NAD Masters M33 -- first review

[Zappydev]

If anyone’s interested avf just reviewed the krell......

https://www.avforums.com/reviews/krell-k...view.17731

They were blown away.

Must be something... but not for me.
I already had my dose of Krell, Levinson and other very good american gear.
Very pleasant and good to enjoy untill the day you have a problem and need some support. A nightmare, and if you keep the equipment for several years, forget it.
Nothing against them, on the contrary, they produce superb hi-end material, but I live on the other side of the Atlantic and this was a huge problem for me in the past.

Good point,especially if you have first hand experience with them.
What I don’t understand is why people are looking elsewhere because dev appear to have gone off the expert boil.
It’s still good kit with great sound, it’s not like it’s suddenly become crap!
The nad is interesting but will it better a 220? I doubt it but it’s competitors are naim and the expert 140 really.

I don't understand it either. I received my O d'A four years ago this very day, and for all the unfulfilled and over-hyped promises made by Devialet, it has been absolutely rock-solid throughout, and still sounds wonderful to me. I can't imagine why I would want to change it (and lose money) - there are a lot of add-ons and tweaks I could investigate first, but I really don't feel the need to tinker right now.

[hardcore]

My experience with NAD in the past has been quite positive.  I owned an M2 prior to jumping into Devialet.

I also previously used NAD. In my case the C390DD (successor to M2) and I upgraded it later on with the M22 power amp. I was pretty happy with this combination, but I was considering upgrading the DAC / Pre. I had not seriously considered a Devialet, it didn't register on my value-performance radar.

One day on a whim, a dealer let me try a Devialet 250 Pro at home... and wow... that slim shiny 250 Pro sounded better than the much beefier looking M22. Thus my Devialet journey began, first with the 250 Pro and doubling it up to the 1000 Pro now.

And after living with the Devialet for a while, compared to other systems, I now consider the Devialet Expert Pros to be very good value-performance at their price range.

[mdconnelly]

To be honest, I will be quite surprised if the NAD will sound anywhere near as good as my Expert Pro but t it will be interesting given the new amp tech used. Personally, I won't walk away from my 440 unless I hear something that clearly sounds better. If Devialet hadn't seemingly "abandoned" their Expert Pro line and customer base, I doubt I'd even be thinking about it. Maybe that will change now that the competition is rapidly closing the gap.

[markush]

Unfortunately you can see where things are going with Devialet: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn...138699264/
Just Phantom & Store related postings of CEO, which not at all answers any questions. But maybe if some more people on LinkedIn keep publicly poking about Expert Line they finally respond.

[Flashman]

The just-released issue of Stereophile features a review by Herb Reichert of the Veros PWR+ amp by LKV Research. 

Okay, point #1: I've never heard of LKV Research and I'll bet many of the posters here are in the same camp.  The company is based out of North Conway, New Hampshire. In his review, Reichert extols the virtues of its "chief of everything" Bill Hutchins.  Point #2, and more to the purpose of this thread: Reichert says he's never liked Class-D amplification... until this one.  Point #3 and even more pertinent to this thread: the amplification is provided by Bruno Putzey's Purifi 1ET400A (love that number; I have no idea where it comes from or what it means).  The same amp that will power the NAD Masters M33.

Reichert compares the LKV to both the Class-D Bel Canto mono amps (he liked the LKV better) and a Rogue push-pull tube amp, part of his reference set-up.  In comparison to this reference, he felt the LKV delivered more weight and instrumental body.

Reichert concludes his review with: "Sound quality and music enjoyment-wise, the LKV Research Veros PWR+ amp sits on a higher mountain than any other Class-D amp I've encountered... Gleefully recommended."

Conclusion: I still love my Devialet Expert 220 Pro for any number of reasons.  On the other hand, I am paying particular attention to the various implementations of Purifi amplification.  As well, I am looking at such Roon-Ready integrated amps that might have other virtues, such as room correction and MQA end-to-end decoding.  Just sayin'!

[David A]

I have vague memories of reading an interview with Bruno Putzeys some years ago in which, if my memory does not fail me, he made a remark that there were something like 400 or more different design topologies for creating a Class D amp and that only a few had been tried at that time. Perhaps the "1ET400A" number is a reference to a specific design topology in some kind of personal classification structure he has for all those different design options.

Whatever, I remember coming away from that interview with the thought that the old adage about there being more than one way to skin a cat being particularly true when it comes to Class D and also that there was probably a fair chance that we would see some interesting results from Class D as more design approaches were attempted.

[midi]

After investing a lot of money in an upgrade that never brought the Expert as far forward as promised, I sold my Expert. I ordered a NAD M33, even though I am aware that it might be a small step backwards in terms of sound quality. But I know the BluOS devices and they are one of the best on the market in terms of functionality and offer almost all possibilities. I also believe that Dirac allows more leaps in quality than any other technical features. And I had no more hope that Devialet will develop further here. There seem to be too many problems in software development. As a result, I prefer a device that is perfect in terms of functionality and comfort, even if it is perhaps minimally inferior in terms of sound.

[Flashman]

After investing a lot of money in an upgrade that never brought the Expert as far forward as promised, I sold my Expert. I ordered a NAD M33, even though I am aware that it might be a small step backwards in terms of sound quality. But I know the BluOS devices and they are one of the best on the market in terms of functionality and offer almost all possibilities. I also believe that Dirac allows more leaps in quality than any other technical features. And I had no more hope that Devialet will develop further here. There seem to be too many problems in software development. As a result, I prefer a device that is perfect in terms of functionality and comfort, even if it is perhaps minimally inferior in terms of sound.

Please keep us informed about your experiences with the NAD.

[midi]

After investing a lot of money in an upgrade that never brought the Expert as far forward as promised, I sold my Expert. I ordered a NAD M33, even though I am aware that it might be a small step backwards in terms of sound quality. But I know the BluOS devices and they are one of the best on the market in terms of functionality and offer almost all possibilities. I also believe that Dirac allows more leaps in quality than any other technical features. And I had no more hope that Devialet will develop further here. There seem to be too many problems in software development. As a result, I prefer a device that is perfect in terms of functionality and comfort, even if it is perhaps minimally inferior in terms of sound.

Please keep us informed about your experiences with the NAD.

Yes I do. But for the moment I have to wait for it.

First German „review“ here (only link, not the full, but also thin, not very detailed „review“):

https://www.stereo.de/heftinhalt/artikel...er-nad-m33

Conclusion:

Technologically a milestone in amplifier construction, sonically an audible progress. In addition, first-class workmanship and versatile equipment that leaves hardly anything to be desired - and all this at a fair price.

Laboratory Commentary
A watt giant with almost 500 watts of power into 4 ohms. Also all other
measured values testify to first-class development work. Even the bandwidth of more than 40 kHz is significantly higher than the usual class-D amplifiers.

Conclusion: 5 Star / 89 points sound rating (Devialet 220 Pro 11/18 5 Star / 95 points)

[mdconnelly]

@midi - can you discern how they (stereo.de) do their sound rating scale? The one thing I have yet to see about the M33 is any description on sound quality. Most comments that you can find talk about the technology bells & whistles (which there certainly is an abundance of).

I'd also like to ask you how well does your Magico A3 work with your 220 Pro? Is there a SAM profile for the A3? I've not yet heard the A3 but do find Magico an impressive company.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the M33 as well... Any idea how long a wait you're facing?