NAD - D 3020 Hybrid Digital Integrated Amp

The NAD D3020 is my first NAD product. I went through several products before finally discovering this.1. I needed an external DAC for my PC, my first venture into better-than-built-in-motherboard sound.2. I wanted a unit that had a smaller footprint than a full-sized A/V receiver, which is about 17.25" wide on average. I need it to be placed on a narrow bookshelf that I have.3. I wanted an amplifier that did not have any audible hiss during soft passages or silence, since this will be used on a computer and most of the time it won't be generating any sounds unless I'm gaming or playing music/movies.4. I wanted a remote control for power and volume5. I would love to have bluetooth streaming functionality built-in without having to add another device.At first, I started with an AudioEngine D1 DAC paired with their N22 amplifier. This sounded great, don't get me wrong, but I quickly found that the lack of a remote control and bluetooth started to bug me. Also, it would have been nice to have everything in 1 unit instead of 2. AudioEngine makes great sounding products of very high quality, but it was missing a couple of features I really wanted.I ended up looking at the Teac UDH01 integrated amplifier. The Teac has everything I wanted - a remote, small footprint, integrated DAC with amplifier. The only thing it didn't have was built-in bluetooth. I thought, hey bluetooth isn't such a big deal since I'll be playing music from my PC most of the time, so I almost pulled the trigger on this until I happened to find a couple of YouTube videos reviewing the TEAC.One of the videos compared the TEAC to another product called the NAD D3020 and how the NAD sounded better in subjective testing. Intrigued but skeptical about someone else's "subjective" opinion, I looked it up and found this. After doing days of reading and watching videos on this unit, I finally ordered it from Amazon and waited anxiously for its arrival.The unit is very much everything I have wanted on my wish list. It is a single unit with a built-in DAC, amplifier, remote and bluetooth.On top of those, it has some features which I consider icing on the cake - multiple inputs (analog, digital, coaxial, usb) and a dedicated sub-out.UnboxingThe box it came in was very nice and everything was packaged well in a clamshell type flip-up lid. When I unboxed it, the quality of the unit really surprised me. This little amp is heavy, sturdy, and feels solid. There is nothing cheap feeling about it. The terminals are gold plated. There is a high quality matte velvet finish that you would expect in a luxury vehicle interior instead of on the sides of an audio component. The gloss piano black trim is a very nice contrast to the matte sides. The volume knob has good resistance and won't spin after you let go, even if you tried hard. It takes actually a little more effort to turn than you would expect - a very solid feel.InstallationStraightforward - I downloaded the drivers off their site for my OS and got ready to install. You don't even need the instructions, everything is like I said, straightforward. Speaker cables to red and black, hook up the USB to your PC, AC adaptor to the power strip, and you're good to go.OperationLook and feel - there is a display on the front which is hidden when turned off behind the black gloss plastic front. You can only see it when the unit is powered on, which is like a stealth look. I like it a lot. The display shows the current input as well as the current decibel setting (volume). A little different than most, it shows the volume in decibels (-60db, -40db, -20db, etc) rather than a range of say 1-10.The volume knob is not notched - meaning you don't feel any clicks as you turn. It's completely smooth. There's also no limit on turning, meaning there is not start and stop points. it just spins and spins as long as you keep turning it. This is not necessarily a good or bad thing, just thought I would mention it. Most of the time I will be controlling everything by the remote control anyway.RemoteThis is not some credit card remote - it feels solid and up-scale. It has the same nice matte finish on the top with the smooth piano black on the bottom, same as the amplifier. I really like the construction of it. Buttons are responsive and I have had no range issues. It is infrared, so line of sight is required, in case you plan on putting this unit behind a closed door that isn't glass or see-through. It's slightly bigger than the AppleTV remote, which it shares some design cues with.InstallationThe unit powered on and when I booted up my PC, it was detected and installed it right away. I am using Windows 7. Even without the drivers, it started playing sounds with no problems. I installed their drivers anyway, but I didn't see or hear any differences.SoundThe sound is on par with that of the AudioEngine setup I had. I'm not an audiophile but I can certainly hear the difference between the built-in sound of the motherboard and a dedicated external dac/amp setup. The thing I noticed the most was the spaciousness. I've always wondered what that word really refers to