NAD C 700 - Any experience/thoughts?

[CWelsh]

I posted this in the Solid State thread the other day but haven't had any responses. Perhaps that was the wrong spot so I will try it here.

 

I've been looking at a variety of options to power my Forte llls and I'm really curious about the NAD C 700. It appears to be a slightly stripped down version of the NAD M 10 music streamer amp. Has anyone actually heard one or one of the similar NAD products? I've seen the M 10 recommended a few times, but have seen nothing of the C 700.

 

https://nadelectronics.com/product/c-700/

[techguy52]

 

[CWelsh]

@techguy52 Thanks for posting this. I hadn't seen it and it gives a lot to think about. Definitely need to check out the Bluesound products.

 

I know this will probably make purists cringe, but I'm leaning strongly to something like the C 700. And, the inclusion of eARC is a plus. It would have been great if he had tried it with some Klipsch speakers, but he did at least suggest the experience might be different with more efficient speakers. Unfortunately, there are no local dealers for the Klipsch Heritage line and only a couple of NAD dealers.

Edited November 9, 2021 by CWelsh

[avguytx]

They are definitely cool amps/devices and have many good things built in to them.  I guess I'm one where the negatives for me would be (a), not enough power at 80x2 for how I like to occasionally play the CF-3's and, (b), do I want something where everything is in one box versus being separated.  I've seriously thought about buying the C658 preamp because of the Dirac and BluOS being built in.  Not to mention, I've known the Lenbrook Nat'l Sales Manager for 20 years now as I was once a rep for NAD/PSB in my previous life as a Manufacturers Rep amongst other lines.   That is a neat little piece, though.  I wish the C658 screen was like that versus its plain screen.  I also worry about mistakenly turning the volume WFO on the preamp using the app, like I've read happen.

[techguy52]

3 hours ago, CWelsh said:

@techguy52 Thanks for posting this. I hadn't seen it and it gives a lot to think about. Definitely need to check out the Bluesound products.

 

I know this will probably make purists cringe, but I'm leaning strongly to something like the C 700. And, the inclusion of eARC is a plus. It would have been great if he had tried it with some Klipsch speakers, but he did at least suggest the experience might be different with more efficient speakers. Unfortunately, there are no local dealers for the Klipsch Heritage line and only a couple of NAD dealers.

 

You're welcome, while I can't speak directly regarding the NAD C700, there are a couple of user reviews over at Crutchfield.com for it that might be worth a read. I've owned a NAD M10 since Feb 2019 connected to a pair of non-meta KEF LS50's and I'm a big fan of BlueOS. It has it's quirks but what software doesn't. And if you decide on a NAD C700 don't forget about the Bluesound RC1 remote, I have it as well.

[CWelsh]

2 hours ago, techguy52 said:

 

You're welcome, while I can't speak directly regarding the NAD C700, there are a couple of user reviews over at Crutchfield.com for it that might be worth a read. I've owned a NAD M10 since Feb 2019 connected to a pair of non-meta KEF LS50's and I'm a big fan of BlueOS. It has it's quirks but what software doesn't. And if you decide on a NAD C700 don't forget about the Bluesound RC1 remote, I have it as well.

After listening through the review, I checked out the Bluesound products and ended up ordering a Node. I'm going to try it through my re-capped Marantz 1060 to start with. Later, I may add more amplifier power, but I think the Node will give me the streaming and eArc capabilities I want with the added flexibility of downstream options.

 

Thanks, again, for posting the link. It was really helpful. Also nice to hear that you like your M10. And, I will check out the RC1 remote.

[CWelsh]

3 hours ago, avguytx said:

They are definitely cool amps/devices and have many good things built in to them.  I guess I'm one where the negatives for me would be (a), not enough power at 80x2 for how I like to occasionally play the CF-3's and, (b), do I want something where everything is in one box versus being separated.  I've seriously thought about buying the C658 preamp because of the Dirac and BluOS being built in.  Not to mention, I've known the Lenbrook Nat'l Sales Manager for 20 years now as I was once a rep for NAD/PSB in my previous life as a Manufacturers Rep amongst other lines.   That is a neat little piece, though.  I wish the C658 screen was like that versus its plain screen.  I also worry about mistakenly turning the volume WFO on the preamp using the app, like I've read happen.

