch.
Album art/information presentations from streaming resources are reflected on a connected TV. With incoming content from a connected device, the NAD C 700 display entertains with an action close to the VU meter on the left and right channels. The needle bounce is not technically accurate, however, it happens in sync with the channels and is fun to watch.
Screen graphics, such as album art, displayed on the NAD C700 are reflected on a TV connected to its HDMI port.
With speakers slightly placed to the left and right of a TV, the C 700 also works great as a two-channel or 2. 1-channel home theater system, thanks to an HDMI-eARC port that detects and changes the case on the right. Friendly input when you turn on a connected TV with HDMI-ARC support. You should also have an optical connection to a TV and lip sync is adjustable. The subwoofer port is enabled in the BluOs app and subtle with a crossover function that implements a low-pass output for the submarine and a high-pass output for the main speakers. (If you have it on your subwoofer, change your crossover frequency setting to “LFE. “)
Watching videos is more fun with a C 700 in play. While the eccentric superheroes of The Suicide Squad (on HBO Max) simply won’t chase their monstrous enemy out of the starfish around the room (as they can do only on evolutionary channel 4. 1 Powernode), there’s plenty of sound excitement to fill my space, a laugh me and the cat.
I also had a wonderful time digging into advanced YouTube content with the C 700, catching up on the hidden sessions of master collector/singer Jorma Kaukonen of Fur Peace Ranch, and delving into the recent history of the music video for Lawrence, an impressive young brother-and-soul pop/soul band with sisters. If you like Lake Street Dive, love Lawrence. Think catchy songs, wonderful vocalizations, stellar keyboard work, and a modern brass section. They are also notified in the engineering department.
You can also stream YouTube videos on the NAD C 700. This is how I discovered the Lawrence sibling group.
If your connected TV can juggle other connected video sources, replace the ultra-compact NAD C 700 with the giant receiver that takes up (and heats) a significant amount of the listening room space. Or, conversely, you can take advantage of the C 700’s to have preamp outputs to use the device as a web-connected front finish for a sturdier A/V amplifier or receiver.
The C 700 only has one HDMI port, but its well-equipped rear panel includes two pairs of line-level analog inputs, coaxial and Toslink (optical) virtual inputs, and a USB-A port to house a garage device. You can connect the transmitter to your home Wi-Fi network five or with a Gigabit Ethernet port.
The control functions come with a 12V cause output and an IR remote sensor input. Limited voice operations can be implemented via an external smart speaker or a smart demo powered via Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, or Google Assistant. If you’re looking for deeper integration into your smart home, controllers are available for Control4, Crestron, Elan, RTI, and other high-end ecosystems. Roon users will be pleased to know that the C 700 is ready for Roon.
Obviously, the NAD C 700 has everything it takes to leave you as satisfied as I am. Its combination of very good sound, compact construction, access to high-end resources and effective operation makes it a captivating jeweler. And value is rarely well-loved to contemplate the ability of this thing to make the $469 sound of speakers (the 3030is) as rich and rewarding as games sold twice as much.
Updated february 16, 2022 after NAD informed us that we had been provided with the wrong SAbre DAC style number in our fact check.
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