NAD C399 Integrated Amplifier Review & Comments

[H1982]

A demo of this recently convinced us to take on all of the current NAD Hi-Fi crop including the Master Series products. A really impressive product. Thanks for the write up.

Dan

Looking forward to getting one when they are back in stock.

 

[gava]

What Dynaudio speakers did you try with the NAD C399?
I had the new Dynaudio Emit 30's and was thinking about getting this amplifier,
im currently using a Hegel H120 and it hasn't got enough power to control the bass, when i turn the volume up everything becomes quite boomy and quickly gets out of control, i tried a H190 and it was great but too much money.
I thought the C399 would be perfect with 180wpc?

I only listened to them for about 20 minutes at a demo, but the Confidence 20 seemed absolutely fine with the C399.

More than enough power and dynamics, never got close to maximum output.

Very neutral sound though, which might not be to everyone's taste.

 

[H1982]

I only listened to them for about 20 minutes at a demo, but the Confidence 20 seemed absolutely fine with the C399.

More than enough power and dynamics, never got close to maximum output.

Very neutral sound though, which might not be to everyone's taste.

I would say the dynaudio's sound slightly laid back and are on the warm side of neutral.
I expect the NAD C399 to give them a little boost in this area.
What amplifier did you go with in the end?

 

[Sleuth]

What Dynaudio speakers did you try with the NAD C399?
I had the new Dynaudio Emit 30's and was thinking about getting this amplifier,
im currently using a Hegel H120 and it hasn't got enough power to control the bass, when i turn the volume up everything becomes quite boomy and quickly gets out of control, i tried a H190 and it was great but too much money.
I thought the C399 would be perfect with 180wpc?

I have some older Audience 52 Dynaudio's which are 4 Ohm and 86db efficient (quite a few of the newer models are 6 Ohm). I thought the power of the C399 would be great for them as well but I think my ears have been spoilt by the tubes and power of my old Luxman, as the C399 just didn't sound "right" to me.

I'd still recommend you try the C399 if you're interested and can demo it. It's an interesting product and your ears might like the way they sound. I think that's key, we all like a slightly different sound, so that fact that the C399 wasn't right for my ears probably still means a lot of people will love it. The demo I had was using a Node as the streamer (no BluOs module).

 

[gava]

I would say the dynaudio's sound slightly laid back and are on the warm side of neutral.
I expect the NAD C399 to give them a little boost in this area.
What amplifier did you go with in the end?

I have had the C399 since December. I took it to the dealer because I was trying to find some speakers that I really liked.

I'm generally very happy with the NAD. Like the overall sound, and it has plenty of power.

Many threads here about my "journey" for both amplifier and speaker choice. Probably not interesting after the fact.

 

[jon5jon]

Out of interest guys with the c399 what volume level do you have it on to get a good loud listening level? In db volume scale?

 

[H1982]

I have had the C399 since December. I took it to the dealer because I was trying to find some speakers that I really liked.

I'm generally very happy with the NAD. Like the overall sound, and it has plenty of power.

Many threads here about my "journey" for both amplifier and speaker choice. Probably not interesting after the fact.

What speakers do you have?

 

[gava]

What speakers do you have?

Currently QAcoustics Concept 300, which from their specs don't demand much power at all, but absolutely come alive with a clean high-power amplifier they just get louder and louder without ever losing their composure.

I am (not so patiently) waiting for some ATC SCM40 which I have ordered.

 

[pogopogo]

The C399 has a good DF and rather shows the lacks of loudspeakers. According to STEREO:

4ohms, 63Hz/1kHz/14kHz:

165/159/80

It is also a question of listening preferences. When I switched to a higher DF, I first thought of less output power. This is not the case, but the lower swing-out behavior of the chassis floods the room with less acoustic energy, which in turn stimulates my room modes less and brings more details to light.

If you have additionally installed Dirac Live, you can adjust your listening taste again while preserving the details!

 

[password1]

What is the stand by and continous power consumption at half volume?

 

[gava]

Out of interest guys with the c399 what volume level do you have it on to get a good loud listening level? In db volume scale?

Obviously it depends on the track/mix, but in my room usually I can have an average of 85dB SPL with peaks over 95 on normal pop/rock tracks which is about as loud as I want for more than one or two tracks at -15dB on the volume dial.

 

[jon5jon]

Obviously it depends on the track/mix, but in my room usually I can have an average of 85dB SPL with peaks over 95 on normal pop/rock tracks which is about as loud as I want for more than one or two tracks at -15dB on the volume dial.

Thanks seems similar to the c388 then, need to get the dial cranked before you get substantial volume, I tend to listen at -25dB on the vol dial

 

[gava]

It all depends on the room and speakers of course.

Normal listening volume is at around -25 too.

I've never been able to max it out. Once the average SPL was over 100dB I chickened out, worried that I was going to blow my speakers even though they were showing no signs of distress at that point.

I still had some room to go on the dial
however.