 

While 80 wpc would probably be more than enough with the 99 db efficiency Forte llls (at least for the way I listen), I hear what you are saying. When I auditioned the speakers at the dealer, he was using a 125 wpc Adcom to power them and they sounded so incredible. We're in a temporary apartment while our house is being rebuilt, so I can't play them very loud, anyway. I'm really anxious to see how they are going to sound in my own listening room. I'll have to wait and see if the 1060 will be enough or if I will want to kick the power up. In my heart, I probably already know the answer, but I'm not going to tell my wife just yet.

[CWelsh]

The Node is in the house! The user interface is going to take some learning, but I'll get it in time. The unit arrived Friday afternoon and I rushed to get it set up before company arrived. It was easy enough to launch a "station" using my Amazon Music Unlimited subscription so we had some nice background music for the evening. Saturday morning, I played a little more to try to get a little deeper into what all this little baby can do. Still, I ended up kicking off the Little Feat Station and just enjoyed listening for several hours. I think I'm going to love this thing!

[geoff.]

Keep us posted on the Node experience please.

 

This looks like the ticket.

[avguytx]

23 hours ago, CWelsh said:

The Node is in the house! The user interface is going to take some learning, but I'll get it in time. The unit arrived Friday afternoon and I rushed to get it set up before company arrived. It was easy enough to launch a "station" using my Amazon Music Unlimited subscription so we had some nice background music for the evening. Saturday morning, I played a little more to try to get a little deeper into what all this little baby can do. Still, I ended up kicking off the Little Feat Station and just enjoyed listening for several hours. I think I'm going to love this thing!

 

So you bought a Node or a C700?  That's what I'm most curious about is with the Node and its "control" via the app with Amazon Music HD since AMHD's desktop app/experience for Windows 10 is awful.

[jcn3]

1 hour ago, avguytx said:

 

So you bought a Node or a C700?  That's what I'm most curious about is with the Node and its "control" via the app with Amazon Music HD since AMHD's desktop app/experience for Windows 10 is awful.

 

the control app would be the same regardless of the product -- the bluesound app.  the bluesound app is pretty good, but does have a bit of a learning curve.

[CWelsh]

8 hours ago, avguytx said:

 

So you bought a Node or a C700?  That's what I'm most curious about is with the Node and its "control" via the app with Amazon Music HD since AMHD's desktop app/experience for Windows 10 is awful.

I bought the Node. As jcn3 says, the control app is the same. It is generally easy but not perfect. Navigation is a little clunky. At least it is to me so far. I'm running it on my iPad rather than trying to do it on my phone, just because the size of the screen makes it so much easier to read. So far, I haven't been able to get my TV to play through my amp/speakers, either.  The TV shows that the sound output is HDMI and the BlueOS app shows the Node is using the HDMI input, but nothing comes out of the speakers. I will continue to tinker.

 

I have to say, the Amazon music catalog is pretty sweet. For a monthly fee of less than one CD per month, I have access to tons of music I would probably never buy, but it is great to be able to try it out. And, the sound is fantastic. CD quality or better on 75 million songs.

[techguy52]

14 hours ago, CWelsh said:

I bought the Node. As jcn3 says, the control app is the same. It is generally easy but not perfect. Navigation is a little clunky. At least it is to me so far. I'm running it on my iPad rather than trying to do it on my phone, just because the size of the screen makes it so much easier to read. So far, I haven't been able to get my TV to play through my amp/speakers, either.  The TV shows that the sound output is HDMI and the BlueOS app shows the Node is using the HDMI input, but nothing comes out of the speakers. I will continue to tinker.

 

I have to say, the Amazon music catalog is pretty sweet. For a monthly fee of less than one CD per month, I have access to tons of music I would probably never buy, but it is great to be able to try it out. And, the sound is fantastic. CD quality or better on 75 million songs.

