I contacted NAD to see if/when they will have a DAC on the way. They assured me that one is coming but wouldn't say when or at what level they expected it to compete. Not nearly as exciting as a Rega DAC perhaps but it would be nice to see a very fine budget DAC to compete with the DacMagic and rDac. We'll see.
Interesting, Art. I'm surprised that most companies don't have one out already. You'd figure with the success of the DAC Magic, they'd all scramble to try to keep their customers from buying a competitor's piece. I'd imagine that the DAC Magic also helped to sell more Cambridge integrateds to guys looking for a one brand system.
Hopefully it'll sound pretty good and won't break the bank. NAD's sources have always been top notch for the price to my ears.
I don't have enough experience with Marantz to really know if I'd like them or not. I kind of skipped that rung of the ladder (NAD, Cambridge, Marantz, Denon) on my upgrade path. I figured that since I'm really into 2-channel, why not spend a bit more and hit Rega and Exposure territory, where I think companies start to put aside features and focus more on a pure audio signal and doing that with as little compromise as possible. And ultimately, I knew I'd probably want to upgrade to that anyways.
For a second system like Art's, or if I felt spending the extra money wasn't something I wanted to do, I'd definitely look at those brands. Their products are certainly respectable, and I'm sure just about everyone could choose one of them to build a system around and obtain good results.
lol I thought the same thing Art. Although the new one they have that is the modulated piece for upgrade looks good for an internal unit. I still want a beefy external DAC with dedicated Power supply and analog output though. Still waiting.... Based on their first fisher price offering to their second, we are getting closer.
On an off topic Art - have you heard the latest 375bee?
Art, its only been 8 or 9 months........Unless they were nearly readytogo when dropping the hint, I'd give 'em until March...than buy a DacMagic or other at that price point. Unless the NADDAC is meant for the Masters Series, in which case it may be worth the wait..... (did I just name it?)
Ya I am thinking sometime after X-Mas too Leo. I think you will see a 500 dollar (or so) NAD classic series DAC, and a 1500 (guessing) dollar Masters series DAC. I am not going to lie, I will probably try both.lol. I wouldn't count out any mid ranged NAD DAC against the DacMagic either. NAD is making some nice gear of late but I feel they are focusing too much on this modular crap then just releasing products to stay with the heap.
I'm not in the market for a DAC, Leo. Still a CD player guy. I have pretty much quit listening to computer applications of any kind. Looking for a better FM tuner.
Oh and Yes, Nick, the C375BEE is a beast. It and the C326BEE are the best values in the NAD lineup. Again, you won't realize the goodie without changing the jumpers. It has much of the sweetness of the 326 with more refinement and ease. Very fine amp for the dough.
Heard it Saturday while I was in bellevegas. Was mentioning it to Dave actually as perhaps a next amp he should try. The thing has b@lls to the walls, sounds awesome and appears to be a masters series amp with some updates. A/B speaker switching and can be bridged to something like 380 watts at 8ohm per channel. I was really impressed with this amp. Heard it with the Monitor Audio RX8's being fed by a Bryston CDP. My only complaint is that it has TOO many inputs. The front panel of the unit has what seems to be a never ending line of input buttons. Also, from what my dealer tells me the headphone section on it is mediocre, but if you want to listen to music on headphones buy an I-Pod.lol. I came away really thinking the NAD 375bee at any price point was an absolute beast and it only retails for 1200CDN. What a bargain. My Naim unit is never going anywhere, I am just in love with it, but I might bring home the 375bee to try out, just dont think it would be as good a match with the laid back Totems as the Naim but would still be fun.