when audiophiles use it to describe a product and now I know.When I was listening to music on this setup, I kept thinking that someone was either a) at my window to my right, outside hanging like Spiderman or b) down the stairway to my left, having broken into my house and is robbing my ass. I kept hearing little sounds in my songs that I had never heard before, details coming from even further away than the speakers themselves, it seems. This kept making me jerk my head to the left or right to see where that came from. I think that is what they are referring to as spaciousness. The clarity of the music has to be heard to be appreciated. The staging (pinpoining location of sounds when your eyes are closed) is pretty much locked on the dead center of my monitor on vocals - something I did not have before with the motherboard built-in sound card. The AudioEngine setup had excellent sound and imaging as well, and I would be lying if I said I could prefer one sound over the other, they sound almost the same to me, although the NAD sounded "smoother" if there was a word to describe it at all.It does take it a bit to get up to volume though. I am pushing two PolkAudio RT25i bookshelf passive speakers with this amp. To get it to the point where it is "wow that's just about loud enough to disturb my neighbors" it takes a setting up to -20db or so. On this amp's scale that is 4 out of 5 on the volume. Which is fine, since I will almost never play my music that loud, maybe for 1 song or so but that's it. So if you're wanting to rattle everything in your home, this isn't the amp for you.I added a PolkAudio PSW10 powered 10" sub to the system and hooked it up to the dedicated sub out on the back of the D3020. Works without any issues and sounds great.When the volume is turned all the way up to maximum, and no music is playing, I do not hear any audible hiss coming from the speakers whatsoever, which is almost impossibly impressive to me, as a I have always had audible hiss during silence with every system I have owned, including the Grace Digital and AudioEngine setups.Bluetooth works just as advertised. I did not notice any degraded audio quality while streaming from my iPad (no crackles, distortion or audible pops that I could tell). Syncing with the unit is as easy as you would think. The unit comes up on my iPad as NAD D3020 or something like that.Notes:1. The sub out on the back of the D3020 is a 3.5mm out, not an RCA like most would expect a sub out to be. You will need a 3.5 to RCA adaptor to hook it up to a powered sub with a preamp in, or just get a cable that is 3.5 to RCA like I did so you don't have to deal with losing quality with any adaptors. (not that it matters much since it's a sub, but true audiophiles will disagree).2. The unit comes with 4 rubber feet stickers you can put on the bottom. I highly suggest you use them. The unit isn't completely flat on the bottom so it tilts and rocks a tiny bit. Plus you don't want to scuff up that beautiful finish. You can use the unit vertically or horizontally, which is probably why they let you put the stickers where you would like, depending on your application.3. The volume is very granular. It takes a full 360 degree turn of the knob to notice any change in volume. It's very precise. The remote, however, is not. If you click the volume up button it barely registers any audible increase in volume. However, holding down the volume up button for half a second will equate to a jump of about 1.5 full rotations manually on the knob. Takes a little getting used to but no big deal.4. You will need a paper clip or small pick to remove the battery compartment of the remote to install the battery initially (it's a watch battery) which is included.5. The power supply is in the actual unit itself, not as an AC adaptor brick or inline in the cord, which is nice and convenient, although audiophiles will argue that having a power supply so close to the DAC would increase chances of introducing interference and noise.Wish List: Not much to want more out of this than it already gives you. If I had to nit pick I would say:1. a way to change the bluetooth name of the unit so if you have more than 1 in the house, it can be named "Living Room" or "Bedroom" etc. (there already may be a way for me to change this since I haven't exactly opened up the manual yet)2. I can't seem to think of anything else I'd like to add to this unit. It's darn near perfect.ConclusionI love this thing! It has everything I need and want, plus some other inputs for future expansion. The only thing I don't like is the price of the unit. $499 is pretty steep for a 30 watt/channel dac/amp but considering that the Teac is priced $100 lower, and doesn't have bluetooth, and the AudioEngine combination is $369 for the Dac and Amplifier, you have to ask yourself, is the build quality, fit, finish, bluetooth and the convenience of all this in one unit worth an extra $100 over the TEAC and $130 over the AudioEngines? I would have liked to see it priced at $399 or even $449 instead but in the end you get what you pay for.I hope this review helps you decide either yay or nay on this unit.