 

Make sure your TV audio is configured to output PCM stereo. And I totally agree with you in regards to Amazon Music, it has come a long way in regards to curated playlists. Probably half of my 40 BlueOS presets on my NAD M10 are configured for Amazon Music playlists.

[CWelsh]

1 hour ago, techguy52 said:

 

Make sure your TV audio is configured to output PCM stereo. And I totally agree with you in regards to Amazon Music, it has come a long way in regards to curated playlists. Probably half of my 40 BlueOS presets on my NAD M10 are configured for Amazon Music playlists.

 

The PCM setting was the problem. Now I need to figure out why I can't change the eARC setting on my TV to ON rather than OFF, but that is a different issue.

 

Thank you for your help.

[CWelsh]

On 11/14/2021 at 10:39 AM, geoff. said:

Keep us posted on the Node experience please.

 

This looks like the ticket.

 

I've had the Node about a week and I think it is fundamentally going to change the way I listen to music. Everything I listen to sounds at least as good as playing the same thing on my CD player, and I have access to so much more than I could ever purchase. See my comments below regarding the interface.

 

On 11/15/2021 at 9:26 AM, avguytx said:

 

So you bought a Node or a C700?  That's what I'm most curious about is with the Node and its "control" via the app with Amazon Music HD since AMHD's desktop app/experience for Windows 10 is awful.

 

I'm running BlueOS on an iPad and I've never tried using AMHD on Windows 10 so I can't compare. I will say I think the BlueOS interface could be improved and suspect it will be over time. I wouldn't call it awful, but it isn't the most intuitive navigation. Still, if I use the Search function, I can find what I want as long as it is in the catalog. And, I haven't tried building playlists or creating presets.

[jimjimbo]

1 hour ago, CWelsh said:

 

I've had the Node about a week and I think it is fundamentally going to change the way I listen to music. Everything I listen to sounds at least as good as playing the same thing on my CD player, and I have access to so much more than I could ever purchase. See my comments below regarding the interface.

 

 

I'm running BlueOS on an iPad and I've never tried using AMHD on Windows 10 so I can't compare. I will say I think the BlueOS interface could be improved and suspect it will be over time. I wouldn't call it awful, but it isn't the most intuitive navigation. Still, if I use the Search function, I can find what I want as long as it is in the catalog. And, I haven't tried building playlists or creating presets.

I purchased two of the new model Nodes and have them configured to interface with my Spotify Premium account.  It's a very seamless integration and the sound quality is superb.

[CWelsh]

7 minutes ago, jimjimbo said:

I purchased two of the new model Nodes and have them configured to interface with my Spotify Premium account.  It's a very seamless integration and the sound quality is superb.

 

I'm using Amazon Music Unlimited, but may look at some others in the future. My sound quality is excellent, too. At $8 per month, Amazon seems like a bargain. 

[sbcoffey42]

On 11/18/2021 at 5:55 PM, CWelsh said:

 

I've had the Node about a week and I think it is fundamentally going to change the way I listen to music. Everything I listen to sounds at least as good as playing the same thing on my CD player, and I have access to so much more than I could ever purchase. See my comments below regarding the interface.

 

 

I'm running BlueOS on an iPad and I've never tried using AMHD on Windows 10 so I can't compare. I will say I think the BlueOS interface could be improved and suspect it will be over time. I wouldn't call it awful, but it isn't the most intuitive navigation. Still, if I use the Search function, I can find what I want as long as it is in the catalog. And, I haven't tried building playlists or creating presets.

For my Windows 10 desktop, I use a Schitt Modi connected to the usb-c port. In windows I select the modi as Playback and then I adjusted the settings to match the Hi Res of AMHD. This works great for my desktop system that is the Klipsch The One and a vali 3 pre amp. The one drawback I have with Bluos app is that I can't add songs to my library, I have to back out and go to the desktop. Also the Bluesound node does an incredible job with the apple airplay. My node is connected to ethernet and I can stream from my ipad and it sounds pretty amazing. I have found that Amazon and Apple music seen to have the same library and a direct connection from the apple device to a dac gives me hi rez or apple lossless if connected to node through airplay.