NAD D 7050 Direct Digital Network Amplifier

I am in awe of the sound quality of this amp.I'm partnering the D7050 with B&W 685 S2s and a cheapie sub, and the combo works incredibly well. The 685 S2s have very good distortion specs (below .3% thd for most of the midrange and treble) and this allows the D7050 to shine. Bass is tight, midrange is warm and present and treble is super clean. Imaging and soundstaging are just amazing (honestly, really, really amazing).If you listen to very well recorded music, you can here all sorts of micro-detail. I don't mean to suggest that detail is in any way exaggerated or "spot-lit". But you'll hear all sorts of delicate harmonic information (room acoustics, the wooden "body" of string instruments, voices sound fleshed out and human [in other words, real]).I sound like a clichéd audiophile nerd, but the result of all these qualities is incredibly, incredibly moving music. If you care about music (and, frankly, if you have good ears) the rewards of a pristine signal are enormous. John Lennon sounds like he's strumming in your room; every detail of Rostropovich's musical intention and expressivity in Bach's cello suites comes through; vocals are hauntingly "real," etc.Okay, enough on sound-quality. Hopefully you get the idea. I'm stunned. Moving on:- The technology: I totally buy into the "direct digital amp" circuitry. I was very, very skeptical at first. I'm coming from a history of using a Michell turntable and single-ended tube amplifiers (about as far from "digital" as you can possibly get). Here's the gist: I'm never going back to tubes again. I think this amp represents a total breakthrough in digital technology. Seriously, the signal really is "pristine" and totally devoid of the flaws I'm used to with affordable digital. Also, I've noted that some folks have grumbled about the lack of analog inputs. This is part of the design (certainly not an oversight). The decision was critical in getting an incredibly impressive signal-to-noise ratio. If you really want to use a turntable, you can use an analog to digital converter to send the signal to the D7050. If you think converting analog to digital is some sort of analog sin, consider that most contemporary vinyl comes from digital masters and files.- set up, ergonomics and user interface: I didn't have any issues getting the D7050 set up on my network. Reading about other's difficulties, I was honestly concerned about this. Well, it took all of 30 seconds. I plugged my iPhone into the d7050, tapped a button on the rear of the d7050, and then hit "share network settings" on my iPhone. Done. Literally 30 seconds. The interface is a little fussy. At first, the power button seems totally unresponsive, but it just takes a little while to figure out how it likes to be touched (seriously, you have to tap for power on and hold your finger in place about 3 seconds for power off).- Spotify Connect: I thought nothing of this feature when I bought the amp (I'm a high rez snob). But, when I tried the Spotify Connect feature (with a free trial) I was stunned. The compressed audio sounded vastly, vastly better than any compressed files I've ever heard (I'm using Spotify's 360kbs setting). I don't know if Spotify has an amazing approach to compression or if the quality is the result of the direct digital technology, but - honestly - I'm not sure how well I'd do in a blind A, B test between Spotify and High rez files. The SQ is that good.The longer I've used this amp, the more I've come to appreciate how remarkable it is. We're in a sort of golden age of high quality, relatively affordable digital music reproduction, and I think the D7050 is a stand-out product in this era.

Spent hours trying to get to work. Would not. I then saw multiple complaints that the smart phone app is key, but that NAD did not care to update its app and the unit simply will not work as advertised. It is disappointing because this is a great brand.

Great sound. Just as good as their analog products. I paired with old B&O speakers from the 90s. They have never sounded better. It’s nice to hear all the different range of high quality MP3s. My only complaint is that the remote does not work.

So the headline I wrote for this was "almost perfect" and it's about as apt a description I can give. The features I wanted were: direct iPod control for an iPod connected to the USB-A port (lots of people and the manual say the remote wouldn't work but it does), preamp output so I can use it with my current active speakers, real amped outputs for some as of yet undetermined passive speakers, a quality headphone amp, and wireless capability. This is the core of a desktop/bedroom system so the size was important as well and having the vertical orientation is brilliant. The only misses for me on the D7050 are the fickle touch control power button (turning it on is easy, off is a bit of a chore but the remote is what I use instead), mini headphone jack (would've preferred full size) and lastly the occasionally tempermental volume level.Listening through my current Audioengine speakers and pumping in ALAC files from the iPod, the sound is well balanced and enjoyable. It misses a bit on the low and high frequencies but everything in the middle is well represented but that's probably more of an omission the speakers make than the NAD. Hooking the D7050 to some older Sonus Faber Grand Piano Domus towers, the sound was much better than I expected. The amp section didn't sound "stressed" during difficult sections of music and even with only 50 watts available, I was able to drive the speakers pretty loudly in a good sized room. The headphone section is bit better than anticipated, certainly better than a laptop or iDevice (which have good output sections just not great power). I have Beyerdynamic T90 Jubilees which have a great open sound with lots of detail buuuuut can be a bit strident/sibilant and the NAD headphone section calms it down without losing the detail.Finally got around to utilizing the AirPlay and Bluetooth features and was pleasantly surprised. Easy to setup but a little disappointed that I can't rename the gibberish wifi name.Overall it's a great and versatile product that I recommend!

Do not buy this amplifier. Why? The biggest reason is because it is not supported. The last firmware upgrade was 5 years ago and app update 4 years ago. I contacted their customer service to see why they weren't supporting it and they basically asked me what I would add if I were them?!! Uh, how about functionality with all the new products and programs that have come out in the half decade since your last update, fixing the blue tooth connectivity that seems to go out constantly, the app is awful so maybe making it not awful. How about not selling it anymore if you're not going to support it? When it works it sounds pretty good hence the 2 stars, but I am going to switch to Sonos in the coming months as they seem to actually care about improving their product and supporting it.

I fully integrated the NAD7050 in my home wired and wireless network. It is recognized by Apple Airplay from all connected devices (iMac, MacBooks, iPads and iPhones...) and I also use a SONY NW-ZX2 Hi-Res player as input. For the output, I use a pair of Q Acoustics Concept20 speakers and - the less I can say - is that it works great ! All input sources are working and the sound is simply best in class (week, I think the speakers are also having a big role here). My only negative comments would be that the network configuration and the updates are a bit touchy (but once you did it the NAD7050 does the job) and the unit looks ugly.