Folks must think I am crazy because I drive KEF LS50 by this little box with just Class D 30 watts per channel outputs. Yes! that's what exactly I did!The idea D3020 & LS50 combo was for breakfast dining area and I didn't want to make too much mess on the kitchen counter, so NAD D3020 was my best-buy as its little size, sexy looking and of course audiophile level sweet sound. Thanks for the stereophile.com article " the entry level #35" by Stephen Mejias posted Oct 25 2013. That was his idea to put Kef together with this little Nad box.NAD D3020 came 2days early right before KEF LS50 arrived. I am not sure if D3020 could really played well with Kef so I carefully open the box and remain all accessories unopened except power-cord in case of returning. My current stereo system is Elac FS247 + Mcintosh MA 6600 + Marantz SA-7si; all hooked up with Kimber KS1126 XLR, Nordost Red Dawn bi-wire and shunyata power snake 8. There's no way to drive Elac Fs247 by D3020 and I don't have any single shut-gun speaker cables. Then I went to one of my guest room where has 5.1 channels that I could drive 2 front Martin Logan motion12 by this little box.It was cheap monster bulk cable + DIY banana connected with Oppo bdp 103d. I loaded up keith Jarrett’s Standards Vol 2( Gold collection Japan mini LP edition). Playback… WOW!!! Sound was so crystal clear, I could even feel the finger movement of keith Jarrett. Martin Logan Motion 12 is a 3way floorstanding speaker, how could NAD D3020 handle it so good? Because speaker its sensitivity at 92dB ?! okay, I will wait for the KEF and see what’s going on.2days later, kef ls50 arrived. It took another day to broken in. yeah, you are right! 24 hours is not enough but I just can’t wait. To keep the NAD D3020 or return to Amazon; it must has a decision.This time I took KEF&NAD to my stereo system room. Again, use monster bulk speaker cable as is, I don’t have stands for kef so just took 2 solid wood chest and replaced exactly where Elac FS 247 is, then 2 solid marble on top of the chest, 4 Sorbothane vibration isolator pads on each of marble and we all set! $40 cheap Xrca cable hooked up with Marantz SA-7Si. Now Let’s Start The Show!Playback – NAD D3020 vs Mcintosh MA6600Trainspotting #2 (Soundtracks 7243 8 21265 2 2)Track 1. Choose Life.Nad D3020: Ewan Mcgregor was running, yeah he ran but just for fun, you didn’t really feel that he wanted to hurry up and there’s no one chasing him at all. WEAK! Yes, but you won’t expect to speeding drive in Los Angeles at 5pm on FWY405 any-days. Marantz+Nad+Kef deserve more warm sound but techno(reference series is another story)Mcitosh MA6600: Ewan Mcgregor was running and this time he wore some soft of running shoes, you could feel he’s a little bit faster, but still no one chasing him at all.Stardivarius on Gold CD ( Japanese edition G-G1001)Track 1. Meditation. ( good record but awful performance)Nad D3020: So smooth, you could even smelled violin, it was kinda special fragrance which only obtained by violin.Mcintosh MA6600: it was smooth, it was a playback and it was a good record.Here’s To Ben – Jacintha. ( FIM XRCD 020)Track 3. Danny boyNad D3020: sweet sound, details, her breath, her lip… and more.Mcintosh Ma6600: same as D3020, but more details, more live.The Super Extened resolution Sound OF TMB ( FIM XRCD 018)Track 8. I’m a fool to want you --- Tsuyoshi Yamamoto TrioNad D3020: by Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, I feel the movement from his fingers where music comes from.Mcintosh MA6600: More 3D sound, clear Trio image.Flamenco – Pepe romero LIM K2HD 022Track 1 FarrucasNad D3020: I couldn’t believe this little box could dance so~~ well. So powerful in its 30 watts!!!Mcintosh MA6600: wonderful dance with more energy comes out, deeper, specious but guitar not as musical as D3020.Delicatessen ( bande originale du film -- Remark 849 345 – 2)Track 2 Tika Tika walk.Nad D3020: I feel the “fun” on what it should be just like in the movies. It was in its right colors, not too bright, not too