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NAD M3

By Brent Burmester

December 2006

NAD M3 integrated amplifier. $4999

NAD's M3 amplifier (click for larger image)

Rear panel of the M3 (click for larger image)

People who neither know nor care about hi-fi know about NAD, although they may still not care. A manufacturer renown for delivering the real thing for rather less than the likes of Naim or Meridian, or just about anyone else not from Japan, NAD might never have been quite the last word in fabulous, but you get bang for your buck: muscle, fidelity, fun and, until not so long ago, a hammerite paint finish.

Then, a few years back, NAD got ideas above its station, and introduced the Silverline series of components. They were reviewed politely in the UK press, but there seemed always to be a unstated concern that NAD might have been over-reaching. The faint praise hasn't deterred the enthusiasts at NAD, however, and they've thrown caution to the wind by introducing the Master Series line of high-end separates.

Heavy metal

There must be enough copper in the transformers inside the M3 integrated amp to re-roof the Beehive. I may have lifted heavier hi-fi, but never in such a compact form. The sheer mass of the M3 instilled an expectation of very big things to come in the sonic department.

You can see from the pictures that this is not your common or garden grey-green biscuit box. The finish is extremely high, and clearly designed to withstand attack from depleted uranium artillery rounds. The real proof of the high-end pudding is within, however. You already know it weighs a tonne, but just as important is how that weight is allocated. As a dual-mono design, the M3 is really two amps (or three, if you count the pre-amp) sitting side by side in the same casework. Power supply for each channel is independent of the other, which should lead to very precise imaging and definition of the separate musical lines in a composition.

Apart from all the features you'd expect of a high quality integrated amplifier, two demand a mention. Not only can the M3 run two sets of speakers, but also they can be controlled independently of one another, via a secondary remote control. The M3 also has tone controls, but not we know them. As well as your usual treble and bass adjustment, there is a "spectral tilt" ability, that boosts one end of the frequency spectrum and correspondingly flattens the other, pivoting the amplitude response like a see-saw around the midrange. Quad used to do something like this many years ago.
Oh, before I forget, rated power is 180 watts per channel, and that's NAD watts, so you can probably add another 50% for practical purposes.

The little things

NAD's budget amplification is often praised for its power. The M3's sheer physicality led me to expect a huge sound, alive with energy. What I heard was a surprise. Instead of being remorselessly pummeled by an angry steam hammer, I was treated to an extremely open, even delicate rendering of Morrissey's latest CD. At first I was nonplussed – where was the sonic death-blow I'd anticipated?
Still, like the song goes, accentuate the positive, and there's a lot of positive, even running straight out of the box.

Resolution is very high. Indeed I've heard this level of transparency in an amp on very few occasions, and never for less than the asking price of the M3. Listen into your favorite albums and you’ll hear vocal inflexions and the sounds of movements that real people in real places make – the sounds most recording engineers don't want you to hear. Of course, indifferently engineered Top 40 stuff doesn't fare well under this scrutiny, but sessions recorded with a dedication to getting exactly what happens in the studio or on stage onto the tape are enhanced dramatically.

Performances are set on a strongly defined stage pushing slightly forward of the speaker plane. High frequencies are amazingly lucid, and quite prominent through my Castles, yet not obtrusively so. By now you may be getting the impression that the M3 is a bit of a lightweight, full of feathery finesse, but lacking body. Once the amp had warmed up over two or three weeks of general duties, that concern quickly evaporated.

The M3 is not like it's cheaper brethren – it doesn't compensate for a relative lack of sophistication with a steroid-enhanced presentation of your favorite rock. Instead, its enormous strength is exhibited by incredible control. Drums are so much more believable as a result of the speed at which transient waveforms are delivered and damped. Well, everything is. And rather than flooding your room with low frequencies, many of them randomly generated, the M3 holds your bass drivers in a vice-like grip.

At the end of the day

With the Master Series, and especially the M3, NAD is now a full fledged contender at the other end of the market, where price tags get a bit mental. But, just like in the budget arena, NAD has stayed true to its goal of bringing the buyer more for less. The M3 costs serious money, but it delivers on every dollar, and remember, these are NAD dollars, so you can probably add another 50% for practical purposes.