November 2017
NAD C 388 Digital Hybrid StreamingIntegrated Amplifier With DAC, Streamer, MMPhonostage, Bluetooth And BluOS
Quite a bargain on its own, plus you can customize withNAD's MDC cards too!
Review By Brett Rudolph
Rememberingthe days before my 'obsession' with high fidelity and the quest for the HolyGrail of the perfect playback system is somewhat like a trip down memory lane.Many of the names found in the world of yesteryear still exist today, but sadly,less than one might hope remain steadfast in their commitment to produce qualitycomponents with outstanding performance. One of these companies that remaincommitted is NAD Electronics.
As I mentioned, the T785 has the AV inputs and outputs on removable cards to allow you to upgrade in the future. There is space for five cards in the system, and mine came outfitted with an HDMI card (containing the VM200 HDMI module with 4 HDMI inputs, 1 output and a Sigma Designs VXP scaler for video, and the AM200 audio module with 3 coaxial and 3 optical inputs, 1 optical and 1. NAD C 388 Digital Hybrid Streaming Integrated Amplifier With DAC, Streamer, MM Phonostage, Bluetooth And BluOS Quite a bargain on its own, plus you can customize with NAD's MDC cards too! Review By Bret Rudolph November 2017 NAD C 388 Digital Hybrid Streaming Integrated Amplifier With DAC, Streamer, MM Phonostage, Bluetooth And BluOS. The Dirac room correction software optimizes all sound from the computer using any music/media player as well as standard sound output devices. It was designed to be very easy-to-use but also highly precise and without compromise in terms of sound quality and/or flexibility for the advanced user.
New AndOld
NAD has a long history of building high performance affordableaudio components. They have done an outstanding job of leveraging theirexperience in the creation of newer, more functionally rich components.Therefore, when the opportunity to review their latest creation, the C388integrated amplifier, there was very little thought involved in my decision. NAD'sC 388 is the latest in their development efforts. It begins as a somewhattraditional well-equipped Hybrid Digital DAC Amplifier that includes analogue,digital, a MM phono stage and even a headphone connection. However, in additionto the traditional features are some more modern ones. These include Bluetoothconnectivity with aptX and smartphone connectivity that features a downloadableapplication to control it. Finally last, but certainly not least, there are twoMDC expansion slots. These allow additional functionality installation later, moreon these in a moment.
Overall, a nice package houses some serious capabilities.Visually it is sleek and clean. There are only a few controls on the front, butthese serve their purpose without being overly daunting or difficult to use. Theremote control is well designed and easy to use. It complements the controls onthe unit itself and definitely makes it easier to change sources or accesscertain functions. The smartphone app is also easy to use and does a great jobof controlling the unit as well. Personally, though, I preferred the simplicityof the included remote or even the front controls, call me old fashioned. Thatis unless you add expansion cards.
The MDC expansion slots are built to 'future-proof' NAD's C388, by allowing the ability to add functionality later. Luckily, the future isnow and my review sample came equipped with a BluOS card capable of Hi-Res Audioplayback. Stating simply, itadds Wi-Fi and hardwire Ethernet connectivity along with the ability to decode all majordigital formats up to 24-bit/192kHz. In addition, once installed the unitbecomes a fully functional music server within the network. However, BluOS goesa step further and gives the unit the ability to be used with other BluOScomponents or Hi-Res Audio amplified speakers from Bluesound. These speakers, one of which luckily camelater in the review, gives the user the ability to use the C 388 as the nexusfor multi-room music distribution.
Without NAD's MDC card above, and with MDCBluOS cardbelow.
InsideThe Humble Interior
Do not let the calm, sleek and easy to use exterior lull youinto the feeling that the NAD C 388 itself is sedate even without the BluOSmodule. The amplification is impressive. The Class D amplifier is capable of 150Watts continuously and 250 Watts instantaneously @ 8 Ohms to allow for peakswithout clipping. It capitalizes on both a customized version of the Hypex UcDoutput stage operating in a fully balanced configuration to allow forexceptionally low distortion and increased precision. Coupled with theamplification is an equally impressive array of digital inputs, analog inputsand output connections. The digital inputs include two optical inputs, onecoaxial input and Bluetooth. The analog inputs include one moving magnet phonostage input and two unbalanced RCA inputs. Two sets of speakers connect to theunit by way of five-way binding posts, if desired. These speakers function asspeaker A and B respectively. Finally, there is a separate preamp and subwooferoutput along with the ability to connect multiple types of remotes.