dark. That’s the color what Jean-Pierre Jeunet want. Exactly same as his movie’s color.Mcintosh Ma6600: I feel more movement at back stage, more live; still have fun. But colors…... I feel it was more like an American movie but French movie.We Get Requests – The Oscar Peterson Trio ( LIM K2HD 032)Track 1. You Look Good To Me.Nad D3020: wow! When music started, Ray brown jumped in with his amazing finger and some whispers(Just like Keith Jarrett's signature whispers... Ha). That was interesting! And I felt something came out from LS50’s low ends, oh, that’s the bass. Wait, does LS50 really has its low end? It not supposed to!Mcintosh Ma6600: powerful tight bass, more live. spacious, more details.Beyond The Missouri Sky – Charlie Haden & Pat Mentheny(VERVE 537 130-2)Track 1. Waltz For RuthNad D3020: guitar and bass presented its wood smell but lack clarify image, background was a little bit dark.Mcintosh Ma6600: bright, clarify image. Guitar and Bass well combined, everything is better than Nad, but again, not as musical as Nad.Now I know what should I do. KEEP IT! Opened all accessories. Cool remote control, but not good design for the battery reload. Also, it is very hard to found a replacement for its power cord if you deserve a more audiophile level cord. Nad D3020 could be very hot, yes, I mean it could be very very HOT when it drove Kef LS50 playback for 2 or 3 hours. Other than that, this little box just sweet! So sweet!! I will keep them and play with them later on its other functions. I spend more and more hours with Nad D3020 and never feel the time. Once a while, touch sensor power button doesn’t work properly but it doesn’t bother me at all because remote works great. That was my honeymoon; not perfect but sweet.This morning, I opened up D3020 and played a disc then I went out for jogging. D3020 was on until I came back. I put another SACD, playback, suddenly, this sweet box started to switch its inputs automatically none stop like crazy. I tried to use remote control to let it stop but it didn’t work so I turned it off . Restarted, again, it was swing in between those inputs like crazy. I completely shut it off for about 40 minutes and then turned on. It stopped crazy swing dance and worked like normal.I did some research and found no one has same problem as I had. Nad updated its firmware to 2.5 on Jan 24th 2014 for not to turn off automatically only. This is my guess. I’ve loaded too much on Nad d3020 especially with Kef LS50. When it’s hot, some potential defect has been activated and output has reached its peak and out of control. I wish NAD could update its firmware to fix this unusual bug.I called Amazon 30days free tech support. Scott E was a nice guy, he did full refund with no other questions after I’ve told issue. Actually, I would like to keep NAD D3020 if there’s no such a big issue; it is pain to watch this sexy box to go crazy swing. And it is more painful because I had to turn it off at least 40 mins for the next music journey. Or maybe I should found another tube Amp(Rogue cronus) for Kef LS50? Let’s see…..Ps. Here's current firmware 2.5 link: [...]

Cumple bien con sus funciones, suena bastante bien pero el control remoto no me convence.Yo tengo la versión del control que sí es legible (blanco sobre negro) pero el volumen desde él simplemente no responde.Por todo lo demás muy bien.

Leggendo le varie recensioni sul web è curioso constatare come questo amplificatore venga esaltato, o criticato, per tutte le ragioni sbagliate.Viene solitamente esaltato per il suono (1), descritto in genere come caldo e dettagliato; ho letto che anche file mp3 di qualità modesta suonerebbero divinamente (2), che questo amplificatore sembrerebbe molto più potente dei suoi 30W nominali (3), e che "più si alza il volume e meglio suona" (4).Le critiche di solito riguardano la presunta difficoltà ad operarlo (tramite telecomando) perché i controlli sarebbero 'erratici' (5) ed i tasti a volte sembrano non funzionare o sono imprecisi nel passare da una sorgente audio all'altra o