[Nick63]

Is the NAD C 390DD basically a NAD M51 with an amp included?

 

[orkney]

Quote:

Is the NAD C 390DD basically a NAD M51 with an amp included?

 
Don't think so. Check the specs:
 
http://nadelectronics.com/products/hifi-amplifiers/C-390DD-Direct-Digital-Powered-DAC-Amplifier
 
http://nadelectronics.com/products/digital-music/M51-Direct-Digital-DAC
 
Different USB implementations, different DACs, different analogue output stages, different volume controls and different markets. So it seems, anyway.

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Is the NAD C 390DD basically a NAD M51 with an amp included?

 
If you read  the subjective reviews, its seen more as 'trickle down' from the flagship M2, and very impressive trickle down at that. Unfortunately, the only way to really know whether that means anything for you personally is to audition the beast - at the RRP here in Oz, I'm afraid I was forced to draw a line through it. 

 

[ecohifi]

I can confirmed that the zxczm800 chip is in the M51 that does the PCM to pwm, the M2 has this chip and the complementing zxcm200 which does the f/back for the power amp stages, I'm guessing so don't quote me on it the C390D would incorp the same chipset as this is a partnership that NAD has with Diode Inc

 

[woodcans]

My experience is in line with yours. The M51/OR5 in my system feeding my Luxman m600a is simply sublime. Your description of the volume control is spot on.
 
Quote:

 
Thanks for that -- much appreciated.
 
My experience has been that the M51, fed from a transport or the SB Touch via coax/optical, is a highly transparent and very well-balanced device that seems immune to some familiar digital artifacts -- its tonal quality does not alter with volume and it does not favour one genre or style over another. As a digital preamp it is silent, wideband and has a volume control that is precise and responsive. Used as a preamp into my Luxman L509u's amp stage it is very nearly the equal of the Lux's very refined (and very expensive and overbuilt) front end. It also handily outperforms in that application the Benchmark HDR I had in its place until recently. 
 
o

 

[Nick63]

The M51 seems to have superior usb abilities, but I wondered if maybe the C 390DD might have better tech in other ways. I could not determine this from the literature.

 

[estreeter]

Its like deja-vu all over again  

 
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/nad-m51-master-series-dac-and-c390dd-direct-digital-amplifier-9561/
 
There is enough misinformation in that thread to sink the Titanic - again. I agree that there isnt much out there on the 390DD, but gems like this will only cement the bias many hold towards Class D amps:
 
I thought the C390DD and M2 had no need to convert to analog because they somehow drove the speakers "digitally". Apparently, there is always need for an analog stage.
 
Fortunately, these guys seem to have a better grip on the 390:
 
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/nad-c390dd-direct-digital-dac-amplifier-11836/
 
Anyway, back to the discussion of the M51 - apologies for the detour. 

 

[dyl1dyl]

Quote:

The M51 seems to have superior usb abilities, but I wondered if maybe the C 390DD might have better tech in other ways. I could not determine this from the literature.

 
My understanding from talking to the local distributor is that the M51 is designed to be the higher end, superior product. However, they also mentioned that if it is not paired well, the 390DD has the potential to sound better. The M51 though taken for just its DAC and pre sections is higher end though, hence the master range allocation

 

[dercius]

Got a chance to put an M51>M3 combo up against the M2 through PSB Synchrony One speakers. It was quite interesting hearing the two NAD systems go up against each other. Both were rather impressive. The M51>M3 combo was a little bit less detailed but seemed to have a slight edge in bass texture and PRAT. Might just be their pairing with the PSB speakers though as I'm not familiar with that particular model.

 

[Somnambulist]

Gonna order mine tomorrow from Audio Affair (had to wait to find out if I was going to lose my job, but I've avoided redundancy haha, phew). Hope they still have a few in stock!

 

[mcullinan]

I think they are all on backorder, at least in the US. They are supposed to be available next week though.

 

[Somnambulist]

Says dispatched within 2-3 days on AudioAffair and a couple of other sites in the UK say they have it in stock.
 
Anyway, question. I'm looking at this M51 thinking that I feel like I want to try some sort of USB converter, to spdif, to AES, whatever, just to get a nice clean signal to the DAC. Anyway, I remembered that the M51 claims to do I2S via the HDMI input(s). I plan on using a BDP via one input, with the video out going into the TV,  but that 2nd input... what options are there for I2S? I'm guessing some sort of USB to I2S converter.

 

[Anda]

Quote:

Says dispatched within 2-3 days on AudioAffair and a couple of other sites in the UK say they have it in stock.
 
Anyway, question. I'm looking at this M51 thinking that I feel like I want to try some sort of USB converter, to spdif, to AES, whatever, just to get a nice clean signal to the DAC. Anyway, I remembered that the M51 claims to do I2S via the HDMI input(s). I plan on using a BDP via one input, with the video out going into the TV,  but that 2nd input... what options are there for I2S? I'm guessing some sort of USB to I2S converter.

The M51 uses the XMOS USB receiver, which is one of the best ways of getting computer audio via USB.

 

[Somnambulist]

Does it? I couldn't see that anywhere, at least nothing concrete.

 

[Anda]

Quote:

Does it? I couldn't see that anywhere, at least nothing concrete.

 
List of USB audio class 2 devices (in french):
http://www.forum-audiophile.fr/musique-dematerialisee-f25/les-dac-transport-usb-audio-class-2-t16248.html#p151447