NAD M33 v2

These are interesting times for the integrated amplifier. It is now a term that can describe everything from a device featuring a row of analogue inputs and a volume control through to the sort of thing you see here. The NAD M33 v2 is an amplifier insofar as you can connect things to it and it will amplify them but - if that seems a bit old fashioned, don’t worry. It has rather more to offer. 

The ‘amplifier’ bit is encouragingly hefty though. NAD has been championing the use of Class D amplifiers for many years now, and the M33 v2 receives the best the company can offer. ‘The best’ takes the form of ‘Eigentakt’ modules, which combine self-oscillating Class D amplifier technology with novel feedback algorithms, eliminating harmonic and intermodulation distortion and allowing for an even, wide and load-invariant frequency response with negligible output impedance. In non-engineer speak: you get a chunky 200 watts (rising to 380 into four ohms) of power with, effectively, no distortion whatsoever. 

This grunt is made available to an XLR and RCA analogue input, and to a phono stage that supports both moving magnet and moving coil cartridges. These analogue connections are supported by a digital board that gives you two coaxial, two optical, and an HDMI eARC connection. As well as this, the M33 v2 is equipped with an example of the BluOS streaming platform we’ve seen in a number of devices here at Sound Advice. This fitment means there is no need to physically connect anything to the NAD’s inputs if you don’t want to. And if you don’t know what your audio future holds, the NAD has another bonus in the form of two slots for the company’s MDC modules which offer scope to boost connectivity as demands change.

That’s not the limit of the NAD’s flexibility either. The company has a longstanding relationship with Dirac (who makes rather clever room correction software that can adjust to compensate for your room’s behaviour and ensure that the performance is as good as it can be). Dirac functionality is included in the price of the M33 v2 - and you also have the option to buy the extra ‘Bass Management’ license and set about some specific wizardry with subwoofers. 

There is yet more cleverness. You can connect headphones via a 6.35mm socket and make use of a dedicated headphone amplifier or you can use two-way Bluetooth and make use of wireless headphones instead. The NAD is compatible with a huge range of custom install software, and the BluOS streaming app supports pretty much every streaming service you’ve ever heard of (and quite a few that you haven’t). It also has a matching power amplifier which uses the same amplification, and that can be used as a mono amp with the M33 v2 to give you building-levelling reserves of power. 

Sound Quality 

As I’ve already established, the NAD is tremendously clever. But the single most important thing it does from the very outset of listening is to ensure you don’t just sit there admiring the cleverness of it. 

Let me give one tiny example. The phono stage in the M33 v2 has to convert its information from an analogue input to digital stream simply as a function of how the M33 v2 works. This is a process that most rivals don’t undertake - but to listen to the NAD handle a turntable and you’ll never suspect it is doing anything so complicated. 

If the NAD can sound this seamless while doing something so complex, you can rest assured the way that the M33 v2 handles digital files from the on-board streamer is a truly exceptional combination of detail and fluency. The music is always the focus of your attention, rather than any process by which the music is created. There is detail in spades, but it’s not used to highlight any particular part of the frequency response, simply to ensure that the nuances that turn a presentation into a performance are consistently delivered.

If this makes the NAD sound like a bit of a goody-two-shoes effort, I also need to point out the combination of vast reserves of power and impressive grip ensures it can be huge fun too. Across a selection of test speakers, the M33 v2 manages to extract a level of bass extension that is as good as I’ve experienced from any of them - and it’s wielded with a dexterity that ensures even the most relentless and high-tempo material sounds quick and agile. You will need to be a serious thug in a very large room to reach its limits, and I suspect that you (or your neighbours, on your behalf) will tap out before the M33 v2 does.

Don’t forget, though, that even if your room isn’t perfect the NAD has answers. Thanks to the Dirac software, the output can be tweaked and tucked to handle less-than-perfect speaker placement, suspended floors and awkward room nodes in a way that means that it can still be producing a performance you would describe as ‘hi-fi’ when many of its rivals sound distinctly unhappy.  For anyone reading this in a room that has never sounded quite right, the NAD’s functionality puts it in a different category altogether. 

Living with the NAD M33 v2

As a BluOS device, the M33 v2 is a breeze to set up - follow the prompts in the app and you will be up and running in five minutes or less. BluOS is one a small number of apps about which one can legitimately say “it just works” - and the combination of intuitive interface and nigh-on-total stability is going to win the NAD many friends. Don’t forget you can then add dozens of other BluOS devices (not all of which come exclusively from Bluesound or NAD) and control them all from the same app. Then, if like me, you have been won over by the charms of Roon, the M33 v2 works perfectly happily via this too.

What’s also admirable about the NAD’s implementation of BluOS is that it doesn’t feel completely dependent on it. The full-colour touchscreen and remote handset allows you to make adjustments without opening your phone or tablet - and this genuinely makes a day-to-day difference. The only minor bugbear is that the NAD’s standby button is on top of the display. If you idly rest your hand on top of it while making an adjustment you will switch it off - which is annoying until you train yourself out of the habit. The display is clear and easy to read, though, and I love the adaptive text-size feature that avoids scrolling text and other nastiness.

The ‘Master Series’ casework the M33 v2 comes wrapped in has been with us for a decade or so, but still feels a world away from the grey boxes that NAD ‘treated’ us to back in the day. You could reasonably argue that it doesn’t necessarily blend with other companies’ kit on a rack - but then again, you don’t need to have much in the way of other gear to make it work. This is not a cheap bit of kit, but it is finished to a standard that won’t have you sensing buyer’s remorse when you unbox it.  Also, when you do unbox it, thanks to its clever Class D amps, you won’t herniate yourself moving it around.

Conclusion

The NAD is a piece of grown-up hi-fi for people that want a product that does a huge amount, with the thoroughness and reliability that actually encourages you to use all of its vast feature-set. What’s more, ‘grown-up’ does not mean ‘boring’ - this is a product that should keep both head and heart very happy. 

Listening notes

Ibrahim Maalouf Trumpets of Michel-Ange
A record that is both a fascinating artefact (you won’t hear a quarter tone trumpet in many other places) and a genuinely joyous album. The NAD handles the mass musicians with an effortlessness that lets you truly enjoy what’s on offer.

‍Robert Plant Band of Joy 
Probably the happiest record that Plant has ever released. This is a dazzling collection of material at varying scales and tempos, which allows the NAD to show just how good it is across all of it. 

‍Charlotte De Witte Charlotte De Witte
Sometimes you need to put the ‘nice’ music away and enjoy an hour of dizzying Belgian techno from one of its leading lights. For all its effortless tonal realism and soundstaging, the NAD also has the huge power reserves needed to make this album sing.

If you need to cover off the functionality of an all-in-one, but executed to an impeccable standard, the NAD is about as good as it gets. When you add the scintillating performance, immaculate build and room treatment options, it realistically becomes easier to wonder who wouldn’t buy one.

The Bowers & Wilkins 702S3 Signature is the sort of speaker that needs a bit of driving to deliver its best - but that best is well worth chasing. When you consider that the NAD has huge reserves of power and the means to fine-tune the Bowers’ output, even in a tricky space, you have a perfect partnership in the offing.