nel variare il volume (6). Viene anche molto criticato l'aspetto del telecomando, perché avendo i tasti neri, su bottone nero, su sfondo nero, è praticamente impossibile leggere i comandi se non in piena luce (7).In base alla mia esperienza, tutto questo o non è vero, oppure si tratta comunque di false ragioni.Il suono (1) è sostanzialmente neutro, non ci sono colorazioni stridule o troppo aggressive sugli alti, ma nemmeno tonalità basse particolarmente calde. Penso comunque che sia bene abbinarlo a casse abbastanza morbide (io ho le Wharfedale Denton 80th) perché il suono tutto sommato è abbastanza analitico e non credo che reggerebbe bene casse altrettanto asciutte. Purtroppo la fluidità, il livello di dettaglio del suono non è quello che mi aspettavo, è un suono molto chiuso, la presentazione è sostanzialmente piatta e molto poco musicale, e questo con tutte le sorgenti audio che ho provato, non solo mp3 ma anche CD di buona qualità audio (2). Ci sono amplificatori che costano la metà e suonano decisamente meglio. Quanto al volume, un ascolto a volume diciamo normale lo si ottiene a circa 2/3 (due terzi) della scala; portando il volume fino al massimo si riescono in effetti a raggiungere livelli di decibel non sostenibili (3); ma la fatica dell'amplificatore si sente tutta, ad alto volume il suono diventa confuso e si ha la chiara percezione di uno strumento portato all'estremo delle proprie possibilità (4). Quindi potrà andare bene per una stanza di 3x4 ma per spazi più ampi la poca potenza sicuramente si fa sentire.Per quanto riguarda la funzionalità dei comandi (5), non ho avuto nessun problema. Si passa velocemente da una sorgente all'altra. I tasti del volume sono molto graduali, per cui se si preme molto brevemente la variazione è quasi impercettibile. Basta tenere premuto un po' più a lungo ed il volume aumenta/diminuisce sensibilmente. E' vero che tasti neri su sfondo nero non sono ben visibili (7), ma diciamo la verità: il telecomando ha pochissimi tasti e gestisce 3 funzioni 3: on/off, volume, e sorgente audio. Sono 6 tasti in tutto. Chiunque abbia un telecomando sa che dopo una giornata di utilizzo la posizione dei tasti, quando sono così pochi, viene facilmente memorizzata. Non è che si ha bisogno di GUARDARLO ogni volta per sapere cosa premere.Quindi in sostanza e per quella che è la mia esperienza, nessun problema sulla funzionalità. Decisamente insoddisfacente il suono, che purtroppo è la cosa più importante. Se ciò che vi interessa non è il suono, ma la connettività digitale, la possibilità di utilizzarlo con tecnologia bluetooth, forse può fare al caso vostro. Ma se per voi il suono non è importante, non credo che spenderete più di 500 euro per un amplificatore.

Nachdem die Bewertungen für den NAD D3020 hier so stark schwanken und auch einige kräftige Verrisse dabei sind, muss ich jetzt mal für den "Kleinen" in die Bresche springen.HiFi Geschichten sind ja von je her eine sehr subjektive Sache. Der eine mag es warm und bassbetont, der andere schätzt einen sezierend-analytischen Klang. Der eine kommt aus der High End Ecke und ist am nörgeln, für den anderen ist es eine Offenbarung, weil er vorher nur seine quäkigen Bluetooth-Handylautsprecher als Klangreferenz hatte. Einer möchte damit sein Wohnzimmer beschallen, beim anderen steht der NAD neben dem Rechner im Büro.Um es gleich vorweg zu nehmen: Der NAD D3020 kann schon ziemlich viel, eine eierlegende Wollmilchsau ist aber auch er nicht.Mein erster Verstärker war ein NAD 3130, von daher habe ich schon relativ früh eine Affinität zu NAD entwickelt. Guter Klang, wenig Schnickschnack und dennnoch immer wieder einige Innovationen dabei. Und vor allem ein nahezu unschlagbares Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis.Ich habe jetzt mal einiges rumprobiert, muss aber vorweg schicken, dass ich als Zuspieler nur digitale Quellen (Squeezebox Touch über Toslink und PC über USB) verwende. Hauptargument für den Kauf waren bei mir die Kompaktheit und die universellen Einsatzmöglichkeiten des Leichtgewichts. Ich