NAD M28 7-Channel Power Amplifier Review & Comments

Great review Steve and although it's out of my pricerange it looks like one killer amp. One of the Purifi designers is Bruno Putzeys who made/invented the Hypex UCD and Ncore amps and they sound really good. Hypex modules are used in a number of other NAD amps across their range. I have been using UCD/Ncore amps for years now and they are great amps.
 
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I personally have never really seen the value in purchasing expensive power amplifiers. I feel the money should always be spent on the systems that sit above it (AVR/PreAmp/etc). Power Amplifiers do make sense when you are running a 7.1.4 system to make the system pop, but you should be able to get a cheaper PA than the NAD here to give you the same result.
 
Comparing the NAD to a PA amp is really a shame tbh. The sound quality is in a whole different ballpark. Just my humble opinion.
 
I personally have never really seen the value in purchasing expensive power amplifiers. I feel the money should always be spent on the systems that sit above it (AVR/PreAmp/etc). Power Amplifiers do make sense when you are running a 7.1.4 system to make the system pop, but you should be able to get a cheaper PA than the NAD here to give you the same r
Do you think all Power AMP's sound the same then?
 
For a Purifi based amp the price is actually pretty good. The upcoming Lyngdorf 8 channel will be over £6k and buying the required number of channels through others such as Nord etc will cost about the same plus you need lots of boxes. It’s all relative, but this is a bit of bargain!

Whilst the design on it’s own looks ok and it goes well with the M17 processor, it doesn’t match anything else and would look out of place with other black boxes for those that have equipment on display.
 
Do you think all Power AMP's sound the same then?
In broad terms, I don't think there is that much of a difference between them. In my opinion, you are better off spending your money on better separates that sit above it. A power amplifier is way better than an integrated alternative but once you have a separate power amplifier, you don't need to spend a lot to get the same result as spending thousands on the expensive models.

A lot of people seem to think that the more you spend on a piece of gear, the better the end result is and to me thats not the case (IMO).
 
In broad terms, I don't think there is that much of a difference between them. In my opinion, you are better off spending your money on better separates that sit above it. A power amplifier is way better than an integrated alternative but once you have a separate power amplifier, you don't need to spend a lot to get the same result as spending thousands on the expensive models.

A lot of people seem to think that the more you spend on a piece of gear, the better the end result is and to me thats not the case (IMO).

Then why spend more on the separates above it then?
 
Rubbish in = rubbish out

It's all about hierarchy.....
 
In broad terms, I don't think there is that much of a difference between them. In my opinion, you are better off spending your money on better separates that sit above it. A power amplifier is way better than an integrated alternative but once you have a separate power amplifier, you don't need to spend a lot to get the same result as spending thousands on the expensive models.

A lot of people seem to think that the more you spend on a piece of gear, the better the end result is and to me thats not the case (IMO).

this isn’t actually true. Better quality power amps make a significant difference.

going from IOTA to Emotiva I got a big jump, and the same again when I went from Emotiva to trinnov.
 
and replaces the outgoing M27

Does it though? The M27 still seems to be on the shelf - when the M28 was released I was hoping to pick up a juicy clearance deal on an M27 but that hasn't come to pass, yet anyway.

@Steve Withers do you happen to have any info on when the M27 will be retired?
 
Does it though? The M27 still seems to be on the shelf - when the M28 was released I was hoping to pick up a juicy clearance deal on an M27 but that hasn't come to pass, yet anyway.

@Steve Withers do you happen to have any info on when the M27 will be retired?

The M27 is not listed under current amplifiers on the NAD website
 
The M27 is not listed under current amplifiers on the NAD website

Ah, that's new. It was until quite recently, and the M27 page is still there without any "this isn't a thing any more check out the M28 instead" messages.

I might increase the regularity of my SSAV clearance section checks in that case.
 
I’d say that this is at least the equal of four Lyngdorf 2400s.

The new Purifi Amps being lauded as the latest and best about for digital amps (and Lyngdorf themselves apparently are considering using them, assuming I haven’t made that bit up :thumbsup: )

So if anyone was after a lyngdorf RP based home cinema, and who isn’t, then this is a bargain.
 
The earlier M27 had more power, measured better (less distortion & noise)! So if eyeing this model one might want to check if the earlier model is still available somewhere for lower price!