Again, the expansion cards can be somewhat of a game changer.The BluOS card in my sample added the internet and network connectivity, butothers allow for HDMI connectivity, for example. Some are still being developed,but they have at least announced the coming of one that will give 4k capability.Ultimately, what you add is yours to decide, but my suggestion would be to atleast add the BluOS module if you want a significant boost in functionality.
SetupAnd Review Time
The base C 388 was a breeze to setup. The back of the unit issimple to navigate and allows for easy access to all the inputs and bindingposts. In fact, it took less than half an hour to get everything in place andconnected. The BluOS came installed and the only connection to make was theantenna. The unit has two when the card is installed, one for the BluOS moduleand the other for the C 388. The only challenge came when configuring the BluOSmodule. The original unit came with an older version of the firmware, an upgrademade the task much easier, though you still need patience to get it workingcorrectly.
After the normal two hundred hour, break in period, it wastime to put the component through its paces and see what it could do. The firstof these exercises focused on the digital realm, so with the new OPPO DigitalUDP-205, a favorite lead the pack of musical selections, Pink Floyd's DarkSide of the Moon. SACD on EMI's label this selection is always achallenge in bass extension, peaks and resolution of imagery throughout thealbum as it goes from heartbeats to alarm clocks, to name a few obstacles. Theplayback task made even harder by power hungry Martin Logan Request speakers,but the C 388 handled it like a champion overall. The imagery was fairly welldefined and kept a cohesive nature throughout the entire album. The bassextension seemed effortless and it kept its character except for the most subtleplaces. There it seemed to lose some of its character and became more muddy, butyou had to listen hard to hear it.
The nice thing about using the SACD version of the album isthat in addition to the remixed stereo layer, there is a higher resolution SACDlayer as well. Like the stereo layer, the album is somewhat difficult toplayback for some systems, the detail is far more granular and intricate, butthere is quite a bit more. That said, the C 388 did a beautiful job of conveyingthe oftentimes hidden background voices. It also allowed the lush midrange toshine without clouding it by too much bass or treble extension. Finally,although there was a very slight metallic sound, which tends to follow digitalamplifiers, it did not remotely intrude into anything but the most difficultpassages.
Nad Sound Cards Online
The next selection used in the review was The Band's TheLast Waltz on Mobile Fidelity's Label. The original album wasoutstanding, but the release by Mobile Fidelity elevated it to entirelydifferent level. It takes away all the somewhat questionable aspects related tomainstream mixing while imparting a far more realistic quality that in myopinion only adds to overall enjoyment of the music. In fact, unlike my trustyoriginal CD, this one you can hear the voices without the distortion that manylive recordings for the mass market carry. Of course, the downside is that itmakes playback far less forgiving.
The Hybrid Amplifier again did a beautiful job of decoding andplaying back the album. In fact, it revealed some inner details that I hadsomehow missed before this review. The sound of the crowd sounded realistic andengaging, rather than fake and hollow. This in itself is somewhat of anachievement where many systems substantially more expensive fail. In fact, itwas so enjoyable that I let it repeat the album again. The number of albums thatplayed through NAD's C 388 was sizable, yet there is not enough space and likelypatience for all of them. They represented all genres and overall the resultswere similar as those mentioned already. Therefore, the last album mentionedwill be Andrea Bocelli's Sacred Ariason Phillip's label. Although the playback was definitely consistent with thoseof other albums, it did somewhat display a slight decrease in the richness ofBocelli's voice This coupled with a slightly brighter tonality made the albumless intoxicating then other selections.
Sound Cards 7.1
Although the review skipped many of the features, one thatneeds mentioning along with a brief evaluation is the ability to use onlinemusic services such as Tidal and Spotify. The smart device app makes connectingthem a breeze. In fact, the only way to access them is with the app. It is easyand straightforward. In fact, I found that once I started using them, I tendedto use them more often than other formats. Of course, there is a downside withonline music services in most cases; the quality tends decrease substantially attimes. However, the C 388 seemed to take the material and somehow make itenjoyable to even my reviewer's ears. Of course, to be entirely fair, Tidal andspecifically all Hi-Res Music still sounded far better than other services, butone would expect that. The coolest thing is that you could use the Bluesoundspeaker and listen to something different in another room without seriouslywondering if you needed an entirely different system setup.
Conclusions
NAD's C 388 definitely lives up to the NAD name and reputationfor affordable high performance audio equipment. Many components that try andinclude even less functionality become deficient with regards to one element oranother, yet this one seemed to excel at all of them, especially when you factorin the relatively low price point for the basic model without the additionalBluOS card. Even with the BluOS card, the price represents quite a bargain in myopinion. If you are budget minded or want a great deal of functionality in onepackage, you owe it to yourself to put this on a short list of possiblecandidates. I know that I am.