setze ihn hauptsächlich am PC und für den Garten ein. Da sind die geringen Abmessungen von Vorteil: Kurz am Rechner abgestöpselt und schon sorgt er beim Grillabend für guten Sound. Als Lautsprecher verwende ich ein Paar alte iQ 2140 AT Kompaktlautsprecher (Erbstücke), mit denen der NAD mühelos klar kommt. Durch die rückseitige "Bass EQ"-Taste werden die Bässe hier im genau richtigen Maß für die Lautsprecher angehoben, um ein für meinen subjektiven Eindruck rundes Klangbild zu erzeugen. Dass dies im bedämpften Büro besser klingt, als auf der Terrasse, dürfte einleuchten. Zum Vergleich habe ich mal meine Canton Chrono SL580 angeschlossen - eigentlich leistungsmäßig auch recht genügsame Lautsprecher. Mit denen hatte der Zwerg allerdings sichtlich Mühe. Zwar war der "Bass EQ" nun nicht mehr erforderlich (eher störend), aber hier konnte ich das etwas "gepresste" Klangbild, über das sich einige Rezensenten beschweren, nachempfinden. Auch den Kopfhörerausgang habe ich angetestet. Zu einem reinen Kopfhörerverstärker (Vergleich mit Musical Fidelity V-CAN II) fällt der NAD etwas ab, was aber eventuell auch dem Wandler geschuldet sein mag (der V-CAN hat keinen DAC). Beim Vergleich zwischen digitaler und analoger Zuspielung über die Squeezbox im Lautsprecherbetrieb mit HiRes Studio-Master Material ist mir allerdings kein nennenswerter Unterschied aufgefallen - die Wandler bewegen sich hier auf ähnlichem Niveau.Nun mal zu einigen Kritikpunkten der Vorrezensienten:- Ja, er riecht ein wenig. Allerdings nur, wenn man näher als einen halben Meter dransitzt. Ich vermute aber mal stark, dass das im Laufe der Zeit verschwindet. Finde ich jetzt bei neuen Elektrogeräten weder unüblich, noch besonders erwähnenswert.- Man sieht Fingerabdrücke. Ja. Aber mein iPhone ist empfindlicher.- Er wird heiß. Kann ich nicht bestätigen. Gut, ich lasse ihn nicht permanent auf Volllast laufen, aber selbst oberhalb von Zimmerlautstärke erwärmt er sich im Dauerbetrieb nur im üblichen Maß. Ist eben passiv gekühlt. Dafür hört mein keinen Lüfter. Wenn man allerdings richtig leistungshungrige Lautsprecher anschließt, möchte ich wetten, dass der noch etwas wärmer wird.- Lautstärkeregler reagiert träge. Stimmt. Soll aber auch so sein. Hängt mit der Geschwindigkeit zusammen, mit der der Lautstärkeregler gedreht wird. Drehe ich ihn langsam, brauche ich mehr Umdrehungen, was eine feinere Abstimmung ermöglicht. Drehe ich ihn schnell, ist er sofort laut oder leise.- Miese Fernbedienung. Die ist qualitativ, funktionell und haptisch vollkommen ok. Denjenigen, der das Batteriefach designed hat, hätte ich allerdings auch sofort gefeuert.- Enttäuschender Klang. Absolut nicht! Aber eben das ist eine ausgesprochen subjektive Sache. Je nach Einsatzgebiet und vor allem nach angeschlossenen Lautsprechern können sich hier von grundauf unterschiedliche Eindrücke ergeben. Ich sehe den NAD D3020 nicht als Amp, der im großen Wohnzimmer mächtige Standboxen befeuert (wie auch?). Aber mit guten und passenden Kompaktlautsprechern ist er potent genug, um mittelgroße Räume kräftig durchzurocken. Ich bin auf jeden Fall begeistert.Fazit: Vor allem die Vielfalt der möglichen Zuspieler ist klasse. Ob Digital oder Analog Player, PC / Laptop, oder iPhone/Tablet - mühloser Anschluss bzw. Bluetooth-Kopplung und ein für mein Empfinden echt guter Klang. Top verarbeitet und gute Materialanmutung. Und vor allem so klein und leicht, dass man ihn wirklich öfter mal einem Standortwechsel unterziehen kann! Bei den Lautsprechern etwas aufpassen; lieber "kleiner und feiner"... Für 399,-€ im Angebot auf Amazon ein echtes Schnäppchen! Also gebt dem kleinen Schätzchen einfach eine Chance und probiert ihn aus! Ich hab's nicht bereut!

Ce petit ampli se place verticalement sur le bureau. Le branchement sur le PC se fait via le port USB. et les câbles des enceintes ne nécessitent aucune prise spéciale (serrage des fils de cuivre). On branche l'ampli sur le 220V et c'est fait. J'écoute sur des enceintes 50 W Davis. Il n'y a pas de souffle et le son est bien restitué.

