NAD M10 - thinking of upgrading

Hello

My current setup consists of a pair of Triangle Quartet Genese speakers and a Yamaha R-N803d stereo receiver.

I'm really interested in these "all in one" type amps - the Yamaha R-N803d is really nice for the money ( 800 USD) - my main source is Tidal and it offers streaming, as well as room correction and so on (check online for its specs) as well as around 100 watts per channel in 8 ohms.

I've been however looking into upgrading in order to get more out of these speakers.

While looking around after amp/streamers, I've come across the NAD M10 amp. It's an amp/streamer, has more power than the 803d (i believe around 140 watts per channel in 8 ohms), room correction, it actually has 2 sub outputs (vs 1 in the 803) and looks really nice.

It also costs around 3 times the 803d, which is fine, but there's one thing that kinda put me off: The 803 is a class A/B amp while the M10 is a class D. Now, traditionally Class D amps are on the low end of the classes, and usually is said to sound worse than the A/B - more harsh.

However, since it got some good reivews, I would assume that Class D has evolved in the last years.

So my question is - has someone had an experience with the NAD M10? Is it worth the money when it comes to streaming amps? Is its Class D amp stage really on par or better than some A/B at similar or lower prices?

Or at least, has anyone had any experience with newer Class D amps? Are they worth it, especially from someone upgrading from a (much less expensive) Class A/B amp?

 

Lots of "Class D" discussion here; start by searching "hypex". Search and you'll also find a few threads on the M10. I own a smaller class-D NAD and have had no issue with it.

That said, I've no reason to believe the M10 will significantly improve upon the performance of your Yamaha. The 140- vs. 100-watt rating* is not a material difference, nor a reflection of "quality"; either is capable of driving your speakers to moderately loud levels. Functionally, there is a subtle difference in that the Yamaha streams local music files via DLNA and the NAD uses BluOS. The former needs a server while the latter does not, if that's a consideration. Also, no phono section in the NAD if you ever decide to go that way.

Look for a dealer who will give you some time to demo the NAD at home or let you return it. At its price, that's not an unreasonable request. I'm sure it will sound "different" and you may like it better. It certainly looks cool.

*If in fact the case. Specs here in the US show the NAD at 100 watts into 4/8 ohms.

 

Yeah its 100 w, my bad.

My main interest in the nad is the room correction - Dirac.

I use YPAO room correction on my yamaha and it improves the sound SIGNIFICANTLY. And from whay I've seen, the dirac on m10 is much more advanced.

Secondly, Im wondering whether the amp stage, albeit class d, is simply better.

All this comes on a simple basis : one can say an amp is more expensice on the basis of brand. But NAD has amps priced close to yamaha in general in the same class. But the M10 is simply almost 4 times more expensive. Wouldnt it mean it -should- sound better, besides the difference in features? I bet the price difference isnt in the touchscreen alone, right?

 

The NAD would also be compatible with Bluesound devices, if you ever want to expand to other systems in the house. I have three Bluesound devices. Best move I ever made.

 

Just a lateral thought to add to the mix... The NAD C 658 (pre + DAC + streamer (BluOS) + Dirac Lite) will give you even more connectivity but will need a power amp as well. In the coming week, I'm demoing the NAD C 658 - the demo is purely about SQ as the features more than cover what I need. All the power amps I'm looking at are Class D and two that are real contenders are the Nord One MP NC252 and Mytek Booklyn Amp. I've yet to see a review that offers any serious criticism on the grounds of being Class D. A friend of mine, with pretty good ears for detail, rates the Mytek highly. The two amps I mention are at very different price points so it will be interesting for me to compare.

 

Agreed on the NAD C658 and bring your own amp if you’re on the fence about the M10’s amp and don’t mind multiple boxes. I have this setup and I think it sounds incredible.

The upside to this setup is that it also pairs well with active speakers. I’m seriously considering swapping out my B&W passive bookshelf speakers that I currently use with the C658 through an Emotiva amp with some Elac Navis active bookshelf’s.

With that said, I haven’t heard the M10 myself but reviewers seem to love it.

Dirac is incredible. Pay for the full version and the Bass Management module as well when it comes out if you’re using a sub.

 

Im just wondering if getting the NAD M10 with the full Dirac package is a worthy upgrade to my Yamaha R-N803d considering the cost.

Where I live the Yamaha is 850 euros and the Nad is 3000 euros + 100 for the Dirac full version.

And the Yamaha 803 has YPAO (yamaha's proprietary dirac-type feature) which also comes with a similar mic, already has full freq range correction and bass management (with low/high cut for sub/mains).

We're talking more than 3.5x the price. And they both are pretty similar spec wise (100 watts per channel in 8ohms, streaming, etc) except for the Yamaha being A/B class.

The main thing I gotta admit is that the NAD looks really good! And DIRAC might be better than YPAO, at least you jave more flexibility with the listening position and it asks for multiple points to position the mic. YPAO is just for one mic position, though the difference between YPAO on and off is quite significant - much wider soundstage, clearer instrument localization and less harshness in the vocals.

Guess I'll have to test it thuroughly.

Ideally I'd love to see Yamaha come up with a similar product like the 803d but with a more high end Amp, maybe a MosFET type amp stage and some nice VU meters like in the 1100/2100/3000/5000 series...

 

YPAO and Dirac Live are considered by most to be in different leagues from each other.

I’d suggest doing some reading up on the difference between the two... but my opinion is that they’re about as comparable in practice as a pair of Apple EarPods are to a $2,000 pair of audiophile headphones.

If you’re a fan of room correction then Dirac is something that I’d highly recommend experiencing.

Whether it’s worth the expense is entirely up to you though

 

Oh, I bet Dirac is better than YPAO. But what I'm saying is in the whole set of elements that add to a system's sound quality, room correction is an "extra", that comes waay after speaker quality and then amplification/dac quality. It does however seem to improve things quite a bit, as A/B testing it with YPAO on/off is noticeable.

My only curiosity was whether, besides the Dirac, which basically needs to be paid-for to fully activate (and have bass management, meaning if you already have an YPAO enabled amp and use subs, you HAVE to pay those 100 euros to have the same functionality), how much better would the amp stage be, sonically.

Because better room correction (Dirac) and a much nicer exterior with a touchscreen are all GREAT, and if this device would have been even double the price of the Yamaha (say around 1.7-1.8k Euros) I'd buy it straight up. But since it is 3.5X (!!) more expensive and it is a Class D amp (vs Class A/B), and there's a big split opinion online about those, I can't just order it TBH, it's kinda risky.

I'll have to wait until more conclusive reviews WITH comparison appear online or until my local hi-fi has them on stock (not just to-order), so that I can test one home.

On the other hand, I'm wondering if there's any 700-1000 euros DAC/Streamer that has Dirac are out there. Before finding out about the M10 (and using YPAO on my 803 to realise the pleasing diference) I was planning on getting a Yamaha A-S2100 amp ( a bit above 2000 euros). That amp with a DAC/Dirac module on top would be perfect and a no-brainer for me over the M10!

 

Check out the miniDSP SHD:
SHD - Audiophile Digital Audio Processor

If you paired it with a $420 Emotiva A-300 2-channel amp then you’d only be at $1620.