 
OCD bugbear - Class D amps arent digital are they?
Nope but they are digitally controlled which is likely where this common misconception comes from.

I’m surprised to see it stated as a digital amp in the review as well though. AVF need to do their homework and then perhaps add a piece on ‘What is class D amplification?’.

HB
 
Rubbish in = rubbish out

It's all about hierarchy.....
That theory went out the window in the 90s. I remember when I stated Dow the Hi-Fi / av rabbit hole I was advised to get an LP12 and then just hook up to a nad3020 and a pair of coda’s 🤣

The reality is that a good system is a balanced system. As you spend more on speakers you need better amps to get the best from them. Of course it’s diminishing returns but the improvements are there as the amps improve.

I’d also take issue with the notion that a pre/power amp must be better than an integrated. I’ve had many different power amps over the years, and I’ve gone full circle back to an integrated amp / front end , albeit a big one! The reason being that the designer can optimise the DAC, pre and power to work together. It’s the same logic that makes active speakers so good.
 
That theory went out the window in the 90s. I remember when I stated Dow the Hi-Fi / av rabbit hole I was advised to get an LP12 and then just hook up to a nad3020 and a pair of coda’s 🤣

The reality is that a good system is a balanced system. As you spend more on speakers you need better amps to get the best from them. Of course it’s diminishing returns but the improvements are there as the amps improve.

I’d also take issue with the notion that a pre/power amp must be better than an integrated. I’ve had many different power amps over the years, and I’ve gone full circle back to an integrated amp / front end , albeit a big one! The reason being that the designer can optimise the DAC, pre and power to work together. It’s the same logic that makes active speakers so good.
Hey go easy on the Coda’s, I also picked up a pair back in the 90’s and are still doing a job for me all these years later :D
 
In my book it's all about system synergy, not the price.
 
Nice review, well written. But I will never own another NAD product again. I had a HORRIBLE customer service experience with this company several years ago and it soured me on their products permanently I'm afraid. Too bad, looks like a nice amp but I would not trust its build quality.
 
Nice review, well written. But I will never own another NAD product again. I had a HORRIBLE customer service experience with this company several years ago and it soured me on their products permanently I'm afraid. Too bad, looks like a nice amp but I would not trust its build quality.
You never really own a NAD, you're just looking after it for their warranty department.
 
Hmm, I thought that I had previously posted on this thread (hence my getting an email reminder for updates to the thread) but somehow my earlier, inoffensive, post seems to have vanished ...

Let's see if this post survives. This isn't a complaint againt this great-sounding NAD M28 amplifier specifically, but against all 7-channel amplifiers. Assume that you have a great deal of money, and a reasonable, though not endless, amount of space in your AV cabinet. You want to move beyond the previous standard of a 7.1.4 system to the new standard (which Mr Withers himself has at home) of 9.2.6. You have a 16-channel processor like the Lygndorf MP-60 or the Arcam AVR30 (which has seven Class G amplifier channels). My concern here wouldn't be the two subwoofers, but the nine base channels plus the six Atmos channels. Those come to 15 channels. And my point is that using seven-channel amplifiers, it's not possible to get to 15 channels with only one further box. If you used the Arcam, with its seven built-in channels, you still need eight more channels, which using seven-channel power amplifiers means two more boxes, or three in total. And using the Lyngdorf, with no built-in amplification, to get to 15 power channels entails using three seven-channel power amplfiers, or four boxes in total. Which is kinda a lot of boxes ... However, I guess that you could stick with three boxes in total even using the Lyngdorf processor by using this NAD amplifer for the base layer and then using something like the Emotiva XPA-11 (or its nine-channel version the XPA-9) for the other channels. Perhaps 8-channel separate power amplifiers might become more common in due course as we go beyond 7.1.4 systems.
 
I'm not convinced that NAD et al really add any special sauce to the Purifi/Hypex modules in their amps - so they're your bag then the likes of Nord, Apollon etc will happily accomodate 8ch in one chassis, or entirely custom configurations.

I too had a bad experience with a NAD AVR (and their support) and it put me off, though I have a D3045 and that's been a champ and I'd happily buy one of these (or an M27) on the basis of it being a widely used amp module that just happens to be in a NAD chassis, and SSAV support being IME excellent if anything were to go wrong.
 
Try loaning one from SSAV to demo at home, guaranteed a random response.

Much better buying from decent independent dealers like @The Sound Counsel
 

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