Over the last six months or so I have been rediscovering my long lost love of good quality audio.Many years ago, when I had only just started work, one of the first things I bought myself was the best amplifier and speakers that I could afford. If I remember correctly the amp was by Marrantz and the speakers were Wharfdale. In the intervening thirty plus years things have changed a lot and those changes have not always been for the best.Like many others I had been seduced by the convenience of being able to take hundreds, if not thousands of low bitrate MP3 around with me, initially on a dedicated MP3 player, more recently on my phone, and had been listening to them on poor quality earphones.Last year I was asked to review a top quality set of Sennheiser headphones and this brought home to me in a big way just how poor the sound files I was listening to were! Some of them really did sound like I was listening to them underwater. And so began my journey of rediscovering good quality audio.Some of the changes I made cost literally nothing. I re-ripped my music library of MP3s at 320kbps for the daily commute. I used much better headphones, I re-ripped music for home in FLAC lossless format, I started to listen to the original CDs of my favourite music. This last change had an unexpected effect in that I started to listen to whole albums again rather than to individual songs.I changed the music player I used on my PC to Foobar2000 - an open source player that is significantly better than Windows Media player. I have also been looking for an amplifier and speakers and I finally, after a huge amount of research and deliberation decided that this was the one for me.I think I have rediscovered music at a very exciting time. The way we listen to music is probably about to undergo its biggest change since music started being released on CD. High Resolution Audio is on the way.Currently we usually listen to music as digital audio files, such as MP3s at up to 320kbps, or on CDs at 16bit/44KHz, but this is about to change. In much the same way as High Definition TV improved on Standard Definition, High Resolution Audio will massively increase the amount of data that a digital audio file contains. High Resolution Audio will be at Studio Master quality; at least 24bit/96KHz. The question will then be, can your audio system play those files and play them at a good enough quality that you can notice the difference. This is one of the main reasons why I picked this amplifier - It is ready for the new standards in music that are on the way.Anyway, on to some specifics about this amplifier:Firstly it came beautifully presented. The box is a slip case - the top just slides off the base. Inside the case the actual amplifier is inside a black velvet bag! It really is top quality presentation.The amplifier is really small and is quite at home on my computer desk, taking up minimal space. It can be stood up on end, or laid on its side. There are four little rubber feet supplied that you stick on depending on which way round you want the amp to sit.The remote control is lovely - it's sleek and black and beautifully tactile. The amplifier even feels lovely, with soft touch sides and a volume control with a silky smooth action.Setting up was simple, it was recognised immediately when connected by USB to my PC. I would still recommend downloading the driver from the NAD website, as this then allows you to use WASAPI and to bypass the Windows mixer.Speaker connections are as you would expect with the connections accepting either a bare wire connection or banana plugs. The sub-woofer connection is slightly unusual in that it is a 3.5mm line connection, but I also bought a 3.5mm to 2xRCA to connect to the Wharfdale sub that I bought to go with the setup. On the front is a 3.5mm headphone socket for the inbuilt headphone amplifier.One other thing that also influenced me was that in standby, this tiny amp uses less than 0.5watts of power.So - what does it sound like?To go with the amplifier I also bought an absolutely lovely set of DALI Zensor 1 speakers, some Mission Speaker stands, and a Wharfdale SW150 sub-woofer.The sound is just incredible! The technical specifications for this amp say it is rated at only 30 watts RMS per channel, but it feels so much more than that! I am using it for near field listening only, in my tiny 8ft x 8ft den/office, and it absolutely surrounds me and envelopes me with the most beautiful, delicate, yet powerful and full sound.Even my old low bitrate MP3s sound so much more full, but where it really does absolutely shine is playing directly from a CD - It's like nothing I have heard before.One last thing I love about this amp is the absolute silence between tracks.The headphone amp is also absolutely first class, bringing my Sennheiser Momentums to life like they never have been before.I honestly can't wait until High Resolution Audio becomes widely available in the UK as this is just going to sound amazing.(Sorry for enthusing for so long and thanks if you read to the end - I think you can probably tell that I am really rather pleased with my purchase!)Lastly - many thanks to Sevenoaks Sound & Vision - Ordered on Amazon late Saturday, Monday was a Bank Holiday and the amp arrived on Wednesday! Top quality service!!